#good lord will I ever shut up about these basketball kids

[courtingstars]

Notes for The Vanishing Prince, Chapter 4

It’s Chapter Four, hurray! This one turned out a little differently than I expected… Mostly because the scene at Rakuzan ended up being so long. But I decided to keep it as is, because I just love Rakuzan’s team SO MUCH. <3

So as promised, this was Rakuzan’s turn to have a cameo (and by cameo I mean a super long scene, with loads of love for the Uncrowned Kings and especially Reo).

Also, I ended up including screenshots from the anime in this post! So if you’re interested in a basic breakdown of my theory about why scenes like this one prove that psychic phenomena were included in the show from the beginning:

Well read on, friend. BECAUSE OH DO I HAVE THEORIES ABOUT THAT.

(Cut for stuff about Rakuzan, a little about why I love the Uncrowned Kings so much, even more love for Reo, a brief explanation of some of the supernatural/psychic references, and a seriously epic yudofu restaurant because tofu is Akashi’s first love, obviously)

On Rakuzan’s Campus

It was fun to try to figure out what Rakuzan as a school would be like… I’ve had a headcanon for a while that each member of the Generation of Miracles chose a high school (and a team) that generally reflected their personality and priorities. So my version of Rakuzan has a lot of Akashi-esque qualities to it. XD

Canonically, Rakuzan is supposed to be a prestigious school that excels in multiple areas. That’s one reason why I included OCs in this chapter, to show that Akashi is far from being the only overachiever at his school. Which, as Furihata realizes, makes his status at the school that much more impressive! (Plus I like to fill out different areas of characters’ lives that we don’t get to see in canon, sometimes by coming up with new characters… I try not to overdo it too much, though, because I know it might only be interesting to me? //laughs)

As a side note, the Rakuzan students are shown preparing for their school’s cultural festival, which is a common event in Japanese schools, and pops up in anime a lot. It frequently involves each class and/or club designing a different booth or event for the festival (like selling food, putting on a play, etc). I’ve read a few series where the festival occurs in late summer to early fall. I don’t know if that’s the typical time of year or not, but that’s why I included the student council working over their vacation to prepare! From what I understand, it’s not uncommon for Japanese students who are really involved in extracurricular activities to continue participating in them over summer vacation (like sports practices, for example).

I Just Really Love The Uncrowned Kings, Okay?

Hopefully I wasn’t the only one looking forward to seeing how Furihata would get along with Rakuzan’s three Uncrowned Kings! I find their canon relationship with Akashi really fascinating, so I wanted to explore some of the implications of it in this chapter. (And then it went on WAYYY longer than I expected. But I was just having too much fun and too many feelings to stop? XD;)

For me, one of the most interesting questions about Rakuzan in KnB is why the other players elected Akashi as captain in his first year… I have a lot of headcanons about it (and a one-shot fic that I started ages ago, that I still really want to finish!). It’s especially interesting because the Uncrowned Kings had a history of competing against the Generation of Miracles in junior high.

So in this chapter, I ended up hinting at some of my theories about why the Kings in particular would decide to make Akashi (and specifically Bokushi!) their leader. I also implied that Akashi wasn’t the only member of Rakuzan who was forced to reevaluate his priorities because of the events of the Winter Cup. (To me this is portrayed really well in the last few episodes, through Reo’s reactions especially.)

Basically, one of the reasons I love Rakuzan so much is because I think of all of them as hyper-competitive people who originally decided to go after victory and focus on dominating the competition, at the cost of everything else… And then were forced to face the consequences of that decision, and realize it was ultimately unfulfilling, at least in part because they came to genuinely value the bonds they’d formed as a team. <3 So I tried to show this in how they explained the situation to Furihata.

… I’m also kind of surprised that I managed to fit in references to all five of the Kings in this chapter? I did not expect that. (And I definitely did not expect how Kiyoshi and Hanamiya would come up in the conversation. //laughs)

Also, I do headcanon Reo as wearing makeup sometimes! I just feel like he would be amazing at it, honestly. (Or maybe I’ve just spent too much time watching beauty gurus on YouTube or something, lol.) In any case, I’m SO HERE for Reo in general… Especially Reo the Love and Sexuality Guru, finally telling it like it really is? //laughs (Oh my god I worked SO MANY self-indulgent headcanons into that silly conversation… Though interestingly enough, Reo flirting with Takao is from some of the anime outtake/bonus scenes. XD So I didn’t make that part up, at least!)

I should probably also mention that some of Furihata’s assumptions/uncertainty about Reo’s identity are related to Japanese culture… In KnB, Reo is depicted as the type of person who would probably be thought of as an “okama,” which usually refers to a gay man who’s also very feminine in their gender expression. (It can also refer to a drag queen, for example.) I think the term was used in the KnB manga, but I wasn’t able to verify that? (And I should also mention that the term itself can be offensive or positive/reclaimed, depending on who uses it.) So gender and sexuality are distinct aspects of a person, but Reo’s choice of self-expression and honorifics, at least to someone who is Japanese, would tend to imply certain things about both. I tried to make that as apparent in the scene as I could, without going into the cultural concept behind it?

(Also a special shout-out to anyone who figured out why Reo asked Furi his date of birth, and why Furi’s answer intrigued him… Because OH HOW I COULD RAMBLE ON AND ON ABOUT THAT.)

On Empaths, Mediums, Clair Senses, and Auras

So for those of you who wanted to see more supernatural stuff in this fic, I really hope you enjoyed Reo’s little conversation with Furi! (I’ve been looking forward to these two finally interacting for SO LONG. I’ve had a million headcanons about them, ever since I wrote that one chapter of Giving Chocolate ages ago… I even hinted at it in several of my other fics, mostly the Christmas ones. XD)

I won’t go into a super-detailed explanation of supernatural abilities here, since the terms I used aren’t culturally specific to Japan, and are pretty easy to research. But since I see Reo as someone who likes to use knowledge from lots of different modalities of the supernatural (like tarot divination, for example), I figured that I would give a quick overview of some of the stuff he mentioned.

An empath is basically someone who is supposed to be able to sense supernatural “energy” in their environment. The idea is that things like a person’s mental health and emotions manifest as energy—in their aura, for example—and empaths can sense this energy and even absorb some of it. (Sometimes to the point that it’s difficult for them to tell the difference between their own feelings and someone else’s.) Empaths can get very overwhelmed and anxious around crowds of people—or a specific person who is emotionally intense or even toxic—for the same reason. Basically, an empath is naturally affected by outside energy, and tends to let that energy in, more than most people. Even though they themselves may not realize it.

A medium, on the other hand, is someone who can connect with spirits, like those of people who have passed on. (I didn’t mention the term in the chapter, but seeing ghosts could potentially fall under this category.) The ability to do this is believed to manifest in a lot of different ways. Some of the possible ways are sometimes called “clair senses.”

“Clair senses” refer to different types of psychic/supernatural perception. The most common term is clairvoyance, which is being able to “see” supernatural phenomena. (From what I understand, it can be literal seeing, or more of a “in your mind’s eye” type of thing.) There are other types of clair senses too, like clairaudience (hearing supernatural things, like a spirit’s voice), and claircognizance (knowing something supernatural, kind of like having a “hunch”).

And finally, an aura is a form of supernatural energy (or light!) that surrounds a person. Some people think it reveals everything from your overall health to your current emotions. (I’ve always been kind of fascinated with the concept, and I even had my aura read for fun once. //laughs) In Chapter Four, we find out that while Akashi’s aura is more or less a single color (red), Furihata’s aura has multiple colors. Believers in auras often claim that the appearance and colors of a person’s aura can tell you a lot about them, and what they’re going through.

So it might seem like a stretch, to be including this stuff in a fic about a basketball anime… But weirdly enough, the canon of Kuroko no Basuke has a lot of intriguing moments that could be interpreted as referring to stuff like auras and clair senses? I could probably ramble on about my theories on this for FOREVER, so instead I’ll just leave a couple of screenshots here:

(Subtitles/translation courtesy of Crunchyroll)

… Yeah. I definitely did not come up with the idea to include this stuff on my own. XD (You can interpret these moments as symbolic too… But I feel like the story actually makes more sense if it’s literal, at least on some level? //laughs)

(Especially since that’s not even counting all the aura-like visuals in the show. And the weird eye stuff. And characters who can apparently predict the future in various ways. AND THE TRIPPY DOOR VISIONS AT THE END. SERIOUSLY DO NOT GET ME STARTED ON THE DOOR VISIONS. Anyway.)

On Platform Dining in Kyoto

I might talk about this in more detail for an upcoming chapter, but yes, the part about dining on platforms in Kyoto in the summer is a real thing! You can find a general overview about it here.

Basically, since it gets so hot and humid in the valley where Kyoto is, some of the restaurants have a tradition of putting up special wooden platforms over the river and serving their customers on them. It’s called “kawayuka” dining when it’s done over the Kamogawa river, inside the city. (An area outside Kyoto called Kibune also participates in the tradition, where this style of dining is called “kawadoko.”)

On the Yudofu Restaurant

Finally, in the longstanding tradition of me doing way too much research about the places in my fics, I did indeed pick out a real place for Akashi’s favorite restaurant!

First off, I should probably mention that yudofu isn’t just Akashi’s favorite food. It’s also one of the most famous regional dishes in Kyoto. (Maybe THE most famous!) Kyoto has a ton of restaurants that specialize in making high-quality tofu, so a boiled tofu dish like yudofu is extremely popular, both with locals and tourists. Yudofu itself was also created in Kyoto, because the monks working in the temples needed vegetarian dishes for their Buddhist diet.

Yudofu is thought to have originated in the area around Nanzenji temple. That being the case, I wanted to choose one of the most traditional, famous restaurants there to be Akashi’s favorite. I had a couple of choices, like this restaurant, which is one of the oldest restaurants in Japan. But in the end, I chose a place called Nanzenji Junsei because the atmosphere of the garden, the ability to reserve a private dining room, and the elaborate set meals all struck me as something Akashi and his family would appreciate. (Plus it seems to be highly rated as well as famous.) You can learn about the history of the restaurant, and see tons of pictures of the buildings, garden, and the food on the absolutely gorgeous official website here.

(Yeah. I want to go there. SO BAD. You can also see more pictures of the restaurant in the TripAdvisor reviews, including more shots of the private dining rooms.)

And while I haven’t been lucky enough to try it in Kyoto, I have made yudofu before! It’s an ultra simple dish that relies on the highest possible quality ingredients. So it’s definitely an appropriate choice for Akashi. (That being said, it does amuse me that his favorite food is basically just, well, tofu cooked in water… Like what teenage guy would say that was his top favorite food EVER? Oh, Akashi. You are such a Kyoto boy. XD)

On a side note, if you want an idea of how old some of the restaurants in Kyoto really are, I thought this article of the top ten oldest restaurants in Japan was interesting! Kyoto still has restaurants in operation that date all the way back to the middle ages.

The city’s culinary fame also inspired a longtime headcanon of mine that the Rakuzan players initially bonded over restaurant hopping… So that’s why that keeps popping up in my fics? //laughs Well, that, and this screenshot from one of the third season endings that literally shows them eating together in a place that looks like a Kibune kawadoko restaurant, and wearing yukata no less:

(Oh Mayu, I miss you, why did you have to graduate before this fic takes place? XD)

(And seriously don’t get me started on the shots of each team from that ending, they’re all adorable with great little geographical/cultural references AND I CAN’T)

Well, that’s it for my notes! I have a draft of the next chapter completed, and while my goal is to work ahead in the story first, I hope to be posting it very soon. (I don’t want to give too much away, but I will say… IT’S A TRIP.) I’ll also be sharing my Pinterest board for the fic then, so if you enjoyed the ones for Storming the Castle, that’s coming up!

[mydearzero]

Heavenly | E.M. x f!Reader

Summary: You overhear the cheer squad gossiping about you and Eddie and decide to tune in. You didn't expect them to talk about your sex life, time for a little demonstration.

She/her pronouns used. Reader not described.

This is depraved and I'm sorry. Don't do shit like this in school as it will surely get you expelled. Stay in school kids.

MASTERLIST

The girls at Hawkins High were brutal. I mean, many people were, but the girls... The guys would yell about something stupid in your face, which would be annoying but tolerable. At least you knew what you were getting into. The girls would gossip and spread rumours behind your back, even if you assumed you were somewhat friendly with them. 

Which is why it didn't come as a surprise when you overheard some talking casually about you while you were sitting in a stall at the beginning of lunch break. 

"You heard she's dating Munson now? I mean, how far can you fall off? First, she drags Stevie with her to the depths of like, total uncoolness. Now she's done with him and she dates that lowlife? How can you trade Steve Harrington for Eddie Munson?" You heard the conversation being held with some noticeable lipgloss breaks. 

"Yeah, I used to think she was alright. Not worth Steve's attention, but whatever. She's pulling a total Wheeler, honestly. Dating Steve only to dump him for some fucking freak? Pathetic." 

The girls giggled as they finished up their womanly business. You couldn't help but quickly follow them. As soon as you heard the door close, you sprinted out of the stall, washed your hands and didn't bother drying them. You pushed the door open with your wrists. You tried to look as inconspicuous as possible when striding to the cafeteria. 

You almost fell on your ass when you bumped into Eddie, hadn't he grabbed your wrists to steady you. "You alright? Why're you in such a- OW!" You slapped him a few times to shut him up.

"Cheer squad was talking about us. Wanna know if they have something funny to say in case I can mess with them, c'mon." You dragged him into the cafeteria and sat as close to the gossiping group as you could without drawing suspicion. You pulled Eddie down to sit next to you. 

"Pretend to be talking to me or something." You quickly murmured in Eddie's ear, before averting your attention back to the previous conversation. 

"God, speak of the devil. You know I used to be friends with her when we were younger? This is what joining a cult does to you." 

Eddie jokingly fed you a couple of grapes, now also invested in the gossip. 

"I know his name was cleared and he's some kind of hero now, but I can't help but feel a bit scared when he's around, you know?" The other girls agreed. You thanked the lord lunch had only just started. Why did you find this so entertaining? 

"Yeah, I totally get what you mean. I mean, allegedly, he came back from the dead. That's so freaky!" The girls squealed as they thought about it. 

"Hear that? You're a zombie," you laughed as you traded Eddie your juice for his apple, the juice being his favourite part of high school lunch. The giggles died down and silence overtook the group of girls for a second as they were thinking. 

"You gotta give it to him, though. Eddie's pretty hot for a dead guy." Your eyebrows would've shot off your face if it were a possibility, nearly choking in the bite of apple you'd just taken. 

"What the hell, Jess!" The girl in question just shrugged. "Come on, guys. You can't tell me you haven't thought about it!" 

"About what?" The other girls urged Jess to continue. "Seriously? You can criticise her all you want, but I just know she's getting fucked so good. Honestly, that holier-than-thou basketball team could never!" 

Your wide eyes met Eddie's as you were turning red. He had the biggest grin you'd ever seen. Some of the girls appeared to have noticed you must've overheard, but not Jess. 

"I mean, don't they tell you at church one way Satan will pull you to the dark side is through temptation? That man is the spawn of Satan himself! Surely it must be heavenly!" 

Eddie's hand slowly crept up your thigh as the conversation continued. The other girls gaped at Eddie as he made eye contact with every single one of them that was paying attention, leaning closer and closer to your neck as he did so. Why none of them urged Jess to stop talking immediately, was besides you. But part of you knew they were curious, too. They could try and hide, but you noticed a couple of legs press together at Eddie's actions. 

"Is it, babe? Is it heavenly?" Eddie whispered, loud enough for the closest girls to overhear. Jess was still going on about how terrible Jimmy had been in bed, but had lost all the attention of the group. 

The girls turned red at your expression. Eddie had turned you to putty in his hands with just the ghost of his hand and a whisper. You knew Eddie was trying his best to scandalize them as much as possible, so you decided to play along. How much of it would be acting, anyways? 

"Yes, Eddie, please." You turned to meet the gaze of Amber, lead cheerleader and total priss. Or so you'd thought. "So good," you whispered, attention now back to Eddie. 

You were glad it was only the seniors currently on lunch break. After everything that went down, not many of them were left, anyways. The cafeteria was pretty much dead. You wouldn't have let Eddie continue, otherwise. 

His hand met the place you needed it most. You felt depraved, doing this in front of the cheer team. It served them right, though. Maybe they'd stop gossiping for once, and reflect on their own depravity first. You whimpered as Eddie's palm pressed against your clothed clit. His mouth was leaving a trail of love bites down your neck, always having eye contact with at least one cheerleader. 

He'd caught Jess' attention now, too. She'd stop talking mid-sentence to join the rest of the team in their gawking. They were still pretending to not notice, trying to eat their food and continue talking as if nothing was happening. But they were struggling. Every breath from your mouth, every kiss from Eddie, it made them squirm. 

"Enjoying the show, ladies?" Eddie finally spoke up with a smug face and a wink. Several girls sputtered to averse their gaze, pretending to not have been watching. To not have been affected by his actions. 

Eddie pushed himself up as if nothing had happened. "Time for class, babe." You wrapped your arm around his waist as he gave a quick pat on your butt and helped you steady your weakened knees. It was only now the girls noticed the shrill ring of the bell. With one last wink to the cheer team, you were off. 

"See, I told you!"

Eddie Munson was pretty hot for a dead guy. 

[luwupercal]

primarchs as john mulaney quotes

lion eljonson: “College was like a four-year game show called ‘Do my friends hate me or do I just need to go to sleep?’” (alternatively: “’You know, Leonard Bernstein was one of the great composers and conductors of the 20th century, but sometimes, he would be gay. And according to a biography I read of him, when he was holding back the gay part, he did some of his best work.’“)

fulgrim: “Comfort is everything. You start doing something and you want it to be perfect right away, but most babies are born ugly and then they shake it out and you get beautiful toddlers” (alternatively: “People having expectations maybe means they’ve enjoyed what I’ve done.”) (alternatively: “’Do you want a salad or fries?’ That’s like asking, ‘Do you want to go for a jog or freebase cocaine?’”) (alt.: “It’s wrong to make fun of people, but it’s so fun sometimes.”) (alt.: “I’m a very lucky person[...], and I’ve shoveled through life rather nicely so far, so I don’t feel like I deserve good treatment.“) (alt.: “When I walk down the street I need everybody, all day long, to like me so much. It’s exhausting.”)

perturabo: “I’ll keep all my emotions right here. And then one day I’ll die.” (alt.: “I was always the squarest person in the cool room, and alternatively, sometimes the weirder person at the mainstream table.”)

jaghatai khan: “I don’t make plans anymore. So I’m not living minute to minute.”

leman russ: “For those of you who don't know what it is, blackout drinking is when your brain goes to sleep, but your body gets all 'Eye of the Tiger' and soldiers on.”

rogal dorn: “And my dad pulled into the drive thru, and we started cheering and then he ordered one black coffee for himself and kept driving.”

konrad curze: “He was the weirdest goddamn person I ever saw in my entire life. He was a man most acquainted with misery.” (alternatively: “Shut up, you’re all gonna die. Street Smarts!”) (alt., Night Lords-wide: “A hundred drunk white children yelling, ‘fuck da police.’”)

sanguinius: “I try to stay optimistic, even though I must admit, things are getting pretty sticky.”

ferrus manus: “I like making fun of myself a lot. I like being made fun of, too. I’ve always enjoyed it. There’s just something really, really funny about someone tearing into me.”  (alternatively: “You can do good work simply staying up all night and eating nothing but junk food, but probably not in the long term.”) (alt.: “The more you do stuff, the better you get at dealing with how you still fail at it a lot of the time.”)

angron: “... then I would black out and I would ruin parties.” (alt.: “I’ve been keeping my ears open, and it seems like everyone, everywhere, is super mad about everything, all the time.”)

roboute guilliman: “You’re like the kid at the sleepover who, after midnight, is like, ‘It’s tomorrow now.’ Get out of here with your technicalities. Just because you’re accurate doesn’t mean you’re interesting.”

mortarion: “I am now gross. I am damp all the time. I am damp now and I will be damp later. [...] I don’t think it’s anything serious, but isn’t it, though?”

magnus the red: “You have an imagination, you have a movie theater in your mind that plays arguments! That you win!”

horus lupercal: “Sometimes people would say, ‘what do you think you’re doing?’ But that just meant ‘stop.’” (alternatively: “I don’t look older, I just look worse.”) (alt.: “It’s never happened before. No one knows what the horse is gonna do next, least of all the horse. He’s never been in a hospital before. He’s just as confused as you are.”)

lorgar: “My vibe is like, hey you could probably pour soup in my lap and I’ll apologize to you.” (alternatively: “I played basketball for five years and I was a benchwarmer all five years.”) 

vulkan: “Something happened here. You hope it was a miracle, but probably not.”

corvus corax: “’You have the moral backbone of a chocolate éclair.’”  (alt., Raven Guard-wide: “A hundred drunk white children yelling, ‘fuck da police.’”)

alpharius omegon: “When I'm walking down the street I don't think anybody goes, 'Hey, look at that man!', they're just like, 'Woah, that tall child looks terrible!'.” (alt.: “I am very small and I have no money. So you can imagine the kind of stress that I am under.”) (alt.: “Here’s how easy it was to get away with bank robbery back in the ’30s — as long as you weren’t still there when the police arrived, you hd a 99% chance of getting away with it.”)

[tchallasbabymama]

M’Baku’s Love- Chapter 4

Heyyyyyy y’all, enjoy chapter 4! Check out my masterlist HERE to catch up and read my other fics. Let me know if you want to be tagged!

Word count: 3052 After their kiss, Monae seemed to be avoiding him. They arrived and left at the same time almost every day, but she always found her way to her car quickly and was gone before he even stepped out the door. About a week had passed before M’Baku grew sick of it and headed down to her office to confront her on the sudden change of behavior when he almost ran over N’Jadaka.

“Yo, what’s up with you?” asked the prince.

“Nothing.”

“Nigga you walking around here looking like ‘Hulk smash’, what’s wrong?”

M’Baku sighed, not in the mood to deal with N’Jadaka at the moment. He reluctantly gave in, knowing he needed to talk to someone before he did something stupid like barge in on her in her office like he had planned.

“She is not talking to me.”

“Who, Monae? The fuck you do?” His right eyebrow lifted as he eyed M’Baku curiously. The Jabari chief rolled his eyes.

“Nothing! I just- we kissed,” M’Baku sighed. “And she has not spoken to me since.”

“All I’m hearing is you’re a bad kisser,” N’Jadaka smirked.

“...Is your cousin still here?” M’Baku deadpanned.

“Nope, you’re stuck with me and Lil Bit.”

M’Baku started massaging his temples, he could feel the stress headache creeping up on him. 

“Fine,” he gave in as he and the prince ducked out of the hallway and into an empty conference room.

“The issue was not my kissing, the issue is that damn ring on her finger. Sometimes she is hot, sometimes she is as cold as the mountains. I know she is engaged, but I cannot help but want to be around her.”

“Damn, you got it bad. What happened to being ‘unattached’ while you’re here? I was just talking to Neicey, the new Black American history teacher, about you and she seems like she’s down for whatever, if you know what I mean. She might be able to help you get Monae off the brain. Here’s her number.” He handed M’Baku a slip of paper. “You do know how to use your phone right?” 

M’Baku loved the prince like family, but sometimes he just wanted to punch him in his smug face. 

“Yes I know how to use my phone, N’Jadaka.”

“Don't ‘N’Jadaka’ me, I’m trying to help your big ass.”

“You are right,” he conceded with a sigh and looked down at the number in his hand. “You said her name is Niecey?”

“Yup. Go talk to her, she doesn’t have another class until 3. Last time I saw her she was down by the court.” N’Jadaka said while walking backwards and disappearing through the door, leaving M’Baku alone to think about his next moves. 

Of course he wanted to pursue Monae, but he knew that would be a dead end with the way she was treating him now. He decided a little fresh air wouldn’t hurt and stuffed her number into his pocket before heading outside to the basketball court. 

M’Baku saw her before she saw him, and once again Monae ran straight into him. Without even looking up she knew who it was. She’d know that body and that cologne anywhere.

“M’Baku! Hi, I’m sorry...again,” she tried to laugh off her nervousness.”Anyways, gotta jet!”

“Not so fast,” M’Baku lightly grabbed her arm. “Why have you been avoiding me?”

“I’m not-” M’Baku cut her off with an eyebrow raise and a look that made her heart beat in her pussy. “Ok fine I am.”

“Why though?” He pulled her in closer and she backed away.

“Because that kiss should never have happened and if I’m around you too much it might happen again.”

He smirked.

“So you avoid me because you cannot keep your hands and lips off me? That is understandable, I have been told I am irresistible.”

She chuckled, neither confirming nor denying his statement.

“Monae, as much as it pains me to say this, we could just stay friends. That way you keep your honor and I get to keep you in my life without you running away every time you see me. Eh?”

Monae was quiet for a moment, contemplating the proposal. Could she really  be friends with this man?

“Deal.” She reached her hand out to shake on it and he returned the gesture.

“So where were you ‘jetting’ off to?” M’Baku asked her as they walked towards the front doors of the outreach center. 

“Home, actually. I know it’s early but my sister, Jazz, is in town and I want to spend as much time with her as possible before her break is over.”

“Oh, well, have fun and give her my best.”

“Will do.”

And with that, they parted. Monae headed to her car and peeled out of the parking lot while M’Baku watched with a smile on his face. Friends? Who was he kidding?

Shaking all non-platonic thoughts of her out of his head, he finally made his way to the basketball court where he noticed Niecey heading right for him.

“M’Baku, right?” She asked, clearly knowing the answer already.

“Yes, and you must be Niecey.” He took her hand and kissed the back of it.

“I am. So N’Jadaka tells me you’ve had your eye on me...I thought you were feeling Monae for a minute there.” she laughed.

“Monae? She is engaged. So, would you like to go to dinner tonight? You pick, my treat.” he tried to play it off and change the subject. Luckily it worked and her face lit up at his proposition.

“Ok, it’s a date.”

_______

“Look, she is a nice girl, but she was so...dull. I had to try way too hard to engage her in conversation.”

“Maybe she was nervous?” Shuri asked, only halfway listening as she examined the communication device designs her highschool aged students came up with. 

“For what? It was only dinner,” M’Baku sat down in a huff.

“Some people get nervous around people they like, M’Baku, it’s normal,” the princess said defensively.

“Ohhh, the plot thickens,” said N’Jadaka as he entered the room. “They didn’t like the flowers?”

M’Baku and Shuri answered at the same time.

“What flowers?”

“Shut up!”

“My bad cuz, I thought that’s what- you know what? Imma go-”

“Actually I would like to talk to you after we discuss the princess and her crush.” M’Baku added teasingly.

“They’re not- ugh, fine.”

“How did you meet?” M’Baku asked her, desperate to talk about anything other than his boring date with Neicey.

“I met them at a conference for Teens in Tech at UC Berkeley. They’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen, but they barely know I exist and I didn’t send the flowers because I chickened out. There, happy?” she rolled her eyes and went back to her work.

M’Baku grinned, finding her nervousness a nice change of pace from her usual arrogance. 

“Ah, young love. I do not miss it,” he mused.

“Oh like your situation is any better? At least my crush is single.”

“At least I can talk to mine,” he said under his breath.

“Not without her fiance coming up to the Center,” Shuri pointed behind M’Baku to a tall thin man in a nice suit heading down the hallway towards them.

“Derrick, my man. How’s it going?” N’Jadaka put on a fake smile and tried to dap him up, but Derrick wasn’t on the same page so it ended up being more of an awkward fist bump.

“Going good, going good. Just here to see my girl,” he turned and stuck his hand out to M’Baku. “I don’t think we’ve met. Derrick Jones, attorney at law.” M’Baku stared at his hand a little too long before shaking it.

“Lord M’Baku, Chief of the Jabari,” he introduced himself with a sly smile.

“Oh a chief? That’s awesome man, I bet all this is boring as hell to you huh?”

“Quite the contrary.”

“Cool...cool...well, I gotta go find Momo. See you all later!” 

Shuri gagged as he walked away and they all looked at each other in disgust at the nickname.

“‘Nae’ would be so cute, but ‘Momo’?...For an adult human? Absolutely not, I don't know how she stands that man.” Shuri rambled on about her disdain for Derrick. “Did you see how he deflated when M’Baku introduced himself with his title? He thought being an attorney was such a big deal? Ha!”

M’Baku couldn’t help but laugh and agree with the princess. Even without Monae in the picture the man was insufferable.

“And he didn’t even acknowledge you.” N’Jadaka added, shaking his head.

“Nope, just the men.” Shuri smiled sarcastically before turning to the chief. “If it’s not clear already, I’m on Team M’Baku. Fuck that guy, Monae deserves better. Even if it's not you, she doesn't deserve...that.”

“I agree...and thank you, I knew I would grow on you eventually.”

“Yes well it would’ve gone quicker had you not insulted my intelligence when we first met. This ‘child’ can hold a grudge.”

“Oh I am aware.” They smiled at each other before M’Baku’s assistant found them and interrupted.

“Excuse me, M’Baku?”

“Yes, Deontae.”

“There’s a phone call for you from Abiola, he says it’s urgent. Something about a snow bank...”

“Ah yes, thank you. Udakus, I will see you both later.” M’Baku saluted them in jest and was on his way to handle his business when he overheard two people arguing in a conference room.

“You don’t have to! I make more than enough money!” said a man whose voice M’Baku couldn't quite place. He continued down the hall with Deontae typing away on his tablet, but stopped in his tracks when he heard the other person. They both looked up at each other, recognizing Monae’s voice immediately.

“But I want to! What part of that don’t you get? I like being here with these kids a-and these people. The Wakandans are amazing and-”

“I’m sure they are sweetie, but this neighborhood is dangerous and I don’t like you being here. Do you know how many kids are probably downstairs trying to break into my car as we speak?!”

M’Baku rolled his eyes and he and Deontae shared a look. No matter how nice his car was, it wouldn’t attract anywhere near as much attention as the Wakandan technology in the Center. 

His disdain for Derrick grew as he realized he had just mentally defended the useless gadgets of the lowlanders. 

“Nobody wants your stupid car Derrick! There are literal hovercrafts in this building, nobody cares about your Audi.”

Deontae stifled a laugh.

“Wow, so it's like that? Why are you lashing out at me?”

“I’m not lashing out at you, I just want to keep my job that I love and you didn’t even ask me about moving first!”

“I figured if you didn’t want to go with me we could do long distance. LA isn’t that far-”

“Yes it is.”

Derrick let out an exasperated sigh.

“I’m taking this job whether you're coming or not. You need to figure out your priorities.”

Deontae’s jaw dropped and he wasn’t able to pull it back in time when the door swung open and Derrick pushed past the two of them. When Monae looked up and saw them her face turned to stone. She was horrified that they had just witnessed her in such a vulnerable state.

“My apologies, we were just walking by and-”

“We didn’t hear anything!” Deontae forced out. M’Baku gave him a look and he shrugged. He wasn’t good under pressure.

Monae wiped her eyes and M’Baku felt so helpless. All he wanted to do was hold her in his arms and make everything better...that and beat Derrick senseless. 

“It’s ok, we were uh, pretty loud,” she said, avoiding eye contact with M’Baku.

“What do you need from me?” He asked her, his voice soft as a pillow. Deontae’s head tilted to the side as he took in the scene before him.

She thought about it for a moment, not able to say what she really wanted, which was to crawl into his big strong arms and never leave.

“Just some time,” she sniffled and cleared her throat. “Are we still on for lunch?”

“Of course-”

“Great, see you then!”

Monae breezed right past them and towards her office, and Deontae turned to see M’Baku’s dejected face.

“Wooooooow,” he started with a laugh. “Woooow… you like her don’t you?”

“Keep your voice down,” M’Baku whisper yelled, looking around for any possible prying ears.

“You got good taste, I’ll give you that. Shitty circumstances though.”

“Yeah, tell me about it…” M’Baku’s shoulders slumped as they made their way back to his office.

--------

“You have barely touched your burrito.”

Monae looked down at her plate and noticed he was right.

“I guess my appetite isn't too big today, too much on my mind.” She sighed and pushed her plate forward.

“I know it might be weird, but as your friend you can always talk to me about anything.” M’Baku knew he didn’t want to talk about Derrick, but he would do anything to make her feel better.

She looked at him for a few moments before she began. “I don’t know how much you heard, but Derrick got a job in LA and wants me to move with him. He’s always hated that I work here for some reason...I just wish he would have discussed it with me first, you know?” She twisted the ring on her finger and bit her lip nervously. M’Baku nodded to show he was listening, but his eye kept being drawn down to her ring. That little silver band with the fancy rocks in it that meant so much to her.

“He just- he means well, he does. He wants what’s best for me-”

“But should that not include what you want?” he asked in earnest, trying very hard to remain friendly. “If he is to be your husband, ask yourself if you can marry a man who doesn’t listen-”

“M’Baku”

“-to what you say you want. What do you see in him? He treats you like a child-”

“M’Baku, stop! Ok, I didn’t ask for this. It’s more complicated than that.”

“It doesn’t have to be…”

She looked at him as a tear escaped. 

“It’s been seven years M’Baku, I can’t just throw that away!”

“So you would rather waste a lifetime being miserable all over seven measley years?”

She stared at him with a silent fury in her eyes.

“I knew this was a bad idea.” Monae called the waiter to bring her a to-go box and her check, refusing to let M’Baku pay for her this time. 

“Monae, I-”

“Don't bother. I’ve had enough men telling me what to do for one day.”

M’Baku had never meant to make her feel that way, and as she left the restaurant his heart sank. 

The walk back to the Center was a blur, as was the rest of the day. M’Baku couldn’t get her words out of his head. He decided to give the one person he knew he could come to with this a call, hoping they would answer.

“My son, how is America treating you? You have not seen any police have you?”

“Just in passing, mama.”

“That is still too close for my liking with those killing machines they carry everywhere. Are you eating? You look thin. I will send some stew with the king next time he goes to the Center.”

M’Baku smiled warmly at his mother’s unnecessary concern. He was eating just fine and hadn’t lost a single pound, but he would never in his right mind turn down his mother’s cooking. 

“Thank you mama, I would love that. How are things?”

“I will be happy when you come back and I can retire again. The council is driving me crazy. This week the big issue is snow bank height. Can you imagine? Arguing over damn snow banks.”

He chuckled, missing his mother’s animated voice. 

“Now, you have not called me all week. What is wrong?” she abruptly changed the subject.

“Why does something have to be wrong?”

She sucked her teeth and he could already picture the look on her face. It’s the same one he gets when he senses bullshit.

“M’Baku, I raised you. I know you, now talk to me.”

He let out a deep sigh, contemplating how much he should tell her.

“I met a woman here, but she is engaged to a man who does not treat her well.”

“Engaged? M’Baku I raised you better than that-”

“I know mama, but I did not know at first. Apparently here the women wear rings to signify they are betrothed.”

“Just the women?”

“Yes, it is quite an odd culture.”

“I can see that...well son if you truly have feelings for her and this man does not treat her the way she should be treated, what would it hurt to make your feelings known?”

“That is the thing, mama. She knows, we-” he sighed, knowing this wouldn’t go over well. “We kissed.”

There was silence on the other end of the line before a slow chuckle turned into a belly laugh, leaving him confused and speechless.

“Mama, are you done?”

“I am sorry son,” she said, wiping the tears from her eyes. “You just reminded me so much of your baba. You know, we were in a similar situation. He was in your shoes, and I was the young lady. What is her name?”

“Monae.”

“Such a pretty name, I am sure she is just as beautiful.”

“Even more so.”

“Hm, I bet. Anyways, long story short, your baba stole me from my betrothed.”

“He what?!”

“I was supposed to marry Hodari-”

“The head fisherman?”

“That is the one. Our parents had arranged for us to be married, but my heart was not in it. Then along came your baba, all tall and handsome, and I never looked back. My point is, if it is meant to be then it will be, but you cannot just give up if you truly think she feels the same way you do.”

“I do not want to give up, mama, but I do not want to push her away either.”

“Then let her come to you.”

Next Chapter

Taglist: @maddeningmayhem​, @theblulife​, @devnicolee

[starrynite7114]

Anesthesia: II

A/N: I couldn’t get the idea out of my head, I just have to make a sequel for Anesthesia, so as promised, here it is! I’ll be working on the sequel for Drabble 5 this weekend once my final is done. Thank you again for the overwhelming respond to Anesthesia, I didn’t think it was going to be that well received. Love you all!

Masterlist

tagged: @iambabyharry​ ; @justahopelessssromantic​ ; @marvelmaree​ ; @briannab1234​ ; @carlaangel86​

Waiting for Angel’s surgery to finish was the worst feeling. You knew it was a low risk surgery, but whenever Angel was in harm’s way it made you nervous. You’ve almost lost him one too many times. EZ sat beside you, just browsing through a magazine. 

“Are you not worried?” You looked over at EZ.

“My brother has been through the worst, it’s routine surgery.” EZ shrugged. “I don’t think you can get rid of Angel now, but if you would like to do so, then I can totally help with that along with every member of the MC.”

“Shut up,” you pushed his shoulder, making EZ laugh.

“Mrs. Reyes? Your husband is out of surgery,” you heard the nurse inform you.

You grabbed your purse, EZ getting up with you. The two of you greeted Angel at the room number the nurse provided.

EZ opened the door for you, and you two found Angel looking around the room in awe.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” You asked as you pulled up a chair beside his bed. 

“Good, you're too fine to be a nurse, but if you’re my nurse, then I don’t mind. ” Angel commented making you laugh as this was a side effect of anesthesia that you’ve experienced with Angel before. Last time he asked if he could have your number and it was quite an interesting conversation. 

“Are you videoing this?” you whispered to EZ.

“Way ahead of you.” EZ has also experienced this before, and he always regretted not being able to record it, now was his opportunity. Embarrassing videos were always so fun to have in your arsenal.

“The fuck are you doing?” Angel glared at EZ. “Are you EZ’s wife?”

You scrunched your nose at his suggestion. “Eww, disgusting, I’m your wife.”

“You’re my wife?” Angel gasped. “My wife, oh fuck. Good job Angel.” He weakly clapped for himself.

You and EZ laughed at his reaction. 

“Baby, the doctor said we’re gonna have to stay for a few hours just to make sure you’re doing good.”

“As long as you stay with me, I’ll be good.” He smiles brightly and you just had to laugh. Angel was such a big teddy bear, at least with you and your son. 

“You don’t want me here?” EZ teased.

“Don’t really fucking care.” Angel’s eyes remained on you. “So, since you’re my wife I’m pretty sure we’ve consummated our marriage.”

You laughed at Angel. Last time this happened, Angel had his wisdom teeth removed and he was just an absolute riot. Then once the anesthesia was out of his system, needy Angel came out, which was adorable, but absolutely annoying. 

“Well, we have one kid and another on the way, so we definitely did consummate the marriage.”

“We have two kids?” His eyes dropped to your stomach. Your bump wasn’t too big yet, but it was definitely there. “Are we having a boy? I don’t want a boy, are we having a girl?”

“You said you didn’t want to find out, so it’s a surprise.”

“Fuck that, let’s find out right now.”

“Baby, let’s not get excited. It’s fine, we’ll talk about this once the medicine wears off.”

“What medicine?”

You and EZ tried your best not to laugh at Angel, but he was just so funny whenever he was put under anesthesia. 

“Can I touch your belly?” Angel was already reaching towards you.

You stood up and let him place his hand over your belly and he caressed it, tears welling up his eyes. “Hi mama’s I know you’re going to be a girl and I love you already. Even if you’re a boy, don’t be a little shit like me.”

Angel loved talking to your belly. He called your bundle of joy peanut. Him and your son always spoke to your belly as if the baby was already here. It was the cutest thing and it just made your heart swell.

“How do we only have two kids?” Angel laid back then, as you sat back down. “We should have a basketball team baby, we’re good looking as fuck and we need to share the wealth.”

EZ rolled his eyes while you laughed.

“It’s like his ego grows ten folds whenever he’s under.” EZ shook his head.

“Shut up, you’re just jealous that my wife is the most beautiful woman in this world.” He looked at you again and held his hand in prayer, thanking the lord. “I fucking won the lottery.”

“Yes you did,” you nodded your head in agreement. “But so did I.”

“You sure you’re my wife, you’re too fucking good looking.”

“And you think EZ is a much better fit?”

“Naw, if you're too good for me, then you’re definitely not a fit for him.”

You laughed while EZ just rolled his eyes.

“For your information, my wife is pretty good looking too.” EZ scoffed. 

“Megan is beautiful.” You nodded your head in agreement.

“Who the fuck would marry you?”

“I can ask you the same question, ass.”

Angel flipped him off. No matter what state they were both in, these two always bickered and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

You looked over at EZ as you both heard Angel calling your name. You three have been home for three hours and the pain medication has waned off. And now, Angel was driving both you and EZ crazy. 

“You go to him now.” You pushed EZ towards your bedroom door. 

“Fuck that, you married him, that was a personal choice.” EZ held on to the doorframe of the closed door. You knew he was letting you push him, but still, Angel was driving you nuts. All you wanted to do was take a nap, you haven’t been sleeping well, especially last night when Angel woke you up since he was in extreme pain. He could over exaggerate at times, but Angel did not look well last night.

“He’s your brother.”

“Not by choice.”

“Okay, rock, paper, scissors, whoever loses goes to see what he wants.” It’s not that you didn’t love Angel, but there was nothing you could physically do to make the pain go away. The pain medication was going to be ready in an hour and you were going to pick it up, but you didn’t know if you or EZ would survive that long. You were being dramatic, you truly did love Angel.

“You fucking serious right now? That’s your husband, it’s literally part of your vows to be there for him.” EZ chuckled. He knew you didn’t mean anything by it, but it was still funny that even you had your limits with Angel. “I’ll go.”

“You’re the best brother in law, ever.”

“I’m your only one.”

“Can you just take a compliment?”

“Yeah, yeah,” EZ went inside the room and not a few moments later, he went back out. He was muttering under his breath, shaking his head.

“You can’t just go in and out, you didn’t even help him.”

“He threw a pillow at me and requested for you.” EZ narrowed his eyes at her. “Can you just bring him everything, he’s whiny and more annoying than usual I didn’t even think that’s possible.”

“Do you want me to be in distress? Angel is going to drive me up the wall.”

“Again, you married him, it’s literally what you signed up for.”

“You’re right. He always takes care of me.” You haven’t been sleeping well due to Angel since he’s been out doing club business more often than normal. It was driving you up the wall, but he argued he had to work more to make more money for your family. You walked in and found Angel curled up in bed, holding your body pillow.

“Baby, why do you keep sending Ezekiel, you don’t love me no more? I just want to hold you.” For a biker, it always surprised you how much of a teddy bear Angel could truly be.

“Sorry babe, I’m just a little tired.”

“What’s wrong amor?” And just like that your husband forgot his pain and opened his arms. 

You crawled up to him and let him envelop you in his embrace. You were careful to not touch the area where he had his surgery done. He tucked a strand of her behind your ear and kissed your forehead.

“Is my little mama keeping you up?” Angel touched your stomach then, softly caressing it.

“Angel, we don’t know if peanut is a girl or a boy.”

“Peanut is a girl, I can feel it.” Angel really wanted a girl. You two already had a boy, and if this happened to be the last child you two could have, he wanted a girl. It’s not that he didn’t want anymore kids with you, he knew that with every pregnancy, it became much more dangerous for you to deliver the baby. He couldn’t lose you. “What’s keeping you up?”

“You are.” You sighed. “I know you don’t mean it, but I have a hard time sleeping when you’re not here.”

“Your anxiety, I know.” Angel was in pain, but he hates that you stay up when you should be getting as much rest as you can. “I’m sorry baby, just gotta make more money for our family.”

“Babe, I work too you know.”

  “I know, but that doesn’t mean I want you working more. You know you’re a high risk pregnancy, we gotta make sure you don’t exert yourself.” You were basically ordered by your OBGYN to refrain from any extraneous activities. No heavy lifting, stressful situations and such. You were almost at your six month mark and you really want to get there. Miscarriages definitely did a number on you and you didn’t want another one, not this far along. 

“I’m not an invalid either.”

“I’m not arguing with you, I’m in pain.” Angel pouted. 

“My poor baby,” you kissed the tip of his nose. “What can I do to help you feel better?”

“Just stay here with me.”

“Always.” You carefully wrapped your arms around Angel, making sure he doesn’t get hurt.

“Baby,” Angel broke the silence that enveloped you two for a few minutes. 

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

You slightly pulled away from him, placing a kiss on his lips. “I love you too.” 

[ghostly-cabbage]

Frigid (Chapter 1)

Danny Phantom fanfic

Genre: Horror, Angst, Enemies to Friends

Fic Rating: M (Language, Underage Drug Use, Violence and Gore)

Summary: Wes and his brother Kyle have just moved to Amity Park. Wes is only worried about fitting in, but all the ghost nonsense is making that harder and harder. Something weird is going on in this place, and his chemistry lab partner is no different. Seriously, what the hell was up with the Fenton kid and why did everyone ignore it?

Danny is a junior in high school, and pressure is squeezing in on all sides. Keeping good enough grades to graduate, and dealing with the snoopy new kid wasn't bad enough, but he's starting to feel like his parents are getting closer to figuring out his secret. Jazz is off at college and he didn't realize just how helpful it was when she was home to cover for him.

Danny's been able to keep his secret at school for one reason, and that's that no one cares to watch him close enough to connect the dots. Wes is different.

AO3   FFN

| Next>>

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

"The air is different here," Wes said, looking up at the swath of stars across the sky. Kyle exhaled a plume of smoke that clouded the view. 

"Shit. Don't get all poetic on me now." Kyle coughed his way into a laugh and Wes kicked his shin just hard enough to hurt. 

"Ow!" 

"Shut up dude, I mean it's colder here. More humid or something too." 

"Yeah, definitely nothing like home." Kyle swung his legs back and forth off the brow of the roof. "How was your first day of school btdubs?" He offered Wes the joint pinched between his fingers. Wes waved him off. 

"Thrilling, nothin' like being the new kid," he said.  

Kyle shrugged and took another hit.

“‘S not so bad, my day was chill,” he croaked out while trying to keep his breath held in. 

Wes scrunched his nose at the smell. “Jesus dude, that stuff smells worse than normal.” 

“Yeah—” he puffed out the cloud of smoke “—the shit here isn’t as good. Missin’ that green triangle right about now.” Kyle let out a wistful sigh. Wes almost wanted to ask how he’d found a dealer already, but it was Kyle. He always found someone. It was like his supernatural ability to sniff out someone who’d sell to minors.

 “Anyway, basketball tryouts are at the end of the week, right? Cheer up my man, you’ll get mad chicks once you make the team.” Wes shot him a glare. Getting chicks was the last thing on his mind. He was more preoccupied with the fact their dad uprooted their entire lives to move to fucking Illinois. Illinois!

“Whatever dude.” There was a brief silence, before Kyle bumped his shoulder into him. He took another deep drag off his joint, the static burn filling the air like white noise. The stars continued to glimmer coldly in the sky, and it sent a pang of homesickness through him. It was bullshit. 

“Any classes you like?” 

“Psh. Hardly… Well. There’s a photography class—” 

“Didn’t you mention something about chem at lunch?” 

“Oh. That.” Wes started to get angry just thinking about it. “Yeah. Chemistry two. Apparently we have to have a lab partner for the whole semester. Which wouldn't be a big deal but I got stuck paired with a dude that’s ‘banned for life’ from using the chem equipment.” He used his fingers for the air quotes. “So I’m probably gonna have to do everything.”

Kyle took a breath like he was about to say something, but Wes pressed on. “What the hell do you even have to do to get banned for life from using the chemistry stuff?” 

“Dude! Maybe your partner got busted for making drugs! That Breaking Bad kinda shit! That’d get him banned fer sure fer sure.” His words slurred around the edges.

Wes almost laughed. “You’re high Kyle. If you saw him you’d understand. This guy isn’t a drug lord, trust me, he’s a twig. No way he’d be involved in anything dangerous. If that guy does anything more exciting than video games I’d eat your hat.” 

Kyle gasped. “Brooo!” 

“What?”

“Somthin’ to eat sounds wicked. Wanna swing by that... Nasty place, what’zit called? We saw it on the way in.” 

Wes rolled his eyes and heaved a sigh. 

“Nasty Burger?”

“Nasty Burger!”

“As a majority of you are aware, it’s a new school year, which means as per new school district regulation it’s time to report to the gym for the annual ghost safety course, and later today at an unspecified time there will be a ghost drill.” Mr. Lancer droned at the front of the class. The other students around Wes all groaned like they’d been assigned a pop quiz, rather than that being the most batshit crazy thing they’d ever heard. Uh, what the hell? He raised his hand. 

“Yes, Mr. Weston.” 

“Did... you just say ghost safety course?” Kids around him chuckled and shared knowing looks. It was like he was on the other side of an inside joke.   

“Regrettably so, Mr. Weston. Everyone single file to the gym please. Leave your bags here, you’ll be back before the third period,” Lancer said as he gestured to the door. Wes stayed sitting for a few seconds longer than the class, trying to make sense of what he’d just heard. Ghosts? Like actual ghosts? 

“Hey, Fenturd, can’t wait to see how your parents fuck it up this year!” Wes turned towards the back of the classroom to see a tall broad shouldered guy, Dash if he remembered right, shoving past Danny Fenton, AKA his chem lab partner. Danny lurched to the side, stumbling into a desk. There were two other kids that Wes hadn’t seen before standing behind Danny, a goth girl and a dweeby kid in a beret.

“Bro, I still have the picture on my phone from when they couldn’t get Mr. Fenton out of that ghost netting,” said an equally massive asian guy. The small knot of kids around them all laughed and filed past Danny and his presumed friends. Danny was glaring daggers at the back of Dash’s head. 

So… Danny’s parents were the guest speakers, and they were giving a talk on... ghost safety… Seriously, did anything here make sense? Wes followed after the crowd, trying to wrap his head around it. The odd trio started following a few paces back.

“Great. Just what I need to kick off the year again,” Wes heard Danny grumble. 

���Oh come on Danny, It wasn’t that bad,” the goth girl said. 

“Nah, it was pretty bad.” 

“Tucker!” 

“What?!”  

Wes tried to continue listening to their conversation but the person in front of him turned around to look at him. 

“You’re the new kid right?” She asked. She had long blonde hair and perfect makeup. 

“Uh, yeah. Wes.” 

“I hear you’re trying out for the basketball team, right?” A few of the popular kids walking in front of her glanced over their shoulders to look at Wes.

“Y-yeah. I was point guard on my last team back home.” 

“I don’t know what that means.” She tossed a lock of hair behind her shoulder. Her eyes were burning into him like she was personally judging where he fit into the social caste system of the school.  “But good luck. I’m Star, by the way. My boyfriend’s on the football team so don’t get any ideas.”  

“Oh please Star, you’re like, totally out of his league, basketball team or not,” a new voice cut in from just in front of Star. Another girl with dark wavy hair turned to look at him. She had dark olive skin, almond eyes and thick eyelashes. “I’m Paulina, but I’m sure you’ve heard all about me already. People are kind of obsessed with me, they can’t help it.” She said it with a smile and a cute giggle to punctuate her sentences. He’d seen her in homeroom yesterday, and he knew right off the bat she was top of the hierarchy, her and Dash both seemed to have a pretty solid hold on their popularity. If he was going to survive here he needed to make sure they liked him, or at the very least had nothing bad to say about him. 

“I can see why, it’s nice to meet you,” he said. The two girls shared a look, shrugged and turned their attention away from him. 

He let go of the breath he’d been holding, feeling like he’d just passed some sort of test.  He’d never exactly been a popular kid. In elementary school he was small and easy to pick on. Unless Kyle was around, who had a nonchalant courage about him, even as a kid. It’d taken a lot of work for Wes to figure out how to fit in just under the radar of the big fish. 

He stepped into the bustling gym along with the rest of the Junior homeroom class. The bleachers were pulled out, and the class dispersed to find their place to sit. Wes bobbed his head over the shoulders of other students looking for Kyle. It took some work but eventually his eyes landed on his brother. He was lounging, taking up two seats worth of space on the far left side of the bleachers. He made a beeline for him, and took the stairs two at a time. The clamor of the student body filled the room, and when he sat down he had to speak over it. 

“Dude, can you believe this? A ghost assembly?” His brother had never been the most believing of the supernatural. But this place, openly acknowledging the presence of ghosts? He’d like to see Kyle try and refuse to believe now. 

“Yeah man! This school must really love Halloween.” 

And there it was. 

“Kyle. It’s September.” 

“And? Bro they got the Halloween decorations up at wally-world already, why not have a fun Halloween thing?” Wes frowned, and clicked his tongue. He propped his chin against his hand and watched as the school started to settle. His eyes wandered the rows until he found the goth girl. Danny and the kid she’d called Tucker were with her. They were sitting in the section over a row down. Danny had his hands stuffed into the pockets of his black NASA hoodie, and a pinched look on his face. He couldn’t exactly say he blamed the kid, the thought of his own dad showing up to give a presentation made him shiver in horror. 

They’d set up a stage in the center of the gym. Principal Ishiyama stepped up to the podium, and tapped the mic. 

“Hello students of Casper High! For incoming freshmen, allow me to officially extend a warm welcome, and to all returning students, welcome back!” She was way too chipper for the time of morning. “As many of you know we have to review some safety precautions. Now, this may not be new information but I expect you all to pay attention and be respectful regardless. With that, allow me to introduce local ghost experts: Jack and Maddie Fenton.” Ishiyama moved back, clapping for the guests. The crowd gave mixed reactions. Most people looked like they were only applauding out of awkwardness. Wes was definitely included in that category. 

A man and woman with brightly colored… jumpsuits? Hazmat suits? Whatever they were, came forward. The man was intimidating from the pure size of him alone. Jesus christ, he looked like a NFL linebacker. Next to him, was a slight and fit woman. She spoke first, standing at the podium. 

“Good morning everyone! My husband and I are honored to be welcomed back to run through the safety course with you kids!” Mrs. Fenton was peppy and direct with the way she spoke and the way she moved. “As of last year the manual ghost alarms were installed around the school.” Maddie motioned to the projector screen behind her that had been lowered from the ceiling. “As you can see here.” The picture on the projector showed huge red buttons ringed by yellow and black caution trim. Wes had seen them around before, but he’d figured they were for... tornados or something, they had those here right?

“If you see a ghost you are encouraged to press this button so that the school can evacuate and the correct professionals may be notified.” 

“By that she means us!” Mr. Fenton shouted, popping up in front of the projector. She moved on as if the interruption hadn’t even happened. 

“Whatever you do, do not engage with a ghost. Ghosts are highly dangerous. Even a low level ecto-entity can be a threat to your life and well-being!” Her voice was grave, and practically oozed with conviction. Wes looked over at Kyle, gesturing towards the stage, incredulous. 

“Really? Nothing to say about this?”

“What can I say, they’re pretty dedicated. Dude, Wes, it might be an ARPG, like remember the Halo 2 ‘I love bees' thing?”

“I hate you. This isn’t even anything close to—” 

“Shh!” Someone who sounded like a teacher hissed at them. He turned his attention back to the presentation, annoyed. 

“Now, let’s go over what to do if you think you’ve been possessed or otherwise overshadowed by a ghost! First thing to look for are gaps in memory or consciousness. Changes in mood or violent tendencies can also occur. Keep an eye on your friends and loved ones. Remember that no one is immune to being overshadowed by a ghost, unless you purchase a Fenton Specter Deflector available on our website!” Almost out of nowhere, the woman pulled out what looked like a metal belt. There was silence in response, and she cleared her throat. 

“If you or someone you know has been or is currently possessed please seek help immediately, go to your teachers or parents.” Wes watched as she moved on to the next subject, talking with the fervor and simplicity of an expert. Screw whatever Kyle said, this wasn’t just for shits and giggles or some halloween event. Something was different here. The other students, despite seeming bored, looked like they fully believed her. Maybe people here would actually believe him about what happened when he was a kid. 

The hazy memories crept along his skin, making the hair on his arms stand on end. His dad told him he had an active imagination. He knew it wasn’t that.

“Finally, let’s go over what to do if a ghost fight breaks out!” 

“A ghost fight?” he echoed, brows furrowing. 

“As we’ve said, do not engage or interact with ghosts for any reason—”

“Hey, what about Phantom?” Someone from the crowd shouted. A murmur of agreement rippled through the students. 

“Who’s Phantom?” He wondered out loud, and a guy sitting in front of him turned to give him an affronted look. 

“We strongly discourage interacting with Phantom especially! When it comes to ghosts, it’s simple. There are no good ghosts! Ghosts are ectoplasmic post-human impressions driven only by their obsession! They are not human and don’t care about the havoc they wreak.”  

The crowd murmured again, the disapproval evident. A few kids shouted unintelligible things, but they sounded defensive. Wes didn’t get it, the Fenton lady seemed to know her shit, why argue? 

“Quiet! Quiet please!” Ishiyama called over the voices. Eventually the students settled, and the Fentons wrapped up their presentation. Everyone seemed disappointed that nothing embarrassing happened, until Mr. Fenton underestimated the height of the stage, and face planted onto the gym floor. The students broke into an uproar of laughter, and Ishiyama rushed to the mic to dismiss everyone back to homeroom. Wes couldn’t hold back a laugh, and glanced over to see Danny hunching up his shoulders. If Wes had to describe someone that looked like they wanted to disappear, it would be Danny in that moment. 

The walk back to the classroom was uneventful, though he was pretty sure he heard Mrs. Fenton repeatedly calling out “Danny sweetie!” Wes was really glad he wasn’t that poor bastard, talk about humiliating. He tried to ignore the pang that twisted inside his stomach. Still, it must be nice to have a mom around. 

Fifth period started in four minutes, and Wes was stuck fiddling with the lock on his locker. The damn thing looked like it’d been fished off the titanic. The wheel made an awful squealing noise when he twisted it, and even when the lock popped, he had to yank on it to get it to unlatch all the way. He put in his combo for the third time and pulled. It came undone and if it weren’t for holes on the handle he’d have gone stumbling backwards. He opened the locker and was just about to grab his History textbook, when an ear splitting alarm blasted from the overhead speakers. He jumped and spun around, hands coming up to cover his ears. 

It wasn’t like a fire alarm, instead of the shrill school bell ringing, it was a long whooping siren that echoed up and down the halls like a nuclear strike was incoming. Wes had to hand it to them, it sounded creepy as fuck. The emergency lights flashed in the hallways, and the kids around him started to make for the exits.  

“Your attention please,” an automated female voice came over the speaker, offering  a brief respite from the siren. “A ghost has been sighted in the building. Please evacuate or get to safety as soon as possible.” Holy shit, was this really happening? The siren began its wailing again. His heart thundered in his chest, and he looked both ways up and down the hall. He didn’t see anything, except for Lancer standing at the end of the hall, directing students to an emergency exit. Wes remembered then that Lancer had said something about a “ghost drill”. Of course that’s what this was. Just a drill. Wes let out a shaky breath, and went to close up his locker before he headed out. 

Which in retrospect wasn’t the greatest idea. In less than a second, something changed. The hall felt darker, and the air grew cold. Not cold like someone left the window open, cold like he’d just walked into a meat freezer. It prickled against his skin, and he felt a deep sense of dread sink to the bottom of his stomach. 

“Little lamb…” Murmured a soft voice. It echoed up the hall, and Wes forced himself to turn and look. He shouldn’t have, he really shouldn’t have. It was the shape of a woman, but she was floating a foot off the ground. She had stringy hair, and bangs that partially covered her empty eyes. In her hand looked like a shepherd's crook. Wes slammed his back against his locker, his knees locking up. He felt his hands start to tremble. Not again, he didn’t want the nightmares again.

The hall was empty, the last few terrified kids were gone. 

“Little lamb... separated from the herd… Don’t you know there’s predators?” Her voice echoed unnaturally, it’s clarity sending chills across his skin. She was hardly speaking above a whisper, but it was rough and cracked, like something had happened to her voice. But the thing that was worse was even at barely a whisper, he could somehow hear her over the sirens. Like she was right next to him breathing the words into his ears. 

The alarm cut out and the automated message looped. The woman—ghost lifted her crook to point at him. “Little lambs have to come back home,” she said. The sound of panting and low growling filled the hall. A green shape, low and lean flew out from behind her. It closed the gap between them in three strides flat. It’s eyes glowed red, and white teeth slavered toxic green. Wes’ voice stuck in his throat and he couldn’t scream, he squeezed his eyes shut and hoped he’d wake up.

Wes felt the air stir in front of him, and he heard a meaty crunch followed by a deafening caterwaul. His eyes flashed open to see the mountain lion-like creature picking itself up off the ground on the other side of the hall. And directly in front of him, it was another human shape, another ghost. They had white hair and a black jumpsuit on. 

“Bad kitty! What, did someone forget the catnip?” It was a guy’s voice that echoed around the hall. The shape cast a glance over his shoulder at Wes. He gulped down a breath, it was a boy about his age. His eyes glowed the same neon toxic green that painted the hall in its supernatural light. He looked like he was about to say something, when the big cat hurled itself at his flank. Its massive front paws slammed into his midsection and they disappeared into the wall. 

The shepherd moved towards him, and Wes felt like he was going to pass out or throw up. Maybe both, both sounded okay. She was focused entirely on him as she drifted over the floor. She was four feet away, and the expression etched onto her dead face made his stomach twist. This was worse, this was way worse than even the nightmares. Her empty eyes leaked tears. 

“It’s dangerous. There’s predators.” She lifted a hand like she was trying to reach for him. A blast of green light suddenly filled his vision, and the girl let out a scream. She was slammed backwards into a set of lockers and she slipped down to the ground. Wes’ gaze snapped to where the blast of energy had come from and saw the ghost boy. He was floating six feet off the ground, and his right hand was glowing green. He had a long deep slash across his side that was oozing and dripping globby green ectoplasm. 

“I’ve never seen you before,” he said. “What do you want?” his tone of voice was firm and sharp, it felt like ice. The girl looked up at the boy. She opened her mouth and screamed. It was a raw terrible thing that petered off into an agonized gurgle. The ghost boy arched a brow, but before he could say anything else the Shepherd melted into the wall. 

“Shit,” the ghost puffed. He turned his eyes to Wes and he stiffened again. Right, he wasn’t exactly out of the woods yet. “You must be new here. Piece of advice, run away next time, okay dude?” The ghost boy looked up at the ceiling that still had the alarms blaring and rolled his eyes. In the next instant he shot through the wall where the shepherd ghost had disappeared. 

Wes let out a breath and sunk to the floor, shivering from head to toe. What the hell was that?    

[diamcndgirl]

under the ‘read more’ you will find a full interview about the one and only penelope hainline.

BASIC QUESTIONS

first name? penelope.

surname? hainline.

middle names? bernadette (after the broadway legend bernadette peters).

nicknames? penny (most common) and miss piggy.

date of birth? may twenty-eight, 1998.

age? twenty-three.

PHYSICAL / APPEARANCE

height? 5′2.

weight? 120lbs.

build? athletic/small.

hair colour? blonde, but known to wear different wigs.

eye colour? bright blue.

glasses or contact lenses? glasses for fashion and fashion only.

distinguishing facial features? her big eyes and tooted up nose.

which bodily feature is most prominent? chest. while she lost most of her weight her chest is still relatively large for her size.

make up? penny loves make up, spends almost as much time doing her make up as she does picking out her outfit.

type of clothes? all types of clothes! she loves clothes but is known mostly for her high fashion looks. she creates her own outfits from time to time. but she loves high fashion and designer clothes.

how do they wear their clothes? penelope has an outfit for literally every occasion. basketball game? she’s got a jersey with her name bedazzled across the back in pink. painting? she’s got a total get up and special painting beret. her clothes are an extension of herself. she loves having fun with her clothes.

race / ethnicity? white.

are they in good health? over all, yes. she’s slimmed down and is in a lot better shape. she does karate/kick boxing to keep in shape but honestly she still eats like a pig.

PERSONALITY

what words or phrases do they overuse? “excusze moi”, “moi”, “thank yoooou.”, “oh dear..”, “totally”, “shut up!!”.

are they more optimistic or pessimistic? hmm, is there a middle ground? honestly, overly optimistic about her own talents and overly pessimistic of other’s. she is absolutely positive she’s perfect at everything she does.. but as for other people? it’s all their fault anything goes wrong.

are they introverted or extroverted? extroverted, extroverted, extroverted!

do they ever put on airs? literally all the time. like i said penelope thinks she’s perfect at everything straight out the gate... doesn’t matter if she’s done it before or not. which means she always puts on a front like she is great at everything.

what bad habits do they have? not many, her mother was good for breaking bad habits young. but, the ones that stuck are: emotional shopping, emotional eatting, sleeping in, and interrupting people.

what makes them laugh out loud? a lot. penny laughs at everything and anything.

how do they display affection? physical touch and gift giving... she’s always been one for big displays of affection. so she’s one for holding hands, kissing in public, and showing out with big gifts.

how do they want to be seen by others? perfect. she wants to be seen as perfect. anything less is just a no.

how do they see themselves? not so perfect. while she acts like it on the inside she is constantly nit picking herself, the way she dresses, and every little thing about herself.

strongest character trait? tenacious. she’s got a strong grip on herself and her life.

weakest character trait? overly confident. while she’s got a go and get it personality she also has a tendency to over over board and think bigger than her ability.

how competitive are they? extremely.

do they make snap judgments or take time to consider? snap judgments all the time with everything. then it takes a good while to convince her she’s not correct about it.

how do they react to praise? highly. she loves praise. anything to hear that she’s as wonderful as she thinks. “oh please. you’re so silly.. tell me more.”

how do they react to criticism? not good.. she hates being told she could be better at something.

what is their greatest fear? failing. be it in her career choice or relationships. to fail means her mother was right and so were all the kids when she was younger.

what is their philosophy of life? go big or go home.

what will they stand up for? their friends. what they believe in. people with smaller voices than her own.

are they indoorsy or outdoorsy? indoors.

what is their sinful little habit? kissing strangers when she’s tipsy.

what sense do they most rely on? her sixth sense-- or at least that’s what she says. penelope picks up ‘vibes’.

what quality do they most value in a friend? loyalty.. and a good fashion sense.

what do they consider an overrated virtue? forgiveness. you don’t always have to forgive someone.

if they could change one thing about themselves, what would it be?

what is their obsession? fashion, rupaul’s drag race, kylie minogue, and fancy chocolate.

FRIENDS AND FAMILY

is their family big or small? who does it consist of? small. there are only three members: her mother bonnie a retired model, her father jim a business lawyer, and herself.

what is their perception of family? she loves her parents. they gave her everything she could ever want.. but they did let her down in a lot of ways. so it’s a tad screwed.

do they have siblings? none that she knows of. her father wasn’t a very faithful man and neither was her mother.

describe their best friend. penelope had a best friend growing up. kaiden russel. sadly, after going into high school the pair didn’t stay connected and she moved onto a more popular crowd and hasn’t truly had a ‘best friend’ since then.

ideal best friend? hm, someone who can keep up with her all the while keeping her in line. someone who listens and doesn’t mind her rambling. also they’ve got to have a great fashion sense and killer personality.

describe their other friends. penelope has loads of friends. while she may be a bit of a mean girl she doesn’t have trouble making friends. especially since moving to elias. she’s been able to calm down on the venom and let friendships grow.. she still worries about people not

do they have any pets? back home she has a biscon friese named pinky. she’s trying to convince her land lord to allow the dog to stay.

who are their natural allies? wally, georgette, daphne, and buzz.

who are their surprising allies? rita. they’re very much opposites attract and have a surprisingly great friendship. while they’re an odd pair penny has her back just like rita has pen’s.

PAST AND FUTURE

what was your character like as a baby? as a child? loud, chubby, and a little too in your face.

did they grow up rich or poor? rich. her parents wouldn’t have it any other way.

did they grow up nurtured or neglected? right in the middle. one parent nurtured with gifts and the other neglected with words.

what is their greatest achievement? prom queen, except it was a fluke. next would be getting into walt academy.

what was their first kiss like? hm, not great. it was with the smelly boy on the back of the bus because the cool kids dared her.. she was promised to sit at their lunch table then got tricked.

what is the worst thing they did to someone they loved? she told her mom she hated her.. like multiple times.

what are their ambitions? become a fashion mogul and build a huge empire.

what advice would they give their younger self? don’t listen to axel.. ever.

what smells remind them of their childhood? chocolate and tears.

what was their childhood ambition? be the next britney spears.

did they have an imaginary childhood friend? she didn’t have many friends besides kaidan. so she created friends from her stuffed animals.

when was the last time they were crushed with disappointment? besides being stood up.. probably being told her latest design wasn’t good by her teacher.

LOVE

do they believe in love at first sight? yes, she’s a hopeless romantic.

are they in a relationship? clearly not.

how do they behave in a relationship? she’s a fun partner. but she’s very about herself. while she’ll cover them with attention and love.. she’ll always be her first priority.

when did you character last have sex? it’s been a hot minute. penny isn’t big on hook ups. she wants to be in love.. or in ‘really like’ before she puts that out there.

what sort of sex do they have? again she wants to make love not have sex. she’s more about pleasing and being pleased. and she just really loves kissing and cuddling.

has your character ever been in love? nope, she doesn’t even know what it feels like.

have they ever had their heart broken? her feelings hurt but her heart wasn’t broken by axel. just hurt really bad.

CONFLICT

how do they respond to a threat? with a bigger threat back. penelope is very confrontational.

are they most likely to fight with their fists or their tongue? tongue, girl has a mouth and can say very hateful and mean things.

if your character could only save one thing from their burning house, what would it be? her diary. she’s kept one since she was a child. it’s important to her.

what are their phobias? spiders and bugs in general.

what is their choice of weapon? her purse and the taser she keeps in it.

what living person do they most despise? axel and his band.

have they ever been bullied or teased? yeah, her whole childhood.

where do they go when they’re angry? to cry in a pillow then to the gym to punch away her aggression.

WORK, EDUCATION AND HOBBIES

what is their current job? jobless socialite student.

what are their hobbies? fashion design/sewing, karaoke, and karate.

educational background? she’s currently in college for fashion design.

intelligence level? she’s about a 8/10 on the intelligence scale. she has always done well in school but def isn’t a valedictorian.

do they have a natural talent for something? sewing. she can make an outfit in under an outfit and it will be perfect.

do they play a sport? are they any good? kick boxing, doll. she’s great. and karate. she’s a black belt you know!

FAVORITES

what is their favorite animal? her pup. but she likes flamingos strangely enough.

which animal do they dislike the most? spiders.. and bats.

what place would they most like to visit? paris. again and again and again. she hopes to live their one day. but as far as new place to visit would be london.

what is the most beautiful thing they’ve ever seen? can she say her own reflection?

what is their favorite song? love at first sight by kylie minogue or the call by the backstreet boys.

music, art, reading preferred? ooo, this is hard for her because fashion is art to her but she loves singing. we’ll say art to be safe.

what is their favorite color? pink, all day everyday.

POSSESSIONS

what is in their fridge? lots of leftovers and food prep. penny doesn’t cook very well.

what is on their bedside table? a picture of her puppy, her phone, a ring dish with her everyday jewelry, and a cute lamp.

what is in their purse or wallet? junk on top of junk and things she needs to clean out.

what is their most treasured possession? her diary and her grandmother wedding band.

SPIRITUALITY

who or what is your character’s guardian angel? she’d believe it’s her father’s mother but then again with her fate she doesn’t think she has one.

do they believe in the afterlife? yes. but she’s not sure it’s like the ‘good book’ says.

what are their religious views? believes in a god but is not practicing any strict religion.

what do they think heaven is? heaven would be a happy life where she’s treated like a princess on a throne.

what do they think hell is? reliving prom night over and over again.

are they superstitious? a bit. she wont place her purse on the ground, doesn’t step on cracks, and little things like that.

what would they like to be reincarnated as? hm, a butterfly.

how would they like to die? in their sleep.

what is your character’s spirit animal? a peacock.

what is their zodiac sign? gemini sun, gemini moon, cancer ascending.

VALUES

what do they think is the worst thing that can be done to a person? murder.. or having their heart broken.

what is their view of ‘freedom’? she’s not sure... it seems like there isn’t such a thing these days.

when did they last lie? she told her teacher her outfit was cute.. it wasn’t. it was tacky and she hated it.

what’s their view of lying? penny doesn’t lie often.. maybe fib and tell little white lies.. but never about anything major.

when did they last make a promise? hm, she doesn’t really make promises because it’s hard for her to keep them.

did they keep or break their last promise? again.. she probably broke it.

DAILY LIFE

what are their eating habits? awful. she works out to keep off the pounds.. but penny has never ate healthy and probably never will.

describe their home. chic chaos? clothes and accessories everywhere, pictures of herself and pup everywhere, her sewing station a hot mess.. lots of color and fun.

are they minimalist or a clutter hoarder? clutter hoarder.

what do they do first thing on a weekday morning? drink water and write in her dream journal.

what do they do on a sunday afternoon? her weekly skin care routine.

what do they do on a friday night? a night on the town. she’s probably dragging a friend to karaoke or on a ‘friend date’.

what is the soft drink of choice? she’s a mountain dew girl.

what is their alcoholic drink of choice? sangria or margaritas. she’s simple.

MISCELLANEOUS

what or who would your character dress up as for halloween? probably wanda from wanda vision.. she has no idea. or she’ll try to get a date and force them to be her vision. or maybe princess peach.

are they comfortable with technology? very much so. social media queen.

if they could call one person for help, who would it be? probably howl.. she just learned about magic.. that has to fix everything.

what is their greatest extravagance? her princess tiara, her father bought when she turned sixteen. it’s diamond encrusted and also has pink diamonds.

what is their perception of redemption? obviously she think shes got the greatest redemption story of all time.

what would they do if they won the lottery? give it to charity for publicity... whoops.

what is their favourite fairytale? the twelve dancing princesses.

what fairytale do they hate? princess and the pea.

do they believe in happy endings? yes, and she hopes she gets one.

what is their idea of perfect happiness? honestly, a good marriage and sucessful career.

what would they ask a fortune teller? who she’s going to marry and if he’s loaded.

if your character could travel through time, where would they go? to meet anne boleyn and tell her what’s going to happen.

what sport do they excel at? karate.

what sport do they suck at? anything with a ball.

if they could have a superpower, what would they choose? super strength or flying.

[mirkwoodshewolf]

Finding out the truth about Freddie; Queen x reader

*Author’s note*

Here we go with the next chapter, now I hope you got your tissues ready cause I swear people, these next few chapters are gonna be heavy. Now in this one there is an insane amount of fluff first but then as the story goes on, YEESH! I’ll say this I HATED writing a portion of this chapter cause I was CRYING!!!

Also in the near future I may do a sorta HC type thing because there is one additional surprise that’s in this chapter (it’s nothing bad trust me) but I may just do that instead of making another fic of it. But I hope you all enjoy this part as much as you enjoyed the previous. And look out for the next and final update coming in just a few.

Taglist:

@plethora-of-things​

@waddles03​

@psychosupernatural​

@ixchel-9275​

@simonedk​

@platawnic​

@jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels​

@queensdivas​

@queendeakyy​

@geek-and-proud​

@kairosfreddie​

@onebigfangirlworld​

@naturalswifty89​

@starswin​

@bohemiansweede​

@5sos-wdw​

@labessieisallama​

@isabella-bby​

@dj-lowkey​

_______________________________________________________________

*December 15th, 1990*

It was like any other day in holiday home of Montreux.  I was getting the place ready for the boys to stay while they got some work done. Brian wouldn’t tell me much but just the fact that the press were really hounding on Freddie lately. Now I have heard that there had been rumors that Freddie was sick but of what I had no idea.

The boys refused to tell me every time I asked. The last time I had seen Freddie and the guys in the public view was when they won the award for best band of the 1980’s.  

And I’ll definitely say that something did look wrong with him, he was so thin and pale it was like I wasn’t even looking at the same person.  But a walking corpse.  I checked the clock really quick and said to myself.

“Okay Jack should be back with them any minute. Their flight was supposed to have come in a half hour ago. That is if there had been no delay. But there shouldn’t have been otherwise he’d call me. Okay bedrooms have been assigned, dinner’s just about done, and the twins are upstairs napping. Susan will drop Kelly back home after the playdate with Amy, okay I think that’s everything.”

Soon I heard two separate barks from upstairs on the balcony.  I knew that it was Sammy our 3 year old golden retriever and Bucky our 6 year old German Shepherd, sounding the alarm that company had arrived.  I smiled and raced towards the door and opened it to reveal the guys coming out of the cars.

I smiled widely and raced towards them not helping myself to an ecstatic squeal that came out of my mouth.

“Ahh her royal majesties have finally arrived!” As the first person I tackled in a hug was Brian.  Seeing me coming at him, he immediately was ready as he picked me up and spun me around making me laugh as I said.

“Oh you guys look at you all!” He set me down as I brought Deacy in for the next hug.  He pecked my cheek and embraced me back and as I hugged Roger and Fred at the same time I said, “Oh it’s been too long, I’ve missed my boys soo much. Oi,” I separated from them and gathered them together so that I could scold them like the mother I was, “Just because you four are now some hotshot band of the 80’s doesn’t mean you can forget about the people who most love you four. I worry about you guys I expect a call every now and then.”

“You know we check in on you love.” Said Roger. I grinned at him and said.

“Yeah I know but still. I don’t want you four to forget about little ol me.”

“Darling it’s impossible to forget about you.” Said Freddie.

“Hey you guys hungry? I’ve made cornbread and chilly.” I asked.

“Wait did I just hear cornbread and chilly?” Jack suddenly came into the group circle making us laugh and I said.

“Yes darling, it’s in the stove, should be done about now.” I took the guys inside the house and as they got a good view of the house from the inside Deacy said.

“Wow (y/n), your home is beautiful.”

“Thanks Deacy, the perfect vacation home for three kids. But oh lord the sleepovers that will happen in the future. It’ll fit an entire classroom.” I teased the last part.

“Speaking of which where are the little ankle biters at?” asked Roger.

“Well the twins are upstairs taking their afternoon nap, and Kelly is at a friend’s place. Should be back around 5-10 minutes or so.”

“How have they been doing?” asked Brian.

“Well the twins just had their 18month checkup about a month ago. Everything’s all healthy, Jack Jr. grew another 3inches. And Georgie gained 3 extra pounds.” Deacy whistled and said.

“Seems you’ve got a weed on your hands with Jack.”

“Tell me about it, by the time the boy’s in junior high, he’ll probably be as tall as an NBA player.” They looked at me confused and that’s when I stated, “Basketball player.” To which they nodded in understandment.

“And how’s the little nightingale?” asked Freddie.

“She’s been good. Really liking her kindergarten class, her teacher says she’s the smartest little girl she’s ever seen.”

“And we wouldn’t expect nothing less, she’s like her mother in every sense, shape and form.” Roger praised as he gave me a fatherly peck on the temple.  I playfully shoved him and said.

“But I know she’ll be excited to see you all. She doesn’t even know you guys are coming.”

“My, my you are a sneaky mother lion aren’t yah dear?” teased Freddie.

“I do my best Fred. Okay so let me show you all to your rooms so you can set your stuff down and then we can have dinner.” I then led the boys up the stairs.

But as I reached the top I began to notice that Fred seemed to be struggling immensely.  

I walked back down towards him and took his luggage and he looked at me and I smiled softly, hoping that I wasn’t crossing any boundaries.

“Thank you darling.” He said with a nod and I nodded back to him and tried to help him up the stairs but he refused telling me that he got it under control.

“Okay Freddie this room is yours,”

“Thank you darling.” He said as he set himself down on the bed and for the first time since arriving I saw him truly become relaxed. I set his stuff down at his bedside and said to him.

“I’ll let you know when dinner’s finally ready.” He thanked me once more and that’s when we all heard barking coming down the hall.

Bucky had entered Freddie’s room and trotted right up towards him.

“Hi Bucky!” Freddie said trying to sound enthusiastically but that’s when Bucky started to bark at him and not in the happy way.  He almost sounded alarmed or defensive.  I walked up towards him telling him as I ruffled his fur.

“What is wrong with you yah rotter? It’s just Freddie.”

“Oh I think my outfit just smells like Delilah that’s all.”

“I am so sorry Freddie he’s never acted this way before to anyone.” I apologized.

“No apologizes necessary darling.” He assured me. I knelt down to Bucky’s height and he sniffed under my chin whimpering and grunting as I scowled him.

“What’s the matter with you huh? It’s like you smelled something bad on him.” Bucky let out a couple more barks before a whistle was heard and Bucky went trotting over to Roger who began to pet him.  “Again Fred I’m so sorry about this, hopefully Sammy will be nicer for the both of them. You just get yourself situated and I’ll come check on you in a bit.”

“No need to hover over me like a mama bear darling, I’ll be fine.” I just grinned at him and left his room and took the rest of band members of Queen to their rooms.

Deacy and Roger had rooms that were next door to each other’s while Brian’s room was just across from the master bedroom.

Once the guys got settled in, Jack had gotten the table set up and now everyone was gathered around the table ready to eat. I set the food down and I heard Roger say.

“Ahh about time, at least this will be better than airplane food.”

“Oh (y/n) this smells absolutely delicious.” Complimented Brian.

“Thank you boys, and please help yourselves to as much as you want.”  We all then dug into our dinner.

“So how far did you say the studio was from here?” asked Freddie.

“It’s literally 20 minutes from here. Can’t miss it, it’s a beautiful building. I’m actually about to do some recording myself there tomorrow for my next album.”

“Mind telling us about it?” asked Roger.

“Oh no, no, no, no, no you cheeky devils. You’ll have to wait till it hits the shelves. I’m not spilling a single detail.”

“Ahh come on love, we tell each other everything in regard to work.” Said Brian.

“Nope, not gonna get anything outta me.” I said as I took a spoonful of chilly into my mouth.  The front door soon opened and shut as we all heard a tiny little girl’s voice call out.

“Hi mummy!”

“There she is.” Proclaimed Deacy.  Soon coming around the corner at 5 years old now with my (h/c) locks that went past her shoulders and (e/c) eyes that shined like little gems was my dear little Kelly.

“Uncle Deacy!” She raced over to Deacy who picked her up and gave her a kiss on the cheek as he said.

“How’s my favorite niece doing? Ohh you’re getting so big.”

“I see how it is Kelly, you go to Deacy but ignore the rest of us.” Freddie taunted.

“No Uncle Freddie, I never forget about you!” Kelly whined.  Freddie grinned at her and said.

“I know you wouldn’t. Now come give your uncle Freddie a kiss my little nightingale.” Kelly got out of Deacy’s lap and went over to Freddie who picked her up and kissed both her cheeks.  I noticed that Freddie was straining to pick her up, he tried to hide it but I could see it in his face as he picked her up.

“And what of my hug and kiss Kelly?” Brian asked. She giggled and Freddie passed her over to Brian.  She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed Brian’s cheek.  I picked up Jack Jr. from his booster seat while Jack took Daniel.  Brian gave Kelly her Eskimo kiss before kissing her forehead which made her giggle.

“Where’s papa Roger?” she asked innocently.  I turned to Roger who went to grab another beer can to see his goddaughter being held in Brian’s arms.  I grinned at him as he said as he set his beer down.

“Why don’t you turn around and find out.” Kelly immediately turned around and raced towards Roger who got down to her height and picked her up under her arms holding her close to his chest which caused the whole room to erupt with soft laughs.

Just like me, Kelly’s always favored Roger out of the guys.  Thankfully Roger took the role of godfather to a whole new level.  Anytime I needed advice with Kelly, he was always there day or night.  He adored Kelly with all his heart and like he did with me, he treated Kelly like his own child and gave her the entire world.

“You happy to see your uncles and your god papa sweetie?” asked Jack.

“I’m very happy.” Roger hugged her close to him and repeatedly kissed Kelly’s cheek making her giggle and squirm in his arms.

“And get this poppet, your uncles and godfather will be staying here with us for a while whilst they get some work done.” I told her.  Her eyes lit up and she turned to Roger and asked him.

“Really?”

“That’s right love, hope you won’t get too sick of us like your mother does.” Roger teased.

“No I miss you guys!” She said as she hugged Roger’s neck and buried her face into it which made all of us laugh.  Roger kissed her head and set back down in his seat while I got a bowl ready for Kelly.  Once I set it down, she whined out, “Aww mummy, I don’t like chilly though!”

“Sorry darling but you’re gonna have to expand your eating habits. Just try a couple of bites.” I told her.  She huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest pouting.

“Ahh come on now lovey, listen to your mummy and try at least a spoonful.” Said Roger as he gave her the puppy dog eyes but Kelly still refused.

“Okay then, I guess that means I’ll have to give the extra ice cream sandwiches to one of the guys then.” I started off.  It was then Kelly perked up and said.

“Wait! Wait! I want an ice cream sandwich!” I smirked knowing that I had her right where I wanted her.  I knelt down in front of her and said to her.

“Then you’ve got to eat your chilly.” She whined as she looked between her bowl and me.  “It’s either that or not dessert monkey.” She then finally gave in and reached for her spoon and took a bite of the chilly.  “That’s my girl.” I kissed the top of her head as Roger said.

“You’re so bad with her.”

“Well I did learn from the best,” I pecked his cheek and went to grab the ice cream sandwiches from the freezer.

The rest of the night was spent catching up with the guys and eating our dessert.  Kelly was coloring in her coloring book while the boys were playing with their blocks at the center of the living room.

“So how have you two adjusted to dealing with 3 kids now?” asked Brian.

“It’s a struggle at times, but we’re happy to have our boys.” I said.

“Jack Jr. is an angel from heaven, Georgie however is a little devil in disguise. Jack Jr. clears his plate like a gentleman, Georgie on the other hand will just scatter his food down to the floor. Like the other day they were eating cheerios and he goes shoving the cheerios onto the ground, but what he does next is that he just looks at me like this,” Jack then made a ‘stare-down’ face as he said, “Like he’s saying, ‘I know you’re gonna pick that up’.” Which got the guys laughing.

“Trust me Jack, I went through the same thing with Robert when he was first born. But eventually he grew out of it, hopefully it’ll be the same with Georgie.” Said Deacy.

“Let’s hope so, I don’t think I can raise a mini-Jensen.” Jack groaned which made us laugh again.

As the night drew darker, Kelly who was now leaning against her godfather yawned and that’s when Roger said.

“Seems like someone had a long day today.” I stood up to take her upstairs but he stopped me and said, “It’s fine love, I’ll take her up. You take care of those boys of yours.”

“You sure?” I asked.

“Yeah it’ll be fine.” Roger then slowly picked Kelly up without trying to wake her up and took her up to her room.  

God she looked so cute leaning up against Roger like that, reminds me of me at that age when my real father would take me up to bed after I had fallen asleep doing something.

“It is getting rather late. I think we should all be in bed by now, we want to get as early of a start recording as we can.” Stated Freddie.

“Agreed.” Brian spoke up.  It was then decided that we all turned in for the night.  Jack and I put the twins in their nursery jointed right next door to the master bedroom and I said goodnight to the three queens and they bid us a goodnight back.  Jack and I unfolded the sheets and got into bed.

“How long do you think you’ll be staying in the studio for?”

“I’m hoping to plan just 9 hours, but I can’t make any promises. Plus with the guys here, they may need me. Hope that isn’t any trouble for you.”

“No, no it’s fine. It’s been awhile since you’ve got to work with the boys, they might need you back with them.”

“Yeah they are lost without me.” We kissed each other and then snuggled up for the night.

*3rd Person POV*

While everyone was getting situated into bed, Roger finally arrived at Kelly’s room and walked over to her bed.  He gently set her down and just before he could cover her up, she moaned and opened her eyes and said.

“Papa Roger?” Roger looked up at her and smiled and said.

“Hey you, I thought you’d gone to dreamland by now.”

“I couldn’t with you and uncle Deacy, uncle Brian and uncle Freddie here. I’m too excited to sleep now.”

“Oh really?” She nodded but then Roger took notice that she had the same sad look that she inherited from her mother. “What is it lovey?” he asked.

“I don’t think I can say it.” She responded solemnly as she looked down away from Roger.  Roger looked at his goddaughter as said.

“Kelly, you know that if something’s bothering you, you know you can always tell me anything, right?” She nodded hesitantly and that’s when Roger lifted her chin up and said as he sat down at her bedside and extended his arm out, “C’mere darling.” Kelly crawled up onto Roger’s lap and gripped onto his shirt and fiddled with it.

Roger adjusted her so that she was fully sitting on his lap and wrapped his arms around her back keeping her steady as he allowed her head to rest against his chest over his heart, much like he did with her mother.

“Talking about it will help you feel better, so come on little lioness, what’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” Kelly fiddled with Roger’s shirt a bit more before finally saying as she looked up at Roger with this (e/c) eyes that she got from her mother.

“Is uncle Freddie okay?”

At this point Roger didn’t even know what to tell her.  He had hoped that Kelly wouldn’t notice the change in Freddie due to his AIDS but he knew he had been fooling himself.  

She was after all the daughter of (Y/n) Kline, the cleverest girl he had ever met.

“I—didn’t want to say anything to mummy at dinner because I was afraid she’d get sad. I didn’t want her to be sad.” Roger stroked Kelly’s hair and said to her.

“You definitely have your mother’s cleverness thank god for that.” He first teased which made both him and even Kelly laugh. “Listen darling; your uncle Freddie he’s—he’s just trying out a new look. He hopes that it will help him look younger to fit in with the new ongoing crowd of fans. That’s all.”

“Well I don’t like it. He looks sick, can’t mummy help him feel better? I want the old uncle Freddie back.” Roger brushed some strands of her long hair out of her face and said.

“Maybe, if your mum will allow it.”

“She always helps me whenever I feel sick.” She said softly.

“She is a good nurse isn’t she?” Roger asked remembering all the times that she’s helped him and the guys whenever they partied too hard and were completely shitfaced by morning when they were forced to record.  After teasing them, mainly him of course, she’d then have medicine, water and crackers to help settle their stomachs.

Kelly nodded but still looked sad.  If there was one thing Roger knew when it came to his best girls, whether it was the Kline girls or even his own daughter, it was to never let them go to bed sad.  With a mischievous gleam appearing in his eyes and a cunning grin coming across his face, Roger proceeded to try and get Kelly to laugh.  First he playfully pinched her nose as he said.

“I’ve got you nose.” Which made Kelly giggle as she tried to escape her godfather’s embrace.  As she now fell back onto her bed, it allowed Roger to grab her ankle and lift her foot in the air as he said, “Got your toes!”

“Papa Roger, stop! I’m too big for nose and toes!” She laughed.  This was a playful game that Roger not only played with his own daughter but with Kelly as well to get them to be happy again.

“Uh-oh, you’re missing a toe. Alright you little ankle bitter, where’s that missing toe?”

“I’m not missing a toe.” Kelly cried out.

“Oh yes you are, see. One, two, three, four.” He said counting her toes skipping over her middle toe.  “Now where you keeping that toe at young lady?”

“I don’t have it anywhere.”

“Ah-ah better tell the truth, or I’m gonna tickle it out of yah.” He then dived down and began tickling Kelly’s stomach.  The two of them laughing as Roger kept Kelly close to him as he tickled her, not allowing her to escape an inch away from him. Kelly tried as best as she could to roll away from him but Roger always brought her back close to him, she tried to push his hand away but it wouldn’t budge.

When she was nothing but pure smiles and no more trace of sadness was in her eyes, Roger ceased his tickle attack and scooted her up so that her head was now resting on her pillow.

“Okay lovey, time for bed.” He tucked her in and stroked the top of her head, brushing away the bangs that fell down over her eyes.  “Now don’t you worry about your uncle Freddie okay? He always bounces back up, and I know he will from this.” Roger lied.

He hated to lie to Kelly but he had no choice. She was too young to understand and he didn’t want this to affect her badly by telling her that her uncle was going to die soon.

He refused to allow Kelly to be told that right away, especially if it was from him and not from her own parents.

Plus he knew Freddie would never forgive him had his favorite niece been told he was so sick.

“Okay.” Kelly said softly.

“That’s my girl.” Roger kissed her forehead and whispered, “Goodnight my love.”

“G’night.” Kelly whispered before finally closing her eyes and went back to sleep.  Roger stayed by her bedside for a few moments stroking her head gingerly before finally decided to head to his own room and went to sleep himself.

As he lay down on his bed, a single tear fell down his face.

*My POV*

As the next year came around; the boys continued to stay at the house, balancing work and spending time with their niece and nephews.  I’ve really began to notice the signs of Freddie not doing so well.

Some nights he would lose his appetite and not want anything to eat.  There was also the signs of him struggling to get out of bed in the mornings and even walk up and down the stairs.  One day there was even an accident where he fell and broke his ankle.  Also both Sammy and Bucky would just bark at Freddie anytime he would pass them, they even went as much as to avoid him at all times which they had never done before since we had gotten them.

I was really starting to get scared for Freddie’s sake because Kelly was starting to ask questions.  She told me that she and Rog had a talk about it but he told her not to worry about it.  So I would go up to either Brian or Rog since anytime Freddie was brought up, Deacy wouldn’t even speak and the two of them would tell me not to worry and that Fred was just trying something out, or he went to the gym after their rehearsals.

I was currently sitting on one of my chairs by the back entrance going over a new song for my upcoming album.  Doing some rewrites and trying to make the song work better when I heard Freddie’s voice coming down the hallway.

I put my feet up and lowered myself further down the chair hiding myself from view as I heard Freddie say.

“Just tell the press to bugger off and not say a word that I am here with (Y/n) and Jack. I refuse to let the Klines get involve with this Jim darling. If they ask, just tell them I’m in Japan recording…..I know, I miss you too my husband. I’ll call you later tonight, bye-bye my love.” I then heard Fred sigh heavily and heard him enter the living room as he said to himself. “God this is fucking ridiculous. Now they’ve got to pull my beloved Rock Angel into this, she doesn’t deserve this torture either.”

Finally I had had enough, I poked out from behind the chair which caused Freddie to jump backward as I said to him.

“Care to confess your sins there, Mr. Mercury?”

“Bloody hell (Y/n) don’t scare me like that.” He said as he rubbed his chest.  I set my notebook down and stood before him saying.

“Well that’s rich coming from you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You Fred. If anyone’s scaring anybody here is you that’s scaring me. Are you sure there isn’t anything you want to talk to me about?” He remained silent and just stared at me with wide eyes.  I raised my brow at him and proceeded to say as I circled around him, “Like; why Bucky and Sammy won’t come near you without barking up a storm? Or why your appetites changed? Not to mention this weight loss, the fact that you can barely walk some days without help, not to mention the phone conversation I just heard about me getting involved with something you don’t want me a part of. Fred I’m really worried about you.”

I now stood face to face with him by the end of my rant and that’s when Freddie told me.

“(Y/n) I—I’m just going through some personal things that’s all my dear.” I looked at him suspiciously and said.

“Okay,” I sighed heavily as I dragged my hands through my hair as I said, “God if I didn’t know any better I’d say it’s almost as if you—” I stopped as I looked at him.  I then shook my head and said, “No. No way. I’m going straight to the worst case scenario.” I turned around and walked away.

“What scenario would that be darling?” Freddie asked me.  I turned back around toward him and said to him trying to play it off.

“Nothing, nothing Fred forget I even said anything.” As I turned back around to walk away it was then Freddie dropped the bombshell.

“Because only a clever girl like you could decipher….when one has AIDS.”

I froze in my spot.

I slowly turned around and looked at Freddie. I have heard about the AIDS crisis that had been breaking out worldwide.  It was unlike anything I had ever heard of, and it was strongly affected the gay community.  Already Jack had lost some old friends from this disease but never did I—oh my god.

I slowly walked towards Fred finally putting two and two together as I choked out his name.  He looked at me with solemn eyes and said the four most gravest and heartbreaking words I will ever hear in my entire life.

“I’m afraid so darling.”

My eyes grew wide, my heart sunk and I almost collapsed to the ground in tears.  I held my hands to my mouth trying to hide my shocked expression but tears quickly filled my eyes.

“Oi Fred!” Roger’s voice called out.  He came up from the back entrance and stood beside Freddie and said to him, “Fred, Brian and Deacy managed to figure out the problem for the song, we want to run it by you.” It was then Roger turned to look at me.  I sniffled and couldn’t help as a tear fell down my face.  “(Y/n) what’s wrong?”

Even in his weak and frail state, Freddie still had that strength in his eyes that told me to not cry and be strong.  I snapped out of my state and choked out as I tried to do what Freddie was telling me to do.

“Wha? No, nothing’s wrong dad. I’m only just picturing Freddie the way he’d want me to right now. The day I first met him…..Me sitting at the piano and him trying to get me to sing another song…..” I couldn’t help a sob that came out as I choked out again as I held my arms out, “Can I please hug him?”

I walked up towards Fred and gave him a hug as I wept hysterically.  Crying into his shoulder while he rocked me back and forth rubbing my back trying to comfort me as I wept.

“Oh god no! Not you…..” I felt him kiss my temple and that’s when I felt his embrace and backed away as I choked out. “Okay I’m going to go calm down, then tonight. You and me. Garden. Because we need to have a serious talk about this okay? Okay?” I wiped my tears away before rushing out of the living room and upstairs to my bedroom.

*3rd Person POV*

Roger who was completely baffled by what he just saw turned to Freddie who turned to him solemnly and he confessed.

“I told her.” Roger sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger.

“How did she find out?”

“She’s clever that lion cub of yours. She put two and two together without even having to say it. Plus she was hiding when I was on the phone with Jim. Already the press back home are spilling rumors that our beloved Rock Angel is aware of my AIDS and is keeping me in hiding.”

“Those fucking wankers.” Roger sneered.  He then looked toward the direction where (y/n) had gone and tried to go after her but Freddie stopped him and said.

“Leave her be Rog. Give her time to calm down, and like she said I will talk with her. This has to be between me and her.” Roger nodded and the two men went back to work.

As agreed, the sun set and (y/n) was currently out in the gardens sitting on the pergola swing set with a vodka bottle in her hands. It was a full size bottle but the content inside was almost empty.

*My POV*

My mind maybe fuzzy from dousing vodka most of the afternoon, but I was still sober enough to go to the garden and get on the pergola waiting for Freddie to get here.  

I can’t believe this is happening. It’s—it’s like a bad dream or something.  Please God don’t let this be real.

“Knock, knock.” I looked up and there stood Freddie. I gestured for him to sit down and he did as I said.  I refused to look up at him because I knew I would break down, shitfaced or not. “Never did take you for drinking so early darling.” Freddie tried to lighten up the mood.

I spoke not a word.  Everything was dead silent except for the crickets chirping.

“How long has everyone known?” my tone was completely broken.  I heard him sigh and he confessed.

“I told Miami shortly after I was diagnoses in ’86. The boys didn’t find out three years after Miami found out.”  I shut my eyes as tears fell down my face not believing this.

“So this whole time you all knew about this? And you didn’t bother to let me in on it?!” I snapped as I finally turned towards him.  Tears stinging my eyes and threatening to come down.

“Darling I just wanted to keep this to myself. I wanted to protect the ones I loved most closest to me from being told this illness. Not even my family knows about this yet.” I looked at him, seeing the strength in his eyes behind his frail face.  “I thought by not telling you, I would be sparing you this heartache. But I should’ve guessed I couldn’t hide anything from you this long. You’re just too clever my darling.” He gently stroked my cheek with his index finger wiping away the tearstains from my face.

I turned away from him and just looked down at my feet as I muttered brokenly.

“I did this to you.”

“What?” I sniffled and said.

“I did this to you Fred.” He looked at me confused and said.

“My rock angel that’s ridiculous, how could you have done any of this?” Finally setting the vodka down, I wiped my tears away from both my eyes and sniffled as I confessed and looked directly at him.

“Do you remember a few months before my wedding? Shortly after you and the boys shot the ‘I want to break free’ video?” Freddie looked at me solemnly and said.

“You mean the day I said those horrible, nasty things about you? I wish I could forget that day but it happened.”

“I told you that I wished that you were struck down in the worst possible way……and now here you are with the worst thing anyone could ever have!” I sobbed out.  Covering my eyes with my hand, shutting them trying to keep any more tears from spilling out.  “I did this to you Fred…..I did this…..”

“That’s bullshit darling!” he exclaimed.  I felt him take my hand that was at my side as he said, “(Y/n), my rock angel look at me,” I was hesitant but I turned towards him, looking like a sad, pathetic drunken woman but Freddie didn’t care.

He stroked some of my hair out of my face tucking it behind my ear as he said.

“Now you listen to me darling; no one is to blame here. You are not to blame for this, the one person responsible for this is me. I was reckless, stupid, and gave too shits about what I was doing. I might’ve known the risks but I didn’t give a fuck about it. My moto was ‘I’m doing everything with everyone’ and not once considered what the result would be. But never, ever think that this was your fault, because it wasn’t. I don’t blame you; the boys don’t blame you; no one blames you.” I looked at Freddie with teary eyes and choked out in a faint voice that it almost appeared like a whisper.

“But why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“As I said I wanted to protect you darling. You were finally booming in your career just as we were. I didn’t want anything to drag you down. You didn’t deserve to be distracted by an old aging queen like me.” That managed to get a laugh out of me.  “See, there’s my darling rock angel.” He wiped the tears away and I fully turned towards him.

He cupped my face into his hands and he looked straight into my eyes as he said in a more serious tone.

“Now I’m going to tell you exactly what you told the lads and I when we first found out about your parents; I don’t want you to fuss about it or frown about it, but above all don’t bore me with any sympathy. Because that’s just seconds wasted, seconds that can be used making music, which is all what I want to do with the time I have left. And you need to do the same, can you promise me that darling?” I sniffled and croaked out.

“I’ll try.”

“No dear, you either will or you won’t. Now give me the right answer.” His voice stern which made me flinch a bit but I knew it wasn’t out of anger at me directly.

“I promise.” I vowed to him.  He nodded softly and said.

“That’s my Rock Angel, now no more tears darling, okay?” I nodded and that’s when he brought me into his embrace and I hugged him back as tightly as I could but kept it gentle so that I wouldn’t cause him any pain.

I remained in his arms for the rest of the night.

The next morning, Fred invited me along to the recording studio.  Since I had completed my album, he thought it would be best for me to come over and see him record this one song that he had been working on with the guys.

He wouldn’t tell me much about it, just to come along and even bring Kelly along so that she could see it too.  

Once we had arrived at the studio, I held Kelly’s hand in mine and that’s when she asked me.

“Do you think you and uncle Freddie could sing the pressure song after they’re done?”

“Maybe, but don’t count on anything okay Kelly? Your Uncle needs to rest his voice.” I entered the studio and was greeted by some of the technicians and office workers who pointed me in the direction of where the boys were.

When we reached the room, I saw Freddie put down a vodka bottle as he proclaimed to Brian who was sitting right beside him.

“I’ll fucking do it, darling!”

“Language Freddie, there is a child present in the room.” I exclaimed as I covered Kelly’s ears.  The boys all turned toward me and that’s when Freddie said.

“So sorry dear.” I just shook my head at him as I grinned and that’s when Kelly raced up towards Freddie.  He picked her up and set him on his lap and she asked him.

“You going to do a new song uncle Freddie?”

“Indeed I am my little nightingale, care to watch?” She nodded enthusiastically and that’s when Brian took a hold of Kelly and set her in is lap while Fred slowly got up from his chair and walked into the recording booth.  I took Freddie’s seat and Roger came over and stood over me while Deacy was in the back isolated but still kept his eyes on Fred.

“Okay this is ‘the Show must go on’ take 1.” Brian spoke into the mic. “You ready Fred?”

“Yes Brian dear, let’s do it.” I then heard the track beginning to start.  It was a powerful beat that already struck a chord in me and as it decrescendo, Freddie began to sing.

Play video

Even with as frail and ill that he looked, a man that was practically a walking corpse right before my eyes, his voice still held such power.  Sure not as much as he once had, but Fred didn’t allow his AIDS to stop him from working, he kept at it.

Once the first chorus hit and his voice hit that falsetto I couldn’t help but have my breath literally be taken out from my body as I just stared at him.  The lyrics were truly about Freddie and his struggles with this illness but he still knew and kept up with his famed phrase ‘The Show must go on’ no matter what.

And he sure as hell proved that on that day to me.

I could only stare at him in pure awe throughout the whole recording.  To nail the notes he needed on just the first take, only someone like Freddie Mercury could do that.  And I was damn proud to not only call him my idol, but my family.

At the very last note he hit with such raw power, I felt a shiver run up my spine as my eyes refused to leave him and I may or may not have been aware of it, but a few tears had fallen down my face.

By the end of the song, I heard Kelly say.

“Mummy you’re crying.” I turned to her and felt my cheek and could feel the wetness of the tears in my face.

“They’re happy tears my love.” I assured her as I wiped them away and saw Fred looking right at me.  I pressed the mic button and said.  “Killed it as always Fred.”

“Good, because I don’t think I can do it again.” Which caused me and the guys to choke out a laugh.

The following day at just before dawn, we were all at the airport and the guys were waiting for their private jet to take them back to London after doing a successful recording.

“You sure we can’t tempt you all to stay for a few more days?” asked Jack.

“No Jack darling we’ve taken up too much of your time. It’s time we were headed home.” Said Freddie. Jack nodded and that’s when Deacy spoke up.

“Thank you both for allowing us to stay in your lovely home.”

“Anytime Deacy, beats having to stay at a hotel or some rundown home the studio sometimes provides.” I said.

“Must you guys really leave?” Kelly asked as she leaned against her father’s shoulder looking toward her uncles and godfather sadly.

“Afraid so love, but don’t worry. You’ll be coming to see us soon.” Roger assured her as he lightly bopped her nose.

“How soon?” she asked.

“Faster than you think little one.” Brian answered her as he stroked down her hair before leaned down and giving her a kiss goodbye.  The rest of the guys soon followed and we all hugged and kissed each other goodbye as their jet soon landed.

The boys grabbed their luggage and they left to get on the plane.  They waved bye to us one final time and we waved back before they finally disappeared.

“I hope next time we see Freddie this fall he at least gets better. He looked so frail and ill; do you know what’s wrong with him (Y/n)?” I didn’t turn to face Jack but I immediately responded.

“I have no idea; they wouldn’t tell me anything.” I hated to lie but I made a promise to Fred.  He made me swear to him that Jack and Kelly didn’t need to know about his illness because he didn’t want anyone else besides me to know now.

So I vowed to him that I’d keep his secret, and I did. From mid-February till late November I kept Freddie’s secret.

[let-me-love-you-loki]

Driving Too Late

A/N: The idea for this one came from the wonderful @not-that-kinda-gurl08​

I stood with Nick and Matt in the driveway, shading my eyes with my hand. The bright Southern California sun beat down in its summer glory. A brilliant blue sky spread out in all directions. It was a perfect day. A calm day.

           Weather wise, at least.

           “Are you two sure you’re ready for this?” I asked. I stepped back to glance inside the house. Ty, now six, was napping on the sofa. RJ, at eight, and Lee at ten, were playing Mario Cart on the Switch. Nicole was in her room, going through those sullen bouts that most thirteen-year-olds experienced. And Mattie…

           She was pacing a little way down the driveway, driving test pamphlet in her hands.

           “It’ll be fine,” Matt said, waving his hand. “It’s not like we’re taking her on the freeway, Y/N.”

           “She’s a good driver,” Nick replied, crossing his arms as he watched his eldest.

           I looked down at my eldest—now sixteen and ready for a driver’s license. I couldn’t believe that she’d gotten so old so quick. It seemed like just yesterday she was begging Nick to toss her into the pool for Matt to catch.

           “She might be, but I know how you two are. Why can’t just one of you go?” I looked between them, raising a brow.

           “Trust us, Sunshine,” Nick said, tucking his arm around my neck and pulling me close. He kissed the top of my head and rested his cheek against my hair. “This is a big thing for us. It’s a Dad’s job to teach a kid how to drive.”

           I glanced at Matt, meeting his dark gaze. “Are you sure you two won’t fight in the car? I know how you are with directions.”

           My dark-haired husband grinned, and I could tell by the wistfulness in his eyes that he was remembering the same moments that fluttered through my mind. The two of them trying to put together a swing set in the backyard. Putting together a three-foot-tall princess castle for Christmas. Buying Mattie a hamster. So very many moments where the two of them, with the best of intentions, couldn’t communicate clear enough to get a job done. It was amazing—as well as they communicated in the ring, they’d had some serious miscommunications outside of it.

           “We’ve prepared for this,” Matt assured me, glancing at his brother. “I promise, Mama. We’ll all three come back in one piece.”

           Anxiety settled in my chest. “Please be careful. Please.”

           I felt Nick’s lips on my hair again. Matt came close and pressed a kiss against my neck. “We promised you a long time ago,” Nick murmured, “that we’d always come back to you. And we are never breaking that promise.”

           “Come on,” Mattie huffed as she hustled up the driveway. She was practically bouncing on her toes. “Dad! Papa! Let’s go.”

           Matt smiled indulgently. “We’re coming, Tea. Just a minute.”

           “Go,” I said softly. Even as I worried, I gave them a gentle push toward her. I looked at my little girl, my daughter who wasn’t so little anymore. “Be careful. And stay calm, no matter what foolishness your dads get into!”

           She grinned and snapped a salute. Nick tossed the keys to his old Nissan at her, and she snatched them out of the air with ease. That car was twenty some years old and had Lord knew how many miles on it. I was honestly surprised the thing ran as well as it did, but it made a good learner car. “Love you, Mom!”

           “Love you too, Tea,” I called back as she slid into the driver’s seat. Nick sat up front. Matt slid into the back, scooting until he was right in the middle. I watched as they put their seatbelts on, as she adjusted the mirrors. She took a deep breath and squeezed the wheel for a moment before starting the car and easing slowly out of the garage.

           My mother’s heart pounded out of my chest. I was consumed with pride at the person she was and a sadness for the little girl who was no more.

***

           “Take a few laps around the tennis court first,” Nick said, pointing his eldest toward the open gate. He was surprised at how calm his heart was beating in his chest. He’d thought that there would be more anxiety, more fear at putting his daughter behind the wheel. “Papa and I took the net down this morning. Just don’t hit the basketball goals.

           Mattie took it slow, both hands gripping the wheel, back rigid.

           “Don’t ride the brake, Tea,” Matt said calmly. “Just ease off the gas.”

           His daughter bit her lip, nodding. The car rolled smoothly down the inclined driveway. She hovered her foot over the brake as they neared the curve that lead toward the main road. Matt looked up the hill to the left. Nick did the same.

           “I can’t see around the curve,” Mattie said, a tremor in her voice. Her fingers gripped the wheel tightly, knuckles going momentarily white.

           “Ease on the brake,” Nick instructed, turning a little so he could face her. “Move up a little at a time until you can see.”

           “But don’t go out so far that you’re in the road. You don’t want to get hit.” Matt watched his daughter in the rearview mirror, seeing the fear etched on her face.

           She nodded and the car jostled to a stop. Nick bounced forward, his seatbelt snapping tight before he could go too far. Matt put out both hands and grabbed the back of each seat, stopping his forward motion.

           “Shit,” Nick swore under his breath. His heart was suddenly pounding, and he was sure there would be a welt on the side of his neck later. “Ease on the brake, Mattie. Not slam, ease.”

           “Sorry, Dad,” she replied sheepishly. For a moment, the fifteen-year-old thought she was going to cry.

           Matt put his hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay, Tea.” He smiled and shook his head, surprised at what he was about to say. “What did Patrick tell Spongebob about driving?”

           Nick snorted. Mattie grinned, turning to look at her Papa over her shoulder. “Big toe.”

           “Big toe,” Matt replied. “Now eyes on the road. Let’s go.”

           After a deep breath, the car moved forward again. Her next stop was a little smoother. When she reached the place where she could see around the curve, she looked left then right then left once more. She pulled out into the drive they shared with the other houses on the hill, slipping smoothly down until she reached the turn toward the tennis courts.

           Blinker on, she took the turn and pressed the accelerator. They’d opened the gate to the tennis courts that morning when they’d taken down the tennis nets, so she had an easy time negotiating past the posts and up onto the concrete.

           “Alright,” Matt said, “let’s see that three-point turn.”

***

           I couldn’t hide how nervous I was. Nicole came out of her room to get a bowl of chips and saw me sitting at the table, staring out the window. She sank down on the bench next to me and put her head on my shoulder.

           “Tea’s with Dad and Papa. She’ll be okay, Mom.”

           A tear slipped down my cheek before I could stop it. Soon it was followed by more, streaming down my face until I could hardly breathe. “It’s not that, Bug,” I hiccoughed.

           “Don’t call me…” She stopped when she realized I was crying. “Mom?”

           I tried to catch my breath. My hand pressed against my chest, as if that pressure would ease the aching in my heart.

           “Mommy? Are you okay?”

           I reached for my youngest daughter then, drawing her against my chest and hugging her tightly. She hadn’t called me mommy since she was nine. It made me ache for the days when she was little, when she would follow me around the house each day, when she loved nothing more than sitting on her Uncle Kenny’s knee watching a bank of camera monitors backstage at an AEW show.

           “I’m okay, baby,” I said soothingly. My fingers brushed through her light brown hair as I pressed a kiss to her forehead. She had Nick’s hairline, the poor child. “It’s just… Mattie’s driving. You’re getting ready to start high school. You’re all growing up too fast for me to keep up.”

           Before she could respond, I heard the sound of the garage door rumbling down. It was quickly followed by the sound of three doors slamming shut. The front door opened, and Mattie came in with Nick and Matt hot on her heels.

           I wiped hastily at my eyes and took a deep breath. “How’d it go?”

           Mattie flopped down on the bench across the table and put her head in her hands. “I scratched Dad’s car.”

           Nick dropped a kiss on the top of my head as he walked by, headed into the kitchen. Matt sat down at the head of the table. “You can barely see it, Tea. It was the edge of the bumper. Besides, that’s why we let you drive the Nissan. It’s seen better days, so some more bumps and bruises aren’t going to hurt it.”

           “I hit a pole, Papa,” Mattie said deadpan.

           My eyes went wide and my mouth opened, but before I could respond, Matt reached out and put his hand on top of mine. “You grazed one of the net anchors. You didn’t hit a pole.”

           Nick reappeared, setting a glass of soda in front of our daughter. “You did really well today, Mattie. I couldn’t parallel park until I was twenty-five.”

           I laughed. “I still can’t. And I’m… well, it doesn’t matter… I just can’t. Why do you think Papa bought me a minivan that can parallel park itself?”

           Mattie laughed and her blue eyes brightened. “I did okay?” she queried hopefully, looking between Matt and Nick. When they both nodded, she grinned.

           “How did they do?” I asked, jerking my thumbs at my husbands.

           “Really good! Dad said shit when I hit the brake too hard, and Papa almost said the f word when I got too close to the wall.” Our daughter looked between her fathers and smiled. “They were amazing, Mom. Best dads ever.”

           Matt sniffed. Nick titled his head back, scratching at his neck. “Oh no,” I exclaimed. “You two can’t cry. I’ve already been crying. That’s my job.”

Tag List

@mox-made-me-do-it  @not-that-kinda-gurl08 @lilred91 @imagineall-the-fandoms @maelleoute​ @librathepheonix13

[steveusesfaberge]

Particular Taste

Pairing: Billy Hargrove x Harrington!Reader

Summary: Billy meets a girl who he just...can’t get over. She’s everything...and yet, good Lord - she’s so damn particular. Too bad though, cause he’s already head over heels for her...even if she’s a Harrington.

Type/Style: Imagine, Song Preference, Female Pronouns

Song Preference: Particular Taste (Shawn Mendes)

Warning(s): A bit of cursing, a bit of flirting, a bit of fluff, a bit of angst, a bit of Billy Hargrove...

Word Count: 5,500 roughly (I kinda got carried away... >.<)

a/n: I was listening to some music...and now I’ve got a million-and-one idea flooding me...ahh! Please send in requests if you so wish! I’d be happy to do them! :D (I write NSFW and if a writing piece is ever NSFW I will let you know! :))

 ━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━

She don't listen to a thing - unless it feels right

Only dances when it's Kanye

He was used to girls falling for him. Tripping over their heels, each other, even air...well...because he was the Billy Hargrove. He was used to the attention; stares of longing, the glares of hatred. Either way, more to him - he had a nasty habit of feeding off of the energy of a room - the vibes bad or not, he craved it. It wasn’t Billy’s fault (a bad home life and a lack of proper understanding went a long way)...no, but he was too far in denial to admit the truth...all the truths. That he wanted only one person’s attention so badly, it kept him up at night; scowl on his lips as he thought about why. It was one of those dirty little secrets you kept to yourself because if you admitted it aloud, you’d be laughed down before you even got the chance to stand up. Billy didn’t need his reputation to crumble before him - not like this, no... He’d look like a total loser! From a casanova - to a whipped little puppy dog...

Some girls were a run for his money. But her? Y/N? No, she was a run for his whole damn life. Hell, he still thinks about the first time he met her. He remembers what he felt, what she said, how she smelt, and even the exact degree his stomach was doing flips at. Did he show it? Hell no.

“Hey, pretty lady, I caught that look across the room...decided to come over.” He’d been so confident in himself. He did admit though, that when he first saw her, it didn’t mean a damn thing to him...he didn’t think it would be any different from another one-night stand. Oh, was he wrong...

“Me? Pfft, must’ve been lookin’ the wrong way,” her gaze traveled along his figure in the most unnerving way. He swore cold chills shot down his spine like a ghost brushed by him. The way her eyes scanned him; as if searching for intimations of intentions and sharp edges... God, he felt naked in front of you...and never had he been so embarrassed to be bare in front of someone.

“I didn’t even see you.” It felt like a jab to his side, and he had to physically restrain himself from tumbling backward at the force of disinterest in her tone. He could place it she was playing hard to get - but this...was different. She seemed genuinely uninterested in him.

Her hair had been done - pinned back with a few stray strands loose; falling before her eyes to frame her face perfectly. She seemed to be wearing little to no makeup - Hargrove coming to the conclusion that she was just naturally this stunning. It wasn’t like she was wearing anything too flashy either; a simple knee-length dress that any good father would approve - a pale blue coloring and simple flats to match. Definitely, not what he usually settled for... Yet...he was itching to figure out this oddity...

“See me? Honey, your eyes never left me,” he had crossed his arms, leaning towards her - lips so close, yet so far. She hadn’t even flinched. Not a blush, or a shy look away. Challenging his gaze, she’d pushed him back by his chest.

“Well, maybe if your ego weren’t so big - you’d realize I was looking behind you.” a smirk played on her lips and her chin jutted up slightly as to indicate she was still looking there. He rolled his eyes, his mouth finding the words on their own.

“And who would be so graced to have your attention, Princess?” He questioned lightly.

“Not you.” With that, she stepped past him, not even giving him a second glance. His jaw fallen slack as he cranked his neck to watch her walk away. Damn those hips. The stranger had come and gone faster than his own snarky breath - and yet, she seemed to take it with her...his lungs desperate for air she was not willing to share...

“What?” He mumbled to himself as he watched her glide across the party to Steve Harrington. He rolled his eyes, biting his cheek as he debated going over and just knocking the kid’s block off...Would it be wrong of him? No one ever said it was wrong to get rid of the competition before the game even started...right?

She stood there, seeming to question him - as her arms were crossed, she had a brow raised and she didn’t seem....very happy. Not even a flirtatious glance to the rival brunette. It made Billy tilt his head in confusion. If she didn’t want to bed him...and she didn’t want to bed Harrington...who the fuck did you want to bed?

He watched Steve sigh, rolling his eyes, mouth opening to respond - stopping when Prince’s When Doves Cry rolled in and pumped through the room. A smirk fallen on the boy’s lips as he grabbed your hand and shoved you to the dance floor with him.

“C’mon! I know you only dance to Prince - can’t we stay for one more song?” Harrington urged, accompanied by some janky dance moves Billy was sure his dog taught him. Hargrove watched the interaction further, leaning to the wall were she previously stood. Curious of the y/h/c haired beaut’s reaction.

“Ugh. Fine! One more song, Steve - but mom told us to be home before one...you were the reason she even gave us a curfew - if you hadn’t--,” Harrington shut her up with a finger to her lip, him screaming the chorus of the song horribly to follow. Billy winced, but she seemed entertained.

He was surprised to watch her join him, her dance moves...just as bad as Harrington’s - yet, it didn’t explain why his eyes never left her. It looked like dances were being traded back and forth; almost like a dance battle of sorts.

Then it hit him. Like a ton of bricks, and still, it brought relief with him. Steve was her brother. The pair of Harringtons left shortly after the song ended; Steve whining like a child as his (assumed) sister drug him behind by his drunken collar.

On the way out the door, his eyes found hers and she only spared him a second. Not a smile, not a wink, not even a frown...and she was gone. He wanted to run after her - and yell, scream, shout...and when she asked what’s gotten in your pants? He would’ve frowned, complaining that it wasn’t fair you took his breath away, his heart, and didn’t even repay him...he had a feeling - even if he did that - she’d still not give one damn about it. Finders, keepers...

She can take you one-on-one if she feels like

You'll be begging her for mercy, mercy

“Please! C’mon, just one--,” “No, Billy. I said no earlier, and I’ll say it again.” “But you didn’t even give me a cha--,” “I don’t need to. I’ve seen how you treat girls; forget that - I’ve seen how you treat your own sister! I said no. Besides. My brother would never approve of you.”

Billy had never, not ever - pleaded for someone like this. He’d been annoyed before, but after a few attempts - he’d let it go - settling for nasty looks across the halls and lude comments with a smirk. She was different... Y/N Harrington had this fire that was so dangerous - even he was scared he’d get burnt. Yet, it didn’t stop him from trying...over...and over...and over...like a moth drawn to an open flame...he flew blindly.

She had called him out; time and time again - like it was a hobby of hers. Not even caring she spoke so rashy to him - Billy Hargrove. Did that mean nothing to Y/N? His name should strike fear in your heart, and jelly to your knees...yet, she had not a single reaction other than an eye-roll, a scoff, and a snappy remark.

He wondered if it was because of this - he couldn’t help but pine after her... She wasn’t afraid to tell him he was an ass...she wasn’t afraid to stand up for herself...she wasn’t afraid of the peer pressure of being in his presence...she wasn’t....afraid of him. She was definitely Steve’s sister....they shared a stubbornness that Billy had grown to hate - and now, admire.

“What do you want me to do, huh?” He’d finally stressed. Hands tearing at his dirty-blond locks. Eyes wide and exhausted after days, weeks, months of brooding, pestering, flirting, arguing...all for one measly date. He’d never been so hooked on someone before - and the longer he spent after her, the more he wanted her. The more he fell for her...but he didn’t say that. He’d never say that because Billy Hargrove wasn’t a one-woman-type of guy...right?

She had been busy trying to get home - basketball practice was over almost ten minutes ago and Steve was probably waiting for her. He’d be wondering where she was by now... And catching Billy as he wandered out of the lockerroom was not exactly planned.

But...this display - oh, good Lord, this display...of a man before her. Billy looked like a mess - a desperate, hot, mess. She’d heard through the grapevine Hargrove hadn’t been his usual sleazy self. Hadn’t bedded a girl in months. Wonder why...the answer was stood before her; in the form of a tall, muscular drink of daddy issues.

“On your knees.” Was all she said, arms holding a textbook to her chest (it was actually Steve’s - the dumbass always forgot it and ended up stashing it in her locker).

“Excuse me?” Billy grumbled while watching her with a biting tone.

“You heard me, Billy. On.Your. Knees.”

He hesitated. She questioned if he’d really do it. There were heartbeats of silence between them before she practically heard his eye roll - his knees bending - having his towering height fall down to her abdomen.

“Okay?” He hissed with the same annoyance as if he were the one being held behind and hadn’t stopped her from going home...

She snorted.

“Beg.” Was all she said, a grin on her lips as she drank in his state of shock.

He was quiet for a passing minute before his eyes furrowed in irritation. “I don’t beg - Billy Hargrove - doesn’t beg, Harrington.” He snarled as if she’d struck him down. And she had; with her extremely intoxicating scent...was that vanilla? He didn’t know...the one thing he could pick out, was the familiar waft of...something...he’d picked it up on Steve before, but on her? It confused him slightly (little did he know it was the hairspray you both used...Faberge did wonders, what could you say?).

“Helloooo, I’m waiting, Billy.” He could only process that he loved the way she said his name...his daze too strong.

“Goodbye -- my brother--,”

“Please, please, please,” he started quickly as he realized her body was now turned to leave.

His hands shot out and he grabbed her free one. It hung loosely had her side, the other occupied with a forgotten textbook. He pulled her knuckles to his lips, pressing soft kisses there as he watched Y/N, never breaking eye contact. The blue orbs swirling with a desperation she’d never seen before; emotions she’d would never pin Hargrove to ever harbor. She’d be lying if she said a blush wasn't being fought down.

“Goddamnit, please...Y/N...I’m...I’m begging you...begging...you...for...just,” he struggled to find it in him to be so...low...but Y/N’s coy smile egged him on in all the wrong ways.

“One date. If you don’t like it - I’ll leave you alone....probably.”

She hadn’t even answered him. Her heels turning as she marched her way to the side exit. He felt like she’d punched him in the face; his features lighting pink at what she’d made him do without even a second thought. He...was...he was angry...he was frustrated...oh, God, he was gonna---

“Friday night. You better be there at eight o’clock sharp, and if you’re a minute late I’ll never speak to you again. If you’re a minute early, I’ll still not talk to you because you’ll come off clingy.” Those words, as strict as they were - were heaven on earth. Billy scrambled to his feet and nodded, though she couldn’t see him. “Yeah, yeah...alright! Sounds good!” Lame.

“Oh, and Billy?” Y/N had his heart stop as she turned for a final time, back pushing the hallway door open to reveal a glimpse of Steve’s red BMW.

“If you smoke in front of my mom, or pick a fight with my brother - I’ll kill you myself.” Ouch. But there was no other way he’d want to die...

Ooh, she'll take your name and number

Then she'll hit erase and walk away

But ooh, is she so specific when she's at my place

At my place

“Right on time, I see.” Y/N teased while walking down the driveway to him. Billy had his signature denim jacket on, a white button-up adorning his chest; the first four buttons were undone to show off his collarbone and toned torso. He had a toothpick hanging out the corner of his lips and he had a casual air about him. Little did she know - Billy was riding a wave of ecstasy that he was sure he’d never live down.

“Of course, as per request, Princess.” He replied while waiting patiently for Y/N to take her sweet time coming over. The passenger door opening and closing with a soft thud.

“Steve’s okay with you going out with me?” He asked while watching Y/N buckle up.

“No. I didn’t tell him.” She explained simply.

“Oh, lying to your big brother now, are we?” Billy purred, shifting to face him, a charming smile on his handsome features.

“I don’t lie to anyone. He didn’t ask. So, I didn’t tell.” She explained while finally giving in, finally breaking, and finally returning her own pretty grin. God, his heart melted.

“I wish to be back before twelve, Billy.” Setting the standard, she raised a brow at him - as if asking can you handle that by yourself?

“Hey! Don’t look at me like that, it’s whatever the Princess wants!” He shrugged. Four hours with Y/N was enough for him - four minutes of her time had him begging..hands and knees...literally... He figured he could do a lot with four hours.

Billy wasn’t used to this kind of treatment. She acted as if he was just...some guy. Just someone she was seeing for (exactly) four hours, to have a bit of fun, and getting to know him. There was no - shy attitude, or stuttering, or even a race to his bedroom. Y/N treated him like he was...a friend. If that’s the word for it because he’d never been in a situation where he was the one lost for words.

Y/N hadn’t done anything special. Her hair was the same as always, she wore a simple T-shirt and jeans...not to mention, the classic Chuck Taylors on her feet. Y/N was just pulling her hair into a messy ponytail - when Billy stopped her.

“What?” She asked without missing a beat. Two things crossing her as she watched him. He hadn’t even pulled out of the drive yet, and now, he was tugging at her sleeve...

He kicked himself for reacting on impulse. He seemed so...awkward. C’mon man, get yourself together! You should've been smoother....calm the fuck down...damn...

“I like your hair down.” He stated while giving a the quip of a gentle smile.

Her lips curled up and she sighed, but let her hair fall back down. “Fine...since you are taking me out.”

It wasn’t anything special either - but, it was...it really was. He’d gone to the nearest convenient store before coming to the Harrington house. Loaded up on cheap pop and candy - he was hoping to make this worth her while. He found out that she’d been on dates before - not many - but enough to be known as the type to break your heart in a matter of seconds because - well...if you weren’t willing to meet her standards...to hell with you! He liked the challenge. He’d never been with a girl who wasn’t easy before...if anything, Y/N felt like the boss level in one of those stupid arcade games Max played (meaning he’d have to spend an arm and a leg to get Y/N to realize he was serious about winning).

“Hm? Movies?” She asked curiously as she noticed all the items he’d stocked up on.

“Nah - I figured it was too...basic. Y’know? I do only have four hours to wow you...I didn’t think an hour and a half movie, without us really talking, and sitting in the dark, would do the trick.” Good...he wasn’t saying something stupid at least...was his swagger coming back?

“Hmm, I like the way you think, Billy.” Her words falling with a soft hum.

He’d driven Y/N to a spot he’d never taken anyone - not the girl he couldn’t remember the name of, that he slept with three months ago, not the girl he snagged while riding around...etc....this...was a spot only he knew about.

His place - as he’d come to call it. He went here when his own mind was berating, irritating, and draining himself. He went here when he just needed to be...alone. Though, this type of alone...was different from the type he normally felt.

“You like the view?” He asked sincerely while popping the seal of a coke. He had previously given her his jacket, out of courtesy - as it was a little chilly...Y/N had giggled and taken it. One point to Hargrove; zip to a bad date.

“Do I like the view? Yes!” She sputtered while looking over the little town of Hawkins. “Do you come here often for a first date?” Y/N asked with a soft suspicion. She was now seated on the hood of his car, the Camaro piquing her interest lightly (it seemed it was the only thing Hargrove cared about besides his own reflection).

Billy slowly pulled the can down from his lips and shook his head.

“In all honesty, I’ve never been on a...first date. Officially.” He shrugged at her dramatic gasp of shock.

“How? -- You mean to say--,” she trailed off with a bottle of excitement ready to burst.

“I’m Billy Hargrove’s first!” She was now laughing with such life, and vigor, he wondered where the sassy little beast he’d been courting, went... He liked this side of her. Billy felt like he was privileged enough to tame her to...this.

It reminded him of a child. He was then, also reminded of how much time the Harrington duo seemed to spend with Max and her crew of misfits...maybe that’s where she got it from. Billy had never really minded (or liked) kids...but he’d take a dose of whatever the hell Y/N was on, any day.

He chuckled, shaking his head, feeling a wave of heat find his face (a very uncomfortable and unusual feeling for him). He had never been...embarrassed before. Not like this.

“My very first. I was saving it for someone special,” he played along with her, without realizing what he was really saying.

“Special? Pfft, where did that bad boy Billy Hargrove go? I...I’m not saying I want him back - but I’m questioning what you did to shut him up.”

That night was one to remember. Nothing happened...well, not what Billy normally did with girls at ten o’clock at night. Conversation had never before flown so easily. It was like, Y/N knew exactly what she wanted to say, when to say it, and how to say it. Billy could, in all honestly, listen to her talk for hours on end (four to be exact). The stars were a nice background - he found they twinkled like her own smile - her eyes shining with the same bright joy.

“Why did you try so hard...for...this?” Y/N asked suddenly, after calming from a joke he’d spewed dorkily. She wondered what was so special about four short hours with a girl like her.

“Hm?” He was resting back, watching the stars wink at one another, connecting mindless dots for infinity, while he’d listened to her beautiful laughter.

“I mean,” she started while leaning on her side to face him. “What reason did you have for...you know...even taking an...I dunno, interest? Yeah, interest - in me...,” he was floored. He’d never seen Y/N like this....was she....being shy? Bashful, even? He was pulled to attention immediately, never once, in the months of painful flirting - had she ever done this. “I mean...I’m...not very approachable - I know I can be stubborn...but I’m a Harrington -- and-d, and I’m a Harrington! Why in the hell, would you want me?” She suddenly asked with a somewhat reproving tone - finger pushing into his chest.

“Hey, hey, calm down, spitfire,” he mused while enjoying the show of the faintest of pinks on her face.

“I...I dunno. If I’m being honest,” he told truthfully.

“Oh,” she breathed.

“I mean...yeah, I kinda have a reason. But...it’s dumb. Y’know?” He said with a rushed tone.

Y/N just watched him. Clearly not knowing.

“What I meant was,” he started over while still trying to sound as nonchalant and cool as possible,” You’re...different. You know? Like...a cool...different...like someone I’d actually...I dunno...wanna be around.”

That night, was certainly one to remember. It was also, one of many...many stargazing, soda drinking, junk-food eating, late-night talks... Billy felt like he’d found something special. He felt like he’d found himself a little star, maybe it was supposed to be on its way across the galaxy - wowing someone else...but...like the human being he proved to be - he was greedy. So, Billy kept it. He kept the star close to him because he found, that when it stood beside him - it had a light that shone so bright...it drowned out his dark edges and the cloudiness of his life. He found with her, Y/N...everything...felt...right.

Never pickin' up her phone 'less it rings twice

Only answers with a question, mhh

Ring, ring--

“What?” He chuckled at her answer. It was always...what?

“I’m here - your loving, kind, caring, boyfriend - and all you ever say - is what when I call you - asking if your free tonight...” He pouted while holding the phone between his chin and shoulder, the cord hanging as he leaned down to shove his foot into his boot.

“Mhm,” Y/N responded while looking done at her filed to perfection nails.

“You’re so difficult,” he groaned while switching the phone to his other ear, moving to put his other shoe on.

“I’ve been told a few times before,” he could hear her grin. A small one on his own lips playing along.

“You gonna watch the kids tonight?” He asked remembering Max asking for a ride roughly an hour ago. He’d only agreed to take her because he knew a certain Harrington was going to be watching them (no, he wasn’t talking about The Hair Harrington).

“No, Steve said he’d take them to the movies - and I’m not interested in seeing Star Wars rewinds,” of course she’d seen them - he had learned over the three months spent with Y/N (officially as a couple - as she refused to allow him to count the three and a half months he’d spent trailing after her), that she was quite the little nerd. No wonder Max liked Y/N so much...and if he weren’t mistaken, he’d seen Henderson make googly eyes...

“So - you’re free then?” He inquired while grabbing his car keys, swinging the keychain on his pointer while he debated just hanging up now and driving over without another word.

“Hm. I suppose - but--,” the line went dead and Y/N glared at the speaker with a harsh accusation.

It seemed Billy’s eagerness to be in your warming presence had won over...the phone was hanging in its place once more - and he called for Max to go as he headed out the door, at a brisk, happy pace.

And if I try to play it cool, it never goes right

Got me drownin', drownin', uh

“Hey, Y/N/N!” The redhead greeted as Y/N opened the front door, smiling.

“Hey, Maxie! The rest of the gang is in the living room with Steve! Have a good time tonight, throw some popcorn at Lucas for me.” Her eyes were mischevious, but she seemed confused as the older girl spoke.

“You’re not coming?” “No, sorry, kiddo. Billy asked if I wanted to go out for a drive...he’s rather needy, really,” Y/N teased.

“Oh...well, he’s been awfully nice since he started seeing you.”

An eyebrow was raised in response, a glance to the Camaro in the driveway was shot to only catch Hargrove’s gaze.

“Oh, really?” “Mhm! He volunteers to take me places, and he’s not as mean. Like, I caught him humming to himself the other day when he was walking to his room...like...what was that about?” Max revealed while smirking like a devil.

“Your brother’s something, ain’t he?” Y/N noted while biting her lip, holding back a spew of words about how much of a softie he was when they were alone....like a puppy! She wanted to utter, but knowing his temper and his reputation - Y/N stayed quiet.

“I’ll say.” Max snorted. “I’m glad you like him. You’re good for him.”

Y/N grinned at the girl, ruffling her hair.

“I dunno about good, but he certainly can shape up, huh?”

Billy was getting nervous. The quick glances in his direction, the way Y/N seemed so smug and mighty...God, what did Max say? He felt his hands begin to sweat and he started scolding himself. What the hell, Hargrove? Don’t lose it now, no, no, no! She’ll know! She’ll see it! Goddamnit - she’ll fucking smell it! Like a bloodhound, she is! Blue eyes dug into you skeptically. No, bloodhound is too nice for her...she’s...she’s like a wolf! Yeah, that’s it! A damn beast - that’s after me and my blood! She’s already got my heart...what else does she-

“Asshole, unlock the car door,” Y/N’s singsong voice cut into his silent monologue. He jumped at the wheel and clumsily fumbled for the said lock. “Dork,” he heard her mumble with a snicker.

Well, there goes any and all good name of being cool...

Since she’d let him call her his - it’d been worse than any fistfight he’d ever managed. From Y/N’s own challenging, fiery attitude - to Steve’s - he wasn’t sure which Harrington he was actually dating. Her brother was always breathing down his neck, and he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about socking the kid in the jaw before...but he knew Y/N would not approve so he made sure to be on his...best, best behavior in the brunette’s proximity. Walking, talking, can of hairspray he was...

How she achieved in getting Harrington’s approval - Billy would never know. Though, Steve made it clear it wasn’t ‘approval’ more so - allowance... He’d said, Remember Hargrove. You mess up, even once, and I can take everything away from you. I’m not giving you permission to be with her. I’m allowing it. So you fuck up - and I take that allowance away, hear me? Billy had wanted to wring his neck, but Y/N’d been a few feet away and he’d rather not fight with her over his own pride... Yeah, yeah, whatever man. I’m a man of my word, Harrington. No need to shove your hand down my throat.

Normally, if someone ever talked to him like that - or eve thought about it - Hargrove would’ve had them pinned to a wall and beat to a pulp before they could speak another word. This time...was different (though it seemed to Billy, every time with Y/N was different). He felt like...he was drowning. It sounded odd, but, the best kind of...well...oxygen being brutally cut off from his lungs kind of drowning.

He would do anything for her...he found out through the little ways she showed herself. Touching her chin when playfully thinking, biting her lip in real concentration, tapping his shoulder when she wanted his attention, looking down when unsure, wearing her hair down because he liked it, smiling when he kissed her forehead, booping his nose because it annoyed him (in reality, he loved that she did such a silly, small thing).

Billy Hargrove was drowning. Drowning in the immense amount of love he was showered in...the care and affection Y/N bathed him in every time she smiled at him, or in his general direction. He found out he was quite similar to the schoolgirls who fawned when he walked into the room... Who would’ve known? Sure, at school he kept that hardass impress up. Being flirty with her and even throwing a wink to the passerby...picking a fight with whoever doubted him and making sure to have everyone on their toes in his presence..but even then, he changed...

Y/N found Billy flirted with her specifically to make her laugh. Chessy pick-up lines, dumb quotes, obsessive pecks and coddling in the middle of the halls. A rose or two in her locker...a love letter slipped in a textbook...he was classy. When she asked him about it, he simply shrugged. I thought you liked that kind of thing? You know, trashy notes and dying plants. Y/N knew though, that was simply Billy’s way of saying - you’re my girl...and I don’t care if you’re already mine...I’ll flirt with you anyway because I love you that much...

He also didn’t go farther than a five-second conversation with others. Normally, he’d have all the girls on their knees as he passed...but with Y/N on his arm, a simple smirk and wink would do just as well. They’re staring at you. I don’t like it. Billy had one day groaned in a whisper to Y/N, eyeing down a few glares. She only shook her head, biting her lip and looking away. In truth, everyone was looking at him. Billy Hargrove with a girl? For more than a night? Billy Hargrove denying a booty-call? Billy Hargrove no longer a ladies’ man? Billy Hargrove the jerk who likes fighting so quiet? Billy Hargrove the new King of high school? Billy Har-- the eyes were for him... Sure, she was a Harrington - so some looked in curiosity...knowing the infamous distaste between the two...but...eventually, the eyes traveled to the hunk of a man that Billy was.

Then, there were the fights. Sure, Billy tried his hand at anyone who blinked too many times at him - or decided to exhale at the same time as him - but since Y/N... the boy was always drug out of the ring before any damage was done, or before it got real bad... But Y/--! I said no, Billy. And he didn’t argue. If someone was brave enough to ask, he’d honestly answer them - which shocked them more than the answer itself. You see that woman? God -- you’d be scared to deny her too...damn Harringtons...

She asked him about all that once when they were sitting on the hood of his car, sharing a bag of chocolates (without peanuts - Billy had found she didn’t like picking them out of her teeth). “Well,” he’d started while leaning back, playing with her hair, her head rested in his lap, using his jacket that smelt of cologne, ash, and love as a blanket. “Why...do you ask?”

“You...you changed so much...-- but in a good way! I mean, I’m just surprised...like...I think even Steve is coming around..slowly..but...he’s surprised nonetheless that you’re so...different. Y’know?” Y/N had explained, quite poorly if you asked Billy. Yet, nonetheless, from getting to know her throughout the six or so months...he’d found she always got a bit flush when talking real with him. Or anyone for that matter. To him, it was perfectly flawed - because it showed how genuine she was trying to be.

“Y/N/N...you’re just...particular,” he tried slowly. The night cushioning the silence with sounds of crickets and a lull of wind.

“Whaddya mean, love?” He sighed silently, loving the way she spoke the endearing nickname with such ease.

“I mean...I learned early on...like....maybe the first night we met - that you....just....had a particular taste.” He expressed gently.

“And I was determined to be that kinda drink for you...even if it meant swapping a few rough edges.” He continued with a soft hum.

“Why, Billy?” He always forgot to mention that he loved the way she spoke his name.

“Because Y/N, you’re worth everything in this goddamn world...I’m just happy I’m exactly what you look for...even if you’ve got such a damn specific taste.” He chuckled with a laugh, his eyes twinkling like stars.

Leaning up, she reached to share a kiss with him, and he swore then and there - if she asked, he’d give her every ounce of life, passion, and love...give it all up...all she had to do was say the word.

“I think, you described it as a particular taste, Billy.”

“Very particular, darling.”

She's so particular

I'm so obsessed with her

Yeah, she's so particular

I'm so obsessed with her

Yeah, she's so particular.

She just goes

Yeah, she's got particular taste.

----

a/n: Welll, how do you like it? I enjoyed writing it! It was soooooo cute to write! Gahh! Requests are OPEN! :)

[lovelyirony]

What stupid late 2000s/ early 2010s movies would the avengers unironically like?

13 Going on 30, obviously. everyone keeps saying it looks like bruce is the main guy 

(look he was strapped for cash and he didn’t get the grant he was expecting) 

housebunny? like that one with anna faris who helps the sorority girls be popular and confident with themselves???? 

whip it which is one of the best films of all TIME and yes thor watches it a lot with rhodey. it’s their Thing 

steve, bucky, sam, and sharon all LOVE national treasure. it’s SUCH a good movie. yes steve can and will steal the declaration. the US government cannot do anything about it 

mamma mia. for obvious reasons 

peter makes all of them watch the spy kids franchise. it’s only now that they experience the true horrors of early 2000s special fx 

my big fat greek wedding happens to be one of nat’s FAVORITE MOVIES OF ALL TIME. because it’s one of the best movies of all time. we should talk about this movie more. 

tony loves the devil wears prada. you just gotta time when he watches it because he’s either wittily funny to villains or he’s calling steve’s khakis a “disgrace to this nation and to what you went down for” about eight different times 

love and basketball. no i’m not explaining why. just know it’s good. and you will love it. 

bend it like beckham. which COULD HAVE BEEN a nice gay love story. but then they didn’t. anyways sharon and maria watch this in silence 

steve for some godforsaken reason loves Coraline. everyone else hates it because it’s scary and gives nightmares but steve cannot stop watching it and pointing out new things he learns 

(sam wants him to shut it coraline is very scary) 

finding nemo. if you see sam cry he’s legally allowed to move you to canada. but like. not the fun canada. middle of nowhere canada 

napoleon dynamite. this leads to a mission not being completed as quickly as possible, but it’s because this movie was too good. coulson was understanding of this predicament. fury was not. 

chicken run because it’s a GREAT MOVIE AND I LOVE IT 

up. just because. tony cries to the soundtrack over and over. he will become dehydrated. thor demands cuddles. rhodey just straight up launches himself out a window he cannot handle it 

natasha likes spirited away. a lot of people do. but they have to be careful because sharon’s fucking terrified of the movie and will not ever watch 

bruce, tony, and rhodey all have a nerd session where they watch all the lord of the rings 

[sparklydreamies]

Best Shot ~Ch 4

Group: Stray Kids

Genre: Fluff

Word Count: 6700+

Summary: Han Jisung, certified quiet boy, has never really understood the hype about love and romance. That is until he has to step out of his comfort zone and onto the basketball court to impress that one person he can’t stop thinking about.

Main themes: highschool!AU, basketball!AU, internalized homophobia, friends-to-lovers

MASTERLIST

a/n: I guess I’m making his parents worse than I planned, I apologize for that ddnvm,, also Hyunjin’s a big cutie and I will love him forever 

CHAPTER 4 

Surprisingly, there are some people who enjoy high school. Some people wake up every day, content in their own life and surroundings, happy to go to school to their abundance of friends, fully enjoying and taking advantage of their limited youthful years. Some people are able to live their teenage years happily, comfortable with themselves. Unsurprisingly, they were a very rare breed.

High school, for most kids, is not like they see in the movies. It isn’t filled with parties, good friends, romance or happiness, but is instead filled completely with overwhelming school work and the burden of self discovery. The feeling of comfort in one’s own skin long gone as people work to construct how they wish to be seen in the eyes of their friends. The big secret that they don’t tell you in movies is that nobody loves themselves completely. You may be happy with your personality or physical appearance, but everybody has just that one thing about themselves that they can’t help but want to conceal in a box, never to be seen by other people. 

For example, Jisung didn’t want to like boys. There was no reason that he couldn’t have been interested in girls, with their soft curves, full lips, and pretty faces. He should have been like his friend Felix, who would willingly leave Jisung stranded in some desolate, dusty desert somewhere if it meant that he could have a shot with a college girl. 

Felix was the straightest boy Jisung knew. There was no way in hell that Jisung would ever feel very comfortable telling Felix his secret; he’s too worried that Felix would think he’s abnormal or strange. Although the more Jisung thinks about it, he wasn’t one hundred percent sure Felix would be wrong. 

Jisung was used to the guilty feeling that bloomed deep in his chest when he thought about telling his family. His homophobic, conservative family. Lord knows Jisung has sat through way too many nights of hearing his father shouting slurs and making offensive comments at the television, or at his friends, who often would laugh and retort with an insult of their own. 

Thinking about how his mother would react did nothing to help cool the fire that was burning his lungs. What would she blame it on? Where would she ship him off to in the hopes of changing his views and correcting his disorder? Jisung’s mind raced as he thought of what he would have to endure, all for the sake of his mother’s reputation. Heaven forbid she ever raised a son who liked boys. 

Jisung was plagued with these thoughts, eating away at his consciousness until he felt like he was suffocating in the reality and weight of his problem. He had no outlet for his frustration. He was all alone. All alone and deformed. A blasphemy. How could he like boys of all things?

Jisung tried not to think about his problem during the days leading up to his first basketball game, which was much easier said than done. Jisung was quickly beginning to understand how Felix would feel when he was with Dahyun, or any other girl for that matter. When Jisung saw Minho walking down the halls of their school, talking and laughing with his friends, smiling and waving at Jisung, it was like he completely lost the ability to breathe. No matter how much Jisung tried to suppress it, Minho had a tight grip on his heart. 

Mina was a big help to Jisung. After their little talk on the bleachers by the track, Jisung often felt himself relying on her kindness and support. The thought of bothering her with his stupid drama and inner turmoil made him feel guilty, but he sincerely felt like there was no way he could keep this to himself. He was just too confused and upset. 

Friday came sooner than Jisung would have liked. Friday’s were the official game days for the varsity boys basketball team. 

Of course, Jisung wouldn’t actually be playing. No, Jisung still didn’t have the level of skill that it would take to be an actual player, but he was happy to be just sitting on the bench. The idea of playing was leaving a sour feeling with Jisung, and it was not very helpful to him while he tried to focus on his studies. 

Contrary to the sick feeling Jisung had, Felix and Seungmin were buzzing with excitement all day. Jisung thought it was strange how they both seemed way happier about this than he did, but judging by how much they cared about social hierarchies, it was expected. 

“Maybe you can talk to Minho and see if he’ll let you play, even for just a quarter,” Felix suggested when the boys sat down for lunch that eventful Friday. Jisung scoffed at him. The last thing he wanted was to actually play. It was astonishing how Felix still didn’t grasp that concept. 

“Felix you idiot, Jisung can’t even hold the ball properly, no way Minho will let him play,” Seungmin answered, making Felix giggle. Jisung shot him an exasperated look. 

“Not true,” Jisung denied, “Hyunjin says I’m better than I think I am. It’s not that I can’t play, it’s that I don’t want to play,”

“Because you don’t want to embarrass yourself?” Felix teased, but there was honestly nothing Jisung could counter about that question. He knew that he had basic skills, but nothing outstanding. Once he begins private practices with Hyunjin, maybe he’ll begin to improve. After all, Hyunjin obviously knows what he is doing when it comes to basketball. 

“Hey, since when are you such good friends with Hyunjin?” Seungmin asked, “Didn’t you hate him like a week ago?” 

“No, not hate him,” Jisung said in a small voice. There was a small beat of awkward silence before Seungmin changed the subject. Jisung was grateful for that. 

“Whatever. Felix did you end up figuring out the history homework, or are you going to freeload off my answers again?” Seungmin asked, and the conversation went off from there. 

Jisung was barely participating in the conversation, and he ended up completely tuning Felix out while the boy talked about why he didn’t do the assignment. Instead, Jisung’s eye was drawn to a vibrant colour he saw from across the cafeteria. Of course, it was the bright red, tell tale sign of the varsity basketball team. Jisung wanted to avert his gaze, but his eyes decided to focus themselves on the soft features of the boy who was unknowingly ruining his life. 

Jisung watched as Minho laughed at something Youngjae said, and they took a seat on the opposite corner of the room. Jisung was still zoned out, wondering what they were talking about when two fingers snapped in front of his face, drawing his attention away from the boys. 

“Ji?” Felix asked, chuckling at him, “are you good?” 

Jisung shook himself out of his thoughts and nodded a yes. He turned to look at Seungmin, who was giving him a questioning gaze. There was a small period of silence once again, before Jisung asked “what?” 

“We were asking if you’re exited about tonight, stupid,” Seungmin repeated. 

“I mean, I guess so,” Jisung coughed awkwardly, “like I said, I’m not really going to play,” 

“Well play or not, we’re still going to support you,” Seungmin said. Jisung blushed a bit out of embarrassment. 

Felix smiled, “oh yeah Ji, we might make posters too,” 

“I know you guys are joking, but please do not do that,” Jisung warned, feeling too embarrassed to even imagine the horrible sight that would be. Felix and Seungmin, sitting in the middle of a sea of high schoolers, holding homemade signs, whooping whenever Jisung took a drink of water. Absolutely the last thing Jisung needed.

“Felix, I don’t know if I have any glitter glue left at my house though, we might have to pick some more up,” Seungmin said, and all three boys started laughing. 

----

“Attention teachers. At this time, please dismiss all members of the varsity boys basketball team, as today is game day. Good luck boys, we wish you luck!”

Jisung felt his stomach tighten slightly at the announcement. He saw across the room that Hyunjin, whom he shared last period with, was packing up his books and getting ready to leave. He gave Jisung a reassuring smile. Jisung nervously began to pack up his belongings, shoving them into his backpack. 

Jisung wasn’t nervous about playing the game, as he knew he was just there as a spare in the unlikely case that two of the team members got injured and they needed their last resort extra. He wasn’t nervous about the possibility of losing the game, because it wasn’t that important to him. So what was the reason for his unwelcome feeling of anxiety? Why was he so nervous? It’s not like he’s alone, he has Hyunjin, Minho, and everyone else on the team who has grown to be friendly acquaintances with Jisung over the past week. 

He had no more time to try and untangle his thoughts, as he was being led out the classroom door by Hyunjin, who was calling a last goodbye to their teacher. 

“Are you nervous?” Hyunjin asked. Of course Jisung was nervous. It’s in his nature to be nervous about everything. Jisung felt his heartbeat in his throat.

“No, not at all,” Jisung answered, sounding surprisingly calm despite the feelings he was experiencing. 

“Liar,” Hyunjin mumbled, shoving Jisung’s shoulder as they walked. Jisung smiled. It was nice to have Hyunjin around; he always seemed to understand Jisung’s emotions, yet never judged him. It was just like their old times, when Jisung would be upset about the insignificant drama of their sixth grade class, and Hyunjin would always be there to cheer him up. 

“Shut up,” Jisung whispered as they reached the gym hallway. He took a breath before shoving the heavy door of the change room open with his shoulder. 

Once Jisung opened the door, he was met with loud music echoing off the walls, and the faint smell of sweat. He wrinkled his nose at the stench, wondering what the room would smell like after the boys played an hour of basketball. 

Hyunjin led Jisung to the back corner of the room, where they usually sit. All around them, boys were getting undressed and changed into their horribly designed uniforms. Jisung once again felt awkward and slightly self conscious changing in front of these boys. He feels awkward enough exposing his own skin to these boys, but pair that with the fact that he just realized he likes men. His doubts were eased slightly when he saw Hyunjin slip off his uniform shirt beside him. 

Jisung began to get undressed when the door swung open again. The sound of the heavy door swinging open rang throughout the already noisy room. Jeongin paused the music blaring from his speaker once the team captain walked in. Jisung was suddenly brought back to the back that not only was he shirtless and exposed in front of the other boys, but he was half naked in front of Lee Minho. 

He felt embarrassment slowly creep up on him and make his ears burn. Minho didn’t spare him a glance, yet Jisung still felt ashamed. He quickly slid on his basketball shirt, thankful that it covered his chest. 

When the boys were all ready and the last bell rang for the school day, Minho made his way to the middle of the room, clearing his throat and grabbing everyone’s attention. Jisung saw how Minho rolled up the sleeves on his jersey shirt, and he thought it made Minho look even cooler in it than he previously thought. 

“Alright boys,” Minho started, and the remaining murmurs echoing in the room ceased. “We’re off to a good start this season, but we need to keep it up.” Jisung saw some of the boys nod, and some of them clapped lightly. “Our biggest difficulty this season is our defense, which I went over lightly last practice. It’s not enough to score points, we also have to keep the other team from scoring points,” he continued. Minho suddenly pointed towards Jisung, and he felt like his heart stopped. 

“On another note, today is Jisung’s very first game!” Minho announced, and the rest of the team began to whoop at that, making Jisung’s blushing face fall into his hands. This was too much attention for him. Hyunjin smiled dumbly and shoved Jisung’s shoulder. “Let’s show him how winning feels, yeah?” Minho suggested, his voice getting louder. There was a booming chorus of agreements from the team. “Yeah?” Minho repeated, his voice very loud now. “Let’s go!” He called, opening the heavy doors and holding it for the team to pass through. 

Unlike during practices which were private for the most part, the school gymnasium was packed full with students and a few parents occupying the bleachers on the side of the court. 

The energy in the space was electric, and Jisung found himself wondering how he had never been to a basketball game before. Maybe it was due to the fact that he never saw the interest in watching sweaty boys wrestle a ball away from each other. 

A loud holler from the bleachers drew Jisung’s attention to his two best friends, cheering him on. Jisung smiled at them, but spared no more than that as he jogged over to the bench where he would be staying for the entirety of the game. 

All around him, his teammates were warming up, executing drills Jisung remembered from practice, and stretching. Jisung himself tried to get his heart rate up, but for no particular reason other than to not look like he didn’t know what the fuck he was doing. 

Basketball is an interesting sport, Jisung concluded by the halftime mark. It wasn’t as slow as golf or even baseball, but it wasn’t as fast as hockey. There was a noticeable grace to the players as they made their formations, utilizing plays and techniques learned from hours of practice. The way that they relied on their teammates was quite cool to Jisung. It was like they were a machine, each component with their own mission, all working together for the greater good. 

By the time halftime rolled around, Jisung’s team was losing, significantly. The tension was obviously high; Jisung could see that from the exasperated faces of his teammates, and the obvious overconfidence from the other team. 

Hyunjin didn’t even bother to pat Jisung on the shoulder, or ruffle his hair on his way to his water bottle. He looked focused, concentrating on the present game. Minho looked even worse. 

Sweat was dripping all down the side of his face and his neck, shining under the harsh lights of the gym. His hair was completely stuck to his forehead, and his eyes were serious. Jisung felt a little bit intimidated from the strange change in the other’s behavior. Jisung had never experienced Minho to be this determined and fierce. His features were sharper, and there was a fire in his expression. The sight took Jisung’s breath away. 

“Guys, what are we doing out there?” Minho ran his hand through his hair in an attempt to get it off his forehead, “We’re playing like amateurs. We are sloppy, not coordinated, and we’re playing way too rushed. We’re throwing the ball away, and it’s going right to the other team. That isn’t the way to win, right?” he asked, and there were a few agreements from the team. Jisung internally chuckled, because before, he thought the team was very much in sync. “I want to win this game just as much as you guys do. So let’s slow ourselves down, okay? Play smarter, not harder,” he concluded. 

He then led the team into a loud cheer, hyping up the home crowd. The boys made their way back onto the court, wiping their sweaty foreheads on their jerseys. Jisung didn’t miss the way that some girls swooned over them, catching some of the boys’ attention. 

After the third quarter commenced, Jisung was a bit astounded. It was almost as if Minho had flipped a switch with his words. Progress came slowly, but sure enough, they began to climb the scoreboard. Jisung felt himself grow more and more invested in the game as he watched the boys fly across the court, ball after ball into the other team’s hoop. 

Jisung watched, his heart in his throat, as Hyunjin expertly sank a three-pointer. He jumped in his seat, which caught the eye of Hyunjin himself, who was smiling ear-to-ear like an idiot. 

When the team pilled back into the change room after the game, the adrenaline was enough to choke on. Jisung was ecstatic, bumping into and high fiving his teammates after his first ever win. 

Jisung understood why people care about sports. At least, he was starting to. There was a sense of family in that change room after that game, and Jisung bathed in it. Even if he wasn’t that close with the members yet, he felt more than accepted as he was pulled into a hug from Choi Youngjae. 

“Settle down!” yelled a voice coming from the door, and Jisung turned around to see Minho standing there, proudly smiling, obviously basking in the post-victory high. 

One by one, the boys moved to their spots, and let Minho give them a final talk about how they played, and where they would rank in the standings after beating this team. Jisung didn’t catch too much, he was preoccupied by Hyunjin bumping into his side, still smiling so hard he might split his face open. 

Once they were changed, Hyunjin led Jisung out of the change room, and into the school’s main hallway. They passed a slew of people that were waiting for their player friends to change quickly so they could leave. He passed by a few dejected faces of boys from the other school. 

Jisung did not expect Hyunjin leaning towards the other players and sincerely congratulating them on their game. There wasn’t a hint of passive-aggressiveness in his voice at all, but rather there was real sincerity. 

“Why are you doing that?” Jisung whispered to him. 

“What, talking to the other guys?” Jisung nodded, still giving him questioning eyes, “Well, they played a really good game, and I know I would appreciate it if I got complimented from the other players,” Hyunjin explained, leaning away from Jisung to congratulate another young looking boy. 

Jisung shook his head. Of course Hyunjin was just about the sweetest person alive. It was no different from when they were kids. Everybody loved Hyunjin because he was nice, and didn’t make fun of people. That’s probably also the reason Jisung’s mother was so infatuated with Hyunjin. Who doesn’t want their son to be friends with such a polite and well mannered boy? 

“Hyunjin, you were great,” Jisung said, once they passed a small crowd of what looked like freshmen, “honestly, I think you won that for us,” 

Hyunjin gave a small laugh. A blush slightly painted his cheeks, which he failed to hide from Jisung. “Are you trying to steal my thing from me?” he countered, giving an offended glare. 

Jisung slapped him lightly in the arm. “No, I just think you did really well!” 

Hyunjin smiled fondly, focusing his gaze on the ground in front of them. “It was Minho all the way,” he said, “but thanks,”

Jisung was about to argue with him when something caught his eye. A slight glimmer of fluorescent lights hitting jet black hair. He turned slightly to examine, and almost choked on his breath when he saw the familiar pale skin and small stature. 

He remembered the pretty girl quite vividly; he remembered feeling her pressed against him in a dark hallway, stealing rushed kisses from him. He also remembered the awkward moment when he pushed her away, and shuddered. Jisung tried to keep his head down and walk, lest he make eye contact and relive the painful memory, but of course, life is a bitch. 

“Jisung!” someone called from that direction, however it wasn’t the soft spoken voice of the pretty little girl from the party. Instead, it was the deep and recognizable voice of Lee Felix. 

Hyunjin was the first to turn, smiling wide at the smaller boy, pushing Jisung towards that general direction. Jisung saw Felix had his arm around the waist of a gorgeous blonde girl. Of course, Jisung recognized her as Kim Dahyun. 

“Good game! Does your ass have splinters from sitting on the bench?” Seungmin called, Felix laughing with him. Typical of Seungmin. Jisung landed a fairly hard punch right on the bone in his arm, sure to leave a bruise. 

Jisung’s eyes raised to meet Nayeon’s. The girl tucked her soft hair behind her ear. 

“So I’ve been told that you two know each other,” Dahyun teased, poking her friend in the side. Nayeon blushed slightly, mumbling a small warning to drop it. 

Jisung saw the gross look in Felix’s eyes. It was the type of look that says “my friend is definitely going to get some”. Jisung wrinkled his nose and drew his attention away from his perverted friend. 

“It’s fine,” Jisung awkwardly mumbled. “Have you met Hwang Hyunjin?” he asked, changing the subject away from the girl who looked quite nervous. 

As Dahyun and Hyunjin made each other’s acquaintance, Jisung couldn’t help but feel sorry for the poor girl. He didn’t want Nayeon to think that she forced herself on him, or that he had any harsh feelings towards her in any way. She still avoided his gaze. 

Jisung figured that was expected. If the tables were turned and Nayeon pushed Jisung away, he would feel absolutely ashamed of himself. 

“Anyways, I think it’s time we should go, I’m driving Jisung home,” Hyunjin said, causing Jisung to snap back into reality at the mention of his name. 

“Uh yeah, we should get going,” he agreed, “it was nice seeing you guys again,” he waved at Dahyun and Nayeon. 

The two boys stiffly made their way to the school’s main entrance, where Hyunjin’s car was parked. Hyunjin made some stupid joke about riding shotgun or something, which Jisung found hard to pretend to laugh at. 

“So,” Hyunjin started once they got into the car. Hyunjin fired up the engine, making his way slowly to the road, among all the post-game traffic. “Who was the cutie?” he asked. 

Jisung groaned at the intrusive question. Why can’t Hyunjin just not bother to care? The answer was because being nosy is a part of Hyunjin’s personality. “She’s nobody,” he answered, brushing off the question.

“That doesn’t sound convincing,” Hyunjin mumbled, pulling out of the parking lot. 

“She’s just a girl,” 

Hyunjin laughed at his friend. “Felix was looking like he was expecting you two to take your clothes off right there,” 

“Jesus, dude!” Jisung cried out, trying to hit his head against the window to the sound of Hyunjin’s giggles. “She’s just a girl that I fooled around with once, okay? Not a big deal.” he reluctantly answered. Hwang Hyunjin was a pain in the ass. 

Of course, Hyunjin began his chorus of oohs, causing Jisung to cover his face. “I think...” Hyunjin trailed off. Jisung uncovered his face to see what caused Hyunjin to stop talking. “I think you like her,” Hyunjin teased. 

Jisung almost burst out laughing. The irony of that conclusion was astounding. It was crazy how someone could be so wrong about a topic. Just imagine the shock Hyunjin would feel if he found out about Jisung’s little crush on Minho. 

“What?” Hyunjin asked. Jisung just shook his head. 

"I don’t like Nayeon,” Jisung pressed, still trying to gain control of his laughter, “please drop it,” he said. 

Hyunjin mumbled a “fine” under his breath. 

After a second of silence, Hyunjin spoke again. “Is there anybody that you do have a thing for?” he asked. 

Jisung paused his breathing. The way that Hyunjin asked that made Jisung’s mind immediately conclude that Hyunjin knew about Minho. 

How did he know? Jisung wasn’t that obvious. He didn’t tell anybody except for Mina. Did Mina tell Hyunjin? No, Mina isn’t close with Hyunjin. Did Mina tell other people, which got passed around from person to person until it hit Hyunjin? Did the whole school know?

No. They didn’t. Jisung willed himself to calm down, as he didn’t know whether or not this was even the topic Hyunjin was regarding. 

“No, not really,” Jisung said weakly, hoping that Hyunjin couldn’t see past his bullshit. 

“You never seem to be interested in anybody,” Hyunjin chuckled. Jisung felt himself loosen up as the atmosphere grew light again. “That’s a real shame, you’d make a great boyfriend,” he joked. 

Fuck Jisung’s mind for overthinking. 

----

“There you are,” Chaeryeong called from the kitchen. The smell of something cooking greeted Jisung as he walked through the front door. Chaeryeong was stirring a pot of something on the stove, making dinner like she usually is expected to. “How was the game?” she asked. 

“Fine, we won,” he answered. Chaeryeong moved around the kitchen some more, handling this and that. Jisung always admired his sister’s cooking skills; he had never been much of a chef himself. 

Jisung’s mother wasn’t around too much to cook for her children, and when she was, she was often too tired or unmotivated. As the oldest girl, the duty was passed onto Chaeryeong from a young age. Jisung never found it that fair, but Chaeryeong never complained. When Jisung would offer to share the work with her, she would just smile and say she would rather make something edible than eat whatever Jisung would make. Chaeryeong might be annoying at times, but she was a responsible and tolerant girl. 

Chaeryeong smiled and gave him a quick congratulations for his victory before the sound of a yell rang through their home. Chaeryeong froze in her spot.

Jisung’s face dropped. “Why is he here, I thought he wasn’t coming until tomorrow?” he whispered to Chaeryeong. She gave him a sort of exasperated shrug as she tried to continue her work. 

“His meetings for tomorrow got cancelled, so he decided to come back early,” Chaeryeong said, “believe me, I was just as surprised as you,”

The man that was currently occupying their living room was Jisung’s father. No doubt he was trying to yell at the soccer referees through the television. 

Jisung and Chaeryeong’s father was just about the least likable man they know of. 

Jisung’s parents had tarnished Jisung’s perception of healthy relationships from a very young age. Sure, every marriage has their ups and downs, but it wasn’t until Jisung was eleven or twelve years old that he realized not everybody’s parents dissolve into screaming matches during every conversation.

If Jisung was being honest, a lot of the worst moments from his childhood had resulted due to his father’s loud arrogance and his mother’s stubborn judgement. The only reason they haven’t gotten divorced yet is because Jisung’s mother is so occupied with thinking about what her friends would think about her. Her incapability of pleasing her husband like a good wife should. It was better for her to silently accept the hellish life she had created for herself, while simultaneously ruining her children’s childhoods all for the “greater good”.

If his parents were to get a divorce, there is no doubt in Jisung’s mind that he would rather live with his mother. Even though she could be harsh and mean, she could also be a decent mother. Jisung’s father was never much of a father. It was easy to have conversations with his mother when she was in the right mood. Sometimes however, when Jisung thinks about his mother, the bad memories are always what surface first. The memories of her calling him useless, saying he ruined her promising life, saying that he was a disappointment. 

That sort of thing can really hurt a kid. 

Jisung’s house sometimes felt like a war zone. It was almost impossible to dodge the bullets that his parents were always firing around, attempting to blame others for their own unhappiness. If he managed to avoid being shot with harsh words from his parents, surely he would make a comment, or do something that would set off a landmine of arguments and yelling throughout his house. 

Jisung had learned through many years of struggling to avoid the sharp words of his parents that when the two of them were both home together, it was the best move to be out of the house. 

“Chae,” he whispered, trying to quietly make his way into where his sister was still cooking, “let’s go out somewhere,” 

Chaeryeong nodded quickly at him, “but I have to finish their dinner, or we’ll be in deep shit,” she said, moving to take the sauce off of the stove. Jisung gave her a little pat on the shoulder as he moved to silently make his way upstairs to his room, without alerting his parents that he was home. 

Chaeryeong had it harder than Jisung, he knew. His parents rarely expected him to do anything, but they essentially forced Chaeryeong to do their cooking and cleaning. She is still young; she doesn’t deserve to be treated like a maid because her parents don’t like making their own meals. 

It was useless trying to understand the logic Jisung’s parents had when it came to raising kids. 

Jisung changed out of his school uniform and into his casual clothes before making his way back downstairs to see if Chaeryeong was ready to leave yet. He quietly made his way down the stairs, moving so expertly down the wood where he knew it wouldn’t creak. Unfortunately, it was all in vain when he heard his mother’s voice in the kitchen. 

“Call me when it’s time- oh, Jisung you’re home,” she said when Jisung walked into the kitchen, “how was your day?” 

“It was good mom,” Jisung said, but he could tell she wasn’t paying that much attention. 

“Did you say hi to your father yet?” she said, and before Jisung could object, she was calling his name, beckoning him over to greet his son. Jisung saw Chaeryeong shrug at him. Jisung dangled his car keys to signal that he still wanted to get the hell out of there, which she silently agreed with. 

Jisung didn’t have any urge to talk to his father. To his dismay, he heard the sound of approaching footsteps coming from the living room, followed by mumbles of “the game is on,” and such. 

Jisung’s dad wasn’t a bad looking man. Sometimes Jisung thinks if he had a better personality, he might even be a decent catch. His father was tall, with very dark hair and a fairly slim build. He was decent looking enough for many people to envy his mother, however those people never saw the real person that he was. The person who shamelessly bashes his family, while at the same time expects to be treated like a king. 

Jisung doesn’t care about how his father insults him, his academics, his looks or his friends, but it kills Jisung to see how he hurts Chaeryeong. Chaeryeong is a bright and happy girl, but Jisung can see the way that his father tears down her confidence. 

He breaks her down so easily with his judgments. Jisung’s skin crawls every time he thinks about his father casually bringing up her looks and her weight, saying she should eat less if she wants a husband. Jisung never fails to notice how her face drops, and her entire aura becomes sad and insecure. Jisung hates to see her like that. 

“How have you been, Jisung?” Jisung’s father asked when he entered the room, “I almost didn’t recognize you, you’ve changed,”

“I hope that’s a good thing,” Jisung mumbled, and grabbed his father’s extended hand. 

“I still think you could build some muscle, it wouldn’t hurt you,” Jisung nodded at his father. It was honestly best not to interact too much with him. “You should consider playing a sport or something, lord knows you have so much free time,” 

“Well Jisung is playing on the school basketball team now,” Chaeryeong piped up from where she was cutting bread. So much for not interacting much with him. 

Jisung’s eyes widened as this sunk in. Jisung never told his mother that he was going to join the team. She barely likes him working his job while trying to study, Jisung knew that him playing basketball would make her livid. 

“What did she say?” his mother asked. Only then did Chaeryeong seem to process the fact that Jisung’s mother didn’t know. “The team that Hyunjin is on? Why didn’t I know about this?”

“I was going to tell you, but-” Jisung was cut off.

“My son is a basketball player?” Jisung’s dad asked, suddenly very interested in this conversation. 

Jisung’s mother didn’t have the angry or upset look in her eyes that Jisung was expecting, but rather she looked almost offended. Offended and disappointed that Jisung ignored her opinions and thoughts about focusing on things other than studies. 

“Jisung likes being on the team, right Ji?” Chaeryeong asked him, trying to make up for her previous mistake.

“I really do,” Jisung said, shifting his eyes between his mother’s exasperated ones, and his father’s curious ones. 

Jisung’s father patted him on the shoulder, “you’ve never been the athletic type. Maybe this will change that,” he said, snaking his arm around Jisung’s tense shoulders, which Jisung ultimately shrugged off. 

“I wish you would have told me,” Jisung’s mother said quietly, “I’m not worried about your school. You’re doing fine in your classes, but I don’t want you to take your foot off of the gas.” she said. 

“I know that, it’s just that this means a lot to me, and I’m having a lot of fun with the team,” he explained. 

Jisung’s mother gave a sort of small whine. Her expression was unreadable to Jisung. She ran her fingers through her dark hair, usually a sign that she was upset about something. 

“You’re having too much fun with the team,” she said, barely louder than a whisper. “I’m too tired for this, I worked hard all day,” she said, and with that, she turned on her heels and headed towards the stairs, up to her bedroom. 

Jisung gave Chaeryeong a panicked look, but she just signaled to him that he should let her go and have her space. Jisung felt guilt pile up in his chest, however he could not bring himself to figure out what to do about it. He didn’t know how he could make his mother less disappointed. 

Jisung’s father, unlike Jisung and his sister, obviously was not phased by the exit of his wife.

“So what, have you had any games yet?” he asked, but Jisung gave him a cold shoulder. Silently, Jisung turned away from his father, and called Chaeryeong over. 

“Oh.. Dad, Jisung and I have something to do, we’ll be back later..” Chaeryeong called, “dinner is ready, help yourself, and please try and see if mom will eat,” 

----

Most people prefer to have a destination in their minds while driving with their baby sisters, but it didn’t matter to Jisung. He was just happy that him and Chaeryeong were able to breathe outside that house. 

And so, their evening consisted mainly of them driving around, talking about pointless things until they found a place where they could get quick food. 

“What...” Jisung asked, once him and Chaeryeong settled into a parking lot outside of the local variety store, “what did mom mean by I’m having too much fun?” Jisung asked, fiddling with the little straw in his drink. 

“Don’t act like she didn’t have to feel the embarrassment of her only son being dragged home at three in the morning by some good looking neighbor boy,” she answered, “I’m all for that lifestyle. I’d let Hyunjin drag me anywhere. But mom is different,”

Jisung refrained from gagging at the gross comment about Hyunjin, and instead focused on what Chaeryeong was saying about their mother. She didn’t want her children going out and drinking like delinquents. She valued studies and ambition. 

“Mom is just afraid of what people would think of her as a mother if you became like Hyunjin, Chan, or any other of those guys.” 

Chaeryeong was making sense. Before Jisung could agree with her, he felt a rhythmic vibration in his pocket. His heart almost exploded out of his chest at the caller ID. 

Why the hell was Lee Minho calling Jisung at quarter after nine? 

“Uh, hold- hold on,” Jisung stumbled over his words, unbuckling his seat belt and snaking his way out of his car to gain some privacy. Jisung took a small breath before clicking the green answer button. 

“Hi Minho, what’s going on?” Jisung asked, wincing at the way his voice sounds broken. 

“Jisung, Jisung,” Minho answered, words slurred slightly, “everybody shut up!”

Jisung had to hold the phone slightly away from his ear as Minho yelled at whoever was probably in the room with him. 

“Is everything okay?” Jisung asked, and Minho chuckled. 

“Everything is fucking amazing! We’re at Chan’s house with booze, will you come? Please?” Minho whined. Jisung couldn’t help but notice how cute Minho’s voice sounded when he whined like that. The boy was already adorable, but Jisung felt his heart clench when he heard the soft words. 

Still though, he had Chaeryeong with him. Not only that, but he should be going home soon before his mother beats him. Jisung thought about what his mother had said about him having too much fun with his team. He felt his heart clench again, except this was not the sweet torture of the cute brunette on the other line of the phone, but rather the guilt of what he was doing to his mother. 

“I can’t Minho, I’m so sorry,” he said, and he heard the other boy whine again. Jisung figured that Minho must be pretty drunk, because he seemed way different than this at the original party at Bang Chan’s. The original party where the roles were reversed, and Jisung was the very drunk one. 

“Why not?” Minho asked.

“Because I’m busy right now, okay? Are you okay there?” Jisung asked, and Minho laughed again, except this time it was more like a giggle than a chuckle. 

“Mhm,” he said, “oh and also before I forget,” Minho started, “it’s team tradition...” the boy trailed off. 

Jisung waited a beat before asking “tradition to what?” 

“Don’t you know? All new players have to throw a party,” Minho said, “it’s welcoming tradition,”

Jisung felt his stomach drop. There was no way that he would be able to throw a party and still have the respect of his mother. 

“I’ll have to talk to you about it when you’re sober, okay?” Jisung said, noticing that Chaeryeong was banging on the glass window, signaling that it was close to nine thirty, which is the time that their mother wants them home most nights. 

“Jisung don’t go,” Minho begged, “will you sing for me?”

Jisung waited a second before realizing that Minho was being serious. “...no” he said, “Minho, I have to go,” Jisung said, and he knew that he wasn’t going to get a proper response back when he heard the other boy begin singing loudly. 

Jisung hung up the phone and got back into the car. 

“Who was that?” Chaeryeong asked, buckling her seat belt up.

Jisung did the same as he answered “it was Minho,” 

“Minho? Like Lee Minho?” she asked. 

“The one and only,” Jisung started the car and pulled out of the parking lot, beginning their drive back to their house. 

“What did he want?” 

“He wanted me to throw a party.. apparently it’s some sort of team tradition, I don’t know,” Jisung answered, realizing how dumb the request was. No way he was going to throw a party for a bunch of dumb jock basketball players that would inevitably end up in a wreaked house and a panic attack. 

What Jisung wasn’t expecting was his baby sister to ask him “you’re going to do it though, right?” 

[chaoticgeminate]

Plagg’s Intervention

After the AMAZING response to Exposed I wanted to thank you guys somehow for the likes and reblogs and follows. Seriously, I’m super touched and each new like makes me super giddy. So I decided to write a tale of one of my favorite Kwami, our very own Cat-Dad, Plagg!

This is mostly just fluff, like there’s maybe a dash of salt aimed at Lila (because why wouldn’t I?) but it goes right back to that sweet fluffy goodness.

[AO3]

Plagg knew the other Kwami were using their powers to help Marinette survive the stress of her day, he couldn't miss the way she began showing up to class on time every day looking better rested than she had since he'd first seen her, or the way she was able to disappear in a crowd easier when things got dicey. He had once been envious of the others for having helpful powers, things like shields and illusions and altering time.

But he long-since figured out that Destruction had a place, there were things he could do if he practiced his control again, Tikki confirmed his suspicions on a day Longg was there; the class was allowed to study outside because of how conveniently nice the weather was, not a hard line of spots to connect to the Dragon. "I think it is time we have the two of them finally do a reveal, Plagg, if not for Marinette then most definitely for Adrien." Tikki and Longg both looked firm on the idea, it meant they had argued with the other Kwami about it already.

Truthfully, he wasn't against it, his Kitten could finally stop pining after the Bug and get real love in his life; but Plagg didn't think they were ready, in fact, he knew they weren’t ready. "Trust me, Sugar Cube, I would love for the kid to be done pining and writing flowery poems for the Bug. They aren't ready for it, think about how often those supposed friends made these elaborate schemes to push them together, as well as how Marinette handled those times, it's just like that and this is something they have to do on their own." He felt odd being the one to defend Marinette's sanity here but Plagg knew his kid, Adrien's shitty relationship with his dad and lack of a social life made him clingy to what he did have, once the reveal went down the Bug would never have a moment Adrien wasn't trying to be glued to her side.

Tikki hesitated but nodded and even Longg looked like he was reconsidering. "I get it, you want her to be happy and have someone she can talk to about the Box and us, it'd be nice for the kid to be included and all but he's going to jump right to romance and she isn't ready to see Chat Noir and Adrien as the same person." Which would cause a problem in their partnership, make one or both of them a target for Hawkmoth, and ruin any chance at them being happy. "We can nudge them along and plant the seeds to start a reveal, casual comments or pointing out similarities, but we have to let them do it on their own." Tikki's eyes softened and Plagg purred as the duo of red Kwami curled around him, he wanted nothing more than to nap with the others in the Miracle Box once they had Nooroo and Duusu back.

But they had to be patient.

Once lessons were called back to the classroom, with Adrien holding the door for Marinette as the young heroine tried to avoid his gaze, Plagg knew he'd have to do something to get Adrien not prioritize romance over friendships and himself.

He had a bit of a chance to start something when they got back after classes, once fencing and basketball practice were over, Plagg jumped at the chance as his Kitten waxed poetic about the equally socially awkward fencer. "Kid, is Kagami the type of person who will accept being second?" Plagg earned a look of surprise, the ramble about the fencing form pausing, but the Kwami was relieved to see his kid shake his head. At least he understood her well enough, Plagg supposed, it was a decent sign there; a shame he couldn't be as observant where Marinette was concerned.

"I'm not trying to hurt you, but I think you need to hear this, try not to be upset or angry as a reflex." Adrien blinked again and turned in his seat, Plagg had to admit that it was sweet when Adrien gave his full attention to whomever was speaking to him, the only time it failed before was when the kid was too wrapped up dreaming about his lovebug. "Creation has to win, if something happens to the Bug it's over, you know this and I know this; that's what the Black Cat is for, your Bug can't conjure a weapon so we have to be her weapon." Adrien nodded and Plagg knew his kid knew this, it was why Adrien got himself tangled up in all sorts of insane situations.

Luckily for him, though it was a bit annoying too, Adrien was raised not to interrupt. "Sword girl doesn't like coming in second, she's too proud and stubborn to accept defeat, but as long as you're the Black Cat you cannot pick anyone over the Bug at all. Ever." Plagg hated doing this to his kid, really he did, Adrien deserved a taste of happiness. "I don't mean chase after the Bug with flowers again, Lord knows she'd punch you worse than she did your cousin, but what would Sword Girl say if an akuma was attacking across the city while you're on a date and you had to ditch? She knows your schedule, her Mother is your father's associate, you can't use your pops as an excuse to get away from her." Understanding flickered in Adrien's eyes, which lowered as he looked at his hands, Plagg sighed and landed on his Kitten's lap.

He hated having to be responsible. "You have choices, you always have choices, but I can't make them for you and I don't want you to put off choosing and lose those choices. If you want to pursue sword girl's heart, kid, you need to ask Ladybug to give you a different Miraculous to use and let her choose a new Black Cat; the Bug has way more on her shoulders now that she's also protecting the Miracle Box, she can't afford to have a Black Cat that can't put her first. If you had a Zodiac or one of the Wu Xing then you could skip a few fights to keep sword girl happy." Adrien scooped him up and Plagg sighed as the kid's eyes glistened with unshed tears, the Kwami rubbed his face against Adrien's and purred to try and calm him down.

Tikki would slaughter him if his Kitten got akumatized over this. "But it wouldn't be you, Plagg. I don't just like being Chat Noir because I get to partner with Ladybug or get away from this place when it's too lonely, you're important to me too." Plagg purred louder and his tail wrapped around Adrien's finger as he laid there in his Kitten's hands.

"What I suggest, kid, is that you stop pursuing romance completely and focus on your friends and yourself. In three years you'll be able to leave and live on your own, right? Do you even know what your hobbies are outside of what's on your schedule? What's Marinette's favorite place to get coffee? Where does Alya go when she's frustrated with her siblings? What kind of food does Nino like to eat? You don't know any of that stuff because you aren't asking, you're focusing so hard on romance like your anime that you aren't developing the same solid friendships those characters have." Plagg earned wide eyes and a slightly open mouth, wanting to argue no doubt, but then his Kitten seemed to think and nodded.

Adrien's voice was sad but steady. "You're right, Plagg, and for all I know I could find someone else later that makes me feel different than both of them and find out that's really love." Plagg nodded and earned an extra wedge of Camembert, watching his Kitten take a breath before calling Kagami, it was an easy conversation too.

"I think we should try and learn more about having friends before pursuing romance, since we're both so new to both things."

"Are you certain this isn't about the other girl?"

"No, I just want to learn more about myself and I know I'm not ready to put you first like you deserve if we became a steady couple."

"Thank you for your honesty, Adrien, I'll have to beat you in our next training for not saying something sooner."

"I'm saying it now, Kagami, but thank you for understanding."

"Thank you for caring for me enough that you're preventing me from being hurt, Adrien. Good night."

"Night."

Plagg spent the night curled up purring in Adrien's hair as his Kitten began trying to find things he liked, learning about himself and who he was outside of the perfect son his Father wanted him to be, it was a start and Plagg was glad his Kid had listened.

"I'm sort of mad you never said anything sooner, you Stinky cat, but I think it was for the best."

Plagg curled around Tikki as she snuggled closer to him, their holders were on the roof of Ivan's apartment building with a massive projector screen to watch a movie with their friends, now that they weren't focusing on romance the pair of teens began to flourish in and out of the suits. To the point that Marinette had confessed her crush and told Adrien she wanted to focus on herself for a little while, but that she felt the need to apologize for not seeing him and instead seeing what his Father wanted people to see, which led to Adrien openly paying more attention to Marinette.

Really, the Kwami couldn't ask for more from his kid if he tried, over the past several months they had become good friends and Adrien was finally able to see just how bad his relationship with his Father actually was for him. His kid had even shut Lila down in front of the class, when she tried to force him to study with her again, by telling her that if she needed more help that she would need to find a designated tutor and that he wouldn't fall behind trying to help her play catch-up again. The others had gotten upset with him and Marinette, who defended his right to prioritizing his own grades, before Adrien reminded Lila in front of them how she lied to Nathalie and the Gorilla to get into his house and forced a kiss on him he didn't want.

Adding to the School Board intervening, since Marinette had finally gone to her parents about Chloe's bullying and using her Father as well as why Lila targeted her and used her Mother's status as a diplomat to keep the Principal from questioning her, Plagg was a content cat knowing Lila had been caught for felony level truancy and forced back to her real home in the coastal area of France with her Mother. Bustier had been suspended along with Damocles, the kids now had a teacher named Baxter Kennedy, bullying seminars were required too. "Me too, this is nice." Along with bullying seminars there were meetings with therapists, public awareness of how words and actions could be misinterpreted, with Alya spearheading a campaign to be kinder while Hawkmoth was on the loose.

Which actually isolated and created a suspicion Plagg wished wasn't looking truer, the most recent string of akuma were all people pissed off at one Gabriel Agreste, for all the good people were doing to help others he was getting worse and it would make sense if he was Hawkmoth. Like Marinette theorized before, rather, with Mayura only able to be Nathalie if that were the case. "Sugar Cube, if it is him then we're going to need a reveal first, my Kitten can't take that hit without being one-hundred percent sure he's got people in his corner." Tikki hummed and Plagg found himself miserable as he looked down to where Adrien offered his side to Marinette, the latter huddled and cold despite her fleece pajamas, the weather was getting colder and soon Marinette would start to slow down.

Holders developed traits the stronger the bond with their Kwami was and Marinette was very deeply bound to Tikki, the pair would slow down and be weaker, while it meant their powers would be much stronger and be able to be used more often without needing a recharge... it meant in the late fall and winter that the Bug would be at severe risk.

They needed a reveal yesterday.

But first his Kitten needed to know just how dangerous the coming season would be, since Hawkmoth had a very poor bond with Nooroo the Butterfly wouldn't be weakened, the Bug would need to do unity transformations to not possibly drop out in fights. "What'cha doin’ there, kid?" That night Plagg noticed Adrien deeply concentrating on his computer screen, pink wool yarn and knitting needles in hand, frowning at the attempt of whatever he was doing.

Adrien hummed without much thought. "Marinette was really cold tonight, I'm trying to make her a shawl so she can wear it over pajamas and stuff." Plagg's purr rumbled as pride burned in his chest at the kid, talk about a change of character, the Kwami hummed as his Kitten frowned at a bad segment and tugged the yarn back through to fix it before Plagg hovered down.

"Like this, kid." It was an easy pattern, smart for a first-time knitter, the motions became easier for Adrien once Plagg helped guide him. A look of warm surprise made the Kwami huff, feigning hurt at the look even as he puffed his chest, stupid Kitten and his new observant ways. "I know a lot more than you think, Kid, there's a lot of years I spend in the Miracle Box with the other Kwami and the Guardians sometimes give us new things to do every so many decades. Add to the number of Chat Noir that I've worked with? I'm a cat of many talents." It piqued the curious little part of his Kitten that was hidden behind the polite facade, just what Plagg wanted.

Adrien didn't let it distract him from his task though. "Do you miss them, the other Kwami?" Plagg shrugged as his eyes scanned the pattern on Adrien's computer screen, this was something his Father would have been great for, leave it to Gabriel to allow a God of Destruction to raise his son and teach him how to knit.

"Sometimes. I shouldn't tell you this, kid, but there are nights I fly over to Ladybug's place to check in on her and Tikki. She doesn't know who you are, before you ask, but her bond with Tikki is strong enough she's adopting bug traits. Tikki warned me that they're both getting slow, the colder it gets their bodies want them to hibernate. If she gets too cold, she'll go to sleep and won't be able to wake up until her body thinks it's spring." Adrien started in alarm and Plagg watched the trembling in his hands, setting his attempted shawl aside to avoid stabbing himself.

He grabbed his phone and opened the app that the pair agreed to download, to message outside the suits and come up with plans to catch the Butterfly. "I don't suppose we can just bundle her up in a thick coat, huh? There really isn't any avoiding a reveal, is there?" Plagg watched his Kitten sigh, tapping out an answering message, the Kwami hovered to see what was on the screen.

The Bug was reluctant but willing, only asking that he lower his expectations when he found out who she was, Plagg really wanted to know where the confidence was that he knew Marinette had. Just what happened to make her think so little of herself where Chat Noir was concerned?

Tikki cuddled close to him and Plagg huffed as Orikko caged him in on his other side, each kid wearing as many Miraculous as they could, the reveal hadn't gone sideways at all; with their much stronger friendship in place it only led them to crying about 'it's you' and 'I knew I was right' before they threw on their warmest pajamas and played video games until Adrien had to sneak back into his room.

But these nights were his favorite, when Plagg was surrounded by the other Kwami and his Kitten was cuddled in bed with the Bug, nights where Adrien and Marinette could laugh softly as they recounted all the events they'd experienced and all the things Marinette was going through as Guardian. "Bug?" Adrien's voice was soft and Marinette hummed as she curled closer to him.

"Mm?"

Plagg almost laughed at the sleepy response. "You know you were the girl I was chasing after, right? Even if I didn't know it was you?" Tikki perked up at this, the nosy Creation Kwami was a sucker for romance and Plagg didn't miss the way the rest of the Kwami were suddenly awake either.

Marinette spun around to face Adrien now with a faint blush on her cheeks. "Y-yea, I figured that much when the masks came off, I didn't know your name but I knew you loved me." Adrien's face turned a very Ladybug shade of red, enough that the Bug's nerves seemed to face a little. "Chat?" Her voice wavered.

"Mm?"

This made Roarr snicker, muffled by the other Kwami, the strangled whimper of a reply was enough for Plagg to groan softly. "Dammit kid, all you had to do was stay cool for ten minutes." He wanted to bang his head on the floor, how was Adrien so damn confident and smooth as Chat Noir and then a fumbling mess as Adrien Agreste?

Marinette's little chirp of laughter faded to a sigh. "You know I liked Adrien, I told you this, you know that's why I refused your advances as Chat Noir... right?" The revelation hadn't seemed to strike, as Adrien had definitely come to value his friendship with Marinette, until he was reminded of her confession and apology as well as her desire to find herself.

The blush brightened but his voice was smooth as silk when he did manage to reply. "Have you- have you found Marinette yet, my Lady? Is it too late to ask that you give me a chance?" He had taken her hand now and his hopes were laid in front of him, Adrien was vulnerable and at her mercy.

"Always the cat chasing the bug, why isn't it ever the other way around?" The playful jab from Trixx was silenced by Ziggy as she shushed the Fox.

Tikki, the traitor, let out a soft chortle. “My bugs are above all that nonsense, Trixx.” Plagg leveled her a look and met her twinkling eyes with his, he knew all about how hard Marinette had drooled for his kid.

Marinette made a soft sound, a breathy little noise, before speaking up again. "I think I have, Chaton, and I'd love to take on the world with you."

Plagg purred noisily as the kids shared their first kiss (the first one his Kitten remembered), Tikki swooning happily, but they all forgot one detail and that was just how Xuppu acted for moments just like this. The monkey erupted from the pile, sending them all tumbling, with a wail of delight as he zoomed in to cheer around the new couple with squeaks of delight.

"This calls for a party!"

Plagg groaned and Tikki laughed as the other Kwami perked up. "Party?! Let's have a party! Can we please, Miss Marinette?!" The Black Cat hissed when someone tugged his tail.

"No! No parties! Marinette's parents are downstairs and we can't be too loud, take the other Miraculous off before you two get caught." Plagg stomped his foot and glared at the now alarmed, happy, and just confused couple. "I did not put all this work into being the responsible one for them to screw it all up!" Adrien chuckled and reached out, bringing Plagg close to press their foreheads together.

Marinette had Kwami hovering around her. "Thank you, Plagg, for looking out for us. How about we celebrate this weekend? My parents are going to China for a week to visit Nainai Cheng and the rest of Maman's family, they want me to stay for school." It wasn't like she couldn't just keep Kaalki with her and portal back if she had to, after all, but she did have class and couldn't miss too many lessons thanks to how many the class missed as a whole from akuma attacks.

"Yay! Weekend party!"

"Marinette? What's all that noise?"

'Nothing Maman, just a video Alya sent me, I didn't think it was that loud!"

"Get some sleep, it's late, you do have class in the morning. I love you."

"Love you too, Maman, see you in the morning."

Adrien took that as his sign to begin removing Miraculous and put them away, Marinette following him until only Plagg and Tikki remained. "That was close, next time don't have Xuppu out if something good happens?" Adrien's remark made her giggle.

They shared one more kiss before Plagg was drawn into the ring so his Kitten could get back home safe. As they got ready for sleep the Kwami hummed at the soft touch of Adrien rubbing his head. "Thank you, Plagg." Two sets of green eyes met.

"Sure, kid."

There was one more hurdle to jump but this time Adrien had support and love, Plagg wouldn't hesitate to gut Gabriel if the man tried anything with his kitten.

[bonnieisaway]

that dumb saiki k fanfic i wrote but chapter 2

chapter 1 | story on wattpad

chp. 2 - not my intention

There was one part of auras that had always confused Aiura.

See, she was born with the ability to see auras and into the future and all that. Ever since she could walk and talk she could remember trying to figure out people based off their auras, learning what they meant.. Not only did auras reflect someone's personality, but they could also reflect memories they held dear, emotions they felt strongly, and even then her fortune telling let her tell so much more about them.

But there was one thing she didn't entirely understand, even now as a second year in high school. When she was 6 or 7, she started seeing a new part of auras. A red string.

A red string, in most contexts, connects two soulmates together by an invincible string tied around their fingers. When she was around 7 she noticed that her parents had one tied to each other. Some times she'd watch people pass each other on the street and notice them form. Red strings were a part of your aura and they had only formed when you had actually met your soulmate. Aiura had this come easy to her but what always confused her was why it took so long for her to see them. Or maybe, why did it take so long for them to form?

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Saiki sighed as he walked along behind his friends..and (L/n), who you could consider his friend, but it's up in the air if he'd say the same. As Kaido and Nendo bickered and Kuboyasu sided with Kaido, (L/n) fell back to walk next to Saiki. Her thoughts rang clear as she walked and scrolled through something on her phone.

'This feels kind of awkward..' (L/n) frets as she bites her bottom lip, momentarily glancing to Saiki. 'I wanna talk to him but he's giving off the "please let me go never interact with humanity ever again" vibe.' Oddly specific. Saiki almost wished other people could notice that as well. He supposed if he wanted to make a friend of this girl- get his likability up a bit- he'd have to take charge.

"Do you like the arcade?" Saiki asks her, turning his head to her.

"Yeah. I haven't been there in a while though.." (L/n) smiles and scratches the back of her head "Never have the time or money, haha.. how about you?"

"I used to go alot as a kid. But the games are all really easy now." Saiki shrugs, turning back towards the other boys yelling ahead of them as the arcade approached.

"Is that a challenge?" (L/n) grins. 'This could work perfectly..!'

Saiki smirks, looking at (L/n) at the corner of his eye. "Maybe." This could work perfectly...

"Hah, you're on!" (L/n) laughs as she begins to run ahead, dragging Saiki along by the wrist. Saiki shrugs to himself, letting her drag him along. (L/n) basically bursts into the arcade confidently.  "Alright! You seem confident so I'll let you choose a game."

"Ooh, you two are competing?!" Nendo asks, popping up behind the two "Let us choose the games! That way it'll be fair." He's dumb but he's right. Saiki cringes a bit- they're going to call attention if he wins too much. He'll have to moderate his powers.

"Here, let me choose first!" Kaido interjects. "(Y/n), follow me." His face turns red. 'Maybe she's good at shooting games! If I choose a game that she wins at, m-maybe..' Saiki didn't want to hear anything beyond that. It was pretty easy to see where that was going.

"O-Oh, okay! C'mon, Saiki!" (L/n) beckons as Kaido lead her toward some sort of zombie-shooter game. Generally, they were pretty easy as long as Saiki didn't get startled. Lord knows what happened when he used VR.

(L/n) grins and picks up the blue colored fake gun. "Come on! Longest one alive wins!" She smiles, bending down and inserting 200 yen. Saiki does the same and sets his bag down, picking up the toy gun.. it should be easy to moderate his powers and give her a fair fight here...

...is what he told himself. Saiki didn't necessarily play games like these very often, if ever, because he'll either jump and blow something up or he'll lose and nearly break a controller. Nendo stood behind Saiki basically screaming support in his ear as Kaido stood next to (L/n) with starry eyes.

And Saiki lost. Horribly. By horribly I mean he lasted about a full minute before dying when (L/n) kept going for another 3 just to tease Saiki. Which was fine. N̶o̶ ̶i̶t̶'̶s̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶. It was normal to loose at games. He'd just win at the next one so it'd seem normal.

He did not. Kuboyasu chose one of those racing games where the seat is the actual sort of motorcycle itself. The author doesn't need to explain herself here. They're pretty hard to cheat at with esp, but even then- Saiki and (L/n) alike were looking for a fair fight. Which they got. Which lead to Saiki losing horribly.

"Partner, come on, stop losing!" Nendo pats Saiki on the shoulder as he stands up off the seat with a face of- to say the least, discontent.

"Shut up." Saiki glares.

"Not so easy now, huh?!" (L/n) teases, shit-eating grin on her face. Saiki breathes out. He is a patient man. He is not going to get competitive over this. The only one that can beat him is him and he will win the next game.

..Why does he even care?

Kuboyasu chose the last game. It was one of those games where you threw basketballs into a hoop for a certain time limit.

...

...would you be surprised if I told you Saiki lost again?

Saiki huffed as the machine made some stupid loud sound as (L/n) best his score. This time it was not his fault. He is perfectly fine at throwing the balls and would've made all the shots if he wasn't distracted.

He wasn't sure why he was. But for a minute there.. he couldn't take his eyes off (L/n). The way she focused on the game and her face lit up brightly every time she scored...by the time Saiki had realized he was staring he had basically already lost. This wasn't like him to get distracted. Something was off today.

Kaido had pointed out (how horribly Saiki had lost, and-) that they should get going. They'd spent a while at the arcade. Everyone agreed- if reluctantly- and grabbed their bags.

Walking out the arcade and towards there homes Kaido and Nendo continue to bicker- probably about the latest Jump.

"Stop looking so smug." Saiki comments, irritated with the girl.

"Whaaaaat?~" She laughs. "I'll make it up to you. You like sweets?" She asks. Saiki nods (violently) causing (L/n) to laugh. "I've got some coffee jelly back at my apartment. You should stop by."

Saiki nods in agreement- mainly for the coffee jelly, only about 1/8 for (L/n)'s company- as she waves goodbye to the other boys. Her apartment was only a couple blocks from Saiki's place.

"Alright then! Oh, look, they're playing baseball in the park again.. Wonder if Satou's playing." (L/n) points out as the pair pass the baseball diamond along their trek home.

There's a loud 'clang' and an indistinguishable shout before Saiki realizes.

..That the ball hit his head. Right in the power limiter. Shit. If he were alone, he could just teleport home and have his dad or mom try and fix it but (L/n) is right here. He's got one choice, and he's gotta pray that it works...  

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"Saiki!" You screeched, as the boy fell forward and you just ever so barely managed to catch him before he hits the pavement. The ball must've hit him hard.. it even broke one of those hairclips he has. You set him down gently, picking up his bag and throwing it over your shoulder. You slide your arms under him and pick him up, standing slowly.

Jesus Christ. You forgot how heavy guys are. The last time you carried a guy was when (F/n) passed out on field day in middle school. Saiki wasn't heavy necessarily but you weren't necessarily Hairo level strong. You wanted to take him back to his house and tell his parents but there was a small problem.

You had no clue where he lived. At all. You knew he only lived a couple blocks away from you because Kaido told you but you didn't know where. So the best option was to take him back to your apartment.

What became a 10 minute walk home became a 20 minute walk as you struggled to carry the boy. He was knocked out, hard.. whoever hit that ball had to have gotten a home run. You wouldn't be surprised if the guy got two.

So after struggling for 20 minutes, nearly dropping the knocked out boy when you tried to unlock your door, and just generally regretting your decisions, you finally were able to plop the boy on your couch. Your tablet that you generally used for drawing was blown up with notifications from (F/n). Whoops. You set the tablet on your coffee table, calling him as you take the broken hairpin out of Saiki's hair, wanting to fix it.

(F/n) picks up fast, halfway through his English screaming as the connection struggles. "WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?! I'm losing sleep, woman!"

"I'm sorry!" You laugh, fiddling with the hairpin in your hand. The pink ball on top had come off and some of the pieces on the bottom of the inside fell out. "I was walking home with that Saiki guy and a ball hit him smack in the head. Broke his hairpin and he passed out. I'm trying to fix the hairpin now."

"...And the guy?" (F/n) hesitantly asks.

"Heavy as fuck." You snort. It looked like small computer pieces on the inside but, who are you to judge? The problem was now this was a jigsaw puzzle and you hated those things.

"(Y/n)!" (F/n) shouts, reprimanding you.

"Calm down, he's fine." You smile. "I gotta fix this damn hairpin though and you're gonna do your homework and sleep young man." You jokingly glare into the camera.

"Fine, MOM. Bye!" He waves and hangs up. You lean your back against the couch as you continued to sit on the floor, now too lazy to get up. There was 3 major computer looking chips which by some dumb luck, seemed to fit pretty well in certain spots. They 'click' in pretty easily and the small pink ball fits back on pretty easy.

"Well..that should be about right..!" You smile confidently to yourself as you hold up the hair clip in your vision. You stand slowly and hover over the sleeping boy before gently placing the hairpin back where it once was.

You observe him for a second as you stand up straight again. He looks.. peaceful while sleeping. He wasn't smiling but he wasn't necessarily frowning, either. Content, really. You smile as you take off his green lensed glasses and set them on your coffee table. They'll break if he sleeps in them all the time.

You wander off to your kitchen, finally picking up your school bad and setting it on your dinner table. You grab a snack out of the cabinet and begin looking through your bag, pulling out miscellaneous homework assignments. You catch a glimpse out your window- the sun was already setting..

You hear Saiki in the other room shuffle around as he seems to wake up. You grave a coffee jelly and spoon from your kitchen before wandering over to him.

The strawberry-headed boy had sat up on the couch, eyes looking around confused. Hey, that was a good nickname.

"Hey, Strawberry. You're awake." You grin. He looks up at you confused and you freeze for a second. His eyes..

You didn't usually see his eyes very clearly since, green glasses lenses. Even then you hadn't known him for long. But his eyes... they were a mesmerizing violet color that you couldn't take your eyes off of. Realistically speaking, they were as plain as ever. But for some reason you couldn't help feel your face go red. Who's the strawberry now, motherfucker?

"Where am I?" He asks you.

"My apartment. You knocked the hell out when that baseball hit you and I didn't know where you lived so I carried you here." You hold out the coffee jelly and spoon to him, hoping he'll get the gist. He does and takes the snack faster than you could blink twice.

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Saiki took the coffee jelly from (L/n) greatfully, momentarily forgetting about his limiter that, as far as he last knew, was broken. He had knocked himself out when he was hit for a reason- he figured (L/n) would call one of his friends or someone else to help. He had better luck leaving it up to luck when passed out then staying awake and nearly starting a tsunami cause he breathed wrong.

"Oh, by the way," (L/n) starts, "I tried fixing your hairpin. I tried my best." Saiki looks at her a bit confused before taking out the power limiter, and looking at it carefully...it was put back together just about the exact same way it was before it got hit..

"Thank you." Saiki turns to (L/n). She smiles and nods. 'Oh thank god I didn't fuck up.'

"No problem." She smiles. Saiki loses his train of thought for a second as he watches the girl's face brighten. He turns to set down the now empty coffee jelly cup down on the coffee table. He blinks for a second. His glasses are set on the coffee table.

(L/n) must've taken them off, but why wasn't she turned to stone? She should be frozen in place a long while ago. He picks up his glasses and stands up, putting them over his eyes as he throws away the empty coffee jelly cup.

His mind was racing. Was this girl a physic? Why was she immune to so many of his powers? Why was she kinda cute?

(L/n) interested Saiki. She wasn't affected by nearly any of his powers and he wasn't sure how to feel about it. On one hand it confused him highly and made him want to be wary on the girl, but the other part of him was interested in this girl. She was someone who he saw as normal, she wasn't a nusience like the rest of his friends. His chest felt light with an emotion he wasn't quite familiar with. The ever intriguing girl had ignited something in him that he wasn't sure what it was.

"You okay?" She asks as Saiki stands in thought. He hesitates, but smiles. "Hey, Strawberry, it's getting late. Want me to walk you home?" She asks, now with a shit eating grin on her face. Saiki, yes, the strawberry, feels his face turn warm and his heart skip a beat at the nickname. He wasn't sure why. He sighs to himself. He's overthinking things today. His pyrokenisis must be acting up since his limiter was out earlier.

"...Sure..but what's with the nickname?" Saiki asks.

(L/n) shrugs as she stands, walking to her front door and bending down to put her shoes on. "I dunno. It fits."

Saiki sighs at this curious girl and grabs his own shoes, following her out the door.

The two walk in silence as the sun sets, darkening the world around them. (L/n)'s thoughts are generally quiet. 'Fuck, I'm cold. I should've brought a jac- or not?'

Don't get Saiki wrong here. He's only warming her up cause he feels bad. They continue to walk in silence, until they stop in front of Saiki's house.

"This is my h-" Before Saiki can finish his sentence none other than is mother, Kurumi Saiki, comes out the front door, fretful about her son.

"Oh, Ku~chan! Where have you been, I was so worried!" Kurumi frets as she hugs her son close. Saiki sighs and squints his eyes at (L/n), who has a shit-eating grin. Kurumi turns around and spots (L/n). "Oh, and who is this lovely lady?" She asks excitedly. Saiki about rolls his eyes into the back of his head.

"I'm (L/n)! I apologize for keeping your son out for so long. He passed out when we were walking home so I took him home cause I didn't know where you lived." (L/n) scratches the back of her head awkwardly. Kurumi's face lights up.

Saiki cringes as his mother pulls the poor girl into a hug. "Aah, thank you for looking after my boy you're just so sweet I'm his mom Kurumi Saiki thank you so much for befriending him!" Kurumi gushes so quickly the author forgot to write punctuation.

(L/n) finally gets to breathe again when Kurumi lets go of the hug. "It's nothing, really," She smiles. "He's cool."

Kurumi starts to gush once more when (L/n) laughs awkwardly. "You're really sweet, Mrs. Saiki, but I have to get going."

"Oh, of course! I'm sorry for keeping you! Have a good night." Kurumi smiles.

"It's alright. Bye!" (L/n) smiles as she walks off into the night. He walks inside with his mother and takes off his shoes before walking to his room, sighing as he sits at his desk.

Why does he have such a headache..?

.

i apologize for any spelling errors! i’ve been writing without my glasses because i’ve been sick

[ohioguru03]

Times of Trial

I’ve been trying to piece together my thoughts and emotions over the last week, and I’m finally starting to get some clarity. Perhaps, like some of you, I didn’t pay much mind to the Corona Virus (Covid-19) when it was on foreign soil. Heck, when it first arrived in America my level of concern wasn’t real high. In my mind, I was telling myself this is another H1N1, SARS, Bird Flu, etc...and we will continue business as usual as the media tries its best to place fear in everyone.

It hit me today that my last statement is actually part of the problem. It’s like the little boy who cries wolf. The American people have been pawns in a game being played by political parties and the national media for so long it’s not crazy to think they wouldn’t believe this, downplay it, or not take it seriously. We finally have a real pandemic, a real threat to people in this country, and people are just now slowly coming to grips with this reality. Even now, there are naysayers despite both political sides telling you the same thing, highly intelligent doctors and scientists pleading with the people that this is the “real deal.” Again, I believe it can be traced back to American people not knowing what to believe or how much to believe. 

My Story

Let me start with the selfish portion. On Tuesday, I found out the Ohio High School Athletic Association was going to limit spectators to the remainder of its events to just four tickets per player. However, the media would still be included. If you are unaware or don’t really care, the tournament was currently in Regional Play on the boy’s side and getting ready to start the State Tournament at St. John Arena on the girl’s portion. Tuesday’s Regional boys games were played in front of its normal crowds, while Wednesday it was just a few onlookers. However, by Thursday afternoon the tournament was postponed until further notice. I would be absolutely shocked if this ever resumes. 

My Father and I have been attending the Boy’s State Tournament together since 1999 and I first went in 1997 with his first taking place in 1966. Selfishly, I was disappointed that this was not going to happen in 2020. 

Then, the NCAA conference tournaments and NCAA Tournament were cancelled and it was bye-bye March Madness. I figured if I was going to be home at least I could watch college basketball. Still, at this point, not recognizing or realizing what was happening. 

In the following days, schools were closed, church services were cancelled, restaurants and bars closed, and well basically anything where gatherings could take place. It went from 100 to 50 to 10. Now, it’s recommended to be isolated with only immediate family and to go out only when it’s a necessity. 

My Emotions

I’ve run the gamut of emotions over the last week. I’m experiencing bouts of anger, depression, anxiousness, worry, fear, hope, and joy. 

It started with fearing what might happen if I were come down with this then it went to what about my family (Dana and Hudson) and finally to My Parents and the elderly who they keep telling us are at the highest risk. I’ve found myself caught between the feelings of losing my usual busyness and soaking in every movement of my Wife and Son. 

People are losing their jobs, income, and stability. Kids, without school, are having to watch their younger siblings and getting two quality meals have become much more difficult all while trying to course work. 

This is the ultimate wakeup call that the control we believe we have is really an illusion. In reality, we have very little control. 

My Response and My Hope

One thing that is ever apparent is just how much we take our freedoms for granted. I’m writing of the simplest things like being able to go out to the grocery store or having a conversation with someone at the bank, which we do daily without worry. 

In addition, it’s even more evident that a lot of things we deem as important or prioritize on a daily basis don’t really amount to much. In a time, where the United State has basically come to a halt, we are reminded that the most important thing in this life are people and loving people. 

My two favorite hobbies are sports and working out, and it was like God informing me that He “allows” me to do those things, and I can shut those down whenever I see fit, which leads me to my next thought. 

I was talking to a buddy and he confirmed what I feel like God has been trying to tell me all week. Three people have confirmed this for me in a matter of 24 hours and they had no idea how or what God was speaking to me about this week. This is what has been confirmed multiple times. “Maybe this is God’s way of slowing us down and getting us to focus on what matters most.” Just another example of God taking something meant for harm and using it for good. Many times in the Bible, God had to go to extremes to get His people’s attention. Perhaps, this is one of those times. I certainly don’t have all the answers, but maybe this is something to seriously consider in this time of uncertainty. I believe God is ready and willing to speak to all of us in mighty ways over this time of shutdown. Let’s be available!

I’ve mentioned this before, and I think it’s worth saying again, which is our God is not asleep at the wheel. He is still on the throne and He is still in control, and nothing under the sun is happening that He wasn’t aware of. It’s okay to be fearful and scared, but turn it over to The Lord, and let Him give you His peace that surpasses all understanding. If you are struggling with fear, worry, or anxiety through this time of uncertainty, I encourage you to read these scriptures over-and-over again. Instead of continuing to scroll through social media, dive into God’s word and let it soak through you. 

My Prayer:

Through all of this, I pray that this isn’t a meaningless trial. We, as a people, need to lean into what God is speaking to us as most of the constant noise and busyness has disappeared. There is a great time to just be alone with God and seek His face. Trials and tribulations mean very little if we aren’t growing and learning through them. So, let’s not miss it!

My ultimate prayer is that through all of this that more people will come know to know Jesus Christ, who is The Way, The Truth, and The Life, and NO ONE comes to The Father except through Him. I pray that thousands if not millions will surrender their lives over to Christ and find their hope in Jesus. 

I’ve been without hope in my life, and I’m far from perfect now, but Jesus Christ saved a sinful man like me and He died for you as well. I’ve screwed up, messed up, and everything in between even since giving my life to The Lord, but the only difference is now I have hope in eternity with My Heavenly Father. 

As Christians, may our light shine in this time of uncertainty and turmoil. In trials, may we respond in a way that shows we serve The King of Kings and our hope is not found on this Earth or anything it has to offer, but rather our Hope is in Jesus Christ. 

[darkdevasofdestruction]

Chapter 2 - The Rogue and The Bard

“Okay, so…You really go play board games with 12 year olds?” Billy asked, raising an eyebrow, not believing what I was saying. “Yes. Dungeons and Dragons, it’s called.” I tried to explain to him. “And you’re…Uh…Part of their ‘Party’ ?” he continued, looking at me in disbelief. “Yes. Mike is the Paladin, Will is the Cleric, Lucas is the Ranger, Dustin is the Bard and El is the Mage.” I smiled, looking at him  as he drove us to school. “And what are you, babe? The charmer of the group? The Fox?” he chuckled, looking at me. “There’s no Foxes in DnD, you, idiot.” Max grumbled from the backseat. “I’m the Rogue…A Tiefling Rogue. That’s why they called me Fox. Rogues are sneaky and sly.” I grinned at him and continued.“I think you’d make a fine Bard. You have charisma, dexterity and strength.” I try to hype him up, but he only smirked at me with a confused look. “Uhm…You can go around and smack people in the head with a lute.” I grin at him, making him slowly start smiling at how weird it sounded, then chuckled. “I’ll buy a lute just for that.” he let out an amused breath before looking back at the road. “Why did they let you in the Party and not me?” the poor redhead pouted. “Would you want me to talk to them? You see, some of them may have some…Issues, but it’s nothing personal. El, our Mage…She disappeared just a few ago and we kinda miss her. I guess they may be reluctant to have anyone else join us because they miss her.” I told her in a soft voice. “Why couldn’t they tell me that in the first place?!” she leaned frontwards, between mine and Billy’s seats, looking at me. “Well…To put it simple, Max…It’s a problem among all ages. We lack one fundamental skill that could solve more than 80% of our problems and that is, drum roll…Communication.” I say dramatically, making her giggle confused. “What do you mean by that? We all talk so much, don’t we?” she asked again, very curious. “Yes, but that’s different. When you talk, you can either hear, just like you do with any noise, or listen, which you only do when you actually use your brain. Thing is, Max…Most of us don’t know how to Communicate. Your problem with the Idiot Party could have been solved very easily if only they were up for communication, but they’re a bunch of silly nerds. Really. Many people pretend to listen, but they don’t and you realise that only when they get busted.” turning to look at her, I smile and pat her head. “I’d say don’t take it personally, they’re just boys, they’re stupid…But I can talk to them. Believe me or not, I know how to make them listen.” “Whoa, really? You can do that?” she gleamed and practically radiated joy. “That’s why they call me Fox, remember~?” I wink at her with a chuckle, before realising we’ve already arrived. “I say, the way things are, my sister’s gonna charm you before I do.” he scoffed, seeing Max skateboard to her classes. “Awww, come on, Billy, don’t be like that. She’s a real sweetheart. I like her around me, just like I like you.” I nudge him slightly, despite not even budging him. “Besides, it’s nice to finally have proper conversations, y'know?” I shrug a bit, looking away. “Say, babe, wanna see me at practice today? You can cheer for me as I beat the shit out of that Pussy Harrington.” he boasted, putting an arm around my shoulder. “I…Hope not literally, but at the game.” I chuckled nervously, looking up at him slightly. “Fine, fine, whatever you want.” Billy raised his arms in defeat in a joking manner. “Billy! That was mean!” I grinned, trying to stifle my laugh. “Now, there, toots, is where you are wrong and you don’t even believe yourself. I heard your sweet giggle.” he poked my cheek, making me blush slightly and look down. “What time?” I asked, sighing, hoping that nothing will interfere. “First class after lunch.” he flashed a charming smile my way. “I guess that can work. Sure, I’ll be there. But, uhm…Apart from the fact that you gotta score…I know literally nothing about Basketball.” I confessed awkwardly. “Well, you got the gist of it. Leave the rest to me.” he winked, putting his shades on his head. “Project, after?” “If you want to, sure!” I smiled

With that, I went on with my daily at classes, and gotta say, time flew by pretty fast, and before I knew it, lunch began and I went outside to eat, just as I always do, listening to music on my cassette iPod. An hour went by fast and I had to go see Billy’s practice match, his team against Steve’s, and for once, I was a tiiiiny bit intrigued by sports. I enter the P.E. room shyly, seeing how everyone was busy doing the warming up, and I sit on the bleachers, opening my book and reading “The Lord Of The Rings”, my absolute favourite fantasy book, before the match began.

“Hey, Black, this place is for sweating, not reading! Give that here!” a voice yelled in my ear, making me yelp, before they took the book from my hands. “Give me my book back, please!” I stand up quietly, trying not to draw attention to myself. “Why are you here? This is hardly a proper place for you.” Steve scoffed, looking at the book. “Psh, what’s this rubbish? You’re really reading this? Nerd.” he rolled his eyes, holding the book above his head, barely out of my reach. “If you want it back that badly, reach up!” he continued, laughing. “Come on, please, give it back! I didn’t come here for trouble, I just wanted to cheer for a friend!” I tried to say, trying to reach my book. “Friend? You? Of all people? Don’t be kidding.” he scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Hey, lookie here, King Harrington! Too afraid to face me and you prefer harassing a girl? You’re such a pussy.” Billy’s voice echoed from behind Steve, as he easily got the book from his hand. “Why don’t cha come on the field and fight someone your size?” he smirked, getting in his face. “I won’t let you win, Hargrove.” Steve sneered, annoyed, before bumping his shoulder into Billy’s and going to field to his team. “So, you came to cheer on me. Guess now I can’t lose, huh?” he smirked, flexing a bit as he took off his shirt. “Be careful out there. If you flex and show off too much, you might forget you’re playing and not trying to find your next hook up.” I smirked slightly, gingerly taking my book from his hand. “Thank you. I appreciate you standing up for me…Again.” I smiled softly, rubbing his arm a bit, as a way to both say Good Luck and Thank you. “Who needs a hook up when I have to charm the pants off of ya?” he got closer to my face, in a teasing manner. “Go fuck them up…Babe.” I whisper lowly in his ear, as the smirk never left my face, and yet, I back down and looked away slightly. “Great, now I’m turned on and it’s entirely your fault.” he shook his head, biting his lip as he jogged to court, ready to start the game.

The game soon started, and while I have to admit I had no idea what was going on, I would cheer every time Billy would score. I think that’s what I’m supposed to do, right?

The whistle blew and Harrington had the ball, dribbling left and right, until Billy came in front of him, looking intimidating as ever, and they seemed to be…Talking? Do people talk during games? They would bump into each other a lot, before Billy somehow threw him to the ground and got the ball, showing off again as he marked yet another point for his team, then turning to wink my way as he saw I was clapping.

What a jerk.

The whistle blew again, one of the shirtless guys was dribbling the ball and Steve was blocking him, but, of course, since he’s the best player in our year, Billy managed to easily secure the ball and dribbled it away from Steve, but then stopped and started taunting Harrington.

“King Steve! King Steve, everyone! I like it, play it tough today.” he got closer to his face, annoying Steve. “Jesus! Do you ever stop talking?! Come on!” Steve tried to make Billy shut up, but to no avail. “What? Afraid the coach is gonna bench you now that I am here? Huh?” Billy laughed as easy going as usual, then dribbled and pushed past Steve and stop ANOTHER point.

This time, instead of looking at me, he went to Steve, offered to help him get up, but told him something in a very intimidating voice and let him fall to the ground again, before coming in front of me, putting his arms on his hips, smirking cockily and panting.

“Liked the show, babe?” he asked, his chin up. “I have no idea what I watched, but hey, I think you won, right? Congrats! It looked like you did all the job, so I guess I know why the teacher likes you.” I clapped my hands in front of my chest, praising him. “Look at her being so cute. Didn’t I tell ya you were melting my heart? Come 'ere, gimme a hug!” he approached me, but I yelped, giggled a bit before stepping back. “No, no, no. Go take a shower first, then I’ll hug you, okay?” I put my hands up to signal him to stop moving, but he only chuckled. “One of these days, I won’t be the only one sweating, babe.” he teased in a low voice, making me blink and tilt my head in confusion. “I…I don’t do sports, Billy, what do you mean?” I smile at him. “You…You didn’t get that, did you?” he sighed, rolling his eyes. “Uh…No, sorry.” I grin awkwardly. “Never mind. Wait for me by the car, will ya? Unless you wanna join me in the shower.” he winked, giving me a charming look. “Okay, I’ll wait you outside. See ya!” I said cheerfully, walking to his Camaro.

However, before I reached the car, I saw Max and Lucas arguing and I ran to them, putting my hands on her shoulders.

“Hey, guys! What brings you here?” I asked, trying to calm down the waters a bit. “Lucas, here, and the rest of his stupid party, don’t understand anything! They act like they want me to be their friend, but then they treat me like garbage!” she yells at him, annoyed. “That’s not true!” Lucas tried to defend himself, but Max refuted with a simple “Yes it is!” “Is this about the AV club meetings?” I went between them, looking left and right. “Yes! They can’t stop keeping secrets from me and it’s so annoying! We’re not in 2nd grade anymore!” she shouted, very angry, making me sigh. “Okay, kids, calm down. First of all, Lucas, I really need to talk to you guys about this. Max deserves to be in the party too, okay? She’d be a great addition. Secondly…Is this about…About Will?” I ask the second question a bit quieter. “Yes, yes it is! Don’t get me wrong, I want Max in our party, but we’re 6 in our party, not only me, and I can’t decide by myself! You, me and Dustin want her, but Will is barely around anymore and Mike declines every time, because of El!” he raised his voice at me, making me smile in annoyance and sign for him to calm down. “Okay, kids, okay, I understand your problems and while I do think Max should be in our party, I think we should talk, the 6 of us…Like, have a REAL talk, because things have gone out of control these days and I wasn’t able to stay in contact with you too much because of school stuff, as you know. Now…Uhm…You should have told me Will wasn’t okay. El is not the only one like that, if you remember. I will tell Max everything that happened to us so none of you will be able to complain again.” I said sternly, looking at Lucas, who widened his eyes. “Wait, why would you do that?! We’re supposed to keep it a secret from everyone! We’re already 6 people and Will’s mum who know these things! You know how words spread! It’s a small town!” he tried to protest, worried, but I only shook my head. “I trust Max with my life and I vouch for her. She won’t spread our secrets, I’m sure of that. She just wants to be your friend, morons. Oh, Max, your brother is here. Let’s go home, shall we?” I asked her softly, leading her to the car. “Sure. Oh, and, you still stink!” she shouted past he shoulder, letting him panic there all alone. “Boys can be real jerks, huh?” I shrugged, rolling my eyes. “Don’t worry, I will show you something you’ll never forget.” “Yes, please~!” she grinned up at me until we got in front of Billy, who looked pretty annoyed. “Hey, King Billy, how are you feeling after such a glorious win? I mean, I think it was glorious, considering how relaxed you were every time you showed off so shamelessly.” I teased him, motioning to Max to get in the car. “With you cheering for me oh so pretty, what was I supposed to do?” he asked, flexing a bit. “Mind if I come over? Or are your parents home? Max asked me to chat and do some girl stuff. Is that okay with you? If not, she can come over at mine?” I smiled at him sweetly. “Awe, come on, toots, stop smiling at me like that, y'know I can’t refuse you. They ain’t home yet, you can come over. But don’t think the little twerp can have you all for herself all day.” he winked in approval, which made me hug him tightly. “Thanks, Billy! You’re the best!” I say, kissing his knuckles before rushing to the passenger’s seat. “Whoa, babe, what was that? Shouldn’t I have been the one to do that?” he asked slowly as he got in his seat, looking at me a bit weirdly. “Does it matter? I think it’s sweet no matter who does it. It was my way of thanking you.” I give him a soft smile as I lean back on my seat, closing my eyes. “Hmm…Hey, toots, can ya hold somethin’ for me?” he asked as he started the car and left the parking lot. “Of course.” I replied absent-minded.

Without realising, something warm softly lifted my hand a bit, and as I opened my eyes, I see Billy’s hand pressed to mine, his fingers intertwined with mine. He wasn’t looking at me, instead, his eyes were fixed on the road, an almost invisible blush gracing his sun-kissed cheeks, making me smile at him. I was debating whether or not I should say something or not, but I settled for just squeezing his hand a bit and turning the music volume a tad higher, which made him grin.

We sang the lyrics to the songs, which made the ride home pretty fast, like usual. When we got out of the car, Max went to my side and dragged me inside, making me chuckle at her eagerness. We both sat on her bed and she looked at me with such curious eyes that she made me want to hug her constantly.

“So, uhm…This is all gonna sound very crazy. It’s gonna be SO crazy that you will think I’m lying, but honestly, out of all those idiots, I’m the person you’ll believe and I’ll show you why, at the end.” I began, smirking a bit at her reactions. “The secret the guys hide is…Like a real life DnD campaign. With the Demogorgon and all that. I know, I know, bullshit, huh? Well, I can’t show you one YET, but by the time I grind some sense into those idiots…Well, I mean, hopefully you WON’T get to see any monster, they are super scary, but like…Basically, there’s this monster that kidnapped Will and got him in other world and uh…We found his body, but this one is the real one, and uhm…Well, we managed to get rid of the monster…I and El, more like, and the way I saw Lucas today, I think something’s happened to Will. Bad enough that maybe the monster managed to find another way here.” I took a deep breath after ranting all that out, making the girl look at me like I just said the Earth was flat. “Okay, okay…So then…Let’s say I believe you. You have no reason to lie, unless you’re schizophrenic or something. First of all, who is this El? And secondly, how did you stop the monsters?” she asked skeptically, but wanting to be proven wrong. “Well…El…El is short for Eleven. She was an experiment who managed to escape and we found her.” I explained to her with a big smile. “You expect me to believe that?” her incredulous look only made me chuckle at her. “Do you know what my real name is…Well, was, actually?” my smile turned into a smirk as soon as she shook her head. “My name was Three. Do you wanna know why?” again, her vigorous nod made me continue my story, as I pulled up my Tshirt sleeve, revealing the “3” tattoo. “Because I, too, was an experiment who managed to escape…That was 5 years ago.” I explained with a chuckle, seeing her mouth agape as she gingerly touched the tattoo. “Whoaa…And what did they do to you?” she asked again, looking as she was going to jump up and down from excitement. “What they did to me…Well, a lot of things. But that’s not the right question, Max. Y'know what the right question is~?” I teased her, before continuing. “What resulted after what they did to me~!” I smirked at her. “What happened? Did you get super powers or something?!” she screamed before I shushed her. “Do you see that notebook on the desk? Well…” I chuckled lowly before I made the notebook come into my hand. “It’s not there anymore, now, is it?” I winked at her when she started cheering and jumping on me. “OH MY GOD, THAT WAS SO COOL! DO THAT AGAIN! DO THAT AGAIN!!” she yelled excitedly, making me open her wardrobe’s door, before slamming it back and then opening the window, making her literally jump and clap at me. “THAT’S SO COOL!! WHO NEEDS WONDER WOMAN, WHEN WE HAVE YOU?! Imagine that! America’s Hero, Katrina Black, otherwise known as The Fox! Oh, look at her, she’s saving the day again! Whoooo!” she made a superhero pose, but I told her to stop in her tracks for a second. “I haven’t really used my powers in a very long time because…Well…It’s not really something you’d want to go out in the open with some people. But…Uhmm…Let me try to make you fly, or, uhm, well, float. Want that?” I asked shifting in a better position so I won’t screw up or anything. “You. Can. Do. That?!” she jaw-dropped, making me blush a bit. “Well…Kinda? Like…Just like how I managed to get the notebook, I can move you in the air. But it’s more difficult so it takes a bit of a strain, so if my eye or nose start to bleed, don’t worry, it’s normal, okay?” I assured her.

Taking a deep breath, I extend my arm towards her and focus, making her slowly raise into the air, moving her left and right as she giggled and pretended to be a superhero or that she was swimming. I couldn’t help but laugh with her, but I had to put her down before a headache would hit me and I could lose focus and drop her.

“Sorry I got you down, I was afraid I might drop you. I can do that again a bit later, if you want.” I cleared my throat, before ruffling her hair. “Is there anything else you want to hear? I should go to your brother and ask him if he’s up for some tutoring. I mean…I was supposed to give him a test yesterday, but I couldn’t come over yesterday, so I told him tomorrow…But I said that not realising tomorrow is Friday and he has a Basketball match, so that’s out of the question.” I scratch awkwardly at my neck. “Say…Do you like my brother? He’s more tolerable to be around since you appeared and…When you’re with us, he’s weirdly nice. Like…I would have never expected him to hold a girl’s hand like that. He’s such a man whore and he’s so violent! …But I guess I kinda get him, in a way. His dad is really…Really…A huge asshole.” she murmurs the last part before flinging herself down on her bad. “Do you…Want to talk about it?” I lean on my arm, petting her hair softly. “If you want to listen…Yeah. Maybe this way you’ll understand Billy better. Who knows, maybe you can tame him or something, I dunno.” she sighed, burying her face in her pillow. “You know…Billy has saved me from bullying twice since you came. And he’s been very sweet with me so far. I…I know he whores around a lot and he’s very violent…And gosh darn it, he flirts with me more than he breathes, I think…But I really appreciated that he didn’t beat up a guy when I asked him to. He had him by the throat, and I begged him not to punch him…And he didn’t.” I confess, putting my head on the pillow next to her. “Woaw…Sure that was my brother?” she chuckled, turning on her side. “Haha, yeah, I promise, it was him.” I grinned softly. “So…So, I don’t really know everything, okay? But…But Billy is afraid of Neil. He’s always screaming very aggressively at Billy and it can’t be a recent thing. And I think he sometimes hits him too. He can’t accept my mum as his mum, which I can understand, but he hasn’t had someone in his life who has been as nice as you are since his mother left him.” she explained, smiling sadly. “Well…To be fair, I was expecting something like that. Childhood trauma usually manifests in two ways…Either like me, or like him. But…But I think…Maybe I can somehow handle this.” I brought her into a hug, which she reciprocated. “He’s been a part of my life all this time and I don’t know him as something more than a violent guy…But can you help him? I know it’s a lot to ask, but…” she trailed off, not knowing what to say. “Don’t worry, Maxi, I will see what I can do. I’m kinda stuck with him the whole year whether I like it or not, so I won’t let him get worse than he is.” I giggled at her, but before she could say anything, the door opened, revealing Billy, his shirt halfway unbuttoned. “There’s so much love in only one room, but what 'bout lil’ ol’ me~?” he slurred in a supposedly sexy way, leaning on the door. “Billy! Remember how yesterday I was supposed to give you that test, but I couldn’t come over? Like, I said I would give it to you tomorrow, but I didn’t realise tomorrow is your match and…And like, you have to celebrate your victory, so I won’t stress you with a test, clearly. But like, you want to take it today, or do you want on Sunday?” I ranted on as I got on the edge of the bed, but before soon, he just chuckled and picked me up bridal style. “Let’s take that test. I’ve been staring at your lips all day, Kitten, and today I’m even more motivated to find out their taste.” he laughed, getting me to his room and gently pulling me on the bed. “Are you sure, Billy? There’s no rushing…I mean, you can have a few days more to revise…And this chapter is not the easiest one, so I won’t blame you.” I smiled nervously, looking away. “Nahhh, s'okay. I was prepared for the one yesterday, so bring it on.” he told me with the most confident smirk in the world, as he sit down on his desk chair. “Okay, so uhm…Yesterday I stood after class with Mrs. Green to create the test for you in a way that it would be structured the same as the final exam is, which is why I couldn’t come over. But…Here you go. You can write in your notebook and I will correct it afterwards, I have the point-grading right here. I’m asking again, Billy - Are you absolutely sure you’re up for it?” I asked him for the millionth time, putting the test in front of him. “Yes, babe, I am. I’m a man of my word. Responsibility and Respect.” he muttered, scanning the test paper. “That sounded a bit robotic…But I won’t ask you about it now. Good luck and focus. You have 2 hours from…Now.” I told him, getting on the bed and doing some improvements to the project.

Two hours passed by faster than the blink of an eye, making me get up and go to Billy, patting him on the shoulder and telling him that time was up. He looked at me since we were about the same height with him sitting down, and in his eyes I could see a certain…Restlessness. Like a fight of emotions was going on, but he didn’t know what to do. I blinked at him twice before cupping his face and frowning.

“Are you okay, sweety? You look upset. Did something happen?” I said in the most gentle voice I could managed. “It’s nothin’, babe, don’t worry for nothin’. Go check my test and tell me if I’m worthy of you or not.” he grumbled, puling away from me. “Billy…If you want, I won’t look and you can retake is on Sunday. It’s okay if you fail from time to time, it’s not the end of the world, you can always try again later.” I try to reach out to him, raking my fingers through his soft hair. “Nah, babe, failing isn’t manly, it’s for pussies. I can’t afford that.” he sneered, gripping his hands into tight fists. “That’s not true, who told you that? To fail is human and it can happen to everyone. It’s not a masculinity meter!…Billy, look at me, please…Billy. Please.” I pleaded again, putting my arms around his neck, but he only got up and went away. “That’s what he always said, okay? So what the hell else am I supposed to fucking DO?! If I don’t listen, I’m fucked! That’s how it’s ALWAYS fucking been! But you wouldn’t get it, would you?! Your parents probably bought you that house so you could stay alone and study at your leisure, their pretty little treasure, and you could fuck everyone you wanted there and nobody would say anything! Why the hell are you even here?! Huh?! It’s only 'cause of that teacher, ain’t it?! And 'cause I’ve always been the idiot to save your weak and pathetic ass! Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if you DID boast that you fucked me!” he raged around the room like an angry tiger in his cage, trapped. “Wh-What do you even know about my life…?” I managed to usher softly, as tears welled up in my eyes and I backed towards to wall opposite of him. “Well, fuck, Katrina, I don’t know, it seems like after today, I know absolutely NOTHING! Care to fucking enlighten me? Care to tell me why are you the high school’s fucking whore?!” he yelled, stomping towards me, which only made me glue myself to the wall, sobbing. “I-I’m not…I’m…Not…I…I…” I choke out, but since I couldn’t say anything coherent, Billy slammed his hands on either side of my face, trapping me, screaming “WHORE” in my face, which made cower and shield my face with my arms. “Don’t hurt me! Please, please, please, don’t hurt me! I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry, please don’t hurt me! I promise I’ll be good, please, don’t hurt me!” I barely managed to squeak out between my sobs, my legs shaking like mad and I could barely breathe.

My ears were ringing from the silence in the room, save for my pitiful sobs, flashbacks flooding my head so much that my throat and lungs were burning like a wild fire. After what felt like hours, he slowly guided me the bed, making me sit down, and by instinct, I let myself fall down and started unbuttoning my shirt, with trembling hands. I didn’t even dare look up to meet his face, but his hands gripped my wrists all of a sudden, which made me meekly raise my gaze a bit and see he was frowning, but somehow, confused.

“What are you doing?” he asked in a low, somehow dead-pan voice. “It’s what you want, isn’t it? Rather than doing it by force, just do it with no violence. I told you I won’t bother struggling, it’s meaningless anyways.” I whispered softly, biting my lip. “Did I say I wanted to fuck you right now?” he sat down on the bed as I cringed at his question, only shaking my head slightly. “Then why did you do this?” he asked, but since he saw I wasn’t answering, he continued. “I’m not mad, I’m not going to hurt you, ever, so just answer.” “I’m sorry I upset you…I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to.” I whispered as he lifted me into a sitting position. “You’re the only one who puts up with me, and if you got angry at me, I deserve it. I’m sorry, so please, don’t get angry at me and leave.” I continued, closing my eyes. “Kat, come here.” he patted his thighs, motioning me to sit on his lap, which I did, but I still wouldn’t look at him. “Kat, look at me.” he said softly, putting his hands on my face, as I previously did to him. “Who hurt you so much, Kat? Tell me. I’m not angry at you and I won’t leave you, either.” he uttered, trying to calm me down. “I…I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you or said those things to you. I know they were lies, but I got frustrated. I should apologise, not you.” he confessed, making me look at him with glistening eyes, shaking my head briefly. “Kat, tell me. Please.” he whispered in my ear, making me start to cry again and throw my arms around his torso, crying in his chest, still trembling slightly. “I don’t know, Billy, I don’t know! It’s always been this way! I don’t get it, what did I do wrong? Why does everyone hate me? Do I look that weird? Is my personality that garbage? I-I don’t understand!” I began, feeling him rub soothing circles on my back. “I never had a family, Billy! I’m a runaway freak! I ran from an experimental base 5 years ago! I didn’t even have a name, I was just a number for them! And…And I ran here, and a policeman found me and put me in an orphanage under a name that I made up! Katrina Black, not Three anymore! And…And when I got with my new family, it was no difference than in the orphanage! Always the same thing! Nobody wanted me, I was just a waste of time and I did nothing good to contribute to my family!” I managed to say, clutching his shirt tightly. “Shhh, it’s okay now, Kitten, I’m here.” he whispered in my ear kissing my head. “Don’t be afraid.” “I worked a lot for 4 years, and with the policeman’s help, I managed to get my own little house and a motorbike. Not the perfect family anymore, huh?” I tried to laugh, but it came out more as a choke. “And…And…I…I just…I just wanted my Happily Ever After, Billy…I…I didn’t want to be alone anymore…They faked it…They faked everything just to fool around with me…They pretended to love and care about me…They pretended that they were good and protective boyfriends…But by the time I realised that what was happening wasn’t normal, it was too late and the damage had already been done. And I can’t erase it no matter how hard I try…” I put my hands in my hair, pulling at it in desperation. “I just want to forget all the disgusting things that happened, all the lies I heard, all those hands on my skin…I told you so many times before, no matter how much you struggle, it doesn’t do any good. Well, now you know the story behind it.” as I said that, he gently pulled away my hands and made me raise my head up again, and I could see anger and sadness in his eyes…He, too, seemed to want to cry, but tried very hard to stop it. “Tell me who did this to you and I’ll kill them. I’ll get revenge on them for you. If you couldn’t get out, neither will they.” he growled, looking me in the eyes, but I only shook my head and hugged his neck. “Don’t…Don’t go…Don’t leave…Don’t bother…What’s done is done. Yeah, of course, he only fucked me once, did other super gross things, whatever and now I’m somehow the biggest whore of the high school, whatever. Hey, really, I somehow magically fucked you in your sleep, or something, hell if I know. And if that wasn’t enough, after that first guy, two more came by. 'Know what happened?” I looked at him with a self-deprecating laugh, making him motion for me to continue talking. “The first one made me realise what happened wasn’t okay. Thing is, I told him I wasn’t interested in any fucks. What he did? The next day he started asking me about what positions I liked and stuff. And the next thing I know, he realised that I’m not a virgin, but he is, and says something along the lines of…How did he say it, now…Ah, yes. 'Why do the bad guys always get the good stuff?’. Yeah, like, thanks mate, very smart.” I rolled my eyes, every word completely dripping with sarcasm. “I kinda like it when you finally talk from your heart and you’re not scared of everything around you.” Billy said with a small smirk. “Well, then maybe you should love me by now. The third guy was very sympathetic with me and supposedly very protective of me. Turned out he was high-key flirting with my then-friend, making out/fucking her, all whilst continuing to insult me, but never letting me break up with him. He was a notorious liar. The biggest liar in the world, I kid you not.” I snorted bitterly. “Did they beat you?” he asked in a very low voice. “No…But…They would get overly possessive and jealous and would argue with me big time. It’s not like I have many friends, y'know? Just the kids. And Jonathan Byers, kinda. They would yell at me a lot and get super moody and mean. Hell, even on my birthday. Really…Fuck off.” I scoffed slightly, pouting as I leaned back a bit. “Did you calm down, Kitten? Feeling any better after letting your feelings out?” he caressed my cheek softly, which made me look down and snort a bit, trying to stifle my giggle. “What’s goin’ on, Kitten? Why you laughing?” he asked with a soft smile. “I…Well…It might sound super weird, okay, but…But I can’t stop laughing thinking about it. Just…He…He always boasts around how much of a mess I was because of him, but, like…I literally didn’t even realise when he got inside me and when he finished, like, what the hell!” I started laughing loudly, wiping my tears with my wrists, which made Billy start laughing as well, not having expected me to say something like that. “So my little Kitten can have a sense of humour when she wants to, huh? I never expected you to say any of the words you said the whole day, I swear, you’re surprising me with each day.” he put his arms around me, hugging me tight as I put my arms around his neck and calmed down. “I know I’m a mess, and as I said a million times, I’m sorry that you have to put up with me. But, Billy, if it were after me, I’d have already given you a chance by now, but really, I’m just scared that the whole chaos is going to happen again. And I’m just so tired of everything that I don’t think I could handle another betrayal.” I confessed softly, putting my forehead to his. “I said I was gonna prove you that you’re not wasting your time, and I’m not backing up from that promise. If it’s time you need, we have all the time in the world. I won’t be a shithead again like today. I lost control and it was my fault, I’m sorry.” he promised, looking me in the eyes as he put a strand of hair behind my ear. “It’s okay, Billy. I know you have it rough too. I don’t know the details, but I can sense what’s going on. You don’t have to tell me, but I know your father is a…A douchebag. I’m sorry for using that word. But, really, it’s one more year and you’ll be free of him! You’ll have a scholarship and you’ll be studying at a cool University whatever you wish to study and…And…I…Well…Maybe…Maybe we can…Y'know…We may be able to study in a place close to each other. Maybe even the same city. Hawkins Scholarships are usually more or less addressed to certain Unis in certain states.” I said with a shy smile, which in return, made his features soften up like never before. “Sounds good to me, babe.” he said, before burying his face in my neck, holding me tight as I played with his hair, calming him. “Billy.” I called out after a few minutes, when I felt his heartbeat calm down a bit. “Would it be okay with you if I corrected your test now? Don’t worry about the result, it just means that I will have to explain some stuff better, so it’s no problem. It’s as you said, we have enough time for everything. I don’t want to hold you off for too long since tomorrow’s your match and you should sleep well.” I say gently, making him sigh and nod.

I told him to stay in bed and lean on the bed post before I got up, took the test and a red pen from my bag before hopping next to him, cuddling to his side. We corrected the test together, explaining to him each mistake he made and why it was wrong, how to address the question tasked and so on, and it seemed like he understood and he was aware of his mistakes and how to solve them. It’s true, he didn’t make it to 75%, but it wasn’t too far away from that mark. He was frustrated, but I managed to calm him down and tell him that he will definitely do better next time and that first tests are always so bad. By the time we were done, outside was pitch black and we realised it was already past 10pm, which made me bite my lip.

“It’s okay, I can walk home, it’s no big deal. Just stay here and sleep well, okay?” I smiled at him reassuringly, but he only shook his head. “Just sleep over, I’ll sleep on the floor no big deal.” he proposed, shrugging, making me gasp. “Are you insane?! You, sleep on the floor? It’s YOUR house! Damn it, Billy! I should take the floor! Well…I could sleep in Max’s room, actually.” I realised, but he shook his head. “No, no, no, I’d rather sleep outside than seeing you do either of those two. I said it before, didn’t I? She won’t have you all for herself.” he said, making me chuckle. “You could just say you wanted to sleep cuddled with me, y'know? You liked that hug more than you’d admit in your life.” I teased him with a soft smirk. “Fine, babe, y'got me. So, what band do ya want?” he asked, going to his wardrobe to look for a Tshirt for me to sleep in. “Woaw, always ready to give a girl your band Tees, huh?” I chuckled, hiding my mouth slightly. “Nah, not 'a’ girl. You. Anyone touching my band tees will get burnt.” he smirked, leaning on the door. “Flattering, Billy. D'you have AC/DC?” I asked softly. “Do I breathe air?” he asked very dramatically, throwing the Tshirt at my head, making me laugh. “Thank you. I love the design…Oh, Jesus, how much cologne and cigarettes did you have while wearing this?” I laughed, hugging it too my chest. “Too much, maybe.” he shrugged. “I’ll turn around so you can change. Don’t worry, I won’t peep. Yes, you can kill me if I do.” he chuckled as he turned around, stretching a bit, giving me enough time to change and remain into his Tshirt and lady boxers only, thanking every deity existing that he was much larger than me and the Tshirt went mid-thigh. “Okay, I’m ready. Thank you…And, uhm…This is really weird and embarrassing.” I sighed as I put my clothes neatly folded on the chair. “Ah, fuck, you’re so hot, I knew it.” he smirked, raking his fingers through his hair. “Okay, fine, my turn. But I don’t mind if you watch.” he winked at me, making me hmpf a bit as I got in bed, putting the blanket over my head. “All clear, I can’t see a thing!” I chuckled, giving him a thumbs up with my arm out of the blanket, making him sigh.

It took less than two minutes for him to snatch the blanket from my head and snatch me into his arms tightly to his chest, playing with my hair loosely. I smiled softly and snuggled to his side, feeling warm and safe in his arms and I completely ignored the fact that he was only wearing a pair of boxers. Godamn it, Billy.

With a kiss on my forehead, he muttered in a low, guttural voice a simple “Good night, Princess” before closing his eyes and going to sleep. In return, I could only smile and kiss his neck, being closest to me, and wished him “Good night, Billy” before I let sleep take over my senses.

Chapter 1 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8

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