#go on and buy yourself something to bounce on you little weirdo

[byler-alarmist]

If I said Eddie Diaz needs to buy his own "toy" in S8.....

Bonus: same episode, where he canonically admits to Buck he's pent up and can't get off

[mae-gi-writes]

Where The Sea Birds Sleep | Kevin (The Boyz Imagine)

A cute confession needs no words. 

A/N: I just wanted a cute fluffy Kevin au because it’s been a while and I forgot how great it feels to write for him. xx Stay safe, stay healthy and take care y’all <3 

Genre: aquarium trip au, fluff, cute hand-holding.

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The school of fish glide through the aquamarine water, scales flashing all colours of the rainbow as they catch the light bouncing off the aquarium walls. Kevin is already steps ahead of you like a giddy child, palms pressing against the cool glass and nose practically squished up against it. His gaze swivels back and forth to catch a glimpse of as many species as he can and a small giggle bursts from his lips at intervals.

You watch with your arms crossed a few meters back, an amused grin adorning your face. You feel Jacob nudge you, "you're doing it again."

You immediately wipe your face blank, "doing what?"

"Staring Kevin down like he's a fresh piece of sashimi you wish to gobble up."

You slap his arm without hesitation and the said man yelps, "piss off," you mutter.

On your other side stands Juyeon, hands shoved in his pockets and looking like he'd rather be anywhere else but here.

The three of you had given in to Kevin's needless whining about aquarium visits, with the latter dropping subtle hints every now and again-- pamphlet deals, coupons to buy a fish, a discount on end of the year sales for aquarium visits. This guy literally picked up everything that had the marine animal plastered over it for his friends to see, and thus you had decided to take matters into your own hands, considering that no one else would otherwise.

Not because you had a huge mega crush on the said young man.

No, this is solely because of your long standing friendship and a way to make him stop whining.

Clearly though, Jacob and Juyeon don't think so. They both playfully nudge their elbows to your sides as you keep following Kevin's voice pitched with excitement.

"Did you drag us along on purpose just to stand there and do nothing?" Juyeon murmurs into your ear while you enter the jellyfish section, causing you to shoot him a look, "Don't," there's an edge to your tone but Juyeon isn't afraid, even reaches over to mess the perfect ponytail you took thirty minutes to perfect.

"Juyeon!" You yell in a growing mixture of annoyance and he runs away to hide behind a still awestruck Kevin. The latter blinks back to reality, noticing the glower on your face before he asks what's wrong.

You grumble something about Juyeon being a dick, to which he blows you a kiss. The aquarium is devoid of people, making it easier for you to take your time or rather, to wait for Kevin who ooes and aahs at every single fish he lays eyes upon. Warmth blossoms through your heart as you see his face light up, a smile tugging your lips upwards without realizing it.

That is precisely one of the reasons why you love him so much. He's amazed by life itself and watching him is like experiencing a different kind of sunset everyday; breathtakingly beautiful and different.

You wish you had that kind of optimism. But like a flower in need of sunlight, you had found yourself tilting towards Kevin in search for his warmth to envelope you.

It is when you reach the manta ray section that you jump up in excitement, quickly scooting beside the said dark-haired man where you can see the birds of the sea gliding through the waters with a gentleness that causes you to grin, not realizing that you're currently mirroring Kevin's expression.

"Oh look at that one! It's a baby!" Kevin points and evidently enough, there's a paler, smaller manta ray accompanying its mother.

"They're so cute," you find your voice as you feel the softest brush of manta ray skin against your palm. You giggle, "it tickles."

"Manta rays are so poetic," Kevin says, "I could write a whole book about how they swim."

"I'd buy that book in a heartbeat," you joke, "they've always been fascinating to me."

Your hand suddenly brushes against his by accident and you quickly pull back, heat exploding through your cheeks and you pray to god that the darkness of the aquarium is enough to hide it.

"Why?"

"I don't know," you can feel his eyes, those beautiful angular almond eyes, on you. You keep your eyes glues to the waters though, "I guess I'm a hopeless romantic. We don't call them birds of the sea for nothing."

He hums in agreement, "that's true."

"Why do you like fish so much?"

There's a soft pause, broken only by the sound of water churning in the background.

"Ever since I was small, I had a fish tank," he starts, "I would look at it everyday and try to figure out why the fish never ate each other."

You snort, "calm down cannibal."

"It's true! I swear it's a kid thing okay?"

"Sure."

"Well anyway, my mom used to take care of them back when she didn't have a job. So she told me that they had their own ecosystem and that breaking the balance of it would ultimately create havoc."

"Hence cannibalism?" You notice his shoulder against yours. Had he always been this close? Maybe you're just imagining things.

"You're such a weirdo Y/N," Kevin crinkles his nose at your comment, "people would just call it the cycle of life. Why'd you gotta be so vulgaar?"

"I wouldn't be me if I weren't vulgar."

"No," his alto grows softer, closer to you, "you wouldn't."

Another pause ensues, though it is comfortable. You pet the ray that is lifting its fin as if in a solitary wave and you gently stroke the underside before your hand dives back down into the water. It knocks into Kevin's.

"Sorry," you mutter before going to pet another ray that is incoming. But warmth suddenly engulfs your little finger and blinking down in confusion, your mouth grows dry at the way the young man has his little finger hooked into yours. What the--?

Your eyes find his face only to see him blatantly caressing another ray with his other hand, trying his best to ignore your poignant stare. Questions are bouncing at the tip of your tongue and you press your lips together, realizing that you do indeed like the feel of his finger around yours.

Noticing that you aren't pulling back yet, Kevin grows a little more confident. He leans into your shoulder a little more, just the gentlest pressure of clothed body to body.

Then, the rest of his fingers weave through yours like magic and you can't believe how right it feels.

You probably stay that way for a few minutes longer even though it feels like seconds. All too soon, you feel Kevin shift while murmuring that maybe you should catch up with Jacob and Juyeon, who have long since disappeared. He doesn't let go of your hand though, keeps holding it tightly in his until he finds some tissues to wipe it off.

He holds your hand so gently between his, his touch fleeting and light, yet sending an array of goosebumps skittering down your said arm. You can barely breathe as you search his eyes, but when he looks back at you, the tenderness of his face is enough to render your heart into a frenzied staccato.

"I wonder where they've gone," he hums, tugging you along with a thumb gently brushing over your knuckles. Your face is flaming red at this point and he'd be an idiot not to notice.

"I--" you can't keep your eyes off your entwined hands, "I don't know."

He glances back, notices the focus of your attention, before grinning playfully, "what?"

Your gaze flits upwards to his, "nothing."

His hand squeezes yours as if in understanding and upon hearing his soft playful giggle, you let out a small laugh before squeezing back fondly.

A few minutes later, you spot the missing two boys by the coffee stand don't hesitate to scowl at them when you notice their eyes lingering over your linked hands, smirks flashing across their faces.

"Hey Kevin," Jacob calls out, "Why are you holding Y/N's hand?"

Oh god. You wish you can punch him. Your entire body grows still.

Kevin, with soft peony cheeks, only grins in return before he says a little smugly, "because I like her. And because she's going to be mine."

At this point you feel so hot that you wouldn’t be surprised if you were to combust right there and then, nudging Kevin as you bite your lip to stop the smile from spreading across your face. Meanwhile, the other two boys high-five each other as Kevin leans in a little closer, lips just mere inches from your ear:

"So will you? Be mine?"

[mindswriters]

Next Morning - jj maybank × reader

Summary: y/n and jj are friends with benefits for a couple months ago, in secret of course, but after a night where the blonde could not control himself, you guys have to chase after a next morning pill.

Pairing: jj maybank × reader

Warnings: a tiny bit of smut, unprotected sex [no glove no love my friends], swearing, pregnancy scare, probably typos.

Word count: 3.1K

A/N: this is "low" key inspired by otis and ruby from sex education, i thought they were cute.

gif by @toesure :)

"Oh fuck Y/n, you're doing so good" JJ grunts as you speed your pace bouncing your hips against his shaft, riding him like your life depends on it.

Tonight was being just another boring Thursday night at the outer banks, at least until your best friend, JJ Maybank, calls you saying that he was alone at the chateau, and asked you to come over. A few months ago you guys updated your friendship with some benefits, and since then a day without your other Pogue friends means a huge opportunity to enjoy yourselves together, so why not.

"You fill me up so nice J" you moaned tugging his blonde locks while you sank yourself on his cock one more time.

Incredible as it sounds, this is the first time you're riding JJ's cock. After lots of tries, he finally left out his dominant side and let you take control of him, but obviously at some point he would buck his hips and meet your thrusts, making it feel even better. Honestly, he wasn't expecting it to be this good. He loves the way your breasts are pressed against his chest while you move your hips roughly, this position basically gives him a free pass to cover your neck with bites and hickies. And all of this plus your moans filling up the room are driving him insane.

"Fuck, I can't" he breathed out under your ear but you kept with your pace, looking for your high, and you could say it wasn't so far "Y/n, I think I'm gonna- oh fuck"

"What the actual fuck JJ?" you cursed panting when you felt the stick liquid scratching your inside walls and reached your high too.

At the beginning of this 'thing' you were still two good kids who always protected yourselves, but as deep as you dived in each others lusts, you discovered that neither you nor JJ were the biggest fans of condoms, so you made a deal, you can do it without them, as long as he don't release inside of you. And by the looks of it, he just broke the deal.

"Did you just came inside me?" you just aren't freaking out because you're still dizzy from your orgasm

"Shit I think I did" he said by passing his hands through his messy hair and heavy breathing.

"This is not a joke, JJ. Didn't you felt it coming?" you asked in a hard tone while reaching for his shirt to clean yourself up

"It was impossible not to feel it" the blonde answered with a smirk

"Then why don't you warned me, pulled off or whatever?" you now have a worried tone in your voice

"I tried! but come on Y/n, I'm mild high and you were having no mercy with me!" he exclaimed throwing his hands on the air

"Don't put this all on me" you ran your hands through your face and trying to stay calm, realizing the big problem you had just created.

"Hey, I'm sorry okay, even though you were riding me like a goddess, it was my dick who painted you so..." he said getting close to you and wrapping your naked body with his arms.

You softly giggled relaxing a bit with his touch, you know he's worried too, his brain is only a little slower than yours to process information, but you're sure that once he remember that one of the consequences of this "slide" could be an unexpected pregnancy and you becoming parents with 17 years, he'll freak out.

"So what do we do now?" he asked caressing your hair

"Since we're on the cut, without the twinkie and there's none 24-hour drug store in here, we'll go to sleep and wait until tomorrow morning to go buy a next morning pill." you explained what seemed to be the best option now.

"It means you're staying over?" he asked and you nodded smirking "Sounds good to me then"

After that, you guys took a quick shower just to free your bodies from the sweat and other things even more disgusting, and didn't even bothered in putting back your clothes, you just cuddled and fell asleep naked under a thin blanket, because above all, his body's heat still makes you feel safe.

¤¤¤

You can't say that you slept like an angel this night, you were too worried for it. So as soon as you saw the bright light from outside trespass the room, you carefully reached your phone on the nightstand and checked the time, it was almost 8 in the morning. Considering you don't want to be naked with your best friend in the spare room when John B arrives, and that the sooner you take the pill the better, you decided it was time to get up. You slowly pulled JJ's arm away from your waist and stood up without waking him up. You picked your underwear from the floor and put them on, along with your jeans shorts from the day before and lent one of JJ's shirts, the one with a Kildare Marina print. The boy only woke up when you got back from the bathroom, and opened the curtains, basically torturing him.

"Oh come on, what time is it?" he grunted scratching his eyes with the back of his hands.

"Time to fix the previous night, sweetheart" you answered picking up some clothes that were still on the floor.

"Can't we just wait a little more?" he yawned.

"No, we can't, unless you want to increase the chances of me having a mini you on my uterus" you stared him cocking your eyebrows.

"Okay, right, I'm up" he stood up quickly, but he wasn't 100% awake yet.

"Uh, try to put some clothes on, I'll be in the kitchen" you faked a disgusted face pointing to his not too little exposed friend.

While JJ was doing his morning routine, you started looking for something you could eat, but the old pizza slices, mold breads and cereal wastes didn't seem at all attractive to you and your lack of hunger. At that moment the feelings that consume you most are those of concern and guilt, concern because you know that the next morning pill isn't 100% effective, and you definitely can't handle having a baby now, you are too irresponsible for this, and that's why you also feel guilty, because if you wouldn't had accepted that goddamn "no condom" deal, nothing of this will be happening. But suddenly you were dragged away from your thoughts by the sound of the Chateau's front door opening, you could say that John B was trying to be quiet, but it didn't work very well, since the doors of the house are old and creak with any movement.

"Shit!" the brunette whisper-shouted placing a hand on his chest when he entered the kitchen "Wow Y/n, you scared the shit out of me, what are you doing?"

"Uh.... breakfast?" you quirked your eyebrows showing him the cereal box in your hands

"Yeah I can see you're doing your breakfast, 'what are you doing here?' is what I meant" he said placing his keys on the counter.

"I'm waiting for JJ, we have some important things to do" you said staring your cereal bowl, avoiding to meet eyes with your friend.

"JJ? Doing important things this early in the morning?" you pursed your lips in a suggestive smile and nodded your head "And why are you wearing his shirt?"

You almost chocked with milk at the question, stuttering to find a plausible answer "Because... I- spilled toothpaste on mine?" it definitely sounded more like a question.

John B was about to question you again but thank God JJ finally joined you, now wearing his classic boots and cargo shorts, and some random shirt.

"Oh hi Jombie" he said scratching his eyes with the back of his hand.

Before your friend could even answer, you stood up and made your way towards JJ "Finally sleeping beauty, can we go now?" you said linking your arms.

"I was actually craving for some breakfast first" he pointed to the table, where John B was putting some cereal for himself.

"You know what might happen if we get late, don't you?" you whispered quirking your eyebrows and giving the blonde a serious look and heading to the front porch.

"Ok, breakfast can wait, see you later JB, oh and we're taking the twinkie" he grabbed the keys John B had previously dropped on the counter and hushed to meet you outside.

"See ya weirdos" John B shook his head and rolled his eyes seeing the antics of his two best friends.

The drive to the drugstore was silent, but not an awkward silent, more like a reflexing silence. The more you tried to stay calm and shrug off all the "what ifs" in your head, the more the anxiety took hold of you. For JJ, you were going to take the pill and everything would work out, but you know it's not like that, these emergency methods don't always work, and if it doesn't work this time, you have no idea how to deal with a possible pregnancy at 17. What your friends will think when you come clean and tell them about your escapades and that they resulted in your pregnancy? How would you explain this to your parents? How would they react? How JJ's father would react? All this thoughts were zoning out in your brain when a gentle touch stopped you from freaking out. You moved your gaze from the window to JJ's hand rubbing your tight, and then you looked at his face to see a reassuring smile, like saying "it's going to be ok" but without words. You smiled back, feeling the anxious feeling leave your body and mind. It didn't take long for you guys to be parking the van a few meters from the drugstore.

You were about to enter the store when something clicked on your mind "Wait!" you said grabbing JJ's arm, making him stumble on his feet.

"What's wrong?" he frowned staring at you.

"JJ we live on an island. What if someone sees me buying next morning pills? I don't want the whole obx gossiping about me and my sexual slides" you said crossing your arms and looking away from him.

"Okay, I'll do it then" he said and you immediately stared at him, surprised and trying to figure out if he was being serious, just when you were about to complain, he gently squeezed your shoulders "Wait here, I'll be right back"

And just like that you were left alone in front the small store, you looked around, thankfully the street was pretty empty, so you decided to sit down on the curb and wait for him to come back. Which was faster than you expected. As soon as you heard the bell, you got up and waited for him to give you the box that he had in his hands.

"These are just bubble gums" he shrugged rolling his eyes.

"Bubble gums? What the hell JJ?" you laughed in disbelief.

"She said she couldn't sell it for me because I don't have a fucking vagina" JJ protested trying to not be so loud.

You sighed licking your lips. But is better to deal with buying the pill in person, to deal with having a baby. You opened your purse, looking for your sunglasses and when you found them you tapped JJ's shoulder "stay at the door, you'll be my look out"

"At your disposal, boss" he said holding the door while you two entered the store, you put on your glasses trying to disguise a little smirk in your lips.

You slowly walked between the hallways, pretending to be some random costumer, not that you weren't, you just don't want to seem so desperate. When you finally reached the cash counter, you looked over your shoulder to see JJ nodding and giving you tumbs up.

"Hey, can I have a next morning pill?" you mumbled twitching your nose.

"Sorry, I couldn't hear you" the woman on the cashier said.

"A next morning pill, please" this time you were clearer, masking the awkwardness with an even more awkward smirk.

"When did you last have sex?" the cashier asked.

"Last night" you stated, isn't it obvious? you thought to yourself.

"Did you use contraception?" the question made you stomach turn. Why did you have to be so irresponsible? Stupid deal.

"No" your whisper could barely be heard by you, let alone the woman behind the counter.

"Miss, did you use contraception?" she repeated the question after your lack of response.

"No, we didn't" your eyes widened when you heard JJ's voice coming from a few meters away.

Both you and the cashier stared at him, who immediately regretted the previous words "Sorry, I'm just the look out" he scratched the back of his neck.

Returning the attention just between you and the mild-age woman, she made a few more questions and after finishing to fill up your form, she finally gave you the little box with all the prescriptions to take the pill. You also asked for two Pepsi cans for you and JJ, you were about to pay the woman when you felt an around your waist.

"What do you think you're doing, lady?" JJ asked taking your wallet from your hands.

"Well, if you please give my wallet back, I was going to pay for those things" you stared at him trying to reach his other hand behind his back.

"No way, I'll pay for it" he returned the wallet for you and grabbed his own one on his pocket.

"J, you don't have to, it takes two to tango remember?" you protested biting your inner lip and giving him non-intentional puppy eyes.

"Then we should at least split it" he definitely has a point now.

"Okay, fine, you win" you rolled your eyes giving up and earning a grin from your best friend.

¤¤¤

After you and JJ have paid for the pill and your sodas, he said he wanted to go somewhere else, so he drove the twinkie to the old forts on Battery Jasper, some kind of cliff or mountain where we could almost see the entire Outer Banks. You guys sat on some old big rocks and while you struggled against the wind to try to read the pill bull, JJ decided to break the silence.

"Do you think we should break the deal?" he hesitantly asked.

"You mean the 'condom free' deal or all the friends with benefits deal?" you chuckled looking at the paper in your hands.

"Do you want to stop what we've been doing? 'Cause if you do I'm not stopping you, it's just- I really enjoy spending time with you and..." he started rumbling but you soon interupted him.

"Hey! chill out blondie!" you giggled cupping his face with your right hand "We don't need to stop it, even because I like messing around with you too, a lot. We just need to be more careful" you explained.

"Okay..." he relaxed with your touch and you two shared a smile and stared at each other for a few seconds.

You cleared your throat when you remembered that you were the one hurrying him up and now you almost forgot that you have a pill to take asap. You opened your Pepsi and medicine, putting the pill on your tongue and taking a sip of the drink to help you swallow. JJ watched you and while you were drinking again you heard little laughter coming from him.

"What?" you gave him a suspicious look.

"Nothing" he giggled making you narrow your eyes at him "I just imagined us being arrested for killing a poor little baby"

"So would you prefer waking up at 3am to changing diapers?" you laughed arching you eyebrows.

"Ew, no" you both erupted in laughter, you love the way you and JJ never feel awkward, not even in scary moments like these.

When you recovered from your crisis of laughter, you took a deep breath and felt a grip on your tight, you looked up to see JJ staring at the horizon, and you could say that he was thinking about something.

"You know, I would like to have a baby with you" he said with a shy grin.

"Oh come on J, give it a rest" you shook your head chuckling and taking another sip of your drink.

"No, I meant it! Of course not right now, but if we reach our thirties without meeting our perfect pairs, we could marry each other and just maybe have a little bit of kids" he said nonchantly.

"A little bit of kids?" you smiled and stared at him, trying to figure if he was being serious or not "I can't believe you're real Maybank" you giggled.

"What? Have you never heard that people are happier when they marry their best friends?" he suggested.

"Maybe" you shrugged looking away.

"So what? Do we have a deal?" he bit his lip quirking his eyebrows in your direction.

"I'm not making anymore deals with you, blondie" you said, immediately seeing his happy face fall to a sad one "But maybe, just maybe, I liked your idea" you smirked turning your face to look at him.

"I knew it!" he cheered with a kiss on your cheek and clicking your cans he said "To our future possible marriage"

"Cheers" you gave a little laugh, which was interrupted by your phone ringing.

As soon as you unlocked your screens, you were surprised with dozens of notifications on your twitter, and also 2 messages from John B, you opened them first.

Jombie 🏄‍♂‍: so is that the "important things" you guys had to do? am i missing something?

Jombie 🏄‍♂‍: 📷 Photo

When you downloaded the file, you came across a screenshot, it was from Topper's last tweet: a picture taken from outside the drugstore, through the glass wall, you and JJ standing in front of the cash counter, his arm on your waist, and thanks god, only the two Pepsi cans could be seen on the counter. Your eyes widened even more when you read the caption "Looks like Maybank and Y/l/n finally assumed their shit! What would those lovebirds be doing on a drugstore this early in the morning?"

"What happened?" JJ asked seeing how your expression went blank looking at your phone.

"Weren't you supposed to be the look out?" you said turning your phone to him and pointing to the screen blowing with notifications, but still showing the picture on Topper's tweet.

"Shit."

They have some things to explain now, or maybe some good excuses to came up with.

taglist: @blueflame2778 @outerbongs @maybebanks @k-k0129 @dani-c20 @jjsmaybcnk @wicked-laugh @wallflowercal @obx-pouges @alwaysasadaesthetic @marvel-ousnesss

[iamyoursinblog]

The LOOP

Pairing:  Jung Hoseok/Park Jimin/Kim Taehyung x Reader

Genre: fluff

Word Count: 10,5 k 

_______________________

LIST

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You were stretching in bed when the pleasant sound of the trees woke you up. You groped your phone under your pillow and groaned. Friday, 5:13 a.m. Your room was still in the twilight of the night, and why did you manage to wake up so early?! There was still a lot of time before the excursion, and what you must to do? You smiled, even on vacation your habit of waking up early has not disappeared anywhere. Sometimes you wondered why you were so drawn to work that the time for sleep seemed to be wasted. Although, someone would not be happy to work with BTS. These guys were incredible not only outwardly, their dedication, sincerity, kindness and manners, won your heart from the very first minute of communication. And now, lying in your room at the beautiful resort that you have long dreamed of, you still missed your work. Although it may not be about work ...

You smiled and took out your laptop, began to check your mail and what you have to do when you return home. Ten days passed almost imperceptibly, and now there were several days of your escape to this paradise. It is worth enjoying them to the fullest. You were so carried away by your work that you didn't even notice when exactly your room was filled with bright sunlight. You got out of bed and opened the doors to the terrace. The hot wind enveloped your body under the sound of the ocean. Yes, it's definitely good morning! You smiled broadly enjoying the beach landscape. After breakfast, you started getting ready for the excursion. The main plus of interrupting on vacation is that all you need is glasses, a swimsuit and a sundress. Neither makeup, nor hairstyle, nor the eternal dilemma of what to wear - do not bother you when you spend 90% of your time on the beach. You will be definitely miss this. 

IT WILL BE FUN

You went out into the hall where everyone who went on a tour gathered. You looked while the guide checked everything in place.

"_____!" a cheerful voice called out to you before strong arms wrapped around your body from your back, making you dumb with surprise. You broke free from the tight embrace and turned towards the owner of a clear voice. Your jaw dropped when you saw Hoseok in front of you. Can you have sunstroke? You stared at him in disbelief, checking your temperature. “Oh, seriously? I'm not a hallucination.” He laughed as he watched your reaction.

"Hoseok, what are you doing here?" you were completely discouraged by his appearance.

“We flew here at night to photoshoot. Since this is the first day, we have a day off. I thought it would be nice to go on an excursion, and here I am” he put his arm around your shoulders and pushed you towards the bus, where everyone was already sitting. “I was a little upset to be alone, but now I have you. It will be fun!"

“That's for sure,” you mumbled, still trying to piece all the pieces of the puzzle together in your head. How did it happen? You and Hoseok are going on an excursion together. While you were driving, he talked about everything that happened in your absence, which made you practically laughed to tears. "And why did so many funny things happen as soon as I left?" you pretended to pout

"That's it! Don't go anywhere for so long anymore! " replied Hoseok, crossing his arms over his chest

"I was away for 10 days"

"Just?" Hoseok interrupted you, looking at you wide-eyed “FOR 10 whole days you were gone !!! In fact, I missed you while you were drinking cocktails here on the beaches and flirting with tanned guys" from turned towards the window, pretending to be offended by you

"Yes Yes Yes. Poor Hoseok." you stroked his head "By the way, for reference, I haven't flirted with any tanned guys"

“Yeah, so you don’t deny the cocktail part?” he turned sharply and pointed his finger at you, as if he had solved the crime of the century.

“You don’t think I’ll only drink fresh juices on vacation in such a chic place?” you answered and you two laughed

“Okay, on this point I forgive you. But about the guys - it doesn't seem to be true. I will not believe that during this time no one flirted with you. " he shook his head in disbelief

“I didn’t say that they didn’t flirt with me. I said that I was not flirting with anyone.” You took your bag and headed for the exit when the bus arrived. Hoseok looked at you with an open mouth, you stuck out your tongue and ran out of the bus.

"Gotcha" You squealed laughing as he grabbed you, lifting the air. “I knew how you usually know how to find the right words to make yourself innocent,” he said, putting you on the ground. “I don't even want to image how many guys you managed to break their heart. Cruel woman " he covered his face with his hand

"It's not my fault that they are not in my style"

"Is it because I'm in your style?" he smiled widely, posing smugly

"Mmmmm ..." you examined him from head to toe, carefully evaluating him

"Are you hesitant to answer?" he stared at you

"You .." you started to say, but he covered his ears with his hands, humming a song

“I don’t even want to hear it!” He went ahead complaining under his breath “I miss her there, but she hesitates with the answer, in her style I am or not. What a cruel woman. My life will not be the same. My heart is completely broken.” You followed him, laughing at his little performance of the“ jealous guy ”. What a weirdo, you thought to yourself. “Okay, so be it. My generous heart forgives you. ”He smiled broadly, turning in your direction as you walked down the steps.

“Oh, I don't even know how to thank you Hoseok. Thank you very much!!!" you bowed deeply with your hand on your heart. He laughed loudly and pulled your hand to speed up your step. You just followed him while the guide was telling you something about the place where you were, but you couldn't concentrate because Hoseok was constantly joking and distracting you. You knew that because of him you would miss the whole excursion. You went down to a beautiful beach and your breath caught in how beautiful it was. Hoseok pulled you towards the beach as everyone else headed towards the rocks “What are you doing? We are in the other direction,” you said pulling him back, which made him too close to you. You staggered and he hugged you around the waist, pressing you against his body so that you do not fall.

"Can we arrange our own excursion?" he winked at you "Let's go" he pulled you along almost running to the end of the beach. You just followed him, unable to stop. “Wow, look at this place,” Hoseok said as he walked through a crack in the rock. You followed him and your breath caught, it was a small beach hidden in a rock with crystal water.

"What are you doing?" you asked looking at Hoseok, who was taking off his shirt

“Do you see this water and you still have no desire to be in it? You're strange!" he laughed as he unbuttoned his pants. You turned away when he started taking off his shorts. "Are you embarrassing me?"

“No, on the contrary, I didn't want to embarrass you,” you said, turning to him.

"Let's assume that I believed you" he smiled broadly and ran into the water "Why froze, take off your clothes and join" he waved his hand to you as he sailed from the shore. You neatly folded your things and taking off your sundress went towards the water. A loud whistle echoed through the cave. "Wow, no wonder everyone was flirting with you, look at your perfect body," he said, exploring your body.

Under his gaze, you immediately blushed and quickly went into the water to somehow cover up your too naked body. He just smiled while continuing to fool around in the water. Hoseok was right, the water was surprisingly refreshing after a day in the sun. You turned on your back, enjoying how your body rocked on the light waves. You closed your eyes for a moment, completely dissolving in sensations. You felt cool skin under your fingers. You opened your eyes and turned your head slightly, your eyes widened when you realized that your hand was in the middle of Hoseok's chest. Before you could take your hand away, he covered your hand with his. He ran your hand up his chest before wrapping your arm around his neck. "Hold on to me, I don't want you to be carried away in waves to the depths." he smiled slightly

You tried not to pay attention to the wave of heat passing through your body as your fingers stroked his skin. And what do you think now, you scolded yourself mentally. “I am actually a great swimmer. This is just for reference.” You closed your eyes again trying not to think that he is so close to you, and your hand is on his body, and you two are practically naked ...

“Are you so confident? Then let's go this way, we swim to that stone and back. The loser pays for the dinner.” You got to your feet, turning in the direction he was pointing.

"Excellent! Hope you're ready to lose! " you grinned

On the count of three, you started to swim towards the rock, but when you pulled ahead, Hoseok grabbed your leg, bouncing you back "Hey ..." you tried to pull your leg out of his grip

“I didn't say you have to play fair,” he laughed as he swam forward. You kept fighting along the way trying to knock each other back. At some point, your swim turned into martial arts in water. He pinned you to the rock, but before you could swim away, you wrapped your legs around his waist. “Why are you so strong,” he growled as you squeezed your thighs around his waist. His fingers dug into your skin trying to get out of the trap of your hands and feet. You froze when your faces were inches apart. Only now did you understand exactly what position you were in. You blushed pushing away from him and heading for the shore while he still remained in place.

“Hurray, I won,” you tried to hide your embarrassment behind a cheerful smile when he swam second.

"Well done. I'll buy you a delicious dinner. " he smiled swimming up to you

"I think it's time for us to get back to the hotel." you were the first to get out of the water quickly putting on a sundress, which you immediately regretted, because it stuck to your wet body.

“As you say,” he came out after you, also dressing.

You drove back to the hotel almost in silence. You arrived at the hotel after getting off the bus you headed towards your bungalow. Hoseok stopped you by grabbing your wrist "Where are you running?" he asked with a smile, “What's your room number, I'll pick you up for dinner. I have lost "

"Oh this .." you ran a hand through your hair, trying to figure out if it was a good idea to go to dinner with him.

“Ooh, don't even think about saying now that you have other plans! Don't leave me alone," he whined, acting like a child.

“Stop” you slapped him on the shoulder to make him stop “Okay, okay. I'll have dinner with you. I live in bungalow 3a "

“Great, be ready for 8” he smiled broadly and ran towards the hall. A second later he returned “No, at 9! Better at 9 "

"Okay, at 9!" you laughed at his behaviour.

Returning to your room, you immediately went to the shower, getting rid of your wet clothes. Coming out of the shower, you fell onto the bed. Your heart was too worried about Hoseok. No, you shook your head. It's all a relaxing atmosphere. Nice place, nice guy, you are naked ... you would react the same way to any other guy. Yes, it's not because you liked Hoseok. You never even thought about him in this regard. You got out of bed and went to the closet. It's good that you had the brains to take at least one evening dress and shoes with you. You brought out a short open back chiffon black dress. You put it on. Seems too much, you muttered, turning your bare back to the mirror. Is it too short, you circled around you. As if you had a choice, you frowned. You took off your dress throwing it back on a chair. I wonder why he said that he would be left alone, where are the other members? You thought, again falling on the bed.

Damn, you jumped out of bed when you saw the time. You got too carried away watching videos on the internet. You quickly applied light makeup and dried your hair, tied it in a high ponytail. You put on dress and shoes while examining yourself in the mirror. It may be worth letting your hair down to cover your back. You heard the knock at the door, it seems you don't have time to change your hairstyle. You took the phone and put it in your clutch and went to the door. You opened the door and for a moment Hoseok looked at you with his mouth open. He grabbed the heart, resting his hand against the wall "Oh my god .. I died and ended up in paradise?" he said, examining you from head to toe.

"Stop this show" you rolled your eyes watching his reaction

“This is the first time I will have dinner with such a beautiful and sexy girl.” He looked you in the eyes, for a second his voice became too serious. "Although your shoes don't fit well," he smiled.

You looked at him, he was wearing a shirt with several buttons unbuttoned to reveal his chest, ripped jeans and barefoot. It seems you've obviously overdid it in choosing an outfit, you thought looking at him.

“I can change quickly,” you said, starting to turn toward the door.

"No way! Come on,” he took your hand and wrapped his arm around your waist, pulled it towards him. A slight shiver went through your body as his fingers touched your skin, you hoped he hadn't paid attention to it.

"Where are we going?" you asked when you headed towards the beach, not the restaurants.

"Surprise. I said that I would buy you dinner, I didn’t say it would be in the restaurant ”he winked at you. He sat down sharply in front of you and ran his hand over your shin

"What are you doing?" your breath stopped

“There is sand further, it will not be convenient to walk on such high heels,” he took off your shoes and got up and took your hand, leading you along the beach.

"I can walk on my own, you don't have to lead me like a little child." You tried to pull your hand away, but he only squeezed it tighter.

"You can't walk without my hand," he muttered, turning to face you. He took a wide ribbon from his pocket and walked close to you. "Close eyes"

"WHAT?" you stared at him

“Just trust me. Close eyes. Please” from his smile everything inside you tightened. “Come on…” you closed your eye. He leaned forward to cover your eyes, his body too close, you could feel the warmth of his skin through his shirt as he tied the ribbon at the back. Your body jerked away when you felt his hot breath on your neck. "Don't be afraid, I don't bite," he whispered in your ear, and your skin got goose bumps as his lips practically touched yours. He laughed softly as he took a step back. He took your hand, intertwining his fingers with yours. And he pulled with him. You kept walking in the dark, stepping on the warm sand.

"Auch" you moaned when you bumped into his back.

"Oh sorry ______" he laughed as he ran his fingers over your cheek. "We're almost there." He stood behind your back and hugged your waist, put his hand on your stomach. You tried to pull away, but he didn't let go of you. He took you by the shoulder with his other hand and pushed you forward. "Step by step" he told you

"What a joke," you muttered, stepping forward carefully.

"Stop," he said, hugging him sharply. He untied your eyes by removing the ribbon "Surprise"

Your mouth opened. Everything around was in small lights and candles stood on the sand, surrounding everything around with a warm muffled light. In front of a round rotunda couch, there was a table with candles. "How do you did this?" you turned and looked at Hoseok

"I wanted to see exactly that glance on your face" he smiled broadly

"Which one?" you asked, but he didn’t answer and went forward with a smile. "And what's that?" you asked, pointing to the couch as you sat down at the table.

“There are very beautiful stars here, I wanted to admire them after dinner, but it’s not very comfortable to lie on the sand,” he shrugged.

You were laughing while enjoying your dinner telling funny stories about yourself. He got up from the table and lay down on the couch next to table. "Come here! Where else can you see such a starry sky? " he said looking into the sky.

You got up and walked over to the couch and neatly lay next to him. You continued to straighten your short dress, it seemed to you that you were naked next to Hoseok. He knelt down next to you, and looking at you began to unbutton his shirt. You looked at him with wide eyes. "What are you doing, Hoseok?" your voice trembled with confusion.

His eyes were fixed on you, expressing no emotion as he took off his shirt. You were nervous watching him, which made your cheeks burn. "You're cute," he laughed. Covering your thighs with my shirt “I thought you were nervous about the length of your dress. I thought that this way you can finally relax and enjoy the sky.” He lay down again, looking up. "Look, it's so amazing"

You looked at him. He was lying next to you, half naked and why was his smile so sexy? "Yes, amazing" Mad what are you talking about, you are probably just drunk. You should control your words and thoughts. You sharply turned your head up until he saw that you were looking at him. After a while, the stars disappeared before your eyes, the fatigue of a long day overcame you. A pleasant smell and warmth enveloped your body, you pulled it closer not wanting to part with it. Something deep in your thoughts told you that it was wrong, only you could not understand what exactly. Your eyes opened and you were lying on a naked man's chest, hugging his torso, pressing your body against him. Was this your dream? You raised your hand and ran your fingers over his chest, it was so interesting, the sensations were real. You felt something hard pressed against your thigh, which was thrown over the man's thighs, and smiled. You looked ahead and saw the beach .. Beach ?! Hoseok! You stood up abruptly, and without expecting it, stared at his hard cock, which was protruding from his jeans.

“This is a natural reaction, I cannot control it. It's hard not to get aroused when you cuddle up to my body like that and stroke it with your hands, ” said Hoseok and you looked at him, completely blushing with embarrassment.

"Sorry," you muttered, backing away from him, "I just woke up early, didn't think that I would fall asleep as soon as my head touched the pillow."

"Do not apologize. Even for a moment, but I liked being your pillow. ”He laughed.

“It's time for us to return. It's been a long day, I'm tired. I would hate to wake up on the beach.” You got up from the couch and went to the table and took your shoes. Strong arms hugged you and you shuddered "Hoseok ..." you breathed

“It belongs to me,” he whispered in your ear. It wasn't until you put your head down that you saw that his shirt was tied around your waist. “Great,” he said, sniffing his shirt, “Now it smells of you, which means I will smell of you too,” he smiled broadly putting on the shirt

You rolled your eyes, unable to accept his amusement, you were too embarrassed for that. "Come on," you groaned heading towards the hotel while he laughed at your reaction. On the way to your bungalow, you were practically silent, answering Hoseok's questions only yes or no. You reached your door, turning towards Hoseok, you first met his eyes after the beach. “Despite the amount of embarrassment I experienced, the day was fun. Thank you. I like it"

"I liked to embarrass you" he smiled "You are so cute when you don't control everything around, as usual" his smile widened

"Hoseok" you stared at the floor "Stop joking"

He lifted your chin with his fingers, carefully studying your face, as if he saw for the first time "Who said I was joking?" his voice was stern without even a hint of amusement. "When I try to be serious, you run away from me every time, so what else is there for me to be around you?" a coldness passed through your body from his serious tone. "Do you like someone else?"

“Hoseok, I don’t…” you took a step back “I don’t have time to think about who I like and who I don’t. In my life, work comes first, there is no place for romance. "

"So no one is there," the corners of his lips lifted, forming a barely visible smile

"Good night, Hoseok" you said trying to escape this embarrassing conversation

"Good night" he chuckled

You turned to open the door, but before you went inside Hoseok grabbed your hand and turned towards him. He took your face and touched his lips to yours. Everything inside you froze. His soft lips gently leave kisses on yours. He pushed you against the door, deepening the kiss. Your breath became heavy under the caresses of his lips and tongue. You moaned when one of his hands passed over your back, squeezing your waist, and the other, lifting the hem of your dress, squeezed your thigh. You pushed away when his hand started to lift up your thigh, making you want more "Hoseok" you whispered before covering your mouth. You looked at the floor unable to raise your head, you were too ashamed that you even allowed this kiss, but you were even more ashamed that you so desperately wanted more.

"Sorry. I just wanted to leave an innocent kiss on your lips like a good night. But I couldn't stop as soon as I touched your tender lips. ”There was amusement in his voice.

“Stop” you looked at him pleadingly, “Please stop. We ... I work as one of your managers. Let's pretend it was a stupid drunken mistake, and we will never think about it. ”Before he could say anything, you ran into your room, closing the door behind you. You screwed up! You took an open bottle of wine from the table, filled your glass and drank it in one gulp. You took off your dress and fell into bed. I wonder if this day would happen again, would you make fewer mistakes? You closed your eyes falling into a deep sleep.

 Who's the king of the party here?

You were stretching in bed when the pleasant sound of the trees woke you up. You groped your phone under your pillow and groaned. Friday, 5:13 a.m. What is it? Did you dream everything? You looked at your phone again - Friday. Was it really just a dream? Everything was so real. You kept spinning in bed trying to find at least some explanation. If it was a dream, then why did you dream about Hoseok? Some nonsense, you're probably going crazy. You lay and looked out the window, watching as your room was gradually filled with sunlight. Your phone vibrated to remind you of the excursion. You weren't in the mood to go on a tour. Your thoughts were too busy to listen to someone else. After breakfast, you returned to bed, not wanting to leave your room. You lay in bed watching various shows that you usually did not have enough time for. You looked at the time and fell back on your pillow. And what you do, _____? you muttered. Two days left, and you decided to spend them in your room looking at all this bullshit? you kept berating yourself. You got up and put on a swimsuit and went to the beach. On the way, you took a cocktail and drank it in almost one sip, which greatly surprised the bartender. You went to the farthest sunbed, which was at the end of the beach. Usually, there was no one in this area, and you could calmly enjoy the sun's rays alone. Taking off your sundress, you lay down on a lounger, stretching under the rays of the sun. The pleasant breeze and warm sun relaxed you.

“I thought it seemed to me,” a familiar voice pulled you out of your half-asleep condition. You opened your eyes and looked at the guy who was standing in front of you, holding out a glass of cocktail. Because of the bright sun, you could only see his silhouette.

"Who are you?" you asked slightly standing up, leaning on your hand.

"You are cruel" he laughed sitting down on the next lounger

"Jimin?" you sat up abruptly, turning in his direction “What? How? Why are you here? "

“We arrived for the shooting, but we will start only tomorrow. So today is the day off. And where, if not on the beach, to spend your day off? " he smiled broadly, making himself more comfortable on the lounger.

What is going on? Did you really dream about what happened with Hoseok? You shook your head, no, it's just a dream. Some have dreams that show events that are about to happen. Yes, you just had a dream that they should come here, albeit in such a country form. Sleep and nothing else ..

"Are you okay?" you looked at Jimin who was looking at you with concern

"Yes, I'm fine"

"I spoke to you, but you did not react to my words in any way"

“Sorry, I thought. What were you talking about?"

“I asked how is your vacation going? Did you manage to break many men's hearts? " he smiled while taking a sip

"Great, I don't want to go back to work." you lay back on the lounger taking a sip of the cocktail Jimin brought. "Delicious" you pointed to the cocktail with a broad smile. You decided to skip the answer to his second question.

"What? Do you not want to go back to work? You broke my heart, " he clutched his chest, feigning pain." We are all waiting for her, and she does not want to return to work. How can you be so cruel ... "

You laughed at his performance “Okay, since you were waiting for me. There is nothing to be with this, I have to return "

He jumped up and started dancing madly with joyful shouts. You laughed out loud as you watched his behaviour. "I definitely missed of this!" you said still laughing

“I'll take this as an admission that you missed me,” Jimin said as he walked up to you.

"It's not like I said" you raised an eyebrow

"Would you like another cocktail?" he asked taking your empty glass

"Yes please" you smiled at him before he headed towards the bar

“By the way,” he turned in your direction, you turned your gaze to him, and his gaze was riveted to your body. “Nothing,” he shook his head and walked on.

After a while, you heard Jimin cursing as he approached you. You looked up and laughed when you saw Jimin with a tray full of cocktails. He walked in small steps watching the shaking glasses. You got up and walked over to Jimin and took the tray out of his hands. You quickly walked over and set drinks on the table between your sun loungers.

"How did you manage to walk so fast and not spill a drop?" Jimin looked at you in surprise.

"I'm just talented at everything, face it" you pushed your hair back in a winning pose. "Have you decided to get drunk today?" you pointed to cocktails

“Get drunk? With this? This is a warm-up in our fight! ” he crossed his arms over his chest

"Are we participating in a duel?" you raised an eyebrow

“Yes, we must finally find out who gets drunk first! Last time on the company, you drank with me and Jungkook, and in the morning you looked like you drank water and not soju all night" he chuckled "It's time to find out who is the king of alcohol!" he laughed devilishly

"Aren't you afraid that tomorrow you will be studying hangover?" you smiled at him

"Hmm, you overestimate your strength too much if you think you will win!" he showed you his tongue and you laughed at his childish behaviour

“Okay! I accept your challenge! ”

“By the way, they told me at the bar that there is a party on the beach tonight. It will be fun." He raised two glasses and you drank to the start of a crazy evening.

As darkened, barrels of fire appeared on the sand, filling the dark beach with dim light. Loud music and the noise of people near the bar diluted the loud sounds of the waves. You have lost count of how much has been drunk already. But you didn't care, you were in a great mood. You got up from your seat and walked forward closer to the fire. You danced to the music you played. There were no thoughts in your head, just complete relaxation. Jimin came over to join you in your private fire party that was far from everyone else.

"I certainly don't mind, but you don't want to wear anything on yourself?" Jimin asked, looking at the guys in the bar who weren't taking their eyes off you. You looked at your body and laughed, exactly, you are in a swimsuit. You went back to your seat and took a short lace beach tunic out of your bag and put it on. You returned to your dance floor, continuing to dance, "What is this? Why do you look more sexy than in a swimsuit?" he asked staring at you

“We're on the beach. I should have put on jeans and shirt with long sleeves? ” you laughed at his reaction. "Relax, let's dance"

“I seem to be sober. I urgently need a drink," he said, walking to your table with a new batch of cocktails.

You continued to fool around and dance, you haven't had so much fun for a long time. You laughed looking at each other when TroubleMaker started playing. "We must dance!" you said coming closer to him.

"I didn't know that you knew the dance for this song"

"Oh, you don't know a lot about me" you winked at him, placing your hand on your shoulder. Despite the alcohol in your blood, your bodies moved clearly to the rhythm of the music, perfectly repeating every movement. Although, perhaps due to alcohol, your choreography was more revelatory and sexy than the original. You fell into the sand laughing when the song ended.

“You know, in my opinion a couple of movements were improvisation,” he said, turning his head in your direction

“You know, in my opinion, all the improvisation was your handiwork, and in the literal sense,“ you met his gaze, and after a moment they laughed again. He got up from the sand and pulled you by the hands, put you on your feet.

“We forgot about our raving,” he said, walking toward the table.

“Exactly! Thanks to dancing I am sober again! I think cocktails will not help us find out who is the best. I'll be back now" you went to the side of the bar. Taking ice cold water you took a few big sips, removing your thirst after such intense dancing. You tried to completely ignore the guys who tried to talk to you. When the bartender came up, you ordered a bottle of tequila and some chopped limes ...

Having taken your order, you returned to your table. “Oh my god,” Jimin moaned as you put a bottle of tequila on the table. “We're dead! We'll die tomorrow.” He ran his hand over his face

"We haven't even moved to the next level, are you already giving up?" you smiled broadly

“No way!” he took the bottle and poured two shots.

You continued to drink, did not even notice how the party ended and the beach was empty. After finishing the bottle, you tried to find out who was the drunker of you, although you two could barely stay on your feet. “Look at you, you're staggering,” Jimin said pointing his finger at you.

“It’s you who are staggering, so it seems to you that everyone around is staggering,” you slapped his hand.

“We're out of alcohol,” Jimin said towards the closed bar.

"I have wine in my room!" you clapped your hands smiling broadly.

"Excellent! Let's go! " he said, and taking a step fell to his knees in the sand.

“I won - you fell,” but before you could say it, you landed on your knees next to him. He smiled broadly, looking at you “Not a word!” You said trying to get up.

You laughed out loud as you walked towards your bungalow. You fell constantly when you tried to help each other up. The two of you fell to the grass laughing again. Even though you lived in 5 minutes from the beach, you thought you had been walking for ages. You raised your head up and clapped happily when you saw that you were lying in front of your door. Going inside, you fell on the bed, I rejoice at its softness.

“Damn, I forgot to pay at the bar,” you moaned, it's good that the bartender knew you well. “And will have to ask to remove all the videos from the surveillance cameras that thay have with us.”

"Already done. When I went to the toilet, I paid for us and asked to delete everything "

“Wow, Park Jimin! Well done! You my hero!" you said smiling at him, showing your finger heart.

"Ohh yeah, praise me!" he said pretending to be superman, throwing a towel over his shoulders. You just laughed. He lay down next to you and rolled onto side, hugging you around the waist, pulling you closer to him, because of which his face was inches from yours.

"Park Jimin!" you looked at him "You've officially lost!" you said poking him in the shoulder

"How about - a draw?" he asked winking

You waved your hand “Don't even think! I won! I'm not drunk enough to kiss you! ”

"Then I don't mind losing," he said, covering your lips with a kiss. His tongue bound with yours as his hands eagerly caressed your body. He moaned before pulling away from you, leaving you gasping for breath from his onslaught. "We're too drunk." He said, rolling onto his back and pulling you into his arms, "Let's sleep. We are continue when you want me, without alcohol."

You were your mind too clouded by alcohol to take what he was saying, but you said nothing. Jimin's body heat enveloped you, making you fall asleep in a seconds.

 Sunrise

You stretched in bed as the sound of trees penetrated your creation. “Jimin,” you sat up abruptly in bed looking around. You were alone and in a nightie. There was no hangover, you definitely fell asleep in a swimsuit and a beach dress. You looked the room was all cleaned, although yesterday you obviously made a mess when the drunks came. Did Jimin take everything away? You quickly found your phone between the pillows and stared at the screen. Friday 5:13am. WTF ??? What the fuck is going on here? Dream again? Although no, is that a dream within a dream? Is this some kind of joke? If yes, then it is absolutely not funny. So that's it, today I will not leave the room! You looked out the window, it was still dark. Nothing will happen if you go to the beach to see the sunrise, right? So early, even the staff is not on here. You took a short silk robe and threw it over your nightie and went out into the street. You walked along the wet grass towards a small beach at the end of the hotel grounds. The closer you got, the louder the sound of the waves. You went to the beach and smiled at the sight that opened before you. It was the perfect place to enjoy the last sunrise, tomorrow night you will be flying home.

You pulled your robe down to your elbows, enjoying the breeze that caressed your bare skin. The sound of the ocean and the beautiful view slowly cleared your mind of the mess that was going on there. You closed your eyes wanting to dissolve in this moment. The sound of the camera broke the silence, forcing you to open your eyes. You turned towards the source of the sound and your mouth opened as you locked eyes with Taehyung.

Taehyung smiled broadly at you and you backed away. The sand made your legs tangled and you fell, landing on your butt. You sat on the sand and looked at him with wide eyes.

"Are you okay?" Taehyung looked at you with concern. He came closer and sat down, resting his knee on the sand next to your thigh. "Didn't you hurt yourself?" You raised your hand and reached forward, poked him in the shoulder with your finger, from which he laughed taking your hand. “Do you think I'm a ghost? Get up ” he pulled you by the hand, lifting you to your feet. He removed the rest of the sand from your clothes and legs as you continued to stare at him. He met your gaze and laughed again, “Seriously! I'm not a ghost. Stop looking at me like that" he took you by the shoulders, turning to face the horizon" You will miss everything," he said pointing to the light that began to appear above the line of the ocean. It was one of those moments when the beauty took your breath away. For a moment, you forgot about everything, just enjoying the dawn. Even at that moment, though, you couldn't stop thinking about the sensation of Taehyung's hot fingers on your skin, holding your shoulders.

Did you suddenly wonder if this was a dream too? Interestingly, did BTS have any overseas projects at all? As far as you can remember, their entire schedule was packed with local events and shooting. So this is definitely another dream. Since this is still a dream ... You smiled and took a step back, pressing your back against Taehyung's chest. You leaned the back of your head on his shoulder, watching the sun rise slowly over the ocean.

"Are you tired of standing?" he asked in surprise

"Yes, hold me"

He just grinned at your words, hugging you by the shoulders. “If I knew that you would watch the dawn in your pyjamas in my arms, I would have come here much earlier,” he whispered in your ear.

"Fun, isn't it?" you said smiling “All the same, everything will disappear” you added in a whisper

“By the way,” he said quietly laughing

"What?"

"Good morning"

Exactly, you were so shocked to see him that you didn't even say hello. "Good morning Taehyung"

“Wow, the first time you just called me by my name, __________. Every second I like this place more and more "

“I'm still older than you,” you slapped his hand

"Do you want me to call you - nuna?" he whispered in your ear, and goose bumps ran through your body. Why does this word sound so sinful from his lips?

“You better call my name” you said quickly

“Why, nuna? Don't you like it when I call you nuna? Or, on the contrary, do you like it too much, nuna? " you could almost feel his every movement of his lips on your skin. “You don't have to answer, nuna” he chuckled, emphasizing ‘nuna’

“Yes, I like it too much” you closed your eyes, allowing yourself to enjoy the moment

“You surprised me. Thought now you would start scolding me or something like that "

"Today I will do what I want"

"Even so?" he laughed softly "And what do you want?" his voice became seductive

“I want to eat,” you answered, making him laugh out loud.

"Eat? OK, it's up to you." You turned to face him and smiled “Only first you need to change your clothes. I do not want others to see what I see " he winked at you, tying your robe tightly.

"You too, or are you going to go to breakfast in your pyjama?" You walked forward past him

“Oh yes, exactly. What room do you live in, I'll pick you up as I change. "

"Bungalow 3a"

“You’re practically neighbours, I have 6a” he winked at you and ran towards his bungalow.

You went into the room and took off your robe and threw it on the bed “Oh, that's what he was talking about,” you muttered when you saw your nipples protruding through the thin silk fabric of your nighties. You quickly took a shower and dried your hair, decided to leave it wet and put on a colourful boho beach dress. You heard a knock and walked over to open the door.

"Are you going to go like that?" asked Taehyung, examining you from head to toe

"Yes, why?" you went to the bed and took your phone.

"Isn't the dress too short?" he raised an eyebrow

You looked in the mirror, turning around. “I think it’s just right,” you laughed and went outside, pushing Taehyung out of the room. “Come on!”

You walked towards the restaurant while Taehyung continued to grumble at you for the length of your dress. “There, you see,” he growled as the two guys blew you kisses. "I knew that because of this dress everyone would flirt with you!" he grabbed your hand and quickened your step

"Hmm ... So the only reason that someone can flirt with me cause this short dress ?" you looked at him fiercely

"What?" he stares at you. You pulled your hand away and walked forward. "Wait, that's not what I mean." He stopped you in front of the restaurant. "And how could you misunderstand the meaning of my words so much?" he looked at you in surprise. “Everyone flirts with you every second! And because of such a short dress, they all go crazy. And in general, how can you look so sexy with wet hair. It's just illegal!” He took off his cap, putting it on you.

"What's that?" his words  embarrassed you "Acting like a jealous boyfriend"

"Yes! So stop being so seductive and driving other guys crazy! ” he took your hand and pulled you inside the restaurant “It's good that none of the members have met yet,” he muttered under his breath

“Did you say something?” You asked, not sure if he really said it

"Nothing. Where do you want to sit? " he asked changing the subject

You sat by a large window overlooking the ocean. After placing your order, you started asking Taehyung about the job.

“Just stop! You're on vacation, and I have a day off! No talk of work, "he said, pointing his finger at you.

"Yey, yey. As you say Mr. Kim Taehyung” you laughed

He take sip of his drink, which left cream on his upper lip. You reached out, wiping off the rest of the cream, then licked your finger. "Sweet" you smiled. It was only when you met his gaze that you realized exactly what you just did. "Oh, just. I just ... forget!" you are wearing a cap hiding your eyes. And what are you doing? you scolded yourself mentally.

"Me?" he asked

"What?" you looked at him

"Am I sweet?" he asked and winked at you

"Drink. Whipped cream" you muttered quickly, looking away again

“I'm sweet too. Do you want to try?"

"Hey ..." You froze as he leaned forward abruptly, a couple of inches from your face. Now you were as happy with the cap as never before. Taehyung rested his forehead on the visor, which prevented him from moving closer to your face. "What are you doing?" you hissed, completely blushing with embarrassment.

“Returning the debt” he sat back smiling broadly “Since the morning you make my heart flutter. It's nice to pay you the same” he grinned

"I'll be right back," you said, practically running away to the restroom. You opened cold water and washed yourself, hoping to somehow cool your flaming face. "And what should I do with it?" You asked your reflection, slapping your palm on the smooth surface. You took off your cap, fixing up your hair.

You left the toilet heading for the table. But before you got there, some guy stood in front of you. You apologized and trying to get around him, but the guy took a step to the side, blocking your path. You looked at him and he smiled at you broadly. “I'm so wondering, if such a beautiful girl wants to join me for breakfast?” asked the guy pointing to his desk

Before you could say anything, Taehyung appeared next to you, standing between you and this guy. “And I’m so wondering too, why some idiot invites my girlfriend to join him for breakfast?” Taehyung asked in a low voice, giving the guy a killer look.

“Come on,” you said as you took Taehyung's hand before their conversation turned into an argument. You pulled him back to your table. “You shouldn't have reacted so violently.” You said sitting down in your seat

“Violently? It was not violently yet, I restrained myself as much as possible," he growled through clenched teeth, still looking in the direction of that guy

You laughed softly, shaking your head at his words. You called the waiter, asking him to send your order to your room. “Let's get out of here, otherwise I’m afraid a fight will not be avoided if we stay here!” You smiled wide and stood. Taehyung turned you towards him, hugging you by the waist. Drawing you closer, he put the hat you left on your desk back on your head.

"Don't even think about taking it off this time!" he said.

"Yes, yes ... whatever you say, my boyfriend!" you muttered, turning to leave. He still held your waist until you left the restaurant. “You can let me go,” you said when you were far enough away from the restaurant.

“I don’t want to,” he replied, hugging you tighter.

"Child!" you rolled your eyes, but he just laughed.

"Yes, yes ... whatever you say, my girlfriend!"

You came just at the moment when the food was brought. "Why did you order so much?" you looked at Taehyung with skepticism. The entire coffee table was filled with various foods.

"I'm hungry" he smiled broadly

"You will not get up from the table until you have eaten everything!" you said while taking a sip of coffee

"Won't you help me?" he sat down next to you

“No, I just want what I ordered. Why did you sit next to me and not opposite? " you turned your head towards him

“Oh, how rude. It's more comfortable on this side, ”he replied, leaning his back on the bed

"Enjoy your meal" you said, putting a piece of pancake into your mouth

"Thank you" he smiled broadly "You too"

Having finished with pancakes, you got up and took a beach tunic and went to the toilet. After changing your clothes, you went into the room, Taehyung was still eating slowly while checking the news on his phone. "Aren't you going to the beach?" you asked watching him

He shook his head "No, I want to spend the whole day in bed."

“Great, I went to the beach. When you finish eating, just slam the door when you go to your room. "

"Are you leaving me alone?" Taehyung looked at you pitifully

“Why alone? See how much food is left with you, which you have to eat.” You winked at him, closing the door behind you.

You spent all day at the beach sunbathing and swimming. Therefore, as soon as you returned to the room, I immediately went to the shower. Your whole body was covered with sand and salt. It took you a long time to wash all the sand from your hair. Coming out of the shower, you felt like a new person. After you applied the lotion to your body, you put on panties and a cotton shirt, buttoning it only a few buttons on your chest. You went into the room wiping the rest of the water from your hair. Throwing a towel on a chair, you turned to the bed and froze in surprise. Taehyung slept in your bed and his clothes were on the floor.

“This is something new,” you muttered as you walked closer to the bed. “Taehyung” you pushed him softly on the shoulder trying to wake him up.

"Mmmm ..." he moaned without opening his eyes

"Why are you sleeping in my bed?"

“It’s too noisy in my room, there are probably Jungkook playing his games. And you have so quiet and comfortable to sleep" he broke into a lazy smile, opening one eye" Nuna... " he moaned.

Grabbing your hand, he pulled you into bed, under his sheet. He put his arms and legs around you, completely depriving you of the opportunity to move under him. "Taehyung, what are you doing?"

“I’m asleep,” he moaned, resting his nose on the curve of your neck. He inhaled deeply the scent of your skin, which smelled of peaches from the body lotion. "You smell like summer and sun"

“I'm about to melt, you're hot” you tried to pull away from his hot skin

"Am I making you melt?" he raised his head to meet your gaze, sending you a sleepy smile. He lay down again, hugging you tighter. “Your skin is so cool after a shower, and it smells so great. Don't even think that I'll let you go "

After a while, fatigue took over, and you fell asleep in the arms of Taehyung. After a while, you woke up with a feeling of hunger, remembering that for the whole day you ate only a portion of pancakes. You opened your eyes, you were lying on Taehyung, your thigh thrown almost over his waist. You heard a rumbling in your stomach, but it wasn't you. You looked up to meet Taehyung's still sleepy gaze. "Are you hungry too?" you muttered, rolling onto your back and stretched out in bed.

"Yeah, woke up about half an hour ago from hunger."

“Half an hour ago? Why didn't you go to eat then? " you stared at him

"You were sleeping on me, if I got up, I would wake you up"

"How caring" you murmured, turning on your side

"Already falling in love with me?" his smile became seductive

“Dream about it” you shoved him in the shoulder. He got out of bed and you had to cover yourself with a sheet, because he was only in boxers. You looked at yourself skeptically, shirt open and tiny panties, as if you looked better. "Do you want to get dressed?" you muttered, gently crawling out from under the sheet.

“No, and I don’t want you to dress, then we will be equally naked.” He stuck out his tongue at you. Having called the service, he ordered food in the room

"Are you going to stay here?" you sat in the rovati staring at him.

"You won't kick a hungry man out into the street, will you?" he fell to the floor pretending to faint

"Oh, do what you want" you fell back in bed. "You will wake up me when the food arrives." You turned on belly, seting more comfortable in bed. In a moment, you felt the weight of Taehyung's body, which lay practically on top of you. “Is there not enough room for you on this huge bed?” you whispered barely audibly

“You are more comfortable to sleep on” he hugged you “Your body fits perfectly to mine. Maybe it's because you should belong to me? "

"You can't say like that, Taehyung"

"Why?" he asked, biting lightly on your shoulder, through your shirt

Before you could say anything, there was a knock on the door. He got up and went to open the door. "Stop!" you shouted as he reached for the doorknob “Crazy? Did you decide to open the door like that? " you threw a towel at him that was next to the bed. He wrapped a towel around his waist and opened the door. You didn't even want to think what they would think about the fact that a half-naked guy opens the door to your room. It's so good that everything will disappear without a trace. The smell of food made your stomach rumbling, and Taehyung laughed.

“It turns out that I'm not the only one hungry.” You quickly jumped to the floor and smiled broadly, taking your chopsticks from the table. “What a cutie,” he smiled as he set the food on the table.

You were so hungry that you silently swallowed food, only moaning at how delicious it was. You laughed as Taehyung groaned again as he slid a piece of steak into his mouth. "If someone walks by, he obviously thinks the wrong thing."

“Don't care. It's divinely delicious! ”

“Agree” you smiled broadly. After finishing your meal, you lay on the floor unable to move. "Why does food taste so much tastier than usual when you're hungry?" you muttered

“I guess it's just because you're hungry.” Taehyung laughed as he lay down next to you.

"Logically" you laughed too

"Why don't you say anything?" he asked after a while

"About what?"

“Today I hugged you, called you my girlfriend, openly flirted with you, stayed in your room, slept in your bed, dragged you into bed, even now we’re lying on the floor in underwear and I can calmly see your body through this thin shirt ... But you don't drive me out, you don't break out of my arms. "

“Are you complaining? If you want I can kick you out. " You smiled, turning in his direction

“No, I don’t want it,” he waved his hands, “I’m just wondering why you are allowing me today that which had been creeping at the initial stage, regardless of who showed interest in you?” he turned on his side meeting your gaze

“Mmmm ... I said that today I will do whatever I want. Besides ... ” it's all unreal, you finished the phrase in your head. "It does not matter. Just consider that today I'm in the mood to do crazy things that defy logic.” You looked up at the ceiling

"I want it too"

"Who's stopping you?" you asked laughing.

“You're right - nobody” he leaned forward and touch your lips, which made your eyes widen in surprise

He slowly teased your lips, leaving light kisses. Each time tenderness turned into passion, exciting you. You moaned as his tongue penetrated your mouth, and cold fingers ran along your waist, lifting your shirt. Your tongues ​​are intertwined, exploring each other. His kisses going lower until he took your nipple in his mouth, squeezing his teeth and squeezing the thin fabric of your shirt, forming a wet spot in this place. Doing the same with the second nipple, he kissed you again. This time the kiss was deep and passionate, making you want more. His fingers dug into your thighs, forcing your crotch to rub against his hard cock, which protruded from his boxers. From the desire to feel it inside, everything inside you squeezed into a tight knot. You ran your hand over his back, dropping into the belt of his boxers, wanting to get rid of them, as his fingers made their way under your shirt, squeezing your breast.

What if this time everything is real and it's not a dream, this thought made you stop, removing your hands from his body. Suddenly tomorrow comes, how will you deal with the consequences of tonight? You turned your head away when he tried to kiss you again. “I think that's enough crazy actions for today,” you whispered without meeting his eyes

“Sorry,” he quickly muttered, looking at you with a confused look.

“Don't apologize. I cannot say that I did not want this to some extent. I just don't think it's worth going any further.” You got up off the floor, straightening your clothes. “I think it's time for you to go to your room before Jungkook started worrying where you disappeared for the whole day”

“You're right, I think I'd better leave if I stay I can't control myself.” He got up from the floor and pressed you back against his chest, leaving a kiss on your neck. His actions made you fight inside with yourself. You’ve never been so desperate to turn around and kiss someone, but you knew perfectly well that if you did, there would be no turning back. One last time he pressed himself tighter against your body before stepping back. He quickly dressed and, leaving a light kiss on your cheek, went to the door "See you tomorrow" he smiled and went out the door

“I hope not,” you whispered as he closed the door. Raising a glass of wine untouched by you at dinner, you drank it in one gulp. You turned off the light and went to bed, hoping that the wine would help you fall asleep as quickly as possible.

You opened your eyes the room was dark. You practically jumped on your knees in the bed. You quickly threw pillows on the floor, wanting to find your phone as quickly as possible. Here it is, you grabbed the phone and unlocked it. Friday 5:13 a.m. You fell back into bed “Thank God,” you moaned. Now you were more than ever glad that it was just a dream.

You sat back down and dialed one of the managers you worked with. You knew for sure that he was not sleeping at that time, so I was glad when he immediately answered the call “Are you so bored with rest that you decided to call me?” He laughed into the receiver

"Nearly. Listen, have you by chance heard that there are no foreign projects planned for BTS, for example, in Saipan? "

"Oooh, how did you know?"

"Seriously? When? Today?"

He laughed loudly at the receiver “Today? You rest too much. We just approved this project yesterday. Besides, this project was left to you, so the schedule for it will be ready as soon as you organize everything ”

"I understand. Okay, I'll see you at work.” You hung up and breathed a sigh of relief. So they are not here. It was all a long, strange dream. Although these three days or dreams seemed very real to you, you did not even know how best to call them.

You mentally scolded yourself as you momentarily regretted stopping yourself with Taehyung. You hit yourself lightly on the cheek, and what are you only thinking, libertine! You muttered as you got out of bed. The day passed almost imperceptibly, the beach, the sun, delicious food, a perfect end to the vacation.

I wonder what day it will be when I wake up, you thought to yourself, went to a bed at night.

...   ...   ...

A week later

You arrived at the office and went to the elevator to go up to your floor from the underground parking.

“You are back” you were greeted by a joyful voice. You were so absorbed in checking the schedule that you didn't even notice Taehyung standing in front of the elevator. "How did you relax?" he smiled broadly at you. You overcame the embarrassment caused by the memory of the dream with his participation.

“Hi, everything went great.Confess, are you a lot of naughty then, while I wasn't here?” you asked and he laughed.

“No, we behaved exemplary”

“Yeah, I know your exemplary behavior” you looked at him with a smirk as you entered the elevator.

"By the way, manager ___, I saw dream about you not so long ago." He dropped his eyes to the floor

“And what did you dream about,” you asked automatically as you continued to read

"It was a very ... interesting dream, we did crazy things."

"Crazy things, for example?" you looked at him, did he really have the same dream that you did that night.

His smile confirmed that it was true. He shook his head "Eating a delicious steak" he looked away when his cheeks turned red

You quickly pulled yourself together, you could not show that you knew exactly what he was talking about “Eating a steak? Yes, sounds really crazy things.” You laughed, turning the conversation into discussions of their schedule.

Going into your office. You practically fell into the chair. If Taehyung had this dream, then Hoseok and Jimin also had dreams in which you were together. You tried to calm down, someone really decided to make fun of you, sending you into time loop for three days. You laughed and went back to work. You have nothing to worry about, because these are just dreams and nothing else. Everything good... you hoped.

_______________________

It might be also interested you:

I SEE ONLY YOU - Jung Hoseok

It can become a reality - Park Jimin

Help me - Kim Taehyung

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LIST

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[grownups-are-the-real-monsters]

Please Come Home For Christmas

Summary:  Carrie giggled, waving her hands to get the girl to stop. The fear of her Mama waking up to a teenage girl serenading her outside was a nightmare she’d like to avoid. She could see Sue’s nose wrinkling from the bitter chill and ached to pull her inside just so the warm air could hug her in a way Carrie herself just couldn’t manage yet.

Fandom: Carrie 

Ships: Carrie White/Sue Snell

Word Count: 3,012

Not a sound beat it’s living heart in the White household on a Saturday night. 

There would be nothing to ease Carrie into sleep until dawn broke and the only ambiance then would be her Mother’s small footsteps atop the lonesome hardwood. But as times turned to Winter and soft flakes of snow hurtled to the ground, Carrie White orchestrated her own performance.

Kneeling in-front of her mirror, she dug a thin brush a bit too harshly into a tube of mascara she’d yet to wear once without crying it off before even leaving her bedroom. Her mother wanted for her to be celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ but the young daughter was just realizing she’d been born with the will to celebrate herself. 

So she sat, blinking her eyes at the glass while allowing herself to admire the reflection. Her head bounced...words coming and going with the same speed as distant hail. ‘Spastic’ and ‘weirdo’. She frowned, clawing at the velvety pink fabric of her shirt. ‘Scary White’.

Carrie flung the tube of makeup against the wall...it thumped but gave her no satisfaction. Her eyes followed it as it rolled back towards he folded legs and rattled there against the skin for a few seconds. Mama remained still in her sleep downstairs. Thank goodness. 

Pebbles hitting the window like a headache to her right temple awakened Carrie from her thoughts. She crawled across the floor and gently threw open the window with something like a smile playing at the corners of her lips. 

A stray pebble came through the corner as she popped up...getting her first peek at the lovely Sue Snell who was bouncing (partly from the cold) to get her eyes on her. But young Carrie’s attention was got from her first tease of Sue’s sweet voice...singing...

“Carrie, Carrie, baby

Carrie baby

Carrie, can you come out tonight?”

Carrie giggled, waving her hands to get the girl to stop. The fear of her Mama waking up to a teenage girl serenading her outside was a nightmare she’d like to avoid. She could see Sue’s nose wrinkling from the bitter chill and ached to pull her inside just so the warm air could hug her in a way Carrie herself just couldn’t manage yet. 

“You stop that!” She tried to hold back her chuckles. “I’ll be down in a minute. That is if you’re singing didn’t wake Mama.” She scoffed as if she were really upset but Sue didn’t buy that and Carrie could tell. 

“Hurry down, fair Carrie!” Sue continued her restless hopping, hands now stuffed into the pockets of her coat. “I want to see the Christmas lights!” Her curly hair bounced high with her. 

The rough plan was to take a stroll around the neighborhood, maybe observe the shiny decorations, and head to the Drive-In for Root-beer floats or something. No big deal but Carrie had been thinking about it non-stop for the days since Sue asked when she’d come home from her college’s Christmas break. That was just something she couldn’t help, being that she was a textbook overthinker. 

But judging the way Sue had arrived exactly on time (not even off by a minute) and seemed awfully fidgety, the girl was probably no better. She stood at the end of the walk-way, snowflakes flying down atop her like a living angel...she was bathed in a white shine. Carrie had no way of knowing that Sue was thinking the very same thing about her...

“Tommy asked me to give you his Christmas gift.” She slipped a shinning slim box from her purse of wonders and waved it out for Carrie. “He’s tragically spending his Holiday studying. You miss him, though. I know, sooo...”

She sped over with a bashful smile and accepted the pure looking gift. For a horrid moment, Carrie pictured a tampon sitting there atop the blue fuzzy bed which was of course, a cruel joke from her own mind because what did lay there was a delicate silver chained bracelet. 

“He got me a matching one.” Sue giggled, wiggling her wrist. “Tommy’s a sweet boy, huh? He thought we can fill them up with charms-”

“Like real friendship bracelets?” Carrie abruptly looked up with watery eyes full of an earnest emotion that was hard to place. 

“Yeah!” She gently took Carrie’s wrist, skin-to-skin, and lined up their arms to show off the whole matching gimmick. There was just 1 charm on each of their chains. A glittering star on Carrie’s & a shining heart for Sue. Carrie turned her wrist slowly to watch the charms soak in the night’s light. “He fell for us both, I think.” 

Carrie snapped her head up at that. “Oh, Sue--I don’t think that’s true-”

Sue shook her head with a smile. “My goodness, Carrie White.” Her giggle filled the space between them. “See that it’s true-” She flicked the other girls star charm and then her own. “Poor thing just never had a shot with either of us.” She hummed, almost sad. “I never could love Tommy the way he deserved. The life I would have had with him wasn’t what I wanted. You know that, I guess.” 

Carrie pursed her lips. Yes, she remembered lovely Sue pouring her heart and soul into the cupped palms of one Carrie White. After the prom, Sue hiccupped everything out like thick blood from her throat.

It was criminally endearing. The way Sue had clawed at the tears on her cheeks, explaining that it was just fine for Carrie to date Tommy. In fact, she had subconsciously wished it would happen that way, Sue did. But Carrie didn’t fall for Tommy quite as hard as she did for Sue that night. 

“I love you, Sue.” Was all she could think to say. 

“And I love you, Carrie.” Her nose wiggled again. “I’m working on loving you the way you deserve.” She shrugged, taking her wrist away and starting on the holiday walk. Her boots thudded against the concrete. 

Carrie nearly rolled her eyes, which would have struck Sue as cute. “You love me like you love me.” She hesitantly took the girl’s cold hand in hers...feeling overwhelmingly warm inside. “It’s just the perfect way to live, Sue. To be loved by you.”

Sue slowed down a bit, a pace where the houses behind her stopped being blurry, and blushed. “You always know just what to say Carrie White.” She paused just to admire the girl. “How do you do it?”

Carrie felt her own blush creep up her neck as she shrugged. “I just say what I mean.” She fumbled on her words, feeling like a little mess but was rewarded with a quick kiss on the cheek. It felt criminally undeserved but she still enjoyed the peck of Sue’s pink lips. Part of her felt so eternally grateful for the girl that she had to hold back tears.

They strolled past lawns of beautiful Christmas decorations, Carrie felt the distant eyes of blow mold Santa’s. A tall brown house eclipsing the moon from her vision had the whole baby in the manger set-up. The baby Jesus seemed to sit up in the wooden basket and she imagined it’s glare directed at her. But when Carrie looked up, the plastic baby was asleep just like any decoration.

She sighed. Not realizing she’d stopped until Sue curled up next to her and gently grabbed her arm. She reached out to brush a few blonde baby hairs from Carrie’s temple, a simple gesture but so filled with love. “Save yourself from wasting your young-adulthood, Carrie...” She whispered against the girls skin. “Think about coming home with me.” 

The falling snowflakes around only them grew fatter and a tiny bit slanted as Carrie snapped her head over to gaze at the girl. Both knew the magical element which lay at it’s cause but neither said anything of it. In fact, Sue opened her mouth to stick out her tongue and taste the fluffy ice. 

It ignited a small fire in Carrie’s chest. “My mom-”

Sue deflated slightly, it was hard not to notice. “She doesn’t deserve you Carrie.” 

The blonde pulled her eyes away from Sue and landed them back on the front of the brown-brick home. Their left window glowed green, the right was a glittery crimson. “I deserve her...” She mumbled, mostly to herself. “I can’t Sue. I’m sorry-”

Sue blinked, letting go of Carrie’s arm to wiped her sleeve under her left eye, attempting to look away but Carrie caught the bit of water leaking out. Her chest thumped with pain. Never in her life did she want to make Sue Snell cry. It stung her with a horrible burning sensation all over her body. “Sue?”

She sniffled. “It’s fine. I’m being a baby, huh?” Her giggle then sounded strained. “I just want you to be happy, ok? I would only try to step in like this if I really thought you needed it.” She looked off again.

Carrie felt a flicker of resentment towards the girl, flashes of the prom night played like an old movie in her head. Flashes of hard reds mixed with the hues of Easter colored dresses. “I don’t need you to step in, Sue.” Her voice twitched in it’s tone, a sign of growing anger that while recognized...couldn’t be helped. “Getting your boyfriend to take me to prom just because you felt sorry for me doesn’t earn you that right.”

Sue didn’t flinch but almost. Instead, the girl just shifted her weight to her right leg to disguise her step back. She wasn’t scared. Just a little disappointed in herself for jerking Carrie around. She turned her attention to the lawn of Blow Molds again, making eye contact with one of the old Santas. Tethered reindeer raising his packed sleigh. He smiled, a grin thick with teeth which were blotted in the red color bleeding in from the poorly painted lips. 

A shiver went down her spine. “I’m sorry.” 

“It’s ok, Sue.” Carrie blew a flying piece of hair away from her eyes and sighed. “I shouldn’t have-”

Sue pursed her lips and shook her head. “Don’t apologize. I do have a history of making you do things you don’t want to do.” 

Carrie smiled gently. “I had a lovely time with Tommy. Prom...” Her eyes glittered a brief reflection of the Christmas lights across the street. “Turned out pretty okay.” She pinched Sue’s arm softly as if to strengthen the point. 

“My boyfriend fell in love with you.” Sue burst into delightful giggles. Carrie couldn’t help but join her. 

“And I fell in love with his Girlfriend.” She added, tilting her chin so as to hide  behind her long blonde hair. But that didn’t block the feeling of Sue’s joy from radiating around her. Thankfully. 

Moonlight bathed the houses in a mystic pale light, leaving Carrie feeling mute and cold in the winter snow. There was a sense of deadened glee there, after the laughs passed, which they might’ve been able to keep had Sue not invited such tension into air between them. Both girls thought, different in each introspective mind, about how to pass go and collect their 200 dollars. 

Carrie sniffled, red nose flaring, and found it in her to smile. “What do you want for Christmas?” 

Sue chuckled, shoving her cold hands back into the long pockets of her coat as they strolled on. They passed more and more glittering houses that screamed of warm cookies and casual family bickering. To Carrie, it looked very beautiful and very neighborly. 

“A Christmas card, from you.” She chose her words carefully, that much was very clear to her quiet friend. “With words straight from the heart, Missy.” She poked at her. 

Carrie shook her head with a tight grin. “To you and all your family, your neighbors and your friends, May all your days be happy with a joy that never ends-” She sang so softly that no one would ever hear but Sue Snell. 

“Oh, stop that.” Sue thumped her arm gently and burst into sweet giggles. “David Cassidy’s words are not what I want from you.” 

“And what do you want?”

Sue rolled her eyes and bent her knees to pick-up a fallen Candy Cane from the next house’s lawn. Her shoes scoffed against the hard flakes of ice but she had no trouble keeping balance. “I believe I said that already.” She flicked her tongue. 

Carrie shrugged, knowing that she’d agonize over what to write for as long as possible. 

Sue stuck the decoration harder into the grass, stepped back and admired her work with a faint mumbling of lyrics pouring from her mouth. Carrie was positive she didn’t even know she was doing it. “Hello world! I'm your wild girl. I'm your ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb!”

"Who sings that?” 

Sue blinked a few times before realizing what she’d done. “Oh, the Runaways...” Her smiled refreshed, much brighter, as she waited for Carrie to catch up to her side again. “If you came to live with me, I could show you all my records.” 

Carrie knew now that the battle to shove that conversation down was not going to favor her. “I have missed out on a lot.” 

Sue smirked. “Are you humoring me? Finally.” She sighed happily, dramatically too, and grabbed for Carrie’s hand again. She opened her mouth, ready to list more wonderful things but stopped suddenly. Her hand weakened almost instantly.

She looked up and frowned. “I’m really lonely up there, Carrie.” There was an earnest look of despair that chilled her friend to the bone. “I’m not used to that, I guess. Being one half of a high school sweetheart couple for that long...well, it makes you really dependent.” 

Carrie squeezed her dead palm softly. “Maybe that’s good for you, Sue...” 

The young girl sighed, no dramatics that time, and nodded a few times. “Maybe.”

The epitome of sad...that was Sue Snell.

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

“Bells will be ringing this sad sad New Years Oh what a Christmas to have the blues My baby's gone I have no friends To wish me greetings once again...”  

The Drive-in, affectionately known as Bluebell’s, was covered in the perfect sprinkling of dusty snow. Making it a picture perfect enough for a postcard (that is if anyone gave a shit about Chamberlain, Maine). 

Sue Snell pulled her straw in-and-out of her root-beer float and watched Carrie White scoop the frothy ice-cream onto her spoon with eager eyes. It was endearingly sweet. “I think we can be independent together.” 

Carrie swallowed, spoon clinking against her glass. “Doesn’t that defeat the purpose, Sue?” 

She shook her head and took a long sip of the sweet treat. “No.” Her face was neither in a happy or sad expression. “I don’t need to be independent from you, Carrie. Just...from the life I almost had. One where I end up being a housewife.” A huge hunk of ice-cream fell down her chin, which she wiped at instantly. “And you need independence from...” 

“My mother.” Carrie frowned, putting her chin in her hand. 

“I don’t think independence has to come at the expense of companionship...” Sue shook her head again. The girls went quiet again, just enjoying their--poorly decided--icy cold drink in the middle of a chilling winter night. 

“It’s a nice thought.” Carrie mumbled, licking off any ice cream from her lips in a rush as Sue blinked up at her. “But someone needs to take care of-”

“She’s an adult, Carrie.” Sue gently set her glass down on the table, fluorescent lights blinking above her in a off-putting green hue. “Your Mother can take care of herself. You need to start taking care of yourself.” She finished her point by taking another long slurp of her float. Carrie thought she was hoping to hide her nerves.

A feeling of anxiety pounded from Carrie’s chest and sunk down to her gut as she let those words rush over her. Sue didn’t pressure for any sort of response and instead smiled softly, enjoying the Holiday music. “If I was starting to consider the idea of potentially going away, what might you say to me?” Carrie twirled her straw but didn’t look up. 

The girl brightened considerably but remained calm. “I’d say...” She paused momentarily.

“But this is Christmas yes Christmas my dear The time of year to be with the ones you love So won't you tell me you'll never more roam Christmas and new Years will find you home...”  

“Don’t do it for me, y’know? Just because I’ve been...annoying you about it all night.” Sue frowned, looking madly depressed with herself. “Do it for you. Go anywhere. Just don’t stay here...with her.” 

Carrie found them very low in company, the only other customer around was hidden inside their car. She planned to reach over to cradle the girls freezing hand but found that to be even too much for her fear. So she settled for bumping their legs together from under the table, jean-covered ankles finding each other’s warmth. 

Carrie thought briefly about the baby Jesus outside that tall brown home they’d passed on the way. Laying as still as any decoration had to be in it’s wooden basket. 

She reached out for that hand. Sue instantly squeezed back but stayed quiet, possibly letting Carrie now take the lead because she felt badly. Snow continued to fall but they stayed safe under the tiny roof of the drive-in, remaining a delighted audience to the winter wonderland scene. 

There would come a time and a place during Sue’s College Break stay to discuss further but for now, the girls just relaxed. For Carrie had finally been gifted the ability to take it easy, as long as Sue kept tracing circles onto her skin. 

She’d come out tonight without permission from Mama & that was enough to make her smile. If she could make it as far as the drive-in...well, there was a big chance she’d see herself farther. 

[misplacedxeggos]

Off-Limits

words: 932

——————————

3rd Person P.O.V

Being Richie's older sibling was a very interesting time, especially when the losers came over.

The first time they were over, you answered the door, and all the guy's mouths dropped while they stared at you.

Richie saved them before you slammed the door on the weirdos explaining that they were his friends. You could hear them talking later that night asking what was up with you.

"Alright, Y/n is only one year older than me, but don't go getting any ideas. Okay, idiots? They are off-limits."

You heard many disappointed groans at that comment, and you couldn't help but laugh.

You only hung out with the losers sometimes. Usually, it was when they hung out at the quarry that you came along.

When the boys became friends with Beverly Marsh, you claimed her for yourself. You hung out with her all of the time, but if the boys went to do something she would join.

She gave you a lot of insight to the boys, letting you know that the boys agreed that you seemed like an older sibling now. However, Eddie was hesitant on the topic.

Eddie is a different story than the rest. You always thought that you had a better connection with him than the others, and his mom trusted you.

So, when he came to you saying that he liked a girl and wanted to take her to the movies but needed a ride, you had no reason to doubt him.

You asked Richie if he knew who his friend liked, but he was stumped.

Eddie wanted to take her to the theatre to see a movie and relax.

He told you that she was going to meet him there and whoever got there first would buy the tickets, so he wanted to be there early.

You were going to wait with him to meet the mystery girl and to make sure that nothing happened to them.

After a little bit of waiting, a worker started asking around if anyone with the name of 'Eddie Kaspbrak' was here.

When he got to the worker, he let him know that there was a phone call waiting for him.

You stayed where you were looking for the girl even though you didn't know what they looked like.

Eddie came back and let you know that her mom had taken her to a different theatre and already bought tickets, so she wasn't allowed to just leave.

He wanted you to watch the movie with him since he had bought two tickets and didn't want them to go to waste.

After the movie, you brought Eddie back to his house and headed home.

Richie was waiting by the front door, practically bouncing with excitement wondering who the mystery girl was.

"Finally, you took forever!" He complained. "So, what did she look like?"

"She didn't show. Apparently, she went to another theatre and couldn't leave."

Richie just stared at you processing the information he was given when something finally clicked in his mind.

"Oh, that little shits dead."

"Woah, why?"

"He clearly didn't hear what I said about limits and certain people being off of them," Richie tells you while pacing back and forth.

Just then the phone started to ring gaining both of your attention.

Both of you raced over to answer it before the other. Thankfully you won.

"Hello, Tozier residence."

"Why are you so formal on the phone y/n?" Richie bumped you out of the way taking the phone in the process.

"Richie give the phone back to y/n I need a ride to the ice cream parlour tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, don't worry Eds, she'll do it. Who is this chick anyway?"

You had already walked away from the phone wanting food knowing that Richie would fill you in later.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

You ended up being responsible for giving him a ride to the ice cream parlour and back home.

He offered to buy you ice cream since you were doing him a favour and you happily accepted.

So he didn't look like a loner you sat with him waiting for the girl to show up.

About 20 minutes went by, and you began to think back what to Richie and Bev had said.

You didn't like to confront people, but this was getting out of hand.

"Okay look, I know that you have a crush on me and that you made the girl up so that you could hang out with me  and-"

"Hey, Eds!"

You stopped talking with big eyes and mouth open like a deer caught in the headlights.

You let out a nervous sigh and put on a small smile turning to the person that had just interrupted you.

A perfect girl stood in front of you. Long blonde hair, sparkling blue eyes, perfect waist and stomach. She wore a nice little sundress and smiled down at you.

"Who's this?" She politely asked, cocking her head slightly to the left.

"Oh yeah sorry, Emily this is y/n, y/n this is Emily"

"Nice to meet you," Still slightly shocked you stuck your hand out to shake it understanding why he liked her. She looked and acted like an angel.

"Well, I'll leave you two alone." You got up and dazedly walked over to a corner booth hiding from shame.

Eddie's P.O.V

"So let me get this straight, I'm here, so she doesn't figure out that you have a crush on her because she's off-limits, Right?"

"Yeah" Eddie responds sadly distracted by the disappointed look on your face.

[cherry3point14]

Stranger Than Fanfiction: Ch 3

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Dean x Reader Warnings: Meta baby. Pure meta. Word count: 2,100. Chapter Summary: Your google search turns up something unexpected. A/N: No author in this one for... reasons. Also this one is kind of short and lame. A means to an end if you will, but trust me, Ch 4 is a doozy. P.S it’s nearly 3am so Chapter 4 will be up when I wake up, ya dig.

Ao3 if you prefer

It’s almost funny how dramatic the voice in your head wants to be about those suited criminals and yet it doesn’t care to elaborate on anything important. Like, say, your imminent death. The mention of it was so casual, calm, but a couple of weirdos want to pretend to be insurance adjusters and suddenly it’s all pretty prose and run-on sentences. Flowery language about broad-shouldered men in roaring muscle cars that are going to change your life. She’d kept going while you’d interviewed Maggie Hall. She’d harped on and on about how you couldn’t stop thinking about them.

Of course, you couldn’t stop thinking about them, she wouldn’t shut up about them.

After an entire monologue about the way the paper felt in your hands and could never be replaced by computers—purists are the worst—you finally get to leave. That's when you get some respite. You’re walking out into the late afternoon sun and thanking Maggie for her time and it's bliss. Maggie's story sounds a little off, after years doing this you have this gut instinct for when you should investigate further. Funnily enough, you have drama in your life that you’ll submit a valid claim anyway. Just so you can get this cursed case out of your hair. You might even hurry it through the system before the thing has the chance to kill you.

You’re still not sure how a case could kill you. You’re a pencil pusher at best and the interview with Maggie is an excellent example of the majority of your fieldwork, obviously excluding the criminals at the start. Unless your demise is death by papercut.

For now, you’ve given up trying to fathom out the voice you’re hearing, especially since she's chosen to once again go radio silent. If she won’t say anything useful, like say how not to die, then you were going to have to figure out how to skip ahead on your own. Since she kept talking about the imposters you’d met that day, they seemed to be an excellent place to start.

CNK 80Q3. Ohio plates. That's as much as you know without google.

That evening you set yourself up in the same way you would to work from home. There's a desk in the corner of your dining room with a chair that offers enough lumbar support for the longest of research sessions. Although it’s your personal laptop and there’s not normally a large glass of wine sitting next to you when work.

After it powers on you’re assaulted by the usual pop-ups; windows you forgot to close last time and your emails. Procrastinating is not a new routine, and you’re on a mission, so they all get minimized instead of closed completely. Then you open a new browser window and a stark google homepage stares back at you. A hopeful new beginning.

CNK 80Q3. You’re genuinely surprised that she hasn’t started talking again to describe the change in the air as you type in the plate number. Or some drivel about the way your fingers emphasize each letter and number. It’s all there happening anyway, making the moment foreboding, but your narrator doesn’t seem care.

The first row of results are images. Weirdly its images of the license plate itself. That doesn't strike you as odd at first glance and then you think about it a little more. Why are there so many pictures of this particular license plate? Who is running around taking these pictures? You're pretty sure if you typed in your own plate number there would be no pictures of it. And then you see some shopping results where you can actually buy the plate. While the online shops might explain the images, it only really poses more questions. Why are so many people buying that license plate? What’s so special about it?

You take a sip of your wine before you scroll further, savoring the taste as well as the way it relaxes your shoulders. You don't own any 'fun' novelty coasters that say it but you're inclined to agree with the statement you've heard before. Wine really does make everything better.

You’re not yet into the murky depths of page 2 but you’re far enough down the page now to make it past the sponsored results. These links come thick and fast from websites that all seem to have one word in common. Supernatural.

Then you see your salvation. A page called Supernaturalwiki—the link is simply titled: Impala—and you stop scrolling, a grateful sound slipping past your lips as you do. Wiki, you know that word. Like Wikipedia. Wikipedia has references and moderators', clear and concise explanations. This was the easy way out you were looking for.

That’s what you hope as you click on the link anyway. Your naivety lasts all of twenty seconds before the page loads. With its stock image of a 1967 Chevrolet Impala, and a quote about it being the most important object in the universe.

Or it's the most important object in some books at least.

Further clicking and longer sips of wine reveal it’s a series of books called Supernatural—with the title of the wiki you should have seen that coming. These were story after story of ghosts and demons and angels? There are pages that describe monsters, urban legends, and two men. Sam and Dean Winchester. They each have dedicated pages with their whole lives mapped out.

Sam and Dean are fictional brothers and apparently the heroes. Each of their respective profiles begins with an illustrated image from book covers, and then a series of quotes that contradict those pictures. Then their lives are intricately detailed, or should you say they are chronologically recorded according to each book. You would read their histories in full if it wasn't for how tiny the scroll bar is, indicating that these profile pages are ridiculously long.

You sit back in your chair and take a deep breath in the hopes of it being soothing. Or answering all your questions. It does neither. You have no answers and more stress.

This went beyond two men pretending to do your job now. Those guys were driving around in a car with fictional license plates. What was this? Some weirdly immersive cosplay? Was that something Sam and Dean did in the books?

Even so, those two guys weren’t roleplaying at comic con, they were actually in that woman's home. If you hadn't arrived they could have done anything. They could be doing anything now.

There's a ding from the kitchen which means the frozen meal you’d thrown in the oven is ready. Not that you stop thinking about this while you go and grab it because the more you think the less sense everything makes. Like why is a narrator who, until now, was obsessed with those guys, so very silent all of a sudden?

Back at your desk with hot food, you head back to google to see if you can buy these books anywhere because knowledge is power. Unfortunately, not even Amazon has copies. It’s only when you add the term “ebook” to your search do you find a Tumblr blog with links to download all the files, split into two categories. Published and unpublished. There are a lot of Supernatural books and from the looks of it there’s an equal amount of drama over how the unpublished ones got out.

You start downloading them without consciously making a decision to read them. Downloading kind of happens because your macaroni cheese is too hot for your mouth to handle yet, and your hands still need something to do. Besides you didn’t necessarily need to read all of them, if they were truly terrible you’d delete the files. No harm, no foul. But if this was the only way to get answers then you and your kindle were going to be pretty busy this weekend.

“Morning Laura.” Nobody likes Mondays, yet you have a little bounce in your step having made your usual green tea, got dressed, and driven to work in complete and utter silence. In fact, you’d heard nothing all weekend. The caveat was that, yes, you’d spent all weekend reading those books.

You liked reading and without discrimination. Trashy romance novels at the airport? You betcha. Fantasy books thicker than your mattress? Sure thing, order a pizza. But a mystery? Well, those were your favorite. Of course, the detective needed some sort of sketchy backstory and there had to be a fishy amount of red herrings. Most importantly there had to be something to solve. It was an elevation of your day to day life and you always get sucked in. In your job, you try to solve the most benign mysteries; people faking insurance claims. More often than not there isn’t even a mystery to solve, someone really did slip and break something. So, a mystery that grabs you out of nowhere is like a promotion for you, a challenge.

That had been how those Supernatural books had dragged you in. Ghosts and ghouls you could take or leave, you might have stopped reading if that’s all there was. Then this Carver Edlund went and put in that damn side plot about their missing father. It was too enticing, addicting. From the cryptic disappearance to the indecipherable journal of clues. John Winchester would be the death of you.

Or case 24-01 would be. The jury was still out on that.

And now it’s Monday. You’ve heard nothing more from the voice in your head—it may have been a low-level case of carbon monoxide poisoning—and the boys are so close to figuring everything out you can taste it. Technically they know John is alive by now, you finished Shadow some point yesterday afternoon and felt yourself choke up at the emotional goodbye with a father they just got back. But they still have no clue what he's up to, which is a hideous funhouse mirror reflection of your own life. Hopefully, by the time they figure out John’s game plan, you'll have your life figured out too. And fingers crossed figuring everything out will involve staying alive as well.

“You look like you’re feeling better this morning.” Laura is her perky self, always a little too happy for this side of 9am.

Oh right, you went home sick on Friday. You should remember things like that. “I think it was a bug or something I ate maybe.”

“Sure, sure. One of those convenient Friday bugs.” She winks at you.

If she accused you of that say, last week, you’d have laughed it off given that's a thing everyone has in common; trying to skip out on work. So, that's what you try to do this side of the weekend. You push out something that hopefully resembles a regular person's laugh like you’re in on the joke. You have to fake it because you’re still thinking about Providence. The book you’d finished that morning instead of watching the news. You’re still wondering if Sam is starting to move on after Jessica. 

Needless to say, you understand now. The many fan blogs and the artwork you’d glanced at before you started reading. All those things that you’d disregarded as an unhealthy fascination for a bunch of books. Now you’re one of them, obsessed. Walking into the office with your kindle tucked in your bag and Salvation just begging to be read.

This goes beyond finding John. That plot got its hooks in you but you’ve known John was alive since Home and you’re still reading. You could also blame this on your general love of reading except it goes beyond that too. Honestly, it’s hard to pick one thing. They’re really great books. Sam and Dean have such turbulent lives but they still have each other. They’re snarky, lost, angry, and caring. They’re both so different but the sibling relationship is so real. And the stories go beyond a new monster every book, there are these huge interesting story arcs that you couldn't stop reading if you tried. John Winchester had been the first example of these addictive plot points, but not the only one.

“Y/N?”

You snap your head up, “sorry, sorry.”

“I was only saying you’re going to be here all day then, lunch?”

Even though Laura must see the decision on your face she still pretends to hope until you start speaking. “Actually I have a lot to catch up on so I’ll probably be working through. Tomorrow?”

She smiles brightly and nods, “sure thing.”

As bad as you feel about lying to Laura she has presented you an opportunity. Everyone thinks you were sick on Friday. They even think you're behind on your work and they don’t know you’ve already conducted the initial interview. Which makes your decision to sit at your desk and prop your kindle up next to your screen even easier. Nobody would notice the difference between you concentrating or reading. If you skip lunch you might be able to get to Bloodlust out of the way too.

Continue to Chapter 4.

5eva tags: @divadinag @darthdeziewok @fluentinfiction @witch-of-letters @supernatural-teamfreewillpage @magnitude101999 @alexwinchester23  Dean babes: @thewinchesterchronicles @akshi8278​ @bloodydaydreamer StrangerThanFiction tags: @jaylarkson

[smirkesfourteen]

Thoughts on Mike crew vs simon fairchild 👀

ooo... i LOVE mike. he just does not give a fuck about anything and it’s legendary. he does whatever he wants and does not care about other people. he wears nice coats. he buys expensive books. he steals expensive books (by writing a check that bounces and just fucking off. he saw that book, NEEDED it, and was like “ok play it cool play it cool” and just walked out with it. absolutely the most iconic way to steal something). he throws people off skyscrapers for fun. he throws people into a hellish terminal velocity state for pissing him off, not even in a “fit of rage” way, but because he very calmly and rationally decided that that was how he was going to react. he just does everything ever in such a self-focused and iconic way. also the fact that he shopped around for a power to give his devotion to is legendary. and yelling “i am yours” and throwing yourself off a building is quite dramatic, and pretty high up on the “king shit” scale. he is so powerful i stan him so hard

simon’s fine. he’s just a funny little bastard. he also throws people off skyscrapers etc for the fuck of it, so i guess that’s good for him. i don’t really remember his episode (so i’m doing him dirty. sorry simon) but apparently he’s pretty weirdo-dude in that, in a similarly self-focused and iconic way. so. simon has rights. but mike is my king. keep thotting it up in hell (rip 😔) king, i miss you every day

[gofordrakgo]

Dwelling Chapter Ten

“She threw back the curtain once more, to ask Drew how he felt about the tank-top, somewhat bemused by the way his blush had gotten darker each time she’d asked for his opinion. ‘Joan Jett,’ he said, with a nod, before she spoke. ‘Very cool.’ ‘If you’re saying it’s cool I probably shouldn’t believe it,’ she mocked. Instead of getting flustered, his eyes went wide. ‘You… you don’t know who she is?’ ”

Dwelling Summary

Dwelling Chapter One

Dwelling Chapter Nine

Dwelling Chapter Eleven

Drew informed her, minutes after they put the groceries away and left the apartment yet again, that she had about twelve dollars to buy clothes with. At least she’d remembered to plunk a toothbrush and some other cheap toiletries into the cart before they left the store. She couldn’t do much more than give a nod in response as she tried to mull over how much that would actually be worth.

Ever since she and her brothers had become Team Go her clothes had been designed specifically for her. Even her t-shirts and jeans, which she’d rarely gotten to wear before running away, had been sewn to her exact measurements. Her parents had been adamant that heroes needed to look presentable at all times, which meant wearing her brother’s hand-me-downs was no longer acceptable. They’d been furious when she put up a fight against her uniform being a dress instead of a one-piece like her brothers - they only relented when she pointed out that accidentally flashing a crowd of onlookers would look bad for the team. Shea personally thought that putting her in a flowery green and white dress looked bad for the team on its own. 

She had no idea how much her clothes were actually worth, but if she had to bet, the cuff of her sleeve probably cost more than what Drew was able to provide for an entirely new wardrobe. It wasn’t that she cared about getting the best clothes, but she did have to wonder if she’d be able to afford more than a t-shirt or two. 

“Are you even listening to me?” Drew asked, snapping her out of her thoughts. She’d been nodding along while he ranted and raved about… something.

She shrugged apologetically. “Not really.” She had stopped listening the moment he mentioned the money, too entangled in a vehement debate about how to politely ask how much twelve dollars would get her.

“Well, I was saying,” he snipped, “that we should wait until it starts getting cooler out to buy you a jacket. People donate nicer ones when they realize their children don’t fit into last years any more.”

“I’m not-”

“Teenagers still count as children of their parents, Shea.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets, his shoulders hunching as he added in a mutter, “That’s all I meant.”

“Fine, whatever,” she mumbled back, unsure of why she was getting more and more offended each time he called her a child. It hurt a little, in a way she couldn’t quite identify. Not that she assumed getting defensive and angry made her look particularly mature. 

She forced herself not to scuff her shoe along the pavement as they walked. The silence between them felt like a pressure pushing on her from all angles, worse somehow, than the silence of the apartment without him. His incessant babbling after he’d gotten back had become some sort of a comfort, especially after having been alone for most of the day. The whole walk back to the apartment after they’d gotten groceries he’d rambled about some new show airing on the cooking channel later that night, practically begging her to watch it with him. Then, while they put the groceries away, she’d listened to him babble on and on about how a bar by his school was advertising a karaoke night on Friday. She’d barely been able to get a word in, but she had actually listened to him the whole time. Of course, he only noticed her the one time she distracted herself.

She lingered behind a step, watching the way he shuffled his feet while he walked, and the way he fidgeted with a penny he’d pulled from his pocket. He must have been annoyed with her, she figured, to have fallen silent for longer than it took to pull in a breath. Did that mean she should apologize? Or was it on him to just get over it? She loathed her parents with a white-hot fury just then… or, well, green-hot, really. If they hadn’t pulled her from school and every other social activity she’d been in as a child, maybe she would have known the answer to that. Maybe it wouldn’t have even been a question.

Even if she should apologize, she couldn’t force the words out without feeling insincere. She wasn’t all that sorry, truth be told, she just didn’t want him to be angry with her. Which was ridiculous. Normally she delighted in pissing people off - granted they were perverted creeps or weirdos who really thought the entire population of the city should bend to their will. Instead of speaking she slipped back into her place beside him and after a few more steps, snatched the penny from his hand. 

“Hey!” Drew protested immediately, trying to grab it back.

Mockingly she asked, “Does the school normally give you your allowance in coins?”

“It’s not an allowance it’s - nngh! Give that back!”

Ignoring him, she tossed the coin into the air. He tried to catch it, managing only to swipe fruitlessly at empty air as the coin landed heads-up in her palm.

“Heads, you have to answer any question I ask,” she said, showing him the coin. He reached for it again, and she slipped it between her fingers as she pulled it away.

“No way!” He shook his head, his hair bouncing. “I’m not agreeing to that.”

“Aw come on, Drew.” She nudged his arm with hers’ gently. “Humor me.”

“Humor yourself,” he muttered. She stared, unblinking at him until he looked at her. “Nn - fine! Just… You have to agree to answer questions when it lands on tails, first.”

“Wanna play would-you-rather?” Shea offered, as she realized he’d probably utilize her saying yes to ask for her last name. Which, if he did, she’d have to hit him for. She didn’t love the idea of that - he’d probably start crying again or something, and she didn’t think she could deal with it.

“I don’t see why not,” he sighed. 

Shea grinned at him, then looked around to find inspiration for her first question. “Would you rather,” she began slowly, as a small bakery caught her eye, “be an average, unknown scientist, or a world-renowned baker?”

Drew hummed in thought, running his hand through his hair. “As a scientist, I’d have no way of making myself known? I wouldn’t do anything significant?”

“You could help someone do something, but you couldn’t do it yourself. And you could never get recognized for your help.”

“Well, I’d like to be a scientist, but given the parameters… World-renowned baker.”

“So, what you’re saying is, you’re in it for the attention?” she teased, nudging his arm again. 

“No! I just— I’d like to do something that’s worth it, you know? Something that will actually make a difference. And if I can’t do that as a scientist, at least I could as a baker.” Jokingly he added, “The attention is just a perk.”

“I don’t think I believe that.” 

“Believe what you want.” Drew shrugged and pointed to a shop across the street. “That’s where we need to be.”

While they waited for the crosswalk signal to change, Shea flipped the coin again. “Heads. Would you rather… cook breakfast foods or dinner foods?” The question sounded stupid even in her head, but it was the best she could think up on the spot. It was her fault for asking him to play this game. She could have gotten away with pestering him about his past if she hadn’t been so scared of him trying to dig into hers. 

Drew still mulled it over, as if it were worth the effort to think about. “Dinner, I suppose. Mostly because I have time to cook decent meals for dinner. I normally have to leave too early for a good breakfast. And besides, I can explore more options with dinner.” 

“I need better questions,” she muttered while they crossed the street. 

“Flip the coin again, maybe it’ll be my turn to ask.” Much to her disappointment, it landed on tails. While she was struggling to come up with anything worthy of asking, she worried more about what he might ask her. She expected something goading her into telling him her last name, or an equally unanswerable question. Instead, he asked, “Would you rather drink an entire gallon of iced tea, or eat an entire watermelon in one sitting?” The words left his mouth before she could properly manage to tell him the coin had landed on tails. Surprised by the question, she started to laugh.

“I’ll go with the watermelon, I guess.”

“Why?”

She shrugged. “I’m just not a huge fan of iced tea. I like it and all, just not enough to drink an entire gallon.” There had only been one iced tea that she could have drank an entire gallon of, and ever since the comet struck her mother refused to make it. She’d tried to remember the exact mixture, but the times she managed to sneak the supplies into Go Tower, it had never turned out quite right.

“My father, when I was a child,” Drew said, as he held the door open for her, “used to bring home a watermelon on the last day of school every year. We’d eat the whole thing that night, as proof summer had begun.”

“I bet you were the kind of kid who got scared and cried about how a watermelon was going to grow in your stomach if you accidentally swallowed a seed.”

“I was not! I mean– nngh! I was four!” 

“I knew it,” she laughed, slipping past him to step inside. Her eyes widened as she took in the interior of the building. 

A bell above the door rang as Drew closed it. He chuckled quietly as he saw her expression, and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Welcome,” he said imitating a game show host, “to the wonderful world of thrift stores.” Stuffed into one corner was a stack of movies that rivaled hers and Drew’s combined. Next to it was shelves full of books that made her want to sit down and read every single one, and made her all the more grateful for Drew’s library card. Knick knacks and toys lined the back wall. The rest of the building was filled up with rows and rows of donated clothes.

“That was terrible,” she said, turning to look at him. A billboard on the wall next to the door caught her eye. 

“Thank you. Now, come on,” he urged, nudging her forward. “Your size is going to be over here. 

“Wait!” Shea brushed Drew’s hand off her shoulder and pointed out, “Job advertisements. Maybe somebody needs a dog walker or babysitter or something.”

Drew glanced behind him, and when his gaze shot back to hers she thought he looked oddly panicked, the way he had during the movie before he freaked out. With unexpected speed and force his hand smacked back down on her shoulder. “Don't— Don't worry about that right now,” he said in a rush, jolting her back around and shoving her forward. “Next time, maybe. I um… I have to get back and do work, so let’s hurry it up.”

“Yeah, but—” She started to protest, but Drew interrupted her with an almost urgent, “Not now.”

She threw her hands up, stepping out of range of his insistent shoving. “Fine! Jeez. I was just hoping to pitch in, you know.”

Drew made a strangled sort of sound. “And I do appreciate the sentiment, but if we could get going!” 

With a huff, Shea made her way over to the section he’d pointed her towards. “What’s got you so grumpy?” She muttered under her breath. 

He either didn’t hear her or decided to ignore her. “Pick out anything you want. There are dressing rooms over there. Just be sure to check the price tag. I’d suggest avoiding anything that costs more than fifty cents, but sometimes you can convince them to bring the price down.”

“I’d like to see you trying to haggle,” Shea scoffed. In truth, she could picture it pretty easily. After all, it had only taken one flash of his dopey grin and she’d agreed to watch some lame cooking show with him. 

He shrugged at her. “I got… um, something, from here for less than a dollar. It was worth eight. I’ve got my ways.” When he winked at her - more smooth than she ever would have expected from him - she felt her stomach twist in a strange way - a way she couldn’t decide if she liked or disliked. 

She gave his arm a swift punch. She hadn’t meant for it to hurt, but he yelped, wincing, and she took that to mean she’d probably hit him harder than she meant to. She needed to watch her strength, she decided, before she hurt him too badly.

“Something?” She teased anyway, “Real specific, Drew. Not at all suspicious.” He grunted and shot a glare in her direction but otherwise didn’t respond. 

She couldn’t tell if it was force of habit or the knowledge that it looked best on her, but she found herself gravitating towards anything green. She plucked shirt after shirt off the racks, examining them.

“Oh, that’s perfect for you,” Drew laughed, as she pulled out a t-shirt bedazzled with a large purple butterfly and tiny colorful little flowers. 

Sticking her tongue out she faked like she was going to be sick and nearly threw the shirt back onto the rack. “Am I really that small that kids stuff is going to fit me?” She asked without meaning to. 

“Drat!” He exclaimed. “I meant to make you eat some food before we came here.”

She’d all but forgotten about the hunger working a pit into her stomach and the temptation to hit him, for real, came on as strong as the hunger pangs did. “I’m not that little,” she decided, grumbling to herself.

Drew shook his head. “Yes, you are. You wouldn’t be if you’d eat food.”

“I eat!”

“Not enough, clearly! You look like nobody has fed you in years! You’re all bone!”

“I’m just not normally hungry!”

“You’re eating two servings of dinner tonight, at least, since I forgot to make you have a proper lunch.”

“Fine! As long as it’s good.”

“I’m making cantaloupe fruit salad,” he teased, then sighed as she glared at him. “Chicken fried rice sound better?”

“Much.”

“It’s not the most nutritious meal, but it’s cheap. And easy to make.”

With a snort, Shea started walking in the direction of the dressing rooms, figuring the stack of clothes split between her arms and Drews was more than enough. “I didn’t think you’d be into easy to make meals.”

“Oh, it isn’t easy to make because of me,” he said. Something about his tone made her pause, and she turned slowly to face him. 

“I’m not helping,” she stated, shaking her head. “Nuh-uh, no way.”

“Come on, Shea! Everyone should know how to cook. I’ll teach you.”

“I don’t need to be taught how to burn down a building!”

“It’s easy and I’ll be right there the entire time in case something goes wrong!”

“Yeah, and you’ll be right there fighting over the toilet when we both end up with food poisoning. Not happening.”

“You know you already helped me with the first step.”

“What? No, I didn’t.”

Drew hummed affirmatively, “Did too. You helped buy the ingredients! So, now we both know none of it has gone bad yet, which means you can learn to cook.”

“I’m not doing it,” she insisted one final time, snatching the clothes from Drew’s arms and marching into the small closet-sized room to try them on before he could argue. 

After half a dozen t-shirts were discarded on the floor with increasing amounts of annoyance, she heard a knock on the wall. “Having trouble choosing or did you get stuck?” Drew’s disembodied voice teased from behind the curtain.

“I’m too small to get stuck,” Shea grumbled, glaring at her body in the mirror. He was right. She’d never really noticed, with how much her parents shoved the idea of the perfect image in her face, but she really was just… far too skinny. Two pairs of jeans, the smallest ones she’d found, both dangled far too loosely around her hips, and the only other pair had slipped right off when she’d finished buttoning them. One t-shirt had been so baggy she looked like a child wearing their parents’ clothing, another had clung to her skin, showing off every rib and ridge of her spine. Something wasn’t right and she knew it, she just couldn’t explain why.

The pit in her stomach seemed to grow, for reasons far beyond hunger. Her parents had done something to her. They had to. Or maybe those creeps at the lab where she had woken up and lived for seven months of her life after becoming a glowing freak had done something. 

She was tempted to put her own clothes back on, and tell Drew to keep his money but tears started welling up in her eyes at the thought, and she knew if she actually said it he’d know she was upset. She swiped at her eyes and chucked another shirt - this one with long sleeves that dangled down like loose skin on her boney arms - into the growing stack of discarded clothing.

Another knock on the wall and Drew asked, “Shea? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” she snapped, snatching up a black tank top from the few shirts left for her to try.

“What’s wrong? You sound upset.”

Shea dragged in a deep, breath, forcing herself to calm down before she snapped at him again and made things worse. At least the tank-top, while still awkwardly too big on her, didn’t actually look horrible. It just looked like it was a little too big. Drews’ clothes didn’t fit right either, some part of her brain reminded which was dumb but a little comforting. She sniffled a bit, and wiped at her eyes again, reaching for a green and black flannel. 

“I’m fine,” she repeated. “Just a lot to try on.”. She thought maybe the bagginess of the flannel wasn’t so bad if she left it unbuttoned. It still looked like she was borrowing someone else’s clothes but… She smirked to herself, as she imagined how the flannel kind of looked like it could have been snagged from a boyfriend, rather than from her dad. That wasn’t so bad, she decided. Girls stole their boyfriends’ clothing all the time, didn’t they? Maybe people would assume she was one of those girls instead of a super- ex-superhero - wondering if her genetics had been tampered with to keep her nauseatingly skinny permanently. 

“Found anything you like yet?” Drew called quietly, clearly trying not to upset her again. 

“Yeah, I guess so.” She spun around trying to get a good look at herself in the mirror. With a sigh, she yanked the too-big jeans up with one hand and pushed the curtain to the side with the other. “How does this look?” she asked before she could convince herself not to. 

Drew audibly gulped, as he looked her up and down. “Looks– looks good,” he stammered. She raised an eyebrow at him and he averted his gaze, the tips of his ears turning pink. “We can get you a belt so you don’t have to hold those up all the time. There’s a ton to choose from.”

“Okay,” she said, admittedly a bit confused by his weird reaction– was he just trying to get her to hurry up? She rolled her eyes at the weak smile he sent over his shoulder and shut the curtain again as he turned away, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

She found three more shirts that she liked, and another tank top with the words, “I love rock and roll” in messy graffiti-style print on the front. It wasn’t much but could get her through a week for now. 

She threw back the curtain once more, to ask Drew how he felt about the tank-top, somewhat bemused by the way his blush had gotten darker each time she’d asked for his opinion.

“Joan Jett,” he said, with a nod, before she spoke. “Very cool.”

“If you’re saying it’s cool I probably shouldn’t believe it,” she mocked.

Instead of getting flustered, his eyes went wide. “You… you don’t know who she is?”

“Drew, my parents got mad at me for reading books. I wasn’t exactly allowed a radio.”

“But you were allowed a television? How does that make any sense?”

She glanced around and grabbed the front of his shirt. He yelped, stumbling as she pulled him into the small room with her. She shut the curtain behind him.

“What are you–”

“My parents gave me a television to watch horror movies on to train me not to let this,” she explained in an almost angry whisper as she lifted one glowing hand up to his face - he pressed himself flat against the back wall, wide-eyed, “flare-up every time I got scared.”

“Oh,” he squeaked out. “I– I’m… Sorry. I– We– I have some of her music on tape. We can…” His shocked expression faded into a small, nervous, smirk as her hand dropped back to her side. “We can listen while we cook dinner.” She realized then how close she had been standing to him. Unnecessarily close, even in the cramped space. She’d had another half foot to step back, and yet she’d decided to take up as much of his personal space as she could. 

“You mean while you cook dinner,” she snipped and gave him a shove back out of the room.

“Not if you expect a meal I don’t,” she heard Drew mutter.

“Says the guy freaking out about the fact that I didn’t eat a big enough lunch.”

He didn’t respond until she walked out, back in her old clothes. “Got everything you need, chef?”

“Don’t start that,” she warned. “And no. Belt, remember?” 

“Don’t start what?” he asked, feigning innocence as he grabbed her elbow to steer her in the right direction. 

“You know what!”

“Well, why not? You are the one cooking tonight, after all.”

“Am not.”

“Are too.”

“Am not.”

“Are too.”

“Four brothers, Drew. I can do this a lot longer than you can. I am not.” Actually, she was usually the first to quit those kinds of nonsensical arguments, quick to turn the fight physical, but he didn’t need to know that. He fell silent again, and she could only hope that was the end of it. 

Drew helped her sift through the belts, pulling ones at random to offer to her. Well, helped was generous. More than anything he picked up the gaudiest, awful belts he could find - a pink one with plastic rhinestones, a Mighty Martian belt, which she was surprised he cared that it was for kids enough to leave behind - she wasn’t even sure he was actually offering them to her, or just offering them up for her to laugh at. Which she found herself doing more earnestly with each terrible fashion choice he showed her, especially once he gave in and began laughing along with her.  

“Look at this one,” he called. She peered around the rack as he flashed a faux-snakeskin belt at her. On its own, she could have seen the appeal, but the previous owner had apparently taken the liberty of tie-dying it with purples and yellows and reds that made her loath having eyes.

“That is…” The word ‘repulsive’ died on her tongue and she pushed him aside, a neon green belt catching her eye. 

“Find something you like?” He chuckled, evidently not at all upset at being shoved. She nodded absently, pulling the belt down. Another came with it. When she made to pry them apart she realized they were meant to be a package deal. The green one that caught her eye was completed with a black buckle, and the slightly larger one attached was a perfect inverse. 

She debated putting them back, but decided against it, wrapping the green one around her waist. 

She glanced up at Drew. “Thoughts?”

“I think you like green.”

“Yeah, kinda got a flare for it,” she joked, immediately hating herself for it.

“That was terrible,” he said, though his laughter belied him. “But the belt works. You should get it.”

“Yeah,” she sighed, “but it’s three dollars cause it’s a package deal. See?” She showed him the other belt.

He shrugged. “So, I’ll get the price down. And take that belt. I could always use more.”

Something in her stomach flipped at the thought of wearing matching belts, but she found it wasn’t because the idea particularly bothered her. She shrugged back and tossed the belts into his arms.

“I guess we’re done then?” Shea asked. Drew nodded and she gave his shoulder a pat. “Let’s see you work that charm, bargain-boy.”

“No, no, no! Stop that. Don’t start calling me things like that.”

“Aw, but it’s so much fun. Is barter-boy better?”

“Nngh! Shea! Just–” Drew sputtered out a series of incoherent sounds at her, until a strangely calm look took over his face. “Would you rather… have to cook dinner with me tonight or stop calling me things like that?”

“You didn’t flip the coin, dork.”

“Just answer it!”

“Does calling you a dork count?”

He sighed, running a hand through his messy flop of hair. “I suppose not.”

“Then I’d rather stop calling you things like that. Cause I’m not cooking.”

Drew hummed innocently. “If you say so. Let’s go.”

Straightening his glasses, he took the bundle of clothes from her arms, placing them gently on the desk of the cashier, an older woman who glanced up at him through glasses almost as thick as his. Her wrinkled face shifted into a smile as she saw him. 

“Drew,” the woman croaked happily. “How lovely to see you again, dearie!”

“It’s lovely to see you too, Lorraine,” Drew replied. “How have you been these last few weeks?”

“Busy, busy,” she laughed, glancing around the near-empty building. “Not that you would guess right now. I’ve missed the company of good boys like you. Where have you been?”

“Busy myself,” Drew said. “Summer courses have just ended, and now the fall semester has just begun.”

“Did you ever find yourself a roommate to split the cost of that apartment of yours?”

Drew pulled her by the shoulder to stand next to him, and she smiled awkwardly at the old woman. “This is Shea,” he introduced. “She’s taken the second room” 

The woman, Lorraine, squinted at her, looking her up and down scrutinizingly. The woman hummed, seeming displeased. 

“A girl, Drew? Are you sure that’s appropriate?”

“We share entirely separate rooms,” he assured her, adding with a shrug, “I’m sure you understand how I couldn’t possibly leave her on the streets.” 

“You always are such a good boy, Drew,” Lorraine chortled. “Nice to meet you, darling.”

The woman didn’t offer her a hand to shake and Shea didn’t offer hers either. “Likewise,” she managed tersely. Drew squeezed her shoulder. She could only assume he intended to convey some sort of message, and she stared up at him, hoping for some help understanding it.

Lorraine looked back to Drew as Shea floundered to figure out what he wanted her to say or do. “I take it you found everything you needed, Drew?”

“We actually came to find clothes for her,” he explained. “I don’t think she’d be particularly fond of having to continue wearing my t-shirts.”

“Well, I should think not. She’s quite the little thing.” Being talked about like she wasn’t there shouldn’t have been comforting, but a sense of normalcy washed over her nonetheless. 

“We tried to stay within a twelve dollar budget but… Well, I needed a new belt as well. We grabbed that joint pack, but even that puts us out of our price range…”

“Drew, I never mind giving you a deal, you know that. But most of this isn’t for you, it’s for her.” Lorraine’s tone held none of the grandmotherly affection towards her as it did towards him, and she found herself simultaneously wanting to step away and stuck where she was.

She settled on looking down, muttering, “I can put things back.” She’d be content to put everything back if she’d stop watching her. She couldn’t decide if she was more freaked out by the idea that the woman would suddenly realize who she was, or by how much the way the woman eyed her reminded her of her mothers constant commentary on her every move, be it how she threw a punch in a fight or how she ran six miles instead of seven during morning warm-ups. 

“How did you meet Drew?” Lorraine suddenly asked her.

Shea found herself stammering before answering as honestly as she thought worth it, “I met him at a bus stop.”

“Are you homeless?”

“If he decides to take away my key, then yes.”

“What are you going to do if he does?”

“I’m not going to,” Drew cut in, looking almost as flustered as she felt. She didn’t particularly appreciate being interrogated over bargain bin clothing. 

“Do you contribute to the financial situation?”

“Well, I was going to look at the job advertisement when we came in,” she grumbled. 

Drew squeezed her shoulder again, far more gently than the first time. “She helps with pretty much everything else, including my work, so yes, in a way she does.”

“That’s quite nice. But I am still curious as to what you would do if he did ask you to leave… Darling?”

Shea’s stomach twisted at the idea. She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “Then I leave. If he really wanted me gone, then I’d leave.”

“Are you quite happy with having her live with you, Drew?”

His brow furrowed as he watched the woman, the familiarity and comfort gone from his expression. “I– yes?” His gaze darted to her, and she stared up at him, silently begging him to just forget the clothes so they could leave. “I wouldn’t have asked you to stay if I didn’t want you to.”

Shea couldn’t help but look away, stuffing her hands into her pockets as she felt her face heat up. 

When she next spoke, Lorraine’s voice had gone back to the voice of a bubbly sweet old lady. “Very good, very good,” she crooned as if she’d just witnessed a spectacular show. “How much of this can you afford, dears?”

Drew blinked, clearly as stunned as she was at the sudden switch. “Twelve dollars worth,” he answered, almost robotically. 

“How about this dear; you give me eight for all this and spend the leftover on ice cream cones for the two of you, while it’s still warm outside? My treat for such a sweet couple.” 

Shea opened her mouth to point out that they weren’t a couple, but Drews nudge - because she couldn’t justify calling something so weak a kick - to her shin told her loud and clear to shut up. 

“Are you sure, Lorraine?” Drew asked, pulling the bills from his wallet. “I couldn’t possibly ask you to drop the price so low.” 

“Don’t you argue with me, Drew Lipsky,” Lorraine lectured, waggling a finger between them. “A sweet boy like you doesn’t often find a girl like her. You take care of her and don’t you ever let her go.”

Shea couldn’t believe the woman hadn’t noticed she was green, with how flushed her face felt. Drew, though she could see the tips of his ears turning pink through his hair, was playing it much cooler than she felt. 

“If you insist,” he laughed, passing over the eight dollars. “We’ll even get double scoops, as an extra thank you to you.”

“That’s my good boy. Lovely to meet you, sweetie!” She waved at them as Drew pulled her out the door, shifting with her to block her view of the billboard on their way. He waved back at the old woman and Shea reluctantly did the same.

“Fifteen dollars worth of clothes,” Drew stated as he passed one bag over to her, “for eight. I told you I had my ways.”

“You have one way,” she protested, laughing, “and that’s being a suck-up.”

“It worked, didn’t it?”

She rolled her eyes, nudging his shoulder with hers. “Thanks for the clothes. Although, a heads up about the questioning would have been nice.”

“I didn’t expect that either,” he told her. “I’ve never seen her like that.”

“Well, of course, you haven’t you’re such a sweet boy,” she teased. 

He glared at her. “Yes, well. Oh,” he exclaimed suddenly, breaking into a grin, “guess what?”

“What?” She asked hesitantly.

“Are too,” he stated simply.

It took her a moment to realize that he was talking about her cooking dinner with him again - enough time that he’d slipped out of range for her to hit him. “I am not,” she protested yet again. “If I’m going to burn down your apartment I assure you it won’t be by accident.”

“You’re going to help if you want a double scoop!”

“Are you… are you really planning on using that money to get ice cream?”

“I promised I would,” he said, shrugging as he fell back in step with her.

“What a sweet boy,” Shea teased again.

“Be quiet before you get no ice cream at all.”

Stifling a laugh, she mimed zipping her lips shut. 

He found her silence worse than her teasing. By the time they made it back to the apartment, he had practically begun to beg her to talk again. 

She smiled at him but didn’t say anything until he said, halfway up the stairs, “Will you talk to me again if I say you don’t have to help cook?”

She didn’t pause to consider as she blurted out, “Sure.”

Drew barked out a laugh, “You spoke! And I didn’t actually promise anything yet! You still have to help.”

He sprinted through their door as she lunged at him, and didn’t stop until he reached the kitchen, clearly prepared to run no matter which direction she came at him from.

She almost gave in and chased him, but the thought of what she would do when she caught him - which she knew was absolutely nothing except tell him again that she would do anything but cook - gave her pause. Instead, she smiled with false calm and composure and sat down on the couch. 

“Food poisoning will work well enough.”

“You’re not going to give me food poisoning!”

She turned her deliberately creepy smile back towards him. “Oh,” she chuckled darkly, “yes, I will.”

Drew paled but didn’t waver as he repeated once more that she was helping him cook and that was that. Damn him. She should have given in and chased him. At least cornering him would have given her something more satisfying. She forced herself to keep up the act, leaning back against the couch to shoot one final eerie smile in his direction.

[split-n-splice]

Ah yes, the "hide secret boyfriend in the closet" chapter.

[Chapter Guide]

21. Welfare Check – 3

Through the slats, Drakken could see his accomplice peer up and down to check that he was well hidden in her cramped closet. Erring on the side of caution, he pushed his way further back to hide behind the rack of clothes, ducking beneath the shelf. Hiding from her family made him feel like a coward, but what choice was there? It was Shego’s idea anyway. He wasn’t hiding because he was afraid of them. It wasn’t like they were an ordinary family anyway – they were a bunch of lousy superheroes. It was healthy to be cautious of them.

He tried to freeze and breathe as discreetly as possible – but suddenly even his own heartbeat was roaring almost as loud as the jet engines winding down outside the apartment.

The jarring impatient ding-ding-ding-ding-dong of the doorbell was what finally woke the numbskull crashed on Shego’s floor by her bed, made clear by an incoherent grunt of confusion. Drakken couldn’t see him, but he hoped he was realizing how cold it must be without a shirt. He hoped he had pants on though, but not for sake of dog boy’s comfort.

Shego’s eyes darted to her groggy guest and back to the closet before her hands curled into fists, glittering with green embers, and she turned to take a walk of shame with her head low. It was dark and the slats barred his vision, so there wasn’t much he could do to keep a good view of her, though he saw her throw one last glare his way. He tried his best to hold still and pray he didn’t knock anything down lest he blow his cover.

The dumbfounded fellow bundled up in her spare blanket slurred something questioning, followed by the squeak of bedsprings as he flopped himself down in Shego’s bed. What’s-his-name was sure to be in for a big surprise. Drakken wished he could see dog boy’s face when Shego opened up to reveal a massive man blocking the doorway. It was an intimidating sight – even Drakken couldn’t help shying back a little.

The punk had ratted her out and had the gall to stick around. He may have escaped the stinkbomb, but there was no getting out of this one for him. If Shego wanted payback, she was sure to get it one way or another. By the grace of karma, dog boy was now caught red-handed in her bed by an overprotective big brother with a nose for sniffing out the seedy. Team Go was almost exclusive to the east coast, so surely all the Nevadan backstabber knew about the superfolk was the nationwide broadcast regarding the missing Shego and the generous reward offered for information on her whereabouts. By the hissed expletive, Drakken guessed dog boy had also underestimated their ability to show up at a moment’s notice, or at least the intimidation factor.

Before Drakken could grin and revel in the thought of fear struck in the young man’s heart, ear-piercing shrieks split the air.

“Trick or treat!” squealed a pair of little voices in unison, interrupting a tense standoff between Shego and her eldest brother. Two pint-sized children in red pajamas that matched Shego’s uniform sprang up in the doorway and grappled at her waist, and Shego stumbled as she stepped aside to reach into her purse hung beside the door.

“Yeah, yeah – here’s a trick,” she greeted, and the giddy twin kindergarteners leapt back in anticipation, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and bouncing on their toes. With a sleight of hand, she pulled coins out from behind the little boys’ ears, and while they were squealing something incomprehensibly delighted over the small change, she turned them around by the shoulders to push them back out the door. “Go buy yourselves treats now, will ya? Mrs. Landlady downstairs has a gumball machine outside her door. Go on, shoo, shoo – on the double.”

They didn’t need to be told twice, but they hugged her awkwardly again before racing off back into the dark, leaving Shego to the unhappy herculean brother looming before her.

Before either of the eldest two siblings could exchange more than frowns, they were interrupted yet again, this time by the purple one sidling in between them to give his two cents before the giant could open his mouth. “Yo!” piped the flamboyant ropy boy, leaning as heavily as he could against his broad brother. “We got the voicemail that you were—”

“Boy wonder filled me in earlier,” Shego interrupted curtly, jutting her chin up at her big brother, though Drakken noticed her glare was curiously set lower. She was avoiding looking directly at her siblings, he realized. “I didn’t get any damn sleep last night ‘cause of you jerks,” she griped. “Just can’t understand I want nothing to do with you, can you?”

“Hey,” whined the lavender boy in purple harlequin, Mego, with his hand pressed to his chest as if deeply wounded by her words. “It’s hard not to worry when you run off like that with some weirdo, and that means something coming from me. Where is he now anyway?” He shoved away from the stoic giant to lean in to peer past Shego, but she shoved him back into the man still standing mute outside under the porch light.

“How the hell should I know?” Shego snapped. “He was heading to Mexico, so I had him drop me off here.” Whether it was quick thinking or a planned cover – he’d have to ask her later – it was courteous of her to give them a false lead like that. It gave Drakken some reassurance she was on his team after all.

“Your sugar daddy dumped you already, huh?” snorted the contemptuous purple kid, and the warmth in Drakken’s blood froze over.

“Don’t make me hit you,” Shego groaned. The threat was halfhearted, a flameless fist raised in warning, though it still glittered weakly with green embers.

Taking offense himself, Drakken wished he had a front-row seat to such a showdown. “I’m not that old,” he mouthed indignantly to himself, though it wasn’t too far from the truth. Sure he treated his accomplice a fair bit better than his henchman – but she held a power that demanded respect and he had to stay in her good favor. Although he was growing rather fond of her company in particular. To say he wasn’t compelled to treat her well for the sake of keeping it would be a lie. It would be a bigger lie to say he didn’t selfishly want more than his fair share. But a sugar daddy he was not. He was still in his twenties and he didn’t have white hair, for goodness sake. Well, maybe a couple of grays, but he plucked those so they didn’t count. Anyway, he wasn’t paying her to be his friend. Or was he?

Mind reeling, Drakken almost didn’t catch the big blue bloke speak up before Shego and her twiggy brother could get into a scrap. “We just wanted to be sure you’re alright,” he said quietly, devoid of enthusiasm as he stepped forward. “You’ve had us all worried sick.” Somehow, the simple concern was enough to make Shego wince. Drakken wondered if the Hego fellow had a secret superpower other than superstrength. Something telepathic maybe?

“Not my problem,” Shego scoffed bitterly, trying to push them away from the door. “I’m doing fine. I don’t need a welfare check. I have to get ready for work now, so out. You’ll have to catch me later.”

The scrawny brother blinked. “You have a job?”

Shego ground out a sound of agitation but otherwise didn’t answer him. She slammed the door before they could push their way back in, quickly latching the chain and twisting the deadbolt with an audible click.

With Team Go out of sight, Drakken already felt himself beginning to relax. He hadn’t even realized how tense he’d been. But he couldn’t come out yet, not with her family just outside and her guest still in the room.

Standing on tiptoe to watch through the peephole, Shego ignored the dirtbag in boxer shorts ambling around behind her searching for his belongings and dressing as he questioned her on the clown freaks and the whereabouts of his pet. When the irritated young man tried grabbing her roughly by the shoulder to turn her around, he was abruptly shoved out the door into the early morning with such force he nearly toppled over the railing. His tattered backpack and dog leash were tossed out after him. The traitor swore and pounded on the door, but it was already locked once again.

After checking the kitchen window overlooking the breezeway was perfectly covered by the blinds, Shego returned to the closet. She pushed hangers aside to grab Drakken by the sleeve, yanking him out of hiding and out of her way. “Wait until everyone’s gone before you leave. And lock the door behind you,” she instructed quietly.

“Yes, ma’am,” Drakken whispered back. Truth be told, he wasn’t eager to go anywhere, hovering close at her side as she shifted through her belongings. He wasn’t convinced it was safe to be out of hiding just yet, even within her apartment – not with a bunch of superheroes outside.

Drakken was sure he caught a note of anxiety in her soft chuckle then, and he tore his eyes from the front door and back to her, fixing a frown on her. She patted his arm and quipped, “You can go back to hiding in the closet if you want. I won’t judge.”

“Yes, you would,” he scoffed.

“Daredevil, huh?” she mocked, and her smirk fell as she cast a suspicious glance to the door as well. “Whatever. Just – keep the lights off, or they might see you.”

He grunted in agreement but hovered by the coat closet as his accomplice made her rounds, closing windows and double-checking blinds and the locks on her door. She blew out a candle she’d missed, making certain the apartment was appropriately dark for this hour of the morning. She must have been as uneasy as him, having her family waiting for her outside. She had to face them eventually and risk them toting her off, but she was at considerably less risk than himself. If he left the apartment now, they’d be on him like flies on—

“I’m gonna take a shower,” she declared quietly in passing. “You behave yourself.”

“Certainly,” he mumbled.

No sooner had the bathroom door shut and the water cranked on full blast was Drakken was all but glued to the front door. While Shego – Shilo – got a start on the day, he anxiously stationed himself there as if on guard duty.

From the peephole, he could see the brand new hoverjet parked diagonally on the dinky lawn below. There was a notable lack of green included in the streaks and bolts of color decorating the craft. Team Go must have officially excluded her from the team, Drakken surmised.

The siblings of his accomplice gave the intimidated dog boy a hard time. What’s-his-name eventually brushed the heroes off and went to search for his dog, but not before accepting the monetary reward the big blue fellow grudgingly counted out for him.

Some friend that dog boy must be, to turn Shego in for a bit of cash in his pocket. Although Drakken couldn’t say he wouldn’t do the same if he were in dog boy’s duct-taped shoes, down on his luck with nothing but a sack and the clothes on his back. It was still shallow. He still detested the punk.

Drakken wondered how his accomplice had ever gotten caught up with the likes of dog boy. Maybe she still had a hero’s heart and took pity on the less fortunate. Such would be a quality his mother might like – but how much good would that do him? She was probably just using the lowlife to get her fix. Drakken had his connections – he could get Shego her fix if she’d just ask. It wasn’t a priority, but he’d have to broach the subject sometime.

Day broke while Shego took a lengthy shower, but her family waited patiently outside. Well, almost patiently. The two hyper little ones clambered around on the wings of the jet. A handful of times, it seemed the lavender one had to talk the blue one out of stomping back up to the apartment. Some middle-aged man appeared to have a word with the herculean leader of the team, who pointed up toward the apartment in an accusatory manner. The average Joe pulled the children down from the jet and lead them off then, leaving the two older brothers behind.

It wasn’t much longer before a hand landing on Drakken’s shoulder gave him a start.

He jumped and gave the unhappy runaway a once-over. He hadn’t even noticed the shower shut off, let alone heard her blow dry her hair. Plain denim and white blouse, she was dressed and ready to go, although she didn’t look particularly psyched out. Drakken wondered if it had less to do with drudging through another day as a barista and more to do with the unwelcomed patrons she’d surely be serving soon.

Shilo yawned, and almost rubbed her eyes but stopped herself before she could smudge her mascara.

Maybe she was just tired.

She cursed miserably under her breath and nudged Drakken aside so she could take a peek through the peephole herself. Then she rocked on her heels and leaned back against the door, sighing wretchedly. “I don’t wanna go out there,” she grumbled. “I really don’t wanna go out there.” She leaned a bit to look past him, Drakken following her stare to the digital clock on her dresser reading a quarter past six.

“You could call in sick,” he suggested. “Maybe they’ll get tired of waiting and leave.”

“Unlikely. It’s a stakeout.”

Drakken grunted his displeasure, knowing she was right, and turned his frown back to her as she grabbed something from the coat rack by the door. As his accomplice pulled on the black sweater and tugged her hair free, smoothing the collar of her blouse over the crewneck, he raised his brow and swallowed futilely against something bubbling up. He tore his eyes from the bat brooch pinned to the borrowed sweater before he could be caught staring.

Miss Gough shouldered her purse and tucked a second-hand skateboard under an arm before nudging Drakken again to move him away from the door. She peeked out once more, sighed wearily, and gave him one last look. “Wish me luck,” she said meekly.

“Only if you wish me luck first,” grumbled Drakken in halfhearted retort. Goodness knew he’d need it with her family out there. He didn’t anticipate her catching his hand, and resisted the reflex to jerk it away as she lifted it, giving his knuckles a blow for luck as if he held dice. The gesture was simultaneously sweet and torturous. He swallowed against the something bubbling up in his chest again and he tried to smile, whispering, “Good luck,” to his accomplice as she slipped out the door.

Through the peephole, he watched her trot away, subjecting herself to the heroes that converged on her. She hopped on her probably-stolen skateboard and kicked off to stay ahead of them, clearly trying to ignore the two young men hurrying after her like her shadow. It was hard to tell, but he was sure she almost glanced back at the apartment.

There were still the two youngest team members to worry about of course, and whoever had taken them. Still, Drakken gave it a good minute, waiting until the senior members of the superhero team were well out of sight before making his escape. He may have narrowly avoided being caught, but he was far from at ease.

He barely made it to the car before spotting the two little kids skipping down the sidewalk, jumping over cracks. One boy paused when he noticed Drakken ducking into the wagon, and he shoved the other, who in turn tugged on the coat of the mustachioed man trudging along beside them. But the man was too busy glaring up at the apartment to see Drakken pulling away.

The stranger must be their father, he realized, risking a glance back as he idled at the stop sign at the corner. The man with the twins was an ordinary fellow of average build and a bit of a beer gut. It was hard to believe he might be the parent of five colorful superhumans when he was so drab himself.

Drakken was out of there before the dismal father could be convinced to look back at the weird blue guy he was sure the children were pestering him about.

If only facing the father of the young lady he’d spirited away was the worst of it. Assuming he had no superpowers, he could probably take that guy in old-fashioned fisticuffs if a fight broke out. It was the big one Drakken worried about. That was the one that could knock his lights out for good and with ease.

And yet, despite that worry, he resisted the urge to floor it back to the lair for a change of wheels. He was riding on impulse. The odds her family had shown up in full force for nothing more than a little reunion seemed unlikely – and right now, she was alone with the worst of them.

What if they convinced her to go back? Was she homesick at all? Would they use that against her? How low were a group of heroes willing to stoop? She was alone and outnumbered, and they had a jet and could be halfway back to Go City by the time he made it back to her.

Maybe he did floor it back to the lair, and maybe he wished the damn stolen station wagon could go faster.

There had to be something to Shego’s lucky gesture because it had to be luck that Lux was there to get the gate. Drakken ordered the surrender of his keys, commandeering the senior henchman’s red Beetle, and was peeling out moments later. The punch buggy was unimpressive but perfect for the job. It was unfamiliar to Shego’s traitorous playmate and far less conspicuous than the stereotypical white van of a kidnapper – not that kidnapping was on the agenda. That the Beetle’s windows were tinted was a bonus.

Back across town lickety-split, Drakken made it in time to spot the trio from a block away as they arrived at Buckley’s Brew. He parked not far up the street while their backs were to him.

It was a relief to see the big blue gorilla hadn’t simply thrown the former hero over his shoulder yet to tote her off, but Drakken watched with a glower as Shilo Gough argued with her family just outside the shop. She didn’t have the skateboard anymore, he noticed. If he had to guess, one of the young men had gotten rid of it for her, perhaps to slow her down so they could talk. If talking was what they wanted, talking was what they got, because she was giving them an earful, though they didn’t seem terribly put off by it.

Shilo was in the middle of giving them a piece of her mind and jabbing a finger at the gorilla’s chest when Joanne Buckley herself stepped out of the shop. Built like a tank, the baker rivaled Team Go’s leader in size. The two active heroes were in uniform. There was no way Buckley didn’t recognize them as she butted in between the boys and her tiny superpowered employee, ready to go toe to toe with the herculean hero.

Drakken sank down behind the wheel, chuckling under his breath as he anticipated a brawl to break out. He wished he had popcorn on hand.

He was only a little disappointed things remained civil.

With Buckley barring the door like a bouncer, Shego ducked inside, escaping the verbal dispute before it could escalate to physical. The strapping young man and spindly boy exchanged looks, and it would seem they had little choice but to surrender and let their sister go. The burly baker glared at their backs as they retreated. If looks could kill, the young heroes would have been lying face-down on the sidewalk.

Disappointment aside, Drakken relaxed and let his grip on the wheel loosen, though he was still wary as they came trudging his way. He was pleasantly reminded how convenient tinted windows were as he watched the superheroes, both utterly oblivious that the man responsible for whisking away their dear sister was right under their noses. He smirked smugly to himself, undeniably getting a small thrill out of flirting with danger. Should the purple one recognize him, he was done for.

Through the cracked window on the passenger side, he just barely overheard the lavender teen utter, “I don’t like it either, man, but maybe we should leave her alone? She’s doing better than any of us thought.”

“This can’t last though,” said the giant sulking brother in exasperation. “She needs to come home.”

Fat chance, Drakken thought to himself, his brow knitting as he watched them from the corner of his eye. He’d like to avoid a confrontation if possible and she’d made it clear she didn’t want her family hurt, but he might just break his promise and fight to keep her if she needed the backup.

“And I’m sure she will,” the small one consoled, slapping the blue gorilla on the back as they passed perilously close to the Beetle. “Eventually. Once she sees things can be worse, she’ll be back.”

“I hope so,” said the apathetic giant in defeat, and Drakken couldn’t make out the rest of their conversation.

[starry-eyed-skz]

Felix Lee x Reader ~ My Ghost Best Friend

Here's my new one shot I've been working on hehe I hope you all enjoy!

Summary- You've always been fairly connected to the spirit realm. But one starry night changes not only your life, but the afterlife of a certain ghost as well. Was it for the better.. or for the worst..?

Word count- 3k

Italics = thoughts

masterlist

♥♦♥

~~~Reader's POV~~~

I hum quietly as I walk down the empty streets at night, my shoulder throbbing from how heavy my backpack is. "Stupid college assessment.." I mumble under my breath, gripping the strap to my backpack. "Seriously, who stays out this late?" The sudden voice startles me and I whip around in the direction of it, seeing a tall figure with blonde hair and dark brown eyes. "Like you have room to talk, bud." I snicker quietly and he visibly seems to freeze in his spot, his eyes going wide. "Y-you can see me..?" His voice is just above a whisper and I tilt my head to the side in utter confusion, not understanding what he's getting at.

"Yes..? You're tall, fluffy blonde hair, dark chocolate brown eyes, pale skin.. why?" He seems to be shaken up and I slightly back away from him. "You're not gonna believe me if I tell you.." He runs his hand through his hair, slightly disheveling the golden locks. "Color me interested, tell me." I put my free hand in my pocket, shifting my weight to my left foot. He reaches out for my hand still on my backpack strap and as soon as his hand makes contact with mine I scream. "Dude, why are your hands so cold?!" I shove my other hand into the pocket of my hoodie.

He takes a deep breath and his eyes meet mine again. "I'm not.. necessarily alive…" I can't help but laugh at his words, making him more confused. "What are you a ghost or something?" My laughing slightly dies down as I notice a somewhat serious expression on his face. "You can't be serious.." He smiles shyly at me as a light glow starts surrounding him, my eyes widening. My backpack falls off my shoulder as a light breeze kicks in out of nowhere, but I don't hear it hit the ground. Instead, the bag is left slightly floating above the ground. I look back up to meet his eyes and he only continues to smile as the glow dies down, the breeze stopping and my bag falling to the ground.

"You aren't kidding.." My tone is only just above a whisper, my mind starting to sway back to all the old memories with the other world. "Nope, I'm not kidding." He cups his hands behind his back as a light blush takes over his face. "I'm Felix by the way." He bows his head slightly, his smile not faltering. "Y/n.." His eyes seem to twinkle in the glow of the moon as if reflecting the stars in his irises. "Well Felix it was nice to meet you and all, but I have to go now.." I silently trail off and pick up my backpack from the sidewalk. His face visibly falls and sadness overtakes his eyes.

"Please don't leave.. I've been so lonely the past few years. You're my only hope left.." His voice slightly cracks as tears start brimming his eyes. "I mean.. I guess you could come with me..?" My words come out as more of a question than a statement which makes me cringe internally. Wow, nice going Y/n. Felix's chuckle makes me tilt my head before realization hits me. "You can read my thoughts, can't you?" He just giggles and nods, making my cheeks dust with red. "Only if I wish to. If I focus enough energy, I can read the thoughts of mortals around me." My eyes widen and then I know why he was so quiet for a little bit. God damnit. "Don't worry though, I won't always look into that pretty little head of yours." He winks at me and I hit him, making us both shocked before I shake it off. "Keep it up and I'll take back my offer."

"No please don't, I'm sorry." He's quick to be at my side and clinging to my arm, his cold touch making me shiver even with a hoodie not allowing full contact of our skin. "Seriously, why are spirit's hands always so cold?" I ask out or nowhere as we walk to my apartment building, the silence starting to consume me. "I honestly don't have a clue, it might be because we don't have the need for heat anymore? That's the only reason I could think of." I just nod my head as we continue walking down the sidewalk, the moon giving off a beautiful glow to the ground below mine and Felix's feet.

~~At Y/n's Apartment; Y/n's POV~~

A small yawn leaves my mouth as I turn the key in the keyhole, retracting it when I hear the click that indicates the door is unlocked. I push the door open and set my backpack on the floor. I would've flung it, but my laptop is in there and I'd prefer not to buy a new one. "Well, make yourself at home I guess." I run a hand through my hair as I lock the door again, placing my keys on the hook. "Why were you out so late anyway?" Felix takes the liberty of flopping down on my couch, smiling at the comfiness. "I had to finish all my research for my assignment." I sigh and pick up my backpack again, ready to head to my room. "I'm gonna go to bed, it's really late." I yawn again, feeling more sluggish by the second. Felix nods his head and swings his feet back and forth.

"Don't phase through the walls and watch me sleep." The teasing tone in my voice brings a blush to his face and I can't help but giggle. "I'm joking, weirdo." My giggle fit dies down as I walk down the hall towards my room, closing the door behind me. I place my bag down on my desk and grab my pajamas to put on.

I pull my pajama shirt over my head and flop onto my bed, ready to cuddle underneath the warm covers. I turn off my lamp on my bedside table and plug my phone in. The only thoughts crossing my mind are those of the ghost sitting in my living room. I've always been very connected with the spirit world since I was young. Children are always so in tune with it because their minds are so pure and non corrupted by the words of the adults around us. But instead of listening to all those things people said and not believing, I continued to believe. It's just been a few years since I last encountered anything paranormal so I can't help but be shaken up though.

I sigh and push all my thoughts aside, turning on my side. The softness of my pillows slowly starts coaxing me into slumber as I nuzzle my face closer to them. I pull my blankets up to my chin and smile slightly at how good it feels to be back in my bed. My mind is slowly put at ease as I'm pulled into sleep.

~~A Few Months Later; Y/n's POV~~

I'm peacefully amongst the dream land until I feel a pillow make contact with my face. "Y/n! Get up!" The oh too familiar voice tries ripping me from my realm of peace but I just pull the blankets over my head, not wanting to leave my bed. "Y/n you have a lecture to go to! Get the hell up!!" The blankets are ripped off me without Felix even being near my bed. "God damnit Felix, stop using your ghost abilities to ruin my life!" I can only whine at my idiot of a best friend and shove my face into my pillows. His laugh bounces off the walls as he smiles at me.

"Okay but seriously, get your lazy ass up before you're late to your lecture." I turn my head to look at him and next thing I know, a pillow makes contact with my face. "Felix!" He just laughs again and quickly darts up from my chair at my desk, running out of my room. No, not using the door. Through the wall. God I hate him but love him at the same time. "Love you too, Y/n~!" His annoying sing-song voice makes me roll my eyes with a light smile on my face.

I roll out of my bed and stop when I see an outfit laid out on my desk for me already, shaking my head at how well Felix knows me. "You're welcome by the way!" Hi remark makes me laugh as I grab the clothes from my desk and head to the bathroom to change. The past few months have been really eventful with Felix in my life, to say the least. I mean hey, I haven't been late to a single morning lecture since I met him so there's a plus. I flatten my shirt against my torso to get rid of any annoying wrinkles. "20 more minutes girl, come on!" I huff in fake annoyance and run my brush through my hair, quickly getting rid of the knots.

"Calm your tits Feix, there's enough time!" The fake dramatic gasp I receive in return makes me giggle for a little bit. "I'm offended!" The mock hurt in his voice only makes me laugh harder as I walk out of the bathroom to see a pouty Felix sitting on the couch. "Okay my pouty prince I gotta go to my lecture." I quickly walk over to him and ruffle his hair before retreating to the door to put on my shoes. I grab my bag off the floor and quickly open the door, wave, and leave to my class. I have a feeling I was forgetting something, but I just brush it off and continue out of the apartment complex near campus.

~~At the Campus; Jisung's POV~~

I laugh with my best friends as we stand around our college campus, not wanting to go to class yet. Out of the corner of my eye I see a familiar head of h/c hair casually walking in my direction. I smile and turn in that direction and am met with a pair of e/c eyes. "Y/n, hey!" I wave her over to my little group of friends and am nudged in the shoulder by my friends suggestively, chuckling at them. She makes her way towards me quickly and a small "Hi" leaves her mouth. "You've been somewhat distant lately, what's up?" Seungmin is quick to ask her the question our group has been wondering for over a month. "Oh.. it's nothing, really." She laughs awkwardly at her own statement and rubs the nape of her neck.

I can tell she's uncomfortable from the body language she's giving off so I just casually change the subject to Hyunjin's dog. She gives me a thankful look before looking at her phone for the time. "Oh shit, my lecture is starting soon! Bye guys, talk to you later!" Y/n is very quick to rush off in the direction of her class. I hear random footsteps around us even though we're the only people in this area of the campus. What the? I look around for a person that the footsteps could've came from, not seeing a single possible source in sight.

I brush it off and check my phone for the time, noticing that I only had 3 minutes to make it to my astrology lecture. I wave bye to my friends and hurry off to the building, feeling a pair of eyes burning into my soul. I shiver in fear at the thought of being stalked and hurry up on my way.

~~After Classes & At the Apartment; Y/n's POV~~

I sigh at the discomfort and throbbing feeling in my feet from having to walk around so much just to get home. I reach into my pocket for my key, my heart dropping when I realise that's what I forgot this morning. I try to turn the doorknob but of course, Felix locked it after I left. Couldn't even bring me my keys.. I knock on the door, hoping that he's still here. If he went on one of his walks. The door opens and I'm met with the lazy smile of none other than the ghost himself. I hit him in the arm and close the door behind me. "Couldn't even bother to bring me my house key, I see." I say sassily but still in a joking manner, not wanting him to think I'm upset with him.

"Heh sorry, I didn't really notice until your classes were almost done." He ruffles my hair and a familiar glow surrounds him, my bag leaving my shoulder and being carried to my room for me. "You're so extra with your powers at this point." I can't help but giggle at how much of a dork he is, him reciprocating my smile as the glow fades. "Oh, how did the presentation go?" The question makes me groan at him for bringing back up college when I just got home. "It was fine, nothing special." I lean my head on his shoulder, thankful that he's fully materialized. His hands runs up and down my arms, the cool feeling of his palms calming me down.

I feel him smile into my hair before the only thing logical to say at 11pm. "You should probably go to bed, I can tell just by your posture that you need it." He moved away from me and shoves me in the direction of my room, the sudden movement making me almost fall. I mumble a small "good night" to him as I sluggishly make my way to my room to drown in the warmth of my bed.

~~~Felix's POV~~~

I smile sadly as Y/n disappears into her bedroom, sitting myself down on the couch. I look around the living room and frown at the messy look it now had since I got here. When Y/n first let me into her apartment, it was very clean and well kept. But after a while she just stopped caring about cleaning up all the time. I sigh and close my eyes, focusing my energy on my telekinesis to clean the mess. My eyes open and I watch as the plates are moved to the sink to be cleaned later and all the paper that makes itself into a pile on the table.

Once the room looks decently better I put a halt to my powers, looking at the progress I made. I lay down on the couch and a sigh passes through my lips, closing my eyes to attempt at sleep once again.

~~The Next Morning; Y/n's POV~~

I wake up on my own accord this morning, wondering why Felix wasn't bugging me even though I had no classes today. I get out of my bed, my bare feet making contact with the cold floor. I shuffle my way out of my room and see the before mentioned ghost sitting on my couch, head in his hands. "Felix?" I call out to him as I move to stand in front of him, the lack of his cold surrounding area making me confused. He looks up at me with a blank look on his face, fueling my confusion but also striking fear in my heart. "What's wrong?"

I reach out to put my hand on his shoulder but instead of making contact with it, my hand phases right through. What the.. "Felix..?" My voice wavers as my fear starts growing larger. "I'm sorry Y/n.." His voice is just above a whisper but sounds distant despite the lack of "personal bubble" space between us. "For what? What's going on?" My voice cracks slightly when I see the sad look in his eyes. "I'm.. going to leave you alone." As soon as the words hit my ears I swear I feel my world come crashing down. "W-what? Why? Felix please explain why.." I fall to my knees in front of him, the carpet leaving a sting on the surface of my skin.

"You seem like you're closing yourself off from the outside world you live in. I never wanted this to happen if I finally found someone I could interact with." He starts shaking at his own words, tears brimming his dark eyes. "For that, I'm going to set you free. Move on from this friendship and get your life back.." Tears start streaming down my face as he continues, my own body starting to shake. "Felix please.." I sound so pathetic at this point but I don't care. My own thoughts sound selfish to me but I don't care. I want my best friend to stay. I want my best friend to be there for me when I need him.

Hell,

I want him here because I love him.

Felix seems to physically freeze when he processes the rapid thoughts going through my head. "This is why I have to leave. You deserve someone who can really be there for you." He stands up from the couch and moves to the middle of the room, seeming as if he's going to fall on his knees. "But you are and can be! You have been!" I don't even try to hide my tears at this moment in time, my voice cracking again. "Y/n.. we're of two different worlds. Two completely different planes not meant to interact.." Felix starts to sound more and more distant and my eyes look up instinctively, my heart shattering more.

He's disappearing..

"Felix, please! Stay here!" The words are barely able to get out through choked out sobs as he starts disappearing from my sight. "Goodbye Y/n, I love you.." Those are the last words that I hear from him before he's gone. My sobs become louder and harder, my heart starting to hurt. It feels as if my world was torn apart right in front of my eyes, my heart throbbing in hurt. I grip my hair in my hands and curl into a ball on the floor refusing to move from where I am.

I love you Felix Lee, and I always will..

♥♦♥

Wow that got depressing that the end- uhm well then O.O

I'm not too proud of this but it isn't my worst work either. I hope you all enjoyed either way 😅💓

[lailannajacobs]

Just Dumb Luck - Final Chapter

Pairing: Loki X Reader 

Summary: Time to see if you can work things out with Loki or not. 

Word Count: 1.7k 

Warnings: None! 

A/N: A HUGE thank you to everyone who has been following this series! I can’t even begin to express how much all your love for these two has meant to me and honestly, I can barely believe it! As a little thank you I’ve decided to give you guys an epilogue next week, maybe it’ll set up another project, maybe not, we’ll see! Again, thank you so much and feedback and requests are always welcome! <3 

Updated: 31/01/19

Neither of you had said a word on the way to your apartment. You were both too aware of the gravity of what Loki had to say, and you knew it wasn’t the kind of conversation you could have while walking home.

He’s sitting on your couch, a steaming cup of tea in his hands, waiting for you to sit. Your heart is hammering. You’re terrified to hear what he has to say. It would be less terrifying if you’d have any sort of clue as to what is about to come out of his mouth.

Less than a half hour ago you were warming up to the idea of letting him back into your life, but now, you can feel yourself shutting him out – and you don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing. You don’t want him to give you a reason you can’t accept and you sure as hell don’t want to get your hopes up. You have to keep convincing yourself that those aren’t your only two options. If you’re lucky, it’ll turn out for the best.

When you sit, he doesn’t say anything, but you wait, knowing he will. You have a feeling he knows the weight his next words will hold and he’s choosing them very carefully.

Looking at him now, you realize every inch of his mask has faded away. He looks like he went through hell to get here but he made it through if only to sit on your couch. You desperately want to know what has happened to him since he left, especially since all you can hear, echoing through your head is: The Only Thing I Am Playing For Is Your Company. The words had eased your anger initially, but you can feel it returning. Regardless of what has happened, he hadn’t told you the truth, and that wasn’t something you could forgive without an explanation. No matter how much, deep down, you wanted him back in your life, you would stand your ground for this.

You’re halfway done your tea when he speaks up. “I haven’t been completely honest with you (y/n).”

“Really?” You scoff, “I never would have guessed.”

He winces at the bite in your words.

You don’t want to stop him from telling you the truth. You told him you’d hear him out and attacking him won’t help anything so, taking in a deep breath, you motion for him to go on. You don’t trust yourself to speak right now.

“I’m not sure you’re going to believe me, but I need you to know I’m not lying to you (y/n). You have my word.”

You nod and listen.

* * * * * 

“(y/n)?” Loki breaks the fragile silence with a whisper.

You haven’t said anything since he finished telling you who he really is. At first, you hadn’t been able to help but laugh in disbelief, but the laughter had died on your lips at the seriousness in his voice and at the memory of the promise that he wouldn’t lie to you.

If you really thought about it, you’d always had some sort of inkling that he was different, and hearing your suspicions aloud had only served to quiet you even further. You hadn’t realized how different he truly was.

You can tell he’s terrified by your silence. He’s fidgeting, unable to find a comfortable position on the couch, and can barely keep eye contact without having to look away after a few seconds. On anyone else, you’d say that he looks guilty and regretful all at once, but it’s not a look you’ve ever seen on him before. You don’t know if you’re imagining the look or not.

You can’t answer him, at least not right away. It’s almost impossible to wrap your head around everything. You had never been one to think too hard about what was out there, in space, but you guess you must have always assumed that no one else was out there because suddenly the world feels like a much larger place; and you, now, so much smaller.

You can’t help but think back to the one mythology class you had to take as an elective while you were in college. You hadn’t taken it seriously considering it had nothing to do with your marketing major, and at the time it seemed like a load of crap, but you know your professor would have had a field day with all this knowledge. You, on the other hand, are still stunned into silence.

The man you had come to know, and if you had to admit it, love, was basically a god. What do you do with that kind of information? You ask yourself if it changes anything. Does it change everything?

Loki lets out a sigh and pushes himself up and off the couch.

You grab his hand, “Wait. Just…give me another second.”

You can’t let him leave without at least trying to wrap your head around all this.

He raises a brow and when he sees that you want him to stay, sits back down, fiddling with the tea cup in his hands. His eyes are dull, no longer that bright, passion filled green and his shoulders slumped, curled in around that tiny mug.

After searching deep down, you realize you’re no longer angry with him. You had wanted the truth and he had given it to you. You understand why he wouldn’t think you could believe something like this. Who would? You’re a little surprised you believe him now. It makes you think back to the day you first met, when he had walked you home. You’re reminded of something he had said and finally find your voice.

“Why didn’t you say anything? That first day. I feel like maybe… maybe you were about to?”

You want to think you would have believed him then. Maybe you would have. Maybe you wouldn’t. Either way, you know that it’s what you do now that counts.

He lifts his gaze from the mug and rubs the back of his neck, “I didn’t want you to see me as a monster; a villain.”

The realization dawns on you, “You were afraid I wouldn’t see you for you…that I still won’t.”

He shrugs.

“I would have seen you for you, you know.” You say softly but firmly.

He shrugs again.

“I have a question though Loki.”

You have many questions, but you narrow it down to one. There’s only one that matters above all of your curiosity. One that, depending on his answer, will decide whether or not you’ll ever give this thing with Loki a chance.

He dips his heads slightly, enough to tell you to ask away.

“How much of it was real?”

His answer is quick, “All of it.” And as if he can sense that you’re still not quite convinced he continues, “How I behaved, how I acted, it was all me (y/n). That was real. I meant what I said earlier, and I stayed because I enjoy your company. But I had to leave, and I will have to leave from time to time in the future, but I will be here as much as I can. I know you may not believe it and I won’t blame you if you don’t, but I will stay… if you’ll have the god of mischief.”

He’s sitting so stiffly, you know he’s waiting for you to tell him to leave. Even though you’re pretty sure he didn’t tell you everything about his home and what happened with his family, you’re guessing the things he didn’t tell you are the reason he’s expecting you to be afraid of who he really is. That, or maybe he’s afraid of himself. Maybe he can’t imagine why, if he is, you wouldn’t be too.  

“I don’t need the god of mischief,” you begin holing that intense green gaze of his, watching the disappointed acceptance flash through his eyes. “I need Loki. The man who helped me out of an embarrassing situation without asking more than one question like a weirdo. The man who challenges me every time I go all competitive. The man who pushes me to be a better person. The man who, even if it was only to win a stupid breakup, listened to every word Amelie had to say with genuine care. The man who bought a Yankees jersey just because I told him he’d have more fun that way. The man who’s truly terrible at pool. That’s who I need. And I’m not saying I don’t want the other part of you that you kept hidden. I do. I want to it all, to see every part of you. But for real this time. I only wanted the truth Loki… I only wanted you.”

His shoulders sag.

Before you know what’s happening, he’s pulling you toward him and pressing his lips to yours. You’re sure he can feel your smile through the kiss, and you pull him even closer. You’re instantly flooded with feelings of relief and familiarity. As you tangle your fingers in his hair, he lets out a sigh of content and his hands begin to explore the rest of your body. There’s a gentleness in his touch as if he can’t quite believe you’re still here. The gentleness of it all almost feels taunting.

You’re about to harden the kiss but he pulls away, that familiar half smile on his face.

“I should probably tell you that I did not buy that jersey.”

You tilt your head, your brows furrowing, “Wait, what? But I saw it on you. Don’t tell me you stole it?”

In your surprise, you don’t mention that you had also been wanting to take it off him yourself that day. That little tidbit you can save for another day – another game.

“That would have been a little bit of conjuration.” He replies sheepishly.

You sit back, crossing your legs under you and bouncing back a little on your hands, all thoughts of his shirt and what’s underneath, making way for intrigue. “I have so many questions.”

He tilts his body slightly to the side in a slight mock bow, a wolfish grin lighting his whole face, “Ask me anything love.”

Epilogue

Tag List: 

@lokixme @lokislilcaribbeanprincess @perceptorxbrainstorm @ihavenofilter @tony-sassmaster-stark @crescent-night @wrappedinlokisarms @lemonie2 @thatkidofwarandpeace @ihavenofilter @jessiejunebug @bbcsassdeadass @casualminiaturetimemachine @artsymeadow @laufxysn @save-myself @bilesxbilinskixlahey @grey-stardancer @thathedonistgirl @fyeahlitaajpunk

[silverfootstepswrites]

Butterfly [51]

summary Do it yourself

“Man, can’t believe the school year’s almost over. We should go on a trip during the break,” Shikamaru declared, crossing his arms behind his head. He flopped onto his back, stretching his legs out. 

“Where were you thinking, Nara-sensei?” asked Itachi, looking up from his sketchbook. Kiba lowered his phone to peek at them, listening in on the conversation. 

“Dunno.... maybe Hakone? An onsen sounds nice,” mused Shikamaru. Kiba grimaced. He aimed a kick at Shikamaru’s thigh.

“We’ve got a million hot springs around here. Yufuin is like... 40 minutes away. Why would I go all the way up to Hakone?” retorted Kiba. Itachi wasn’t as violent in his protest, but he nodded as Kiba spoke. 

“I bet Haruno would want to go,” grumbled Shikamaru. 

“I bet she’d call you an idiot too,” snorted Kiba. 

And then, at the same time, they turned in the direction of the door to yell: “HARUNO!”

Sakura appeared in the doorway, a cardboard box on her hip. 

“Either way, I can’t go. I’m busy during spring break,” she told them.

Kiba and Shikamaru snuck glances at Itachi, hopeful smiles stretching their mouths. But their expressions fell when they saw the bewilderment in his face. Shikamaru very carefully nudged Itachi’s back with his foot. 

“What are your plans, Haruno-sensei?” Itachi questioned. Sakura reached into the box to pull out a poster. It was light blue with glittering snowflakes creating a frame. In the middle was a bejeweled ice skate.

“Stars on Ice Japan Tour 2018,” Itachi read the English, squinting a little without his glasses. 

“I’ll be in Osaka and then Yokohama,” she added.

“You weren’t going to tell us?” asked Shikamaru, reading the dates. She would be gone for all of spring break. Sakura lowered the poster, eyebrows rising.

“I just did,” she replied. “Weirdo.”

Kiba made a face at her back as she turned around to head back into the house.

“She’s always doing this,” sighed Shikamaru. 

“Yeah. One day she was all-” Kiba raised his phone to his ear. “Hey. I’m getting married. Lol.” He mocked her in a high-pitched voice.

“I can hear you!” Sakura called from inside. 

“Good! I hate you!” Kiba shouted in response. Kiba and Shikamaru exchanged a long look. Then, sighing, Kiba sat up to clap his hand on Itachi’s shoulder. 

“Alright, Uchiha-sensei. We’re in crisis mode,” he whispered.

“Crisis mode?” repeated Itachi. Kiba shushed him. Itachi looked to Shikamaru. But Shikamaru was sitting up too, his expression weary as he nodded along. 

“You gotta pick up the pace, man. Especially if she’s going to be seeing all those skaters,” Kiba hissed. When Itachi gave him a blank look, Kiba huffed. He typed something into his phone before throwing it at him. 

Itachi barely managed to catch it by the tips of his fingers. It was open to an image search. 

“Look! Look at how buff all those skaters are! And it’s, like, statistically improbable how good-looking each one is!” Kiba whispered loudly, casting nervous looks over his shoulder. Like Sakura would be hovering over him, listening in. Itachi lowered the phone. Shikamaru was nodding.

“They’re all hot,” he agreed in a low voice. He flexed his arm, giving Itachi a pointed look. Itachi glanced at his own arm, then at the phone. Then back up at Shikamaru and Kiba. Who were staring holes into him. 

“Um.”

Itachi typed a few words into Kiba’s phone. He looked up the website. And then he held it up for his friends to see.

“All the tickets are sold out. For every show,” he told them. 

“Guess I’ll die, then,” declared Shikamaru, falling onto his back again.

Yoshino held out a paper bag. Sakura peered inside. There were pocket warmers and energy drinks.

"Take care of yourself, Sakura-chan. I wish you weren’t going alone," Yoshino fretted.

"Let me give you some spending money. Buy yourself a nice dinner," Shikaku declared, digging in his back pocket for his wallet. Shikamaru grabbed his father’s arm.

“Mom, Dad, you don’t have to do this every time. She’s not a kid,” sighed Shikamaru. Yoshino reached out to rub her hands up and down Sakura’s arms. 

“I know. I know. It’s just... well, you understand me, right, Sakura-chan?” Yoshino said. Sakura smiled.

“I get it. Thank you, Oba-san, Oji-san.”

Sighing, Yoshino pulled Sakura in for a hug, stroking Sakura’s back. “Why couldn’t we have had a beautiful, sweet daughter like you instead of that rude son?” 

“Hey!”

The flight to Osaka was short. By the time the attendants served drinks, it was time to begin the descent into Itami Airport. Haku met her at arrivals, bouncing from foot to foot as she dragged her suitcase behind her. He pulled his black mask down to reveal his grin.

“Hey,” Sakura greeted him, throwing her arms around him. He squeezed back just as hard. But she felt something hard against his chest. She pulled away, already glaring at him. 

“Are you-?” 

She didn’t even get a chance to finish the question. Because Haku reached into the front of his jacket. He hooked his thumb into the ribbon and pulled out the gold medal he had won at Worlds. He waved it back and forth like a pendulum. 

“You seriously wore that all the way here?” she demanded.

Haku nodded. He let it drop back under his shirt. Sighing, she reached out to ruffle his hair. 

“You’re unbelievable,” she declared. 

“Yeah, I know,” he retorted.

They had lunch together, Haku talking a mile a minute as he caught her up on everything. She had missed the first couple days of rehearsal because of work. Sakura knew that Tsunade would have excused her without hesitation. But it felt wrong to be missing so many days, especially since it would be the last few days she would see the seniors. So she had stuck around until the last day of the spring semester and even attended graduation before taking the next flight up to Osaka.

“I can’t believe Karin-chan’s retiring. I feel old!” Haku groaned, reaching for her plate. Sakura pushed it over to him so that he could steal the last of her salad. She slapped his fingers away when he began reaching for her cookie, though. 

“Okay. Anyone I should keep an eye out for?” she asked. Haku gave her puppy dog eyes when she opened the plastic and tore off a hunk of her cookie. She didn’t offer him a crumb. He made a face. Crossing his arms, he rested his elbows on the plastic table.

“Nah, not really. Everyone seems pretty cool,” he replied. 

They hung out for a little while longer. They made a little detour to visit Kobe Harborland. They took a couple selfies in front of the ferris wheel, which Haku spent the taxi ride editing and filtering to look just right. 

When they arrived at the arena they ran into one of the other skaters in the parking lot. She hugged Sakura, chattering nonstop about how nice it was to see her. This continued on as they entered the lobby. They flashed their ID at security, who pointed them in the direction of the locker room. Sakura waved at Haku as they parted between the men’s and women’s locker rooms. 

The one-sided conversation stopped short when Karin spotted them. She pounced, grabbing Sakura in a hug. She kissed each of Sakura’s cheeks, leaving lipstick marks. 

“Прости,” Karin apologized as she rubbed at the red with the edge of her sleeve.

“That’s okay, Karin-chan. It’s good to see you too,” laughed Sakura. 

Stars on Ice had reached out to Sakura many times throughout her career. It had surprised her when they had contacted her again this year. After all, there were dozens of young skaters who were in the spotlight now. Why reach out to someone who had retired? And rejected them dozens of times before?

But they had been thrilled to have her. And as one of the staff members gave her the rundown, Sakura was surprised by the amount of freedom she was given with her programs. As soon as the meeting was over, someone dashed across the rink toward her. She barely recognized Mangetsu before he collided with her.

“Hi!” she exclaimed as he squeezed her in one arm and Haku in the other.

“Get off me, you old fart!” Haku snapped, shoving him away. And then he struggled to pry his arm off of Sakura.

“Relax, Shimizu. We were friends first, right?” Mangetsu goaded him. 

“Hi, Hozuki-kun,” Sakura laughed. She threw her arms around Haku, squeezing him against her chest. 

“Don’t be jealous, little Haku-chan,” she teased in a baby voice.

“The both of you suck. Lemme go!” snarled Haku, flailing his arms around. But Sakura held tight. And Mangetsu held onto the both of them, cackling as Haku began spewing profanities. 

Sakura showed off the new choreography to Karin. But as she did a triple-salchow, she miscalculated the distance and botched her landing. She skidded on the ice, giggling as she rolled onto her side.

“You okay, Haruno?” called Karin. 

“My butt!” groaned Sakura, still laughing.

Mangetsu did a wide loop around her, waiting for her to get to her feet. But when Sakura held out her hand, he drew closer. He grasped her outstretched hand and pulled her to her feet. Once she was steady, he swung her in a circle around him. She released his hand, grabbing the opposite one as she completed the loop.

Mangetsu pulled her in closer, but she pushed off his chest, rolling her eyes at him. 

“Maybe we should’ve done pairs,” he suggested, releasing her hand. 

“No way. We would’ve killed each other,” she pointed out.

“You’re right,” he conceded, chuckling. "But you’re tiny. I bet I could lift you easy.” 

A look crossed Sakura’s face as she considered that. She tilted her head a little. Skates slowing, she looked in Karin’s direction. The redhead was by the edge of the rink, chatting with Suigetsu and one of the Chinese skaters. She had mentioned on more than one occasion that sometimes Suigetsu would lift her. And then they would joke about having her replace his ice dance partner.

“Wait, let’s try it,” Sakura suggested. She held out her hands. Mangetsu grabbed them, lacing their fingers together. 

“Alright. On the count of three,” he told her.

Everyone turned to watch as Mangetsu lifted Sakura into the air, his arms shaking a little. But as her elbows locked, Sakura found herself held rather securely in a press lift. 

“Am I heavy?” she called down to him, core and back muscles tight as she tried to keep steady. 

“Not really,” Mangetsu replied. 

“Wait, how do I get down?” Sakura then wondered, realizing that the rink was suddenly a couple meters away from her feet. She began giggling, and so did Mangetsu. Their arms began shaking from the movement.

“Help!” she laughed.

Haku and Suigetsu glided over. Suigetsu said something to his older brother while Haku approached Sakura. As Mangetsu began easing his arms down, Haku wrapped his arms around Sakura’s legs. She tried to stop laughing at how ridiculous the situation had become. She sagged against Haku when her blades finally touched the ice. 

“This is like how cats climb up into trees and can’t get down,” Haku remarked.

Sakura turned, already lunging from him. But Haku had read her body language and began skating away. She hurried after him, arms pumping at her sides. When she finally seized his shoulders from behind, he kept going, dragging her along after him. 

“Conga line!” Sakura announced. Karin caught up to them, grasping Sakura’s shoulders. When a fourth skater joined in, he threw them off balance, sending them tumbling onto the ice. Sakura sat there, laughing and laughing until her stomach hurt. Haku laughed right along with her, barely protesting when she slapped his arm a couple times.

“Feeling nervous?” Karin asked as she fixed the buttons of Sakura’s costume that Saturday afternoon. 

“A little. But also no,” replied Sakura. 

“I heard the tickets sold out right away when people found out that you were joining the line-up,” Karin teased just a little. And Sakura looked over her shoulder at her. Karin stuck out her tongue before she gave Sakura a light slap on her back. Her costume was all secured.

They could hear string music playing as the introduction video played on the big screens. She and Karin made their way into the tunnel. It led straight out onto the ice. And in the darkness, she could make out the packed stands. Black silhouettes crowding together. 

One by one, they played a short clip for each performer. And then they would do a short lap around the rink before heading back out, just to whet the appetites of the audience. 

A staff member with a clipboard tapped her on the arm, urging her forward. 

The ice was dark as she skated out of the tunnel. She could hear the whispers and rustles of paper as she glided out. And when the purple and white spotlights flickered on, screams erupted all around her. Sakura threw her arms up, beaming. 

People had brought along signs with her name on them. They shook them, waving their hands as she moved past them. She did a lap all around the rink. It was smaller than what she was used to, but it was nice that the seats were so close. She could finally see the faces of all the people in the audience. 

Including Itachi, who sat in one of the VIP seats at the very front. Her eyes widened as their gazes met. And she wondered whether she had just been seeing things. But when she glanced over her shoulder, he was still sitting there. Shaking her head a little, she forced the smile back onto her face. 

“Oh, Itachi-kun, she looked right at me!” Mikoto said, shaking Itachi’s arm a little. It took a second for his mother’s voice to process in his brain. Itachi looked over at her, at the way Mikoto held the pamphlet in front of her mouth as she spoke. Her sparkling eyes. And he laughed a little.

“Yeah, Mom. She did,” he agreed with her. 

[gutterdreams]

Bananas [Billy Hargrove]

Disclaimer: I don’t own Stranger Things or the GIF used below. Word Count: 4.2 k Warning: Lite smut, swearing. 

Just sat down and wrote this on a break. Let me know what you think. Let me know if I should do a second part. I’m not sure myself.

Masterlist

It better have been a rumour. For the sake of Kathy Hanson-Page's face, it better have just been a rumour. If it turned out that Billy had driven her home while you stayed back at school for cheer practice, you weren't sure if you would start throwing your elbows around or just screaming first.  Considering how furious Billy felt whenever you just waved at a guy he didn't know, you felt confident that it was just a rumor someone started to try and brew a fight between you and your hot tempered boyfriend. Even though it wasn't in their best interest, people loved stirring up trouble with Billy, often getting a kick of how fast and far he would fly through the school to taunt a target. He was a loose cannon. While he was in a league all of his own, the girls on the squad knew how insecure in the relationship you were. There were trust issues aplenty and that was easy fodder for the girls who didn't like you.  Pushing open the school door, still in your red spandex shorts from practice, you spotted Billy's hand out of his car window with a lot smoke dangling lazily out of it right away. There was only a few other cars in the parking lot, but they belonged to parents or teachers. You tightened your ponytail and told yourself to be cool. As of right now, it was just hot gossip in the gym. Maybe, he only drove Max home.  Billy didn't mind waiting for you post practice. It was an excuse to get out of the house and he was always interested in those opportunities. If he wasn't so lazy, he would have found a part time job just to give himself a real reason to avoid family dinners and spending any time with his Dad and his new wife at all. 

"I'm on time this time." He rolled his head away from his window and watched you slide in, one bare leg at a time. Automatically, Billy's empty hand clasped a naked thigh and tightly squeezed with a light moan. He couldn't help himself. He always wanted to fuck you. In class, during arguments, and even in the cleaning supplies aisle of the supermarket.  "Thank you." Getting organized in the front seat, softly you mumbled and loosened the strap of your backpack from around your wrist in order to drop it between your ankles on the floor.  Once you were settled, you leaned in to kiss him. Unsurprisingly, he turned an intended peck into a deep and assertive kiss. Billy's fingers pushed into your skin as his other hand hung out the window. He tasted like his cigarette, but you didn't notice anymore. Besides you were too busy trying to figure out if you could detect Kathy's scent in the Camaro. It would have been much easier if you knew what she smelled like.  "What are you doing, weirdo?" Billy chuckled as he released your bottom lip, looking at you with a hollowed out stare. "Are you sniffing me?" Heavily, you let out a gasp of exasperation. Billy knew right away that this answer wouldn't be simple. He took a last drag of his smoke and then flicked it into the parking lot to be left out as he started up his car. A Bon Jovi chorus sang between you two as Billy drove carelessly with his hand never leaving your leg.  "I heard a rumor." Finally, you managed to say through a sigh. Billy didn't say a word in response. He knew to just let you talk yourself out. If it included something about you and/or him then he would get involved long enough to stop the story with a threat of violence. Besides that, Billy couldn't give a shit. He used to keep his ear to the ground to hear what girls put out easier than others, but since he became addicted to the taste of your cherry cola lip gloss and the way you whimpered his name through his hand over your mouth, he stopped paying any mind to that noise. It was all just racket anyway.  "Vanessa said you drove Kathy home. Carla said she saw you two flirting." "Oh yeah?" Billy already wanted to light up another cigarette. "Are we going to your place?" He checked, not sure if you two actually had a plan today. It was not uncommon to just drive around aimlessly together until he couldn't put off making out with you anymore.  "Yes." Frowned brows over now concerned eyes, you looked at him like he was nuts. Why wasn't he telling you that they needed their eyes checked? Why was he being so casual? "Carla said she was like drawing her finger up and down your chest and flipping her hair around." "Kathy?" He was poking you, pushing your buttons.  "Yes. Kathy. Kathy Hanson-Page. Triangle boobs!" It was an unfair comment to make. While you and Kathy weren't friends, she had never been unkind to you.  "I don't remember. A lot of girls flirt with me." Billy mentioned as if you two were just chatting about the weather. As if you weren't getting worked up right underneath his hand.  "You don't remember if you drove some girl home?" Already tired of his game, you practically hissed. "I drive you and Max home almost every day."  "Well all these girls that flirt with you should back off." Crossing your arms over your chest, pushing down the neckline of your white shirt lower much to Billy's peripherals delight. "Do you flirt back?" For all of a single second, you had calmed down. You shot up to face him so quickly that you nearly forced his hand to fly off your skin.  Briefly, Billy bounced the idea of telling you to chill and that you were the only girl that wasn't his sister who took up space in his car. Instead, he smirked and went a different route. He just shrugged. "So, you were flirting with Kathy Hanson-Page?" Eyes fluttering dumbfounded at his profile, you just chirped instantly. "Why?"  He didn't have an answer, so Billy dropped the act and decided to be honest.  "I didn't drive anyone, but Max home. She just started talking to me when I was heading to the car." He shrugged sincerely this time. "I couldn't tell you why. Don't even know what she said." It was half a lie. Billy liked the attention and when she squeezed his bicep, he flexed proudly.   Silence let Bon Jovi shine at the end of the song, but as soon as the last few notes of the song faded, you jumped back into the conversation. Painful curiosity had been brewing with acid bubbles inside of you all through practice. Billy had riled up your jumbled up emotions. You couldn’t just drop things and behave calmly now.  "Do you think she's pretty?" It was a question without point, but insecurity had full control of your bitten lips now.  "What?" Billy laughed through a scoff. "I'm not answering questions that get me in trouble." He didn't consider himself a dummy, but he was about to find out different.  "What kind of answer is that?" You peeled his grip off of you and threw his hand away. Knees locked tightly you pointed your legs toward his car door along with your shoulders. Billy reached for you again and then gave up, resting it on the other side of the wheel. "You're supposed to say 'no'! It sounds like you do like her." "You. I like you." Billy couldn't believe he was having to say it out loud. "Isn't it obvious?" He figured between all the time he gave to you, the way he never didn't have a finger on your skin, and how he called you 'his girl' at every opportunity made it evident.  "No, not when you're flirting with Kathy and saying she's pretty." You pouted. The stabbing hurt that was keeping your chin warbly was eased somewhat when he said he liked you.  "I didn't say she's pretty." Annoyed, Billy turned up the radio over his muttering. "You're being crazy."  The boy must have had a death wish. Your combed and gelled brows went to find your hairline as your eyes shot open to dig all the way into his jawline. He hadn't seen crazy yet. You are too insulted and wound up to think straight.  "Pull over." Demanding and direct, you told him.  "Calm down." Billy only made things worse with the two words. He reached for your thigh again, but you flinched and earned yourself a surprised glance from him. His foot pressed down on the has and he went faster instead.  "I want out of the car." On a long stretch, you two were surrounded by a canola field and train tracks. There was nowhere for you to actually go, but he had upset you and you were reacting blindly.  Billy refused to comply. He gripped the wheel with white knuckles, clenched as tight as his teeth. He did what he liked to do when he was angry, what was safest. He drove faster.

“Billy!”

“Where are you going to go?” He threw both hands off the wheel for a second, but they returned swiftly much to your heart's gratitude.

“I don't know! Maybe, I'll go buy a cat because I'm so crazy!” He rolled his eyes, both of you being as immature as you could. “I just don't want to be in this car anymore with you. I'm so mad!”

“Fine.” Abruptly, with little regard for his brakes or your lack of seat belt, he pulled over. Around the car, beige dust danced and you wasted no time pushing open the car door, grabbing your bag, and getting out. For a second, you stood there with Billy's eyes rolling at you before he took off straight. You were walking forward and trying to ignore the obnoxious sound of his engine as he sped off like a bat out of Hell. The blue Camaro and the sound of rock music was gone in a matter of seconds and you were alone.

You looked both ways, feeling as lost as you were despite having grown up in Hawkins, and then kicked at the rocks under your shoes and started to walk the same way you two had come. If you headed back to the direction of your school, you knew you would get to downtown Hawkins and you knew how to get around from there.

Only four minutes had passed, walking by the same field he had dropped you off in front of, and Billy's engine proceeded him. He only slowed down and turned down the sound of Skid Row once he was in front of you, cigarette hanging from his lips and sunglasses on. Clearly, he had been fidgeting nonstop since letting you out of the car.

“Baby?” Softly, he spoke to you the way he did when he was trying to get you to relax in his arms, moving you closer to intimacy. “Baby, get back in the car.”

“No.” He had taught you how to be stubborn. You swore you never had been this bad before. “I'm  mad at you.” Arms crossed under your chest, you told him what he already knew.

“Get back in the car. We can talk.” Billy took out his cigarette and let the smoke follow you. You were not budging. In fact, you weren't even glancing in the direction of his blue eyes that were putting in overtime. “I'm sorry for egging you on.” It had been fun, but he regretted it now enough to apologize. When you didn't even acknowledge his apology, Billy slammed on the horn and made you jump still for a second. “Get in the God damn fucking car, [Y/N]!”

“No. You called me crazy!”  Heart pounding, you shouted at him and watched as he stuffed the end of the cigarette back into his mouth and inhaled enough to crisp both lungs.

“Fine. Whatever. I tried.” Billy threw in the towel and sped away. He had told himself while driving back to pick you up that he would say whatever he had to, that he would get out of the car and toss your ass into the backseat, but you frustrated him beyond belief. This taste of his own insecure and possessive medicine had him rattled.

* * * * * * *

Homework spread out open on your bed, you sat on the floor against the frame instead, mindlessly painting your toenails a bright red shade called 'Sweet Cherry'. It was impossible to concentrate, not with yours and Billy's largest blow up playing on repeat in your mind. You had half a mind to pick up the phone, track down Kathy's number, and rip into her. However, you didn't feel like you had a leg to stand on. The fight was more about your emotions than her and somewhere in your upset stomach, you knew that to be true.

“[Y/N]?” Your older brother called from the other side of your door, tapping his knuckles against it. “Billy's on the phone for you.”

“Tell him I'm washing my hair.” Without even looking up, you called back.

It wasn't an invitation, but your brother pushed open the door and observed you with the bronze knob trapped under his hand.

“Mom already told him that when  he called an hour ago.” It was forty five minutes, but you weren't about to nit-pick.

“Then tell him I'm blow drying.”

“I'm not telling your boyfriend you're too busy drying your hair to talk to him.” Billy didn't interact well with other males, especially other males vital to your life. If it was up to your brother, he would never have to talk to the guy who practically spat at him through the phone.  Billy didn't hide his disdain for him at all, not even over the landline.

“Then tell him whatever you want. Tell him I am asleep or out with Lucy or stuck in a  hole, I don't care.”

“Did he do something? Should I be telling him to stop calling?” It wasn't your family's nature to pick physical fights, but as his baby sister, your brother didn't mind stepping up to some high school brat with a mullet for you.

“He just - “ Eyes shut, you collected your thoughts while holding the nail varnish brush up to the side of your face. “No. We're just...he hurt my feelings.” You just needed to cool down. It felt like your heart hadn't stopped pounding at a rapid pace since the car ride and that was a good four and a half hours ago.

“Fine.” Closing the door behind him slowly, your brother stalked back downstairs to deliver the bad news. Simply saying that you were too upset to talk to him right now.

He heard Billy grunt through the phone and smack his house wall with an open palm out of frustration. Quickly, before he could be on the receiving end of any message or pissed off antic from your boyfriend, he just hung up and ignored the phone when it rang twenty minutes later.

** ** ** ** ** * * * * * *

Usually, Billy drove you to school, but you had woken up early on purpose. The first thing you did was backcomb your hair until it had the height you could only reach when in a pair of strappy black heels. You wore the brightest, almost neon, pink lip you could find in your bathroom drawer. Billy liked vibrant colors on your lips. On one hand, he complained about the way it stuck to his face, but he liked when others saw the marks on his shirt or around his chin. It was an obvious sign he had you and you were his. Not to mention, his ego was stroked at the sight of a ring of your lipstick color around his erect cock after a particularly giggly and intimate date. Eyes coated with carbon black mascara and brows combed to feathered perfection, you felt ready to gain his attention and tease him through the halls. You heard your mom answer the door and listened from the stairs to hear if she let Billy down at the door just as you had asked her to.

Billy typically just waited in front of your house with Max already in the backseat. With the exception of once or twice, you were always ready and waiting. He never heard more than a couple lines of whatever song was playing before you were opening up the door and sliding in with your mouth already puckered for a 'good morning' kiss. With the way things had gone the night before, Billy waited no more than three minutes before he grunted and tossed open the door. It would be his ass on the line if Max was late too school. It wasn't as if his dad would accept 'My girlfriend was being difficult this morning' as an excuse. If anything, it would just piss Neil off more so.

“She is still asleep.” Your mother lied to him with pitying eyes. Billy could tell she was being dishonest too and it was the first time he ever wanted to be rude to her. She had always welcomed him with warm cookies, the kinds of hugs he longed for, and pretended to understand what he was talking about when he would drone on about his stupid step sister or how much he hated Hawkins, Indiana. “I'll get her there on time, Billy.” She closed the door slightly to cover up the fact that she was only in a housecoat, but also to keep him from looking deeper into the house. If you needed space, your mom wanted you to have it even if it meant she had to tell Billy a little fib. “You should really get going.”

“Yeah.” Billy was still looking over her head, hunting down some sign of your existence. “Have a good day, Mrs. [YLN].” He grumbled insincerely and almost jumped off your porch. His whole hand turned up the volume dial of his radio, reaching into his car for it before sliding behind the wheel. He wanted you to know that he knew you were inside.

It didn't matter though. You were already wrestling your body into a skintight red skirt that he loved. He loved it on you so much that he asked you to not wear it to Carol's New Years Eve party. The idea of another man laying his eyes on your curves in the bottom piece was enough to make a vein ripple in his forehead. He enjoyed hiking it up to your waist when he rolled you on top of his hips though, straddling him and shutting his eyes with your hand to make him playfully guess what color underwear you had on. Today, this Tuesday, you were going to drive him nuts. He was going to learn the dictionary definition of crazy by the sound of the first bell.

Billy waited for you by your locker, but he was three minutes for late and you never showed so he headed to class and joined the chatter reluctantly. He walked around the girls sitting around the front desks gossiping and moved to the back where Tommy already was sitting, bag by his feet on the ground, Carol on his desk chewing a stick of Juicy Fruit until it lost all flavor.

“Where's [Y/N]?” Tommy asked before resting his head on his on-again/off-again girlfriend's lap. Billy had told him as soon as he pulled up to school that he couldn't talk, he had to find you and sort something out.

“I don't know.” Billy shrugged as if he didn't care as much as he did. If you two weren't right then he didn't feel right. It made him anxious to not have contact with you, to not know where the two of you stood at the moment. He felt out of control and his right leg was quivering beneath his desk, frantic and uneasy.

Right as Mr. Quinto entered the classroom, brown tie falling over the edge of his geography textbook, you strolled in behind him. Billy only looked up at the sound of the teacher addressing the class, but his eyes nearly jumped out of his face and rolled across the floor to the front row of desks. His lips parted and he shook his head before letting out a warm breath. He was turned on, that much was true, but he also hated that he couldn't take you right then and there. You were putting a wall between the two of you and the bricks were stacked too high for him to leap over. Nipples cold through your blouse, he felt his heart stop for his second, but as he followed you while you looked for your desk, Billy snapped out of it. He caught wind of Tommy ogling you and reached over to smack the back of his head. Now, he wasn't just attracted and frustrated, he was angry. A growl, almost inaudible to anyone else, curled out of his nostrils as he leaned back in his chair and puffed out his chest.

Carol blocked his view of you and, for the first time since he met her, he felt grateful for her existence.

“Buddy up.” As soon as his textbook and lesson plan were open on his desk, Mr. Quinto addressed his morning class. He looked up and watched as instantly people reached for their friends to make them partners. Billy pointed right at you, claiming you, but you slid your eyes right over him and then walked two desks over to Steve, who was still looking for a partner himself. Since losing Tommy to Billy and Nancy to her emotions, he didn't have as easy a time in situations like these. You asked Steve to be your partner, but before you heard his answer, you heard Billy's knuckles crack against one another. You didn't have to look to know his jaw was locked.

“Sure. Yeah.” Agreeable, Steve nodded. He was surprised that Billy didn't already have you shackled to his desk, but he didn't question it. In fact, Steve assumed, maybe, you had finally come to your senses and ditched the guy.

You went back to your desk to get your backpack while Mr. Quinto explained that you would be in groups of two, researching your partners family tree. You would have much rather discovered more about Billy, since he wasn't always the both forthcoming, but you had shot yourself in the foot and were stuck learning what Steve's ancestors got up to back in the day long before he came around with his perfect hair and toothy grin.

Pulling up a chair to the side of Steve's desk, you were just about to rest a spiral spine notebook on it when Billy's hand came down and took the spot meant for it. He gave Steve his back to look at while he stared down at you like a hawk who had just found it's breakfast.

“You're not as cute as you think.” He grumbled while looking down your top. You were. You were so cute and he hated it. “Is this experiment over? Do  you accept my apology yet?” He was without a partner which meant he would have to join a three way group with Tommy and Carol. He wanted to send Steve in that direction.

“I'm sorry?” Playing dumb, you finally addressed him with your lips in a duck beak shape and scrunched up your nose. “I didn't hear what you said. See, I'm so crazy...there must have been some voice in my head or something...”

Billy smacked his hand down on the desk again, making Steve's rubric that Mr. Quinto just put down fall off.

“This why you're ignoring me? Because I called you crazy?”

Steve shook his head at you behind Billy's back. Even he knew better than to toss the 'c' word out at a girl especially a girlfriend. It was a one way express ticket to the dog house.

Your eyes just batted up at Billy. He could answer that question for himself you figured.

He leaned in and got right in your face, kissing your face in an attempt to remind Steve of what he already knew. You were still his girlfriend and no amount of stupid games played changed that. You fought to keep your mouth shut against Billy's forceful display of passion. Bright pink lipstick shone off of Billy's own mouth as he stood up and checked behind him to make sure Steve and everyone else in the class saw – even Mr. Quinto.

“This isn't over.” He couldn't afford to be chucked out of class so reluctantly Billy walked away from you and loudly joined Tommy and Carol in the back. They hadn't even started the project, they were too busy watching the scene Billy was trying to cause. Between his two half-friends, he just stared at you, glaring as you leaned in and started to ask Steve questions. You were driving him batshit crazy.

@daddyslittlemunster @4-a-m @stevesharrlngtons @desertsivan1995

[imaginarycircus]

random, late night, probably incoherent thoughts on S2 of The Good Place, though we’ve only seen up to Ep. 8 (snipped for length, unless you’re on mobile. In which case I hang my head in shame and say, “mea culpa.”

Let’s talk about Kierkegaard, friends. Because I love me some Kierkegaard. Hear me out. He’s funny.  No. For real. I almost got kicked out of the public library in Santa Fe for reading Kierkegaard and laughing too much. He’s a cross between someone’s devoutly Catholic grandparent and a random dude you meet in a bar who’s oddly charming, but you can’t tell if he’s drunk or just weird.

Ep. 8 of The Good Place is “Leap into Faith.” To sum up “Fear and Trembling” rather badly--Kierkegaard says it might be easier to have faith in Christ if you were right there listening to him when he was alive way back when, except that idea scares the crap out of him. He says he would literally fall on his face in fear and trembling if he knew Jesus was walking around and he could bump into him at ye olde timey hardware store. But in his own time, Kierkegaard chooses to be a Knight of Faith--to leap into faith. You have to make that choice as a person who is living not when Jesus was tearing shit up and flipping tables. It means more--to choose faith in something you can’t prove or see. He’s not talking about buying the party line or unexamined piety. He considers it an ethical act because you are choosing to be a better person, to model your life and actions on a better person than you will ever be. Personal responsibility is basically all you really have to work with so educate yourself, work at being a good person. (I removed a long tangent about Aristotle. You’re welcome.)

This is part of the utter genius of this show. An alleged demon who is supposed to be torturing four human souls asks them to have blind faith in him when they have little reason to and are putting their own safety and futures at risk. It’s the reverse of God asking you to have faith in Him, but at the same time it isn’t. Look it’s late and I am fired up about ETHICAL PHILOSOPHY, but faith is faith. Faith in a friend and faith in God all come from the same place of trust. If God is truly the redeemer then that God could certainly rehabilitate demons IF they wanted to be rehabilitated. That God could work through demons. Don’t spoil me. I don’t know where this is headed yet, but I can’t stop thinking about Dante. (Yes. It’s a wasteland of jumbled Classics in my head all the time.)

And the show is clearly not advocating for a Christian Heaven/Hell scenario. It’s more ecumenical by far so the focus on philosophy rather than religious texts is clever.

Our characters were told they were in The Good Place in S1. Then they decided it was really the Bad Place and that was confirmed by Michael and others. But they’re on a journey and I can’t stop thinking about The Purgatorio. I’m not saying I see elements of Dante in this show at all. Just that I keep coming back to it in my thoughts. It’s the middle book of The Divine Comedy and it gets glossed over, or ignored. Everyone loves The Inerno. I’m not sure that many people read The Paradiso, nevermind the Purgatorio. It’s actually my fave of the trilogy, but I’ve established that I am a weirdo. The Purgatory is full of (dead) people who have a chance to get into the Paradiso some day. It’s a place that’s better than the Inferno, but is hard because of the work you have to do to purge off whatever is keeping you out of Paradise. Either things happened to them in their lives that kept them from living lives virtuous enough to give them the golden ticket to paradise, or they made some bad choices.

(There’s some poor woman who tried to be a nun, but her creepy family married her off instead and so she’s stuck in Purgatory for that. I’m still all WTAF about that one. eta: I might be misremembering and she might be in the Paradise, but like in one of the outer rings. Basically The Staten Island of Heaven) (Idk what this even is. A paragraph full of parenthetical tangents?) (Anyway--the characters tell Dante that If they can work through their bullshit and literally purge the bad stuff away they can get to paradise. It also helps if people who are still alive are praying for them. (According to Dante. Not according to me. I’m a heathen and I would ideally end up sitting around the mouth of Hell watching Socrates try to flirt with everyone and Aristotle ignoring people and organizing seashells in new taxonomic systems, which is how he spent his honeymoon. Only a slightly better honeymoon than William James’s. He wrote “Psychology, The Briefer Course” a 700 page book arguing that psychology needs grounding in chemistry and science on his tour of Europe with his new wife. Yes, I digress. My life is one long digression. I digress therefore I am, Descartes.)

In the show I am supposed to be talking about here--we have 1 apparent demon and 4 human souls all trying to improve morally. If that doesn’t say Puragtory, I don’t know what does. Although it’s way convenient that the Good Place leaves their Janets around and they’re not like a way to infiltrate and change things. She seems like a sleeper agent to me, but Janet is developing emotion and learning in the way you’d kind of hope AI might in a best case scenario. Except AI is made by people. Janet’s knowledge is limited and also boundless, which is interesting. Humans are highly limited by our small hard drives and small RAM, and yet they are unbounded in other areas. They can freely imagine and interpret.

I have like 100 thoughts bouncing around in my brain like super balls and it’s hard to explain that. But friendship is the bedrock of philosophy. Friendship is so important, when it’s real and true. As always--that’s Aristotle. As I’ve said a hundred plus times, the best thing you can do is  “contemplate contemplation” or thinking about thinking, i.e. philosophy. A philosopher would say that, right? He names tons of other important virtues: philanthropy, generosity, honesty, and all the ones you’d expect. But one of the most important is friendship. And we see that kind of friendship playing out. The strength of one character is inspiring the others or teaching them things. I could go on for like ten more wildly incoherent paragraphs, but I’m going to stop because it’s 1:30 in the morning. And nobody wants the Kierkegaard/Aristotle smoothie I’m trying to concoct. Not even me.

As an aside. I had to pause the show when Tahani used a weird British idiom and they all stared at her, not getting it. And she said, “Come on. You should be able to get these things from context.” THAT RIGHT THERE? IS A WRITER SAYING HA!! FUCK OFF!! to every producer/director/studio exec who ever told them to take out a reference or or change a line “because no one will get it” or to make the show “relatable.” And it was glorious. I mean this has never personally happened to me. Of course not. (pssssst. it totally has.)

[mergersacquisitionsadvisory]

Tips On How To Buy A Home In Oregon Coast Shopping

Sticking to at least one place for a number of days is a fun method for locating the nuances of 1 small town. Alternatively, another really helpful travel method is choosing multiple locations to go to and luxuriate in a little taste of every thing each community has to offer. The highway-journey-worthy Oregon Coast Highway 1 makes for a great route to follow along the coast. Health Haven Vitamins is a vitamin retailer on the attractive Oregon coast. We carry a large selection of vitamins, minerals, herbs, homeopathics, tinctures, essential oils, pores and skin-care products, pet supplements, and much, much more. Health Haven Vitamins offers nutritional consultation by appointment. Featuring turning instruction and supplies from our store in Newport go here.

Beachgoers can head to nearby Fort Stevens State Park (which topped our ranking of Oregon's finest state parks) but there's more than sufficient to do on the town. Cannon Beach may be one of the best-recognized seaside town in Oregon, due to its proximity to Portland and the photogenic Haystack Rock. The town can get overcrowded shortly, turning some visitors away. But crowds and food costs are the one strikes in opposition to a town that in any other case has a lot to offer. Route a hundred and one, we have dared to rank the very best cities on the Oregon coast.

Cannon Beach’s exceptional specialty outlets, boutiques and galleries are a prime attraction in this charming seaside town where you’ll discover no buying malls or chain stores in sight. During a calming stroll via our compact village, you may uncover distinctive wines, fashions from regional and international designers and sweets from a fifth-era sweet retailer.

<h2>Decide Of The Litter Thrift Store</h2>

He stayed as close to humans as he could, in a chilly, shallow bay the place he died of pneumonia at a young age. While vacationing in Lincoln City we discovered a cute little shop that options Rocks.

The workers have been very educated about what was of their store and local options. They have on employees individuals who can establish what you discover on the seashore. The prices had been affordable and the workers have been very friendly. Both Missa and Mike had been enthusiastic, pleasant and very knowledgeable concerning the native rocks on the beaches. Missa gave me a radical but simple to grasp lesson on the different types I may find on the seashore, and one of the best occasions and places to look. She and Mike recognized what I found the next day, and did not bat an eye on the large variety of rocks I brought in--day after day!!

<h3>More Oregon Coast Picks</h3>

With those elements in mind, we have winnowed all the cities along the coast to 10, with representatives from the north, central and southern stretches. Some beloved seashore cities were left off the listing , but not every seaside city may be good. The excellent seaside city should balance a variety of various sights, accommodations and access to natural magnificence, with each retro charm and trendy facilities. While COVID-19 has compelled us to distance ourselves from the locations we love, present certificates will give individuals something to sit up for — and help coastal points of interest stay afloat. For swell seekers, book a future personal surf session with NW Women’s Surf Camps.

Or merely admire the world’s stunning beauty with a visit to the Heceta Head Lighthouse, a fifty six-foot lighthouse inbuilt 1894. Stroll via the colourful Historic Old Town of Florence, nestled alongside the river, the place you possibly can pop out and in of art galleries, vintage retailers, eating places and charming boutiques. A reward card for a weekend getaway will give family members — and coastal motels — a light-weight on the horizon. Lighthouse buffs will love the historical Heceta Lighthouse Bed & Breakfast, and there’s nothing more romantic than watching the ships go by from a room at Astoria’s Cannery Pier Hotel.

Shoppers will find panoramic, coastal, mountain, city, rivers and waterfalls and black and white pictures for buy. Customers is not going to solely find unique jerky additionally they have unique edible items and snacks including, native jam, jelly, syrup, raw honey, wild mushrooms, nuts, dried fruit and extra.

<h3>Clothes And Designs On The Oregon Coast</h3>

Surrounding Haystack Rock to the north and south, a white-sand seashore invitations sunbathing, sandcastle building, and infrequently good circumstances to fly a kite. Extending from the seashore, Ecola State Park to the north and Oswald West State Park to the south encourage headland exploration. Less than two hours from Portland by automobile, Cannon Beach is one of the most popular small cities on the coast. Its popularity doesn't just have <a href="https://oregonsnorthcoast.com/what-to-do-at-the-oregon-coast/activities/oregon-coast-shopping/">Oregon Coast shopping</a> to do with its proximity to Portland though; the world's gorgeous scenery does well to draw vacationers from internationally. Explore your options with our list of the most effective small cities along the Oregon Coast. A nice variety of kitchen gadgets, each factor you all the time needed and never knew existed.

Known because the Northwest’s original surf shop, Cleanline carries the biggest selection of surfboards and wetsuits within the space. They have high quality equipment for your whole surf, skate, kayak, and kitesurf needs. For rooms with a view, both the Adobe Resort and Fireside Motel are positioned next to a rocky shoreline that all the time places on a singular tidal show. Well regarded as the Whale Watching Capital of the Oregon coast, Depoe Bay's western edge is defined by a wonderful cliffside that's excellent for recognizing whale spouts. Alongside this nice migratory vantage level, whales are common because of a resident pod of gray whales that call Depoe Bay house from March via December. The sand and surf of Seaside is the primary draw, and on sunny summer time weekends, anticipate crowds of people enjoying the wide and accommodating stretch of shoreline. Alongside tons of of individuals, the beach additionally accommodates major summer events, just like the world's largest amateur seashore volleyball event.

Situated on the mouth of the Siuslaw River on the coast, Florence is a lively town with a few of the area’s hottest outdoor destinations. Visitors journey far and broad to discover the Sea Lion Caves, a privately owned wildlife protect frequented by sea lions. You can also rent a dune buggy to adventure by way of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, which features forty miles of wind-sculpted sand dunes alongside the coast.

Alongside diverse storefronts, Nye Beach additionally supplies walk-up access to the rolling waves of the ocean. Things Rich and Strange is also a group of worldwide treasures, a gallery of these issues treasured and exquisite. Our customers worth our private touches and high quality merchandise. Immerse your self within the most interesting bathtub & physique care, choose a whimsical card or stationary merchandise, discover a distinctive reward for a pal or yourself, jewellery, sweatshirts, candles and so much more. Tablecloths, napkins, dishes, pot racks, lighting, hardware, rugs, soaps, candles, art work, furniture. offers consumers the chance to select from a wide variety of hand-made glass floats and bowls, or to make one themselves.

Florence makes a great base with locations like Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area to the south and Heceta Head Lighthouse to the north. The metropolis itself is fun to explore on foot, and some of the finest in-town views embody the southern Siuslaw River Bridge in the background. Places like Ocean Breeze Motel in Florence offer a coastal appeal with inexpensive rates. Encompassing the far northwest nook of Oregon and the Oregon coast, bordered by the Pacific Ocean and Columbia River, Astoria is an enchanting metropolis with a long history tied to the area. Founded more than 200 years in the past, Astoria was constructed by fur trappers, logging operations, and fishing industry. This well-liked place for beach wandering can also be a National Wildlife Refuge teeming with wildlife, particularly seabirds.

You'll discover over eighty specialty retailers and 12 eateries at this Salem mall positioned simply off of I-5. Stores embody Sears, Macy's, Best Buy, Old Navy, Linens-n-Things, Pier 1 Imports, and Sports Authority.

Newport Liquor Store

Sadly, some properly-meaning idiots figured it might be a good suggestion to try reintegrating a whale that had by no means caught a stay fish into the wild—just like the movie. After bouncing around pods of wild whales and performing like a standoffish weirdo because he didn't perceive their ways, Keiko confirmed up in Norway, offering random children rides on his back.

Our perspective is of tourists on a day trip or longer keep, considering all that goes into an excellent trip. The buying districts of the Oregon Coast hold it secure with face coverings required. If you know someone who dreams of the Coast even after they’re landlocked, think about giving them a gift this vacation that transports them to the place they love. Oregon’s windswept dunes have been round for over one hundred,000 years and will be waiting for them on their subsequent visit.

See resident grey whales from the shore at Boiler Bay or on a whale watching tour. Stay at upscale hotels just like the Channel House and Whale Cove Inn, or e-book one of the many condos and seaside houses on the town. Depoe Bay is designed for visitors in each the sunny and wet months, which gives it an enormous leg up over different coastal cities. Doe & Arrow in Astoria focuses on Pacific Northwest designers and ethically sourced women’s clothes, plus cute rompers for little ones. In Newport a hundred and one Local by Specifically Pacific provides up amazingly delicate hoodies, joggers and equipment designed for the Pacific Northwest mind-set. Everything here is designed locally and hand-printed with ocean-pleasant inks.

The dramatic coast in Yachats draws guests to this coastal group of fewer than 1,000 residents. On Oregon's northern coast, south of Cannon Beach, Rockaway Beach is a small city with greater than seven miles of uninterrupted shoreline. It's this long patch of gorgeous oceanside scenery that draws vacationers to this metropolis of simply over 1,000 people - and it is the pleasant community that makes for a snug stay. Inland and surrounding the town, the Siskiyou Mountains present a shocking backdrop and much more to discover. The lengthy stretch of beach adjoining town can also be an excellent place to spend the day beachcombing, tide pooling, or simply absorbing the sun.

Blue is also a trainer, and enjoys passing on his vast data to novices and experienced painters alike. Voyages Toys offers lots of of authentic board video games, card games, comedian books, puzzles, arts and craft gadgets, toys for youthful children, plush toys and the very popular Mystery Boxes. Visitors to The Whet Spot will find 20 rotating taps for craft beers and ciders, a growler filling station, wines by the glass and over one hundred fifty bottles within the cooler to take with you. Shamous'es Rocks is the place guests will discover a wide range of rocks, fossils and gem stones.

<h2>Seaside Principally Hats</h2>

As one of the Seven Wonders of Oregon, the Oregon Coast is full of towering cliffs, sand dunes, sea stacks, mighty waves and evergreen timber. Not to say, the coast is lined with numerous tiny cities, completely positioned to enjoy the Pacific Ocean and all the sweetness and marvel it has to supply.

<ul><li>Cannon Beach’s exceptional specialty outlets, boutiques and galleries are a top attraction in this charming seaside town where you’ll find no buying malls or chain shops in sight.</li><li>You can also hire a dune buggy to adventure through the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, which features 40 miles of wind-sculpted sand dunes along the coast.</li><li>During a relaxing stroll by way of our compact village, you would possibly uncover distinctive wines, fashions from regional and international designers and sweets from a fifth-technology candy retailer.</li><li>Situated on the mouth of the Siuslaw River on the coast, Florence is a energetic town with some of the space’s hottest out of doors locations.</li><li>Visitors travel far and wide to explore the Sea Lion Caves, a privately owned wildlife protect frequented by sea lions.</li></ul>

Grocery, deli, bakery, pharmacy, jewellery, outside supply, sporting goods, electronics, clothes and extra. We inventory bikes from Trek, Transition, Gary Fisher, Haro, Redline, Klein, LeMond. We have something for everyone; jewellery, hand crafted items, crystals, suncatchers, distinctive items. Effective December 18, 2020, Lincoln County is underneath an "Extreme Risk" category designation for reopening. This signifies that additional restrictions are in place at this time, which can affect businesses, points of interest and services. As the sun melts into the Pacific and lights twinkle up and down the coast, Lincoln City comes alive with eating, exhibits, concerts and more.

Sure, otters are nice—but we cannot have any more otters until we get seaside erosion under management. From classic retailers & boutiques to galleries and book stores, Downtown Astoria offers a wide array of shopping. Explore our eclectic historic district crammed with wonderfully fascinating people and places that provide a real Astoria experience. Newport is a must-go to for anybody making the legendary trek up or down the 101. This charming coastal town has lots for marine enthusiasts to do and see — from the Hatfield Marine Science Center to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Plus, you'll be able to absorb uninterrupted ocean views from just about wherever along the coast in Newport. You can even pattern a number of the state’s best seafood right here, significantly at Local Ocean Seafoods.

Mimi's carries fresh flowers, crops, silk preparations, balloons, presents, and domestically made candy. They additionally do special occasions, weddings, funerals, and flowers for all occasions. SunRose Gallery is filled with whimsical and fascinating objects. Shoppers will find mosaic artwork, paintings, glassware, art from local talent and extra. The Heron's Nest features a large choice of gifts, collectibles and souvenirs for all ages. Also it’s Christmas year-spherical at The Heron's Nest with traditional and beach theme decor and items for the vacations.