#fine. we can be bffs. only for her to start coming over to my house late at night and staying until 4-5 am every night

[shesmore-shoebill]

courtmanda power

[snappedsky]

Fanatics 98.1

Squee goes up against some old enemies.

*Links to previous and next chapters in reblog*

--

War for Earth Part 1

           “Okay!” Zim booms, “let’s go over what’s happened so far.”

           “Olivia has assembled a few of our old enemies to join her Hell army to battle us for Earth,” he explains, “taking advantage of the impending chaos, the Irken Armada is also coming. But we also have two armies coming to assist us: the Resisty and the SDA.”

           “You also got us,” Jeff points out, pointing to himself, Serena, and Bianca.

           “Yeah, yeah,” Zim replies dismissively. “Now the Armada will be here in about 8 hours. The Resisty and the SDA should be here before then. We have no idea when Olivia’s army will attack, but I’m betting she’ll take advantage of the Armada’s attack. We have to be ready before then. Anything to add?”

           Pepito nudges Squee. “Didn’t you want to tell us something?”

           “Oh…um…that can wait,” he replies, “this is more important.”

           “What about all the civilians?” Dib asks, “if we’re gonna be fighting a war in the city, we can’t risk innocent people getting hurt.”

           “We can talk to our dad about some kind of lockdown,” Serena replies.

           “He won’t listen to us,” Jeff points out.

           “Probably not right away, but when shit starts going down, he’ll do something.”

           “Alright, let’s call him.”

           Serena grabs her cell phone and they both step away to make the call.

           “We should probably be worried about Olivia’s super team,” Pepito points out, “not only are they four of the most vengeful and powerful enemies we’ve ever had, they’ll also be powered up by Olivia. If possible, we should take care of them right away.”

           “Alright,” Zim agrees, “any ideas on how we can do that?”

           “Maybe we can draw them out somehow,” Gaz suggests, “ambush them?”

           “What would all four of them be interested in?” Tak asks.

           “Johnny,” Squee states.

           Everyone looks at him with surprise.

           “Think about it. All four of them wanted to kill Johnny.”

           “So we use Johnny as bait?” Dib suggests.

           “No, no, I didn’t say that,” Squee argues.

           “That’s not a bad idea,” Zim remarks.

           “It’s a terrible idea.”

           “And he’s pretty unstoppable so he might even be able to take them all down himself,” Gaz adds.

           “Ugh,” Squee groans with frustration, dragging his hands down his face. “Alright, fine. Maybe we use Johnny to draw them out. But I wanna be the one who leads the attack on them. I’m not letting Nny face them by himself.”

           “That’s a good idea,” Zim agrees, “you lead the attack on the super team with a couple others while the rest of us stay behind to prepare for the war. Who do you wanna bring?”

           Squee looks back at Bianca and Jeff and Serena, who have finished their call. “Those three. And Tak.”

           “Us?” Bianca questions.

           “Why them?” Pepito asks.

           “The poltergeists never would’ve fought them so they won’t know what to expect,” Squee replies, “and I have some new tricks too.”

           “Very well,” Zim nods, “they’re yours to command.”

           “Hey,” Tak snaps, “I’ll work with Squee, but nobody commands me.”

           “Whatever,” he grunts then clears his throat. “From here on, the five of you will be the Battalion’s Forward Force.”

           “BFF,” Serena grins with amusement.

           “Gross,” Bianca scoffs.

           “But how do we get Johnny to draw them out?” Dib asks.

           “I’m gonna call him and see what he thinks,” Squee replies as he grabs his phone. He dials the house phone, but there’s no answer. “Hm. Maybe he’s in the basement. I’ll call Devi.”

           No answer.  

           “Tenna?”

           No answer.

           Squee’s hand trembles as he lowers his phone.

           “They’re probably just busy, you know?” Pepito suggests hopefully.

           “M-maybe,” Squee agrees weakly. Then his face sets darkly as he grips his phone. “I’m going over there.”

           “By yourself?” Pepito asks.

           “I can get there faster on my own,” he replies as he heads for the door.

           “Squee, wait,” Zim orders but it’s too late. As soon as he’s outside, Squee zooms away on his rocket wheelies.

           “So much for the BFF,” Serena remarks drily.

           “We’ll go after him,” Tak declares.

           “How are we gonna get there?” Jeff asks.

           “You can’t take the Epic, we’ll need it,” Zim replies.

           “We can take the van,” Serena suggests, “it’s still parked at the manor.”

           “Fine, let’s hurry,” Tak demands and she, Serena, Jeff, and Bianca head out.

           Meanwhile, Squee flies deftly through the city, down the streets, around the people and traffic, until he reaches Grave Road. He skids to a stop in front of his house and looks around in horror.

           The front door and windows are all smashed and there are small craters and burn marks all over the yard and road. It’s as if a great battle already took place.

           “Squee!” Colton cries as he comes rushing out of his house. “You will not believe what just happened!”

           A chill shoots up Squee’s spine. “Colton, get back inside!” he barks.

           Colton stops as something flies off the roof. A large creature lands just beside him, knocking him down. He backpedals and scurries into his house but the creature pays him no mind.

           It’s over seven feet tall with furry hocked legs leading to hooves, a long black tail, and two large curled horns coming out of messy black hair. It’s almost naked except for torn orange shorts. And clutched in his big claw is Johnny.

           He’s covered in blackened burns, gashes, and cuts. He digs at the grip with his fingers, tearing and cutting, but the demon is undeterred.

           It turns to look at Squee, and while it has burning red eyes and large fangs, its face is still very recognizable.

           “Mussolini,” he croaks, and the demon smiles.

           “Welcome to the party,” he purrs, “so nice of you to join us.”

           Three more figures jump down behind him and Squee turns. There’s a man with short black hair, empty black eyes, and long fangs that stick out of his lips. There are claws on his fingers and toes, long and sharp like knives, and spikes are protruding out of his spine and both shoulders.

           Another man has four nubby horns sticking out of his messy brown hair. His eyes are wild and red and his smile is even wilder and fanged. His arms and legs have been elongated to over twice the length of a normal human and he stands on them like a spider.

           Finally there’s a woman with long, crazy black hair that floats around her head, almost like it has a mind of its own. Her eyes are white but angry and her cheeks are split from the corners of her mouth. Out of her back are two demonic wings.

           “Reggie the Ripper, Drey the Woman-Killer, and Ava the Man-Hater,” Squee breathes.

           “Squee C,” Reggie snarls, “the brat who had us trapped in that notebook for years.”

           “I so want to make you pay,” Drey grins.

           “After we’ve finished with Johnny,” Ava adds.

           “Squee,” Johnny croaks, his voice muffled from Mussolini crushing his throat. “R-run.”

           Squee glares darkly at the demons surrounding him as he draws his knives. “Not this time. Not ever again.”

[baroquebucky]

touch

soulmate au where when you touch your soulmate you see glimpses of your future with them; the winter soldier touches you and realizes there’s so much more out there

series masterlist // next

part one

word count: 1.7k

masterlist

a/n: hi bffs !! hope u all enjoy this !! i am a sucker for soulmate au’s <3 let me know what u guys think and if u guys want a part 2 !!!

Bucky awoke to the sound of the guards unlocking the door, the metal creaking as Alexander Pierce walked in, waving the guards off to leave the two alone.

“you have another mission today” the man spoke smoothly, bucky getting up from his small bed and staring at the man infront of him, “you need to finish this before it gets out of hand” pierce spoke, eyeing the soldier as he stared blankly ahead.

“Do you understand?” He questioned, bucky looked at him, nodding his head silently as the guards took him out, taking him to get ready for his mission.

He had stopped resisting, he had nothing left, he couldn’t remember much and he had no idea who he even was. Bucky followed the motions, suiting up and grabbing his weapons alongside the other HYDRA agents.

You frowned at steve and natasha, grumbling to yourself as Sam let you into the house.

“im y/n, sorry about these two” you smiled at the man, extending your hand out and turning to your two friends.

“thank you for coming y/n, we really need you” Steve spoke, natasha nodding in agreement as she dried her hair slowly.

“yeah, yeah everyone always needs me” you joked, sitting next to them and rubbing your eyes, “woke me up from my nap so this better be good” you spoke, crossing your arms over your chest and leaning back.

Steve and natasha explained the situation, telling you what they knew about the winter soldier, you soaked in the information, attempting to google him but coming up with almost nothing.

“hm, so you want me to do what, exactly” you questioned, looking at the trio staring back at you.

“fight with us, help us, we have to stop HYDRA” Steve spoke, looking at natasha before continuing, “i don’t know who to trust and” he sighed, “we know we can trust you, are you in?”

You smiled, getting up and pulling the three in for a hug, sams eyes going wide.

“of course I’m in, i care about you guys too much to let you die alone” you chuckled, pulling away, looking at Sam before speaking up, “no ones dying by the way, right?”

The four of you were on the rooftop, getting information out of Sitwell, laughing when natasha kicked him off.

“What about that girl from accounting, Laura?” Natasha spoke, looking at Steve as he thought about the woman’s name.

“Lillian! Lip piercing right?” Natasha nodded and Steve shook his head.

“yeah I’m not ready for that” you laughed at the two lightly.

“you should get with the time have a little fun!” You teased, Natasha smiling as you sided with her, nodding her head excitedly.

As Sam brought Sitwell back you began the interrogation, threatening to throw the man off for good is he didn’t start talking. Your eyes were steely and they let you handle him, getting all the information you needed.

“i didn’t know you could be so-” sam stopped, trying to find the right words.

“evil?” Natasha offered.

“terrifying?” Steve chuckled and Sam nodded.

“Insight launched in 16 hours” you spoke up, checking your phone, Natasha nodded speaking up after you, “we’re cutting it kinda close here.”

Steve looked ahead with furrowed brows nodding his head, “well use him to bypass the DNA scans and bypass the helicarriers directly.”

Sitwell scoffed next to you, blabbering on about you something, you rolled your eyes, going to say something when someone reached through the window and threw him out, your eyes going wide.

“what the fuck!” You screeched, looking up and seeing who you assumed was the winter soldier.

Your eyes were wide as you stared out the windshield, a tug in your chest as you saw him sliding across the concrete, steadying himself with his metal arm.

Natasha pulled her gun out, aiming at the man. A car rear ended you, pushing you forward and knocking your wind out. The soldier jumped atop the car, holding on tight as the truck behind you pushed you all foward.

Sam pressed on the breaks, trying to steer away from the other cars. A metal hand reached through the windshield and tore the steering wheel out from his grasp.

“shit!” Sam yelled, eyes wide as the car drove into another, Natasha reaching her gun and shooting in hopes of hitting the masked man.

Steve grabbed onto the three in the front, looking back at you with wide eyes.

“go!” You yelled, scrambling to open the door before the car crashed into the wall.

“hang on!” Steve called, jumping out, with you bracing yourself for the impact seconds after, you flew out the door, hitting the ground with a thud.

You ran to join natasha and Sam, ducking behind cars to avoid the bullets, finally pulling out your pocket knife and hitting one of the men in the chest, running again as they shot at you three even more.

You and natasha jumped down, holding onto her as she shot something under the bridge to swing from.

The two of you landed safely, you pointed to the shadow of the solider, running alongside her to shoot at the man.

You both aimed and fired, hitting his giggled and causing him to turn back. You let out a sigh, hoping they would give you a minute to recover. You both ran for cover as he leaned back over, machine gun in hand and shooting wildly.

“fucks sake” you let out, breathless as you aimed to shoot back at him, running for cover once again, hiding behind the parked cars. Your eyes focusing on the bus steve had fallen into, relief flooding your body when you saw him jumping out and hiding behind the shield safely, eyes moving to the highway and seeing Sam shooting from above.

“I’m gonna leave this recording here, ill sneak up behind him and then you try and get him, we can double team him” Natasha spoke, you nodded, letting her record the memo before setting it down and running.

Your heart raced as you saw the soldier approach the vehicle, waiting for the right moment to strike. As Natasha ran to tackle him from behind you noticed the amount of people still around you, the explosion next to you sending people flying.

“shit” you mumbled, running to help them as Natasha held her own.

“get out of the way! Run! Get out of here” you yelled, pointing at those in frenzy to run in the opposite direction, you glanced over your shoulder, Natasha being thrown into a car.

As you turned to help her you noticed a little girl crying, alone. You debated for a second before running up to her, taking her in your arms and handing her off to some random adult who was fleeing.

Natasha had messed the man arm up, joining her in her sprint as you all yelled for people to move and to take cover. You heard the whirl of a bullet and natasha groan, doubling over next to a car.

“take of her!” Steve yelled, holding off the soldier. You let eyes were wide, putting pressure on Natasha wound and looking around.

“you’re gonna be fine” you told her, looking into the car and breaking the window with your elbow, opening the compartment in the passengers seat and smiling when you found a first aid kit.

“come on” you mumbled, moving her gently and cleaning the wound, doing your best with what little you had. You tried to bandage her, the sound of the bullets hitting Steve’s shield making your hands shake.

“go help them, I’ll be fine” Natasha groaned out, you hesitated before nodding, running to where Steve was.

You hid behind a car, watching as he shoved a knife into a van, barely missing Steve’s head.

You jumped from behind the car as Steve reached to grab his shield, hitting the metal armed man, you used your body weight to twist him back.

Visions flashed in your eyes, quick flashes of a man with a charming smile and beautiful blue eyes. The sound of laughter echoing in your ears as the mask fell besides you. You saw the two of you cuddled up on a couch, you saw two two of you watching a sunset while on a picnic, giggles falling from your mouth.

Bucky saw it too, his mind flashing with pictures of a life he didn’t recognize, seeing you, his mission in them. He saw you cuddled at his side, he saw you on a stage together singing with lyrics on a screen, he saw the two of you rescuing a white cat from the rain. Bucky saw you holding out a present for him, a bright smile on you face, he saw you throwing flour at him in a kitchen, cookies baking in an over.

He stayed on the ground, memories who he used to be flooding his mind, hope of who he could become clouding his judgement.

Tears brimmed in his eyes as he looked up at you, standing in front of Steve with an equally shocked look on your face.

“it’s you” you breathed out, your heart tugging in your chest as your eyes met his blue ones, they were cloudy and they were broken but god, you already loved them.

“it’s you” he whispered. A year rolling down his face before HYDRA agents surrounded you all.

“Bucky?” Steve spoke, finally getting a good look at the man.

The super soldier stayed quiet, panic in his eyes and he looked at you, setting his weapon down. You made a move to run to him, but Sam flew in, knocking him feet away from you, Natasha soon launching a grenade.

“no!” You screamed, running to where he was. He was gone.

“No! Please i just found him no!” You cried, sinking to you knees, Sam ran over to you, holding you tightly as you sobbed, agents surrounding the four of you and telling you all to get down on your knees.

You sobbed into sams chest, only leaving his embrace when the agents ripped you from him.

Buckys eyes were wide as he sat in the chair, his heart racing as he recalled your face, your hair. He recalled the flashes he saw, his future with you.

He had something to hold onto, he had something to fight for, someone to survive for. He thought about the man who was next to you, he was familiar, he was in his old memories.

Buckys mind raced, knowing they would wipe his memories, he soaked in every last detail, praying he could hold onto to what he had after they wiped him.

He could hold onto you, his hope.

[farfarawayinthelandof]

Hi! I saw you don’t have any miraculous stuff yet. Can I request a Marinette x f! reader. Reader is new to the school and quickly becomes her friend and Marinette doesn’t know how to react when she finds out reader has a crush on her. She realizes that she fell for reader while she was hanging out with Adrian. Please.

MARINETTE X FEM!READER ONESHOT

Thank you so much for your request(s)! I absolutely love this one.

fem!reader

warnings: none!

ੈ♡˳·˖✶

As the students of Francoise Dupont got into the routine of the new school year, there was a last minute transfer. That transfer being you, Y/N. You were full of excitement and nerves to finally be starting at a new school, thrilled to meet new friends, but also nervous, for fear of being left out. Your fears has faded away, however, when you met your new classmates, especially her.

Her being Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the class president tasked with showing you around for the day. She had a creative and talented personality, and a helping attitude, and every task, favor, and assignment never seemed to be a problem, or worry for her. You weren't sure if you wanted to be her, or with her.

By lunchtime, you had figured you wanted to be with her. You had also figured that half the class felt the same way, how could they not?

As you walked to the restroom at the end of lunch with Alya and Rose, about a week after you had first been introduced, they struck up a conversation about Marinette.

"You and Marinette are getting close? Should I have to watch my back so you don't replace me as her BFF?" Alya asks, with a light tone. Rose laughs.

You inhale sharply. "No! No, it's not like that! I would never! I-"

"Girl, relax." Alya laughs. You ease up a little bit. "I'm just teasing you. All the girls in our class are tight."

"Oh! That's nice to hear! I hope we can all be great friends."

Rose and Alya nod. "But anyway, about Marinette. You like her, don't you?" Rose asks.

'Was it that obvious?' You think woefully.

"I guess. But I know she likes Adrien." There was no point in hiding it. You trusted the two girls, and it was just a little crush.

Rose opens the door to the bathroom, holding it for you and Alya. As you thank the blonde, Alya speaks up. "I what it feels like to like someone who doesn't like you back. Nino used to have a crush on Marinette. Come to think of it, pretty much everyone in our class has had a crush on her at one point or another." Rose nods, laughing as she sprays some perfume on herself.

"Adrien?" You ask.

"That boy is absolutely clueless. His skull is *ahem* very thick. He's so dumb, for someone so smart." Alya says.

Rose agrees thoughtfully.

After your conversation with Alya and Rose, you return to your seat with newfound hope. Marinette must know Adrien is hopeless. Feeling bold, you come up with a plan.

ੈ♡˳·˖✶

Marinette had only known you for a few weeks, however, she had already felt a connection with you. She was really looking forward to becoming better friends.

On another note, Marinette had also made plans with Adrien later in the day. She had been looking forward to this project ever since she had been paired up with the young model.

Stopping at her locker, she noticed you walking towards her. You looked nervous. Had you forgotten your locker combination?

“Hey Marinette!” You said, voice masking the uncertainty you felt.

Marinette smiled, turning her attention towards you. “Hi, Y/N!”

“So, um… I was wondering - and I know this might be sudden - but I was wondering if you wanted to go out… together?”

To say Marinette had been taken aback would be an understatement. And while she liked the forwardness, Marinette had to turn you down. Who knows what could happen with Adrien tonight, even if he’s a bit clueless?

“Y/N. Listen, I… Uh, appreciate-”

You sigh. “Let me stop you right there. I understand. Hopefully we can still be good friends.”

Marinette sighed in relief. “Yeah, friends!”

You nodded towards Marinette, signaling goodbye. Well, you tried, right? And they say you miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.

The ravenette couldn’t help but feel guilty as she walked to Adrien. Why were you the only thing going through her mind when Adrien was right there?

This question had repeated itself throughout Marinette’s head all afternoon.

Until she realized.

Marinette felt a connection with you she never had with anyone else. It was a deep admiration, but not putting you on a pedestal, no. She saw you as real, and attainable. Unlike Adrien.

“Hey, earth to Marinette! You look a bit pale..” Adrien says, confused.

“Heh, sorry Adrien.” How was she supposed to face you tomorrow? Somehow, Marinette knew she blew it.

‘Oh, I’m no good at love!’ Thought Marinette, woefully.

The next day, you greeted Marinette as usual. But she couldn’t help but want more. And you couldn’t, either. But what were you two to do? Wasn’t any chance you two would ever be together destroyed?

After school, it had begun to rain. You sighed in defeat. You didn’t have an umbrella, and your parent(s) were at work. There was no one to help you. You tried to ask Alya or Nino for a ride, but they already left before you could.

Damn.

“Hey, Y/N?” Said a timid voice.

You turned to find Marinette, sheltered by the school’s roof, standing behind you.

“Hi, Marinette!” You say cheerfully. You are doing your best to make sure that your confession doesn’t get in the way between you two.

“If you don’t have an umbrella, you can use mine” She said, smiling nervously.

“Oh no, I couldn’t. My parent(s) will be off soon, I can wait for them.”

“Please… or at least walk back to my house until you can get picked up.”

You struggle for a bit. That did sound like a good deal. Plus, you could show Marinette that you could be friends and not make it weird.

“Alright,” you say.

“Perfect!”

You and Marinette begin walking to her house, talking about all sorts of things, like new video games, the best ways to bake cookies, and current fashion trends. The conversation flows naturally, never leaving an awkward moment between the two of you.

Marinette now knew 100% that it was you, not Adrien that she liked. Everything with him felt forced, but with you, it was all natural, and so fun.

You both walked into the bakery, Marinette holding the door out for you while you walked in. You greeted Marinette’s parents having already met Tom at a school function.

Marinette walks you to her room where you both spend the afternoon playing video games and procrastinating homework.

It gets a little quiet after Marinette wins the match for the hundredth time, and she looks over to you.

“I’m… sorry. I hope my rejection didn’t make things awkward for us.”

You smiled, albeit fake, reassuringly. “No, no! It’s totally fine.” Not really sure what else to say, you stop there.

Marinette looks down at her hands. “The thing is, yesterday… when I was at Adrien’s house, I realized that I…”

Your internal dialogue was going crazy. ‘Oh my gosh, does she not want to be friends?! Doesn’t she want to be more than friends?! Please, spill it out!’

“… I really like you” Marinette finished.

Your head spins suddenly to face Marinette, giving you whiplash. You cannot believe what you just heard.

“You… do?” To be honest, you weren’t even 100% sure she liked girls.

Marinette nods.

But now… everything has changed. You smile to yourself.

“Cool”

“Cool?!”

“Yeah,” You say. “Let’s go out. Right now.”

“Right now?!”

“Yes!”

Grabbing your shoes in coat, with Marinette en suite, she grabs the black umbrella, and you both bid goodbye to her parents.

“Alright, where to first?” You ask her, laughing.

“I think I know just the place.”

“Well then, please,” you gesture your hand out to her. She grabs it. “Lead the way.”

I tried to not make this too long/dialogue heavy. I hope you liked it!

no beta, we're dying like men

[mywritingonlyfans]

Angst fic with Damiano David

prompt: a angsty about reader being sad (dami bff) 'cause damiano doesn't feel the same way romantically. ps. there's a lot of victoria de angelis being a angel in this fic, and it's basically about reader going through it.

warnings: none? it's just a bit sad and longer than usual.

 All the soft touches still tingled all over your body. His scent was until now stuck to you, you never thought you’d feel happy to have woody essence along with cigarette smoke on you. 

 Folding the sleeve of his sweater, you put your tea in one of the cups you always use when you were there. His cotton piece was comfortable, making you didn't regret wearing it in the morning; it was cold and wearing your tank top from the night before didn't feel right. The shorts from yesterday, that were making your legs freeze were enough trouble for you to handle. The remnants of your clothes and belongings were collected from the floor of his room and placed carefully on his headboard, you made sure you were being quiet. Damiano has always been a heavy sleeper, but your counscious prevented you from risking disturbing him when he looks so peaceful. You had already spent much time at his place so you memorized where every thing in his kitchen - and others rooms - was; baking eggs and making tea wasn’t a mystery for you. You had even separated a Tylenol tablet for Damiano, so he could have it with his tea when he woke up with a wicked hangover. He wasn't the type to get drunk and forget what he did, nor were you. Since when you were teenagers, you have gone out and been drunk together a lot of times, and although your feelings were already present, nothing never happened. This time, however, alcohol helped injecting a dose of courage on him. Being honest with yourself, you didn't remember who started it; but the kiss in the midst of the loud music, his hand on the back of your neck, the exchanging glances while dancing and the moment he took you home, they were pretty vividly in your mind. You still felt relaxed, as if his sweaty body was still over yours. Minutes with your eyes closed was enough to feel his eyes roaming your body all over again.

“Hi,” he said in a slurred voice, cutting off your line of thoughts. You jumped, briefly scared but soon turned your attention to reality; a tired Damiano scratching his eyes in front of you.

He was dressed, wearing sweatpants and sweatshirt, duly comfortable according to the weather. 

 “Headache?” You knew he was. He was always a good drinker, he put up with it a lot, but he was never one to get rid of the effects of alcohol on the next day. You, on the other hand, got on better with this issue; fortunately from the night before, only the good moments remained with you.

“Yeah, a bit,” he giggled. “What a night, I’d say.” He added, in a lower tone. What was acceptable, you also felt a bit weird to be in front of him.

“I got you some pills,” you pointed it out to him on the counter, trying to maintain a normal behavior; with no shacking voice or sweaty hands. Quite impossible. “I made tea too.”

“Dear God, you’re a life saver!” He smiled at you, eyes crinkled and all of his perfect teeth on display. Contagious.

You grinned, feeling your body getting lighter. “No worries. I’m glad to help.”

“Y’know, when I woke up and saw that you weren't there I thought you were gone. You know? Friendship destroyed and that whole thing. I’m happy to see you; relieved.” He took a sip of his tea, and maybe a bit of your heart with it. You were an explosion of feeling when it comes to him, you always have been. “That sweater looks good on you, you can keep it if you want. You know that’s my fave one.” And, yeah, you knew.

The tension on you was no longer intense, comforting you to let out the breath you were holding. “It’s good to hear that,” Your genuine smile managed to say many things, you wished Damiano had noticed you earlier on other occasions. “Do you remember that one time, when we were younger, that you were a bit crazy about a girl; Alice was his name.” You stopped; in need of air - nervous - and watched Dami's attentive face. “She was the first person to whom you dedicated a song, you played it to her at school break. The cutest thing I had ever seen. I think it was there that I realized, a little jealous—“

“Y/N,” his voice had been almost inaudible, causing no effect. Had he really tried?

“How in love I was with you.”

His face was paler than usual, he was paralyzed; speechless. You had never seen Damiano like this, the men was always all over the place in a sweet talkative mess.

It took a few minutes for you to be able to read his expressions and realize how fucked up you were. The dose of happiness in your blood had been able to manipulate you to believe in what you most wanted to happen.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” your blood had gone up to your ears, all you could pay attention to was the pressure in your head. How had you thought that after one specific night he would suddenly decide that he was in love with you? After all of this time that you were just a good friend for him? “I’m truly sorry but I’m don’t—“

“Feel the same way?” You finished. He nodded, apprehensively. You have never felt so stupid. It was a mixture of shame, fear and insecurity. You were unable to look directly at him, you knew that there was no change in following a friendship after what you just said, much less after the night before. You had never been so screwed.

“I’m the one who should be apologizing, I shouldn’t have said a thing.” You whispered, realizing that the lump in your throat had turned into tears that you didn't even know were running down your face.

“Come here,” he opened his arms, walking towards your emotionless frame. You allowed yourself to melt in his grip. 

 Your tears fell freely; you could even try to hold it back but there was no strength left for you to think about it. Your crying was silent, as was the kitchen room. Your head was full of questions and cursing at yourself. Suddenly you wished Damiano had yelled at you, asked you to get out of there or said he wouldn't never speak to you again. It seemed easier to deal with it in this alternative way than to have him comforting you for loving him. “Shh, it’ll alright. I could never be mad at you.”

He talked about your friendship, but you knew that nothing would end up well. Maybe for him. But for you? It’d not be that easy. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I should have known better, you were so loving with me last night that I thought— Fuck, we slept together. Which I know isn’t your fault because I don’t even remember who—“

“Stop, Y/N. Look at me,” He was being careful. You were making a person like Damiano calculate his words, that made you feel like pure shit. You stopped talking, looking at him was still difficult. He understood that you wouldn’t be doing so. “That’s fine. I don’t feel bad about you liking me in that way, you’re wonderful. I don't regret anything, last night was great, but I just... don't feel the same. I’d never do anything to hurt you. I can't even imagine how hard it’s being for you right now.” His words sounded sweet and sincere. He had tears in his eyes as well. His ability to be so empathetic to everyone was something you loved the most about him. He was probably killing himself on the inside for breaking you.

You nodded, leaning on the counter. You wanted to ask him if he remembered that he was your first kiss at the age of seven or all the times he sent you vinyl records with some message - that he had written himself - inside the cover. How did he not feel the same, shouldn't you be everything he wanted?

“Dami?” You sighed. Your eyes were red, your face probably swollen. You then looked straight at him; that surprisingly wasn’t much better than you. “Have you ever looked at me and seen me in another way? Something more than just your best friend?”

He didn’t say a thing, just look at you standing there. You get it.

“I think I should go,” You broke the silence that had been formed. You thought about taking his sweater off, but since you weren't wearing anything underneath, you thought it was better not; you’d have to go to his room to change, and then pick up your things only to delay your leaving.

“I can drive you home,” he said in a hush, looking for his car keys.

“It’s okay, a walk will be fine.”

“It’s fucking freezing outside, I can't let you walk over there like that.”

You ignored what he said, walking around the house to the front exit. He tried to grab your arm just for you to step back.

“I know you're just trying to help, but I need to be alone right now, without you near me.” You tried to say it in the most normal way possible, you didn't want to be mean, you only wanted to be fair to yourself.

“Sure.” It was the last thing you heard him say before you left, feeling the cold wind on your body. You didn't know if he had entered his house again or if he was watching you hug yourself as walking slowly to somewhere. You wouldn't dare to look back.

--------------------------------------------------------

“C’mon girl, get up here,” Upon hearing the husky, strong voice, you were relieved. 

 Victoria wasn’t wearing her usual jewelry and looked like she had just been woken up by force. You weren’t as close to her as you were with the other boys, however, you had never been so happy to see her.

You got in her car. “Thank you,”

“God, you look terrible. You’re fine?” You looked at your reflection in the rearview mirror and well, fine was definitely something you didn't look like.

“Dami asked you to come and get me?” Your throat was scratching, it was difficult to speak.

“Yeah,” she looked at you quickly, but due to your discomfort she backed off. More tears would come. “He didn't say why though, he just said he needed someone to come to you before you froze to death.” She said it in a way that made you laugh, even with your eyes filled with tears. “Did the two of you have a disagreement? You don't have to answer me if you don't want to.”

“Something similar.” You said shakily; due to your crying and chilly. Inside the car was heated, but your body was so cold that it didn't seem to be enough. You tried to snuggle in the passenger seat, letting your head rest against the window like in a sad film. Maybe that’d help.

“Here,” she handed you a coat, without hesitation you took it. “I brought it to you in case you needed it.”

You nodded slowly. “Thank you, Victoria,”

“You can call me Vic, just like everyone else,” she laughed.

You gave her a half smile. “Okay then, thank you very much, Vic,”

The rest of the day would be crying while you curled up in your bed, you’d let yourself feel at your worst; promising that you would try and change that the next day.

———----------------------------------------------

You expected the first few days to be the hardest, but it seemed to get worse with each passing day. Damiano had tried to call you a few times and in all of them you responded dryly, using short words, pretending it’d be okay. You truly tried, but you needed time to process what happened. You told him that, and then time he gave you.

After completing a month of the incident, you noticed how 'dependent' you had become on him. He was always around since you were kids, any problem you had you would look for him to talk to, now you felt like you had nothing. Your friends were friends of his, too, more of his friends than yours. You missed having Thomas failing on teaching you how to play guitar on your couch and besides you thought about calling him - just to distract yourself - you remembered that he was more a friend of Damiano than yours. It’d be weird. None of them contacted you at that time, not even Thomas. You couldn't figure it out if Dami had told them what happened and they decided to give you space or if they just didn't care about you when you wasn’t around Damiano.

Basically, where Dami was you would be and vice versa. It had always been like that.

When you saw that just time wasn’t solving anything, you programmed yourself to live in a way that you were busy all the time. Your routine became work, home and most of the time taking the work to be done also in your home. You didn't feel energized to make new friends, and going out on dates could help momentarily but it wouldn't be fair to go out with someone in the ‘mood’ you were in; then these ideas were soon discarded. Sleeping was impossible, you spent hours rolling over in bed; both for the flashbacks that plagued your mind, but also for the fact that you missed him. The nights were worse when you visit your mother or when she called and said, "Dami never came to see me again." or something like. “Are you still talking to each other? We don't let someone like Damiano leave our lives.”

Deep down, you knew there was no way you could be in love with him forever and that no matter how much it hurt at that moment it would pass. You started to repeat it to yourself as much as you could, so when the boys got in touch with you again you didn't hesitate to answer. Nothing bad would happen, you just need to pretend to be fine. The first to send you a message was Thomas, with simple questions, he acted like nothing had happened, you liked it. Even though it was obvious that Thomas, as one of his boys, would know this in more detail than you did (which was a lie, but at least he knew how Damiano was feeling about it, which you wouldn't know). He updated you about Dami, who was great as always, and you said you were doing well when he asked. You answering him made Ethan talk to you too, although they were all polite and delicate, they seemed more to be sorry than to miss you. Pity wasn’t something you were expecting.

After five months, you still felt like crap. You had tried to stop counting the days that had passed since you last saw Damiano, but it was almost impossible. You could still remember that night vividly, but you were still trying your best to move on; leave it behind. Mysteriously, you wanted to see him, see how he was doing and find out if he had anything else to say but you were afraid to see him, go back to your place as his best friend just to realize that your feelings for him had not abated at all.

“...I haven't seen you in a while. I wonder if you're alright,” you heard when answering your phone. Your head hurt, your eyes stung. You had slept on spreadsheets that you brought home from your work.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Shit,” she murmured.

You looked at the phone screen. “Sorry Vic, I just woke up I'm still trying to copy.” You laughed to calm her down.

“I thought I didn't have my number,” her voice became softer, as if she was relieved that you had saved it. “I didn't want to wake you up, I'm sorry about that. I just wanted to know how you‘re doing, since I used to see you almost every day, y’know?”

You thought about saying that you saved her number the day Dami called to pick him up at a bar since his phone battery was dead and he was in no condition to drive, but Victoria clearly knew that. “Is Dami with you?”

“No,” her tone matched yours; Dami had told her, now she was being careful with her words. “I saved your number the day Dami needed to call you, in case I needed to call you again.”

“That’s alright, thanks for checking on me then.”

“But he would love to talk to you. He always asks the boys about you or comments on you so that someone can bring you up to the convo. He seems a bit lost when you not ‘round to be honest.”

Somehow hearing that made you happy. Still, the image of discomfort whenever you thought of talking to him scared you. The phone line was filled with silence, until Victoria's husky voice filled the line.

“Anyway, I didn't call you to talk about Damiano. We finally finished the album and decided to have a small celebration at my house,” you giggle at the formality. “We thought you should go, since you were present in more than half of the process. I‘d like you to come. We’d all like you to come.”

———

Your heart accelerated with each step you took as you entered Victoria's house. The rooms had a glow of being calm and the music that was playing helped to make the place cozy. The instrumental of the band reminded you of Fleetwood Mac, and for the little that you knew Vic you would say that the type of sound reminded you of her. 

 Her house wasn’t crowded, there were only a few people around; some you’ve seen before, some you haven’t. You thundered your fingers over some vinyl that were arranged in a corner, pretending to read them. You were looking for familiar faces, honestly even for Damiano, but for some unknown reason you didn't want to make that obvious. Your eyes captured Thomas talking to some girls, and soon you felt relieved to be dressed according to the occasion; or at least according to the girls who were close to Thomas. It didn't take long until he noticed you standing there, you waved and he came to you. He looked surprised, still he didn't wait for you to say anything else, just wrapped you in his arms so tight you had to ask him to let go in between muffled laughter.

“Vic working miracles! Come, I'll take you to the others.” He said in his cute form, holding your hand as guiding you through the house. “So, how's our best girl?”

Your lips parted in a smile. “I’m alright, pretty much the same to be honest,” there was no time for him to ask another question because you soon spotted Ethan and Victoria with their beers in hands. They seemed to be shocked to see you as well; and it was starting to irritate you for reasons you couldn't explain. Thomas put you behind him, hiding you from the two of them as if they hadn't seen you already. He was being such a sweetheart that he had even managed to soften the anxious butterflies in your stomach; but not enough to keep your mind free of worries and Damiano David. Thomas made a funny noise with his hands as Ethan ignored his attempt to be amusing, pulling you into a hug. Who would have thought you would have missed them so much.

“How long without seeing you, I force you not to do that again. Without you we are just another disorganized mess.” You laughed at his nonsense. Your smile was sincere, like it hadn't been for months, still you were forcing yourself a bit more to appear to be actually 'fine'. You’d like to know if they noticed, even though you were appreciating that they didn’t.

“No worries, I‘m not planning on leaving you guys alone.”

 Ethan and Thomas started to discuss about something, Ethan was already under the effect of alcohol, and from time to time they asked for your opinion on how Victoria had been strangely quiet. Atypical of her, but she didn't seem to be out of place or uncomfortable, just quiet.

“Did a cat eat the tongue of my newest attractive friend?”

“Not this time,” she showed you her tongue, and then smirked. Her eyes shone in differently way under your gaze and her make up was making her look more mature. “Are you feelin’ good? Thank you for coming.” Victoria was happy to see you, you could feel that. She might be curious, but pity wasn’t something possible to see in her; different from the other boys. “You must be tired of hearing that question, I'm sorry. It‘ll no longer be asked.”

Her voice was soft, comfortable to hear. “I appreciate that. I really have heard a lot of that, but despite everything, I feel good ‘bout bein’ here.”

“I feel even happier that you came then,” she put her hand gently on your waist. The other two didn't even remember you and Vic were there. “Let's get you something to drink, we bought that red drink Damiano always says you love.”

“No way, it’s bishop cocktail?” You looked at her, a big grin on your face, even though you remembered that this was the drink you were drinking when the universe decided it would be a good idea for you and Dami to have a one-night stand. Just a lovely reminder. “Have you mixed everything up? like the rum with the red wine? or with red drink you just want to say you bought wine?” You asked, ignoring your internal conflicts. Everything would be fine, you ket repeating to yourself.

“In fact, I remember once hearing you comment you didn't mind it being mixed up in a random bottle.”

She pulled a glass bottle out of a bucket full of ice and you couldn't believe she remembered that; given that you could count on your fingers the times that you had actually spoken to her. You didn’t avoid each other, just didn’t have much of the opportunities.

“Oh my god, that’s so fuckin’ lovely.” You whispered. She was quick to pick up a glass and hand it to you, filling it with the so well remembered liquid. You took a sip, and the taste - or alcohol - made your butterflies calmer. “Thanks for that, tastes like heaven.” She took a glass for herself, by her expression she thought it was a waste of rum. “C’mon, it’s not that bad.”

“If you think so, who am I to deny.”

“Don’t be a bummer,” you bumped your shoulder with hers, eliciting a cute sound from her that made you laugh as well.

You wish that sensation had lasted longer, even so when a random girl approached you to ask something, you felt heavy; like a sign. Her hair was golden in perfect waves and her face was angelic in an almost divine way. You might have been overreacting, but she was the type to catch all the attention to herself.

“You’re Y/N, right? I was startin’ to think that I’d never get to know you.” She hugged you tight and you wondered if she really didn't know you. When she released you, you felt your heart breaking right there in front of her. She was wearing Dami's sweater; the same one from that night, the same one that you wore. You wanted to be wrong, but you’d know that sweater from a distance even after years. “He talks so much about you. Can you believe we never met?” She asked, alternating her gaze between you and Victoria. She had been silent, you had forgotten that she was still there. Your head was miles away in thoughts, making you dizzy.

“Hi, Bella,” Victoria said. You remembered that name. Damiano talked about her on a few occasions, anyways he didn't seem to be in love - or you just didn’t want to see that. Maybe you haven’t been able to read him due to your stupid passion. “How’s everything?”

She started talking to Victoria and you couldn't concentrate on listening; all the alcohol in the world would not ease what you were feeling. How long have they been together? What was so special about her that Damiano gives her his favorite sweater? Were they together when you slept together? How did she end up with the same sweater you slept in that day?

She held the cup that was in your hands and handed it to Victoria. “Are you okay, hon’? You look a lil’ unwell. Do you want me to get you some water?”

“No need, I’m alright,” she patted your arm, and then checked your temperature. She was being nice, yet you couldn't pretend to be interested in being there anymore.

Thankfully, Victoria put an arm around your shoulders, asking if you want to join her to have a smoke. “It’ll be good, fresh air will do good to you.”

You agreed. Bella was worried and you felt bad about having to run away from her. She looked like an incredible person, sure Damiano was lucky to have her, that was just too much for you.

“Do this, you will feel better. We can talk later and so you can tell me everything about you and Dami, I’d love to hear you, since you’ve known each other for so long.” You looked for some irony in her voice, but you didn't found it. She was interested in you; after all, you were her boyfriend's best friend. It made sense.

Victoria guided you to the balcony, or at least halfway to it. Midway, someone stopped to talk to her, she tried to dismiss the person, however, as it was a thing related to the album, she would have no way out. “Victoria, it’s fine, I need some time alone.” You whispered to her, patting on her arm. She looked at you reluctantly, but understand. There wouldn't be much she could do for you.

Entering the balcony you felt an absurd urge to cry, your eyes itched and your legs were trembling. Was being in love meant to hurt this much, or was it just a game of chance?

You tried to take a deep breath, ease your heartbeats, telling yourself it was okay. You just needed to calm down. You leaned your body against the wall and watched the place. The plants near the fence - which you didn't know how Victoria had time to take care of them - the streets, and then the sky. Starry and moist, made for good memories that wouldn't come to you. When you felt ready enough to go out and face the party again, you ran into the one you were trying to avoid, Dami. Minutes ago you were anxious with the possibility to see him to know how he was, now you just wanted to run away and wipe these last months out of your mind.

“Y/N,” his body collided with yours while his arms wrapped around you, it was supposed to be a good thing, that you‘d feel safe as the same way you used to feel, except that was uncomfortable now. You couldn't even respond to his hug, for a second you thought you would escape without having to see him. He noticed and gave you space. “I swore that you wouldn't come. My god, it's so good to see you.” He ran his hands through his hair and you remained paralyzed in front of him.

You tried to focus on your breathing so that your voice came out without too many complications. “Yeah... It's good to see you, you look great.” It didn't work, your voice was shaky making your lie sound even worse. He looks great, you didn't lie, he seemed even happier and well rested. You wondered if it was because the album was ready or because now he had Bella.

You forced a smile, but unlike the others, Damiano knew you were acting. He didn’t judge or question, his face became tense, apprehensive. He knew that nothing was right.

“I thought about callin’ you more, goin’ to see you or something. The boys convinced me that it‘d be better not, that it could be even hard for you. I wonder if I shouldn't have done something different to help you because I know I fucked up too.” His hands were undecided between running through his hair and staying inside his pockets. He was nervous, at the same relieved to have spoken to you.

“It wasn't your fault, I’d never blame you for that,” you sighed, smiling slightly. It felt terrible to make him feel that way about it, but there wasn't much you could do. “I'm glad you gave me space when I asked, it's still hard to see you or think about talkin’ to you. It is as if everything that is tormenting me comes all at once.” It was good to say that to him. He nodded and you looked at each other for a while. It wasn't as uncomfortable as you thought it would be.

He was a few feet away from you while you were admiring the night, with your back against the wall. You wanted to leave, maybe go cry in your bed until you fell asleep, still you wanted things to work out with Dami, you wanted that tension and fear of seeing him to get out of your head. Despite that, if it was necessary to suffer in that process, it would not be worth it.

“She’s amazing,” it hurt to say that, but it was the truth. “Bella’s amazing, lucky girl.” You smiled sadly. Saying her name and seeing Dami smiling at that made you thank God for not seeing the two of them together, hugging or kissing. He‘d probably put his hand on her waist while she was talking to one of his friends or giving lightly kisses to her temple, just because he felt like it. Damiano was the cute type, you've seen it before.

“She is, an amazing person. She was all happy to have spoken to you. I told her all about our teenage years and how you always supported the band,” He had told her about you, would he have told her about you being in love with him? You thought to ask, soon giving up. It’d be shameful if so. “If I knew you would be here I’d not have come with her.” It made you think that he had told her.

“What would you do? Would you hide me from her for the rest of your life?” You sighed. it was supposed to sound like a joke, regrettably your voice sounded too cruel for that.

“It’s not like that,” he mumbled. “I was just tryin’ to think of you and—“

“I think I need to go Dami, it’s being too much. I’m sorry.” You needed to get out of there, you couldn't stop the tears anymore and you knew it was a bad idea to talk about her with him.

You took a few steps back just for Damiano to grab at your arm, without putting strength, just like a few months ago, to stop you in front of him. You turned your face away from looking at his eyes, feeling as the tears run down your cheek. You'd never be able to face him, this situation was only proving that to you even more.

“Please, Y/N. Just tell me what I need to do. I will do anything for you to talk to me again. I need you, you know that. The past few weeks have been a mess without you around. Even little my mom misses you. I’d do anything to have you back like before.” He was about to cry, his eyes shone with tears and it was painful to watch. He could do anything for you to stay; except what would make you stay. Unfortunately, it didn't depend only on his good will.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t do this,” you said in a lack of air, signaling the space around you with your finger. “But this, this is too much. It kills me to have to be close to you or to be close to things or people that remind me of you, seeing someone else with you doesn't help at all. I still think about the fact that we slept together... I can’t just forget it ‘cause it meant so much to me and to you, to you? it was nothing.” You were out of breath, you just wanted to cry in peace, put everything out until there was nothing left. 

 He released his hands of you, his face red and damp. It wasn't going to be easy for either of you. Time wouldn't matter; it wouldn’t change a thing because whenever you looked at him you’d wonder about how things could have been like if he had chosen you.

He whispered one more time that he was sorry, then let you go. He could have stopped you, but it's not like he knew what to do anymore. 

He watched as you walk out without even looking back.

——-

You went through the party walking fast, avoiding acquaintances and questions about why you were like that. Your body was heavy as well as your conscience. Outside the house the street was empty, the streetlights illuminated the sidewalk and along with the silence of the street you felt invited to sit there. You brought your knees close to your body, trying to breathe calmly. Pulling the air in, and then releasing it in a normal way. Your heart was beating so fast that your whole body was agitated. You tried to stay still. You squeezed your eyes shut, feeling a little dizzy when you saw someone walk out the front door of the house. You dropped your knees, trying to look decent, but gave up as soon as the person came closer to you and you saw that it was Victoria. She sat next to you, pulling you into a hug. You were happy that she went to you.

“I’m fine,” you murmured, hugging her waist and hiding your face in the fabric of her shirt.

“Stop saying that you’re fine when you’re far from being fine, I won’t judge you sweetheart,” she comforted you, giving you a extra squeezing. You were far from being alright, but it helped, having someone there helped.

She placed her chin on top of your head, soothing you until your crying softened. She rubbed your back and whispered that it’d be okay.

“Did Damiano send you here?”

“No, darlin’. He said that you had talked, and then you had to leave, he didn't look well, I thought you wouldn't be either.”

“And then you decided to look out for me?” You laughed, still tucked in her warm arms.

“Yep, sounds like you need me, don’t you think?” She laughed too, causing the vibration of her chest next to yours make you feel taken in.

“Why’s love so painful?”

Victoria didn't answer, she was thoughtful for a few minutes, and then she stood up, holding out her hand for you.

“What?”

“I won’t be taking no as an answer, you’ll get in the car with me and we will do something, anything, drink milk shakes, fill up our bellies with pizza ‘til we can't take it anymore, or even rob a bank.” She held you by the waist, lifting you up for her. “Please,”

You didn't see why not to accept. There was nothing worse that could get even worse at the moment, maybe going somewhere would do you good. “Even rob a bank?” She nodded, pointing to where her car was.

A smile spreading across her lovely face as you realized you’d go anywhere she wanted with her. “Yes, even robbing a bank.”

[flowerkidlxrry]

I Like Me Better - Rafe Cameron

Author’s Note:

This was requested by @bugmanor and idk what’s wrong cause I can’t tag her :( I hope you like it! 💖

Warning: contains fluff, talking, drinking

Summary: The reader and her friend meet topper and rafe at the golf course and the instantly click but she’s very timid and shy so rafe helps her come out of her shell.

Song: I Like Me Better - Lauv

Masterlist

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Midnight into morning coffee

Burning through the hours talking

It was 4pm and we were bored, so me and y/bffs/n went to the golf course to play since it’s been a long time since we last played golf. Our dads met when they were young and became friends ever since. Our family just moved in outer banks and she’s the only person that I know. We rode the golf cart and all the stations were filled. She apparently saw an old friend and decided we should meet them. Two guys same as our age called y/bffs/n and we approached them. She introduced them to me.

Topper is a little bit smaller than Rafe. Rafe was taller and bigger, body-wise. We decided to play with them since there are no available stations left. I see that y/bffs/n is closer to Topper than Rafe, and I don’t want him to be left behind so I tried to have a conversation with him but failed.

“Uh Rafe, so how old are you?” I asked shyly.

“18, same as Topper and y/bffs/n. How bout you?”he said.

“same.” as I fidget with my golf club.

He noticed how uncomfortable I was so he excused us to Topper and y/bffs/n to go to the lounge area. I followed him and we sat down and he ordered coffee.

“How many sugar?” he asked.

I held up my fingers and said 2. He nodded and added 2 packets of sugar to my coffee.

“I’m sorry, i’m not just used to being around other people, and we’re new here, y/bffs/n is the only person I know in this town.” I said.

“It’s fine, no need to say sorry. Well, now we can be friends so that when y/bffs/n is not available, you have me.” he answered.

I smiled and took a sip of my coffee and just stared at the beautiful field outside.

A few moments later Topper and my best friend went inside and told us that they were leaving. I mean, I know what that means it’s just, I feel sorry for Rafe being stuck with me.

I looked at him and he nods to Topper. I sat there waiting for them to leave, I sighed and took a sip of my coffee.

“I know this isn’t your plan, but let’s just enjoy each other’s company and i’ll drive you home, or do you want to go home?” he asked.

“I want to go home.” I answered.

He paid our bill and we walked out of the lounge. I hopped inside his truck and told him the directions to my house. When we reached to our house, he walked me to our front porch, I looked at him and said thank you.

I was about to go inside when I heard my parents fighting, I looked back and saw Rafe going back to his car.

“Hey Rafe! wait up!” I said as I jogged back to his truck.

“Can I join you? It’s just, I don’t feel like going home just yet.” I said.

“It’s fine, c’mon hop in.” he opens the door for me.

The sun is almost out and we drove to a deli and went inside to get food. We got sandwiches, chips, beer, and drinks. We paid and went to sit in the back of his truck.

I was a quiet person, I am shy, I get anxiety talking to people, but with Rafe I feel calm. It’s like coming out of a shell, it felt nice to be around him. I like myself better when I’m around him.

We sat at the back of his truck and we ate our food. We were talking, telling stories to each other when we realized it was already 10PM. I asked him if he wanted to go home since I can just stay in a coffee shop or something, but he insisted to join me.

We drove down to the beach and we went to the shore and just sat there talking until we fell asleep. I woke up and saw the sun is almost up, I felt Rafe’s body next to mine under the blanket from his truck. I moved a little bit and it woke him up. He looked at me and yawned, I smiled and we stood up and went back to his truck, and he drove me home.

I knew from the first time, I'd stay for a long time 'cause

I like me better when I’m with you

We’ve been hanging out for almost everyday this past few weeks now, and I’ve become a different person. Even y/bffs/n notices it too, oh and by the way, her and Topper started dating. We already knew it would happen, I don’t mind and she deserves to be happy. We all went to Topper’s yatch and stayed 3 days there, the first night, Me and Rafe couldn’t sleep over the noises coming from their bedroom, so we just stay at the hot tub, on the other side of the yatch to avoid hearing them.

We would watch a movie, play games, swim on the lake but mostly drink and look at the stars. We’ve grown pretty close and it feels like we’ve known each other our whole lives. We told each other secrets, past, traumas, and he really means the world to me.

I might get to too much talking

I might have to tell you something

The last night on the boat, we were drinking and playing around and my best friend and Topper headed inside the room. I asked Rafe if he’s tired, he said no. We decided to sit on the beach chairs and just look at the stars. I can feel Rafe looking at me as I watch the stars.

Stay here with me

Lay here with me

I looked at him and leaned closer to kiss him. He was shocked but he kissed back. His hands was holding my face, we pulled away I smiled and said “I like me better when I’m with you.”

He kissed me back and we both went to the hot tub to spend the rest of the night together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi! I’m sorry if this is short :( I hope I got your request right, thank you for your request ❤️❤️

Check out my Masterlist

[127-mile]

Let’s pretend we’re in love.

Pairing: Doyoung x gender neutral reader.

Genre: Fake dating, unrequited love, bff to strangers | Angst.

Warnings: strong language.

Plot: Doyoung is beautiful, he is also kind, attentive, affectionate, smart and funny. He is charismatic, and well-spoken. His voice could be mistaken with that of an angel, whether he is speaking, or singing. Doyoung is everyone's dream, the one person you would never hesitate to introduce to your parent. Doyoung is also...mean. Doyoung has the face and the voice of an angel, in the body of a demon.

Doyoung tells his mother he is dating you after lying about his relationship. Doyoung knows about your feelings, but he doesn’t care.

Word count: +4.2k.

A/n: this is part of the Mad about the boy collab hosted by @slightlymore​.

Doyoung is beautiful, he is also kind, attentive, affectionate, smart and funny. He is charismatic, and well-spoken. His voice could be mistaken with that one of an angel, whether he is speaking, or singing. Doyoung is everyone's dream, the one person you would never hesitate to introduce to your parents. Doyoung is also..

"Y/n are you listening to me?" you are pulled away from your thoughts when Doyoung nudges you. He has been talking for over five minutes now, but all you could think about was how perfect he is. Yes, you saw his lips move, but you did not hear a sound that come out of his mouth. Now that you think about it, Doyoung does have pretty lips, and you wonder how it would feel to kiss him.

"Oh, what is wrong with you today?" he stops and grabs your wrist when you are about to run into a pole. "Are you alright? Are you sick? Do you need me to drive you back home? I can call my parents, and tell them I'll be late, it's fine. You look awfully lost today." you have a long sigh, why is he like this, always so caring.

"I'm fine Doyoung, don't worry about me, I guess I'm just a bit tired." you answer, and he does not look convinced but he shrugs. "Are you sure? My parents will not be mad if you decide to skip dinner." you shake your head as you start walking again, pulling Doyoung with you as he was still holding your wrist. "It's fine. What were you saying?"

"I was talking about my parents, and the reason they invited us." well, technically, they invited Doyoung to eat with them, but Doyoung answered one of your calls, and upon hearing your name, his parents decided to invite you too. A free meal in a nice restaurant is always pleasant, so you had to say yes. Maybe you shouldn't have, with how hard it is for you to focus on anything else than Doyoung's face.

"This weekend is the weekend where the whole family gets together in our grandparents' country house. I told them I would not come because of work, so they are going to try and convince me to join them." this time, you are the one stopping in your tracks. "If you knew what they were going to talk about, why did pretty much beg me to come? I do not want to be in the middle of an argument with your parents."

You met Doyoung when him and his family moved in the neighoroud, you were still young, so you have known each other for a very long time, and he got into the habit of having you by his side during arguments, because you are what he calls a neutral zone, or whatever is reasoning is. "Oh come on, you know they can't refuse me anything when you are here!"

"Doyoung, you are 25 year old! You should know how to settle an argument with your parents, you should know how to make them listen to you and accept whatever you have to say." he tilts his head to the side, and his eyes meet yours. It's enough for your heart to skip a beat, or two. Stupid heart. "Please?"

"Why don't you want to go by the way? The house is really cool, there is a lake, and your family is really sweet. Don't you miss them?" he looks around, and he notices how close he is from the restaurant. If he tries hard enough, he is pretty sure he can see his parents near a bay window, laughing together. "Because, I may have told my mother I had a partner, and she expects me to bring them."

"You are a dumbass, Kim Doyoung." you say in a sigh. "Why would you tell her that? If you do not have time to brush your hair, you definitely do not have time to date someone." he looks offended, but then he remembers the mess on his head, and he decides to stay quiet on the subject. "I don't know! My mom's been on my back about finding someone for months now, I guess I got tired of hearing her and I decided to lie."

"Why don't you find someone? Don't you have a cute coworker you wanted to ask on a date once? Ask them to play your partner." you hate how bright his smile becomes when you mention said coworker. You try not to think about what they have, that you do not have. This is not the time to mope. You'll cry about it later. "That's a great idea! You are the best."

Yes, yes, you are.

Doyoung crosses the road, and he pushes open the door to the restaurant. "After you." he says, and you step inside, smiling at the sudden warmth that invades your body. "Good evening, do you have a reservation?" the young man asks, and Doyoung nods. "My parents are waiting for us, they made a reservation under the name of Kim."

"Yes!" he exclaims, and he walks you to the table. The couple stands up when they see you, and you let Doyoung's mother embrace you for a second. "Y/n, it's been a while, how are you doing sweetheart?" she asks, and you sit down in front of her. "I am doing just fine, how are you?"

"Same old, same old." she starts, head tilted to the side. "we are trying to organize the family weekend, and as usual, it's stressful." you understand. You participated in a few of these gathering, and you know how stressfull everything is. You never regretted anything more than the time you offered to help.

"Yes, Doyoung told me, I'm sure it's going to be amazing, and you'll have a wonderful time with your family." the woman smiles warmly, and she puts her hand on Doyoung's. "Tell me baby, did you ask your partner to come with you?" you nibble on your lower lip, you are excited to hear his arguments.

"Mom, I told you, I have too much work, I can't come." she shakes her head, and you share a look with his father. He knows he is lying, but he keeps his mouth shut, he knows better than to intervene. "Come on Doyoung, don't be silly, I'm sure whatever you have to do can wait for the weekend to be over."

Before he can open his mouth, she raises her hand to shut him up. "I have an idea. Why don't you take your work with you, and I'll give you a couple of hours to work in your grandfather's office, how does that sound?" Doyoung's mother is tenacious, she knows what she wants, and she is ready to do everything in order to get it.

"You know, my darling, that I'm not getting younger by the day, and my dream is to meet the person who makes you so so happy." oh, she went there, you think. Doyoung looks at you, and you smirk, you are not going to help him. "I have something to tell you first."

"I'm listening." but before Doyoung can say anything, the waitress gives you the menu, and comes back to take the orders. And when she leaves, Doyoung's mother prompts him to speak. "Go on, my love, is something wrong?"

"Everything is fine, mother." he plays with his fingers, and you wonder what he is going to say. His mouth opens, and closes for a second, you wonder if he said anything, or if you blacked out because of what he said. All you hear is his mother squeal with delight, and when you look up, she is absolutely beaming.

"Oh my god! I told you it would happen eventually!" she says, hitting her husband on the shoulder. "You did say that." he mumbles, rubbing the aching spot. "I am so happy! And the family loves you, they are going to be thrilled to hear that!"

The rest of the dinner is a blur, you hear and say things, but your brain can't quite process whatever is happening. You must look odd to the Kim's eyes, but you can't even find it in yourself to care.

"See you on Saturday sweetheart." Doyoung's mother says, cupping your cheeks to kiss your forehead. "Yes, Saturday."

When the car disappears from your sight, you turn on your heels to face Doyoung. At least he has the decency to look ashamed, and he doesn't say anything when you hit him in the chest. "What the fuck, Doyoung?" you yell, and he knows people are looking at the scene, even if it's already dark outside.

"I'm sorry, I panicked." he answers, and you shake your head. "Couldn't you admit that you lied, instead of luring me into your lies without asking first!" he takes your hand, and he sighs. "I know, I know. But you were there, and my mom was so excited, I don't know what happened. And look how happy she was when I said it."

"Imagine how sad she is going to be when she'll learn it was a lie, Doyoung!" he knows he should have thought before opening his mouth in the restaurant, but it was his only solution, or so you thought. "She doesn't have to know it was a lit, we can just... I don't know, break up?"

This is a bad idea, you think. For you, who have been madly in love with Doyoung ever since you were kids, it's going to hurt. Because you know Doyoung does not reciprocate your feelings, and never will, and he will play the perfect boyfriend you wish you had.

The break up is going to hurt like a bitch, even if it's fake, and yet, you open your mouth. "We are breaking up at the end of the weekend."

"We need to get the details right, when did we become official?"

Doyoung sits on the edge of the bed as you put your clothes in the dresser. "I don't know Doyoung. You are the one who brought me into this mess, so you should be the one thinking about it." he mumbles something you don't understand, and you turn on your heels to face him. "You are telling me that you did not think about the details at all?"

You did think about everything, of course you did. Not because you were excited about this situation, but because it is something you thought about a lot these past few years.

"I was busy!" he exclaims, and you sigh. "If you want it to be believable, you need to think. Right now. Because your family will be there in a few minutes." you are glad you arrived before everything else, it gives you the time to settle down, and to think about the things you could have talked about in the car.

"We can't tell them it's been a few months, because my mom will bet mad that I did not tell her sooner. So maybe two or three weeks?" you nod. "Yeah, okay. Who confessed?" Doyoung seems to think about it, and when he opens his mouth to answer, you wish you never asked the question. "You, you did it. It what you would have done if it really happened, uh?"

You do not say anything, you do not like the way he said it, like he knows something. He probably does to be honest, you are not the best at hiding your feelings.

"Kids, come say hello!" saved by the bells.

You get out of your bedroom, and you go down the stairs. A few of Doyoung's cousins just entered the house, and they smile when they see you both. "Oh, Y/n, I didn't know you would be here!" Jungwoo says and he puts you into a bone-crushing hug. "Yeah, last minute decision." you answer.

You greet the other members of the family, and before you can understand what is happening, someone grabs your hand to pull you into the living room. "Guys, you all know Y/n, right? Well, I would like to officially introduce Y/n as my partner!"

You try not to look uncomfortable when they all cooe, but you can't smile either. Doyoung is just dropping the bomb, when you thought he would tell the news to some members of the family if they ever asked about his love life. Well, you agreed to be here, so you have to go with the flow. Or rather with Doyoung's decisions.

"I never thought I would see the day where you would finally confess your feelings for our dear cousin." Jungwoo says, and you laugh but god do you want to punch him square in the face. He is the only one in the family to know about your true feelings, so with the little announcement, he feels allowed to say everything he knows.

"Yes, I was wondering if Y/n was ever going to do it. About time." Doyoung answers, and you roll your eyes, but fortunately, his mother calls everyone in the garden. She wants to celebrate the beginning of what she thinks will be a memorable weekend.

"They are gone, you can let go of my hand." you mumble, and he shakes his head. "We have to play the perfect little couple, so might as well do it fully." what is the point of playing when no one is around to see you, if not play with your heart. "You always wanted it, so don't be like that. Come on, let's not make them wait."

He leads you to the garden, and when he finally lets go of your hand to grab two glasses of wine, you feel yourself breathing again. Of course, you spent the last couple of days thinking about the weekend, and how it would turn out, but you thought it would be nice, you know, to be closer to your long-time crush, but no, it's unberable and it's been less than an hour.

"I would like to thank everyone for making the trip for the weekend, I am really glad to see you all, because I have to be honest with you, this year was not easy, and I missed each and every one of you. I am also really grateful to have Y/n with us, I always knew Y/n would be the one to make our sweet boy happy."

Doyoung looks proud, and he is beaming under the attention when you want nothing more than to burry yourself in the ground. "Thank you for accepting me." you say when you hear nothing but silence and feel way too many pairs of eyes on you. "Of course, my love. You were always part of the family, so it is even more normal to have you here with us today."

That's sweet, but what is not is the way Doyoung chuckles under his breath.

"Oh, here you are!" Jungwoo sits down next to you on the couch, and he puts his head on your shoulder. "I've been looking for you everywhere. You know the grandfather's office is off limit?" you shrug, eyes still closed. "I don't care, I needed some alone time."

Jungwoo straightens up, and he does what he does best, he pouts. "What's going on? Are you not happy to be here with us?" you heave a long sigh, opening your eyes to look at him. "I am. I'm always happy to see all of you, especially you Woo, but I don't know. I guess it's overwhelming this time."

"I bet it is. Everyone is all over you, asking you questions. I would dip too if I were you." he answers, and you stay quiet for a couple of minutes. "You and Doyoung, it's an hoax right?" you do not know if you like or hate the fact that Jungwoo is always quick to catch on. "It's that obvious?"

"Not really," he starts, standing up to stretch his long legs. "but you've been in love with him for ever, so seeing you here, when you should be glued to him is weird." that's definitely what you would be doing if Doyoung was not acting so.. you do not even know how to describe it. "I don't know Woo, Doyoung has been acting weird since we arrived."

"What do you mean?" you take the time to think about it, because Jungwoo is still Doyoung's cousin, and you do not want to upset him. "He is the one who told his parents that we were dating, without asking me first, and yet, he is acting like an asshole."

"He throws little comments about my feelings, my real feelings, each chance he gets, and every time, he has that nasty smile on his face." you explain, and Jungwoo hums. "I know it's been only a few hours, and he is probably acting out of nervousness, but it's like.. did he just trick me into coming here just to humiliate me in front of everyone?"

You expect Jungwoo to tell you that you are wrong, that you are imagining everything, but no. "I would not be surprise, to be honest with you." you narrow your eyes, and you don't know what to expect now. "We went on vacation last year, remember? And there, he met this person. It was obvious that they caught feelings for him, and he just played with them."

"He is not stupid, and he understood pretty quickly, but instead of being flattered or to let them down gently, he just decided to be an asshole about it." if Doyoung was not acting like that today, you would never have believed a word of what he said. This is not the Doyoung you know. "But why would he do that? He is not like that on the daily."

"Everyone things he is perfect, but I guess perfection does not extist, and he is the proof." you don't really know how to feel right now. You want to leave, because you are mad. You are mad at yourself, and you are mad at him. "But why me? I'm here to help him, and I'm his best friend, not some kind of summer fling. I never did anything to wrong him or anything, I don't understand."

"I wish I knew Y/n." he answers, putting his hand on your shoulder. "I know how much you love him, and I am sorry he is playing with you." you sigh, you are at loss for words right now. You want to leave but you can't, not this early. Maybe you can find an excuse to leave? No, you can't. Doyoung is the one who drove you here.

"Keep me from hurting him if he decides to act up again today." you say, and Jungwoo nods with a smile. "You know, I am not that strong, so if I can't hold you for long enough, and that you end up actually hurting him, I'm sorry." he winds, and he opens the door to let your out first.

"Well, that was a nice day!" Doyoung says as he lets himself fall on the bed. You have to move your arm to avoid it being stuck under his body. "Good for you." you answer, and he turns on his side to look at you, frowning. "Is something wrong?"

"Are you really asking me that?" you don't know if you should tell him everything you have in mind, or keep quiet and wait until you leave, but you are not sure you can hold for another day. All you know is that you don't want to snap in front of the entire family.

"I have a question, why are you such an asshole with me?" he straightens up, back against the bedframe and he crosses his arms against his chest. "What are you talking about? Wa barely talked today!" you scoff. "And for a reason. Every time we talked, you just made me look like an idiot."

"Why are you doing this? What was the point of asking me to come, if you were planning on being mean?" he bites the inside of his cheek. If you try to remain calm, it seems hard for him too. He has a lot to say, but everyone is asleep, and he knows how quick he gets angry, and he doesn't want anyone to eavesdrop.

"So we are really doing this, uh?" you don't know what he is referring to, but you nod either way. "I'm tired Y/n. I'm tired of you being in love with me." well, that's not what you were expecting, but you are not surprised, if this taught you anything is that you can't expect anything when it comes to Doyoung anymore.

"Hear me out. I know you love me, I always knew, and the attention is nice, but I never mentionned it because you are my best friend, and I never wanted our relationship to change. But I met someone." oh.

"It's my coworker, the one I wanted to ask of a date. Well, I did, last year, and we've been dating ever since. But they can't stand the way you look at me, and it weight a lot on our relationship." you shake your head. "Then why did you bring me? Why didn't you introduce them to your parents instead?"

"How do I say that.. I needed a reason for you to hate me. Not as your friend, but as a potential lover. I needed something to calm your feelings, because as much as I love you, as a friend, my relationship with them is way more important." it feels like someone is squeezing your heart, and you wouldn't be surprised if it came out of your ribcage, in pieces.

"They hate how you look at me, and I understand, I am to the point where I hate it too." you open your eyes wide, and you look up. You refuse to cry. Not in front of Doyoung, he does not deserve it. "So your only option was to break my heart, in front of your entire family? You could have told me the truth, I would have understood you know, I might be in love with you, but I am not stupid!"

"You say you love me as a friend, and yet, you are doing this. You decided to play with my heart to hurt me. And for what?" your voice is shaking, and it sounds a lot like a sob that escapes your pressed lips. "I'm sorry." he whispers, and you laugh as you get out of bed.

"You are not sorry, Doyoung. This is not your first time doing something like this. Is this what gets you going? Breaking people's hearts? Are you planning on doing the same with your current partner?" he shakes his head, and of course, he would never do something like that. Sweet sweet Doyoung.

"You know what? You don't have to worry about me looking at you some type of way, because starting from tomorrow, you will not have to see me again. It'll be so much easier for you." you grab your suitcase, and you stuff your clothes inside. "What are you doing?" Doyoung stands up and he follows you every move.

"I'm going to sleep on the couch, and I'll go home first thing in the morning. Don't worry about driving me back, you can stay here, enjoy and explain to your mother why she will never see me again. Maybe you should also tell her why her son is such a fucking asshole, I'm sure she's going to love it."

"Come on, don't be like that." he says in a sigh, and you open the bedroom door. "Don't be like what? Don't be like a fucking human being with feelings? Well I'm sorry, but I am!" if the family was not around you, you would have sloed the door hard enough for the sound to echoes against the walls, but instead, you close it softly.

Doyoung is beautiful, he is also kind, attentive, affectionate, smart and funny. He is charismatic, and well-spoken. His voice could be mistaken with that of an angel, whether he is speaking or singing. Doyoung is everyone's dream, the one person you would never hesitate to introduce to your parents. Doyoung is also mean.

Doyoung has the face and the voice of an angel, in the body of a demon.

So yes, you are mad about the boy, but you are also mad about yourself.

[elliesguitarstrings]

Just Friends

Masterlist

Pairing: Tom Holland x Actress!Reader

Summary: You and Tom haven’t seen each other since filming Uncharted, and you decide to surprise him at his Jimmy Kimmel interview. Although you’ve always been “just friends,” you can’t help but think there’s something more.

A/N: Hey y’all sorry it’s been a few days since I last posted, I’ve just been super stressed with school and stuff, but I actually really like this fic and I hope you guys like it too!

Warnings: Language, fluff, angst if you squint

WC: 2.4k

~~~~~~~~

It’s been months since you and Tom last saw each other in person.

While filming Uncharted, the two of you had become extremely close, hanging out in each other’s trailers and spending all of your free time together. In such a short period, you had become best friends, but neither of you could deny the spark of something more. Unfortunately, the two of you never got to explore that spark because of the short time limit. After wrapping, you and Tom went your separate ways, him to Atlanta to film Spiderman 3, and you back to your hometown for a well-deserved break.

That doesn’t mean you two haven’t stayed in contact though. You and Tom have texted and facetimed almost every day since you parted ways, or as much as his busy filming schedule allows. Throughout this time, however, you never seemed to discuss the obvious love connection between you two. Without actually speaking about it, you both seemed to agree that that conversation would be better to have in person.

This bring us to today, where Tom is backstage at Jimmy Kimmel, anxiously waiting for his interview segment of the show. He picks up his phone and decides to text you before he goes on to settle his nerves, wishing you were here to comfort him in person.

T: Are you watching the show yet?

Y: yep I already have my tv turned to abc! are you going on soon?

T: Yeah, I’m so nervous though

Y: why? you’ve been on the show before and you’re like amazing at interviews

T: Idk, Jimmy just said “be ready for a surprise” and he looked really suspicious so I’m scared

T: I just hope they don’t bring like Jennifer Aniston out or something because I would totally freeze and make a fool out of myself

Y: lmao that would be kinda funny tho, but I’m sure you have nothing to worry about

T: Okay we’ll see haha

T: Gtg I’m on in 10, I’ll facetime you after I’m done!

Y: kk, good luck tommy :)

T: Ahh thank you!!

What Tom doesn’t know is that you are ten times more nervous than him. While he’s under the impression that you’re sitting on your living room couch watching the show, you are actually in the dressing room down the hall from him.

Last month, when Tom told you he was going to be on Jimmy Kimmel to promote Cherry, you had the idea to surprise him. You emailed Jimmy not expecting a response, but to your surprise, he actually emailed you back and loved your idea.

So, here you are, waiting backstage and shaking with anticipation to surprise Tom. To be completely honest, you’re even more nervous now that you know Tom is expecting some big star like Jennifer Aniston, who you know has always been his biggest celebrity crush. But nonetheless, you shake off the nerves as best as you can, just hoping everything goes well.

“Please welcome our first guest… Tom Holland everyone!” you hear Jimmy’s voice over the speaker in your dressing room.

Now that Tom is on stage, you can safely leave the room without him seeing you, and you head to the side stage, waiting for your cue.

Tom and Jimmy talk about Cherry for a few minutes, and you can’t help but admire him. His voice, his face, his outfit, everything about him is just perfect. And even better, he’s here in person, closer than he’s been to you in a long time. It takes every ounce of self-control in you to stop yourself from running onstage and hugging him now. ‘Only a minute longer,’ you tell yourself.

“So, other than Cherry, what other upcoming projects are you working on?” Jimmy inquires onstage.

Almost there…

“Well, as most of you know,” Tom addresses the audience, “I’m filming Spiderman 3 right now, which has been going brilliantly. It’s definitely going to be the best one of all the Spiderman movies I’ve done. And I just wrapped on a film called Uncharted a few months ago in Berlin, which was so much fun.”

“Ooh, Uncharted, tell us more about that!"

“Yeah, well it’s based on the video game, and I play the main character, Nathan Drake, who’s on a quest throughout the film. It’s a lot like Spiderman in a way, with all the stunts and stuff, and I think it’s going to turn out great, I can’t wait to see it finished.”

“That sounds like a lot of fun! And if I’m not mistaken, you seem to have met a certain Y/N Y/L/N while filming?”

“Oh, Y/N, yeah, she’s great,” he starts to gush, and you immediately smile, “we became friends super fast, and I miss her so much. I wish she could be here right now, but she’s watching from home actually, so hey Y/N!” he looks directly at the camera and waves, as if he’s waving to you through the screen.

That’s your cue. You tiptoe onstage behind Tom, trying your best to shush the immediate gasps from the audience.

“Well Tom,” Jimmy smiles, “I think your wish may have come true.”

“Huh?” Tom looks around, confused, until his eyes land on you, and he completely freezes.

“Hey Tom,” you smile.

“Y/N! Holy shit! You’re here, you’re actually here!” he exclaims, not caring that he just cursed on live TV.

Tom immediately springs off the couch and sprints to you, arms outstretched. As soon as he reaches you, he picks you up in a tight hug and spins you around, both of you laughing. He sets you down, but still keeps you in a tight embrace, not pulling away until neither of you can breathe. He steps backwards to take you in, still trying to fathom that you’re actually here, with him, after all this time.

“Y/N, wha-, how? I thought you were at your house!” Tom can barely form a sentence, smiling wider than ever and completely out of breath.

“Eh, my house was boring. I thought it would be more fun here with you,” you smile.

He pulls you in again, whispering, “I missed you so fucking much.”

“You have no idea,” you whisper back, resting your forehead on his.

The two of you lock eyes, and for a moment, it’s like you are the only two people in the world. You both start to lean in, lips almost touching, when Jimmy interjects.

“Alright, you two, while that was very sweet, we do still have the rest of the show to get through, so why don’t you come sit down,” Jimmy laughs, bringing you and Tom back to reality.

“Right, of course,” Tom responds, trying his best to keep cool in front of the audience.

Tom ushers you to the couch, keeping one hand on the small of your back as he follows you. He keeps his arm around you when you sit, staying as close to you as possible without raising any more suspicions from the audience.

“So, you two, huh?” Jimmy smirks.

“What? Oh, no, Jimmy, we- we’re just friends,” you laugh trying your best to hide the obvious blush on your cheeks.

“I don’t know, that seemed like a little more than just friend behavior to me over there,”

“What do you expect, I haven’t seen her in half a year!” Tom exclaims, saving you from more embarrassment.

“Okay, okay, fine. Just friends,” he turns to the camera and winks, earning laughs from the audience.

“Anyways Y/N, we already talked about Tom, so tell us about you! How was your experience filming Uncharted?” thankfully, Jimmy moves on.

“Well, up until this point I had only really done small indie films, so it was definitely a major change. But Tom was so nice in helping me and it actually turned out to be such an amazing experience, probably the most fun I’ve ever had filming a movie…”

You go on for a few more minutes, talking to Jimmy about your role in Uncharted and your career in general, exchanging small glances with Tom, who just sat back and listened, completely entranced by you.

“Alright, well thank you so much for coming Y/N, it was great to have you! I’m afraid I have to keep Tom for a few more minutes for our next segment, but you’ll have him all to yourself soon enough,” Jimmy smiles.

You laugh, “Thank you so much for having me Jimmy, it was such a pleasure!”

You stand up and hug both Jimmy and Tom, giving Tom a small peck on the cheek before you walk offstage, waving to the audience as you leave.

You smile all the way back to your dressing room, completely overjoyed that you were successful in surprising Tom. As soon as you sat down on the small couch, not even two minutes after you walked offstage, your phone starts blowing up with notifications.

You see that your best friend texted you, so you check that first.

BFF: so you and tom huh? girl why didn’t you tell me?????

Y: what no???

Y: we’re just friends!!

BFF: that’s not what literally all of twitter thinks

Y: wdym? they don’t know anything

BFF: go check rn, i’m telling you they’re going batshit crazy over you two

You check Twitter and immediately see the fans already going crazy over you and Tom.

“just friends”????? bullshit did y’all see the way they almost KISSED?????

TOM AND Y/N I SHIP I SHIP I SHIP

did y’all see the way tom looked at y/n? he’s totally in love omg

UGH I’M SO JEALOUS AKSDHJSAHDSHD I WANT TO BE Y/N SO BAD

they’re so cute help omg

THE WAY Y/N FLEW OUT TO CALIFORNIA JUST TO SURPRISE TOM??? JUST FRIENDS MY ASS

Were you really being that obvious? You quickly call your friend, looking for some advice on what to do, and she picks up right away.

“Okay you were right, they’re going absolutely insane,” you start.

“I mean what do you expect y’all almost kissed on live tv!”

“Shut up.”

“Come onnnnn Y/N, I know you like him and he obviously likes you too so just talk to him! You already know that you two would be the cutest fucking couple ever. Plus you already have the approval of twitter what more could you need?”

You laugh, but you’re still hesitant.

“I don’t know, what if he doesn’t like me back?

“HE. ALMOST. KISSED. YOU. ON. LIVE. FUCKING. TELEVISON. I THINK HE LIKES YOU BACK BITCH!”

“Okay first of all we didn’t almost kiss, and second of all I don’t want to ruin our friendship. Plus how would I even tell him?”

“Okay YES YOU DID ALMOST KISS! And this isn’t middle school! Just tell him how you feel.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Think about what?”

You whip around and see Tom standing at your dressing room door.

“Fuck I gotta call you back,” you whisper, quickly hanging up the phone.

You turn back to Tom, still standing in the doorway.

“How much of that did you hear?” you ask, blushing profusely.

“Um, all of it I think,” Tom looks down and you immediately start to freak out.

Tom, however, looks back up at you and smirks.

“So you like me huh?”

You stay silent for a moment, a billion thoughts running through your head. You contemplate denying it and staying just friends with Tom. But then you think back to what your best friend told you just a second ago.

“Just tell him how you feel.”

“Yeah Tom. I like you. And not as a friend. This isn’t really the way I intended on telling you, and I get if you don’t feel the same way, but the way I feel about you isn’t just platonic. There’s a connection between us that I felt since the day we met and I can’t help but think that you feel it too. And then today it just got, like, ten times stronger and I-“

Tom promptly cuts you off by cupping your jaw and placing his lips on yours, sending a rush throughout your entire body. His lips feel like heaven, moving ever so gently against yours, and again, it feels like you two are the only people on Earth. The kiss is warm and loving, and although it doesn’t last long, the moment has already been engraved in your mind for eternity.

He pulls back, looking into your eyes, making sure he hasn’t made a mistake, but you only stare back at him ten times more lovingly.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.” he whispers.

“Me too,” you whisper back.

He takes your hands in his, “Y/N, I do feel that connection, and I want us to be more than just friends. I always have.”

As much as you are relieved that Tom feels the same way, you can’t help but worry.

“What about the distance? Are you sure we can handle that?”

“Of course we can,” Tom assures you, “I don’t care how far away we are from each other, I love you, and I’m never letting any amount of distance take that away.”

“But these past few months have been so hard without you, and we haven’t even been dating, I just- I don’t want to be apart from you anymore.”

“Then move in with me. Come to London and live with me!”

“Okay,” you grin.

“Wait, really?” Tom questions, taken aback.

“Yeah, why not? I mean, obviously we won’t be able to be together all the time because of our jobs, but it’ll be the closest thing.”

“Are you sure? That’s a big commitment to move that far.”

“I’m positive Tom. You’re my best friend, and now, I guess you’re my boyfriend,” you giggle, “I love you too, and I want to be with you, even if that means moving thousands of miles to London.”

Tom smiles, “You called me your boyfriend.”

“Shut up you dork, come here.”

You pull him in for another kiss, still feeling like you’re floating. Your lips once again move perfectly together, as if they’re made for each other. You’re completely consumed in him, and him in you, and in this moment, you know that he is the only one for you. In this moment, you know that you want to spend the rest of your life with him, and only him, and it’s the best feeling in the world.

~~~~~~~~

Taglist: add yourself to my taglist here!

Strikethrough means I couldn’t tag you :(

All: @pxkajesus @hollanddolanfangirl @roseke @agentsofparker @lifeasjazzz @damnrancidchicken @loopyolivia @iwannabekilledtwice @rafehogwarts @non-eexistent @rosiexx8 @nearlydanger9 @realityisabitch07 @midgardassassins @jbreenr @cap-marvxl @ellesmythe @deepestcolorgiantopera @that-one-person @clandestine-nerd @nevertrustapanda16 @ohabbyoh @rxmanxff @bubbleskz @quinn-spn58 @baby-pogue @strangebouquetqueen @thatforgottenangel-blog @pjmjams @tiredstudenttrinity @isabella-bby @i-will-take-care-of--you @hollandprkr @ladykxxx08 @white-wolf1940 @runawayolives @geekgirleve @thathurtbrolol @lost-girl24 @aayaissaa @heyiheardyouwereawildone36 @justafangirlduh @emistrash

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

What do you think would happen if one of the Cullens realized they might also be "in love" with Bella during Twilight along side Ed. Mates be damned (not like their marriages are gonna last anyway), and everyone's on the table (just 1 love rival, not at the same time buuuuut could you imagine the chaos? *cough*). The usual Bella eaten/killed by Eddy boi is def on the table obvie, but like do you think there's a chance he might concede to one of his family (or just any other alternatives)? -Sw

Oh boy.

Why I Don’t Think This Is a Possibility

That said, I have to caveat that I don’t think this is a very likely path (sorry, I cannot resist).

It’s true I don’t think any of the Cullen relationships will last in the long term, but I also don’t think they’re inclined to cheat on one another or fall apart at a moment’s notice. They’ve made it this long, several decades, but more, none of them realizes anything is lacking from their respective relationship. 

Carlisle and Esme are very devoted to one another and don’t realize they have fundamentally conflicting values. Jasper and Alice think they fulfil each other’s needs and don’t realize that they share nothing in common. Rosalie and Emmett’s is the healthiest relationship in the house but don’t see their major issues (Emmett doesn’t really support or understand Rosalie and Rosalie loves Emmett mostly for his love of her).

My point being, none of them are going to realize it’s not working out anytime soon. They’re going to need a catalyst, and per the end of Twilight, one is coming. Either a confrontation with the Volturi occurs, Renesmee decides to leave, the Cullen lifestyle changes, or things with Bella go awry. It can be any number of things, and it will happen given time, but at the start of Twilight we haven’t hit that point yet.

There’s also the fact that of the Cullens, only Edward would do this nonsense, and even for him it takes Bella’s delicious blood to grab his attention. When she was an ordinary human, he was not interested in the slightest, not even in her gift.

Each of the Cullens (Sans Alice and Esme) is completely baffled by Edward’s emotional whiplash and attachment to this human girl he doesn’t even know. Bella only becomes a vague concept to them when she enters as a serious fixture in Edward’s life, but even then, they really don’t know what to think.

No one in the family will do what Edward did in Twilight. Look at this girl they don’t even know and say “Ah, yes, I’m in love.” 

Now, that out of the way, let’s play ball.

Alice

This actually will work out shockingly well if only because I suspect Alice will come up with the pragmatic solution of “sharing”.

First, Alice is by far the closest Cullen member to Edward. He holds her in high esteem, feels a strong sense of kinship with her, actually confides in her, and sees her as a very close friend. Edward looks up to Carlisle and adores Esme, but it’s not the same.

If Alice sees herself as getting together with Bella I don’t think she’d see this as mutually exclusive to Edward having Bella. Alice cares deeply for Edward’s happiness, far more than she does Bella’s general existence, and I think the idea of entering a joint marriage with Edward and Bella would be very appealing to her.

She’d have to ease Edward into it, of course, as he’d balk at the very idea of it, but I think he’d see it as a strengthening of his and Alice’s relationship as well as having the wonderful Bella. Better yet, Alice can be physical with Bella while Edward can go compose music about their love.

As it is this... This is kind of what happens in canon.

Alice tells Edward that not only is he in love with Bella, but that Bella is going to be her best friend, so he better not muck it up. She has to ease him into the idea of being in love with Bella throughout the first part of Twilight. Then, when the relationship is solidified, Alice is right there introducing herself as Bella’s new BFF. Bella’s friendship with Alice throughout the series is extremely homoerotic and I imagine it remains so after Breaking Dawn.

Edward is very pleased that Bella counts Alice as her best friend, Alice being far and away his favorite sibling and the one he approves of Bella spending time with (generally, when she’s not foiling his schemes). 

I don’t think Alice and Bella will ever have sex, per se, but I imagine they remain quite physical with each other and Edward looks on with approval thinking to himself that this is how all female friendships should be.

And if Jasper has the nagging suspicion his wife is cheating on him then he’s not functioning quite well enough to put it into words just yet.

Carlisle

Edward would lose his mind.

First, Edward is very into Carlisle, and for all he insists his feelings are filial they sound remarkably romantic. I’d drop a quote, but it’s pretty much every time Edward thinks of Carlisle in Midnight Sun. More than that, Carlisle is the man Edward aspires to be, someone he sees as profoundly more good than he could ever hope to be.

Edward projects a very similar personality onto Bella herself.

So, I imagine if Carlisle sits Edward down and says, “Actually, Edward, I have fallen in love with this Bella” Edward feels very conflicting things all at once.

On the one hand, this means Esme/Carlisle is collapsing. Edward personally brought those two together and adores the idea of their relationship. Their relationship is what he hopes his and Bella’s will look like and is to him the married ideal of a perfect Mother and a perfect Father.

Carlisle/Esme alone falling apart would give him a complete existential crisis. That’s not allowed to happen. 

And then that Carlisle wants Bella Swan for himself?! Edward would be faced with the immediate,horrifying, thought that for all Carlisle is a vampire he would be the perfect man for saint like Bella. Carlisle and Bella deserve one another, would be perfect together, and Edward should not begrudge them that.

On the other hand, Edward himself is in love with Bella, and while he thought he could nobly leave her, now he has to nobly stand to the side and watch as Carlsile and her marry. It’d be a very romantic and tragic thing to do, but there’s leaving Bella to her human life, and then watching her up front for the rest of eternity while bitterly hiding his feelings.

More, Carlisle will turn her. If Bella is his true love, then there’s no question of that. Edward’s seen where this goes with Emmett. He will destroy Bella Swan to be with her forever, and Edward will have to live with the shell of Bella Swan staring back at him, fucking his father, forever.

I imagine Edward desperately pretends to concede to Carlisle, to be happy for the pair of them, but as things progress and Bella’s permanent position in the family looks more and more likely, he loses his mind. He’ll snap and there is no telling what he might do.

My money’s on him mercy killing Bella while she’s still human behind Carlisle’s back. He’s sobbing while he does it, but he just can’t let Bella be tarnished by vampirism, and now he will carry this tragic, terrible, secret for the rest of time.

Whether Carlisle was going to turn her or not is up to debate. Given he turned none after Emmett, I think he learned his lesson from Rosalie and would be more than willing to let Bella go, even if he loves her, should it mean he would not force something she does not want and does not understand upon her.

That said, I think he’d never tell Edward his feelings for Bella, as that would ruin Edward’s fledgling relationship with the girl. This is Edward’s first brush with love and seems to be the only romantic love he’ll ever have. Edward has been so miserable for so long that Carlisle would easily give up his own happiness for Edward.

So, more likely, Twilight would happen anyway and Carlisle would spend the entire time being utterly miserable and pretending he’s perfectly fine. LOOK HOW HAPPY HE IS, ESME.

Emmett

Edward tattles to Rosalie immediately.

He loves Emmett, but he knows Emmett can’t possibly be serious about this, and more, fundamentally doesn’t understand how wonderful and amazing Bella is. He wants to turn her into a vampire, clearly, Emmett doesn’t know what’s best for the girl.

More, a man who would so easily break his marriage vows (even to Rosalie), does not deserve Bella Swan.

Edward watches Rosalie and Emmett’s marriage utterly disintegrate with a juice box filled with mountain lion blood and swoops in on Bella while Emmett is thoroughly distracted. Edward then gaslights Bella into believing Emmett is dangerous and despises her, making Emmett the new and improved Jasper.

Esme

Esme would never tell Edward or likely even realize her feelings for Bella herself. If she did though, she would give up the possibility of a future with Bella Swan in a heartbeat for Edward’s happiness, which means everything to her.

Esme will have no regrets, won’t even smile sadly at Bella, because she has Carlsile as her consolation prize and she gets to see the joy in both Bell and Edward’s faces which is far more important than having Bella to herself.

Esme would live vicariously through Bella and Edward’s relationship as well as the very existence of Renesmee.

Like Alice, this is one of those things that’s pretty much canon. I won’t say anything for Esme’s feelings, it’s more that Esme ships Bella with Edward (and mostly because Edward himself comes to obsess over her), but she does seem to vicariously get her joy through their nuclear family within the Cullen family.

Esme is a very strange person.

Jasper

Edward would attempt to murder Jasper or at least severely injure him. Jasper would be the ultimate threat to Bella, not even a man unworthy of her but not a man at all, and exactly what Edward needs to protect Bella against.

Alice tries to stop the fight, to no avail, and Edward will ultimately lose (despite all his confidence). I imagine Jasper doesn’t kill him, but tears apart his limbs, and uses Edward’s lack of mobility to kidnap and then turn Bella.

Bella has no idea what’s happening and the next thing she knows she’s a vampire and Jasper is telling her they have to leave the area (as he must now leave the coven).

Edward tries to track them down for the rest of eternity. He will get vengeance upon Jasper and save Bella this terrible demonic existence forced upon her. Of course, he ends up lost in Rio.

Rosalie

Edward would tell her that her feelings cannot possibly be real. Bella is a woman. More, Rosalie is unworthy of Bella in every possible regard, even more so than Edward himself.

Basically, Edward would lay into Rosalie in a way that he never has before with all of his venom. He will do everything he can to sabotage Bella’s opinion of Rosalie before Rosalie can even get a word in edgewise. He is successful at it due to Bella’s perilously low self esteem (much the reason he was successful with this endeavor in canon).

Rosalie and Edward get in a vicious fight and I imagine Rosalie eventually confronts Bella, making an opportunity to do so, and both warns her away from Edward, tells her everything, and offers to turn her despite Rosalie’s own mixed experiences.

Rosalie and Edward probably then fight and it quickly turns into something that’s very serious. If Edward wins, he murders Rosalie in the heat of the moment, and then leaves the coven in horror over what Carlisle must think of him now. If Rosalie wins... I don’t think she will, she cares for Edward far too much and would never truly be able to aim to kill or maim.

Edward disappears, drowning in his self hatred, and returns to find Bella Swan at some later date unable to resist the call of her scent. Depending where she is in her life, he likely murders her human husband if she has one and dvours her, as Alice prophesied so long ago.

[sapphos-young-lover]

A Misunderstanding part 1

wlw fanfic 

warnings: none  fluff comfort angst gays being gay

It was a cold and rainy night i was chilling at home being the only one there i had already locked the doors and closed the blinds. i just walked out of the bathroom and heard a notification from my phone *5 unread messages by Lilith* i read, i look at the recent one she just sent me **willow we need to talk about this, can i come over to your place, i know your parents aren't home for the weekend and addy is at her friends house too so maybe we can have a more private convo. we really should talk about it** i stare at the message it has been 5 weeks since i’ve started to ignore her <should i say yes or say no and tell her to never contact me again?> "what do i do cloud?" i say as i look over to my cat asleep above where my head sleeps. i look at the message again and take a deep breath **k, fine knock twice so i know its you** i send the text and put my phone on my desk. I turn my laptop on and put some random k-drama I've already finished watching, finish drying my hair i wait for her                                                     30 mins later

i hear two knocks at the door knowing its Lilith when i open the door i meet with her green eyes, she stands there in a black jumper, black sweat pants and plastic bag. i look at the bag then i look at her with a look of confusion "oh this its just some hot food monster and iced coffee i know you love" she says as she takes the items out showing me. i can tell she’s trying to either make me in a good mood or come here with a peace offering, i let her in when i notice she’s shivering a little and her nose is a cute shade of pink. she takes off her shoes then walking behind me into my room. we both move to my bed and lay up against the head cloud sleeping between us a few minutes go by before she speaks up “umm willow I've been wondering could we talk about why you’ve been ignoring me for 5 weeks” she asks me with a hint of anger and worry as if i could lash out and change any minute. “Well isn’t that why you’re here” I reply continuing to watch the show not look at her in the face. she takes a deep breath in lets it out “i believe there has been a misunderstanding between us” “ a misunderstanding?” i raise my voice still facing my laptop before she could say anything “how is saying i hit on you, I'm clingy and how I'm so nerdy like you aren't nerdy about star wars a misunderstanding” i turn facing her biting my bottom lip trying to contain my tears. she looks at me as if trying to find the words to explain “ what i mean is what you heard wasn't wrong but why i said that is not what you think” she says looking at me as if she was trying to comfort me, i get off my bed walking to my bathroom door and turning around looking at her "so you weren't making fun of me to the biggest bullies in school, i told you everything about me and my hobbies. you were so nice to me, was that all a façade to poke fun at me later with your friends and laugh about it" i shout tears streaming down my face, she stares at me wide eyed and concerned. i walk backwards until my back hits the wall i slowly fall to the ground hiding my face in my hands only a few moments later i feel arms rap around me holding me tight not wanting to let go i tried to move but it was no use she was stronger then me "the reason why i said those things was because they would only leave you alone if i would hang out with them so i could be there gay bff they were pestering me with questions about you, your friend Sabine told me they started to bully you again so i decided to somehow help you and befriend you since Sabine was leaving to go to Perth next term" she whispers in my ear rubbing my back "i only wanted to help you not hurt you i never wanted to hurt you" she chokes out as she sobs. we sit there holding eating other as we cry out feelings out. a few minutes later i stand up telling her to get up as soon as she stands i pull her to my bed sitting on the edge "I'm sorry for being so mean to you and ignoring you for the past 5 weeks" i say quietly Lilith grabs my cheek with her right hand caressing it with her thumb "no don't apologies it's my fault for not just standing up to those pack of bithes and telling the to piss of and leave you alone" she says making me turn to face her " I'm just happy to see you again" i stare at her completely shocked with what I'm hearing <oh god is this real> she pulls me in for a tight hug, i hug her just as tight. she lets me go and rest her hands on my upper thighs i blush so red hoping she doesn't see what's underneath my over sized t-shirt. "hey, look at me" she says in a soft tone making me realize I'm looking at her hands i look up at her her eyes look everywhere on my face down to my thighs where her hands where "when i first saw you i thought you were so beautiful but when i went to go find you i couldn't find you but when i saw you in the video store i knew this was my chance to finally meet you but when i meet you in person i realized how beautiful you really looked" she said as she stared into my brown eyes i felt my cheeks get redder she tucks some loose hair behind my ear that i didn't realize that got loose, then her hand rested on my left cheek it felt warm, soft and comforting i closed my eyes leaning into the touch before i knew it i felt something warm wet and soft on my lips i opened my eyes only to see she was kissing me her eyes were closed and i closed my eyes again we were only like that for a few seconds but it felt like an life time. i open my brown orbs only to be meet with her green ones, slightly breathing more heavier i look into her eyes not using my words but she somehow knew i wanted more. lips were melting together dancing to the retheme of our hearts, she swiped her tongue on my bottom lip asking for accesses i was quick to grant and i could feel and taste her more now our tongues dancing and fighting for dominance her winning and pushing me onto the bed. her left hand on my hip and her right hand still on my cheek we stay like that for a few more seconds before she broke it off licking her lips "i know you're probably not ready to have... ya know sex, hopefully we can still make out?" i giggle and her awkwardness "ill be happy with just making out with you, come lay down with me and watch this with me" i reply out of breath and heavy breathing. she quickly lays down and we cuddle under the blacket i end up falling asleep to her heart beat and smell 

[chainofclovers]

Grace and Frankie 7x1 - 7x4 thoughts

Meh? Like...I love them so much, but...meh?

(I did enjoy this line about brunch.)

I really loved season 6 of Grace and Frankie. I thought it was well-paced, largely very well-acted, generally well-written, and it culminated in a massive moment of character development for the title characters, who, having spent years growing closer and being there for each other when others could not or would not be, finally articulate to each other that they are the primary person in each other’s lives. Platonic gal pal soulmate BFF emotional support witches 4 lyfe!

I know progress isn’t always linear, and in fact is very rarely linear, but after a moment that significant, you’d think the writers on this show would maybe come up with some more interesting things for these characters to do than spin in circles?

@bristler and I watched on Friday night, and just this morning over breakfast had a good conversation about the first four episodes of the new season now that they have settled in our brains a bit. We concluded that the writing (often noticeably clunky, like the dialogue is responsible for more narration than usual) and the tone (aggressively wacky) feel really off, especially compared to the prior season. I think we diagnosed the big issue, which is that Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda are by far the most talented actors on this show (if you disagree, fight me in the parking lot) and it feels surprisingly unfortunate that their characters have, to this point in the new season, pretty much figured out their perspectives on each other. No matter how people feel about Grace and Frankie’s sexualities, the whole show has been about them finding each other and getting in deeper and deeper, and it’s less interesting to watch other characters have realizations about that than it is to watch Grace and Frankie having realizations about themselves. If the title characters are now limited to reacting to other people’s actions, and the title characters are played by the best actors on the show, the whole show’s gonna suffer. And is suffering, very much so, at least for these first four episodes. I’m definitely still excited for the final twelve in 2022 (twelve! I cannot believe this season will have sixteen eps!), but I’m pretty disappointed so far.

Stuff I Loved:

The family brunch. These families have been entwined for so long, and the backstory for this particular brunch was so fun (even though I didn’t care for the effects they did to depict Grace and Robert 25 years ago; there was no need for a visual flashback in the scene). I love that Grace hit Frankie with a wiffle ball bat. I love that the two couples realized some of the emotional reasons behind their decisions to lie to each other about Bud’s Bunny and about M’Challah. I love the way Jane Fonda sounds uttering the phrase “Bud’s Bunny” with little to no irony. I love that Grace is able to recognize and articulate just how deep and miserable her anger issues were, albeit with the continued help of her omnipresent martini, and that Frankie told her she’d now make up a holiday in order to spend more time with Grace. I really, really hope Frankie does exactly this at some point in the remaining episodes of the season. I love that Grace is generally a pretty good person now, with aspirations of being a delightful person. I love that she and Frankie don’t have it in them to stay angry with each other, and I love all the evidence that they really, really talk to each other about everything now.

Frankie talking to the man at the office (I don’t remember who he was supposed to be? A toilet manufacturer? I didn’t mention this before, but I actually got pretty high while watching?!? Believe it or not, this was the first time I smoked pot and watched Grace and Frankie at the same time despite having enjoyed both activities on their own for quite some time. I would recommend the combo! And I think I still pretty much got what was happening) about paying for the toilet parts with candy. This whole subplot with the money laundering was absurd and not that interesting, but I loved this particular scene because it was finally evidence of some really thoughtful writing. The concepts aren’t enough! You have to write them into good dialogue! And the whole cash/candy thing was a moment of dialogue that only someone as hilarious as Lily Tomlin could pull off. Which she did, IMO.

In a show about super messy people, Coyote has stayed sober this entire time. He is sober, employed, in love, and preparing to buy a full-sized house with his partner. He hasn’t murdered anyone in his family. Hasn’t even attempted murder once.

In 2017 or whatever, Grace Hanson would have been furious about Frankie using obscure Beatles references like a treasure map when hiding the cash. But here in 2021, she cooperates and even gets in on the fun. The writing is very unsubtle this season, but that did feel like a reasonably subtle moment that shows how good of a partner she is for Frankie. (Platonic, of course! So platonic. Female friendship, amirite?)

Stuff I Did NOT Love and Felt Incredibly Negative About:

Brianna. I can only conclude that June Diane Raphael has decided she’s happy with playing a character whose primary role in life is to be hot and mean. She succeeds at being hot and mean, but I have reached my limit with this character. I realize we’re only a quarter of the way into the season, but I don’t think I can take another arc about her learning to compromise only to reveal to Barry that she never intended to compromise at all. At this point, it’s both abusive and boring. How?! The Grace/Brianna parallels aren’t interesting anymore, because one character has grown and the other is stagnant. I get that Brianna was raised in an emotionally stilted environment by two unhealthy people. But I think it would be very cool if she could learn something from her mother at this point. Grace has put a ton of effort into dealing with her “rabbit-killing, mad-at-the-world anger.” She’s put a ton of effort into figuring out what makes her happy, what she wants her life to look like. She’s even started accepting her age and abilities without shame. And that growth is believable; Grace is still short-tempered and she still slugs back way too many martinis and she struggles to articulate certain things, but she’s grown into a truly lovely human. And while, as a daughter with a mother, I can absolutely attest to the fact that it can be difficult and uncomfortable to learn lessons from one’s mother, Brianna really, really should. Grace spent decades letting anger and shame trap her in a small, miserable life. Brianna—and even Mallory, who just seems like a vapid idiot this season—are traveling that same path, but there’s someone right there who could really help, maybe even more than Frankie helped when the Hanson girls were first growing up.

The arraignment. The scene might’ve been salvageable if it was filmed from Grace’s perspective, and filmed to reflect how surreal and improbable it all was. But speaking of non-linear progress, this scene erased everything Nick Skolka has done to put himself in my good graces (LOL) over the past couple seasons. I mean, I tried, man. I even wrote fic about Nick, Grace, and Frankie making a genuine effort at polyamory. But the arraignment is so emotionally manipulative, such a slap in the face of everything Grace has worked for, and while we’re certainly “supposed” to feel the weight of the moment, I mean, it’s not like we’re supposed to be like, “Oh, cool, we’re in a rom com now! This is adorable!” it still felt bad and unearned and slapdash.

And I want Frankie to process these things with her! Frankie seems so happy to have all this information about Grace and how Grace feels, but I want to see scenes in which we can gain an understanding of how Frankie actually feels. Hearing Frankie talk to other people about how Grace feels is interesting, but it’s like there’s no room in these episodes for us to learn anything new about Frankie herself.

Grace’s transitional wig. Is so. Bad. It is. Such a. Bad wig. Oof. I mean, I like what they’re doing with Grace’s hair from a plot perspective, although (see one bullet up) I would really like to get more of an understanding of what’s happening in Grace’s head, not just on top of her head. And gosh, Frankie would be a really good person to talk to about this in a conversation that lasts longer than 30 seconds. But the wig! She’s in a wig in all four episodes, of course, since Jane Fonda went grey and cut her hair short before they started filming this season. The wig for episodes 1 and 2 is fine; it’s a good approximation of Grace’s typical hair, and of course we know that canonically Grace’s hair isn’t 100% her own hair anyway. But the wig with grey roots looks so weird. The part that’s growing out doesn’t look the same as the hair on the wig from 1 and 2. And the grey roots look like a yarmulke. I cannot wait to get to the point in the season when Grace goes all the way grey.

(One more thing about the hair. I can’t let it go. I paused the show while we were watching to rant, but I’m not done.) I had the great privilege of seeing Jane Fonda in person at a protest in 2019. She is an insanely beautiful human. She was growing her hair out and it was partially dyed blonde and partially grey. It looked really cool. I am not ashamed to say I spent that day learning many things about the climate crisis and about Jane Fonda’s hair. Having seen her in real life with her real hair looking that fucking great, I just have a an extra-large grudge against everyone involved in that horrible wig. The wig is necessary, but it didn’t have to be this bad.

What Do I Care About Now?

I am pretty intrigued by the way Grace threw out her real age in a conversation with Nick and Elena. She has nothing to fear anymore! She’s so chill about aging! What could go wrong? I assume that Nick and Elena maneuvering for Nick to be on house arrest in Grace's house specifically has to do with the fact that Grace is 82. She’s gonna find out that Nick is allowed to be with her because she’s ancient and helpless and the court took pity. Or something like that. She’s going to feel betrayed on top of feeling stifled and overwhelmed by Nick’s presence. I want to see where this goes for sure.

Other than that, and other than the fact that I really do continue to believe this show is moving in a direction in which Grace and Frankie will choose each other, I feel very whatever about this whole thing. I love this show and I will always appreciate this show for giving me some incredible characters to spend years of my life writing about, and for bringing me some pretty amazing friendships. Speaking of those friendships, yesterday @ellydash and @telanu and I were talking about some of the incredible TV we’ve watched recently, like Ted Lasso and Hacks and Fleabag and Killing Eve, and how great it feels to watch beautifully written TV crafted by writers who are profoundly—organically yet intentionally—attuned to even the most minor character’s rhythm. The disappointment of these first few episodes of the new G&F season feels like a mild disappointment rather than a sharp heartbreak, and that has a lot to do with being deeply invested in other shows that could also go in all kinds of different directions but with writing I fundamentally trust.

Also Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin are my forever faves and my appreciation for their performances and general awesomeness onscreen and in life is undiminished. So that’s pretty cool.

[thedamageofherdays]

This week I was really craving fluffy fics so a lot of these are pretty fluffy. I ended up discovering some real gems (in part due to lovely people reccing some of these fics to me) and also re-read the fic that never fails to bring me comfort (Coming Up Easy). A good reading week I would say!

Favourites are marked with a 🌻

Wake Up Sleepy Head! by ishouldbesleepingrightnow [Stucky, 769 words, General]

‘Aww, he looks so cute and peaceful’, Natasha thinks with a smirk on her face. Then she takes a deep breath in.

“WAKE UP SLEEPY HEAD!”

Kiss Me Hello by kehinki [Stucky, 5k words, Mature]

Bucky and Steve take to kissing each other hello, goodbye, goodnight. It's all very platonic until it isn't.

How Bucky Barnes Convinced Steve Rogers He Loved Him (or, the many times Bucky told Steve and the one time he listened) by powerfulowl @stuckyflangst [Stucky, 8k words, Explicit]

Bucky laid his head down on the table (carefully so as not to mess up his hair too much – he’d just blow dried it this morning thank you very much) and groaned.

‘It is that bad Nat.’ He sat up again and took a long draw on his own iced coffee (milk, cream, icecream, sugar). ‘Bucky, I said to myself, how bad can it be? It’s seven years since you graduated, you can’t still be in love with your childhood BFF. This is real life. You are a grown man. You’ve been in other relationships. You’ve moved on. You can totally move in with Steve and Sam and it will be cool. Just bros living together. Sharing a house.’

-----

The tale of how Bucky Barnes tried to woo his childhood friend, Steve Rogers, and how Steve just refused to take the hint. They say desperate times call for desperate measures.

🌻 Let's Fall In Love by Desdemon [Stucky, 3k words, Teen]

“I really am sorry, dollface,” Bucky said, his eyes huge and stupid. “I’m just flapping my gums, you know what a chucklehead I am.”

🌻 Coming Up Easy by musette22 @musette22 [Stucky, 45k words, Explicit]

“Listen, I was just thinking,” Steve says, his face open, eyebrows raised in a tentatively hopeful expression. “Why don’t you come stay at my place for a while? I’ve got an office that I barely use, and a change of scenery might do you good, right? Help you beat that writer’s block?” With a crooked smile, he adds, “I promise I’m not a serial killer.”

While Bucky would normally crack a joke about how that’s exactly what a serial killer would say, right now, all he can do is blink at Steve in surprise, heart tripping over itself in his chest. Steve wants him to come and stay at his place. In Massachusetts. Just the two of them.

"Oh," Bucky croaks. "I- Wow."

“I mean, no pressure,” Steve says hastily. “Totally fine if you don’t wanna. I just thought I’d offer, in case it might help, y’know?”

“Yeah.” Bucky ignores the little voice in his head that sounds an awful lot Nat and Becca, telling him he’s setting himself up for heartbreak. “I mean, if you’re sure, that would be amazing.”

Bucky Barnes' Birthday: 1934 by dottieapple [Stucky, 4k words, Teen]

Written about Bucky Barnes' birthday, 1934, for Bucky Barnes' birthday, 2020: in which Becca Barnes is an analogue for the fandom because she sees it before Steve and Bucky. It all starts with a hand-drawn birthday card, some cake, and getting stuck on a fire escape.

🌻 The one place (where something happened) by unremarkable @otp-holic [Stucky, 4k words, Mature]

“In your life there are a few places, or maybe only the one place, where something happened, and then there are all the other places.” Alice Munro.

(or the one where they receive a letter from a familiar name and we go into 4Ks of fluff around a lost afternoon in France)

🌻 Blindfolded by Lilibet [Stucky, 2k words, Explicit]

The creak of the rickety floorboards of their tiny flat seemed louder under Bucky’s bare feet, the rattle of the piping in the walls more noticeable, the tinny echo of a radio floating from across the hall.

“Somethin’ funny, doll?” Bucky drawled, and Steve’s grin grew wider.

“Just you,” Steve said, lifting his chin up to where he thought Bucky’s face was.

worth it by wearing_tearing [Stucky, 1k words, Teen]

“What are we doing?”

“We,” Steve wraps his arms around Bucky, hugging him close, “are going on a date.”

🌻 Item One by cheesethesecond [Stucky, 2k words, General]

Bucky was never actually Steve's boyfriend. No one bothers to explain this to Bucky. Bucky acts accordingly.

🌻 Wrapped Up in You by wearing_tearing [Stucky, 700 words, Teen]

“I made you something,” Bucky tells him, and that’s when Steve notices he has both arms behind his back.

“Oh, really?” Steve arches an eyebrow, interested. “I wonder what it is.”

[purrincess-chat]

Marinette Dupain-Cheng’s Spite Playlist: Remix CH13

When Alya is so close, but so far. Will she sus out Lila this time around? Stay tuned ;)

Previous     First      Next    AO3

-------------------------

Chapter 13: Sorry Not Sorry

“Ladybug and Chat Noir defeated another supervillain with the help of their new sidekick Malin.”

Alya hugged her knees to her chest, the news footage broadcasting on TV. Ladybug had given out the fox Miraculous again, only this time, she didn't pick her.

“Al? You okay?”

Alya blinked, turning to Nino who sat beside her wearing a worried crease on his brow. She swallowed the lump in her throat and shrugged.

“I…” She shifted back to the TV. “I don’t know.”

“You’re upset.”

It was a statement, not a question. Alya bit her lip as tears welled in her eyes before burying her face in his shirt with a nod.

“She picked someone else!” she wailed. “Why didn’t she come to me?”

Nino wrapped his arms around her, leaning his head against hers. “Maybe she didn’t have time,” he reasoned. “The akuma was on the other side of town, so maybe she needed someone close.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right…” She sniffled. “Maybe I’m overreacting.”

“Ladybug and Lila are bffs, so why don’t you ask Lila to talk to her for you?” Nino suggested.

Or so she said.

Alya pursed her lips. She didn’t know what to believe anymore when it came to Lila. Adrien hated lying, and so did Marinette. But everything just seemed too convenient. There was no doubt in her mind that Marinette thought she was telling the truth, but how much were her feelings for Adrien clouding her judgment? And if Adrien was getting his stories from Marinette…

There was only one way to find out if Lila was telling the truth once and for all—the one person who Alya trusted to tell the truth above all else.

“I’ll ask Lila if she can set up an interview for me,” she said. “Then I can ask Ladybug myself.”

“Good. That’s my girl.” Nino brushed a tear from her cheek. “You know I’m always here for you.”

“I know.” Alya stretched up to touch her lips to his.

“I love you no matter what, Al.”

“Yeah. I love you too.”

♪♫♪ peace ♪♫♪

“Wait, so what happened?” Adrien asked.

The warm spring sun cast glistening rays across the Seine while Adrien reclined on a bench, chatting over ice cream with Marinette. It was the first time he’d seen her since visiting Macy’s house, and he’d missed a lot in a few short days. Lightning round catch-up sessions seemed to be the new norm for them. Between Marinette changing schools and Adrien’s packed schedule, finding time to see each other was almost impossible.

“I don’t know really,” Marinette said. “I was walking home from Martin’s house, and Gabrielle latched onto me. She was being followed by some creepy guys.”

“Did you report it?”

“Well, no…” Marinette admitted, taking a sheepish lick of her ice cream. “We got away, and nothing else happened.”

“You should have gone with Eliott and Macy. What if something had happened to you?” Adrien scolded. The thought made his blood boil.

“I know, but if I hadn’t been there, something could have happened to Gabrielle. I know she’s mean, but I don’t want her getting hurt.” She lowered her gaze.

Adrien breathed a small sigh, then smiled. “Well, I’m glad you’re alright. I’d hate for you to get hurt too,” he said. “Actually, I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately.”

Her cheeks flushed a lovely shade of pink. “R-Really?”

“Lila’s still parading around like she owns the place, and whenever I walk around the school now, I think about how you used to sit in the courtyard with Alya or hang out in the art room with Alix and Nathaniel…” His voice trailed off. “I know why you left, and I’m glad you did if it makes you happier, but I won’t lie and say I don’t miss you.”

“I miss too! I mean, you. You too. I miss you too,” Marinette stammered.

“Maybe I should transfer to your new school. Then I’d be away from Lila, and we won’t have to have these quick catch-up sessions,” Adrien said. “What do you think? Would I look good in all gray?”

“You look good in everything,” she said, then quickly added, “I-I mean, your dad is a famous fashion designer, so of course you always look fine. Not fine like, hey, you fine, but just fine, ya know?” She shoved a big spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.

“Thanks.” He chuckled.

Something about the rosiness in her cheeks made him giddy. After the past few weeks, he wanted to make her smile too. Too often now, the sparkle in her eyes was a dull reflection of what it once was. She may put on a happy face, but Adrien had hid enough sorrow in his life to know when someone was still hurting. Feeling bold, he reached out to brush the corner of her mouth with his cone, smearing orange ice cream across her upper lip.

“Hey!” She flinched away with a giggle.

Marinette even attempted to return the favor with her own ice cream, but Adrien blocked her playful attempts easily, grasping her hand in his own to keep it away from his face. Their giggles stopped short when their struggling brought them face-to-face, lips inches apart.

Something in her eyes resonated with him, a glowing sense of longing and wonder that made his heart race. Marinette was precious to him. She always had been ever since they met. He never noticed before, but something always brought him back to her—an invisible string tying them together. Being next to her felt right. Safe. Warm. She was a cozy cottage offering him refuge from the cold with her glowing fires, but he didn’t want to be the only one soaking in the warmth. He wanted to be her refuge too.

He wasn’t sure what came over him, and he’d spend the next several hours attempting to decipher his next actions. His gaze flicked down to the ice cream melting against her lips, and he leaned in, breath hitching as their noses brushed. She closed her eyes, tilting her head ever-so-slightly, but they flew open again as he trailed his thumb across her lip.

She faltered as he pulled away, face falling into one hand. Ragged breaths heaved her chest, and she clutched her shirt tightly. Had he gone too far?

“Sorry, that was dumb,” he said with a wince. “I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable.”

“No, no!” she insisted, waving her arms. “Just I thought that…”

“Thought what?”

“I thought that…you were going to kiss me,” she said.

Now his cheeks were the ones burning. “Oh.”

“It’s fine. It just took me by surprise. That’s all.” She averted her gaze, shoulders slumping as she shoved a tiny spoonful into her mouth.

It wasn’t an absurd assumption to make now that he thought about it. He really was bad at this sort of thing, but now that she mentioned it…

“Do you want to?” he asked.

She blinked, turning back to him. “Do I want to what?”

“Kiss me.”

Her eyes widened, and she stared at him, speechless. What was he thinking? Of course she didn’t want to kiss him! Besides, he was in love with Ladybug. At least, he had been… No! He was in love with Ladybug. There was no denying it, but after spending so much time with Marinette…

He wasn’t sure who leaned in first. Maybe him. Marinette��s magnetism always drew him in whether he was aware of it or not. Was she drawn to him in the same way too? The way her fluttery lashes hooded over her eyes when their noses touched made him think so.

Should he stop? Did he want to stop? He didn’t know. Everything was jumbled, but her breath was warm on his lips, tasting of blackberries and vanilla. Perhaps they could build one cabin together and share the warmth of their flames. Maybe then they’d both be safe.

A city groundskeeper cranked on a leaf blower just before their lips touched. They jolted apart, Marinette physically shifting several centimeters away from him, clutching her chest. Silence stretched between them, deafened by the roar of the leaf blower. Hearts hammering, lips tingling, neither one was able to look at the other.

Adrien’s mind whirled. He’d almost kissed Marinette. And he was okay with it. In fact, he was disappointed that they hadn’t kissed. Did he dare try again? What did this mean for his feelings for Ladybug? Was he in love with Marinette?

The questions racing through his mind screeched to a halt, singling in on that one thought. In love with Marinette. No. She was just…

A friend? He was starting to have his doubts. Was there anyone else that he would go to bat for like Marinette? Adrien had fallen further than he ever thought capable in the past few weeks, done things he wasn’t proud of, but would do over again in a heartbeat if it brought her some relief. He wasn’t an expert, but those things didn’t seem platonic to him anymore. So the question remained.

“Marinette, I-” The buzz of her phone cut him off, and she fumbled to retrieve it from her purse with a shaking hand.

“Oh.” She stood up. “I have to go. Martin and I have a group project to work on this afternoon.”

His heart sank. “No worries. It was nice to catch up with you for a while.”

“Yeah, it was. It was nice…” She pursed her lips.

“Can I see you again soon?”

Her eyes found his, timid and uncertain, and a smile curled on her lips. She leaned down to kiss his cheek, eyes sparkling the way he remembered. “I’ll see you soon.”

Adrien watched her go, the electricity of her kiss stinging his cheek. Who was Marinette to him? He wasn’t sure anymore, but the pounding of his heart was evidence enough that things were changing.

♪♫♪ All the Boys ♪♫♪

“Tilt your head to the left more.”

The park across from Marinette’s house buzzed with children, and Marinette’s cheeks burned as Martin’s camera clicked with each photo. When Mme. Pierre paired them for an art project, she hadn’t anticipated being a model, but with her design skills and Martin’s love of photography, a photoshoot just made sense. Martin was gentle with his commands, and having seen his work before, there was no doubt they’d turn out amazing. Still, Marinette vastly preferred staying on the designing end of fashion.

With one last click, Martin paused to review his camera roll. “That’s good for now. You can take a break.”

“Great.” Marinette breathed a sigh of relief, happy to have the camera out of her face. “I don’t know how Adrien does it. Modeling is so awkward.”

“Don’t say that. You’ve done a really good job,” Martin assured her.

“Can I take a look?” She nodded at the camera in his hands.

“Sure. I’m gonna grab a different lens for our next take.” He retreated to his bag while Marinette sifted through the photos.

Even though she felt stiff and unnatural while posing, Martin managed to capture her from all the right angles. She almost didn’t recognize herself in some of them. Was this how Adrien felt all the time? Was the dreamy-eyed boy on posters around town a stranger to him as well? She already felt self-conscious after only a few photos. How Adrien kept his confidence with his face plastered all over Paris was beyond her.

“Oh!” She reached the end of their photos, but the next image brought a smile to her lips.

Martin had taken some photos to test his new camera when they’d visited him last. Most of them were silly, but Martin had captured a particularly candid photo of Macy. Light from the window illuminated her hair, casting shadows across her cheeks from her long lashes. It was beautiful, and Marinette could see why Martin took it.

“What do you think so far? I was thinking for our next set we could try to get Notre Dame in the background, and- What?” Martin paused to quirk a brow at Marinette’s smirk.

“I was just scrolling, and I came across this picture of Macy from last week. It’s a really good photo, you should show her-”

Martin’s cheeks flushed, and he snatched the camera from her grasp. Seeming to realize the forcefulness of his actions, he flashed her an apologetic wince.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to peek,” she said.

“No, no, it’s fine. I…actually can I tell you something?” he asked.

Marinette took a seat on a nearby bench and patted the space beside her with an encouraging nod, and Martin sank next to her stiffly.

“You probably don’t care, but I want to ask for your opinion…” He curled his shoulders.

“Why wouldn’t I care?” Marinette asked, then with a smile added, “What’s on your mind?”

“Well…I kind of like Macy as more than a friend.” He rubbed the back of his neck, cheeks as rosy as Ladybug’s super suit. “Is that weird?”

“Aww, Martin,” Marinette cooed. “Of course it’s not weird. Why would it be?”

“I dunno. Just…she didn’t know I took that picture of her, but I just couldn’t help it,” he said.

“Well, I’m not exactly sure I’m one to judge. I used to have a ton of pictures of Adrien all over my walls,” Marinette admitted. “So I think one picture is fine.”

Martin shifted his gaze to his lap, tapping his fingers on the camera. “I transferred here last year, and the first time I heard Macy sing I thought she was really beautiful,” Martin said. “I never thought she’d notice me until you came along.”

“That’s so sweet, Martin!” Marinette said. “I’m sure she’ll notice you if you put yourself out there.”

“I dunno…” he said. “She likes really handsome, popular guys like Adrien. I don’t think she’d ever look at me that way.”

Marinette bit her tongue, thinking back to what Eliott told her after his rehearsal a few days before. “Don’t sell yourself short. You’re a really sweet guy, Martin, and I’m sure you’ll turn her head one of these days. Try talking to her more, and let her get to know the real you.”

“Thanks, Marinette. I’m still getting used to all of this. I’ve never had friends like this before, and I’m really glad I met you,” Martin said with a smile.

This time it was her turn to blush. “I hope everything works out between you and Macy.”

“I hope the same for you and Adrien.”

Now there was a thought to get her heart racing. What was that earlier? Was Adrien really going to kiss her? Did this mean he loved her too? Did she dare even dream? She wasn’t sure anymore. Just like Martin, all she could do was hope her feelings would be reciprocated someday.

♪♫♪ Falling Down ♪♫♪

Alya’s shoulders were stiff as she entered the school on Monday. Her peers chatted about the new hero, Rena Rouge’s legacy long forgotten. She kept her head low as she headed to the locker rooms.

“Hey, best friend,” Lila greeted with a smile.

“Hey, can I talk to you in private for a minute?” Alya asked.

Lila sobered. “Of course,” she said with an unmistakable hint of caution. She followed Alya to a secluded corner of the courtyard. “What’s up?”

“You’re friends with Ladybug, right?” Alya asked.

“Yeah, we’re like this.” Lila crossed her fingers. “Why?”

“Well, with the new superhero… I just wanted to get some inside deets for my blog. What’s the story? What happened to Rena Rouge? That sort of thing,” Alya said carefully.

“Oh, is that all?” Lila relaxed. “Well, she usually consults me before she picks a new hero because she values my input. I don’t know all of the details on Malin, but I can totally ask for you.”

“Actually, could you set up an interview for me? My viewers are dying to know the scoop.” Alya pressed her palms together.

“Totally. I’ll let her know you want to interview her after the next akuma. I’m sure she won’t mind,” Lila said.

“Thanks, girl. You’re the best.”

Lila smiled and hugged her tightly. “Don’t you forget it.”

[dreamescapeswriting]

BTS Reaction | Walking In On You Changing [BFF Series] [Request]

A/N: WARNING: SOME OF THESE ARE MATURE BUT I HAVEN’T LABELLED IT AS [M] BECAUSE NOT ALL OF THEM ARE MATURE [If you want to avoid the mature ones avoid Yoongi, Tae and Jungkook]

Seokjin:

You’d shown up on your best friends door step after the worst possible date of your entire life and all you wanted to do was crawl up onto Jin’s sofa and watch movies with him but you were still dressed up in one of the fanciest dresses you owned as well as an expensive lingerie set that you’d worn underneath thinking you were going to get lucky that night but it had gone so wrong so fast that you called Jin from the bathroom to fake an emergency for you to leave.

“I’ll tell you all about it, can I borrow some clothes?” You questioned as you walked through the door and up towards Jin’s bedroom,

“Sure I’ll come grab something for you.” You stripped out of the dress the second the bedroom door shut and laid back on his bed staring at the ceiling, you did this a lot. Whenever you had a stressful day at work you’d go straight to Jin’s place, it was your home away from home after all and he was always welcoming you there.

“I brought you some - Oh my god!” He screamed dropping the hoodie and shorts he’d brought up for you and covering his eyes, you screamed back at him and rushed to cover yourself with the pillow. Jin backed out of the room and you rushed to get changed into the clothes he’d given you.

“Jin!” You called out as you walked out of the door only to find him standing there, his ears a bright red colour and his face flushed as he stared at the door.

“It was an accident, I didn’t expect you to be naked on my bed-”

“I wasn’t naked, I was in my underwear.” You whispered feeling shy that your best friend had seen you half naked, other people jumped at the chance for their best friend - whom they had a crush on - to see them half naked but not you. You’d thought for a split second he might come in and kiss you but life wasn’t like the movies and he was avoiding looking at you.

“I’ll leave, I clearly made it weird I’m sorry.” You went to walk away but he held onto your wrist to stop you from moving,

“Why are you hiding away?”

“Cause you saw me naked and you didn’t like it…Jin I just- I feel-” He kissed you and out of shock you didn’t kiss back for a couple of seconds until your felt his hands on your waist. Your arms snaked around his neck and you pulled him closer to you as he backed you back into his bedroom, kicking the door shut behind him.

Yoongi:

Yoongi knew exactly where he was going and what he was doing, he’d known your brother for 17 years and he’d been to your house more times than he could even count so he knew what room he was about to enter wasn’t the bathroom he’d said he was going to find but your bedroom. You’d done nothing but tease him all day, walking around the house in skimpy shorts so he could see the outline of your thong and then tonight, you’d walked down the stairs in one of the hoodies he’d given you when you were teens, but you’d walked down in that with a black thong on underneath, reaching up in front of him to grab something and ‘’accidentally’’ showing everything off that he’d been dreaming about you. He opened the door and you jumped as you saw him standing there, a tent in his trousers as he caught the sight of you. He’d expected to see you in the hoodie once again but this time you were just changing out of it and you were standing there in nothing but the bra and thong trying not to scream out about him catching you like this.

“Shit! Sorry!I thought- I just…I thought this was the bathroom and I was trying-” He covered his eyes trying to back out of the room but you stopped him by pulling him inside and quietly shutting the door so your brother wouldn’t hear you talking to his best friend.

“Yoongi, you’ve been coming here for years…You know where the bathroom is.” You whispered looking up at him but he was still covering his eyes. He hadn’t thought this through, he’d been so confident about coming to talk to you, and making you sort out his problem but the more he thought about it the more he realised this wasn’t the plot to some kind of porn movie he’d seen. You were a real girl with real emotions, the same real girl with real emotions he’d been In love with since he was a teenager. He sighed in defeat,

“I know but I didn’t think-” He was cut off when you pulled his hands away from his eyes and looked up at him, you looked so innocent to him and it made him want to ravish you all the more.

“Don’t look at me like that.” He begged as you continued to stare at him, you bit on your lip.

“I’m just looking Yoonig…You know you can look too…Maybe you can touch if you want.” He groaned as his hands made their way up to your waist, your skin was so soft and it made him want you more.

“We can’t.”

“Why?” You whispered looking at him and cocking your head to the side,

“You want me…I want you…What’s the big deal?” He groaned as he watched you drop to your knees in front of him, he couldn’t even deny that he wanted you.

“Fuck…Okay, yes I need you.” That was all you needed, you pulled down his basketball shorts and smirked as he sprung free, he knew it was going to be a long night.

Hoseok:

You were staying over at the dorms with your best friend Jungkook while your apartment was being renovated, the apartment above yours started leaking through so everything had to be redone. Jungkook offered you up his room while he stayed on the sofa and it was fine. The first week it was just you and Jungkook alone in the dorms because the boys were all on holiday but they were all slowly coming back home and realising that you were there. None of them minded they all loved you…Hoseok loved you a little more than the others did since he’d had a huge crush on you the moment Jungkook introduced you to one another.

“I’m gonna go change.” You whispered to Jungkook as you got up from the sofa, you’d been playing video games for the last hour while you waited for Jimin to come home and order food for you both.

“Hoodies are on the top shelf.” You hummed and went into the bedroom stripping from your clothes and looking around for a hoodie to wear, the only clean underwear you had on was a lingerie set that you’d gotten for yourself. Everything was still drying in the dryer so you had nothing else to wear,

“Hey Hobi you’re home early.” You heard Jungkook say through the door and a serge of excitement washed over you at the mention of his name you’d always had the biggest crush on him but would never act on it because of Jungkook.

“Hey, I’m just gonna grab one of your hoodies-” The door opened and shut before anyone could even process what was happening. Hoseok’s eyes landed on your half naked body and you felt your cheeks heat up as he didn’t look away from you until Jungkook screamed about you being in there.

“It’s okay! I’m dressed!” You lied quickly grabbing the first hoodie you could see and slipped into it,

“S-Sorry! I didn’t know…When did you come over?” You giggled and handed him a hoodie and looked down at the floor,

“I’m staying until my place is fixed, sorry you saw that,” He started shaking his head,

“I never said I didn’t like what I saw…Not that I saw anything and not that I was looking it’s just that you were just stood there anf you looked really nice and you-” He was cut off when you stood up on your tip toes to kiss him, it was mostly to stop him from rambling so much but also because he was making your stomach flip as he mentioned everything he thought of you. His hands landed onto your waist and you giggled as he brought you closer to his body.

“Welcome home.” You whispered walking away from him and going to find Jungkook.

Namjoon:

One of the joys of having a roommate that was always away on tour was getting to walk around your apartment in whatever you wanted without him seeing you. You and Namjoon had been friends since you were kids and you’d had a crush on him for years, keeping it to yourself since you didn’t want to ruin the friendship you had with one another. You walked across the landing from your bedroom to the bathroom to get yourself some water, it was the middle of the day and it was too hot to think about wearing real clothes so you threw on a lingerie set instead. Namjoon was away on tour so you didn’t have to worry about him walking out of his room and seeing you.

“Why would you ever kiss me, I’m not even half as pretty?” You sang along to the music coming from your bluetooth speaker as you walked into the bathroom,

“You gave her your sweater it’s just - Holy fucking jesus christ!” You screamed holding a towel over your body when you turned around. Namjoon was sat laughing at you singing when he noticed you in nothing but a red lingerie set.

“What the fuck?!” You screamed throwing a second towel at him,

“You scared the shit out of me!” You screamed throwing another and dropping the one you had around you completely forgetting what you were wearing you were just so excited he was home.

“I missed you!” You screamed wrapping your arms around you but frowning when he didn’t hug you back,

“Joonie?” He started stuttering as you pulled away from him and you looked down remembering what you were doing before he came in.

“Shit.” You whispered trying to cover yourself again but this time Namjoon pinned your arms above your head on the wall behind you and groaned as you stared up at him,

“You look so innocent,” He whispered as he ran his thumb along your bottom lip and grunted to himself,

“I missed you,” You whined out, neither of you had been like this together before but it just felt right, his lips were on yours and he picked you up from the floor, carrying you over to the bedroom and dropping you down on the bed.

“I missed you too Princess.”

Jimin:

You held the blanket tightly around your body while you waited for Jimin to come home. You and Jimin had been friends for years and you were currently living together because it was closer to work for you and it was cheaper to live together and share the bills than it was to be in separate apartments.

“What’s the big emergency?” Jimin laughed as he walked up the stairs to your bedroom but you screamed for him not to come into the room yet, his hand stayed hovering above the handle of your bedroom door,

“I want you to know that this! This was an accident and I never wanted you to help me but I need your help.” He smirked to himself trying to come up with ideas as to what was wrong with you but nothing was coming to mind.

“Okay…Come in.” You took a deep breath and looked at him as he walked into the room. He’d been imaging you stuck in some awkward yoga position, or thinking you’d slipped in the shower but not this. You were sitting on the edge of your bed clutching onto a sheet for dear life as you held it around your chest.

“I’m not seeing an emergency.” He whispered and you sighed getting up and looking at him,

“We’ve been friends for years, this isn’t weird okay…Just help me get it off.” You turned so your back was facing him and you dropped the sheet from around you. Jimin’s eyes landed on the red lingerie that was clinging to your body, it made your breasts somehow look larger…Not that Jimin had looked before…much.

“How is it stuck?” He stepped closer and your breath hitched in your throat. You’d always had a huge crush on Jimin but never acted on it since you were such close friends you didn’t want to ruin anything just because of a silly crush.

“The corset back,” You whispered holding your hand up to show him the bow that had turned into a knot you couldn’t get undone. He stepped closer and held his hands on your shoulders while he tried to untie it.

“Fuck, it’s super tight.” He grunted sending a shiver down your spine and a pool to your core as you imagined him saying that about you, thoughts of him fucking you forever entering your head the more you thought about his choice of words. Jimin noticed how tense you’d gotten since he stepped so close to you, he’d be blind not to notice that you had a crush on him, he knew but he also knew you didn’t want to act on it so he didn’t act on his either.

“Here,” He bent down and placed his teeth on the knot, loosening it as much as he could until it finally came free and he untied it, pulling the laces from their holders.

“You know,” He whispered in your ear, his fingers lingering your hips as he traced small patterns into your hips.

“If you wanted me to get you naked, all you had to do was ask.” In one quick motion he turned you around to face him and he kissed you roughly, your hands went into his hair and you desperately kissed him back tugging on his hair and moaning as he laid you down on the bed behind you.

Taehyung:

Taehyung was downstairs making food for you both so you thought it would be the perfect time to try on a new lingerie set you’d treated yourself to that morning. You and Taehyung had been friends since you could talk and you were living together while you saved up for your own apartment in Seoul, you hadn’t been living together long but there was always this kind of awkward tension that had never been there before. You were used to sleeping in the same bed as Taehyung as kids but this was different, being this close to one another and always being together was different. You couldn’t please yourself in the ways you wanted to and you knew that Taehyung hadn’t either, there was all this pent up tension that you both needed to let out but couldn’t. You stared at your body in the mirror, the lingerie set was stunning it was just a shame that no one was ever going to see you in it, you’d been in love with Taehyung as well as his best friend and could never imagine yourself with anyone but him. Taking a step back you went to look at yourself a little more but you slipped and hit your head on the edge of the bed, screaming out a series of curse words as you did.

“Y/n?!” Taehyung panicked moving the food off the oven and sprinting in the direction of the stairs, he freaked out thinking something had happened to you and instead of knocking on the door as he usually would he burst into the room to see you holding your head and wearing nothing but a black lace bralette and a matching thong, he tried to avert his eyes but you looked amazing.

“T-Tae.” You stuttered trying to cover yourself up but he helped you stand up and looked at your head,

“You alright? I heard a bang and I thought you’d hurt yourself.” You nodded and he handed you a blanket to cover yourself up. He was blushing like crazy and now avoiding your eyes which made you smile a little,

“It’s okay to look Tae.” You were shocked at yourself as the words fell from your lips but his eyes went back to your face instead of your body, he loved every part of you and you weren’t going to lie it felt good to have him look at you like this. His eyes were filled with lust and it was turning you on the more he looked at you.

“When did you- Who did you buy it for?” He couldn’t think of what question to ask first and you giggled as he stumbled over his words, you took his hand in yours and laid it on the lace bralette strap.

“What if I said I bought it for you?” You didn’t of course but he didn’t need to know that, he rubbed the fabric between his finger and thumb and you smirked at him.

“Y/n what are you-” You cut him off by kissing him on the lips, his hands cupped your face and he brought you closer to him, sitting you down on his lap as he sat down on the bed.

“Fuck I want you Tae.” You pleaded with him as you ground your hips up and down a little on his crotch, he let out a grunt and nodded in agreement.

“I need you too.”

Jungkook:

You hated your room mate with every fibre of your being, he was a disgusting fuck boy with no thought for anybody but himself. You’d come back from a date with a guy and were making out on the sofa when Jungkook decided that then would be the perfect time to start professing his undying love for you. Claiming that he adored the ground you walked on and how no one could ever love you like he could - all a joke in his head of course. He never wanted anyone to be happy if he was around and wanted to ruin your evening.

“You’re a self centred cunt!” You yelled slamming the bedroom door and looking at yourself in the mirror, you’d worn the perfect black dress that people found hard to resist you in and you had a matching black lace lingerie set on underneath.

“Fucking idiot.” You grumbled unzipping the dress and stepping out of it, you took it over to the wardrobe and hung it up. Jungkook felt bad for what he’d done to you but it was just the way he showed you he cared, though he would never admit that. Hating one another was easier than living each other, or at least it was in his world. His hand hovered over your door debating with himself if he should go and talk to you or not. He pushed the door open and caught you in the wardrobe, you screamed trying to cover yourself but Jungkook did nothing to look away from you, you looked breath taking.

“Jungkook! You pervert!” He shook his head as he looked at you biting down on his lip,

“Who would have thought, perfect little y/n looks like that.” He moaned a little at the thought of you dressing like that for him and his mind raced with thoughts,

“You’re a fucking disgusting pig.” You went to push him out of the room when he pushed you up against the door closing it in the progress,

“If I’m so disgusting why are you letting me do this,” He whispered as he ran his hands down your front and into your panties, you whimpered as his fingers came into contact with your clit.

“Soaking for me already I see.” He chucked kissing down the base of your neck and sucking on the exposed skin.

“Get ready baby, tonight you’re mine.”

Tagline: 

@writingdreamsnottragedies​ @yoongisdumplingcheeks​ @snowy-meowl​ @lynnthevirgo​ @jooniesdarlingdimples​ @fan-ati--c​ @lyoongx​ @mitzwinchester​ @callingmyangel​ @rjsmochii​ @btsiguess-kpop​ @kneel-begyourpardon​ @taestannie​

[chaneajoyyy]

Who’s writing new BP fics? It’s feeling kinda dry out here

Oh you gotta keep looking cause they out here!!!

NEW/NEW-ISH BP FICS

- winter wonderland series (25 days of christmas challenge), Chunk series (updated)- @ghostfacekill-monger

- you better watch out series (25 days of christmas challenge), baby daddy series- @teakturn

- couple’s getaway series, message therapist erik, erik and you have relationship issues that need to be resolved, incubus erik x reader series, gamer erik humiliates his girl, christmas wishes & mistletoe kisses series, all vampire eriks stories, drug dealer erik gets ino an entaglement with a married woman series, erik teaching his daughter how to love her dark skin, assassin erik and his girl london make up for lost time-   @nahimjustfeelingit-writes

- all i want series- @thadelightfulone

- the jabari that stole christmas, misfit wakandans, er*k in a box, t’challa’s 12 days of christmas, the jabari-cracker, christmas even will find erik, the coffee prince series (updated), song of stevens (not new but do read), will the bell ring? (updated)-  @eerythingisshaka

- chrismasing with you-  @ceeverse

- mama is wild, how he acts when he’s sick: m’baku “mama’s other baby’ jabari, peaches, how he acts whe he’s sick: erik “i can do it myself” stevens, how he acts when he’s sick: t’challa i’m fine” udaku, final decision, body pillow, the most dangerous game-  @akimi-youngblood

- his majesty, my king series; he chosen bride, a jabari wedding (not so new but do read), he wasn’t mad enough for me, clean-up woman, i wish you would, mistletoe series, dadmonger series- @snowbaku

- what if...?, without question, polaroids, the temple series, queen shuri, wh you are series-  @tchallasbabymama

- biggest puddle ever, crab legs, play fighting, the fight, let me tell you a story, stop, got it bad, what would you do series, sugar babe series, poetic justice, messing w/ erik while he’s playing the game, erik had a reputation of being a fuckboy. tha meant you had to be careful around him. guard your heart. it was a solid plan until he came in and ruined all your plans- @dreamingofmilk

- our christmas, how to feel, warm colors series (not so new but do read), thanksgiving w/ mr. stevens, valentine’s gumbo (sequel to thankgiving with mr. stevens)-  @mermaidchansons

- she likes me, huh? nuh uh, cute enough to eat, screams in the night series (updated), open up, autumn leave & cookie thieves, one way or another, mr. telephone series, you ain’t hear that?- @supersizemeplz (check masterlist)

- anniversary blues, the chosen one series (updated), the sweetest thing series, in the light series-  @devnicolee

- the arrival series, boxer!baku series (updated), fireflies and foot races, sessions-  @muse-of-mbaku

- 85 “you can’t cum unless i say so” & 89 “you’re drooling. you really don’t deserve it though, do you?”, seventy-three, “29, 75 & 82″, “5, 13, & 69″- @marvelmaree

- subconscious- @freddiefcknmercury

- shameful series- @iwrite4poc

- only forever series, what lies beneath series,bunme takes new york (part of space between series)- @dramaqueeenamby

- letters for my love series, just for this moment series, she’s mine series, abiona au series- @sarcastic-sunshines

- redemption series (updated), starlight series, dress up- @airis-paris14

- new start series (with “reader meets erik who is a single father”), round 2 series, reader sleeping over a erik’s, “erik and reader are opposites- like she’s so nice, calm and soft, and erik is mean... as always and his family is so confused on how they’re dating”, imagine where erik and the reader has heir firs date and when he get home he’s super excited and tell his friends how happy and in love he is?, erik with goofy reader on a mission, reader catching erik using her expensice skincare products afer she told him it’s off limit, hug time, erik ghosting after a fight with his gf & she hears he’s out acting single so she decide she’s single too. but he shows up & all like “who said we broke up?”,  reader is not answering her phone and erik is worried/irrirated because the day before he was mean to her and she left his house crying?, an imagine where erik finding out the reader is powerful (like a mutant), erik & mbaku fighting over the reader, found you series, erik helping his need tomboy bff get a makeover & he starts to get jealous of how much attention she starts to get from other guys,  vulnerable soft erik where he and the reader get into an argument and later that night he’s trying to sleep but can’t because she’s refusing to come to bed with him and he has to be vulnerable with her and tells her “you know i can’t sleep without you”?, “short imagine or headcanon ha erik finds out his girlfriend has more body’s then him or his a mafia leader, something between those lines. but instead of being upset for her not telling him he’s actually cool with it”, erik comforting the reader after finding out she lost a loved one and he had a good day, reader learns she’s pregnant and comes up with a creative way to tell erik , erik and the reader are set up on a blind date by mutual friends, “reader is studying for her upcoming test and she is frustrated with the amount of studying she has to do.  erik notices she has been studying for a long time, and tries to do everything to relax her mind”, erik takes reader to wakanda for the first time, erik sees his girl still sleep with a stuffed animal and by kinda makes fun of her but when she puts it up he sees she struggles withouth it?, “imagine with erik inspired by the somg caretaker by dram and sza, like maybe the reader is feeling a bit ill/nauseous and erik to take care of her”, diaper change, sofboi erik where he asks the reader to marry him, hc of erik being jealous of his girl is too close to t’challa? always texting/wanting to hang out when they visit, back to you series, readering driving erik nuts with cravings & mood swings. ex: interrupting his sleep for food runs only to say she doesn’t want that anymore when he returns & demand something else, “ whatever you’re trying to butter me up for, the answer is no”?, how did he meet his love?, life together, your first time, hurting, fears, sick day, jealous series, when you’re sick, night fights, two lines, opening up, newborn, comfort, some love, insecure, first steps, it’s time series, cool down time, first day back- @killmongerdrabbles

- back & forth-  @supremethunda

- baby mama series, again, move, guess, night, nsfw alphabet, bow- @woahitslucyylu

- reactions o their girl’s wap (with erik), erik and reader being petty in the house after an argument-  @tastingmellow

- next lifetime series, days off with erik, girls trip series (updated),the way you make me feel- @theficplug

-  only then am i human series,a little vacation- @opalsandlace

-faded series, waves series, concrete cowboys series, black boys bloom thors first series (volume 3)- @uzumaki-rebellion

- black tie event-  @laketaj24

- genuine, numb- @taterfics

- city boy and his country girl series, wake up, meet the furys- @blackmissfrizzle

- come thru, this lil’ game we play-  @writetimes

- in between the lines series- @melodyofmbaku

- him, her and us series; conversations and coffee trips series, dancing around each oher series, mrs., you again series, where are we now?, cold coffee, here we are again series, summer love (could be any of the marvel men including t’challa); love, apps, and attitudes series; give me a reason (search for t’challa x reader)-  @iliketowrite1996

- homewrecker series (updated), family reunion- @shaekingshitup

- unexpected things happen in the clucky’s drive-thru, where you going: a quarantine quickie, halloween, delicate series, the best man-  @majesticbrownjawn

- i like tha series (updated), shea butter (baby) series  @nachtaiwrites

- the spririt of christmas, dentist series (updated), waiting to get home, best friends series, line love series, hell loves satin: tales of a mascochist, tattoo party- @hearteyes-for-killmonger

- uncharted series (updated), metamorphasis series, the remodel series, the boy is mine series (collab with @dashhoney25), sweet heat, quarantine bae, throttle, sugar, toxic, fair is fair, work boo (updated)-  @soufcakmistress

- caught up series- @twistedcharismaaa

- homebody series- @truglori

- roadtrip series- @cecereads209

- lights out, a better man- @reelwriter19

- you mean it? series, haunted series- @heykillmongerluhme

- end in flames series, my health- @bvlckgirlmvgix (not so new but do check out!)

***PLEASE HIT ME UP TO ADD YOUR STORIES!!!***

[alpacaparkaseok]

Book of Soulmates

Forever Friend

Kim Taehyung - Platonic soulmate au

requested by: anon

Pairing: Taehyung x reader

Premise: Soulmates come in all shapes and sizes, and most are meant to be a companion. However, they are not always meant for romance. Sometimes a shoulder to cry on is worth more than a dozen roses. 

When I first expressed my worry for Kim Taehyung’s mental health, I received the same comment over and over again:

“You’re so empathetic.”

While I may be empathetic to a point, I couldn’t move past the feeling in my chest every time I saw Taehyung through my little screen. Like any other ARMY, I felt a special bond with the boys. Their victories were my own, and their heartbreak had an affect on me. However, one rainy evening toward the end of August, I began to realize that perhaps I wasn’t so empathetic after all. 

I’ve seen plenty of soulmates before; my brother and his soulmate are hilarious to hang out with. I’ve also been a little jealous of their easy going friendship and their ability to get into trouble under nearly any circumstance. I can’t lie and say that I haven’t always longed for the day when I’ll meet my soulmate. 

My mother and her soulmate still hang out with my dad and his soulmate every Wednesday and Friday. They often come out to the house, bringing their children to hang out with my brother and I. However, since my brother found his built-in bff, it’s been a little lonely at times. 

Holding the umbrella tight in my right hand, I hold up my phone to my ear with my left. “You keep saying it feels like a click-”

“Because that’s honestly the only way to express it. You see your soulmate, and you just...click. That’s really the only way I know how to explain it.”

I huff in annoyance. I’ve had this conversation countless times with my brother, but he can’t give me a better answer than anybody else can. 

“You’d think that after all these years and all these soulmates, somebody would come up with a better way to describe how it feels that just a ‘click’. How stupid is that?”

My brother laughs on the other side of the phone, only fueling my fury. “Well, when you meet your soulmate, you can write a whole book on it or something. 

“I will. Just you wait.” Turning to enter the cafe, I finish up the phone call with my brother. “Alright, I’ve gotta go. Let me know how your exam-”

The door flies open as a boisterous boy waltzes out, his friends following after him. They’re in the middle of either laughing at him or scolding him for not looking at where he’s going when I recognize them. 

Since when did BTS just wander around Seoul without a care in the world?

“Sorry guys, but wasn’t that food worth it?” Seokjin says. None of them have noticed me yet, and I scramble off to the side before they can. 

“It was really good, but we’ve got to hurry. We can't be late for this.” Namjoon looks up and down the street for a car. “Where did they park the cars? Are they around the back?”

“I’ll check!” Taehyung chirps, and he whirls around to round the corner where I’m currently hiding out. “We came in two cars, didn’t - oh.”

Taehyung stops mid-step as he sees me, his mouth dropping a little. My eyes widen as I look back at him, the world slowing down for a moment to relish this moment. 

Click.

Looking into his dark, wide eyes, I suddenly can’t find it in me to blame anybody for how they described meeting their soulmate. Looking at Taehyung, I feel like I’m a gear shift that was never quite put into ‘drive’, and he’s the one who came along and readjusted me. 

Finally I’ve been put into drive. Finally, I can take to the road without feeling strained or out of place. All because of the fluffy-haired boy before me. 

“Did we just...click?” Taehyung mumbles more to himself than to me. I nod.

“Click.” I add a little helplessly. 

Suddenly his confused expression morphs into a big smile, and he’s turning around to peek around the corner to the other boys. “I clicked!”

“What?” Jimin's voice is clear. “Did you find the cars?”

“N-what? No! I clicked!”

Taehyung becomes a bit flustered as the boys continue to pester him about the cars, clearly not picking up on his meaning. Waving me over with that classic smile, I can’t help but laugh at the situation. I don’t miss the way Taehyung laughs along with me, already reading my thoughts. 

Once I round the corner, the boys’ confusion only skyrockets. They share wary glances while trying to smile politely, and I rack my brain for I can possibly say that can ease their worries. 

“Hi.” Wow, great start. “I’m what Taehyung’s talking about. You know...click?”

It’s Yoongi who understands first, his mouth forming an ‘o’ as he begins to laugh. “Soulmates?”

Everyone dissolves into a mess of questions and laughter, Namjoon perking up as he sees the two black SUVs pulling up. 

“Well...” Taehyung says from beside me, nodding at the cars. “You coming?”

Blinking up at him, I smile. “I- yeah. Yeah, I’m coming. If that’s alright...?”

Taehyung doesn’t even respond, just guiding me toward the car and helping me in. I find myself seated between him and Jimin, the latter starting to laugh all over again. 

Taehyung and I give him the same look, which only makes him laugh harder. “What?” Taehyung asks. 

Jimin shakes his head. “Good luck explaining this to ARMY. Aren’t we supposed to be the soulmates?”

Groaning, I drop my head in my hands. “That’s right. I’m screwed.”

Taehyung smiles, giving me a sympathetic pat on the back. “If it helps, I have leftovers.”

I instantly sit up. “Just kidding, this will work out just fine I think.”

masterlist