#gonna do the next three kinda sketchy and then see what else is left

[welcometogrouchland]

uh. annabelle 69. or sasha 26.

[ID: two drawings depicting characters from the magnus archives. The first image is a depiction of 197 featuring Annabelle Cane, Jon and Basira. Jon and Basira are in the foreground, depicted as faceless. They are facing towards Annabelle, who's depicted as looming large over her surroundings, casting a shadow, with a bright smile on her face, hands folded next to each other. She has two extra arms and four extra eyes. The background is an abstract depiction of the crack in reality at hiltop road, featuring martin stuck to a large web, a purple sky with a red, eye shapes light source behind Annabelle's head. Lyrics to "rumours" by Lizzo are written: above Annabelle they read "All the rumors are true, yeah/What ya' heard, that's true, yeah". the ones below her read "sick of rumours/but haters do what they do (uh)/all the rumours are true, yeah/cause all the rumours are true, yeah/NDA, no loose lips".

The second image shows Sasha, Jon and Tim in season 1. Tim and Jon are separated into two different panels at the top of the page with the bottom half being taken up by Sasha. Jon's panel has a green background with harsh black shadows. Jon is depicted with multiple eyes instead of a face and he is holding a tape recorder in his hand. Tim's background is red with both sparkles, eyes like Jon's floating around him, a theatre mask behind him, and harsh black shadows. He is smiling in profile. At the bottom Sasha is depicted with a question mark for a face and ghostly, sharp fingered hands on her shoulders, looking straight at us. The background is a light yellow and lyrics from "more like you" by Orla Gartland are featured. Near Jon the lyrics "I love the way you sing/Oh, I've been tryna copy every word you say" are written. Near time the lyrics written are "I love the way you think/You have this way of knowing it'll be okay". Near Sasha the lyrics read "All this feeling second best/It's got me by the throat" and "maybe I won't wish that I was someone else". End ID]

69- rumours by Lizzo feat. Cardi B

26- More Like You by Orla Gartland

Again it was a bit of a stretch matching characters to lyrics but tbh I kinda had fun with this. Annabelle gets a smug villain song and Sasha wonders how content she is with the "reliable nerd" persona compared to other possible ones...

[loousir]

[Merman] From a Distance

Popular Octomer Male x Photographer Male Reader Part One

Cassian

Warnings: Octoboy flirting

•︎☆×【Ｐｒｉｄｅ】×☆•

2 of 7 The Seven Sins Series

Masterlist | Part Two | Part Three

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

*Click*

The snap of a camera lense sounded as you took one of soon to be many pictures. The breeze blew gently, ruffling your clothes and getting some loose strands of hair in your face. Even though it was early in the morning, the coast line shops were pretty busy. You walked down the street, snapping the occasional picture here and there.

"Oh, um, excuse me!"

A shy voice called out. You turned back to see a short brunette with soft freckles littering their face. "Were you calling for me?" They nod as they stop in front of you. "Yes, s-sorry for stopping you but... Are you a photographer by chance?" They asked softly. You smiled a little and nodded. "Yeah. Need me to take pictures of something?" You asked with a small laugh which made the other smile.

"Actually, yes. Our photographer cancled last minute and we have a shoot in 10." They started to get a little frantic, trying to convince you to take photos for them but just the chance to take pictures had you hooked. "I can take them. And if we need underwater shots I can do those. The camera's Mer-tech and I was planning to do some later."

You smiled more and the other was beaming. They grabbed your hand and shook it. "You're perfect!! Thank you so much! I'll pay you double for this!" They said before pulling you towards where their photo shoot was.

"Hold on a second." You said as you readied your camera. The other looked back at you, about to ask what was wrong when you took a few pictures of them. They seemed shocked and a blush covered their face. "Sorry, we can keep going." Their blush didn't let up but they kept a hold of your hand none the less.

The photo spot was a beautiful cove cave that was one in a million. Your photographer instinct kicked in and you saw so many photo opportunities as you walked deeper into the cove's cave. "Is this where we're taking photos?" You asked as they let go of your hand. They nodded. "Yeah, have you ever worked with a Mer before?" You shook your head when they looked back at you.

"We're taking photos of a Caribbean Reef Octomer for the Mid-Human Monthly. He's gonna be on the cover page and have two dedicated to him so we need a few different pictures." Your eyes widened slightly and you nodded. 'He must be impressive then...' You thought to yourself.

A few moments had past which let you get introduced to the crew that you would be working with. A blonde pygmy satyr woman came up to you and slapped a hand on your shoulder making you jump slightly. "So you're our new camera guy." Her accent gave away that she was from the south. You nod and she has a grin on her face for a moment before getting semi-serious.

"Can I see some of your pictures." "Oh, yeah," You said pulling out your phone and opening up your "portfolio" folder. "I can also show some of the ones I took today." She scrolls through the pictures and has an impressed look on her face. "These are really well edited." She commented as you pulled up some of the pictures on your camera. "Oh they're not edited or anything yet. That's just the camera and some setting tweaks." You mumbled out mindlessly while scrolling to the cameras gallery.

She looked back up to you and you looked to her. "You got these pictures, with that camera?" You nodded and showed her some other pictures but also the best one that you took of the one who recruited you to be a stand in photographer. "I'll be damned. It really is unedited." She hands you back your phone and you close out the gallery app before turning it off and slipping it back in your pocket. "I look forward to working with you and depending how this shoot goes, working with you in the future." Your eyes widened slightly as you shook her extended hand.

"Well I sure hope it goes great then!" You said as she guided you over to the deep pool in the middle of the cove. There was a deep river/crevass that lead out to the open ocean which allowed merfolk to make their way in here as well. "Do you have a change of swim clothes in that bag?" She asked, referring to the bag over your shoulder. "Actually, yeah, I do. I was planning on going under the pier later today. Is there somewhere I can change my shorts?" She nods and motions towards a familiar nb brunette who was fiddling with some papers. "Dakota can take you over to our temp makeup room. It'll give you some privacy to change."

You nodded and thanked her before walking over to the other who you now knew as Dakota. They looked up to you when they heard your footsteps crunching against the gravely ground. "Oh, um, hi." They still seemed nervous from when you took their picture. "Could you show me where your makeup room is? I'm gonna change so I can take pictures." They blushed softly and nodded, leading you over to a curtained, box like structure. "I'll wait outside so no one comes in." They said softly as you stepped into the box.

"Thank you, Datoka." You said as you disappeared behind the curtains. After a few minutes you re-emerged and walked over to Dakota. "Could I also ask you to watch my stuff?" They looked up to you and nodded. You bowed slightly out of habit and thanked them before going over to the director. "I'm ready when our model is." You said, holding your camera close. She nodded and motioned for someone else to come over before walking off to do something.

A tall guy with what looked like a bottle of alcohol came over to you and cautiously poured a glass. "Don't worry, it's not what you're thinking. It's so you can go take pictures easily without drowning. I'll drink some too of your worried about it." You looked at the glass he was holding out to you. It was a light blue drink with some bubbles in it. It looked and smelled like some sort of tropical soda drink.

"Plus we are a professional company, we have rules and regulations to follow regarding things like this. But once you drink up and sign these papers," He said while handing you two pages and a pen, "You'll be ready to go get started with Cassian. He should be here..." He said, dragging his words a bit as he looked around the water. You scanned over the information and it was a simple agreement term for taking the potion.

After confirming there was no sketchy things, you signed and drank the potion. It was like a tropical drink.

Before you knew it, right when you had handed the stuff back, a tan muscular torso with long blonde hair, breached the surface not too far in front of you. You watched as he brushed the lose, wet hair from his face, making a few people in the crowd blush.

'Lucky bastard. He's one of those guys that can do anything and make it look hot.'

You thought to yourself before the guy standing next to you started to talk. "You'll be good for about 6 hours and you'll be able to communicate like on land. Oh also, that, is Cassian." He said, referring to the blonde that you were looking at. Cassian was making casual conversation with some of the group before the same Satyr lady came and talked with him.

You watched for a moment longer before the two blondes looked over to you, making your heart jump slightly. Before you knew it, the tall guy had left your side and the blondes were making their way over to you. You walked a little to meet them halfway.

"I don't think I properly introduced myself!" She said looking up to you. "I'm Siv Penningfon. I mostly do freelance director work for Mid-Human Monthly." You bowed to her slightly. "(Y/n) (L/n), I just moved here but I do freelance photography. If it's a gig that pays I'll take it." You said with a small laugh, making her smile more.

"Of course we can't forget who we're here to take picture of. This is Cassian. I'm sure Dakota told you about him so I'll spare you the details." You smiled, laughed, and nodded before walking over to Cassian to shake his hand. His hands were strong and callous, clearly saying he did some sort of physical work. "Nice to meet you, (Y/n)." He said with a soft smirk. You instantly knew what he was playing at and simply brushed it off with a soft smile and nod.

'I know how to play that game Cassian. Don't go getting full of yourself now.'

"Right! I do believe you are ready to go take pictures right?" You nodded again as you pulled your hand away from Cassian's and looked back to Siv. "Yeah, where are we gonna go first?" Siv thinks for a moment. "I have some spots but it's still a bit early for them. How about you pick the first spot?"

Your eyes lit up, knowing the perfect place for an early morning picture. "Yes! I know somewhere."

A few moments had passed of you leading the other two over to a place near the entrance of the cove. "The way that the sun shines through the water is perfect. It'll frame his figure nicely and offer an enhancement to his already strong contrast to the waters colour." You mumbled out to yourself before stepping into the water. "Well, I'll let you get to work. You've got an hour in this spot but if you're done before then, we can move on." You nodded to Siv before going under.

It was a weird sensation. You hesitantly took a breath, not inhaling water but oxygen. Carefully, you got used to this whole underwater breathing thing before swimming over to Cassian who was messing around with the kelp. You snapped a few pictures of him as he was distracted by something on the floor before noticing you and looking up, half smirking, showing off his sharp canines. You took some more pictures of his little show before guiding him on what you wanted for the pictures.

'For being so full of himself, he listens well. Kinda shocking.'

Cassian looks to his left, holding out his hand as if to hold some of the sun's rays. His hair was floating beautifully around him, the sun framing his facial structure. You snapped a bunch of pictures of him as he continued to pose. You stopped for a moment to mess with some of the camera settings and Cassian saw this as an opportunity to mess with you. He carefully made his way over to you, gently wrapping one of his tentacles around your ankle.

You looked down to his tentacle before looking at his octopus half. It was gorgeous. The way it faded from his tan skin into a much darker brown that steadily spotted and faded out into a bright blue that still held heavy contrast to the more greenish blue water behind him. His tentacle slowly moved up your leg to your thigh but before it could get any further you slapped it away, looking up to him unamused. "Let's maybe wait until we arent working anymore." You said to him with a small wink before going back to what you were doing. Cassian blushed softly and pulled his tentacle back close to his body.

The two of you were under the water for the rest of your hour time limit, racking up hundreds of pictures before you decided to head back up to the surface, Cassian following you. Once you got to the sunny surface, you moved your hair from your face and looked around. You weren't too far from the cove, being on the outside of it just past the entrance on the opposite side of the first photo spot. "I just noticed, I don't think you've even said anything to me since we met." He shrugged and thought for a moment. "I guess I haven't. Not much to say I suppose."

Right as he finished his words, Siv came over to the both of you to show the spot she was talking about. "Cas, if you need a private area I can get you one." Cassian shakes his head. "Don't worry about it, just give me a few and I'll meet you over there." He said, knowing which spot she was talking about. You followed Siv over to a small, foliage covered area. You were confused as there was nothing more than a small pond that Cassian would definitely overflow. Siv seemingly noticed your confusion and decided it might be a good idea to explain the situation. "Cassian is one of the lucky mer-folk that can shift. So he should be getting changed and heading over here soon." You nodded your head and messed with the camera settings again.

A few moments had passed by and a quite tall, yet familiar blonde came over to the two of you wearing a white button-up shirt that had the top three buttons undone, a slim pair of nice dress pants, and a pair of simple leather slip-on dress shoes. His hair was still loose but he had a hair tie around his wrist. "Good lords." You mumbled under your breath before looking away with a blush. Siv seemed to have heard you as she gently pat your back. "This is the last spot unless you wanna take some more pictures. I'm sure the two of you got more than enough pictures while you were under." You smiled and nodded.

"I'd say that's up to Cassian. If he wants to take more pictures somewhere else then I would be down to do it." You said turning back to look at him, only to lock eyes with his bright blue ones. Cassian smiles. "I can't think of anywhere off the top of my head, but if I do think of somewhere while we're taking pictures, I'll let you know." You nodded and looked back to Siv who waved to the both of you as she walked away to leave the two of you to synergize.

He looks at you with furrowed brows for a moment before asking. "Why didn't you change?" You looked up to him and responded, "I'm gonna dry off before I change. I kinda have to put these back in my bag and I don't wanna do that if their wet." Cassian nods and hesitates to say something before changing his mind and not saying it. "Let's go over to the gazebo first."

You followed him over to the gazebo where the two of you took many pictures before moving on to some other spots. After 30 or so minutes, Cassian had stood up and walked over to you. "Are you not wearing sunblock?" He asked, looking at your shoulders. "I was but I guess I have to reapply."

"Well how about you sit in the shade and I go grab a shirt and some water for you." He said with a handsome smirk. You smiled cheekily back to him as you sat in the shade before watching him walk off. A few moments later he returned with a seemingly large shirt and two bottles of water. "Dakota was being protective over your bag so I just grabbed one of my shirts." You nodded as he handed you the sunscreen he pulled from his pocket and the water.

"Do you need help putting the sunscreen on?" You thought for a moment before shyly nodding. "I would appreciate it... I put it on before I left this morning but apparently it wasn't very well done..." He smiles and takes the sunblock back. You sat down on a rock nearby and he popped the cap and put some on his hand before asking you to hold the bottle for him.

He started with your arms, going shoulder to wrist. His hands, though calloused, were soft in rubbing the sunscreen into you skin. You blushed as he continued on and put some on your face, starting from your forehead and moving down. His hands cupped your cheeks, rubbing gently under your closed eyes. "Can I tell you something?" He asked quietly.

You looked up to him and tilted your head slightly. You may have only known him for a few hours but the fact that the confidence he carried so boldly had disappeared had you confused. "Is it odd to say I've never felt this way before? I've never had anyone treat me the way you have." You furrowed your brows after he said that. "What do you mean?"

Cassian shakes his head. "Sorry... I don't know what I'm saying." You didn't press him any farther so you decide to just nod and let him do as he pleased. He put on a smile and said, "Let's keep taking pictures after you put the shirt on." You nodded and slipped the shirt on as he drank from his water bottle. The shirt was much bigger than your frame, going down to about your mid thigh.

The two of you continued the photoshoot without incident. About another hour passed before Siv came to grab the both of you. "That's just about all the time we have for now. Cas, you've got some interviews as well soon. And (Y/n), I'll have you go over some documents for both pay and legal permissions. I'll let you head back on your own but just be back before the hour is over." Both of you nodded and you looked up to Cassian. "Hey Cas?" He looked down to you, cheeks flushing slightly when he did.

"Would you wanna come to the festival this weekend?"

---

3050 not proof read

[falcor-thee-luck-dragon]

Klaus x Powered Reader

Summary: Reader is part of the umbrella academy but came when they were 12 due to parents needing help for them, ya know controlling powers and whatnot. They can shapeshift into any animal and their senses are heightened n such.

Warnings: bloody, fighting bad guys, bit of Klaus fluff

You know that moment in a movie where they freeze frame and then the character says something like “you’re probably wondering how I ended up in this situation.”

Yeah with Klaus you have those moments more times then you could count. In fact, if you had a dollar for every time Klaus has gotten you into a freeze frame moment. (And you’ve thought about this often.)

You could probably afford a real nice apartment with actual food in its fridge. Instead of living at the Academy with some apples and Klaus’ latest alcoholic beverage.

But alas, here you are in a back alley as Klaus’ bodyguard waiting for some Italian mafia members to come get their money that he owes them. Well that’s what you’re assuming but Klaus insists they’re just some moody tough guys. Okay sure.

You watch Klaus as he paces back and forth in front of you counting his cash for about the 50th time in the past 10 minutes.

Klaus stops abruptly and turns to you with a smile, “You know what I love about you, Y/N, every time I think things could get worse I look at your pretty face and I know you got me.”

Sighing in knowing annoyance you look up at him, “Are you short.”

Klaus snorts, “No actually I’m pretty long.” He says with wink.

You look up to the sky trying not to crack, you couldn’t give him the satisfaction even if it was funny, not the time or place. Especially considering his dumbass is short some cash he definitely owes very soon.

You look over to Klaus again and raise an eyebrow.

“Alright how much?”

He twiddles is fingers while avoiding your curious gaze. “Oh you know...a couple hundred or so.”

“So that’s why I’m here, emotional support my ass”, You say rolling your eyes a bit amused nonetheless.

Klaus may be an idiot but he’s funny and kind and you love him. Also you do enjoy beating up gangsters or whoever these thugs of the hour are.

Folding your arms while giving Klaus a smirk you tell him, “Well your friends better get their asses here cause when they do. I’m gonna knock their teeth in for making us wait in this shit ally. I’ve been suppressing the urge to vomit for 10 minutes.”

He nods in agreement, glad you’re not about to rip him a new one for his latest antics.

“Wait, does it really smell that bad, I mean the dumpster is at the other end of the ally.” He says in confusion.

You put your hands on your hips glancing at the dumpster and then focusing on Klaus.

“I’ve got the whole animal kingdom inside me Klaus, I know you can kinda smell that dumpster from here, but listen. For me it’s 1000x worse and let me tell you it doesn’t smell like a bath and body works around here.”

Klaus laughs scratching the back of his head, “Right, right, sorry.”

Suddenly a sketchy looking black car rolls into the ally, coming to a halt as three angry looking men walk out. Clearly hiding something within their coats, the “leader” it seems steps up and speaks.

“You betta have that 1,000 you owe us right fucking now you little theif, I don’t appreciate you takin’ my mother’s gold necklace, rest her soul.” He growls.

Klaus raises his hands up, “Listen buddy, you stole that from your own mother at her funeral...and let me tell you she’s not to happy about it.” He says looking to his left where you assume this guys dead mother is standing.

The bald guy behind him shakes his head and says, “So fuckin what? We needed that shit for other important purposes raccoon eyes.”

Klaus now lost as to where this situation is about to turn looks over at you clearly needing assistance. While mouthing “help me”.

Walking past him you hold your hands up showing you have nothing to hide, “Now that’s not very nice, a real shit personality, your mother would be very disappointed in how you’ve turned out. Cause let’s be honest it’s not like your looks are doing anything for you either.” You say snickering trying to see how they’ll react.

The first guy smirks reaching into his coat to pull out a nasty looking knife. “See this right here, I’m a good old fashioned man, I don’t believe in guns.”

You raise your eyebrows at him, “Oh well in that case we should all be quite relieved then.”

Looking behind him you notice as his two friends pull their own weapons out, which consists of a hammer and some type of meat hook.

“Klaus couldn’t have picked an easier bunch of idiots to fuck up then these psychos.” You thought.

The bald one begins to move brushing past the first guy looking like he’s seeing red.

“Jesus, man I didn’t mean to offend, I’m just making friendly conversation.” You muse.

Baldy begins to charge holding up his hammer ready to strike. “Come here you bitch, that’s my husband you’re talking to.”

He swings as you side step him, tripping him as he falls directly onto the concrete. Conveniently dropping the hammer in the process. Klaus being the ever troublesomely fantastic sidekick, picks up the hammer and throws it at you.

Gripping the hammer tightly, baldy rises from the ground faster then you’d expected mouth bloody and boiling with rage.

But in a hot second his bearded buddy in crime sprints towards you with his meat hook seemingly out of nowhere.

Klaus yells for you to watch out but you didn’t even need to look, this guys heart beat is louder then a firework and you’re faster then a viper, your senses on overload. As you turn around in record time to grab the guys right arm with the meat hook.

With your left hand tight around this guys beefy one you hold on and push his assault giving him more power. Effectively fulfilling your plan and leading the hook right into baldys chest. Who was fortunately running towards you.

A split second later with the hammer in your right hand you swing it forcefully into the guys shins. Hearing a sweet sickly crunch sound and the wild howls protruding from your assailants throat.

“Sorry I didn’t know you were married.”

“Fuck you!” He screams.

You look up hearing the sting of metal being swung in the wind, to see a knife heading straight for your throat.

With lighting reflexes you grab his wrist, the knife inches from your vulnerable skin.

Klaus gasps in the background terrified and relieved at not getting your throat slit.

You turn your fingernails to sharp cat-like claws that dig dangerously into his flesh, causing hot blood to drip out. The man drops the knife and grimaces in pain.

“I don’t know about you but I don’t think my boyfriend owes you three motherfuckers shit.” You growl, eyes beginning to glow an electric blue while the whites of your eyes shift to black, something that happens when you start to use your power.

“Fuck you, and fuck that thieving piece of junky shit crying in the corner.”

Your mood darkens, “Wrong answer.”

Letting go of his bloody wrist you grip his throat with your left hand lifting him off the ground. He begins to choke and struggles against your tight grasp.

“I know you’ve heard of me from other friends of yours, so listen very closely. If you touch Klaus again or anyone else around here who’s just trying to survive in this city. I won’t be so generous next time. Or maybe I should rip your fucking face off right now.” You squeeze tighter drawing blood.

“Y/N.”  Klaus says softly.

“Let’s go home.” He asks with pleading eyes and you snap back to reality smelling the iron scent of blood on your hands.

Sometimes you can get carried away feeling the rush of the hunt, a taxing side affect of your power, one you’ve always struggled to control.

Letting the man go he slumps to the ground coughing and sucking in straggled breaths.

“ Alright, me..me and the boys...won’t do nothing....you have my...my word....no bullshit nothing....I swear.”

“Good cause your friends are gonna need more then some stitches.”

You quickly leave the ally and start walking down the street towards the Academy.

Breathing heavily, you look up at Klaus who’s at your side as you start to feel a bit embarrassed that he saw you lose it a little.

He holds onto your arms stopping you, “Don’t worry, we’ll have a bath and watch some movies...hey you like that Museum one?”

“The Night at the Museum.” You say smiling still feeling off.

Klaus’ face lights up, “Yeah that one, with the big T-Rex skeleton and President Roosevelt on a horse.”

He links your arms together and you both begin walking again.

“Y/N, I’m not afraid of you, you know. I never have been, I actually find it pretty sexy of you to beat up bad guys for me and keep the neighborhood safe-er. Ben thinks so too, minus the sexy part of course. Only I get to enjoy that.”

You relax more into his side and once again start to feel a bit more at ease with yourself.

“Oh wait a second, here put these sunglasses on, your eyes are still playing mood rings with us. Don’t wanna freak out the civilians” He laughs.

“Thanks, I did wonder why that kid back there looked like he just saw a ghost.”

Klaus winks, “Maybe he did, cough cough..Ben...cough cough.”

“You’re an ass.” You say while rolling your eyes

“Yes indeed my love but remember I deal with the supernatural of all sorts, from ghosts to monsters, nothing phases me.” Klaus states proudly.

You laugh, “ Okay Van Helsing, this monster wants a bath with her hunter then.”

Klaus kisses your cheek, “That can be arranged my dear.”

Smiling up at him you hold him tighter and think to yourself how weird your life is, but you wouldn’t change it for anything.

- okay wow alright, first story ever I hope it’s good or at least some people like it. It was honestly fun to write ngl.

[staywritten]

All In│Bang Chan «Chapter Thirteen» ◄Back «Masterlist» Next►

Chan had been staring at his ceiling for almost an hour. You soundly napping in his arms, unknowing of the emotional turmoil he’d been dealing with since his talk with Felix. He’d been racking his brain on how to tell you, but there wasn’t anyway to put it without it sounding sketchy. The two of you kinda just fell into this perfect rhythm and he didn’t want to disrupt it. You were everything he’d ever wanted. He’d never been able to open up, and feel so comfortable before. Sure, he had his friends and he could tell them anything, but he was always the big brother. He never wanted to burden them. But with you he didn’t feel that weight. You welcomed everything with open arms. 

He smiled seeing you pout in your sleep. You still had another thirty minutes set on your alarm. He brushed your hair out of your face, placing a tender kiss on your forehead.You relaxed almost instantly to his touch, cuddling into his chest. 

He waited a couple more minutes to make sure you were comfortable before quietly slipping out and heading to Felix’s room. 

“What’s up Man?” Felix opened his door letting him in.

“Can I vent? I think I just need to talk it out first.” Felix could tell just how disheveled Chan was. He just looked so mentally exhausted. Felix sat on his bed watching Chan pace. “I don’t want to hurt her… I’m terrified of hurting her”

“Then don’t. Just be honest”

“Honest? If I’m honest I’ll lose her...and I don’t want to lose her Felix I think I’m in love and I don’t want to let it go”

“Noona is understanding, and she loves you too I can tell. Friends don’t look at each other like that” he chuckled “I mean I love you, but I’ve never stared at you the way she does.”

“Felix I’m serious.” he groaned “If she asks me about Rosie what am I supposed to tell her? Hey this is Rosie, technically my long distance girlfriend but don’t worry we’ve been on a break for like three years but everytime I go back to Australia we always pick up where we left off, sleep together and go on dates and stuff. But we’re on a break” his tone sarcastic as he rolled his eyes, crossing his hands over his chest. 

“See! It’s that right there. Girlfriend. You need to call Rosie right now and break up properly, that way you don’t have to lie" He grabbed his phone, getting ready to call Rosie himself. “You can just break up and that way you don’t have to tell her anything because-”

Chan watched as Felix’s eyes widened, trained on the door behind him. It’s like he knew before he even turned around. His shoulders slumped in guilt before his eyes met yours. “I-”

“...You have a girlfriend…?” your voice breaking, tears already spilling from your eyes. “I was so stupid…” you shrinked back, you couldn’t even look at him. “A girlfriend…” you sniffled, wiping the tears furiously from your eyes.

“It’s not…” he reached out, his body reacting before he could even form a sentence. “Baby please...”

“Don’t touch me!” you stepped back immediately, hugging yourself. 

“I never meant to hurt you” his eyes widened, panicked. He knew he was losing you and he didn’t know what to do. “Please… just let me explain everything and… I know you hate me right now but-” 

It was like suddenly you were in your sophomore year again in the same toxic cheating relationship. All of your anxieties about opening up, trusting someone, loving someone. It all came rushing at you. Suddenly you were that same, weak, naive sophomore that let a guy manipulate you. All of your insecurities about Rosie that your friends tried to brush off, were justified. 

Your body stiffened, Chan reached for your cheek to wipe your tears away. “I’m so sorry”

“I said don’t touch me!” you pushed him back keeping your distance. 

“Baby please…” he held his hands up, approaching you slowly; Like you were some frightened animal. “Let me explain...I-” 

Your body panicked, your anxiety rising. Your fight or flight instinct kicked in. You felt cornered, heart broken, deceived. You bolted down the hall, not even bothering to grab your things. You shoved your foot in your sneakers, stepped on the backs of them and ran down the stairs from the apartment building. 

The cold night air hitting you hard in your thin t-shirt and sweatpants. There was almost an immediate regret once you got down to the main street. You regretted not wearing a sweater, you regretted not grabbing your phone first, you regretted being in an area that wasn’t within walking distance from your house, and most importantly you regretted ever giving another person your heart. 

You ran at full speed for as long as your legs could manage, your lungs screaming for a break, your feet in pain from the rubbing of the sneakers on your bare foot. But you couldn’t stop because stopping would mean thinking. 

As long as your body was in some sort of visceral response mode, crying and overthinking became second priority. 

“Chan you gotta give her some space” Felix grabbed him, stopping him from going after you. 

“I can’t! Felix she’s crying and out there in the middle of the night! She doesn’t have her phone- I-I gotta go find her!”

“Hyung! You’re the last person she wants to see right now. If you find her she’s gonna run again.” he took his keys. “I’ll go find her. You stay here in case for some miracle she comes back.” he ordered before heading out. 

It was rare that Felix ever took initiative like that but Chan was falling apart. 

He drove down the block, looking for you, the only good thing about the whole situation was that they lived in a rather nice area, it was well lit and close to the college so you should be familiar with it, but it was still dangerous for you to be out there alone. 

Felix drove the entire path from his apartment to yours, even stopping at a few shops along the way. But still nothing. Chan was blowing up his phone wondering about an update, but there was nothing to tell him. He couldn’t find you. After driving back and forth twice he was starting to worry. But he needed to hold it together because if he panicked Chan was definitely going to lose it. 

Somewhere along the way you’d gotten lost, it was bound to happen. It wasn’t like it was a straight shot from North to South campus, and you weren’t even thinking straight. It just hit you how alone you really were. It wasn’t like you had anyone's number memorized, you didn’t even know where you were. You couldn’t even remember the last business you saw, the few you passed were closed for the night. This was as good as it was gonna get, because your legs couldn’t manage a step further. You finally stopped running and collapsed to the ground of what looked to be a park. At least it was decently lit. You hugged your knees panting heavily,, your legs exhausted from the sudden sprint.

Was this your fault? The only reason you got up early from your nap was because Chan wasn’t there. Maybe you should have just stayed asleep. Living in this warm, blissful ignorance, slowly falling more in love with something you knew was too good to be true. You scoffed, sniffling into your t-shirt. Your heart was filled with regret, because deep down you convinced yourself that you didn’t get happy endings, at least not in love.

Felix drove to your apartment once more. It’d been over an hour since he started looking for you. Even if you walked straight home, you should have made it there by now. He hesitantly knocked on the door. 

A very groggy Momo opened the door, yawning and wiping the sleep from her eyes. “Felix? What in the world? It’s like 1am I have practice tomorrow morning.” 

He nervously looked up at her. “I...Is yn-Noona home?”

“What? No, she’s at your place” she laughed at the silly question before reading his face. “Wait...Why? Where is she?” the worry was rising on her face.

“She...Kinda got upset at Hyung and ran out...she left her phone and stuff at the house…”

“What?! She left your house on foot? Felix! When? I- What did he do to her!?”

“I’ve been looking for her for like an hour.” His shoulders slumped “Momo, focus here, I’ll tell you that later but we gotta find her I’m getting worried…”

“An hour?!” She grabbed her purse and phone to call Hyunjin “Drive me back toward Chan’s house, I’m getting her stuff. And tell me every single thing that happened.”

Felix and Chan called everyone they could gather to go and help look for you. It was still too early to file any form of police report, especially being that you left willingly, and it’d only been a few hours but they called just in case. 

Chan paced back and forth, he’d had to explain the situation more times than he could count, and there was never a gentle way to put it. He fucked up. He completely and wholeheartedly fucked up. The whole swim team and anyone else he could gather was out looking for you, and all he could do was wait.

Momo walked inside the apartment to get your things. Walking passed Chan without a second look. She grabbed your phone, books and bag packing them up in a furious silence. “Momo I’m so-”

“Save it.” she glared at him. “My best friend is missing because you cheated on her. And if ANYTHING happens to her I swear-”

“I deserve it…” his head hung low. “This is my fault… I.. I should have…”

She gripped her small hands, almost shaking before taking a deep breath “I don’t give a shit about this pity party you’re throwing yourself. This whole woe is me, this is all my fault, I deserve this self hate thing, it’s a little pathetic given the situation. My friend is missing. Our friends are out there looking for her in the middle of the night, and you are doing nothing”

“She doesn’t want to see me”

“You pick a hell of a time to start being considerate for her, where was this when you forgot to tell her you had a girlfriend.”

“Momo you don’t know the whole story”

“And I don’t care to! You are full of excuses!” She let out a breath, visibly shaking. “You know-It doesn’t matter. There’s plenty you could be doing. You could be calling places, calling people, getting out there and looking for her anyway. Yes, it’s your fault. But it’s also mine, I should have never encouraged her to talk to you. I should have never said you’d be different and that you were a nice guy. But I’ll have plenty of time to blame myself after we find my best friend and that she’s home safe.” She rolled her eyes “But hey, if you wanna throw your pity party help yourself. But I’m gonna go find my friend” she grabbed your bag before leaving his apartment. 

Chan knew Momo was right, he was falling apart from the guilt. It was like everything he feared was coming true and he felt helpless. He just wanted you to be safe. He took a deep breath. 

To Be Continued…

Hi friends! （ﾉ´д｀）I’m sorry, I had to plot ;_; 

All In│Bang Chan «Chapter Thirteen»

Synopsis: After a messy break up your sophomore year, you decided that the best thing for you was to finish off your college career single. You wanted to focus on yourself, grow as a person and finish off your degree strong. There’d be plenty of time for love after college. But after losing your camera you become friends with the seemingly perfect boy that threatens to ruin your plans.

Genre: SocialMedia!AU, College!AU, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Smut

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@vhschs @thelustasylum @lunnanunna @yooniversalstudios​ @aiyalix @ph0ebevix @zaratanveerx @channieboyo @hannahdinse8 @got7-yeah-got7onmymind @itisjustpaula @ann0325441904​ @etherealchangbin @7829-kamie @ateez-babygirl @lazyliyah

[quartzwriting]

Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice

Pairing: Bucky Barnes X Fem!Reader

Description: You offer Bucky coffee, with an accidental espresso shot, and the caffeine gets to him. Fall themed!

Warnings: Non

Word Count: 2.0k

A/N: Originally posted on Quotev on Jan 21, 2019 /  Sorry if Bucky feels out of character, I blame the caffeine I gave him / Written for Alex 

Masterlist | Fic Reading Recs | Ao3 | Quotev | Coffee

“Where is he?”

Steve looked up from his breakfast and pointed to the open door of the fridge. Tony was rummaging through it while mumbling to himself, but perking up at the sound of your voice. He had a strawberry in his mouth, there he goes snacking again. Food never seems to last in the tower.

You held up the tray and Tony's face lit up. He wanted you to do his morning Starbucks run. Even if the tower had plenty of coffee and tea options, he needed his pumpkin spice latte and he wanted it done right. You never thought Tony would be that type of person, to like sugary and basic white bitch drinks, but he is apparently.

“I’m not Pepper.” You said blankly, eyeing the man as he approached to claim his drink. “Why did I have to go and get your coffee?”

“Because you’re the one who messed up on the last mission, (Y/N).” Tony answered with an fake innocent smile.

“I tripped!” You gasped in defense, really you tripped. It was an accident but it made a domino effect and you almost costed everyone the mission. The guys in the tower were not going to let you forget anytime soon, it was too embarrassing. And you were thankful Sam didn't have a camera because that would be the worst.

“You just need to have your pumpkin spice latte.” Steve laughed, shaking his head.

“Get in the fall spirit, Rogers.” Tony said, taking one of the cups from the tray greedily.

“I can only imagine what he’ll do on Halloween…” You mumbled under your breath. The over the top decorations and his making everyone play along with his enthusiasm...Oh no what about Christmas...you didn’t even want to think about Christmas.

Before you knew it Tony left with his coffee, not even thanking you for going out in the cold to get it. Something wanted you to go follow him and shove the other three steaming hot cups down the front of his shirt, but you refrained since you wanted one of them for yourself.

Instead you bottled up your frustrations and you took one for yourself and gave one to Steve. Tony paid for it so it doesn't matter, free coffee for you then!

While taking a sip of your own delicious latte, you heard heavy footsteps enter the room. Soon Bucky groaned and dragged himself into the kitchen.

“Morning Bucky.” You said, taken aback by his sudden appearance. He simply nodded in response, he was not a morning person. It seemed that your heart jumped to your throat every time he acknowledged your existence, and you’ll take a simple nod as one.

“Come on Buck, wake up. We got training to do.” Steve announced, cleaning up his dishes.

“Yeah yeah I know. God, you’re so loud.” Bucky looked like he could use a few more hours of sleep, or a few gallons of coffee. He slowly made his way to the pantry and stumbled dug for the breakfast bars, a quick breakfast before training.

"Hey Bucky, you want one?" You offered him one of the coffee cups, knowing it was a dangerous game you were playing by speaking to him this early in the morning. But thankfully he didn't chop your head off, he merely turned around to see what you had offered.

"What is it?" He asked, staring at the cup with a blank face.

"Pumpkin spice latte."

Bucky looked skeptical, but took it and raised it to his lips to take a sip. The sugar hit him before the caffeine.

"It's sweet."

"See its not that bad." Steve chimed in, drinking his own latte.

"The future is weird..." He mumbled, sending a slightly amused-looking smile in your direction. You didn't know if you wanted to scream or run to your room and hide.

"Technically its the present." Steve tried to be smart.

"Shut up." Bucky started to walk out of the room, still slightly groggy (the caffeine would kick in soon though) but he looked back. “That scarf looks good on you.”

You glanced down at it, fleece and yellow plaid. You grew shy and scratched the back of your head. “Thanks.” You realized it came out as a mere squeak.

He smiled and left after muttering "Thank you, (Y/N)", probably to get ready for training. Deep down you didn't want to see him go, and you heart pounded when he said your name.

"Weird."

"Hm?" You turned to Steve.

"He usually hates mornings, he looked happy."

It just dawned on you. Everyone feared bothering Bucky when it was too early, and on a normal day he would go into full Winter Soldier mode when anyone dared to step across the line of 'I'm too tired to be alive right now and I'll murder you and burn your body if you get in my face'. Maybe it was the latte you gave him, to your knowledge Bucky didn't drink coffee much.

Then you realized something...

Oh Shit.

"Oh no," You knew Steve would scold you, so you changed your wording in your head before it came out of your mouth.

"What?"

"I gave Bucky the one with the espresso shot..."

The Captain chuckled and patted your shoulder, "Its fine, he needs it."

You slightly laughed, if it made him a little less of a morning grump then why not.

"Don't worry, it probably will not turn out as bad as that one time when Pietro had just regular coffee." Steve remembered.

So many things in the Tower were broken that day, Tony was furious. There was plenty of yelling, and the speedster almost passed out from the overdrive. From that day forwards, Pietro was never allowed to have coffee ever again.

"But I kinda needed that espresso shot..." You groaned.

"Calm down, you'll live." He said it so simply you almost wanted to knock him upside the head. Then he mumbled something; "Also I don't think the coffee was the reason he was happy-"

"What?"

He ignored you.

"Well I'm gonna head to the training room, see ya kid." Cap left the kitchen, leaving you with your latte (that sadly wasn't strong enough to kill your exhaustion) and you finally could have your breakfast. Because someone didn't let you do anything until you fetched their morning coffee (Tony "Im Iron Man and Im Superior To You" Stark).

~~~

"Who gave Bucky caffeine?" Sam announced to everyone in the training room while eyeing the man, who was now finishing his latte.

"You're just a sore loser." Bucky placed the empty cup back on the table and was ready to spar with his friendly rival again. Bugging Sam was his favorite past time.

"No really, who thought that would be a good idea?" Sam didn't drop it.

The glass doors to the training room opened and you walked in, holding your tablet and flipping through the new file you just received from SHEILD headquarters. Before you could open your mouth to say anything, you were abruptly interrupted.

"It was her." Cap threw you under the bus.

"What did I do?" You whined.

And the next few seconds was a quick-fire dispute, remarks shot through the air like bullets.

"You gave Bucky coffee." Sam pointed at you.

"So?" You asked.

"That's a bad idea." Sam snapped.

"Sore loser~" Bucky sang.

"Shut up." Sam shot.

"You are a sore loser Sam" You mocked.

"Shut it!" Sam warned.

"Sooorrrreee loooser!" Bucky stretched out.

"QUIET!" Sam barked.

"I need another." Bucky sighed.

"You are not having another." Sam snapped.

"(Y/N), can I have another?"

"Bad idea" You admitted.

"Enough!" Natasha raised her voice and the arguing stopped suddenly. "God, you three are like nagging seagulls. You don't shut up."

"Sam's the seagull." Bucky made one last snarky remark, making you snort while you tried to hold in your laughter.

Before Sam could attack again, you finally spoke up. "Just got a new mission file from Fury. He says it's urgent."

Steve, Bucky, Sam, Nat, and Clint (who had been enjoying the argument quietly) all gathered around you. You projected the file into a hologram and blew it up so everyone could see.

"Security breach at a lab in France." Nat read the notes.

"So? Just a lab," Bucky shrugged, then thought about it, "right?"

You zoomed into the picture on the file, the logo looked strikingly familiar.

"Haven't we been keeping tabs on them?" Clint asked.

"We have." You worked quickly and pulled up a case file SHIELD had been watching carefully. They matched, the lab's company specialized in fusing technology into human anatomy, in the most illegal ways, sketchy black market stuff.

With a few more buttons pressed, you pulled up the live security cameras of the laboratory. There was a black van parked outside. It hit everyone.

"HYDRA." Steve breathed, and everyone knew it was important to leave to France as soon as possible.

"So who's going, Cap?" You asked, and soon everyone was looking at him with anticipation.

He didn't even need to think, he knew who he wanted. "Nat, Clint, Sam, you're with me on this one."

Those selected celebrated, there hadn't been a decent mission in a while. While those who weren't going, meaning you and Bucky, pouted.

"HA!" Sam jabbed a finger in Bucky's face. "You're not going!"

"Don't care!" Bucky shot back, pretending like it was true. It was a lie.

~~~

With some of the Avengers gone on a mission the tower was a little more quiet, probably because it was still early or because Sam and Bucky were separated. Both were very likely. With everyone else asleep, you and Bucky were the only ones up. After the others went on the mission, you decided to look through some more case files to see if you could find anything that could help down the road.

While sitting in the lounge and listening to some music, you tried to stay focused. You tried to stay awake while simultaneously trying to stay warm from the cold weather outside. It was beautiful and sunny, but it was freezing non the less. Snuggling under a blanket had proven to be a solution to only one of your problems,  you were growing drowsy again. If only you had got that extra espresso shot.

Speaking of that espresso shot...

"Hey (Y/N)!"

Jumping from the sudden voice, you looked over and saw Bucky enter the lounge. The couch dipped down as he sat beside you, and he seemed to be full of energy.

"Whatcha working on?"

"Someone's cheerful this morning." You sat up and tilted your head as you spoke.

"I think it was the coffee you gave me." He chuckled.

"Yeah about that..." You started shyly, "I accidentally gave you the one with the extra espresso shot..."

It clicked in his head, "Well that explains it, I guess I couldn't taste it from how sweet it was-" He caught himself, "not that it wasn't good. I liked it. I appreciated it, thanks (Y/N)."

Regardless of his growing awkwardness, which you wanted to explode from because he was too cute, he was speaking a mile a minute.

"You alright, Buck?" You asked, "A little hyper."

"Maybe Sam was right...no more coffee for me." He admitted to himself, looking a bit sad. He must have liked the pumpkin spice latte while it lasted.

”Maybe you need to burn it off.” You suggested.

”Tried to during training, not working, still buzzed.”

“Maybe try going outside, go for a run maybe.”

He gave it a thought, then turned to you with something in his eyes. "What do you say we go for a walk? It's pretty nice outside." Bucky smiled at you.

Forget how cold it was today, going outside to hang out with Bucky was worth it.

"Sure!" You said, maybe sounding a little to enthusiastic.

”Alright, can we go now? If that’s alright?” He said shyly, practically bouncing in his seat.

”Yeah sure, no problem.” You both got up off the couch.

”Okay dress warm, meet you back here.” Bucky dashed off to get his coat. You laughed at how energized he was, and assumed this would be like taking a dog on a walk (or more like a dog taking you on a walk).

[stillgeekingout]

thoughts on reputation by lex croucher

first my non-spoilery thoughts (mostly non-spoilery. light spoilers for tone and general content): this book was so good and also SO STRESSFUL. haha. if you’re going into it expecting a light read, this isn’t it, but it’s incredibly funny (like seriously so so funny, there was probably at least one phrase or sentence on every page that gave me a little chuckle inside) and has a lot of really important things to say. and the stress does pay off for a very cathartic ending. you’re gonna suffer, but you’re gonna be happy about it etc.

honestly the two things I care the most about in books these days are if they’re funny and if they have characters that I care about. this supremely delivered on both counts. I really loved every single one of the characters (I mean, except the ones you’re supposed to hate, obviously. it does a very good job making you hate them). the third thing I care about is friendship narratives and hoo boy was there a lot of that too.

it gets compared to bridgerton a lot and I haven’t seen bridgerton, so I can’t speak to that, but I don’t think I would like bridgerton based on what I’ve heard of it and I really liked this. make of that what you will, I guess. it also gets compared to mean girls a lot and I think that’s very accurate, if mean girls as a narrative was kinder to its characters (including the plastics) and actually let characters be gay in a nuanced way. and if mean girls did a better job developing the love interest so we care about him and the romance part of the plot. similar to mean girls, if you’re going to be really bothered by secondhand embarrassment, this might not be the book for you. it’s not quite as pronounced but it is there, and I did squirm through a few scenes. this didn’t subtract from my enjoyment but it might for some people. The other content warnings are here for anyone who wants to know what I mean by heavy material: https://www.lexcroucher.co.uk/reputation-cw

Now time for my spoiler-filled thoughts under the cut!!

So I knew going into this that it would be too much drugs and alcohol content for me, a known prude, but that being said I thought it was handled really well and I liked that the narrative had things to say about doing things in excess / requiring that stuff to be able to have fun. and thomas’s whole thing was really thoughtfully handled.

Georgiana cracked me up the whole time with her naivety. I do think part of the embarrassment of this book for me was how much she reminded me of my younger clueless self, being inexperienced in everything and scandalized by everything. I also reeeeally related to the whole “this person is friend-shaped, be my friend be my friend be my friend”-ness of her. And I’m always a sucker for a “female character is very flawed and honestly kinda shitty to her friends but learns to be a better person over the course of the narrative” story.

I LOVE BETTY. I call being #1 betty walters fan. I get crazy when I latch onto a character, all I do is wait for them to make a next appearance and scream about it when they do. But anyway I just want to say that I loved betty from her first scene and I’m so glad george finally caught on. I was initially scared that it was going to go more the route of like, george is mean to betty in the climax and then realizes she has to apologize because she feels bad for her, but the fact that they became actual genuine close friends on top of that made me very very happy. No matter what else I say please know betty was my absoluuute favorite character, I’m obsessed with her, I would die for her, etc.

This book honestly just kept subverting what I thought was going to happen. I did not see the end coming at all, particularly with the way the jeremiah plot went. It reminded me a lot of Oklahoma (the musical) and a lot of… real life lol. but yeah it was v good and I’m proud of george.

I really did not expect to get very attached to thomas. Usually when a book is a friendship book with romance also in there, I get very very wrapped up in the friendship parts and then only sort of care about the romantic lead. And it did start that way when george was initially obsessing over him, I kept just kind of being like “ok he’s here, sure”. But lex gave us a kindhearted emotions boy, which is honestly the best kind of boy, and he plays piano and his dad is nice and he keeps george in check about being a kind friend? Heck yeah. The LETTERS?? YES. listen my favorite book is ella enchanted and ever since then, any romance that involves witty written correspondence is automatically in my good books. also he has the benedick energy of like, unquestionably supporting women over his sketchy friends and that’s Always good.

I loved each of the friends in different ways, and I am a little sad that we didn’t get much closure on Cecily and Jonathan in particular, but I do understand why it ended the way that it did and I appreciate Georgiana realizing that these were never really going to be her People. That’s a really cool thing that I don’t see a lot in stories. Usually either they make friends for life, or it turns out that the group were Bad People and that’s why they go their separate ways. So the fact that it was like “no, I think they are good people and I care for them deeply, but our ways of life are just never going to be compatible in the long run so I’m just going to appreciate them in my periphery from now on” was a really nuanced take and something that I think is truer to reality.

Let’s Talk About Frances. Frances intrigued the hell out of me because I never knew what the heck she was going to do next. I do always love a bitchy woman with secret emotions and after the first vulnerable sleepover scene, in my mind I already felt like I knew where frances’s arc might be going. But lord I did NOT! It’s really really interesting to have a book that follows so many tropes of other stories but at the same time goes in completely different directions. I would’ve read a whole bunch more about frances and her emotions and her parents and her trauma, and I really hope jane is helping her heal from all that and also be less of a jerk to everyone, and if anyone is writing the “jane and frances heal from trauma and become better people together” fic I am soooo there. I’m glad we at least got the confirmation that she believes george, that she got the satisfaction of telling off jeremiah, that she’s living with jane, and that her parents have separated at least for the time being. But yeah I think in a lesser book, frances would’ve been reduced to like “the regina george” and not necessarily given all the nuances that she had, and I really appreciated how much she felt like a rounded-out person with a lot of her own shit going on. I am sad that she and george had to end the way they did, but again, it makes sense for the narrative and I’m glad they’re at least on good enough terms that she’s going to go to the wedding.

I do think there were some things that were left loose (george bringing up donating to the poor was never addressed again, frances’s parents are barely addressed again which surprised me after the mrs. walters bit, etc) but now that I’m finished with it and not waiting for certain loose ends to be tied, I think that’s kind of the point. that sometimes things just end without closure. sometimes you just move on from people and you don’t get to change them in the way you wanted to.

I probably have a bunch more to say but the main thing is that every single character in this book felt extremely three dimensional to me, and that is a Really hard thing to pull off and it has made me even more excited to read all of lex’s future books. Came for the humor, stayed for the insanely well-developed characters.

[snaccforyou]

G/T Secret Santa Exchange

Story for @gilby-the-geek-girl

Challenge from @secret-shifters

The house was warm, bright, and full of laughter. A few people were exchanging presents, and most had a glass of eggnog or cider in their hands. It wasn't a massive party, only a couple dozen attendees, but it was a little crowded for Celine's tastes.

As a friend-of-a-friend attendee, she didn't know most of the cheerful group, and was a little too shy to try and mingle this late into the party. Instead she sat on one of the host's fluffy couches and watched the merriment with a mix of discomfort and amusement.

"Hey!" A rosy face appeared next to her, and she jumped. Someone she vaguely recognized from one of her classes, Anna maybe, was leaning over the couch next to her.

"Selena, was it?"

"Celine, actually," she corrected, a little startled.

"Oops! Sorry!" Possibly-Anna said, breaking into tipsy giggles. She held out a glass full of cider. "Did you want something to drink?"

"Um, no thank you," Celine declined with an awkward laugh. If she were at her own home, she might be tempted, but Celine was a bit of a lightweight. She was a little wary of drinking any sort of alcoholic beverages with so many strangers around, especially with how she was currently feeling. There was a slight itching, a tingling under her skin that meant losing her self-control could end badly.

"Suit yourself, I guess," laughed Anna. She straightened and joined a large group of chatting friends.

Celine felt a familiar wave of claustrophobia, and took a deep breath. Honestly, the party wouldn't be half bad if she didn't feel like she might shift at any moment.

Celine was a sizeshifter, a being that was able to change her size dramatically. While some size-shifters had complete control over their abilities, others were more unpredictable. Celine had moderate control over her shifts, but the longer she went holding back, the more uncomfortable she felt.

Right now, her body felt far too small, the room far too tiny for her. She subtly scratched her arm, and tried not to imagine stepping outside and shooting up to three times her "regular" height. She let herself grow an inch taller and glanced around the room.

Byron, the friend who had invited her and the only other sizeshifter she knew of in this city, had been mingling with some of his friends, but she'd lost sight of him several minutes ago. She wanted to pull him away and ask if there was any way they could leave early. As a sizeshifter with even less control over his size, he'd understand.

Of course, she'd feel terrible making their ride, a really nice person named Wren, leave early, but she would rather leave when the discomfort was bearable.

Last she'd seen Byron, he'd pulled one of his friends aside to talk. She hadn't seen them in several minutes, but when Byron's friend came back alone, her gaze shot to them. Suddenly, a shifting in their hair caught her attention. She blinked, doing a double take.

Sure enough, nestled in his friend's hair sat Byron. They locked eyes as well as they could from across the room, and Byron gave what looked like an apologetic shrug. He waved his now tiny phone, and Celine checked her texts. There was a new message in the carpool group chat from Byron.

Sry, unexpected small problem. Have 2 ride back w/ someone else.

It was subtle enough that Celine would've understood what happened even without seeing him small. She completely understood, but her desire to stay was even less now. She started to look for Wren, not looking forward to telling them she wanted to leave early.

***

Wren wasn't a huge fan of parties. They weren't a very social person, but Byron and his friend had needed a ride, and he was one of their few friends that actually cared about them. Besides, this party wasn't too bad. They'd had a little eggnog, but not enough to feel more than a slight warmth. The other partygoers mostly left them alone, so they didn't have to socialize too much.

About halfway into the party, they got a text from Byron saying his change in plans. At first they let out a sigh. Typical Byron, having some secret emergency that changed his plans. It was fine, though, Wren was used to his strange habits by now, and as long as he had a different ride they weren't too worried about him.

Wren just hoped the ride home wouldn't be too awkward with just them and Celine. They didn't know her very well, but she seemed nice at least. And she hadn't reacted negatively to hearing they were non-binary, which was usually a pretty good sign. They wondered if she'd be willing to leave the party a little early.

As if summoned by their thoughts, Celine was suddenly standing next to them. Wren jumped slightly, and gave a small wave.

"Uh, hi, Celine," they said. She waved back just as awkwardly, and stood silently for a couple of seconds. At least they were both in good, socially awkward company, Wren mused.

"Hi," she finally said with a little laugh. "I was wondering if you saw Byron's text?"

Wren nodded, waving their phone and almost dropping it.

"Yeah I saw it just a minute ago," they said. "Typical Byron."

"Typical Byron," Celine agreed with an awkward but nice laugh. She seemed like she wanted to say something else so Wren waited.

"So, I know it's still pretty early, and I'm sorry if it's inconvenient, but how do you feel about leaving a little early?" She blurted, words running together slightly in her rush to get them out. Wren felt themself sag slightly with relief.

"Honestly, I am so glad you asked," they said, looking up to meet Celine's eyes. "I don't really like parties."

Celine smiled down at them. Something seemed slightly off to Wren, and they frowned. Maybe it was just the eggnog, but…

"Are you taller now?" They asked, squinting. Celine laughed awkwardly, looking off to one side and Wren slammed their hand over their mouth. "Sorry, that's such a weird question. Obviously you're not."

"It's fine, it's fine," Celine said.

"Do you think Byron's still here?" Wren asked. They didn't want to leave without telling him goodbye, but he might've already left.

"Uh, I haven't seen him for a while," Celine answered. Wren scanned the party for a few seconds, seeing no sign of their friend.

"Well, I guess we can always say we're sorry we missed him later," they said, eventually giving up.

Leaving the party was surprisingly easy. Most people didn't even notice they were leaving. The one guy who did wished them a happy holiday and went back to the party.

As they stepped outside, Wren was a little surprised to see snow falling. Celine, who had visibly relaxed once they stepped outside, tension falling off her frame, looked surprised as well.

"I thought it was supposed to be 'unusually warm' tonight," Wren said, quoting the day's weather forecast.

"I guess the weather really is always wrong," Celine responded with a little laugh. Wren unlocked their car, and they both climbed inside. When Wren turned the key, the car made a horrible spluttering and failed to start.

"Um," they said, and tried again. Five minutes, and several curses later, they gave it up as a lost cause.

"I'm really sorry," they said, feeling mortified. "Should we just go back inside?"

Celine hesitated, looking super uncomfortable. Wren wondered if she had trouble with crowds.

"I have a… place pretty close by that I can probably walk to, but I'd feel bad leaving you alone," she said.

"A 'place'?" Wren repeated incredulously.

"Well, Byron lives kinda close to here, and since I go to his place pretty often I have a little area with this super old car parked there for emergencies," Celine rambled.

"I'm not gonna lie, that's really weird," Wren said, still very confused. There wasn't even a guarantee that car would work, and having a 'place' was a little sketchy. They weren't thrilled about walking in the snow, but they were even less thrilled with the idea of letting Celine walk off by herself. That was a disappearance waiting to happen.

"If… if you don't mind taking me along, I could walk with you to your… 'place' and you could drive me home?" they suggested. After a moment, Celine nodded.

"This is such a bad idea," Wren muttered to themself, then they followed Celine into the snow.

***

After about ten minutes of walking, the snow had soaked through Wren's shoes. They really regretted not just going back inside, but at this point Celine's car was probably closer than the party.

At least Celine seemed to know where she was going even if she'd severely underestimated how long it would take to get there.

"I'm sorry, I really didn't think it would take this long," she apologized, looking just as miserable as they felt. She looked more uncomfortable than cold though, shifting from side to side and fidgeting with her warm looking hoodie.

"It's f-fine," Wren muttered, only lying a little bit. They were really regretting not bringing a warmer jacket. "As long as you don't get lost, then we're screwed."

"No, I know exactly where we're going," she said confidently. "I'm good with directions I just have trouble with distance sometimes."

Celine gave them an apologetic look backwards. She stopped as she noticed them shivering.

"Are you ok? Do you want to use my jacket?" She asked, sounding worried. Wren shook their head vehemently.

"No, no, then you'll be cold. I'll be fine for another couple of minutes, let's just get there quickly."

Celine looked worried, but kept walking. Over the next minute she looked more and more fidgety, until finally she stopped. Wren shot her a questioning look, but she wasn't meeting their eyes.

"I have… an idea," she started hesitantly. "It'll be warmer, and we'll get there quicker, but… it'll be kind of shocking. Do… do you trust me?"

Wren stared at the girl who was basically a stranger, leading them to an unknown location in the snow. At this point, they thought it was a little late to be evaluating their life choices, and they told her as much.

"I mean, if you're a serial killer it's a little late for me to suddenly realize how sketchy this situation is," they joked nervously. "But I think, and I really hope, that I can trust you." Celine smiled, but she took a couple of steps back.

"Thank you, I think," she said. "Just… don't freak out, ok?"

Wren nodded, feeling more freaked out by the second. Celine took a deep breath, then stopped fidgeting, completely relaxing for the first time since Wren had met her. They watched in fascination as she looked somehow freer, less stressed, and taller. Then their heart skipped a beat as they realized that she was actually getting taller, it wasn't just their imagination.

They watched with wide eyes as Celine slowly grew, until she was twice their height, then three times, so tall they had to crane their head to look up at her. A massive shadow fell over them as she blocked out the light from the moon and the distant streetlamps. She knelt, but kept growing, getting so tall that they couldn't see all of her at once.

Wren didn't even realize they were backing up until they ran into something large and warm. They jumped and looked back, shocked at the size of the hand behind them. Celine's hand was now big enough to completely cover them. They stood in stunned shock as Celine gently cupped her hand around them, her fingers almost as long as their body. Wren looked back up in awe.

"Celine?" They asked, voice sounding small, even to their ears.

"It's ok," Celine said. She sounded like she was whispering, but Wren could feel the vibrations from the sound. Far above them, Celine smiled.

Fingers moved around them, and Wren's attention was brought to the impossibly big hand at their back. They stared as another hand the size of a mattress appeared at their side.

Wren suddenly knew exactly what a hamster felt like when being picked up, as hands cupped them from both sides, gently maneuvering them to sit in the palm of Celine's hand. Warmth radiated from her hand, and they could feel her heartbeat pulsing beneath them.

They were torn between being nervous and amazed, and they settled for studying the incredible close-up of hands in front of them. They hesitantly reached out to touch Celine's fingertips, their breath catching as they traced the detailed lines.

Wren felt a slight sense of vertigo as they were lifted higher. Celine had lifted them to her face, and the full force of a giant's attention distracted them.

"Are you feeling warmer now?" Celine asked, and Wren felt the vibrations where they sat. It took a couple seconds for them to process the question, and they nodded, still too shocked to speak. Their heart was beating a little too fast, and they realized they'd been silent for far too long.

"C-celine, what… how?" They stammered, unable to tear their gaze away from her. It would be hard to look away if they wanted to, considering she took up most of their vision.

"I'm a sizeshifter," Celine said, a smile that they would've called small if they were the same size on her face. The phrase rang a bell, and they wracked their memory. They remembered their parents using the phrase years ago but they thought that was a fairytale. Apparently not.

Wren stared for another moment before the amazement finally overtook the shock of suddenly feeling so tiny.

"That's so cool!" They blurted, a smile breaking out onto their face.

***

Celine had been nervous about showing her ability. Wren seemed trustworthy, but it wasn't something she just told people. She'd been planning to shift and walk on her own. The discomfort from not letting herself shift had been growing since they left the party.

However, when Wren insisted on coming with her, and refused to take her jacket, she couldn't bear seeing them so cold. Not when the walk was so much longer at human size than she remembered. Not when she had such an easy solution that would help them both.

They seemed nervous at first, but she thought it was more the shock of seeing someone grow taller than a house than actual fear for their safety. And after less than a minute of sitting in her hand, they stopped shivering, so she counted that as a win.

Once Wren got over their initial shock, they were excited, looking up at her with an awed expression that made her feel embarrassed. They seemed a little too flustered to talk much, so she stood as slowly as she could, trying to keep her hands from shaking too much.

Wren seemed ok, waving up at her with a shy smile, and looking out in fascination. She started walking again, making progress much quicker, and they eventually relaxed against her fingers.

Her heart melted, and she felt flattered at the amount of trust she was being shown. Honestly, she thought Wren would be scared off once she mentioned the hideout she had for if she needed to grow. Of course she hadn't called it that, but the wording had been weird enough to scare anyone off.

But Wren had stayed, and even now was trusting her, sitting calmly in her hands and listening as she chatted about something she read recently.

Eventually, even sitting in her hands couldn't keep the chill away, and they started shivering again. They weren't that far from Celine's hideout, but she asked them anyways.

"Would it be ok if I put you in my pocket? It would be a little bit warmer."

Wren nodded, and she carefully shifted them to one hand. They held onto her fingers for balance, seemingly fascinated by watching her hands move up close. She carefully moved them to the opening of her pocket, tilting her hand and letting them slide off into the hoodie pocket. She stuck her hands inside, careful not to squish them. After a moment, she felt them lean against her hands, getting comfortable in the warm pocket.

She walked cautiously for the next minute, careful not to shake them up too much. When she reached the hideout, she sank to a seated position.

"We're here," she said quietly, not wanting to move Wren without warning. There was no response.

"Wren?" She carefully felt around her pocket. Her tiny passenger was curled up against her hands, breathing deeply. She smiled as she realized they fell asleep.

"I guess I'll let them sleep a bit longer," she whispered to herself as she watched the now tiny snowflakes falling and felt the gentle breathing of her tiny friend.

[spookysweet-heart]

Born For This

Request: No

Fandom: Battle Egos

Parings: Holloway Sisters x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Death of Character, Mention of Death

A/N: This is gonna be a bit of a Julie and The Phantoms AU, with the Holloway Sisters and Battle Boys! I hope you like it! The songs featured throughout the series are by their respective bands and artists. I’ll link each song that’s featured so you all can listen along. Each song I chose has significance to the story, so I hope you pay attention to them! The collage was made by me! Edited by @semiproeagle23​!

       The year is 2001, and a group of sisters are getting ready for their first big show!

Hearing the crowd roar in excitement, Marie grins, looking at her sisters. “Alright, this is it, girls. Our dream is coming true. Ready?”

Raven adjusts the strap on her bass, nodding. Natalie nods, drumsticks in her hand. Anne tosses Marie her guitar pick. “We’re ready as we’ll ever be!”

The sisters take one last look around backstage, taking a deep breath in and out, they run out, getting in their positions. 

Marie grabs the mic as the lights come up on stage, her smile never fading when she hears the crowd cheer. “LA! How are you guys doing tonight?!”

All the girls wave at the crowd, feeling the adrenaline run through their bodies hearing them cheer out.

“Marie, let’s get this show started, shall we?” Raven nods towards Marie.

“Alright, LA! We’re The Hex Girls! I wanna see you all jump up and rock out! This song’s called Born For This!”

As Natalie starts the drums, the girls soon follow her lead.

Marie gets closer to the mic starting to sing with the others singing back up. “Oh no, I just keep on falling (Back to the same old) And where's hope, when misery comes crawling? (Oh my way, eh) With your fate, you'll trigger a landslide (Victory) and kill off this common sense of mine”

Raven takes the lead next. She grins, looking out at everyone. “And it takes acquired minds. To taste, to taste, to taste this wine. You can't down it with your eyes. So we don't need the headlines. We don't need the headlines, we just want (We want the airwaves back, we want the airwaves back)”

Raven nods over at Marie as they both get ready to sing the chorus together. “Everybody sing like it's the last song you will ever sing. Tell me, tell me do you feel the pressure now? Everybody live like it's the last day you will ever see. Tell me, tell me do you feel the pressure now?”

Raven leads as the crowd cheers. “Right now, you're the only reason (I'm not letting go, oh). And time out, if everyone's worth pleasing (Well ha). You'll trigger a landslide (Victory). To kill off the finite state of mind. And it takes acquired minds. To taste, to taste, to taste this wine. You can't down it with your eyes. So we don't meet the headlines. No, we don't want your headlines, we just want (We want the airwaves back, we want the airwaves back)”

As the chorus comes back, Marie joins in, letting the crowd’s energy come through with every word. “Everybody sing, like it's the last song you will ever sing. Tell me, tell me do you feel the pressure now? Everybody live like it's the last day you will ever see. Tell me, tell me do you feel the pressure now? Everybody sing like it's the last song you will ever sing. Tell me, tell me do you feel the pressure?”

The girls continue to play as Marie and Raven catch their breaths. Marie grabs her mic, making her way towards the edge of the stage, looking out in the crowd. She smiles at them as she raises her mic back to her lips. “Alright, so you think you're ready? OK, then you say this with me, go: We were born for this!” She points her mic out to the crowd as they chant back. (We were born for this) 

“C’mon, LA! Louder! Alright, so you think you're ready? OK, then you say this with me, go: We were born for this!” She grins as she hears them chant louder and makes her way back to her spot. “We were born for, we were born for!”

Raven and Marie both smile at each other as they take chorus one more time. “Everybody sing like it's the last song you will ever sing. Tell me, tell me can you feel the pressure? Everybody live like it's the last day you will ever see. Tell me, tell me can you feel the pressure now? Everybody sing like it's the last song you will ever sing. Tell me, tell me can you feel the pressure? Tell me, tell me can you feel the pressure?”

Raven takes the lead as the song comes to an end. “We were born for this!” Marie raises her mic towards the crowd, signaling them to chant back. (We were born for this) “We were born for this!”

As the stage fades to black, Marie pants, catching her breath. “That was great, everyone!” The stage lights come back on as the girls walk off the stage onto the empty crowd area.

“Soundcheck is going well so far!” Anne smiles, hugging Raven and Marie while trying to reach over at Natalie who scoots in to be a part of the hug. “We’re gonna be great tonight!”

Natalie pats her sister’s hand, pulling away. “Guys I’m getting kinda hungry..”

“I’ll go get us some burgers, there’s a McDonalds close by.” Marie walks over to her bag, pulling out her wallet.

“Wait, I’m going too! You always mix up our orders!” Anne pouts at Marie, who only laughs at the younger sibling.

“I don’t mess it up, they probably do since it’s a lot to handle.”

Raven grabs her bag from the pile and turns her attention to them. “I’m going too, I kinda have to use the restroom and the ones here are, uh, pretty gross.”

“Wait, guys! No fair, now I wanna go!” Natalie jumps up from her seat by the crew.

“I’d rather you stay here Nat, it’s kinda late out, and downtowns pretty sketchy.” Anne looks at her, concerned.

“Marie, c’mon…that isn’t fair.” She pouts at her hoping Marie would allow her to go.

“It’s not, but I agree with Anne. You’re staying here.”

Natalie rolls her eyes and sits down again. “Fine...can I get a sundae though?”

“Sure thing. We’ll be back, okay?” Marie ruffles Natalie’s hair before catching up with the others. “Love you, Nat!”

“Love you too!” 

Raven struggles a bit to carry the drinks and ice cream as the three of them walk out of the McDonalds. “You guys think tonight’s gonna go great?”

“Raven, don’t tell me you’re getting nervous?” Marie asks while she hands Anne one of the bags of food.

“A little, honestly.”

“Girls, seriously. We’re gonna be amazing up there! We booked at The Roxy Theatre!! This is going to be life-changing!” Anne pokes Raven’s cheek with her free hand, both of them starting to cross the street.

Marie is a little behind, but she notices they're crossing on a red light. Glancing to her left, she sees a truck coming towards them with no signs of stopping. In a panic, Marie drops the bag of food running towards her sisters. “Raven!!!! Anne!!!! Get out of the way!!”

The two girls are too late when they turn around to see what was coming as Marie hugged them both, all three of them blinded by the bright white lights.

~

The year is 2021 and you just moved into your childhood home. Turning twenty-five was a huge deal for you. You were still in college, and you were helping out at The Roxy Theatre, cleaning the place up after performances. 

The reason for moving back home? Your mom decided to move out of state and pretty much just gave you the house since it was paid off already. What about your dad? Well, that’s something you don’t talk about.

Moving in was pretty easy, unpacking was the hardest. You got a decent amount done, and honestly, you were feeling proud of how things were coming along.

Later in the evening, you were taking out the trash when you saw the gate to the backyard open. You always found it odd that your dad never let you into the space in the back. From what your mom told you, it was your dad’s music space, or studio, as he called it. The space was like a mini house from the outside. As you walked into the back yard, a chill ran down your spine the closer you got to the door.

You looked back at your house when the wind picked up, causing you to look at the window, feeling like you were being watched. Letting out a shaky breath, you gathered yourself, opening the door to the studio.

Hesitantly walking in, you searched the wall for a light switch. After a few moments, you felt some sort of switch. Turning it on, the room was filled with light. 

Looking around, you saw things covered in sheets in the corner of the room. A small sitting area with a small coffee table, a writing station, your dad’s old instruments hung on the wall. They looked cleaner than you thought. Your mom must have been cleaning them for him. 

Turning your attention to the sheets across the room, you were careful when pulling off the first one. As the dust subsided, you looked down, seeing a dusty red and white bass. Tossing the sheet aside, you moved to the next one. A yellow, almost gold colored keyboard was underneath that one. Underneath the last two were a purple and black guitar and a blue and white drum set. 

Looking at the logo on the drum set, you whispered it to yourself. “The Hex Girls….” You looked a bit confused staring at it. “Like that Scooby-Doo movie?” Looking around, you saw a bag by the drums. Picking it up, you brought it over to the coffee table to open it. Looking inside it, the first thing you saw was a CD with the same logo that was on the drums.

Taking it out of the bag, you walked over to the stereo by the writing station. Making sure it still worked, you dusted it off before putting the CD in. Seeing it read the disk, you turned up the volume. The first song playing seemed to be a song called “Born For This”.  

Just as the song began, you felt the ground shake, causing you to fall and see a bright light in front of you. 

As the light disappeared, you opened your eyes, greeted with the sight of three unknown women huddled together. Not knowing what else to do, you simply scream, making the three of them look at you.

“Wait… why are we back home…” The woman in the yellow dress asked.

“What’s going on?!” The woman in a red buttoned-down flannel looked around in a panic.

“Who are you and how’d you get in here?! This is our studio.” The woman in a purple and black ripped shirt looked at you like you were the one who showed up out of nowhere.

Carefully standing up, you looked at them just as confused. “M-My name’s (Y/n)...What do you mean by your studio?! This is my house, this place here is my dad’s studio….”

“No this is our-” The woman in red cut herself off as she looked around. “It looks different….But! Wait! Look, our carvings are here! This is our studio! We carved our initials here when we were kids….”

“This is way too weird. You know what, I’m calling the police. You guys trespassing.” 

Pulling out your phone, you were startled when one of them asked, “What’s that? Is that just a screen?”

“It’s a phone…? Do you not know what a phone is?”

“We know what a phone is, that doesn’t look like any phone we have…”

“What kind of phone do you have?”

“Marie, don’t you have yours?”

“No, I dropped it the other week, remember..anyway, it was the newest Nokia phone.”

“Nokia...like the one that just had snake as a game on it?”

The girl you now knew as Marie lit up. “Yes! That one!”

“Uh-huh…hold on a sec.” Typing away on google, you searched up the phone and saw it was first released in 2001. “I remember that phone, it was my first one when I got into middle school a couple of years after it was first released…”

“First released? It just came out though?”

“Yeah, in 2001.” Looking down at your phone, you searched for the name of the band. The first thing that popped up were articles of three sisters dying by a speeding truck driver. Tapping on the first article, you saw the girls in the photo were the same ones standing in front of you. 

The woman in yellow looked at you a bit worried. “Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Because I have. You three died in 2001. It’s 2021 now, You’ve been dead for over 20 years….”

“Wait, there was that bright light….”

“Then we were in this dark place for what felt like an hour..”

“Apparently, it wasn’t an hour if we’re here and it’s 20 years later.”

The three of them looked at you for a moment before the one in purple reached out her hand. “I’m Marie, these are my sisters.” Nodding to the girl in red, she smiled. “That’s Raven, and,” Glancing back at the girl in yellow, you looked over as she gives you a warm smile. “That’s Anne.”

Hesitantly, you reached out to shake Marie’s hand, only for your hand to phase through hers. Immediately retracting your hand, you looked a little freaked out. 

“I guess we can’t do that anymore…”

“We’re dead, Marie...ghosts.” Raven looked over at you, feeling bad about how scared you looked. “I’m sorry this is weird, but we’re just as confused as you.”

You nodded and walked past them to the front door. “I...I think I’m going to bed. This is just...a lot. I’m sorry.”

Out of instinct, Anne reached out, almost touching your shoulder for comfort, but quickly took her hand back, remembering she can’t touch you. “Um, we’ll be here… I guess. Ya know, if you need us..”

You only nodded as you closed the door behind you, and headed back into the house.

Raven looked over at the coffee table, seeing the bag you left. “Hey…” She peeks inside, seeing it was all their things. “Guys, it’s our clothes!” 

They huddled around the bag, each taking out a different outfit. 

“Ugh, it feels so good getting out of these clothes!”

“It should be, we’ve been in them for 20 years.”

Marie looked around the room and almost immediately spotted her guitar. “Oh my god, how’d our instruments get back home?” Picking up her guitar, she grinned at Raven and Anne. “I can pick it up!!”

Raven and Anne excitedly went over and picked up the bass and ran their fingers across the keyboard.

They giggled at each other as each sister tried out their instrument. It was silent for a moment as they took in the familiar sounds.

“Marie...You’re crying…” Raven put down her bass back on the stand. Tears started to fall when she brought Marie in for a hug.

Anne saw this and immediately went over, hugging them both as she also started to cry.

~

The next morning, you were in your living room, sitting on the floor, looking over some lyrics you wrote for a song called “Figure Me Out.” There was something you thought was missing till it popped into your head. 

Quickly getting your pencil, you wrote down the last of the lyrics. Smiling to yourself, you set your keyboard on your lap. Beginning to play, you didn't notice the three women standing at the doorway, watching.

Taking a deep breath in, you started singing. “I'm a bit too pop for the punk kids, but I'm too punk for the pop kids. I don't know just where I fit in. Cause when I open my mouth I know nobody's listening. To the words of a prophet. Ha, who still can't turn a profit. Cause I don't fit in with the in-crowd. But I'm too Hollywood to go back to my hometown.” Glancing at the notebook you continue to sing letting your fingers flow over the keys with ease. 

“Cause they think that I'm famous. When I know I'm a fraud. Who got too fucked up on the finer things. To remember who she forgot. But I believe there's more to life than all my problems. Maybe there's still hope for me to start again. Get my feet back on the ground and pull my head out of the clouds. I think it's time for me to figure me out.” Pressing a button on the soundboard next to you, you smile hearing the drums, bass, and guitar follow along.

“Let's get back to the basics. And take it back to the basement. Where I heard "Born to Run" for the first time. And I stared at my dad in amazement. He said, "Don't stop chasing great and keep pounding the pavement." So I'd much rather die trying to make something sacred than live as another YouTube sensation. Cause I hate that they're famous, for being something they're not. While I'm too hung up on the things I don't have to appreciate what I got.”

Closing your eyes, you felt yourself getting lost in the song. “But I believe there's more to life than all my problems. Maybe there's still hope for me to start again. Get my feet back on the ground and pull my head out of the clouds. I think it's time for me to figure me out whoo. Time for me to figure me out. Time for me to figure me out.”

Giving it your all for the last part of the song, you couldn't help but cry a bit. “So if you hear this song. Turn it up real loud, Cause it's time for me to figure me out. Alright, if you hear this song, turn it up real loud. Cause it's time for me to figure me out.”

As you start to slow back down, you let the tears fall down your cheeks. “I believe there's more to life than all my problems. I just want to fall in love before I'm dead. So I can make my parents proud. Hope my feet don't fail me now, cause it's time for me to figure me out.”

Turning off the soundboard when you finished, you slide the keyboard off your lap. Hugging your knees to your chest, you rested your chin on your knees and close your eyes, welcoming the silence that surrounded you.

Raven and Anne were about to reach over and make their presence known, but Marie grabbed them by the back of their shirts, disappearing and leaving a purple mist behind.

Reappearing in the studio, Anne and Raven glared at Marie. 

“What the fuck! She was crying!” Raven huffed as she sat down on the couch.

“Why’d you make us leave, we could’ve helped!” Anne crossed her arms over her chest, still glaring at Marie.

“I don’t think that would’ve been a good idea if we did. She’s upset and having ghosts who just appeared in her life isn’t the comfort she needs at the moment.” She looked at both of them, seeing their expressions soften.

“I just thought we could help…” Anne looked down at her shoes for a moment.

“But I do have an idea.” Marie smiled, walking around the coffee table so she could sit next to Raven. “What if we ask her to join our band?”

“Our ghost band? Marie, if you haven’t noticed, no one can hear or see us but that girl!” Raven leaned back against the couch.

“Exactly, what if we play her a song? She can hear us, so maybe she’d wanna join.”

“Okay,” Anne took a seat on one of the empty chairs. “What if we did do that and let’s say she says yes. Then what?”

“We make music again! She’s alive, she has our studio, what if this our second chance at making it? A second chance to start all over?"

Raven and Anne looked at each other before turning back to Marie. “Alright, what song?”

Marie grinned, opening her notebook to a page that was colored in pink and black marker around the lyrics. “I was thinking about this one. Candy Coated Lies.”

[jaxl-road]

The League of Extraordinary Rockstars, ch.2

Summary: LA is a hub for music and mutants, making it the perfect place for Motley Crue, Guns N’ Roses, and countless other mutant musicians to call home. But it’s not all easy, especially when it comes to finding a decent place to live. So what better solution than moving in together in the mansion of an immortal? Love, drama, and super powers. If nothing else, it’ll be interesting.

Chapter Warnings: Language, genderswap!Steven

AN: This is a collaboration between myself and @the–blackdahlia​! It combines elements from her fic “It’s So Easy (And Other Lies)” (specifically her genderswapped!Steven) and my super powered GnR series. It is completely AU and ignores timelines like Woah, but hopefully you’ll have as much fun reading it as we’re having writing it! Let us know what you think!

~~~~~

It had been a couple weeks since Duff moved in with Slash and Stevie and in that time, he had sat on Slash probably a dozen times.

Stevie had mentioned before how most of the time Slash would camouflage in his sleep, but it was still hard to get used to. He would come home after a double shift and go to collapse on the couch only to land on a very disgruntled guitar player.

“Goddammit, can’t you fucking check before throwing yourself on the couch?”

“Can’t you go to sleep in your fucking room?!” Duff snapped back.

Slash wanted to rip his hair out. He had to grind his teeth together to keep from screaming about the number of times he’s had to deal with a drunken Stevie stumbling into his room to bawl about how she had too much love and too many crushes and they didn’t like her back and she was going to die alone. And because he was a fucking good friend, he would pet her head and try to soothe her until she finally fell asleep and he was stuck with a snoring glowstick lighting up his room.

So yes, he had been sleeping on the couch. But because, and he could not stress this enough, he was a good fucking friend, he couldn’t explain to Duff exactly why.

Living together was turning out to be a hell or an adjustment for the three rockers. Duff had shaken up their routine, giving them an extra person to get drunk with, which made Stevie’s already frazzled emotions even more haywire, not to mention the household hangovers they were suffering through each morning. It was easy with Tracii. He stayed out all night and slept all day, and honestly, Slash and Stevie had kinda felt sorry for him. But Duff was something different, and after one too many mornings of being awoken by Duff and Slash arguing, Stevie exploded.

“Enough!” She yelled at them. “I am going to stay the night someplace else so I can get some fucking sleep before work!”

That was three days ago, and this was the first night Duff and Slash had seen their roommate since she stormed out. Walking into the apartment, Stevie was pleased to see that the two boys looked properly chastised. Granted, their arguing hadn’t improved much during her three day exile, but Slash and Duff figured she didn’t need to know that.

"Hi boys," she smiled. "It’s a beautiful day. Aside from the freak thunderstorm yesterday," She flopped on the couch.

"Thought you moved out," Slash grumbled.

"Nonsense. I just stayed the night at Kelly's."

“Oh thank GOD,” the guitarist practically threw himself across Stevie’s lap, “I thought you were leaving forever!”

Duff shuffled over sitting next to her and looking very much like a kicked puppy, “You were gone for so long we didn’t think you were coming back and we missed you so much-”

“Holy shit you guys,” Stevie shook her head fondly, patting Slash’s head, “I was gone for three days! I just needed a long weekend away from your bickering-”

“He started it!” Two voices snapped simultaneously.

Eyebrow twitching in thinly veiled annoyance, Stevie grit her teeth and continued, “Whatever, my point is I need your arguments to at least be rescheduled to later in the day, alright?”

There was some minor grumbling.

"If you don't, Kelly's looking for a roommate. Or a fuck buddy that gets a free room." She smirked. She knew that would get them to chill out. "Now, I'm hungry. And I'm going to see a show tonight. You guys gonna join me?"

“Of course, but I gotta go to work,” Duff told her. “I’ll see you guys this evening.” He headed to his room to pull on his uniform, something nagging him in the back of his mind. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he tried to focus on making it through another shift at a job he hated.

The three roommates went to their various shitty jobs, each feeling impatient for the day when their music would finally pay the bills and they would have to deal with huffy customers telling them to cut their hair. Needless to say, by the time they reached the Whiskey for the show they were ready to let loose and have some fun. Tonight Motley Crue had managed to snag a headlining slot, Duff, Slash, and Stevie toasting their friends’ success and lamenting their own band’s slow growth in equal measure.

“We’re gonna make it, guys!” Stevie exclaimed, people around her moving away or shielding their eyes as she glowed with enthusiasm. She waved her empty glass excitedly, slurring slightly, “I mean, I mean the crowds have been getting wild for us! And the stuff we’ve recorded is fucking badass! It’s only a matter of time before we start bringing in the big bucks!”

“God, I hope so,” Slash sighed, “this starving artist shit is getting old.”

"Guess you could catch and eat a snake," someone said. Stevie turned and smiled.

"Kelly!" She gave him a hug.

"Hey glowstick," Kelly laughed. "You look rested."

"I am. Thank you." She kissed his cheek.

Duff smiled tensely as he gave Kelly a high five, “Hey man.”

Slash rolled his eyes as Kelly shot him a knowing look, grinning, “Sup guys. Word on the street is you’re having some domestic troubles,” he elbowed Stevie playfully, “This gal was lighting up the place when she first came over.”

“Yeah,” Duff grimaced as he admitted, “It’s taking some getting used to.”

“I can imagine,” Kelly raised an eyebrow. The first night Stevie had arrived on his doorstep he’d had to wear sunglasses as she ranted and raved and lamented about the whole situation, “I mean, you’ve all got annoying ass powers-” he ignored the three offended outcries, “-and you live in a shoebox. Of course you’re stepping on each others’ toes.”

"At least we don't have axl…" slash pointed out.

"Don't have me for what?" Axl said as he approached the group, Baz's arm around his shoulder.

"In our shoebox home," Stevie told him.

“Excuse you, I am a goddamn delight and any house would be lucky to have me!” the singer huffed.

“You tell ��em, babe,” Baz grinned.

"When you yell, you'd blow down a wall…" Slash commented.

“Fuck you, my control is impeccable!” Axl growled and Kelly raised his hands before a fight could break out.

"Let's get some drinks," he told them. "I'm buying."

"My hero," Stevie laughed. Kelly had an arm around her waist. Izzy was sitting at a booth, which Kelly spotted and brought everyone over to him.

Raising his head, Izzy nodded in greeting, “Hey guys, here to see the Crue?” he gestured at the stage where Nikki was, as usual, on fire.

Laughing, Stevie slid into the booth next to him, “Yup! What are you doing over here all by your lonesome?”

“Brooding,” Axl, Baz, and Slash all answered simultaneously.

Glaring, Izzy huffed, “I was enjoying some peace for once in my life, fuck you very much.”

"Maybe later," Stevie giggles, making Izzy's cheeks burn bright red.

"Their act is lame," Axl rolled his eyes. "Fire again? Really?"

“I mean, you gotta respect their commitment to the brand,” Slash shrugged.

The group downed their drinks, bickering and joking and occasionally remembering to cheer for the Crue. Before they knew it, the set was finishing up, Stevie shining extra bright as they applauded the band as they left the stage.

Izzy glanced between Stevie and Duff with forced nonchalance, “So, how’s the living situation going?”

Shrugging, Stevie answered, “Getting better I guess. Duff’s still not used to Slash camouflaging with the couch,” she snickered.

Duff threw his arms in the air in exasperation, “Gee, I’m sorry I’m used to living in places where you don’t have to pat down every surface in case there’s a hidden guitarist there!”

“Apology accepted,” Slash grinned, the bassist shoving him as he laughed.

“Ugh, I just can’t wait until we can have some more space,” Stevie groaned, “I love you guys, but fuck man, some elbow room would be nice.”

Izzy, Axl, and Baz, nodded their heads sympathetically, their own living situations only marginally better than the trio’s. Meanwhile, Kelly hummed in consideration.

“You could always stay at my place for awhile if you want,” he shrugged.

Stevie giggled, slapping a hand over her mouth when she saw the group squint from her light, “Kelly,” she patted his shoulder, “that’s sweet of you dude, but you live in a shitty studio apartment in the slums. Just having me over was a stretch.”

“No, no,” Kelly shook his head, “I meant my other place.”

Silence stretched as six pairs of eyes stared at Kelly in confusion.

“....What?” Slash finally broke the silence.

“You know, my other place,” Kelly said casually, “the one on Mulholland?” When the stares continued, he furrowed his brows, “Have I never mentioned it before?”

“No,” Duff answered emphatically, “No you have not. What the Fuck?”

“Huh.” It was maybe a little annoying sometimes, but it wasn’t Kelly’s fault he couldn’t remember who he’d told what to. After all, the bassist was more or less immortal, his mutant healing factor fucking with his aging until he found himself stuck as a twenty-something for God only knew how long. So if his memory was a little sketchy, well, who could blame him?

The drugs and alcohol probably didn’t help either. But that was besides the point.

“Well, yeah. I have another place. It’s a house, got like, eleven bedrooms if I’m remembering correctly? It’s also got-”

“Woah, woah, woah, dude,” Baz waved his hands, “Hold up. Did you just say eleven bedrooms?”

“Give or take,” he shrugged.

“So…. it’s a mansion,” Axl stated, voice unnervingly blank, “You have a mansion.”

“I guess, yeah…”

As Axl sucked in a long, deep breath, Kelly realized that he had made a huge mistake.

“WHAT?!” It was honestly impressive how Axl managed to shriek at ear splitting levels without any of his mutant ability coming through. Still, even his human-level screeching had the group flinching.

The singer slammed his hands on the table, glasses shaking as he glared at Kelly in shock and fury, “You’re telling me that we’ve all be living on top of each other in fucking sqalor and this whole time you’ve had a goddamn mansion?”

“Who has a mansion?”

Kelly would give anything for Sebastian’s ability to teleport right now. Because when he turned around, he found the members of Motley Crue staring at him hungrily, and he suddenly felt like he was surrounded by hyenas.

He probably should have waited until it was just him and Stevie before mentioning the house.

"Uh, hi guys," Kelly laughed. "What brings you here?"

"You have a mansion and didn't tell us?" Tommy pouted. "I thought you loved us."

"Dude the 60s fucked my brain. I can't remember shit," Kelly laughed.

"Which 60s?" Vince smirked.

"Yes." Kelly nodded, dodging the question. "So, I'm just gonna go…"

He was half standing when Duff’s unfairly long arm shot out from across the table, palm landing solidly against the back of the booth to box Kelly in.

“Oh I think the fuck not,” he stated firmly, a quick rumble of thunder sounding through the dirty window behind him. The dramatic motherfucker.

“Yeah, you’re not getting away that easily,” Tommy laughed as he and his bandmates dragged some chairs over to sit around the booth, adding another layer of defense to keep Kelly trapped, “Come on man, I wanna know more! Like, dude, if you’ve got a legit place, why aren’t you living there?”

Sighing in resignation, Kelly settled back in his seat and shrugged, “I dunno, I just like being closer to the action I guess,” he smirked, “It gets annoying having to drive twenty minutes just to get some pussy.”

“What, none of your fancy ass neighbors cut it?” Vince teased.

“I mean, there was one dude I used to hook up with, but that was in the… 30s I think? I dunno, all I know is he, like most of my neighbors, aren’t exactly at an age that can… keep up with me,” he winked mischievously as the group snickered.

Slash shook his head, “Dude, I get that, but personally I give fuck all about the age demographic, you’ve actually got a decent fucking roof, man!”

“I mean there’s the commute into the Strip, too, y’know?” Kelly argued.

“Oh no, how will I survive the commute?” Baz whined sarcastically, sticking his tongue out when Kelly flipped the teleporter off.

"It needs a lot of work," Kelly added. "Like weeds and shit and…"

"Dude, we have a gardener," Nikki motioned to Vince.

"And spiders?" Kelly pointed out.

"I'll feed them to my snake...that I most definitely do not have…" Slash's eyes darted to Stevie quickly before glancing away again.

"Can we at least see it?" Stevie asked. "You know how much I love decorating."

"Please no kiss posters in the living room," Mick groaned.

“Why do you hate art?” Stevie pouted jokingly.

Meanwhile, Kelly sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, “I’m not getting out of this one am I?”

A chorus of “no”s answered him.

Rolling his eyes, Kelly threw his hands up in defeat, “Fine, I guess I can show you around sometime this week. What’s the worst that could happen?”

At that moment, loud, ominous cracks of thunder and lightning rattled the windows behind them. The group snapped to look at Duff in exasperation. The blonde bassist merely shrugged.

“What? Am I wrong?”

[stilinskishit]

Too Long (Teen Wolf Rewrite) - Chapter 19

**First couple of posts have a different title but I changed it because I didn’t like it :)**

Summary: Teen Wolf with a female main character alongside Scott and Stiles? Here it is. Ramie McCall is Scott’s twin sister and best friends with both her twin and Stiles. The trio’s friendship means the world to all three of them, so what happens when there are more than friend type of feelings present?

Tags: @multi-madison​​ @purple286 @multifandxm353​ @bralessandflawless @5secondsofmoxley​ @thesailbells​ @perrytheplatypus11​

https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/

A/N: Sorry this chapter took me so long, but Motel California is my favorite episode and I really wanted to make this one good, I hope you enjoy!

You can read on Wattpad or AO3 if you prefer, so you know :) (I love reading your comments so feel free to comment here, on AO3 or Wattpad)

MASTERLIST

Chapter 19 - Motel California

Season 3, Episode 6

“I’ve seen worse,” Scott shrugged as Ramie hopped off the bus behind him. She looked up at the motel Coach had found for them to stay at overnight.

“Where could you have possibly seen worse?” Ramie scoffed, making a disgusted face towards the sketchy motel in front of them.

“Listen up,” Coach blew his whistle to get everyone’s attention. “This was the closest motel with the most amount of vacancies and the least amount of good judgement when it comes to accepting a bunch of degenerates like yourself. You’re pairing up, choose wisely.”

He held up a handful of keys and pairs started moving forward, grabbing a key from him.

“And I’ll have no sexual perversions perpetrated by you little deviants,” Coach continued as the keys got plucked from his hand. “Got that? Keep your dirty little hands to your dirty little selves.”

“Hear that Ramona?” Stiles said loudly, a smirk clear on his face while grabbing a key from Coach. “You’re gonna have to resist the temptation to put your hands all over me.”

Ramie made a loud gagging sound and looked at Coach, who had an expression on his face that she couldn’t read. She hoped it was dark enough that no one could notice the blush that was definitely evident on her cheeks.

“Oh, are you two hooligans finally together?” Coach asked, with something that looked like it could be a smile on his face.

“No!” Ramie said quickly, shaking her head. She could hear Scott chuckling behind her. “Stiles was just joking, I’m staying with Allison and Lydia.”

Coach looked between Ramie and Stiles, Ramie trying to look innocent and Stiles trying not to laugh at himself. Coach simply sighed and shook his head, handing the last key to Ramie, who brought it over to where Lydia and Allison were standing, still near the bus. She turned back to see Stiles grinning at her, still laughing at himself. She made a slicing motion across her throat at him, which just made him laugh harder. She turned her back to him so he couldn’t see her smile.

“Lyds, you coming?” Ramie asked as Allison walked towards her, but Lydia stood frozen, staring up at the motel.

“I don’t like this place,” Lydia muttered, an almost scared look in her eyes.

“I don’t think anyone in their right mind does,” Ramie scoffed.

“It’s just one night,” Allison reassured her. “It’ll be alright.”

Ramie turned, walking towards the motel and Allison followed, the sound of Lydia’s heels clicking behind them coming a second later. Their room was right next to Scott and Stiles’, who had left their door cracked open, probably to let some fresh air in, as the girls did the same, considering the rooms smelled like no one had been in there for years.

“I’m gonna go see if Scott has some extra sweatpants I can borrow,” Ramie told Lydia and Allison as the two sat down on the beds.

Allison said she was planning on showering and Lydia had gotten up, inspecting the room, so Ramie left them to go next door. She entered the room to find Scott and Stiles each laying on a bed, staring up at the ceiling.

“So I have four,” Stiles was saying.

“Four suspects?” Scott asked, propping himself up on his elbows to give a quick nod to Ramie as she entered the room.

“There were nine before,” Ramie said, sitting down on the bed next to Stiles, who was still laying back.

“Ten,” Stiles corrected, glancing over at Ramie as she crossed her legs underneath her.

“You had Derek on there twice, that doesn’t count,” Ramie shook her head. Stiles opened his mouth to argue but Scott cut him off.

“So who’s number one, Harris?”

“Just because he’s missing doesn’t mean he’s dead,” Stiles defended his choice.

“So if he’s not dead, our chemistry teacher is out secretly committing human sacrifices,” Scott said slowly, clearly not believing the theory.

“Yeah, I guess it sounded way better in my head,” Stiles shrugged.

“I told you,” Ramie said quietly, earning a sideways glare from Stiles.

“Well what if it’s someone else from the school?” Scott asked, narrowing his eyes at the ceiling in thought. “Remember Matt, we didn’t know he was killing people for awhile.”

“Excuse me, what?” Stiles said, sitting up from the bed and standing to look down at Scott. Ramie rolled her eyes, knowing exactly where this was going. “I… yes we did. I called that from day one, actually.”

“Yeah but we never seriously thought it was Matt,” Scott pushed up on his elbows again to look at Stiles.

“I was serious, I was quite serious,” Stiles said, glancing to Ramie and holding his hands out. “I was serious, wasn’t I Ramie?”

“He was serious,” Ramie confirmed, nodding at Scott.

“Who are the other three?” Scott asked, bringing the conversation back to where it started.

“Derek’s sister, Cora,” Stiles started.

“It’s not Cora,” Ramie insisted, which she had already told him on the bus.

“Listen,” Stiles put his hands up in frustration and looked towards Ramie. “Just because you have a weird crush on her doesn’t mean she isn’t the Darach.”

“You have a crush on Cora?” Scott’s eyes widened.

“No!” Ramie exclaimed, feeling her cheeks heat up. “I just defended her on the bus and Stiles now thinks I’m in love with her or something."

Scott laughed, shaking his head and Stiles shot glares at both of them.

“She is really pretty though,” Ramie said thoughtfully, looking up into the air. Scott let out a snort and Stiles let out a loud sigh.

“She’s Derek’s sister and no one knows anything about her, she’s a decent suspect,” Stiles continued, ignoring Ramie’s comment. “Next, your boss.”

“My boss?” Scott sat up fully, narrowing his eyes at Stiles.

“He doesn’t have a valid reason,” Ramie mumbled.

“I do have a valid reason,” Stiles shot a look at Ramie before continuing. “I don’t like the whole Obi-Wan thing he has going on, you know? It freaks me out.”

Scott gave Stiles a confused look.

“Oh god here we go,” Ramie muttered as Stiles’ eyes narrowed at Scott.

“Ohmygod, have you still not seen Star Wars?” Stiles looked at Scott in shock, who shrugged.

“I swear if we make it back alive I will watch the movie.”

“It just, it makes me crazy,” Stiles mumbled, rubbing his chin and sighing. Ramie let out a breath of air through her nose, which caused Scott to send her a small smile.

“Who’s left,” Scott interrupted Stiles’ angry mutters. Stiles was quiet for a second.

“Lydia,” he finally said, sitting back down on the bed next to Ramie.

“Lydia?” Ramie gave Stiles a shocked look. He hadn’t told her this theory on the bus.

“She was totally controlled by Peter and she had no idea,” Stiles said, defending his theory. Ramie opened her mouth to defend her friend, but she realized she had no good explanation as to why the Darach couldn’t be Lydia. Weird things had been happening around Lydia that no one could really explain, and Lydia seemed to act anything but completely normal lately. Ramie let out a big sigh, laying back on the bed. She heard two more sighs from Scott and Stiles, who fell back as well, Stiles arm flush to Ramie’s.

“Well I’m hungry,” Stiles said after a few minutes of silence. “I’m gonna go find a vending machine, anyone wanna come?”

Scott shook his head as Ramie got off the bed, following suit of Stiles.

“I should get back to Allison and Lydia,” Ramie said. “Scott do you have some extra sweatpants or a shirt I could wear to bed?”

“I didn’t bring any extra clothes,” Scott shrugged sheepishly.

“Amateur,” Stiles shook his head, walking over to the desk, where his bag had been placed on top. He dug through it a bit before chucking two items over his shoulder at Ramie, who thankfully, caught them both. She wasn’t sure she’d want to wear them after they touched the floor of this place. “I’m always prepared.”

“Thanks Stilinski,” Ramie gave Stiles a grin and left the room, nearly crashing into Lydia in the hallway.

“I’m going to get more towels, wanna come?” Lydia asked, as Ramie fell into step with her. As they climbed down the stairs Ramie saw Stiles leave he and Scott’s room and head towards the other set of stairs, which below had a vending machine.

“Get some clothes?” Lydia asked, eyeing the pile Ramie had in her arms. She snatched the sweatshirt before Ramie could even think, holding it up as they walked towards the motel office. It was one of Stiles’ lacrosse sweatshirts, with his name and number across the back.

“This doesn’t look like Scott’s,” Lydia raised an eyebrow at Ramie, who grabbed it back out of Lydia’s hands.

“Scott didn’t bring extra clothes,” Ramie countered, which earned a not so subtle eye roll from Lydia. They had made it to the office and Lydia asked the woman inside for three new towels while Ramie shivered, pulling Stiles’ sweatshirt over her head as a cold breeze passed by.  

“What’s that?” Ramie heard Lydia ask the old woman. Ramie followed Lydia’s eyes to a number hanging on the wall of the office. 198.

“It’s kinda of… an inside thing for the motel. My husband insists on keeping it up,” the woman explained.

“What do you mean?” Lydia pressed on. Ramie kicked Lydia’s leg subtly in hopes she would drop the topic, because Ramie thought the old lady, and the whole motel was pretty creepy. Lydia ignored her.

“It’s a little bit morbid, to be honest,” the woman shrugged. “Are you sure you want to know?”

“Tell me,” Lydia said, at the same time Ramie shook her head.

“We’re not going to make the top of anyone’s list when it comes to customer satisfaction,” the woman said.

“Obviously,” Ramie mumbled, turning her back to the woman and leaning against the counter, looking out over the parking lot.

“But we are number one in California when it comes to one disturbing little detail. Since opening, more than any other motel in California, we have the most guest suicides.”

Ramie whipped her head back around, looking at the woman, who was just nodding.

“198?” Lydia mumbled.

“And counting.”

When Ramie and Lydia got back to their room, they explained what they learned to Allison, who was already freaked out. She said that Scott had come into their room and was acting really strange, then left suddenly once it seemed like he snapped out of some weird trance. Then suddenly, things got even weirder. Lydia then swore she heard two people committing suicide in the room next door, but when the three checked the room, it was empty, it looked like it was being renovated. Allison suggested they go ask the woman in the office, but she was nowhere to be found when they went back down. However, the number on the wall had changed, from 198 to 201.

“So does that mean there have been three more suicides?” Allison asked at they got back up to their room.

“Or three more are about to happen,” Lydia said, a terrified look on her face.

All three of them jumped when there was a loud banging on their door, someone knocking forcefully. Ramie held a finger up to her lips and crept over to the door, looking through the peep hole. She sighed loudly when she saw Stiles pacing back and forth, reaching up to knock again.

“What’s up,” Ramie asked as she opened the door. Stiles pushed past her and grabbed her arm, using his other hand to close the door behind her.

“Somethings wrong,” he said quickly, standing in front of her. Ramie’s back was to the door and she could see Lydia and Allison eyeing the two of them over Stiles’ shoulder. “Scotts acting strange and I just watched Boyd put his fist through a vending machine. I don’t like it here at all, we should leave.”

Stiles now had both hands on either side of Ramie’s arms, looking at her with a concerned look on his face. The way he was holding her felt strangely intimate, but Ramie pushed those thoughts away. Lydia cleared her throat and Stiles jumped, whipping around to face Lydia and Allison.

“Jesus,” he put a hand over his chest. “I didn’t know you guys were here.”

“Clearly,” Lydia smirked as Stiles took a few steps away from Ramie, straightening the zip up he was wearing. Stiles rubbed the back of his neck, a habit Ramie knew he did when he felt uncomfortable.

“Scott was weird with Allison also,” Ramie said, changing the topic back to what it had been.

“It’s the motel,” Lydia said immediately.

“They keep count of how many suicides they have here and put the number on the wall in the office,” Ramie told Stiles, whose face scrunched up in disgust.

“That’s fucked up,” he sat down in the desk chair, running a hand through his hair. Ramie  pushed herself up onto the desk, sitting on it and dangling her legs down next to where Stiles sat.

“I’d say,” Ramie nodded. “And get this, when me and Lydia went down there earlier the number was 198. But just now when we went down it was 201."

“I don’t know what’s going on, but someone needs to learn how to do an exorcism before the werewolves go crazy and kill us,” Lydia said frantically, pulling a bible out of the drawer in the nightstand between the beds.

“Okay, hold on,” Stiles held up his hands, trying to relax Lydia. “What if it’s not just the hotel? The number in the office went up by 3 right?”

“You mean like three sacrifices,” Allison said, putting it together. Stiles nodded.

“Three werewolves?” Ramie asked.

“Scott, Isaac and Boyd,” Stiles confirmed. “Maybe we were meant to come here.”

“Exactly!” Lydia exclaimed. “So can we get the hell out of here now?”

“Hang on,” Stiles stood up, grabbing the Bible out of Lydia’s hand. He opened it up and pulled out something, it looked like a cut out newspaper clipping. Ramie got up, reading over his shoulder.

“Twenty-eight year old man hangs himself at the infamous Glen Capri Motel,” she read aloud. Stiles shook the bible over the bed and more newspaper clippings fell.

“All the clippings say room 217,” Lydia said. “That’s this room.”

“So if every room has a bible,” Allison said.

“There could be clippings in every room,” Lydia finished.

“That’s a beautiful thing, most places leave a mint on the pillow, this place leaves a record of all the horrible deaths that have occurred,” Stiles said. Ramie smacked his arm at his sarcasm.

“What if the room next door has one about the couple I heard,” Lydia said. All four of them looked towards the room next door. Stiles suddenly took off, running at the door, the three girls following behind him. When they reached the hallway Stiles was already at the door, pulling on the handle.

“It was not locked before,” Lydia said.

“We need to get Scott, Isaac and Boyd out of here,” Ramie said, as Stiles took off towards the stairs. However, everyone froze when the sound of a saw rang through the quiet night air. Stiles spun on his heel, a terrified look on his face.

“I’m not the only one hearing that am I?” Lydia asked, looking at the locked door.

“It sounds like someone turned the handsaw on,” Allison said.

“Handsaw?” Stiles asked, suddenly next to them again. “Move.”

The three girls backed up as Stiles did, who then ran forward, slamming into the door, hard, which thankfully wasn’t too reliable, since it swung open. Ethan stood in the middle of the room, handsaw above his head, and began slowly bringing it down towards his stomach.

“Hey, Ethan, don’t!” Stiles yelled, running forward. He grabbed the saw, trying to pull it away from Ethan.

“Stiles!” Ramie shrieked, as the saw got dangerously close to him while he struggled with Ethan. She felt frozen, watching Stiles try to get the saw away from Ethan, while also not getting hurt himself. Suddenly the saw turned off and Ramie glanced over to Lydia, who had pulled the plug out from the wall, just as Stiles fell to the ground, his face landing inches away from the saw. Ethan stood up straight, putting out his claws. He immediately went for his stomach, trying to slice himself open. Ramie and Stiles both ran forward, attempting to pull Ethan’s arms away from his torso. Eventually Ethan fell sideways, his hand making contact with a space heater, which seemed to burn him back to reality.

“What the hell just happened,” Ethan stood up from the ground, looking confused and holding his hand where it was burnt. No one answered immediately and Ethan took off, out the door.

“Ethan, wait,” Stiles called, following him outside.

“I don’t know what happened, okay,” Ethan said as Stiles, Ramie, Allison and Lydia followed him down the stairs. “I don’t know how I got there or what I was doing.”

“You know you could be a bit more helpful,” Stiles stopped at the end of the stairs, the rest stopping behind him as Ethan turned to look at the other boy from a few feet away. “We just saved your life.”

“You probably shouldn’t have,” Ethan said, before turning and going back to his room.

“What the hell do we do now,” Lydia asked, throwing her hands up in defeat.

“Let’s go find Scott,” Allison said, nodding to Ramie. “You guys go find Boyd and Isaac, all we can do at this point is get them all out of here.”

Ramie and Allison first went to Scott and Stiles’ room, where Scott should’ve been, but couldn’t find him. They knocked on doors down the hallway, seeing if he was in anyone else’s room, and he was nowhere to be found. They accidentally knocked on Coach’s door as well, which turned into a ten minute lecture on them being out of bed and how they need to get to sleep. Thankfully, Lydia yelling to Ramie from a room on the other side of the motel got them away from Coach, since they promised to make sure everyone quieted down.

“What’s going on,” Ramie panted as she slowed from a run, meeting Lydia as she held the door open to Boyd and Isaac’s room. Allison had agreed to continue looking for Scott while Ramie checked to see what Lydia needed. Boyd stood in the middle of the room, soaking wet, next to Stiles, both of whom were staring at one of the beds.

“I tried to drown myself,” Boyd grimaced, gesturing to his soaking wet clothes. “These two saved me.”

“Heat snaps them out of it,” Stiles explained. “Ethan touched that heater, we used this flare to get Boyd out of the bath.”

“Isaac’s under the bed, which is why I called you here,” Lydia said.

“Under the bed?” Ramie questioned, and Lydia held up a hand, silencing her.

“He’s going through something weird too, but he’s hiding under the bed, terrified,” she explained. “We can’t get him to come out and we thought maybe you could.”

“His Dad,” Ramie murmured. Isaac was freaked out because of the abuse he endured from his Dad. Everyone in the room just stared at Ramie, unsure of what to say. She walked over to the bed, kneeling down in front of it.

“Be careful,” Stiles said, but Ramie waved him away. She leaned her head down, pulling up the bed skirt. Isaac was curled up under the bed, breathing heavily and visibly shaking. It looked like he was having a panic attack.

“I,” Ramie said, using her nickname for him in a quiet voice. “Isaac, are you okay?”

Isaac’s head whipped towards her, making eye contact only for a second before scooting backwards more, closer to the wall.

“It’s okay,” Ramie continued. “Everything’s alright, it’s just me, Ramie. Can you come out?”

Isaac stopped whimpering and looked Ramie in the eyes. For a second, she thought she had gotten through to him. Then suddenly, before anyone could even comprehend what was happening, Isaac shot forward, moving from under the bed and tackling Ramie, teeth bared. Ramie couldn’t process what was going on around her, she simply closed her eyes in fear. She trusted Isaac, basically with her life, for so long, and suddenly she was sure she was going to die at his hand. She heard commotion around her and suddenly Isaac wasn’t pining her down, but someone was trying to pull her up off the ground.

She opened her eyes to see Boyd pining Isaac to the wall across the room, Isaac holding a hand to his arm where Ramie assumed Boyd had put the flare to his skin, snapping him out of the trance. Ramie glanced up to see Lydia with her arms around her, looking her over to make sure she wasn’t hurt.

“I’m okay Lyds,” Ramie squeaked out. She didn’t expect her voice to sound so terrified. “It’s not his fault.”

Lydia started to say something but Ramie couldn’t hear a word, because Stiles began to yell.

“What the fuck is your problem?” He walked forward, pushing Boyd off of Isaac and holding Isaac against the wall himself. “You could’ve fucking killed her, you know that?”

“Stiles,” Ramie yelled, standing up quickly despite Lydia’s words of protest. Stiles either didn’t hear, or ignored her.

“You could’ve killed her!” Stiles repeated, still screaming in Isaac’s face. “If you ever come near her like that again I swear to god I’ll-“

“Stiles!” Ramie yelled again, louder this time. She grabbed his arm, puling him back from Isaac, who looked like he was about to burst into tears. “It’s not his fault.”

“He could’ve killed you,” Stiles said as tried to step towards Isaac again, but Ramie moved in front of him, putting herself between the two boys. She put both hands on either side of Stiles at his biceps. She waited until he looked at her, making eye contact. “I’m okay, Isaac didn’t mean to do anything wrong.”

Stiles nodded, but his jaw was clenched in a way that Ramie knew he was still extremely angry. Stiles and Isaac never really got along the best to begin with, and this definitely made things worse.

“Ramie, I’m sorry,” Isaac said quietly from behind her, and she watched as anger flashed over Stiles’ eyes again. She put a hand on his chest, holding him in place as she turned to Isaac.

“We’ll talk later,” Ramie gave the curly haired boy a small smile. He nodded glumly, looking between Ramie and Stiles. Ramie grabbed Stiles wrist, dragging him to the other side of the room with her. When she dropped his hand his arms immediately crossed over his chest, a glare never leaving his face as he stared at Isaac across the room.

“Pack up your things,” Ramie pointed at Boyd and Isaac. “We’re sleeping on the bus tonight, all of us.”

She was cut off by Allison suddenly running into the room.

“I still can’t find Scott anywhere,” she panted, looking worried. Lydia nodded, like she was thinking.

“Okay, we’ll go look for him, you two pack up and meet us at the bus in half an hour, if we haven’t found Scott by then you’ll have to help us look,” she told Isaac and Boyd, who nodded. Ramie grabbed Stiles’ hand, tugging him out of the room and away from Isaac before he had the chance to say or do anything else.

“It must be happening to him too,” Ramie said as she, Stiles, Lydia and Allison made their way down the stairs. Ramie realized she was still holding Stiles’ hand as she walked in front of Lydia and Allison, and quickly dropped it. She watched as Stiles’ eyes flicked to hers, then quickly looked away.

“There’s another flare on the bus, right?” Lydia asked as they made it to the bottom of the stairs. Ramie heard Stiles reply but didn’t comprehend anything he said. She was frozen at the bottom of the stairs, being the first to turn the corner and look out over the parking lot. She had found Scott, but it wasn’t good. The smell of gasoline filled the air as Scott stood in the middle of the lot, soaking wet, and holding the last flare in his hand. It sizzled in the quiet night air. Ramie was snapped out of her shock when Stiles slammed into the back of her, not seeing Scott.

“Raim, what are you,” Stiles started, but then followed her gaze. Scott was back to them, seeming to be staring at the ground, frozen in place.

“Scott,” Allison said, her voice cracking. She walked around to the front of him, the rest following her. Ramie felt like her throat was going to close up. She grabbed Stiles’ hand again, this time lacing her fingers through his. He glanced over at her before squeezing her hand.

“There’s no hope,” Scott croaked out, his voice sounding almost robotic. Ramie tried to say something but no words would come out. She noticed a can of gasoline a few feet away, confirming her thought that Scott was covered head to toe in the flammable liquid. She could feel her body begin to shake in panic, tears already falling down her cheeks.

“What do you mean Scott,” Allison said, tears falling down her face too. “There’s always hope.”

“Not for me,” Scott replied, not looking up at any of them. “Not for Derek.”

“Derek wasn’t your fault,” Ramie said, finally able to get words to come out of her mouth. “You know that Scott. It wasn’t your fault.”

“Every time I fight back it just gets worse, people keep getting hurt, people keep getting killed.”

“Scott, listen to me,” Stiles cut him off, stepping forward. His hand slowly dropped from Ramie’s as he moved closer to his friend. “This isn’t you. This is someone inside your head telling you to do this.”

“What if, what if it is just me,” Scott stammered. “What if doing this is actually the best thing I could do for everyone else?”

“Scott,” Ramie stepped forward too, not sure what to say.

“It all started that night,” Scott cut her off. “The night I got bitten. You guys remember the way it was before that? The three of us?”

Stiles and Ramie both nodded. Ramie looked to Stiles to try and figure out what they could do, but his eyes were locked on Scott, a tear falling down his cheek.

“We were nothing,” Scott said quietly. “We weren’t popular, we weren’t good at lacrosse. We never had boyfriends or girlfriends. We weren’t important. We were no one. Maybe I should just be no one again. No one at all.”

Ramie sucked in a breath as Scott slowly turned his hand to the side, moving it in a way that if he let go of the flare it would drop straight into the puddle of gasoline he was standing in.

“Scott just listen to me okay,” Stiles said, stepping forward. Ramie tried to grab at his arm and pull him back, but he was out of her reach. “You’re not no one, okay? You’re someone. Scott you’re my best friend, okay, and I need you.”

“I need you too,” Ramie said, nearly sobbing through her words as she stepped next to Stiles.

“Scott, you’re my brother, alright,” Stiles continued. He glanced at Ramie and down at the puddle of gasoline, and she immediately understood what Stiles was going to do. As he stepped forward, putting himself in the puddle of gasoline with Scott, Ramie sucked in a breath, biting her lip so hard that she could taste blood. Stiles slowly put a hand up, wrapping it around Scott’s hand that held the flare. “If you’re gonna do this then I think you’re going to just have to take me with you.”

Ramie let out a sob, putting a hand over her mouth. Lydia instantly moved closer to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. The three girls watched as Stiles slowly pulled the flare out of Scott’s hand, then chucked it behind him quickly, before Scott had the chance to do anything else. Ramie let out a sigh of relief, immediately running forward to tackle Scott in a hug. Before she got the chance, Lydia shrieked, running towards them as Stiles grabbed Scott and Ramie, pulling them both to the ground and out of the gasoline, just in time for the flare to be blown by the wind into the puddle, igniting it immediately.

“The darach,” Lydia yelled through the roar of the fire. Ramie sat up, scooting backwards with the her friends as Lydia yelled. When they made it a safe distance away from the fire they turned to Lydia, with a confused look. “The darach did this to you guys. I saw it.”

Isaac and Boyd met them at the bus just minutes after the fire died down. Allison and Lydia decided to go pack up all of their’s and Ramie’s stuff while Scott showered in their room, since Ramie didn’t want him being left alone again, but she wanted to talk to Isaac before Stiles had the chance to attempt to beat him up again. Stiles and Boyd got on the bus together to get ready to sleep while Ramie and Isaac stood outside, looking over the parking lot.

“Ramie, I cannot tell you how sorry I am,” Isaac said as soon as the bus door closed behind Stiles. Ramie held up her hand to quiet him.

“It’s okay Isaac, I’m not mad,” she said.

“Stiles is,” Isaac nodded towards the bus.

“He’s just… protective,” Ramie said, trying to find the right word.

“He cares about you a lot,” Isaac said sincerely. “Like I think he would actually kill me if I hurt you.”

“No he wouldn’t,” Ramie scoffed.

“I don’t know,” Isaac shrugged. “People do crazy things for the people they love.”

Ramie’s head whipped towards his, probably too fast. Her eyes were wide when his met hers, and a small smirk was on his mouth.

“What do you mean,” she said quickly, her eyes narrowing at the taller boy.

“I just mean he’s your best friend and he cares about you a lot,” Isaac shrugged, the small smile not leaving his face.

“Right,” Ramie nodded. “Yeah.”

Isaac let out a small noise that sounded like it could be a chuckle, and they were both quiet for minute.

“Isaac,” Ramie said quietly, getting his attention back. “I mean this in the nicest way possible, but I think you need to find a new anchor.”

Isaac’s eyes met hers and he nodded slightly, like he knew this was where the conversation was going.

“You will always have a place in my heart, and you know that,” Ramie said, grabbing his hand. “But you need to be able to control yourself without me there.”

“I know,” Isaac said quietly. “I’ve been trying.”

“Good,” Ramie nodded, squeezing his hand. “You’re stronger than you know.”

Isaac stepped forward, wrapping Ramie in a hug.

“Thank you,” he said.

Without speaking, Ramie knew that there was an understanding between the two of them. It sort of felt like a goodbye hug, like they were letting go of their past relationship, but also, it was the two of them moving into new territory. Friendship, but nothing more. Ramie knew she’d always have a soft spot for him, but not in the same way that she once had.

As she pulled away from the hug she looked up to see Stiles sending a glare at the two of them from the bus window. Ramie rolled her eyes and stepped back from Isaac, seeing Scott, Allison and Lydia making their way over.

“Guess it’s bedtime,” Isaac said, glancing up at Stiles in the window, who whipped his head around to pretend he wasn’t staring at the two of them. Ramie snorted, walking over to the bus and climbing in, moving towards the back and sliding in the seat next to Stiles.

“You know we stayed outside so we could have some privacy,” Ramie said quietly to Stiles as everyone else got on the bus, Allison tossing Ramie her purse as everyone tried to settle into a bus seat comfortably.

“I was making sure he didn’t try and kill you again,” Stiles put his hand up defensively.

“Sure,” Ramie nodded, getting up to move into the seat in front of Stiles so they could both lay down in their own seat.

“Wait,” Stiles grabbed her arm, pulling her back down. “Can we talk theories?”

“Stiles, I’m tired,” Ramie whined, trying to get up again. Stiles pulled her back down.

“You can lay down and I’ll play with your hair, like you used to make me,” Stiles gave her a soft smile. “You don’t have to talk, you can just listen.”

When they were younger, Ramie used to force Stiles to play with her hair, or scratch her back whenever they had sleepovers. She told him it was the only way she could fall asleep away from home, but really she just found it comforting. The habit turned into a regular thing that Stiles would do, usually when they had sleepovers, but as they got older he would sometimes run a hand through her hair as they watched a movie, or draw shapes on her back when she was napping in his room. A few times when Stiles was sick Ramie did the same thing for him. They never spoke about it, it was just something they would do. There were a lot of things like that between them.

Ramie sighed, slouching sideways and putting her head on the seat next to Stiles’ leg, stretching out to rest her feet on the seat on the other side of the aisle

“That can’t be comfortable,” Stiles looked at her contorted body, scrunching his nose. He patted a hand on his thigh and Ramie looked up, meeting his eyes. Part of her expected him to burst out laughing, like he was joking about her laying her head in his lap. But he simply smiled, patting his leg again. Ramie scooted up, putting her head onto Stiles lap and rearranged her body so she was laying sideways, the back of her head against his stomach. His hand immediately threaded through her hair, lightly pulling through small knots as he began to whisper all his theories on who the Darach was and what the alpha pack was up to. Ramie fell asleep so quickly she regretted it the next morning, because she would’ve done anything to stay awake all night with Stiles’s hands running through her hair and lightly across her back, drawing words she couldn’t comprehend.

[sevenringsblingbling]

Sienna and Colson part 4

Word count: 1,923

@creatureofthen1ght-v3 <3

My favorite thing about Christmas you might ask? The lights. I adore string lights especially the white, they look so beautiful. I had ordered two fifty foot white string lights to hang up all over my apartment not sure if all of it would fit but I didn't care. It was the weekend before Christmas and I still hadn’t solidified any plans. My relationship with my family was strained to say the least. We talked but it wasn't much. Yes i was the “black sheep” and had gotten past all the hurt of it and just wanted to move on with my life. I was still a person regardless if my family felt otherwise. Me and Colson were still a thing. Funny thing is we split up for a bit while months ago. A big blow up over his addiction issue with cocaine. It got so bad that I didn't know what mood he would wake up in. One minute we were good and then the next he would get agitated over the tiniest misunderstanding and we’d have knock down dragouts that his friends would have to break up and it got to be too much. Not only that but I had a battle with it as well.

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3 months ago

“Yeah I definitely think that we should do something about the water crisis in Flint. I mean we can help in some way.” Sienna gulped down the rest of her wine and put the glass down on the coffee table. Rook nodded his head in agreement. Yes sienna was drunk but she meant every word of it. She tends to get philosophical when she’s had a few drinks but her heart was in the right place. The Boulevard was a crowded mess. It was a random house party all the guys decided to throw just because. After all it was Los Angeles on a Friday night what else was there to do? 

Colson sat down next to Sienna and put his arm around her. “What y’all talking about?” He felt a small twinge of jealousy run down his spin. Rook was his brother for life but he hated seeing Sienna talk to anyone of the opposite sex for more than a few minutes and after all he know how men thought. Here was Sienna in a denim skirt that was way too short and and blinged out tube top that showed her nipples. He took a deep breath. “Bro we gotta do something about the water crisis. Its fucked that those people have to drink that dirty ass water. Nobody should have to live like that.” He shook his head in frustration. “You know what you're right Rook but hey this is a party lighten up. We’ll look into this first thing Monday morning though.” He adjusted the chain around his neck. “Rookie how about another drink.” Rook sighed and walked to the kitchen. Sienna turned to Colson. “I've told you about bossing him around. I don’t like it. Short men deserve respect too. I don't see you bossing Baze or Slim like that.” Colson smiled. “Ah he knows i’m just playing with him.” Sienna rolled her eyes. “Yeah whatever.” 

A little while later two sketchy looking white guys walked over to Colson and greeted him. They talked for a bit and walked into the kitchen. Sienna couldn't see much of what was happening because of her drunken haze it was all a blur. Minutes later Colson walked out of the kitchen and disappeared. Sienna shrugged her shoulders not sure where he went. Vibing to the music Sienna got a notification on her phone. Tall babe: quickie? Sienna smiled and shook her head. Hell yes she thought then remembered Oh fuck i’m on my period. She sucked her teeth. Tall babe: upstairs bathroom. She got up and headed to that upstairs bathroom lowkey mad that she couldn’t have sex.

Once I was inside Colson picked me up and tongue kissed me leaving hickeys on my neck. “Damn you smell good. Don't worry about taking the skirt off just bend that sexy ass over.” Before i could protest he turned me around and put his hand on my back. “Wait I can’t babe i'm on my period but really want to.” He sucked his teeth. “Fuck. That sucks. I’m horny as fuck.” He thought for a moment. “Well we could still fuck if you're up for it.” He had that devilish grin on his face. I knew what he was thinking. “Oh no i’m not doing anal.” I shook my head. “I’m so not in the mood right now.” I remember last time and I was sore for days. I don't know how on earth women do that shit on a constant basis. From now on i was only giving up the ass on his birthday. That’s it. 

He bumped two lines off the counter and wiped his nose on his hand. “Well fuck, then...hey you want a bump of this shit, damn its good. ” He laughed. I had tried coke a handful of times and it was a love hate relationship. The high was great and it kept the weight off but I'd end up a sweaty mess that couldn't sleep for days and have paranoia like crazy. I looked at the lines then back up at him. “Colson I don’t know..i..i’m really wanting to stop and i..” He handed me the steel straw. “Hey no pressure but remember last time we got so high we fucked all over the house and you said it was the best orgasms.” I playfully hit his arm. He was right though. Sex on it was everything. Something about it was like fireworks going off inside me.” I bumped one line and instantly felt it hit me like a ton of bricks. I heart beat had turned up, my face went numb and things were suddenly getting lusty. I smiled “one line that's it. Just a little something to spice things up.” I kissed him and threw the straw in the sink. His back hit the door. I just wanted to rip all his clothes off and give it to him from every angle but sadly had to settle on a blow, it would have to do for now. I got down on my knees and unbuckled his pants. He was ecstatic but what guy wouldn’t be.

His dick was rock hard and big. Oh fuck i wish it was inside me like now. There was some precum on the head that i just licked off. He breath quickened. “Baby don’t do that teasing shit you know i hate that.” I smiled. Men can be so impatient. I licked his shaft like it was ice cream. Just making love to it with my tongue. “Mhmm baby fuck that feels incredible. Lift up your shirt let me see those tits.” I pulled one of the strings in the back and the whole thing dropped down my arms to his delight. I sucked him with all my heart and throat. Gagging on it practically cutting off my airways but it was worth it to see the look of pleasure on his face. I was so turned on i felt i was wet and throbbing but dammit i couldn't do anything about it. He grabbed the back of my head and guided me. “God damn. Fuckk you little slut. Gag on it babe.” Panting through his words. “I’m gonna cum soon baby. Don’t stop.” He gripped my hair tighter. I tried to go deeper but throats only have so much room. “I want that cum all over my tongue daddy.” I held out my tongue while he jerked that beautiful dick. “Oh fuck here it comes.” All that white cream landed in my mouth and a little bit on my lower lip. It was truly amazing. 

Colson was panting and breathing hard. “Damn baby that was amazing.” I swallowed all the salty goodness down. My legs felt wobbly as i stood. My shirt still on my floor. “I really wish we could fuck.” The coke had worn off just that quick now i was agitated and fiending for more but I had promised myself just one line. How long had we been in the bathroom? I wasn't sure. Colson took an eight ball out of his pocket and set up more lines while i put my shirt back on. Nope not gonna do it. Nope nope nope. “This shit is so fucking pure. Like damn so good.” He bent down to bump three lines this time and wiped his nose while looking in the mirror. “Here.” He handed me the straw. “Oh no i'm good.” I tried to give it back to him. “Girl you know you want to. It's good shit. Live a little.” I truly wanted to stop but I had this ache to do more. I just wanted to be high again. “No babe we...i promised myself.” There was this voice inside of me saying “Do it. Treat yourself to some more of those powdered donuts. Wouldn't hurt and it's Friday, by Monday this will all be over.” I snapped out of my thoughts. “Hey how about i get a bottle and we can just hang out in the bathroom and have our own lit party right here.”

A few moments later Colson came back with an unopened bottle of tequila. I did the honors and took two gulps. It was strong but i was kinda used to it by now. “Fuck it.” I bumped three lines and took another sip. It felt like hours me and col were in that bathroom a hot sweaty mess. We would take turns bumping and drinking and talking our faces off about everything under the sun. before I knew it, the bag was practically empty. I looked down at my phone it was 4.34am. It was quiet. I wasn't sure if everyone had left or if the party went outside. Just then there was a knock on the door. My paranoid ass thought it might be the cops. “Hey y'all done fucking?” Slim laughed. “Just joking but were thinking about going to ihop y'all down?” We both stood up. “Yeah where is everyone?” Colson asked looking in the mirror making sure he didn't have any residue around his nose. I checked mine too. No one knew I did coke except for Colson it was my..well i guess our dirty little secret. I wasn't sure if anyone had suspected anything. I tried my best to hide it. 

“They're all gone, party died down about an hour ago. Were heading out in fifteen. Hope its not crowded.” We heard Slim’s footsteps get farther away from the door. I cleaned up the counter making sure there was no trace of what we had just done. We fixed ourselves up as to try to not look high. Col hid his much better than I did. My pupils were like saucers, my eyes looked like they were swimming in water. My jaw wanted to rock back and forth. I knew it would ache in the morning. “Babe how do i look?” I did a spin for him. “Umm cute but high.” He laughed at me. “Not funny asshole. Okay so what can i do to bring it down?” I was so high i didn't know how I was going to keep myself together. I adjusted my clothes. “You’ll be fine just take a deep breath.” He reassured me.

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A/N: hey girl heyyy lol. whats the tea? whats the skinny? okay so boom it looks like si has a problem with those donuts. oh lordyy this cant be good right?? let me know what you think. the shorter chapters push out so much faster. editing takes like 20 min. 

[forkanna]

[AO3 LINK] [EF LINK]

CHAPTER THREE

                                       ~ x JUDGMENT x ~

"So you admit you were following her?" Sae asked Makoto as she crossed her legs in the other direction. "You know stalking is a crime."

The student brushed off the black vest she wore over her white shirt. Clearly it was just a nervous habit; an attempt to appear more presentable. "And yet it's part of your job, Sis."

"It is. Not part of yours."

"Fine. But I didn't have any…" Her shoulders rose and fell. "There was no way to tell if I was completely crazy, a-and Ren was just a good person concerned about his teacher, or if… if she was doing something unspeakable with him. And after Kamoshida…"

At last, Sae let her eyes fall closed for a moment. "Alright. So you believe you have good intentions. I'll grant you that - and only that so far. But I'm going to need to hear more and you know that."

"Yes, I understand. So where was I? Right… the fresh lead."

                                      ~ x The Priestess x ~

Ms. Kawakami and myself steered clear of each other for a few days. It was good to see that she was back in school and teaching again, despite whatever trouble had befallen her thanks to those two horrible people. I really wished I could help, and I wanted to ask Ren, but there was no way I could do that without revealing to him that I had followed him to the hospital and eavesdropped. Not that this was anything new for me, but I still felt too guilty to come forward.

So I left it alone for a while. But eventually…

"Hey, bro," Ryuji whispered to Ren just after one of our little… gatherings. And his whispers aren't particularly quiet.

"Hm?"

"About that thing… with Victoria." His dyed-yellow spikes barely wobbled atop his head as he glanced around, but I appeared to be nose-deep in a book and Ann had already skipped off to do something else, so he decided the two of them were relatively 'safe'. "You're really not gonna give me any details?" Ren shook his head. "Aww, man…"

Ren muttered something back that I couldn't quite overhear. He was better at being discreet than the "monkey", as another of our friends calls Ryuji on a regular basis.

"But you actually got to talk to her, dude! Like, what's that like? Y'know, with the kinda things she does?" His eyebrows waggled. "Special services! Ehhh?"

By this point, Ren looked like he would really prefer the conversation to be over. So he said something a little quieter, a little longer, and Ryuji gradually started to look like a boy who found out the video game he wanted was all sold out at the store.

"Fiiiiiine, keep your friggin' secret. Just sayin', Becky sounded really hot! And you got to hang out with her alone because Mishima an' me choked! Why couldn't I keep my shit together, man?! UGHHH…"

That was it. And alone, the piece meant nothing to me; I assumed Ren, Ryuji, and for some reason Yuuki Mishima of all people had run into some cute girls named Becky and Victoria - maybe they were Westerners visiting? - and had hit on them, and then the other two ran off to leave Ren fending for himself. Even if I didn't know what they meant by "special services", I decided it was probably some disgusting boy euphemism for activities I didn't want to think very deeply about.

The very next day was a Saturday. Ms. Kawakami still looked weary, but not quite as bone-tired as she had before her brief hospital stay. And she still seemed the same way as I followed her out of the building. This time, it was by coincidence, not design; I had been busy studying in the library and lost track of time. It was just starting to edge into the evening by then.

And I wanted to call out to her. In fact, I started to speed up my steps and do exactly that. There had to be something I could say to show her I didn't mean her any harm; that if she wasn't hurting anyone, wasn't taking advantage of Ren, then we had no problem and I wanted to help if I could.

Before I could, her phone rang. And as she rounded the corner, her voice changed when she answered; became higher.

Bubblier.

"Hiiii, this is Becky! Did you call to request li'l ol' me again?" There was a slight pause, and then she giggled in a way I had never, ever heard a teacher giggle before. "Wonderful, Master! Laundry with Becky's extra-special fluff and fold, meeeeYOW! Do you have my usual fee ready?" Another pause. "Great! Don't worry, I will be there very soon! Byeeeeee!"

As Kawakami thumbed the touchscreen to end the call, I could do nothing but stand there as if turned to stone by Medusa, watching my teacher hang her head in weariness and shame. What did I just hear? Who did I just hear? "Becky" bore absolutely no resemblance to the woman who normally slogged her way through our classes as if she could really use some of Cafe Leblanc's specialty brew - the one standing before me now, who looked like she wanted to climb down the sewer grating and disappear.

And furthermore… no way was it a coincidence that was the same name Ren and Ryuji had been talking about.

Now I had to know what was going on. That whole conversation sounded like something very specific, and it made me worry about her… but I couldn't be sure. And the last thing I wanted to do was throw around more unfounded accusations.

Which is how I ended up following her.

The subway took us another stop along before she got off. Even though she did glance in my direction once or twice, my magazine shot up to hide my face often enough that she never quite realised I was following her. Then she went inside and I was left to loiter. I needed to turn to a friend - and since I was fairly certain Eiko Takao, the flightiest girl I have ever known, would be of no use to me…

QUEEN: Hey do you have a sec?

PANTHER: What? Omg you never text me Mako-chan PANTHER: What's up? 8D

It was hard not to be intimidated by Ann's overabundance of enthusiasm. Just made it feel too daunting and like I would be better off if I threw my phone away. But I tried not to let my nerves keep me from responding.

PANTHER: Hellooooooooo? QUEEN: I think I'm doing something bad

PANTHER: Something bad? PANTHER: ARE YOU ON A DATE PANTHER: Who is it? Joker? No wait, no way… QUEEN: It's not a date PANTHER: RYUJI?! PANTHER: Oh QUEEN: Seriously does Ryuji seem like my type? PANTHER: LMAO okay maybe not QUEEN: It's not a date it's something else PANTHER: Huh? PANTHER: Hey… it's nothing life threatening is it? PANTHER: Please QUEEN: Whoa whoa no PANTHER: I can't go through that again PANTHER: Okay good QUEEN: I'm sorry PANTHER: DON'T FREAK ME OUT LIKE THAT PANTHER: No no you're good friendo 3

QUEEN: Maybe this was a mistake PANTHER: Huh? PANTHER: Omg just tell me already QUEEN: Well QUEEN: I think one of our teachers is up to something strange QUEEN: And I followed them

My eyes glanced up toward the apartment building's door when some man walked inside, and I swallowed hard, waiting for Ann to reply. At least I had managed to say 'them' instead of 'her', so she wouldn't know it was Kawakami. Or Ms. Chouno, but still, the list of female teachers was shorter.

PANTHER: Something strange? PANTHER: Kamoshida strange? Because if it is PANTHER: I want in QUEEN: Well… I don't think that's it? QUEEN: Please listen PANTHER: It's not? QUEEN: I'm close to the Akasaka-Mitsuke station QUEEN: And I'm waiting to see if I'm right about something PANTHER: Dude you're being pretty sketchy PANTHER: But it sounds like PANTHER: You're worried? Like really for real? QUEEN: Yes. QUEEN: I think this teacher is being blackmailed PANTHER: Blackmail?

Just then, the door opened, and I had to close the text and raise my magazine to hide my face again. But it wasn't Miss Kawakami who came out, anyway; it was a woman in sleek black pigtails and a French maid uniform. She seemed totally at home walking around like that; probably had regular hours in one of the maid cafes in Akihabara or somewhere. While she stood at the curb, I started to go back to reply to Ann's incoming messages…

The maid glanced my way, waiting impatiently for her cab. And she felt familiar. Recognition was already making the hair on the back of my neck stand on end before my conscious mind sorted it out.

"Wait," I breathed softly as a car pulled up. It had a pink banner on the side of it, proudly proclaiming "VICTORIA Housekeeping Services" in bold red letters. My thumb was already activating the camera app as I watched the maid approach the back door and open it, bowing and saying something to the driver before slipping inside and away. I was able to get one or two shots of her, then of the car.

And she was gone before my brain fully realised what had just happened. "Was that… Kawakami?!"

                                      ~ o ~

In practically no time, I was standing around in the underground mall below Shibuya station - "Shibuchika" as it's called. Looking for Ann. Eventually, she waved me over to the flower shop she was poking around in.

"So?! What's up, what's the story, what's the dirt?!"

My hands came up to ward her off as I laughed nervously. "Okay, okay. Wow! Let me catch my breath. Can we get some boba or something first?"

"Sure, let's grab some aojiru. I'm trying to be healthier, for my modelling career? And like, I keep getting it pointed out to me that all I eat is crap."

"It won't kill us to be healthier, I suppose," I admitted as she steered me to the stairs.

Aojiru is… interesting. Greenish sludge in a glass that is full of nutrients but bitter and unpleasant. Still, we ordered two cups of Beauty Aojiru to hopefully make us more radiant, and shelled out ¥5000 for the pleasure.

"Bottom's up!" Ann laughed, clinking her plastic cup against mine. "The things we do for beauty!"

Passerby seemed alarmed at how much we were gagging afterward. Still, we managed to finish the drinks and then found a bench somewhere to sit and catch our breaths.

"I can… feel the burn!" she finally announced in a strangled gasp.

"R-right! So refreshing!"

Bracing against her knees, she took in a few strong breaths and let them out slowly. Then she sat back and smiled over at me, tears at the corners of her eyes.

"Okay, spill, girl. What's this crazy mission you went on, what did you find out?"

"Well…" I still felt really guilty for following Kawakami in the first place, and if she was truly an innocent victim, would feel even worse exposing such a secret. "Let's just say… her name is Becky."

"Becky?!" Her blue eyes narrowed in thought for a moment before she shook her head. "No Becky I remember hearing of on the Shujin Academy faculty."

"It's not her real name. Anyway, here's what I know so far…"

So I told her. Not everything, obviously, because I didn't want to out Ren or Kawakami until I was absolutely sure of the situation. But I filled in all of the other details I knew so far. That cartoonish face I was beginning to grow so fond of went through a million transformations - shock, disgust, sadness. But she seemed to feel roughly the same about the situation as I did.

"Well we can't do nothing, Mako-chan. Those two creeps are shaking her down for money! Totally exploiting her!"

"Exactly! I'm not sure what that student's connection is, but even without that…"

Ann nodded, arms tightly folded over her chest. All I had told her about Ren was that some student I knew was in frequent contact with 'Becky'. "There's a big problem here, though."

"Oh? What's that?"

"How are you supposed to ask her for details if she doesn't wanna talk to you? Like, I completely get that you wanna protect her identity, cuz you don't know for sure that she's hurting anybody. And if she's not... Becky is just in trouble and you don't wanna hurt her more."

My nod must have been sadder than I myself realized, because I suddenly felt a gentle hand resting on my shoulder. Smiling up at her, I whispered, "You're right. What she has to go through... it makes me sick thinking about it. So I need all the answers before I make a move."

"Sure, yeah. And… well, I could ask her for you, but then you'd have to tell me who she is. Same for any of the guys - and she'd prolly hate the idea of talking to them anyway."

"True," I said, even though Ren came to mind again. But Ann didn't need to know that. "So what can I do? Camp outside her front doorstep and confront her when she gets home? It would embarrass her too much. Right out there in the street like that!"

"Hell yeah, it would," she sighed, sitting back and staring up at the ceiling as commuters passed by us, off to destinations unknown. "But… what if…"

My ears perked up. "What if…?"

Ann held up her index finger as she looked at me, eyes wide and lips slowly beginning to stretch into a smile. "What if she didn't talk to Makoto?"

"Huh? Sorry, I'm… didn't we just say it has to be me, since I would be betraying her to tell any of you?"

"Yeah, but also nah. Okay, since you're the student council president, you've got the keys all sorts of parts of the school, right?"

Squirming, I held up a hand as I told her, "I'm not breaking into the teacher's office and waiting to ambush her."

"No, no! Let me see your phone again." I handed it over, and she wasted no time pulling up the pictures I have hastily snapped. Luckily, none of them showed Ms. Kawakami's face - or it was too blurry and far away to tell it was her. "Victoria, huh?"

Now Ann was pulling out her own phone and looking up something. Then she took a picture of her screen with mine and handed it back.

"'Victoria Housekeeping'," I read. "Wait… what are you-"

"We gotta hurry," she said as she popped up, grabbing my hand and yanking me to my feet so fast that I almost dropped my phone to the ground. "If we don't hurry up, we'll run out of time!"

"Time for what?!" I protested as I stumbled after her. "Ann, slow down! ANN!"

                                      To Be Continued…

[yeet-nhl]

there’s a reason {a.kempe}

A/N: finally, something new eh? this is longer than i originally intended but i had an idea so i just rolled with it where ever it took me. also i used google translate for the swedish so if it doesn’t translate correctly i apologize :/

requested: yes / no

word count: 2.4k

title song: there’s a reason by wet

warnings: none

“Remind me again why you decided to drag me out this early, and why you have me bringing clothes?” you sighed as you walked up to meet Adrian outside your apartment building.

“We’re doing some bonding, come on Alex and Marty are already in the car.”

“I’m sorry what?”

“Just trust me, you’re gonna have fun.” He said, grabbing your hand and guiding you toward Alex’s car. Alex was in the passenger seat and Alec in the drivers. It was a weird friend group in all honesty, but they were the ones that Adrian had introduced you to when you first moved to LA.

You climbed in the back seat with Adrian as the other two said a quick hello to you. The time for conversation was short lived as Alec hit play on his phone and you turned onto the road, taking you who knows where. It would sound sketchy if it weren’t for the fact that off the ice all three of the men you were with were huge softies. In all honesty you trusted them more than most other people in the world.

A song you didn’t know continued to play over the speakers in the car as you watched out the window, trying to get an idea for what the others had planned. You were heading away from the city and going towards more urban areas. Adrian didn’t seem to be paying attention as he obnoxiously sang with Alex. You watched him with a small smile as he nodded his head in time with the song, his hair flopping all over the place. He noticed you watching and directed his singing towards you, taking your hands and moving them along to the beat. You rolled your eyes and started dancing along with him as well.

As the song ended Adrian dropped your hands and grabbed Alec’s phone to queue some more songs. From what you saw they would be mostly in swedish and you would only understand a little, as would Alex and Alec. The first notes of the next song started and Adrian leaned back into the seat and just seemed to be enjoying the music that only made sense to him in the moment. The LA sun was beating through the window and onto him, small strands of hair covering parts of his face as he mouthed the words to whatever was playing.

Oh no.

You quickly turned away, facing the window again. You couldn’t be thinking this way now. He was one of your best friends, you couldn’t be catching feelings right? It was perfectly understandable to think he was good looking, since after all he was. You’ve had this suspicion for a while that you might have wanted something more but you had just kept pushing it off. It wasn’t something that could ever happen, you didn’t want to risk ruining your closest friendship. Deciding this time would be no different, you ignored your gut and willed the thought away.

Being completely lost in your thoughts for a moment, you totally missed the conversation that had been happening.

“Kan du vara mer uppenbar?” Alec said from the front seat with an eye roll. You hadn’t even began to process that somehow Alec knew swedish before Adrian shot back a reply.

“Vem sa att jag skulle bli subtil! hon vet när tiden är rätt.” The true swede said as he grabbed the phone once more, switching back to english music.

“Did I miss something here? Alec since when can you speak swedish.” You questioned, sitting up a little straighter.

“Dunno, picked some up from the other guys over time I guess. Shouldn’t you be asking where we’re going instead?” It was a clear effort to change the topic but you really did want to know where you were headed.

“Fine, where are we going?” You had been driving awhile and honestly had no clue where you were.

“I’m glad you asked, we’re going camping!”

“Alec are you serious? This has to have been Alex’s idea…”

“Hey!” Alex butted in quickly.

“I’m serious. We have a cabin by the lake so we figured it would be fun to go hang out there for a bit. Some of the other guys and their girlfriends are coming tomorrow too, so you won’t just be stuck with us all weekend.” Alec said, disregarding Alex’s comment.

“Alright that does sound kinda fun, how much longer till we’re there?”

“25 minutes or so, not too much longer.” He said, flipping through some more music.

You turned your attention back to Adrian, who had a slight smirk on his face as he watched you try and figure out how you agreed to spend the weekend with these fools. “You could have at least told me that was the plan” you said with a smack on his arm, “I would have brought cuter clothes for the occasion.”

He laughed as you fell back into the seat once more, leaning against him and decided on scrolling through your phone for the remainder of the drive. It wasn’t an unusual behavior for you two to be touchy, so when he wrapped his arm around you and rested his head on yours it didn’t phase you like you expected. You forced your earlier thoughts to the back of your mind once more, knowing it was just what you wished it could be.

Alex turned slightly, catching a glimpse of the two of you and giving you a look as if he knew something you didn’t. You gave him a confused glare as he shrugged and turned back to his conversation with Alec.

A short time later, the car stopped and you sat up to see where you were. There was a large cabin with a patio and a view of a nearby lake, surrounded by trees. It looked like beyond the patio there was a pool and a balcony coming off of the top floor. The sight of it alone made any doubts you had of this weekend go away as you took in the scenery around you. It was beautiful and you shared a smile with Adrian as he took your hand to exit the car.

“Alec this is stunning! How’d you find this place?”

“I didn’t, he did.” Alex said as he pointed toward Adrian, who was standing next to you with an even goofier smile than he had be giving before. He gave a small shrug as he grabbed some of the bags they had brought and headed towards the front door. Going to grab your own, you realized he already had it with him and you followed him up to the door.

The inside of the cabin was equally as amazing. There was a large kitchen and sitting area with a door leading out to the patio, a large window facing the lake, and a second floor that included all the bedrooms and another smaller sitting area in the center. You wandered up to the second floor, trying to decide on the room that you would pick for the night. Adrian trailed behind you with your bag.

“Which one do you want? I’ll let you have first pick before the other two bitch about it.” Adrian said as he held up your stuff.

The room by the back with cute nature decorations caught your eye, “that one.”

He went in and set your stuff down and walked back out, stopping to stand in front of you. Something was up, you didn’t realize it until now but something was definitely up with him. Before you had the chance to ask anything, Alex came in to ask Adrian to help with the rest of the stuff. They had been more prepared for this little weekend trip than you realized, which was surprising since they usually never had a plan.

Something was definitely up.

Adrian went back downstairs as you leaned over the railing of the second floor to watch the boys move everything out of the trunk of the car and into the cabin. You decided to go and see what else the cabin had to offer and noticed a fireplace downstairs, a grill on the patio, and a gaming counsel set up by the TV that the others most definitely had set up themselves. They were done moving everything in by now so you joined them in the kitchen, taking a seat next to Adrian who was sitting at the island in the middle. From what you could tell, they were talking about the plans for the night and who else would be coming the following day.

Eventually you all decided to make some food first and then go from there. Alex went out to the patio to use the grill and Alec was attempting to make something else at the kitchen counter. You wanted to go for a walk since the surrounding area was so gorgeous, but you didn’t want to go alone.

“Adrian, wanna come with me?” You questioned as he looked up from his phone and gave a quick nod and walking over to you. The two of of you left to go towards the nearest hiking trail that you had spotted when you first arrived. Looping your arm through Adrian’s, you two walked side by side, making idle conversation as you walked among the trees.

You could still tell something was off, but you didn’t want to address it just yet. He had been saying very little besides the short answers to whatever you had been saying. But as you headed back the shift in him become even more evident.

Having walked the trail and back, you stood outside the cabin once more. The thoughts once again crept back into your mind as you looked at Adrian in the fading sunlight, eyes meeting for only a second before you walked back in to meet Alex and Alec for dinner.

Surprisingly, Alex was an amazing cook. He had grilled some fancy fish-based dish you had never heard of and it was delicious. You all shared stories of past camping experiences, including Alec’s dramatic retelling of an encounter with a bear that he was surely making up, but the whole time you kept catching Adrian sneaking glances at you. Somehow as you cleaned up the dishes your mind kept wandering back to that, and you knew you had to address it.

After a couple more hours of discussion and watching the boys play video games, you all decided to sleep at a timely 1am. Each of you headed to your respective rooms and as you turned out the small light on your night stand and were about to put your headphones in, you heard a small knock at the door.

Adrian walked in, shutting the door behind him quietly as to not disturb the others and he walked over to sit at the edge of your bed. He had changed into some sweatpants and a tight fitting grey shirt, doing nothing but increase how attractive you found him.

“Hi.” He spoke softly, looking a bit uncomfortable.

“Hey? What’s so predominantly on your mind at 2am that you had to come share?”

“I need to tell you something.”

Your heart jumped in your chest as he spoke. Surely there was no way he could tell you were hiding feelings for him, at least you thought that was the case. “Alright, what is it?”

He took a deep breath and finally met your eyes, “Look, this might damage our friendship if you don’t feel the same way but I can’t help but think we could be something more. I don’t know what it is about you, but I think you’re beautiful in every way. I want to know just how deep that beauty goes and you’re the only one who can make me smile the way I do, make me laugh the way you make me laugh, the only one who can look so ridiculously kissable while staring out a window in a car filled with dårar the way that you do.”

You laughed a bit at the last part as you began to process his words. It sank in that it wasn’t as crazy as you previously thought that this beautiful swede could be yours and that you really could have something. You took in his features once more as a smile found it’s way to your face. “God, I thought I was crazy for thinking we could ever be something. Of course I feel the same way Adrian.”

He breathed a sigh of relief as he crawled up closer to you in the bed, pulling you into his arms. He felt like safety, nothing in the world could touch this moment as the man you had be hiding feelings for for a long while held you close to his chest and landed a gentle kiss on your head.

You tilted up to face him and ran your thumb over his bottom lip, so stupidly happy. He finally took the initiative and brought his lips to your own as his hand found your waist. He deepened the kiss as you shifted to move on top of him, one leg on either side of his torso. Sitting up now, he moved his hand along the side of your body and sat up so you two were eye level. You broke away only for a moment to just look at each other and admire what you now had.

“Look at the stars, my love.” He rolled you two over lazily to reach over your body and point out the window and into the night sky as your gaze followed his finger. “Every night that would go by without me telling you how much I cared for you I would look at the sky. That’s the reason I wanted to be here when I told you, so you could see them just as clear as I’ve gotten to. I hope you’ll get to see them with me a lot more now.”

You nearly cried as he spoke, his voice so raw and honest. Curling up into his chest a little more, you took a moment to truly take in the sight as well as your surroundings. The sounds of the woods could be heard in the distance, the stars being slightly reflected in the lakes clear water, and Adrian’s gentle breaths. You traced along the tattoos of the arm he had wrapped around you as he kissed your cheek.

“I think we’re gonna share many nights like this together Adrian, there’s nothing I would want more.”

[acaciasselfinserts]

(@anti-jaina @sketchy-galaxy. This took me a little while but I'm proud of it.)

"The hardest thing to know, is loving someone who loves someone else."

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

“I'm very excited for us all to start this new era of peace. So that is why we will head to the Galra capital. I have things to attend but you will all be free to explore.” I smiled and nodded at Lotor, who returned the smile.

They all soon exited the castle, I went in my normal place, right by Lotor's side. It was mostly a habit from when he wasn't Emperor.

Once in the main room, Lotor walked from the paladins and stood up by the throne. I watched and when I began looking around the room, I noticed a banner.

“.... And I've hung the banner that my father, and King Alfor used back in their time of peace…” Lotor's voice broke me out of my daze.

Well, that answers that…

He was done soon enough, and Shiro asked to compare their maps.

“of course, a sentury will lead you.”

“I never thought I'd see the quiznaking quintent.” Coran replied. “working alongside the Galra like this.” he left with Shiro.

Lotor turned his attention to the rest of us.

“Acacia, I'd like for us to go off and walk around. If you don't mind.”

“Sounds great!”

“Allura, Lance, Hunk, and Pidge, this sentury here will show you around.” he waved his arm and a sentury went to their side. He then held his arm out for me, I put my hand on him as we walked off.

---

“we're gonna look here?” I looked around, the room was confusing me. There was a round center, and three long halls or rooms.

“Yes, for anything that could help us get further in our search..”

I nodded and headed towards one of the rooms. The shelves were lined with objects of all sorts. I brushed my hand on it, and picked my hand back up to find a fine coating of dust. My eyes soon laid sight on a data recorder.

“Lotor! I found something!” I called to him. He came running over from one of the other rooms.

He looked over me at it.

“wait a tick.” he took it from my hands gently, and pressed a button. A screen with all sorts of data popped up. I began reading it.

“It's… its Honerva's…” I said, gasping. He began scrolling through the logs, examining them. I did as well.

“Lotor, at that point she seemed calm, but, in this one.” I stopped his hand, so I could get a better look at it. “she seems sporadic, almost like she's losing her mind….”

“Yes.. It seems as though.” he looked at the log, extremely focused.

“I'm gonna go and keep looking, okay?” as I left, I saw Allura enter.

“Acacia, where's Lotor? I'm extremely bored. Lance, Hunk, and Pidge are a bit much.” she laughed.

“he's in there. He's reading something and he's very focused so be cautious when approaching.” I point to the room. She nods and heads that way. I feel an anxious thought starting to form.

What if she likes him…. Who wouldn't like him. He's a great guy….

I try to push the thought out of my head, but as I continued searching, it wouldn't leave.

What if HE likes HER???

“enough!” I slam my fist on the shelf next to me. I hear footsteps approaching soon after.

“Starship, is everything okay?”

“Yeah… I think I'm gonna go join Lance and the others…” I say, turning to face Lotor. Allura comes up to his side.

“You sure? We could use an extra-”

Lotor cuts her off as he goes to my side and embraces me.

“we will do just fine. If you'd like, the paladins are in the navigation room or some place else.”

“Thank you.” I hugged him back, and as he pulled away, I stopped him by leaving a kiss on his cheek. He looked at me in surprise, but he smiled. I waved to them and left. As I turned around at the door, I saw Lotor grab Allura's hand.

---

He must like her. Did you see the way he held her hand?

I loudly groaned. I hated these thoughts.

“can't my mind just think positively for once in my life???” I threw my hands up, almost hitting Shiro.

“oh. Sorry Shiro.” I laughed nervously. He just gave me a reassuring smile.

“it's alright Acacia” he pauses, frowning. “why aren't you with Lotor?”

“I just got a bit tired and I needed a break.” I lied. “besides, Allura joined us. I figured he'd be okay with her helping.”

“You don't look like you're okay.” curse his dad senses.

“huh? Why do you say that?”

“You just look quite worried.”

“oh, it's just from how overwhelming this all is. That's all.”

---

“Starship, one more thing.”

“hm?” I turned back to Lotor.

“You seemed quite anxious earlier. Would you like to talk about it?”

I shrugged, making my way back to his side.

“it's just… its just that there's this voice in my head telling me bad stuff.”

“Like what?”

“like… like that.. Maybe you like Allura…” my voice broke.

“like Allura? Of course I do, she's a friend.” he looked at me confused.

“No I mean, that you love her. Like in the way two people would love each other very much.”

“Acacia.. No. I love someone else.”

“oh.” I felt my heart break more. “well I need to get going. I promised Lance I'd play some video games.”

I stood and went to the door and left before he could reply.

I walked through the hall quickly. The only sound being my bare feet on the hard ground. I went to my room and grabbed my blankets. I carefully walked around a carefully stacked pile of boxes. I looked down the hall twice before quickly heading to Lance's room. When I reached it, I walked in and flopped face first on his bed. He set down the game controller and sat by me.

“What's wrong?”

“Nuffin…” I replied, my mouth muffled by the bed.

He laid down by me and rested on my back. I pushed him off and sat up.

“Lance, my back and chest are off limits to any touch.”

“whoops, sorry.” he rubbed the back of his head nervously. His expression then changed. “is something wrong?”

I shrugged and leaned on him.

“have you ever loved someone so much but never told them? And then you find out the hardest thing to know, is loving someone who loves someone else?”

Lance just stared at me for a moment.

“Yeah… except, it two people you care a lot about and you don't know what to do.”

“do you mind me asking who they are?”

“it's…. Allura and Keith…” he replied, burying his face on my arm. “like, Allura she's just so amazing and strong… and Keith… don't get me started on him… he's just so amazing. He may seem like a grump but he's a very caring person.”

I nod.

“what about you? Who do you like?”

His question caught me off guard, I thought for a moment and answered.

“I think it's Lotor… maybe even my old childhood best friend, James. But I'm not sure.” Lance picked his head off my shoulder to look at me.

“You like Lotor?” he asked.

“yeah, I've known him a while now. He saved me, and brought me back to life. I've questioned it just being that I'm so thankful he helped me. But I think I just started loving him for who he really is, not the personas he's had to put on.”

Lance listens to me, he then opens his mouth to speak.

“You mentioned James, I never got to know him too well except when you introduced us before you left.”

“well,” I started. “because i reconnected with him before I left Earth. I got to know him once again. It was very fun. But I know becoming friends just months before I had to leave was cruel. And I wanna apologize to him.”

“don't worry, you can once this whole war is done and we go home.” Lance put his hand on my shoulder.

“Lance?”

“Yeah?”

“this is off topic but…. I kinda wanna go home..”

[ridiculousn3sswrites]

The Money

*Justin Laboy (21 Chump Street) x Reader

*Summary: Justin delivers the ‘weed’ to Naomi and stuff goes down.

*Warnings: Drugs, maybe swearing idk

*A/N: One more part to this and then I’ll be working on the In the Heights fic I mentioned last time.

Part One || Part Two || Part Three || Part Four || Part Five

“Alright, the next day at school Justin was acting super shifty. He didn’t want to really talk to any admin or teachers, he dropped his gaze whenever staff would talk to him, stuff like that,” you explained. “During class, you could tell he was nervous. I got there a bit after the two of them, so I just kinda dropped my little baggie of weed into her purse. Naomi was so focused on Justin she didn’t even notice.”

“Did you talk to Just about what he was doing?”

“Yeah, we talked afterwards. When he came in, he said he didn’t want to be all like ‘heyyy girl, I got your weed’ and just give it to her, so they were waiting. The teacher was super late that day, not like any of us were complaining. Anyways, they waited a few minutes, and I was back in my seat, kinda just watching what was going down,” you told him.

“Looks like they’re having an intense conversation,” Derek said from beside you, shaking you out of your stupor.

“Yeah, I guess they are,” you muttered, scribbling something down in your notebook. “What do you think they’re talking about?”

“I dunno, but they’re arguing now,” Derek told you, nodding slightly in their direction. You looked over, and, sure enough, they looked like they were arguing. Naomi seemed pretty anxious, trying to shove something towards Justin. Justin was just calm, pushing her hands back towards her, shaking his head as he talked to her. “Did he get her the… you know?”

“Yeah,” you replied. It wasn’t like it was a secret in your friend group, Justin had asked all of his close friends before he turned to asking his cousins. “But he doesn’t know it’s not really the stuff. Poor kid doesn’t know anything about weed.”

“And you do?” Derek asked, raising a brow as he turned to look at you.

“I’ve seen enough TV shows about drugs,” you shrugged, as if that gave you any real street cred. “I still don’t feel too good about all of this.”

“Yeah, it seems weird, but what can we do? It’s what Justin wants,” Derek shrugged in response. “We’re going out after school, me, Tevin, and Andrew, you wanna come?”

“Yeah, sure, what’re we gonna do?” You replied. “And why isn’t Justin coming with?”

“You’ve been off, and we think you might need some time away from Justin just to clear your head,” Derek gently told you, as if he was afraid of what you’d say. You nodded, knowing that he had to be right. You’d been worrying constantly, trying to figure out how to keep Naomi from turning on Justin and handing him to the police (if the dealer you knew was to be trusted and she actually was a narc). Even an afternoon away from that would be a relief.

“Yeah, I think you guys might be right. For once,” you joked, a small smile to let Derek know you were just messing with him. “And you still didn’t answer my question. What’re we gonna do?”

“Arcade? Movie maybe? I dunno, we might just head to the diner,” Derek replied. You nodded as he spoke, not really caring what the group would do. You turned to look back at the two in front of the class, still arguing.

“Yeah, after Justin gave his baggie to Naomi, they were arguing for like, a long time,” you said.

“What about?”

“She was trying to make him take money for the weed, but he didn’t want that. Justin just wanted to be with her, you know? He wanted that in any way, even if it was just as a way for her to get high,” you replied. “They were arguing back and forth. ‘Take the money.’ ‘Keep your money.’ ‘You’re making me feel guilty, take the money.’ ‘I don’t want your money.’ It was a mess, it’s a wonder no one else noticed it going down.”

“So, at this point did you know she was an officer?” he asked.

“Of course, no high school student turns down free weed,” you huffed. “I mean, unless they don’t smoke. But one thing she said seemed really sketchy to me. Justin told me that she told him he really came through for her and that there was one more thing he needed to do for her.”

“She was insisting that he take the payment, and he didn’t want to,” the man commented. “Do you feel that there was coercion for him to take the money?”

“I mean, yeah, of course. He made it obvious that he didn’t want to take her money, and she kept pushing it,” you said. “He even told me before that he just wanted her to like him, never anything about making money.”

“What did you do while watching all of this?”

“Arcade sounds fun, we haven’t been there in a couple years,” you told Derek, eyes following Naomi’s clenched fists as they traveled between her chest and Justin’s. It was probably money, your mind running through every possible way this could pan out. Best case scenario, Naomi was actually just a student and wanted some weed, and nobody got in trouble. Worst case, she was a cop and Justin was going to get busted for oregano of all things.

“Yeah, alright, I’ll tell Tevin and Andrew then,” Derek said. You could hear footsteps in the hallway, the teacher finally approaching the classroom. You thought Naomi would give it up when the teacher was so close, but then she gave her last ditch effort to get him to take the money. Derek was saying something else, but you didn’t hear it as you saw Naomi surge forward and cut Justin off with a kiss. Your heart dropped as you saw Justin’s body just completely relax, and Naomi slip the money into his hand.

You abruptly stood up, chair scraping against the floor. Derek cut off mid-word, watching you grab your backpack from the floor. “(y/n), where are you going?” Derek asked, surprised at your sudden need to get out of the room.

“Home,” you told him, slinging your bag over your shoulder. “I’ll text you later, tell you if I’m still down to hang out.” Derek nodded, not questioning you further as you made your way through the room. You didn’t even care that half of the class was watching you storm out, you just knew you needed to get out of there. When you made your way past Naomi and Justin’s table, you don’t even know what you were thinking. You saw the money folded up, sitting under Justin’s arm as he just looked over at Naomi with that stupid, lovestruck look on his face. Without a second thought, you swiped the money from their desk. If anyone was going down for this, it wouldn’t be Justin for doing nothing.

“So I took the money and got out of there,” you said. “I honestly don’t know what came over me. Maybe I was just upset that he was willing to throw everything away for her. Anyways, I just left school, walked home, and kinda just locked myself in my room.”

“And the school just let you leave?”

“I mean, yeah, campus security doesn’t really care when it’s almost the end of the year,” you replied with a shrug. “I was out of that place within ten minutes. Anyways, I was at home, not really wanting to talk to anyone as I realized what happened. You know how they say hindsight is always 20/20? Well, I was getting mad hindsight then. I realized I never had to get her that weed, I was better off just keeping it or giving it to people I knew for sure weren’t narcs. If I hadn’t dropped that baggie of weed in her bag, all she would have was a baggie of oregano, and therefore nothing would’ve happened. I mean, unless they tried pinning intention to sell drugs on Justin.”

“You were having regrets,” the man commented.

“Of course, I never would’ve done that if I’d actually thought it through,” you replied. “It was all madness, and you know nothing like that would’ve happened if Naomi hadn’t been pushing Justin, and if I hadn’t tried to help him. That night Justin even came to my house, trying to see what the hell was up with me earlier.”

You’d been stewing for hours when your mom yelled for you, telling you Justin was waiting at the front door. You grabbed your phone, figuring you’d just walk over to the nearby park. It would be empty, seeing as it was starting to get dark. “What’s up?” you asked, closing the front door behind you.

“I can ask you the same thing,” Justin replied, his hands shoved into his pockets as he looked at you. “Why’d you run off during class?”

“Let’s walk, I don’t want my mom hearing this,” you said, already making your way past him. You heard him follow you to the park, already cleared out except for a few straggling kids. You walked over to the swings, taking a seat. Justin took the swing beside you, waiting in silence for a few seconds before speaking up.

“What’s up with you? You’ve been acting weird,” Justin commented.

“They think she’s a narc,” you blurted out, deciding to get to the point of your anxiety.

“What?”

“The dealers at school, they think Naomi’s a narc,” you told him. “That’s why they won’t sell to her, they swear she’s just undercover. You know what that means, don’t you? She was just using you.”

“What’re you talking about, (y/n)? I know her, she wouldn’t do that to me,” Justin insisted.

“Justin, that’s why she did this to you! You’re so blind, just because you like her you swear she wouldn’t do anything bad. It’s her job to lie to people, Justin! She doesn’t like you,” you argued, voice growing louder.

“How do you know?! Didn’t you just say they think she’s a narc? Why would you trust them? They’re drug dealers, (y/n)!” Justing argued, getting frustrated with your sudden outburst. “If getting her that weed was the only way I could keep her in my life, then so what?”

“Jesus Christ, it wasn’t weed!” You blurted, standing up. “I got your cousins to sell you oregano!”

“Why would you do that?” Justin asked, voice suddenly raising as he stood up too.

“Because I didn’t want you to go down for something as stupid as this,” you said. “You know what? Screw it, I’m going home.” With that, you turned around, starting to walk back in the direction of your house.

“Wait, (y/n),” Justin said, voice almost pleading. You kept walking, not wanting to hear whatever else he had to say. Sure, you didn’t want him to go to jail and you came up with this whole plan because you liked him, but was there really a bad side to it? You were stopped by Justin grabbing your arm as you tried to walk away.

“What?” You asked coldly.

“Why? It was my decision,” Justin said softly. You could almost see the kicked puppy look he undoubtedly had on his face. Sure enough, that was the exact expression he wore when you turned to look at him. You took a second before answering before deciding to just take your chance.

“I didn’t want to see you go down because I like you, you idiot,” you nearly whispered, but by the look on Justin’s face, you knew he heard you. He was just frozen there in shock, so you pulled your arm from his hold. “I need to go.” With that, you nearly ran out of the park, not stopping until you had made it back to your house. You locked yourself in your room, ignoring the calls and texts coming in from Justin until you had fallen into a fitful sleep.

Tag List: @pearltheartist, @holycoldcoffee, @mellowsobri

[continuitygains]

Road Trip

Lovely art by the absolutely amazing @zacktopus93!! 

Also beta’d by the beautiful Lucie, who is Cliophilyra on AO3 <3

(Written for the Spideypool Big Bang, organized by @spideypoolfanfic)

Summary: Peter goes on a cross-country road trip during the summer to scatter Uncle Ben’s ashes, and ends up being joined by Wade, a hitchhiker who is actually a mercenary on the run from a job gone bad.

Tags: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Minor Violence, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping (turned ok??)

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 14k (I know, it’s a monster)

Read on AO3

It wasn’t until after Peter’s sophomore year of college that he finally decided to do it.

The little box of ashes had been sitting on the mantle for over three years. Every time Aunt May walked past it, she would stare sadly at it, running her hand over its smooth, black surface and the small brass plate engraved with Uncle Ben’s name.

When his uncle had first died, Aunt May had told Peter numerous times that they would go and scatter the ashes.

“We’ll do it soon, I promise,” she would say. “When you graduate high school. We’ll do it then.”

The promises continued until Aunt May collapsed only a couple of weeks before his high school graduation, clutching her chest. The heart attack didn’t cause any lasting damage, but the doctor told her that she would have to keep an eye on her heart rate, and that any travel was not recommended for the near future.

“Maybe after you’re done with college, honey,” Aunt May had told Peter softly from the hospital bed. Peter squeezed her hand without replying.

He missed his high school graduation, and spent most of the summer with Aunt May at home, taking care of her and getting ready for college. Gwen was there when she could be, but she was busy in California with her own life and college work.

And then college was a whole other demon. The constant work left him ragged and barely eeking by with the grades he needed. After a grueling first year, he wasn’t able to slow down. He continued to care for Aunt May and along with his photography he took a job at Starbucks to help pay the bills.

The next year of college was when he felt himself nearing his breaking point. After he was put on academic probation in the fall semester, he tried to pull himself together, but everything continued to spiral, and just as the spring semester ended, he withdrew in a last ditch effort to not be expelled and save his own sanity.

“It’s alright, Peter,” Aunt May had said soothingly, running a hand through his hair as he sat next to her on the couch. “These things happen. Don’t worry about the money, we’ll figure something out.” She held his hand as he choked back sobs.

A couple of weeks after that incident, as he drank his morning cup of coffee and watched television, the epiphany hit him. Aunt May didn’t even get out a ‘good morning’ before he blurted out his idea.

“I’m gonna drive out to Utah and spread Uncle Ben’s ashes.”

***

And that’s how he ended up here--in a gas station attached to a diner, right off of the interstate, with no other signs of civilisation for miles.

“Yeah, I’m just taking a break right now,” he said, balancing his phone between his shoulder and his ear as he picked up a bag of chips. “I’m gonna have breakfast, and then I’m hoping to drive at least another five hours before calling it a day--no, I’m not speeding, Aunt May. Yes, I’m being careful.”

He continued to try to allay his aunt’s fears as he checked out with his snacks and made his way into the diner connected to the convenience store.

“It’ll still probably take about ten days to get all the way there,” Peter continued as he sat down. He mouthed a ‘thank you’ at the waitress as she poured him some coffee. “Yes, I’m still doing fine--Aunt May, I’m not sixteen. I know it’s dangerous, but--who was supposed to go with me? No one else could… No, Gwen’s still in UCLA, finishing up her research.”

“She would’ve come and driven with you,” Aunt May huffed down the phoneline.

“It’s kind of too late now, Aunt May,” Peter said, rolling his eyes. “Listen, I’m fine, I’ll get to California safe and sound, okay? I’m about to eat, can I call you back later?”

“You better. Stay safe, alright?”

“I will.”

“And don’t pick up any strangers.”

“I won’t, Aunt May.”

Peter shook his head with a fond smile as he slid his phone back into his pocket. He couldn’t stay mad at Aunt May for long; she was all he had left, and she just wanted what was best for him. This was the first time he’d been gone for a long period all by himself, it was understandable that she was concerned.

“Yo.”

The voice was way too close to his ear, and Peter startled, jerking around. The man in the booth behind him had turned around, giving him a friendly grin. The man was probably a couple of years older than Peter, and was wearing one of the most hideous shirts that he had ever had the misfortune of seeing. It was floral print, some horrible mockery of a Hawaiian shirt, with neon colors and dolphins printed on it. He was also wearing a cowboy hat, the brim lowered to cover the majority of his face.

Peter frowned. “Can I help you?” he asked slowly.

“Actually, I was hoping you could.”

Without waiting for an invitation, the stranger stood up from his table, picking up his plate of pancakes and orange juice and sliding them onto Peter’s table before plopping down onto the seat opposite.

“I’m Wade,” the man said, jutting his hand out. It was calloused and covered in dozens of scars. Peter shook it cautiously.

“Peter.”

“Well, Petey, I hate being one of those assholes who eavesdrop, but I really couldn’t help hearing that you’re heading to California, too.”

Wade grinned ruefully, and jerked a thumb out the window. Peter followed where he was pointing, and saw a man hooking a car to the back of a tow truck. It was dented and rusty, with little holes punched into the doors that Peter couldn’t identify but which likely came from the same accident that had crushed the side panels in.

“Some a-hole totaled my car, and now I’m kinda stuck in the middle of nowhere,” the man said ruefully, looking around the diner.

Peter quickly picked up on the unasked question, and he tensed in discomfort. “Oh,” he said awkwardly. “Uh, do you need to call someone? You can use my phone…”

“Nah, I already bothered the waitress until she let me use the phone in the back.” As if to prove his point, the nearby waitress sent an annoyed glare in Wade’s direction. “Look, I know this is sudden and seems really sketchy, but I was hoping I could hitch a ride with you to California.”

Peter’s chest clenched up.  Everything about this situation was uncomfortable: it was obvious he had to say no, even if Wade was staring at him with big eyes and seemed to have good intentions. (If they’d met in any other situation, Peter wouldn’t have minded even taking him out for a coffee). He opened his mouth to respond, but only managed to croak out a barely human noise.

“L-look, I’m sorry, man, but I don’t think I should,” Peter said awkwardly, tripping over the words. “I just--yeah.” His brain couldn’t move fast enough to think of a good excuse, and he felt the tips of his ears turn red.

“Ah, that’s a bummer,” Wade said with a deep sigh. “I mean, like, I could try to chat you up more and use my manly wiles, but that might get the cops called on me.”

Peter couldn’t help but chuckle, even though there was a surprising amount of guilt growing inside of him. “I-I can call you a taxi or something, though,” he offered. “Or help you find a bus?”

“Hey, it’s all good, don’t worry about it, dude,” Wade said, holding up his hands and giving Peter a charming grin. “It was a total shot in the dark, and I get why you wouldn’t want a total weirdo in your car. Thanks for listening to me, though.”

As Wade got up to go back to his table Peter was gripped with the sudden urge to do something really, really stupid.

“Hey,” he called after him. Wade turned around, a questioning look on his face.

Peter stared at him for a second, and swallowed heavily. “Is there a specific day that you need to get to California? Because I’m going a really long and roundabout way there.”

A slow grin spread over Wade’s features. Peter could see that he was practically vibrating with excitement. “Nope,” he said, popping his lips. “I have a completely open schedule.”

Peter nodded. “You’re welcome to come with me,” he said. “I mean, as long as you pay for gas money and chip in for the hotel rooms and stuff.”

“Done and done,” Wade exclaimed. Peter grunted as he was pulled into a tight hug, Wade bending down awkwardly so Peter didn’t have to stand up. “Don’t even worry about the money--I’ll pay for everything. It’s the least I can do. You’re the man, Petey-boy.”

Peter stared after Wade as he grabbed the duffel bag that was sitting in his abandoned booth, whistling as he went, and felt a hysterical laugh bubble up in the back of his throat. Well, this trip was meant to be spontaneous and this definitely counted as spontaneous. He could already hear Gwen and Aunt May’s voices ringing in his ears, telling him how stupid he was.

It might be good though, he thought, trying to persuade himself that he wasn’t an idiot. It’d be nice not having to pay for the gas and everything else by himself. And technically, it would keep him more alert, right? He’d be less likely to nod off and crash into a ditch after hours and hours of driving. (At least, that’s what he told himself).

Wade chatted and drank coffee while Peter continued eating. Within minutes Peter was in complete awe of the way the man seemed to be able to talk constantly yet not say anything at all. He silently hoped that Wade wouldn’t be able to keep this up for the hours of driving they had ahead of them.

***

Back outside of the diner, Peter opened the car doors and popped the trunk. Wade dropped his heavy bag in before jumping into the passenger seat. Peter shook his head in bewilderment as he climbed in on the other side, fumbling for the keys in his pocket.

“If you’re planning on robbing me, I should probably tell you I’m actually really good at fighting,” Peter blurted out.

Wade heaved a heavy sigh, and went to unbuckle his seatbelt. “Guess I might as well leave, then,” he said casually. “You’ve figured out my plan. The cat’s out of the bag.”

Peter froze, the key poised over the ignition. He stared with wide eyes at Wade.

“Kidding, I’m kidding.”

Peter made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat, but couldn’t stop the grin that was spreading over his face. “I try to be a good samaritan, and this is where it gets me,” he complained. “Stuck in the car with a weirdo.”

“See? Be heartless. It’ll stop situations like this from happening.”

“Are you telling me to kick you out?”

“Nah, it’s too late now.”

Peter snorted, shaking his head fondly. He reversed the car smoothly out of the parking spot and was soon back onto the open road.

“So, where ya from?” Wade asked casually, watching the scenery zip by.

“Queens.”

“Ooo, you’re far from home!” Wade chirped. “What’s got you heading all the way to Cali?”

Peter hesitated, his gaze darting from the road to the rearview mirror, where he could see the box of ashes sitting on the backseat. He thought about just giving a vague answer, but he figured it’d be better to answer honestly before his passenger caught sight of the box and got freaked out.

“To spread my uncle’s ashes,” he said.

“Oh. Shit.” Wade was startled, looking like a deer in the headlights. “Fuck, I’m sorry. Were you close? Uh, don’t answer that. Obviously you were, or else you wouldn’t be driving out here. What happened?”

Peter’s grip tightened on the steering wheel, remaining silent.

Wade also didn’t speak for awhile, but he seemed completely unable to be quiet. “...Alright, uh, I see that was a bit of a shitty question, so don’t answer that either.”

Peter huffed angrily, and reached down for his phone, unlocking it. “Here, play some music,” he said tersely, tossing it into Wade’s lap. “Make a playlist or something.”

Wade hummed thoughtfully, and quickly started tapping away. Peter occasionally glanced over, making sure that he hadn’t opened a different app or something, but the man stuck resolutely to Spotify. After what felt like an eternity, music suddenly blared through the speakers, and Peter burst out laughing.

“Did you just un-ironically put on Steely Dan?”

“You bet your butt I did.”

“Oh my god, what is your problem? I’m leaving you at the next gas station if you don’t change it right now.”

***

“So when you say roundabout way, how roundabout are we talking?” Wade said as he put the finishing touches to the playlist.

Peter grimaced. “I was gonna swing by New Orleans to see a friend and then just straight shoot it from there,” he said. “Probably stop by a couple of other places that sound cool, too. And then I’m gonna spread the ashes at Zion National Park in Utah. After that, it’s off to LA.”

Wade gasped excited. “N’awlins?! I haven’t been there in so long. And lemme tell you, the last time I went there, it was wild.”

“Really? You don’t strike me as the partying type.”

Wade laughed. “Well, I mean, there was a party, but I didn’t have time to join in on the fun, since it ended real quick.”

Peter hummed, sitting up a little straighter when he felt a twinge of pain in his back. “What happened?”

“I was workin’ a job there,” Wade said flippantly. “The mood gets kinda soured when you’ve been paid to kill the dude hosting the party.”

Peter blinked a couple of times. “Can you repeat that last bit?” he asked, his attention completely focused on the man in his passenger’s seat.

“Yeah, it was meant to be just a clean one and done kinda thing, but it seems like Lady Luck stepped out on me. So rude. So the person who hired me apparently wanted to catch me as soon as the job was done and off me too so he’d look like the hero for taking me out. I had to go running around New Orleans like a nutso--okay, like more of a nutso than usual--before I managed to shake ‘em and head back up north.”

Peter didn’t respond for a second. “Oh my god, there’s a crazy person in my car,” he announced calmly. He could already sense a stern talk between him and Wade regarding cracking jokes about murder to people Wade barely knew. “You sound like the script of a bad action movie.”

“Now that you mention it, I did actually try to write a movie once.”

***

They fell into a rhythm with shocking ease. It didn’t take long before Peter was comfortable enough that he was actively engaged in the conversations, not just giving a few sarcastic words at what Wade was saying.

When they settled in for the first night, Wade’s snoring definitely kept him up for a while, but in the end Peter was able to drown it out. And when Peter woke up in the morning, it was to Wade reentering the room with two coffees and a bag full of donuts hanging out of his mouth.

(And on the one time that Wade got blueberry muffins and found out Peter was allergic, he was almost inconsolable. He interrogated Peter and wrote down a list of all of his allergies and then his favorite foods and made sure to only get things Peter actually liked).

“Listen, I don’t care what your taste in music is, you have to admit that Cascada created a legendary banger with Everytime We Touch.”

“That doesn’t mean we have to listen to it on repeat, Wade.”

Wade had taken the time to make a ridiculously long playlist that had music to suit everything from seventies disco to early-2000s teenage girl’s room. He would belt out the lyrics, and more often than not Peter found himself singing along.

The best part, though, was that Wade didn’t seem to mind the dozens of times Peter suddenly stopped the car or did a U-turn to get out and take pictures. It always happened without any warning, just a sudden exclamation from Peter followed by a quick swerve and a stop. Peter would hop out of the car with his camera and photograph whatever had caught his attention at that moment. Wade would leave the car as well, stretching and admiring the view.

“So you’re a photographer?” Wade asked, toying with a dried branch he’d picked up on their last stop.

“Yeah, kind of,” Peter said. “I’ve done pictures for the newspaper before.”

“Damn, I’m in the presence of a celebrity,” Wade exclaimed. “Gimme your autograph at the next stop. Do I get to see the pictures, or are they top secret?”

Peter shook his head fondly. “I’m really not that special,” he chuckled. “It was just pictures of local events and other little things. But yeah, you can look through them. Just press that button.”

Wade started flipping through the pictures on the little screen on the camera, gasping and cooing at every picture.

“I want this one printed out and hung on my wall. Wait, wait, no, this one. No, actually these four. All of them. Just give me all of them.”

***

The sun was barely starting to set, and the car was in a comfortable silence. The music was playing lowly, barely audible over the engine, and Wade was staring out the window at the sunset.

“Okay, here’s a question,” Peter said after taking a drink from his water bottle. “What’s something you like that no one else likes?”

“Is this from one of those ‘ice-breakers for first dates’ books?” Wade said, scrunching his nose.

“I mean, it is meant to be an ice-breaker. Just answer the question.”

Wade hummed thoughtfully, tapping his chin. “Well, you made it clear that liking Steely Dan is unpopular in this car.”

“You’re definitely right with that one.”

“Heathen. Alright, what about you? What do you like that society deems unacceptable?”

Peter thought for a few moments, biting his lip. “I really like that show Rock of Love,” he said with a barely suppressed laugh. “It’s stupid, I know. My Aunt May hates those kind of shows so much. If I told her that, I’d be shot.”

“What? That’s so poopy of her! I would take a bullet for your right to like Rock of Love, baby boy,” Wade said dramatically, throwing his head back and holding his arms out.

A bitter laugh bubbled out of Peter, his good mood abruptly vanishing. “Then you’ll end up in a little black box being driven to Arizona, too,” he said, more forcefully than he intended. But the floodgates had already opened, and Peter couldn’t stop himself. “That’s how my uncle died. We got into a fight over...something stupid. I don’t even remember it now. It wasn’t a big deal. Me, being the dumb teenager that I was, ran off, even though it was the middle of the night, and him, being the goddamn responsible adult, went after me.”

Wade stared at him with wide eyes, but didn’t make a move to interrupt as Peter charged forward.

“And because of that, he found me about to get mugged, and he got in the way and ended up shot. I had to sit there with him until the ambulance came, but it was already too late, and it was all my fault.”

Peter’s voice cracked, his throat too tight with emotion to continue. He gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles, taking deep breaths, willing himself to calm down.

“Uh, wow, dude,” Wade said, clearing his throat. “That’s some deep shit.”

Peter deflated, flopping back in his seat. “I’m sorry, that was...inappropriate,” he said haltingly. “I shouldn’t have gone off like that.”

“Nah, dude, it’s chill,” Wade said, reaching over and patting him on the shoulder. “It sounded like something ya needed to get off your chest.”

Peter didn’t comment, staring ahead at the road. “I don’t...really talk about it,” he confessed. “I feel like everyone around me wants to forget about how it happened. Aunt May always look sad, and none of my friends are helpful. I don’t have the time to see a therapist regularly.”

“So you decided to go on a getaway road trip,” Wade surmised. “Trying to find yourself? Or some clarity or acceptance in the great outdoors and the wide, open road?”

“I--yeah, I guess.” Peter gave him a strange look. “That was deep, dude.”

Wade snorted, leaning over and tapping his forehead. “I’m smarter than I look, baby boy,” he stage-whispered. “But don’t tell anyone, ‘kay? I like it being a secret.”

Peter nodded. “Only if you don’t bring up, uh, anything I just said.”

“My lips are sealed.” Wade made a great show of pretending to lock his lips and throwing away the key. “But, if you ever need someone to hunt down the dude who did the thing-that-shall-not-be-named, just drop me a note. No one will even know it was you.”

“You just had to make it creepy, didn’t you?”

***

“Want some cashews?”

“Sure.”

“So, uh...you enjoying my nuts?”

“Don't talk to me.”

***

“You never told me why you’re going out to Cali,” Peter said absently as he fussed with the exposure on his camera.

Wade hummed, not moving from where he was sprawled out on top of the car. He had on a pair of heart-shaped sunglasses and a baseball cap with a cartoon bear on the front of it. “I quit my job,” he said.

Peter turned around to try and say something witty, but the words died in his throat. He swallowed reflexively at the sight of Wade lounging on the car, looking so relaxed and perfectly poised. He brought his camera up and snapped a picture, but whipped around when Wade turned to face him.

“Ah, so you’re tryin’ to make it in the City of Angels?” Peter joked loudly, aiming his camera and taking a picture in an attempt to hide his flustered . “That’s a dangerous move.”

“Eh, I’m more retiring than looking for something new,” Wade said, sliding off of the car and landing silently on his feet. “The business of killing people and destroying lives gets to be not fun after a certain point. Surprisingly, no one wants to be friends with someone like that.”

“I don’t know. I mean, even lawyers have friends, so there’s gotta be some niche of people who’d be into it,” Peter said. Satisfied with the pictures he’d taken, he went back to the car.

“Yeah, like you,” Wade laughed, and got comfortable in the passenger’s seat again. Peter glanced over at him and gave him a small smile, a flush dusting his cheeks.

***

As they entered New Orleans, Wade seemed to get...antsy.

He was fiddling with the dog-tags that hung around his neck, and seemed uncharacteristically pensive, staring out the window. He’d adamantly refused to take off his hat and sunglasses, even though the light was fast fading.

“Okay, Wade, you’re starting to freak me out,” Peter finally burst out. “Are you feeling sick? What is it? I never thought I’d actually be wanting you to talk, but here we are.”

“I’m trying to make sure those people I told you about earlier don’t find out I’m here,” Wade said, not looking at Peter. “That clusterfuck should be avoided at all cost.”

“So is that, like, code for an ex or something?” Peter asked. “I know you like to talk in riddles and stuff, but I need a clue here.”

Wade was about to respond, but Peter interrupted him by quickly swerving into the exit they needed, followed by a cacophony of honks from the other cars and a stream of curses from Peter. He quickly lost track of their conversation as he focused on trying not to crash.

It was dark by the time that they finally pulled up to the apartment building.

“Uh, yeah, this is the place,” Peter said, hunching over the steering wheel and squinting up at the building. “I can see MJ’s stuff in the window.”

He parked the car out in front of the apartment building. The two of them moved slowly as they grabbed their things--Peter only grabbing a change of clothes, while Wade took his entire duffel bag--and blearily made their way into the building and up to MJ’s apartment, using the code and key she had given Peter.

MJ’s apartment was small but cozy, with a nice view of the city and tasteful decorations. Both she and her roommate were off visiting friends in another state. MJ had felt terrible about missing the one time Peter was in New Orleans, but he promised that he would come back through on his way back to New York.

“Oh thank god, cleanliness,” Peter moaned, pressing his forehead against the back of the couch. “I don’t feel like I need to keep my shoes on the entire time we’re here. This is luxury.”

Wade snorted with agreement, dropping his bag onto the island in the kitchen.

After taking a few minutes to familiarize themselves with the apartment, Wade’s hunger let itself be known, his stomach growling loudly, and Peter’s quickly followed. They snooped around the kitchen but it was relatively barren, since MJ and her roommate hadn’t been there for the past couple of days.

“We could go out for some burgers?” Wade offered. “I know a place that’s a couple blocks away from here. My treat. We’ll be like father and son.”

Peter glared at him. “I don’t even want to know why those words left your mouth, or how your thoughts got there.”

“Well, that’s no fun, baby boy.”

“Stop calling me that!”

***

Dinner was the most fun Peter had had in awhile. It was nice that they had time to actually sit down and relax; all of the places they had eaten for the past few days were generally just greasy fast food. They might still be eating burgers, but at least these didn’t make Peter feel like his heart was going to kill him.

It also helped that Wade had been laying on the flirting much heavier than usual. He was all goofy jokes and fumbling pick-up lines that had Peter almost snorting his drink out of his nose. Halfway through his burger, Peter had plucked up the confidence to flirt back, his heart hammering in his chest when he successfully got Wade to let out his raucous laughter.

It was late by the time they left the restaurant. They chatted as they walked, their hands occasionally brushing, but both refusing to acknowledge it or actually hold hands. It was shockingly peaceful, the same contentment washing over Peter that he felt during their drives. The streets were relatively quiet as they strolled down the sidewalk, getting closer to MJ’s apartment.

Wade whirled around abruptly, eyes shining in the streetlights.

“Let’s go dancing,” he said excitedly.

“What? How are you not exhausted?” Peter said, but his words lacked any real conviction. Excitement was already fluttering in his stomach at the idea of staying out with Wade and spending more time with him. “We’ve been driving for two straight days.”

“Exactly!” Wade stressed. “We’ve been cooped up in a tiny, crappy car.”

“Hey!”

“So we should go and stretch our legs, do something fun!” Wade continued, ignoring Peter’s interjection. “C’mon, just for a bit. Pleaaaase? Wait, are you even legal? Is that why you don’t wanna go, because you’ll get kicked out?”

“I’m twenty-one!” Peter said defensively, crossing his arms.

“Um, alright, Mr. Babyface. I’m sure that fake ID in your pocket says so too, right?”

Peter knew that Wade was trying to rib him into going, and damn him, if it wasn’t working. He hated that he was a sucker for Wade’s puppy eyes. He grumbled angrily as he started marching back the way they’d came, Wade cheering next to him.

***

Okay, dancing was more fun than Peter had been expecting. He’d been ready to stand in the corner, holding a beer while Wade danced like a maniac. He was right about the second part, but Wade was able to coax him into the floor after a few songs.

If Wade wasn’t such a horrible dancer, Peter would have felt even more self-conscious. But when the man was literally doing the sprinkler on dance floor, Peter didn’t feel as bad about his subpar moves. If it were any other person, Peter would’ve thought that he was playing it up, but Wade seemed so genuine in his flailing arms and legs.

And then Wade was twirling Peter closer, making him let out a startled yelp, but he was quick to catch himself. Wade was grinning widely, panting slightly from exertion and eyes alight with excitement.  Peter’s heart fluttered, and he smiled back at him as they started dancing together, Wade’s goofy faces making it impossible for them to do any moves smoothly. 

It ended with them being pressed against each other, giggling like mad as they swayed from side to side, not particularly caring about the tempo of the song or the other people around them.It ended when a drunk person ran into Wade, effectively ruining the mood. 

The two blushed, but neither made a move to reinitiate the intimacy they had shared.

“I think we should head back,” Peter said, clearing his throat. Wade nodded.

They walked back together in relative silence, shoulders brushing against each other. Peter berated himself for not making a move like he wanted to, not reaching out and grabbing Wade’s hand or stealing a kiss like he so desperately wanted to do. And he couldn’t get a reading from Wade; his cheeks were flushed, but he wasn’t making any kind of move, either, so maybe it was some kind of fluke.

All of a sudden, Peter felt Wade’s arm wrap around his waist. His eyes widened and his cheeks reddened, but before he could process anything, Wade spoke.

“Don’t look behind you,” Wade said, his lips barely moving as he urged Peter to keep walking. “We’re being followed.”

“Wait, what?”

Peter immediately tried to turn around, but Wade gripped his hip warningly.

“We’ll lose ‘em down that alley,” Wade said, glancing ahead at the space between two buildings.

“Are you kidding me? That’s the dumbest idea--”

There were suddenly strong hands around Peter’s arm that yanked him into the alley. The air was forced out of him as he was harshly shoved into a wall. He stood dazed, his head spinning as he fought to catch his breath. He could hear the sounds of a scuffle, and when he looked up, Wade was surrounded, fighting off three men.

Watching Wade move would have been awe inspiring, if it wasn’t also so terrifying. Everything seemed perfectly calculated--every punch, every kick, every snapped bone. The three men didn’t stand a chance against him, especially not after he pulled out a knife from his pocket and threw that into the mix.

Within a span of barely a minute, all three of the men were down. Only one was alive, and he was gasping for breath and holding the bleeding knife wound in his side. Wade casually strolled to the survivor, glancing over to where Peter was standing, frozen to the spot.

“You good, honey?” Wade asked, looking him up and down.

Peter managed to croak out a yes, still staring wide eyed at the man cursing on the ground.

Wade nodded in satisfaction before crouching down next to the man. “Didja guys really have to come and interrupt my date?” he whined, poking the man in the shoulder.

“F-fuck off, Wilson,” the man spat, any venom in his voice drowned out by fear.

Wade hummed, leaning closer and peering at the man’s terrified face. “Hey, your face looks familiar,” Wade said. “How do I know you?”

“I-I--”

“Wait, wait! Don't tell me. I love this game. Hmm.” He scratched his chin with the barrel of the gun thoughtfully. “Oh, right! Montreal. Coupla years back. You begged me to let you live because you had kids. How’re they doing? Are they in school yet?”

“Y-yeah, one’s in high school,” the man gritted out, holding his side and glaring up at Wade.

“Aw, congrats, dude. Those are some shitty years, but hopefully it’ll be smooth sailing for them. Do they have any college--”

“Jesus, just get it over with!” the man shouted. “If you’re gonna kill me, just kill me!”

Wade heaved himself into a standing position, wiping his bloodied knuckles off on his T-shirt.

“No, I’m trying to turn over a new leaf here, ok?” he said, holding his hands out for emphasis. “And it seems like you airheads haven’t gotten that yet, so I’m gonna leave you to tell everyone, while we continue on our glorious road trip to LA. I’m excited to go stop in Vegas, too. That Beatles show is still going, right? I’ll drop you a postcard and tell you how it was.”

Wade strolled over to where Peter was still pressed against the brick wall, eyes wide and jaw slack. He gently took Peter’s hand and the man was too shocked to even think about fighting or asking what the hell had just happened.

“Listen,” Wade sighed as they reached the apartment building. “I know it’s kind of sudden, but I don’t think he’s gonna be nice enough to let us finish up our stop in N’awlins, baby boy. Let’s get our things and skedaddle. We’ll find a nice hotel outside of the city.”

***

Peter wasn’t able to break out of his daze until they had repacked the car and were driving again.

“You killed them,” he finally said.

Wade looked at him with a frown. “Well, yeah,” he said, as if he were stating the obvious. “Didn’t you see they attacked first? Oh wait.” He turned a bit more and gave Peter a sympathetic look. “That was your first dead body, wasn’t it? I’m sorry, I thought you were hardcore, since you lived in Queens and stuff. If I knew I’d taken your dead body virginity I would’ve...actually probably nothing would’ve changed.”

Peter didn’t say anything. His heart was pounding in his ears, and his knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel so hard. Wade didn’t seem to notice, too busy putting on music and observing his bruising knuckles. Peter tried to make sense of what he’d just seen, but his thoughts were sluggish.

Okay. He had to think facts. Wade had apparently been telling the truth when he’d been spouting all that stuff about being a killer, and not speaking in crazy metaphors or just using his overactive imagination.

He saw Wade move out of the corner of his eye, and bit back a high-pitched shriek when he saw Wade had unzipped his bag and was pulling out a knife and two handguns. Inside, he could see glimpses of other weapons of all types.

“I was hoping not to bring out these babies out this trip,” Wade grumbled, putting the knife in his pocket before struggling to put on the gun harness he had also pulled from the bag.  “I was really hoping it was gonna be all nice and peaceful, but, well…”

That was when Peter finally snapped.

Without any warning, he swerved onto the exit ramp, ignoring Wade’s questions. His tires screeched as he turned into an abandoned lot and slammed on the brakes.

“Peter, what the hell?” Wade shouted as Peter got out and slammed the car door behind him.

“You’re asking me what the hell?” Peter yelled, whipping around. “You just killed a man--multiple men! And you didn’t even bat an eyelash! You’ve--you’ve had guns and a goddamn machete with you this entire time and you didn’t tell me!”

“What? C’mon, baby boy, you saw that they started it,” Wade said, sounding confused. He climbed out of the car too, stuffing one of the guns in his waistband. He moved toward Peter who dodged to the other side of the car, putting the vehicle between them.

“If I hadn’t killed them, they would’ve killed us!” Wade insisted, throwing his hands up in frustration.

“But--they knew you! The weren’t random thugs!”

“Because he part of a gang I was hired to kill. I told you this before.” Wade said slowly, as if explaining it to a toddler.

Peter screamed in frustration, clenching his hands in his hair. “I can’t take this right now, Wade, I really cannot. I thought you were joking when you were talking about all of that stuff! Oh my god, I’ve been driving around a goddamn murderer next to me.”

Wade pouted. “Petey, baby, I’ve been telling you the truth the entire time,” he whined. “You can’t be mad at me because of that.”

“Yeah, okay, I think it’s time for you to leave,” Peter said, attempting to make his voice hard but failing spectacularly. “I’m--no, I am not getting into this with you. Find another ride.”

He faltered slightly, but kept his head high as he turned away from Wade.

Wade heaved a sigh behind him, but Peter refused to turn around. He pulled out his car keys and opened the car door.

“I really hoped I wouldn’t have to do this, but…”

Suddenly there was a strong hand holding his upper arm in a vice-like grip, yanking him harshly backwards. He could feel the point of a knife digging dangerously into his side. Peter squawked in shock and flailed his arms. By pure luck, the back of his hand smacked Wade straight in the face. It wasn’t a particularly hard blow, but it was enough to make the man grunt in shock and loosen his grip.

Seeing his opportunity, Peter shoved Wade away and made a sprint for the road. If he could just get to the road, then he could flag someone down, and get away—

He let out a startled yell when Wade was suddenly behind him again. He wrapped an arm around Peter’s waist and lifted him bodily out of the car. Peter kicked at him in a futile attempt to dislodge the man, but Wade’s muscles were clearly not just for show.

“Jesus H tap-dancing Christ, would you calm down?” Wade hissed, dragging Peter away from his potential salvation. “I’m not trying to kill you, I’m just trying to get you to listen—“

“Oh, really? Are you seriously trying to tell me to shut up when you just had a goddamn knife against my back?” Peter shrieked, fighting against him.

“Okay, listen, I know that probably gave you some mixed signals, but—“

“Shut up! Let go of me, you asshole!”

Wade let out a frustrated grunt as Peter landed another hit with his wild flailing, and stopped trying to grab at his arms in order to pull out the handgun from his waistband.

“Alright, see now I’m holding a gun to your head,” he snapped as Peter immediately froze. “Is that better than the knife in the back?”

Peter didn’t move, eyes wide as he stared straight ahead. He held his hands up in surrender as Wade set him down on his feet, and released the grip he had on his waist. Peter slowly turned around, dropping his gaze to the gun nervously.

“Are we done fighting now?” Wade panted, lowering the gun.

“I mean, I can’t exactly tell you no, can I?” Peter said slowly, brow furrowed and heartbeat thumping loudly in his ears.

“Aw man, can we not—gah, can you stop making me feel like such an asshole?” Wade whined, face scrunching.

Peter made a disbelieving sound. “No, I won’t, because you are an asshole. Asshole.”

Wade let out an angry sigh, and when Peter glanced at him apprehensively, he saw that he looked genuinely upset. “I really didn’t want for this to happen,” Wade said earnestly. “I was just--I really was just looking for a ride to Cali. I wasn’t trying to get you involved in any of this.”

Peter gave him a look, responding only with a grunt. It didn’t matter how genuinely upset Wade seemed by this situation--he was keeping Peter prisoner. He refused to feel any sort of sympathy for the man.

“Just—get in,” Wade muttered, pushing Peter back towards the car, still with a steel grip on his arm.

Wade shoved Peter into the driver’s seat from the passenger side and got in after him. “Get back on the road, pretty please,” he instructed. “We’re gonna keep going on to LA.”

“I should’ve known not to give you a ride,” Peter seethed from behind gritted teeth. “My aunt had just told me not to trust people like you, and what do I do? Ignore her.”

“Yeah, you should really be careful about who you let into your car,” Wade nodded. “You’re lucky that, like, I don’t want to hurt you. I could actually be a jackass, y’know?”

“Yeah, wouldn’t want you looking like a jackass in this situation.”

Wade made an affronted noise, but didn’t say anything, and that just added to Peter’s frustration. He slammed his palm on the steering wheel, startling both of them, but didn’t say anything. He was afraid his voice would break if he spoke, and that would just be the icing on the cake.

And then another horrible realization struck him: was Peter even going to get the chance to spread Uncle Ben’s ashes? Was this entire trip going to end in him having to go home--that is, if Wade even let him go home--with his tail between his legs, a bruised ego, and a depressingly full box of ashes? For some reason, that thought was the one that hurt the most, not his possible execution at the hands of a hitchhiker. He’d be doing Uncle Ben yet another disservice, letting him down even when he was dead.

He couldn’t be quiet about it. Even if it annoyed Wade and put Peter’s personal safety in danger, he was going to fight so he could spread the ashes. He had to.

“Do I at least get to stop at Zion and spread Uncle Ben’s ashes?” he managed to grind out, biting back tears of anger.

“Of freaking course!” Wade exclaimed. “I’m not gonna stop a grieving man from spreading his uncle’s ashes over a glorious national park. That’s too much, even for me. Especially for me. I am actually trying to get better at this ‘not being a criminal’ thing, y’know.”

Peter’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. That...that was it? He’d been prepared to fight tooth and nail with Wade, but apparently he didn’t need to.

“A-alright.”

***

“Are you gonna keep pouting all night?” he asked.

Peter gave him a scathing glare that made Wade whine in protest.

“Look, can I at least explain my side?” Wade pressed. “I just...You can keep hating me, I just want you to know everything, okay?”

“Explain all you want, but you still kidnapped me. At fucking gunpoint.”

“Fair enough.”

Wade twisted his body so he was facing Peter, his head resting on the door, and started . He explained his service in the military, his honorable discharge due to the injury that had lead to the scars that crisscrossed his entire body, and the chronic pain that came with them.

He explained how, after sitting around for less than a month, he had been bored to death, and a friend had gotten him into the mercenary business. It had been easy for him, and it brought in good money. It had helped that he was his own boss, able to work when he wanted and only kill people he felt were deserving. Of course it also got him into a lot of trouble, but he finally had something to do, a purpose, an outlet.

But then someone--one of his clients--had attempted to stab him in the back. He had wanted Wade to kill his business partner but, unbeknownst to Wade, had also planned to immediately capture him and turn him over to the cops, making himself the hero. Wade had caught wind of it, and skipped town off before they could get him and promptly execute him.

“So that’s why I’m here,” Wade said, gesturing around the car. “Trying to get the hell away from everything, and hopefully disappear, get a new life on some tropical island.”

Peter hummed sympathetically. “Sad story, but you can’t Stockholm Syndrome me that easily.”

Wade groaned loudly, head banging against the window. “I wasn’t trying to make you fall for me!” he whined.

“Of course not.”

“Look, when we spread Uncle B’s ashes and I get everything cleared up, I swear you’ll never see me again,” Wade said earnestly. “But for now, since you’ve been seen with me, you’re in trouble, too. Seriously, you’re safer with me right now than on your own.”

“I’d be safer in a pool full of sharks,” Peter growled, hunching down in his seat.

“Hey, sharks are sort of friendly!”

***

“Wade, I have to take a break,” Peter said weakly, rubbing his hand over his eyes. His eyelids valiantly fought to stay closed, but he didn’t let them. “We’re gonna crash if I don’t get some sleep.”

Wade didn’t respond, and for a second, Peter thought he wasn’t going to answer at all.

“Yeah, we can take a break,” Wade finally agreed. “Stop at the next rest stop.”

By this point, the next rest area they came across was almost completely empty, save for a lone parked car that had been more than likely left by hikers. Peter immediately stepped out of the car, stretching his arms above his head.

“What’s the likelihood of me being able to run away?”

“Not great. Sorry, baby boy.”

Peter sighed and wandered over to a bench, the farthest that he dared to go without Wade getting on his case. He just needed some distance, even if he knew that the man was still watching over him like a hawk. He flopped down heavily on the bench, stretching his legs out in front of him.

God, this sucked.

He knew he had been stupid. He put himself in this entire situation, something that could have been very easily avoided. He was such an idiot. It was this kind of dumbness that had ended up with Uncle Ben getting shot. Peter knew that it was just his brain piling all of his mistakes on him at once, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t see the glimmers of truth in the insults.

Peter sat hunched over on the bench, his head in his hands. After a second, Wade came and sat next to him, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. Peter recoiled, his heart pounding as he tried not to look too scared. Wade quickly held up his hands in a gesture of peace, and moved so there was a bit more space between them.

“It’s gonna be alright, baby boy,” Wade told him, his voice soothing. “Just take some deep breaths.”

Peter grumbled angrily, but lapsed back into silence. He tried his best to ignore Wade, which was made easier when the man didn’t bother him again.

When he had finally pulled himself together, he looked up at Wade. The man was staring at the sunset, sad lines etched into his forehead, mouth drooping in a frown that was completely out of place on his normally goofy face.

“Do...do you wanna take some pictures?” Wade asked sheepishly, holding Peter’s camera out to him. Peter hadn’t even been aware that Wade had unpacked anything. “There are some of those weird prickly things you love over there…”

Peter stood up to tell him a curt ‘no’, but then he saw the plants growing in on the other side of the road.

Goddammit.

He grabbed the camera from Wade and stomped across the road to take some pictures.

After he was done, Wade motioned for him to get in the backseat.

“We’ll stay here for a bit longer,” he explained. “You look like you’re about to keel over at any second.”

Peter obligingly climbed into the backseat, lying down with a sweatshirt as a pillow. Wade climbed into the driver’s seat, pointedly putting the keys in his pocket and turning on the child lock. Fucker.

Peter fought valiantly to stay awake, glancing out the window for any signs of people, especially the drivers of the only other car at the rest stop. But the only other living thing he saw was a raccoon scurrying into the bushes, and the crooning oldies that Wade had put on was dragging him closer and closer to sleep.

Sighing heavily, he finally gave up and fell asleep.

***

It was inevitable that they had to stop again. The gas tank was dangerously close to empty, so they pulled into a gas station. It was late at night and the place was deserted, save for a bored looking cashier inside who didn’t spare either of them a second glance.

Wade paid for the gas while Peter stood on the other side of the car, eyes darting around, desperate for somewhere to go or someone to flag down. He knew there was no point in just blindly running. They were in the middle of nowhere, the cashier clearly didn’t care and even if he did Wade could take him out before he could do anything.

Just as he was trying to decide what to do, another car turned into the station and pulled up to the pumps. Peter’s heart pounded, and he tried to gesture at them subtly while Wade continued whistling through his teeth and looking at the pump.

Moments later, Peter nearly screamed with relief when a cop car slowly pulled in as well, rolling to a stop only a few yards away. Wade abruptly stopped whistling and turned to stare intently at the car, but Peter didn’t care. This was it. This was his chance!

“Petey, baby you need to get back in the car,” Wade said, voice calm but eyes hard.

Peter scoffed and gave him a disbelieving look. The cop was getting out of his car, a few more people were getting out of the car that had parked earlier. Some part of Peter was waving a red flag, but he ignored it.

Taking a deep breath, Peter shouted as loudly as he could. “Hey! Help me, this dude’s kidnapped me! Plea--”

He didn’t get his last word out before Wade grabbed his arm and yanked him behind the car as bullets started flying.

“Stay down!” Wade barked, pulling out his gun and firing off a few shots back. He was rewarded with a shout of pain and more bullets raining down on them.

While Wade was distracted, Peter looked wildly around and spotted his escape route: an alley next to the gas station that disappeared into darkness. With his arms thrown over his head, Peter awkwardly tried to scuttle away from the firefight on his knees from the firefight. Wade was a freaking magnet when it came to psychos who wanted to shoot them--

He almost couldn't believe it when he rounded the corner of the alley, away from Wade and the other guys. Suddenly all the fear caught up with him and his muscles locked before he was able to shake off his shock and bolt down the alley, away from fight.

He heard footsteps behind him and his blood ran cold for a moment, Seconds later relief washed over him as a figure emerged from the gloom of the alley. Another cop. Peter took a deep breath and forced himself to his feet. He raised his hands and stepped forward. “Officer! Please, you gotta help me--”

The words stuck in his throat when he saw the hard look on the officer’s face. Peter’s eyes widened as the officer drew his gun and aimed at him. He opened his mouth to shout, to point in the direction of Wade, but the man didn’t seem to care, eyes hard and locked on him. If it wasn’t for Wade literally jumping on top of the man with a knife, Peter knew he’d be already full of bullets.

It felt like a repeat of the last time as he watched Wade wrestle the gun away from the man before using it to shoot at the other men as they ran into the alley. Peter finally shook off his shock and managed to dive behind a trashcan, hiding from any errant bullets.

Or apparently not errant, because that cop had definitely looked Peter right in the face and definitely been ready to kill him. Apparently, Peter was now guilty by association.. The police saw him as enough of a threat that they wanted to shoot him on sight. Or were they even the police? Were they just more mobsters? His head was spinning.

Wade was still struggling against the cop, spitting out curses even as his face was turning purple. He scrabbled against the man’s hands around his throat, but the bloody

Peter glanced around desperately, searching for some sort of weapon in the trash around him. He grabbed a plank of splintered wood that had fallen out of one of the trash bags, and brandished it in front of him like a club. Peter hesitated for only a split second, before he gripped the piece of wood tight and whacked the cop on the side of the head.

The man let out a startled grunt before going limp and dropping to his knees, pulling Wade down with him. He was groaning and moving slightly, but was incapacitated for the moment.

Peter and Wade didn’t move for a bit, both of them panting and staring at the man. Finally, Wade wiped the blood off of his chin, and looked up at Peter with wonder in his eyes.

“You really can fight,” Wade huffed, giving him a half-smirk.

***

Once they’d gotten their breath back, Wade suggested they find somewhere to sleep and hope that things looked better in the morning. As freaked-out as he was, Peter was also seriously exhausted and Wade’s plan sounded suddenly appealing.

Fortunately for both of them, the room was cleaner than the outside. The carpet was slightly sticky and the thin walls offered only a modicum of privacy from their neighbors, but the sheets seemed clean and the bathroom lacked any obvious mold (even if there was a weird, stale smell that hung over the room).

“Alright, you take that bed,” Wade said, dropping his bag onto the bed that was nearest to the door and pointing to its twin at the back of the room. “You wanna shower first?”

Peter shrugged, sitting down on his designated bed and hearing the springs squeal in protest. “You’re, uh, bloodier than me. You go ahead.”

Wade didn’t fight him, instead going straight into the bathroom, leaving the door partially cracked. Peter could hear him humming and the sound of his clothes dropping onto to the tiled floor. The shower curtain slid open and shut and, as if a switch had been flipped, Wade started to sing, nonsensical and offkey lyrics that sounded vaguely like one of the songs that he had played in the car, but it was so distorted that Peter couldn’t quite tell.

He came back out with a towel wrapped around his waist and another one around his bald head. He whistled cheerfully between his teeth and pulled on his pajamas--for such a small bag, the man did seem to have quite a lot of pajamas. Wade had worn a different pair every single night they’d been together. These ones had cartoon monkeys and bananas on.

“You go on and sleep, Petey,” Wade said, settling down at the small table by the window and opening his bag.

“Do we need to, like, be on watch?” Peter asked. What was the protocol for these situations? Should one of them always be awake? Were they gonna switch off sometime in the middle of the night?

“I’ll take care of it,” Wade said, interrupting Peter’s thoughts. He didn’t look up as he started going through the bag and pulling out weapons. “I can sleep in the car, you can’t. Unless you want me to drive?”

“I think that’s a hard no,” Peter said immediately. He hesitated. “Why did the police shoot at us?”

Wade finished laying the guns out on the table, a sight that unnerved Peter. “They were either fake cops or were workin’ for someone,” he said casually, as if he was discussing the weather.

Peter nodded. “Huh. Okay.”

“Y’know, I gotta say you’re taking this all pretty well,” Wade commented as he started loading up magazines with bullets.

“Oh no. Inside, I’m screaming bloody murder and having a complete meltdown. I’m just good at hiding it at this point.”

“Well, that’s good to hear. I wouldn’t want to take you for some sort of emotionless psycho.”

Peter let out a laugh that was more than slightly hysterical. Wade stopped what he was doing and watched Peter warily, but didn’t move as Peter went and crawled under the covers, huddling into a tight ball.

“You wanna talk about it, baby boy?”

“No,” Peter’s voice filtered through the pillow. “I just wanna go to sleep and pretend it didn’t happen.”

“That’s not a healthy coping mechanism, Peter.”

“Good night.”

***

Peter woke up to the sounds of sirens with a start, jerking upwards and pushing the blankets off. He expected to see Wade asleep in the bed next to him, but the man was still sitting at the desk, the curtains pushed back a bit to let in a stream of neon light from the motel’s sign.

“What’s going on?” Peter said, urgency tinging his voice.

Wade turned to look at him, his face unnaturally solemn. He looked surreal and almost terrifying with the scars on his face and torso highlighted in fluorescent orange and green.

“It’s just passing by,” he rumbled, voice deep. “Go back to sleep.”

Peter swallowed and laid back down, but his eyes were still wide open. His heart was racing in his chest. He knew that the attackers hadn’t been actual police officers, but that didn’t mean the law wasn’t still after Wade and, by extension, Peter. And that they wouldn’t shoot at Peter, too.

God, the stress of the what-ifs were going to kill him before any bullet did. How did people do it? A few days of being on the run and he’s practically a nervous wreck. Wade had done this for years.

“What’s goin’ on in that big head of yours, Petey?”

Wade came and sat down on the edge of the bed, leaving a respectable amount of space between the two of them.

“It’s just...a lot,” Peter finally muttered, rolling over onto his side so he could face Wade. “I don’t know how you do it. Did it. I haven’t had half of the experiences you had, and all I wanna do is hunker down in some cabin in the woods where no one’ll find me.”

Wade gave him a sad half-smile, but didn’t respond. He shifted so he was sitting with his back resting against the headboard. His hand came and rested on Peter’s head, soothingly running through his unruly hair.

“Go back to sleep,” Wade repeated. “I won’t doze off anytime soon, you’re safe.”

Peter didn’t pull away or comment on the fact that Wade had ignored what Peter said. He forced his eyes to stay shut, and the rhythmic motion of the petting finally had him falling into a deep sleep.

***

“So, I guess people are actually after me now.”

“Yup.”

“And they want me dead.”

“They can't want you dead if they're already deader than dead.”

“You can't just kill all of your problems, Wade. Or mine.”

“Doesn't mean I'm not gonna try.”

***

“I’m gonna catch some z’s.”

Wade pushed the seat back after fiddling with it for a bit. He pulled his ballcap over his eyes to block out the desert sun and within seconds, he was snoring softly, barely audible over the music.

Peter sighed, leaning his arm against the open window and propping his head in his hand. The road was almost completely straight, and would be for a while yet, so he put on the cruise control and allowed himself to relax slightly. He tapped absently on the steering wheel along to the song, not paying too much attention to it.

His gaze drifted over to the passenger’s seat, and he felt his heart speed up. It was weird to see Wade without his wide, goofy grin, and his bright eyes. Peter would admit that Wade was cute--okay, very cute--but with his muscles and sharp jawline highlighted by the bright Arizona sunlight, he was...handsome, despite the scars. More handsome than Peter had noticed before. If it weren’t for the gun Peter could see bulging at his waistband, it would feel like a proper road trip, one he might have with a friend or a boyfriend.

The car shook as it drifted over the rumble strips on the side of the road. Peter quickly righted the car, face flushed as he ignored Wade’s angry grumble and curious gaze peeking from under the hat.

No, no, he couldn’t think like that, not at all. He couldn’t even think about daydreams involving Wade being his boyfriend, or about the way the light twinkled in his eyes, or of them spending lazy summer days together cuddled up--shit.

Peter made a pained noise, his grip tightening on the steering wheel. God, he had to get ahold of himself.

“You, uh, doin’ okay, bud?”

He shook off his thoughts and glanced over at Wade. His cap was raised and the sleep was gone from his eyes.

“I can drive, if you need me to,” Wade offered, straightening his seat.

Peter let out a tight breath. “No, I’m fine. I just got distracted for a second.”

Wade grunted in acknowledgement, his gaze lingering on Peter’s flushed face. “You’re lookin’ a bit peeky,” he pressed. “Sure you don’t wanna stop somewhere air-conditioned that has food?”

“Jesus, I’m fine,” Peter hissed. He slapped at the A/C, turning the fan up to its highest setting. This man was like a dog with a bone.

“I mean, obviously you’re not. You’re red as hell, and I know it’s not a sunburn, because you were fine just a couple minutes ago, and you slather on the sunscreen like a soccer mom. Good for you for fighting off skin cancer, but still. Are you getting that road hypnosis thing? Look! You’re getting redder--oh. Ohhh.”

Peter gritted his teeth. Indeed, he could feel his face getting hotter, despite the cool air blasting him. He stared stubbornly at the road, but Wade leaned forward so Peter could see his shit-eating grin in the corner of his vision.

“What’s got you all flustered?” Wade drawled, elongating the last word.

“None of your business.”

“Aww, don’t be like that! Let’s gossip!”

“I said drop it.”

“Were you thinking of a cute boy? A cute girl? Me shirtless?”

Peter rolled down all of the windows, and the whipping wind effectively drowned out Wade’s babble. He couldn’t escape the sly looks Wade gave him, though.

***

At this point, the universe apparently decided that things had been going too smoothly for them.

They had stopped in a town for gas and a late lunch at an old-fashioned diner (“Look at it, Petey! It’s got neon signs! We have to go!”) and were eating in relative silence when there was a sudden explosion outside.

They stared out of the window,  wide eyed as a plume of smoke and flames rose from Peter’s car. People in the diner were yelling in shock, and someone was frantically calling the police.

“And that’s why we bring our bags with us wherever we go,” Wade said, taking a sip of his coffee. He threw down a fifty and started ushering Peter out of the diner, giving the car a wide berth.

***

“But who just blows up someone’s car?” Peter raged, throwing his hands up. “Like, we weren’t even in it! They didn’t stick around to try and kill us! They didn’t even leave us a note or anything!”

“They were probably just trying to piss us off,” Wade said, absently kicking an empty soda can on the ground. “Y’know, toy with us. Lower our morale.”

“Well they sure as hell were successful with that first part! Are you kidding me?!”

Peter let out a scream of frustration and sat down hard on the curb, letting out a quiet wheeze when he misjudged his speed and ended up hurting his ass.

“Look, I’ll figure something out, okay?” Wade said, scratching the back of his head. “There’s gotta be a used car place somewhere around here. Or someone selling an old truck. Just...you stay here, I’ll deal with it.” He slung his bag over his shoulder.

“No, I should go with you,” Peter huffed, making a move to stand up. He squawked in disbelief when Wade pushed him back down.

“It’ll be less suspicious if it’s just one of us,” Wade said, already strutting away.

“But you’ll just end up getting in more trouble!” Peter shouted after him. Wade cheerily waved back at him in response.

Peter let out an irritated growl before trying to get more comfortable on the ground. He had no clue how long it would take Wade to be back, and whether the man would come back with the police hot on his tail.

***

“Wade. What is this.”

Wade grinned widely and threw his arms open proudly. “Do you like it? It only cost me a single hundo. It’s amazing what a lil’ threatening can accomplish.”

Peter didn’t respond, staring in growing horror at the RV.

“Wade, I don’t know how to drive this thing,” he said tightly.

“C’mon, it can’t be that hard! It’ll be a new experience for both of us!”

Wade was already climbing inside. “And we’re turtles now!” he called out, his voice muffled. “We carry our home around with us. How awesome is that? And we don’t need to stop to go to the bathroom. It’s gonna be so much fun.”

Peter took a few deep breaths, closing his eyes. “When I crash and die, you’re paying for my funeral.”

***

Peter grimaced, deleting the last picture he’d taken before raising the camera up to his eye again. This time, the preview on the little screen was satisfactory, and he was quick to snap a few more before heading back to the RV.

Wade was hanging out of the window, wearing his sunglasses and a dopey smile.

“What?”

“Nothin’,” Wade said. “You’re just cute as a button.”

Peter attempted to splutter out a response but Wade was already back inside the RV with the window shut.

***

There was only one lofted bed in the RV plus a lumpy couch. Wade insisted that Peter have the bed, since he was the one that actually needed the sleep, but Wade barely fit on the sofa.

Peter had been listening to Wade toss and turn on the sofa for the past half hour. He stared at the ceiling, his irritation at the squeaking of springs and Wade’s frustrated noises growing more and more unbearable by the second. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore.

“Just--get up here,” Peter huffed. “This is stupid, it’s cold, and there’s no point for you to be stiff.”

Wade didn’t even argue.

He awkwardly clambered up the ladder, nearly elbowing Peter in the nose as he got situated on the bed. He eventually settled on his back, his arm pressed against Peter’s. Neither of them said anything, making an effort to get to sleep.

“I really appreciate how nice you’re being about this whole thing, baby boy,” Wade said softly. Peter glanced at him in the darkness, but the man had his eyes closed. “I know it’s...probably not what you were expecting and I just--thanks. You’re a good dude.”

Peter hummed. “Well, you’re not such a bad guy,” he relented. “I mean, you kinda are, but you did save me and it seems like you’re trying to move on from the mercenary stuff. Which is kinda great.”

“I don’t...I don’t like who I am. Was. Who I’m trying to not be,” Wade swallowed hard, stumbling over his words. “I was a major dickbag. I didn’t really think about it before but now I can’t stop thinking about it. I just...I wanna be better now, y’know? Not do any of this stuff anymore.”

Peter reached out and squeezed his hand. Wade stiffened but then relaxed, entwining their fingers.

“You’re still a dickbag,” Peter informed him with a teasing smile. “Last time I checked, kidnapping someone definitely falls under the ‘dickbag’ category.”

Wade started to protest but Peter hushed him with a laugh, unconsciously leaning further into Wade’s side.

***

They reached Zion National Park with no more troubles, paid the entrance fee, and were soon driving through the hills.

It hurt Peter to be there. The fun times they had had here on every summer break Peter had--there was a photo album in the attic somewhere that only had pictures from these trips.

All he could think of was driving here with Uncle Ben, how excited his uncle was to be taking Peter there. Aunt May had leaned against the car and laughed as Uncle Ben and Peter climbed up some of the rocks, the older man holding Peter’s hand the entire way so he wouldn’t fall. Aunt May and Peter poised with their arms thrown around each other as Uncle Ben tried to take a picture, fiddling with his camera and muttering about it not working the entire time.

“So, uh, where are we planning on doing this?” Wade asked, looking out the windows and inadvertently drawing Peter from his thoughts. “I’ve never done anything like this before. What’s the protocol? Can we just throw the ashes in the air, sing kumbaya, and be done?”

Peter snorted, shaking his head fondly. “We’ll park and walk to a cliff or something. Somewhere nice.”

It took awhile, but they finally found a pullover area that overlooked the beautiful scenery. They parked the car and finally got out, Peter carrying the box. With great care, he opened it and pulled out the sealed bag filled with ashes as he walked closer to the edge.

Peter paused, staring down at the bag. Then he started laughing.

Wade gave him a quizzical look, leaning in. “Uh, what is it?” he asked uncomfortably.

“I...I can’t open the bag,” he wheezed, almost in hysterics as he bent over, laughing until tears ran down his cheeks.  The bag was sealed tightly, with no indication on where or how to open it. Wade stared at him in disbelief before he suddenly snorted and started chuckling as well, running a hand over his eyes.

“If you happen to have a machete on you, I won’t kill you if you let me use it,” Peter managed to gasp out, wiping away a tear from his eye. He wheezed when Wade’s whole face lit up and he did exactly that.

When he gathered himself, Peter held out the bag and Wade made a careful cut into it. Apparently he wasn’t careful enough, though, because the tear widened exponentially and soon the ashes were pouring out. They both screeched, jumping out of the way, and barely managing to escape a faceful of ashes.

Peter couldn’t help but smile as he caught Wade’s eye, and suddenly both of them dissolved into giggles, which quickly became full-bellied laughs, helpless at the ridiculousness of the situation as the wind whipped the ashes out into the canyon. Gradually, their laughter faded and Peter gave a small, bittersweet smile as he stared out into the canyon.

“Do you want some time alone?” Wade asked quietly, his voice shattering the sudden silence.

Peter hesitated a second and then nodded. Wade reached out and squeezed Peter’s hand. “Take all the time you need.”

Wade walked away.  Peter didn’t look away from the view, even though all of the ash had long disappeared.

***

They finally reached Las Vegas, and spent almost half an hour driving in circles, trying to decide what hotel to go to. Wade was dead set on staying at the most expensive, over-the-top room they could get (“C’mon, Petey, it’s not everyday you get to be in Vegas!”), while Peter wanted something more inconspicuous and under the radar, like a crappy motel that wouldn’t ask for IDs and took straight cash.

In the end, they flipped a coin. Wade cheered in victory as Peter sourly drove into the valet area of his chosen hotel.

Peter wasn’t sure how he did it, but Wade managed to book them a suite in one of the fanciest hotels he’d ever stepped into. He felt completely out of place in his grimy clothes and scuffed shoes, but he was still ushered into the elevator and into the room, which wasn’t actually a room, but almost an entire floor of the building.

Peter spun around the room, jaw dropped. “Holy crap, Wade, this is amazing,” he said.

“And you wanted us to stay in a literal shithole,” Wade teased, draping himself over the back of the leather couch. “Isn’t this better? Look, there’s a hot tub right next to the living room--also, our fucking hotel room has a living room, baby boy. But if that hot tub isn’t some rich person swingers BS, then I don’t know what is.”

***

“I’m gonna go find some ice and scope the place out,” Wade called as he walked towards the door, carrying an empty bucket.

“You can probably have room service bring it to you,” Peter replied sleepily from the couch.

“Yeah, but then I wouldn’t get to snoop around, silly.”

Peter snorted, smiling fondly as he pushed his face further into the pillow. God, it was so comfortable.

Wade came back with a very different attitude, his whole body tense. “Go enjoy the hot tub, really quick,” he practically shouted, pulling off his clothing.

Peter looked up at him from the couch in alarm. “Wh--calm down, I don’t wanna get in right now,” he complained. “What’s wrong?”

“Bad people definitely know we’re here right now, but they won’t be able to get their people together for at least another hour,” Wade said. He was down to his boxers as he hopped into the hot tub. “And listen to me, I refuse to leave this place without getting the chance to chill out a little bit in this swinger’s sex tub, okay?”

“Wade, what the fuck.”

“When I went to find some ice, I ran into an old friend who was nice enough to help me out. Never let it be said that Neena doesn’t have your back when she owes you. People know we’re here, and we have about an hour before they come and try to shoot up the place. Now, will you let me have a few minutes of relaxation before we go find a new hotel that doesn’t have a private hot tub?”

***

The motel was dingy, the polar opposite of the hotel they had been staying at only an hour ago. The lady behind the desk didn’t even look at their faces as she took the cash and handed them a key. The couple in the room next door were arguing loudly, but they didn’t pay attention to them. Wade was busy lying out on the bed the most guns and knives than Peter had ever seen in his entire life.

“Are you gonna be alright?” Peter asked.

His cheeks flushed at how inadequate the sentence felt. He might as well should have come out and said, ‘hey, how do you feel about most likely dying tomorrow?’ Wade didn’t seem to particularly mind the clumsy word choice, though.

“I should be,” Wade said with a crooked smile as he kept flitting around the room, putting on a Kevlar vest he’d magically pulled from his bag. Jesus, how big was that thing? “I’m very hard to kill, y’know.”

“Yeah, well, there’s a difference between invincibility and being a cockroach,” Peter countered.

Wade gaped at him, putting a hand over his heart. “Did you just compare me to a cockroach?”

“Be offended later, Wade. I’m trying to be serious.”

“You’re the one that started it, not me.”

“Wade. Stop trying to distract me.”

Peter reached out and firmly grabbed Wade’s arm, stopping him from pacing. The man made a move to try to escape, but Peter held firm. Finally, Wade let out a heavy sigh, his head lolling to the side.

“I should be alright,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I mean, I’ve done this stuff hundreds of times before. It’ll be a helluva fight, knowing those bastards, but I’ll pull through it. I always do, y’know?”

Peter hesitated for only a second before he took a step closer and met Wade’s lips with his. It was only a few seconds, nothing more than soft skin on scarred tissue, but it made Peter lightheaded, his heart thumping in his chest madly.

When he pulled back, Wade’s eyes were shut, and he swayed slightly. He blinked dumbly, mouth agape. Peter’s face was bright red, but he refused to let his nerves get the best of him.

“You gotta promise me that that wasn’t a dramatic goodbye kiss,” Peter demanded, poking him roughly in the chest. “I’m not gonna be the love interest in some angsty romantic movie.”

“Does that mean that this was a romantic movie and not some buddy movie?” Wade asked with awe in his voice as he reached out and took Peter’s hand.

Peter chuckled fondly, resting his head on Wade’s shoulder and moving forward to hug him. “It can be both, you know. But I think any movie involving you is gonna be a rom-com, hands down.”

Wade didn’t respond right away, choosing instead to bury his face in Peter’s hair. Peter could feel the handle of a gun pressing into his side from where it was hidden in Wade’s jacket, but he was surprised to find it didn’t bother him as much as it should. They stayed like that for a while, neither of them saying anything, until Wade finally pulled away.

“If I’m not back by morning, take the van and leave,” he said, looking down, his grip tightening briefly on Peter’s hand. “You see that handgun on the table? That’s for you to use if anything somehow gets back to you. Do you need me to show you how to use it?”

Peter shook his head. Uncle Ben had taken him hunting a few times when he was kid, and he remembered some of the basics. It helped that ‘hunting’ had actually been their codeword for shooting at targets in the woods after Peter had cried for days when he got close to shooting a deer.

“Ya gotta promise me you won’t do anything dumb,” Wade continued. “Just go back to Queens and keep being a total badass, okay?”

Peter bit his lip hard and refused to respond as Wade put on his shoes and left the apartment.

Once he had left, Peter flopped onto of the bed, the springs screeching in protest. The neighbors were fighting again, and he wasn’t in the mood to put up with it. He opened his phone and pressed play, not knowing what song would come up.

He felt like crying and laughing at the same time when the first song that played was Steely Dan. He stared at the ceiling for a while before he felt tears welling up. He threw an arm over his eyes, and let himself choke out a sob. Wade had better make it back in one piece.

***

It was nearing morning when there was a feeble knock at the door, so quiet Peter, half-asleep, thought he had imagined it. But after a few moments, he heard the knock again.

He fumbled out of the bed and grabbed the handgun that Wade had left him. His heart thudded in his ears as he made his way to the door. There wasn’t a peephole that he could look out of, making him mutter a curse.

“Who is it?” he called, cursing the lack of a peep-hole as he desperately tried to keep his voice from wavering in fear.

“Your knight in not-so-shining armor.”

Peter fought with the lock and threw the door open, breath catching in his throat when he saw Wade.

Wade definitely looked like he’d been put through the ringer. His clothing was ripped and stained with blood and dirt. His skin was covered in scrapes and cuts from where he no doubt had wrestled with people. Half of his head, including one of his eyes, had been  wrapped somewhat haphazardly in gauze and he was swaying dangerously, as if he might fall over at any second. Peter rushed to hold him up, keeping a careful arm around Wade’s waist while trying to avoid his injuries.

“Jesus, you look like hell,” Peter blurted out before he could stop himself.

“Yeah, well you should see the other guys,” Wade said, his laugh breathy and unconvincing.

Peter made to maneuver him to sit on the bed move towards the bed so Wade could lay down, but Wade pulled back a bit, shaking his head.

“We need to go,” he said. “I think I got them all, but better safe than sorry, I think. Don’t wanna have gone through all of that shit only to be killed by some little man with a vendetta.” He spat on the ground, and it was filled with blood.

Peter nodded quickly. “Okay. Okay. Do...do you need to go to a hospital?”

Wade hummed, leaning his head against the doorframe. “Probably,” he said. He shifted and winced in pain. “Alright, yes I do. But I took care of this”--he tried to gesture at his face and ended up almost losing his balance--”which...which was the worst of it. We can’t go to the hospital in Las Vegas. Too risky.”

Peter made sure that Wade was alright to stand on his own before rushing around the room, stuffing things back into his bag. He was done in record time and was back to supporting Wade.

“We’ll find a hospital on the way to my friend’s house,” Peter said, helping Wade towards the car. “She lives a couple of hours away. Do you think you can hold out for that long?”

“Yeah, I can make it,” Wade croaked out, wincing when he sat down on the seat. “Gwen?”

Peter raised an eyebrow. “Huh. You actually listened to me when I was babbling while driving,” he said teasingly, pushing the seatback down and helping Wade buckle in.

Wade let out a wet laugh. “I always listen to what you say, baby boy,” he said, head lolling to the side as he gave Peter a warm grin. “I know a guy near here that can patch me up, no questions.”

Peter swallowed as he started the car. “Just gimme the directions and I’ll get you there,” he said. “Consider me your personal chauffeur. And this time, you don’t even need to have a gun pointed at me.”

Wade snorted. “You’ve been my driver this entire time, you silly man. Didn’t you pick up on that?”

“Did you just call me a silly man? This from the man who wears pajamas meant for children and has a goldfish tattooed on his ass?”

“Listen, I thought we promised not to bring that up.”

Peter couldn’t help but let out a hysterical laugh, shaking his head in disbelief. “You’re the only person I know who could still be cracking jokes at a time like this,” he said.

Wade shrugged, his shoulder barely moving. When Peter glanced over at him, he saw that the bloodstain on the bandages was starting to spread. Peter swallowed, and forced himself to pay attention to the road, fighting to stay below the speed limit. The last thing they needed to do was get stopped by the police.

Wade touched the bandages on his face, moving slowly. “‘M not gonna be pretty anymore, baby boy,” he murmured. “Not that I was that pretty before. But it’s gonna be ten times worse. Infinity times worse. I’m gonna look like the hellspawn of Jason and Freddy Kreuger. Maybe I should just go ahead and find a group of teenagers to harass. Or just get a tacky mask to hide it all.”

They pulled up to a stoplight and Peter turned in his seat to face Wade. He gently pulled Wade’s bloodied hand away from the bandages. When Wade turned to him, Peter leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips.

“You’ll still be cute to me,” Peter promised, stroking the back of Wade’s hand with his thumb.

Wade’s mouth dropped open in shock before he hissed and closed his jaw. “You can’t say cute shit like that to me when I’m hurt,” he complained loudly. “It hurts to move my face, damn it. How am I supposed to show my astonishment if I can barely talk?”

“Oh, I think you’re fine with talking,” Peter snickered, moving the car forward when the light turned green. “You could be half dead and still be jabbering away. Exhibit A: you right now.”

“Alright, smartass,” Wade grumbled, but there was a small, content smile on his lips. He interlaced his fingers with Peter’s free hand. “Let’s get going, baby boy.”