#gritting my teeth waiting for them to patch the game into being acceptable

[unnecessarybeltbuckles]

Man why'd they have to make the monetization and many features so bad/unpolished and so much content missing with such a fun story

[boygirlmeetsworld]

Messy.

ONE-SHOT

Word count: 2793

Disclaimer:  One piece and all it’s characters belong to Eiichiro Oda, I just like to write about them.

Warning: None

Rating: T (i guess?? there’s cursing)

Author’s Note: Whale, this is the first fanfic I’ve posted on the interwebs since high school so please keep that in mind, lol. I do plan to finish it sooner than later so check back in a few days if you want to read the rest, sorry I don’t have it all done right now.  At long last it it FINISHED.

Feel free to tell me what u think! Unless it’s mean, then I ask that u keep those thoughts in ur noggin because I’m just writing these for fun not for grades.

Without further ado, here ya go.

Author’s Note pt 2: So i didn’t end up going the smut route like I originally planned, but I think it worked out better bc this one got nice and Emotional.

Summary: Zoro really shouldn’t agree to be Nami’s drinking partner if he wanted to keep their friendship from getting... Complicated.

__________________________________________

The moon was floating high in the night sky when Nami wandered onto the deck, unable to sleep even after a few hours of sketching. 

She wanted company – specifically, she wanted the company of the crew’s resident alcoholic. It only took a few minutes to find him on the lawn deck with his back against a tree and his eye closed. ‘How typical.’

Nami smiled a small, excited smile as she strode over to him and squatted between his parted legs. An unconscious sigh left her nose as she swept her gaze up and down his face. She caught herself thinking, ‘He really is easy on the eyes isn’t he.’ ....again. 

Who was she kidding? She’d been thinking the same thing every time she looked his way lately. 

Two years ago she’d been able to keep the immature crush she had on him locked tightly away but somehow - it had gotten out and was slowly consuming her entire being. 

Nami hoped he hadn’t noticed how often she invited him to drink with her because she didn’t think she could handle being rejected. So she settled for spending time alone with him whenever and however she could. 

“Hey, moss-head,” the navigator said finally, leaning in to squint at him, “Are you asleep?”

He had literally just settled down for a nice cat nap when the navigator appeared suddenly to interrupt him. ‘Damn. What the hell did she want now?’ 

Instead of answering, Zoro chose to ignore her and pretend like he was deep asleep. ‘Why won’t she go bother someone else?’

Nami started prodding his cheek with one finger to rouse him if he really was sleeping, ”Zorooo wake up, I wanna drink,” she whined and his eyelid opened instantly.

‘Why’s she so damn pretty..’ was the first thought he had when he realized that she was a lot closer than he’d anticipated. 

He mentally chastised himself after, trying to remind his id that Nami had never once indicated that she wanted to be anything other than friends and he should respect that. 

But… There was no harm in looking from time to time was there? And she was pretty. She’d always been... ‘Oh for fuck’s sake, now he sounded like Sanji. He needed to get a grip.’

“Helloooooo,” Nami waved her hand in Zoro’s face until he snapped back to reality and snatched her wrist up, pulling it away. He scowled but it wasn’t deep, and now he was refusing to look her in the eye. “What was that about, huh Zoro?”

“Nothing.” The swordsman replied perhaps a little too quickly to avoid suspicion, “Thought I heard a noise, doesn’t matter – oi, didn’t you want to do something?” 

He couldn’t remember what exactly it was. He’d been so distracted by the way her bangs framed her face and sometimes got caught in her eyelashes—’Damnit! He was doing it again.’

Nami smirked again but didn’t press the subject anymore. She’d do that later once they started drinking. “Weren’t you listening to me? You’re so rude, maybe I should find someone else to share my booze with.”

Was it a good idea to go drink with Nami when he kept catching himself thinking about feelings that he’d been suppressing for the last two years? Probably not…

But he couldn’t just decline an opportunity to get buzzed. ‘And... Maybe he wanted to get buzzed with Nami, specifically.’  

Zoro scoffed, mostly at himself. “Quit playing games, damnit, do you want me to drink with you or not?”

“You’re so stubborn,” The navigator teased with a pleased smile that made his heart beat unevenly, “I could care less if you join me, but you’re not allowed to come unless you say you’ll be nice.”

“Nami. I am older than you, quit treating me like a fucking child or I swear-”

“That’s no way to talk to a lady who’s getting you drunk for free, Roronoa Zoro. If you can’t be nice then I’ll just add the cost of everything you drink to your debt and-”

Zoro didn’t have time to ruminate over the way hearing her say his full name made him shiver because he had to shut her up before she did charge him. 

“Okay, okay. I’ll be... nice.” He hissed through gritted teeth and her answering giggle made his pulse flutter. He had to fight to keep himself from smiling. ‘What the hell was going on with him tonight? Was he sick?’

“Good boy,” she turned and started walking towards the Sunny’s aquarium bar, glancing back over her shoulder to make sure he was coming.

“Don’t push your luck, woman.” Zoro snarled to mask his confusion over the sudden need to touch her that he felt scratching at the back of his head. He really shouldn’t agree to be Nami’s drinking partner if he wanted to keep their friendship from getting... Complicated.

He knew it, but he followed her up the stairs all the same.

                                                       * * *

“Why d’you always want to drink with me anyway, witch?” Skeptical of her intentions, his narrowed eye fixed itself on Nami as she approached him holding two maroon tinted bottles. She offered one to him and he accepted it – but he didn’t let his guard down yet.

Zoro lowered his gaze to check the label out, whistling long and low when he read 23% alcohol per volume. A couple puzzle pieces clicked together in his head ‘Oh, that’s why. Because if she tried to drink this with anyone else they’d pass out after two glasses.’

“Would you believe that I just like hanging out with you?” Though her tone was teasing she was actually being genuine, she had a lot of fun with him whenever they went out.

“No–“ He paused when Nami kicked him in the shin hard enough to make him swear. Reaching down with his free hand he rubbed the sore patch of skin and glared daggers at his crewmate. “What the fuck was that for?!”

“You said you’d be nice, Zoro! So be nice or I’ll charge you a hundred thousand beris for that bottle.” Nami uncorked hers but waited to hand the corkscrew over until he behaved himself. The look he was giving her would probably frighten a small child but she didn’t flinch.

‘This was his choice.’ He reminded himself. Of his own free will he chose to get drunk with Nami instead of napping, and that meant dealing with her bossiness no matter how much he loathed it. ‘Sometimes he just wanted to grab her by the shoulders and make her shut up, there were better things her mouth could be doing anyway-‘

“Why do you keep staring at me like that, do I have a zit or something?”

Zoro sat up so fast that he banged his shoulder on the underside of the countertop. ‘What the hell was that? What the hell was wrong with him?’ He hadn’t even opened the damn bottle and he was already making himself look like an idiot.

“No,” the swordsman grumbled, wracking his brain for a believable excuse, “Just thinking about how I’ll owe you money even after I’m dead if you keep charging me for bullshit.” That made her laugh and Zoro cursed himself for how much he liked hearing it. “Don’t see how it’s funny for me, witch.”

Nami let him take the corkscrew from her, eyes crinkled with amusement while he opened his bottle. “You’ll just have to stay alive until you pay me back in full, I guess!” She trilled before taking a long, heavy drink from hers.

“Yeah?” Zoro snorted before mimicking her and downing about half of the wine in the container. It tasted disgusting, which he’d expected, but that didn’t make the bitter aftertaste any less miserable. His nose wrinkled slightly as he set the bottle down. “I bet even if I did try to pay you off you’d find a way to charge me more.”

“You make me sound so heartless,” the navigator batted her eyelashes innocently, pretending to look hurt, “Why would I ever do such a thing?”

“Hah.” He scoffed before chugging some more wine and failing to keep track of how much he was drinking each time. “Because you want to keep me on a leash since I don’t throw myself at you like that dumbass cook.”

An impish smirk crawled it’s way onto Nami’s face that made him immediately regret what he’d just said. ‘Fuck. Damnit!’

“So…” She began slowly, savoring every second that the swordsman spent avoiding direct eye contact with her, “You admit that you are one of my lap dogs?”

A muscle in his jaw flexed and he stopped drinking for one second to grunt, “That’s not what I said.”

“That’s what I heard!” Chimed Nami as she rose from her seat, stepping over to Zoro and tracing a finger under his jaw while he drained the last few drops of liquid. “I should get you a collar, so people know who to bring you to when you get lost.”

Normally he would have snapped at her for poking fun at his sense, or lack thereof, direction but he wasn’t listening to her. She’d come close enough for him to pick up her scent and maybe it was the alcohol intensifying his feelings, but it was suffocating him in a good way.

He loved the way she smelled. Tangerines from her soaps mixed with salty seawater and traces of sunscreen. A hint of orange blossom, but only when she was close to him like this. 

Zoro inhaled deeply through his nose and, without realizing it, his expression melted into something affectionate and gentle. ‘In two years she’d changed in so many different ways… but she still smelled the same. She still smelled like home.’

                                                        * * *

“What are you thinking about, Zoro?” Her voice void of it’s usual teasing tone, Nami’s curiosity was piqued by his sudden shift in demeanor. He looked soft and peaceful, like he didn’t have anything to worry about. She wanted to know why.

‘Ah, fuck.’ What was he supposed to tell her? That he was thinking about how good she smelled? ‘Yeah right.’ Zoro was quiet for a while, mulling over his words until he came up with an explanation that didn’t sound as creepy – but also wasn’t a lie.

“I guess..” he finally murmured, his gaze shifting to meet hers, “It’s just been a while and… I was thinking about how nice it feels to be back here, with everyone…” a brief pause then he added, “I missed you guys.” ‘Look at him being all gushy and emotional, this wine really was something else.’ Zoro reached to brush his fingertips by her temple, catching a stray lock of hair and tucking it behind her ear, “I missed you.”

When had Zoro ever been this honest with her about the way he felt? Never was the answer, but now he seemed to trust her well enough to know she wouldn’t spill his secrets. Nami took his face in both of her hands, surprising him, and pulled his head down so she could kiss his forehead. “I missed you too, Zoro.”

Something about hearing her say that she’d missed him too broke a dam in his chest that he’d been trying to keep together for two years. Hormoness flooded through his bloodstream quicker than Zoro could even process them and before he knew it he was practically throwing his arms around Nami’s waist and crushing her against his chest.

“Nami—” he pressed his face into her neck to hide the tears that he couldn’t hold back anymore. Sober he might have cared about losing it like this around her but she was here and… ‘He just – needed to hold her.’ Hold her and smell her and feel how real she was because she had almost been taken from him.

‘He’d barely begun to process what he had been through on Thriller Bark when they were attacked in Sabaody. If he tried to think back on it his memories would get hazy and his bones would ache from their very cores. He knew what had happened but it’s like his brain was protecting him from understanding how close to death he’d come. Then – to be torn away from the people he loved with all of his heart? Who he had just nearly killed himself to protect?

It had ripped him apart and rubbed salt into every wound. And it fucking hurt. The same kind of pain he felt when he saw Kuina dead on the floor of their dojo. He was scared, he was furious, he was devastated – all over again but this time it was so much worse. So, so much worse.

That was why he had trained so hard over the last two years. Because he couldn’t bear the grief that came with loving them so deeply – so he got stronger. And stronger. And stronger. No matter the cost to his body, he would become powerful enough to defeat anyone who crossed them. Then… He would never have to feel the agony that he did when he first woke up on Kuraigana Island ever again.

Taking on all of Luffy’s suffering in Thriller Bark had been the most physically painful experience of his entire life – but that was nothing compared to how much it hurt to think that his friends were gone forever, that he hadn’t been able to protect them.

Training made it easy not to think about what had happened -- but now he was home, and they were safe - and he was realizing just how close he’d come to losing all of them. At once. And he could do nothing to stop it.’

Startled by him grabbing her, Nami was prepared to give the pirate a good smack if he was getting handsy but… He started trembling. ‘Was he not feeling well?’ Her mouth opened to form the question then stopped. His breathing hitched while his entire body jerked and she realized…

‘Zoro was crying.’

Roronoa Zoro, who prided himself on his strength, was sobbing wretchedly into her neck. ‘He must have been holding this in since Sabaody.’ Nami’s heart ached for him and his stupid pride that forced him to torture himself instead of letting him cry like he needed to. She’d been expecting him to crash at some point, how couldn’t he? Even someone as strong as Zoro was still a human being.

One of her arms cradled his head while the other wound round his shoulders, her fingers combing gently through his hair. “Oh you sweet, sweet boy…” she spoke in the tone that Bellemere used to use when Nami and Nojiko were frightened by a passing thunderstorm. It always calmed her, maybe it would calm Zoro, too.

‘Quit fucking crying you loser you’re supposed to be a man.’ But he couldn’t, he literally could not stop because he was trying to. “I wasn’t strong enough,” his voice quivered at the edges and he hated it. ‘He was definitely never going to drink this kind of wine again ever. Not if it turned him into a blubbering mess like this every time.’

“Shhh, no. No. Don’t you dare try to blame yourself for what happened. Hey, look at me.” Nami urged his head off her shoulder and cupped his face in both of her palms, “None of us were strong enough, okay? Not even Luffy.” Each tear that fell she tenderly swept away with the pad of her thumb. The corner of her mouth turned up as she assured him, “But we are strong enough now. We can take care of each other. Nothing is ever going to tear us apart again, Zoro.”

‘She was right. Of course, she was right. He needed to have faith in his crewmates and his captain. They could do anything as long as they had each other.’ His breathing slowly evened out as he focused on anchoring himself back to reality. He wasn’t in Sabaody or Kuraigana – he was on the Sunny. In the bar, with Nami who had grown so much since he last saw her. The look in his eye softened like it had before his breakdown.

“You’re staring at me again, Zoro.” The navigator teased, her hands falling to rest on his shoulders. He hadn’t let go of her yet but she didn’t mind, he could hold on to her for as long as he needed.

A ghost of his usual smirk passed across his face. “Sorry, Nami…” Zoro took a little risk by leaning in to press a chaste but lingering kiss to her cheek, then traced a path with the edge of his nose to her ear, murmuring, “Wine makes me a little… Messy.”

[twstdreams]

I've loved your non-romantic/platonic content that you've done so far! Adding on to that list, could I please request a short story surrounding MC, Ace, and Deuce? An accident occurs which ends in MC turning into a little kid and now it's up to the two boys to put their differences aside and babysit their friend until she's back to normal. Girl pronouns plz! Lol I can only imagine the chaos that would ensue. If you don't feel comfortable with this ask you can skip it! Thx for reading :)

I am always up for platonic content and shenanigans! Long story, so the rest is under the cut!

Warning: Minor spoilers for side stories (briefly alluded to)

Length: ~2.3K

“It’s this one!” Deuce declares with unfounded confidence.

“No, it’s not!” Ace rebuttals despite not making it past page 10 in his textbook.

“It’s mine!” Grimm shouts even though he most definitely does not understand the experiment at hand. 

The magicless student can only sigh. Deuce and Ace suck at potions. So when the two bicker about what to add to their cauldron, the prefect doesn’t even blink an eye. Deuce mispronounces an ingredient, Ace corrects him, but neither are even talking about the right thing. She can practically sense Crewel’s glare despite her eyes remaining on the cauldron, cautiously waiting for bubbles to appear so she could add the indigo milk cap mushroom. 

What is added next to her cauldron is not the mushroom in her hand but a random root Grimm throws in. In Deuce’s haste to catch the gremlin, he spills over his own cauldron and some of their potion spills into hers.

“What are you doing?” she asks, but it’s too late. The mixture in her cauldron is boiling profusely and suddenly envelopes her in a cloud of smoke.

“Funya! MC, are you okay?” Grim inquires. Deuce and Ace also call out her name but there is no response. When the smoke clears, everyone in the room is left speechless.

The potential beast tamer hasn’t moved but an inch but she’s at least two feet shorter and with rounder cheeks and wide eyes. 

“WHAT?” she screeches in disbelief, suddenly too short to even reach the cauldron, “Fix this!” 

And this is how the group’s long catastrophic day begins.

Adventure 1: The beginning

“What?!” Grim shouts. If looks could kill, Crewel’s glare would have toasted the monster.

“Yes, it is hard to predict when MC will return to normal because you carelessly threw together that potion. It should wear off in a day, but there’s no guarantee,” the teacher explains through gritted teeth. The bell rings but the quartet barely registers it.

“Go to the headmaster! It’s not my problem anymore,” Crewel declares. 

Unfortunately, as most meetings with the headmaster are, the conversation is fruitless.

“Hah? We’re supposed to babysit her?” Ace asks.

“Yes! It’s your fault, is it not? Take care of her until the spell wears off,” Crowley declares.

“Isn’t there any way to break the spell?” Deuce inquires while nervously glancing towards MC.

“It’s hard to tell because you added in unknown amounts of various ingredients,” Crowley answers before muttering, “It takes too much time! I need to know what happens next in my novel.”

“Tch, what a lazy adult,” MC comments with a bored expression. She figured this would happen. She can’t even recall a moment when the headmaster had actually been helpful.

“What did you say?” Crowley demands. Deuce immediately picks up MC and heads for the door.

“Nothing! We’ll take care of her! See you later headmaster!” Ace explains while the two boys dash out of the office. They book it out of the hallway and then set her down on the ground.

“Hey! What was that about? It’s usually Grim saying stuff that gets us in trouble, not you,” Ace comments.

“Don’t tell me…Now she acts like a little kid too?” Deuce wonders.

Adventure 2: Stranger Danger

“Oh? Ramshackle prefect, you seem to be caught in quite the predicament.” MC glares at the Octavinelle dorm leader in return. Ace and Deuce are in the midst of calling Cater and Trey to ask for advice, giving Azul the perfect opportunity to approach her.

“I have an offer for you,” the second year begins.

“No.” MC is firm in her answer and has no intention of making any deals.

“Are you sure? I treat children well,” Azul adds but it only results in her frowning. There’s suddenly a glimmer in her eyes but before Azul can deduce what it means, MC begins shouting.

“STRANGER DANGER! STRANGER DANGER!”

“Stop that!” Azul insists but his wide eyes give away his flustered state. With a smile that looks a little too much like Chenya’s, MC continues her call for help. Soon enough, Deuce and Ace rush to her side.

“Stranger? That’s Prefect Azul! Have you forgotten him?” Deuce inquires with a look of concern. MC decides this is the perfect time to practice her puppy eyes and simply looks up at Deuce, wide eyes and with a pout.

Azul silently admits defeat as he forms a tight-lipped smile accompanied by some false pleasantries before exiting the area. 

“I’m hungry!” she announces before anyone can question her further. 

“Yes! Let’s go eat!” Grim agrees.

Adventure 3: Sweet Dreams

Getting lunch is a surprisingly painless affair. Though Night Raven College students could be quite self-centred, even they balked at harming a little girl. MC easily orders her favourites before sitting with her friends, though she has to sit on her knees to be at a comfortable height compared to the table.

“Wow! It’s true!~” Cater chimes while taking a seat at the table.

“How are you feeling?” Trey asks.

“Okay! It’s kinda weird but at least it was easy to get lunch,” she replies while taking a bite of her food.

“Now you really look like my minion!” Grim declares. MC shoots the monster a glare but doesn’t give him a response.

“You’re actually a little kid, huh? So, what do you wanna do when you grow up?” Ace teases.

“I want to control all the ghosts and have an army,” MC answers nonchalantly as if she had been discussing the weather.

“What?” Trey asks, slightly taken aback. Wasn’t this the person who was gullible enough to think that oyster sauce went in tarts?

“A ghost army,” she repeats confidently.

“Anyway! Aren’t you lucky? You get all these handsome guys to help you today!” Cater interjects, not wanting to unpack why the prefect wanted an army of the dead. 

Her gaze scans the table before looking up at Cater, eyes wide and expression void of malice, and asks, “Where?”

Grim howls with laughter while the four Heartslabyul students try to recover from the blow to their ego. It’s definitely going to be a long day for them.

Adventure 4: Smiles and stares

“Hey wait!” MC whines. One disadvantage of becoming short is that her stride decreased accordingly, thus her struggles to keep up with her classmate’s pace.

“Just walk faster or we’ll be late for class!” Ace retorts, glancing up ahead to see how far away the next building is. 

“AHH!” Ace turns around to see MC a couple of meters behind him face-first in a patch of grass. 

“Uwah! Are you okay?” Grim asks while flying above the fallen girl. Ace groans at the predicament. Deuce ran ahead to warn the other teachers of MC’s unfortunate condition so the redhead was the only babysitter at the moment.

The situation only worsens when MC begins to sit up, knees scraped, eyes glistening with tears, brows furrowed, and lips pressed tightly together. Ace’s eyes widen at the sight.

“Please don’t cry,” he mutters under his breath before trying to think about how to soothe kids.

“Oh my, that was quite a fall. You’re okay now though, right?” Jade asks while extending a gloved hand. His face is calm, showing no signs of concerns or worry with only a placid smile to demonstrate any emotion. MC stares at his face, analyzing his expression for a few moments. After finding the answer to her unsaid question, she accepts his hand and quickly sniffles before nodding. 

Ace watches in amazement as all signs of pain and panic vanish from her expression. He decides not to question her mood change before ushering the prefect to their next class.

Adventure 5: What came first? The egg or the chicken?

“You have to!” Deuce insists.

“NO!” MC shouts back, sitting firmly on the ground. Deuce is startled by the force of her words but stands his ground.

“It’s for your own good! Kids need exercise!” Or at least that’s what Cater told him before going to light music club.

“You can’t move me an inch!” MC retorts.

“I’m older, you should respect your seniors,” Deuce adds, doing his best to retain some level of patience.

“At least I know where chickens come from!” she rebuttals and Deuce feels at a loss for words. It is certainly not honour student behaviour to yell at a young girl but the first year is at his limits. He came to NRC to learn about magic, not dealing with children!

“Let’s play tag,” Jack suggests. Being the only one with little siblings, he is quickly enlisted to help. While disappointed in Deuce and Ace’s carelessness, he didn’t want to risk MC’s safety by leaving her in their care. Thus making him a reluctant member of the babysitting team.

“Tag?” MC echoes before a bright smile forms on her face. “Can it be teams?”

“Sure,” Jack agrees nonchalantly. 

“Jack and I are on the same team! We get to chase Deuce and Ace!” she declares gleefully.

“Huh? I didn’t agree to this,” Ace interjects.

“We need even teams!” MC responds with puffed cheeks.

“Too bad, so sad!” Ace replies without remorse.

“This is our fault Ace. Plus we promised the headmaster to take care of her. As Heartslabyul students and men, we can’t go back on our words!” Deuce declares. Jack’s firm gaze and Deuce’s blazing spirit give little room for negotiation and Ace sighs in defeat. Ace really does hate alchemy class from the bottom of his heart.

Adventure 6: Idiots, all of them

MC closes her eyes and enjoys the breeze while resting. Deuce and Jack had gone to the cafeteria to get drinks for everyone after several rounds of tag while Ace lay on the ground to catch his breath. It was quite entertaining to see the fastest first years engage in a game of tag and even more fun to watch Ace try to avoid his inevitable fate. Agile as he was, Ace couldn’t run fast enough to outdo Jack with his insane stamina and speed. She giggles at the memory.

“Bonjour petite princesse!” Rook looks down at the little girl with a shining smile. Her eyes snap open and follow the source of the cheerful voice. 

“Isn’t it delightful to see a new side to your friends? Like escorting someone on their first dance, like watching a lazy lion transform into a beast for the sake of the hunt, like observing night flox bloom under a full moon!” Rook beams but MC merely shrugs in response.

“Yeah but I’ve also seen Ace fall off his broom, Deuce compliment plants, and Jack mistake onions for a chemical leak.” 

“Oh? Is it not like having several princes tend to you?” he inquires. 

She scrunches her nose in thought before replying, “If my prince got stuck in a tree and I had to go save him.”

“Dear me, and I thought you were une petite princesse mignonne [1]! Perhaps that was a misunderstanding,” Rook remarks though he doesn’t seem displeased with the discovery.

Adventure 7: Mandatory nap

“Let’s go to the infirmary,” Ace suggests, “MC needs a nap and it’s the closest building with beds.”

“I’m the one that needs a nap?” she asks while side-eyeing her tired friend.

“She hasn’t even run for 3 hours,” Jack comments.

“Kids need naps! Plus, who knows what the side-effects of the potion are?” Ace adds, “We shouldn’t take any chances with her health.”

“You do need proper sleep to grow strong!” Deuce concurs.

“Sure, sure,” she concedes. When they arrive at the infirmary, there is no staff in sight. Ace guides her to a bed with an expectant smile.

“Well, go to sleep now!” Ace announces.

“It doesn’t work like that. I’m not sleepy,” she responds.

“Just lie in bed and close your eyes!” Ace insists with a huff.

“Shut up. You’re so noisy,” a voice growls. Leona appears on the other side of a room divider. Jack lets out a sigh, disappointed but not surprised by his dorm leader.

“I was having such a nice nap and now I’m… hah?” His sentence trails off as he eyes the little girl before him.

“Well,” you launch into an explanation of what happened, Leona shooting a judgemental look towards Deuce and Ace midway, before concluding, “It should wear off by the end of the day.”

“Tch, what an annoyance. I’m going back to sleep, don’t be loud,” Leona warns before flopping back onto the bed.

“How do you fall asleep so fast?” MC inquires. Leona glares at her, lips pressed together to form a thin line, but he lets any threats die in his throat.

“It’s nap time. Count sheep like a good herbivore until you fall asleep,” he instructs before turning his back towards the group. More than she’d like to admit, her small body requires rest and what better excuse than this? Besides, it’s not like magical history homework was particularly appealing, so she plops onto the bed to rest.

“I’m exhausted. Taking care of kids is tiring,” Ace says before falling onto another bed.

“It’s been a long day. I’m glad MC is okay, though. Haaah…I’m sleepy,” Deuce murmurs before resting on a different bed. Jack doesn’t comment but quietly begins his homework while keeping watchful eye on the little girl, not that he’d admit it if asked.

Adventure 8: The End. For now, anyway

She stretches after waking up, pleased to find her body back to its normal size. Ace snores lightly, Deuce’s mouth is agape, and Leona is nowhere to be found.

“Are you feeling okay?” Jack asks.

“Yeah, I actually feel pretty good!” Their conversation awakens their friends.

“You’re finally back to normal! I’m relieved,” Deuce interjects.

“You’re a lot of work for a minion, ya know? You’re lucky I’m so great,” Grim comments.

“That was a pain! You owe me big time!” Ace adds. MC shakes her head and wonders if she has the greatest or most chaotic friends.

[1] une petite princesse mignonne = a cute little princess

[stellar-alley]

Everfalls

•Chapter 21•

This is based off of the artwork by oceanteeeth on Instagram!

<<Previous Chapter 

(Summary: The Finale.)

The Final Chapter

~

The sun rose on that Saturday morning to find two Ancestors that had shifted back to their human forms.

They ended the night with the Losers in the forest during an intense game of hide and seek. They woke up the next morning cuddled on the beach together. Eddie laid on Richie's chest, their legs tangled up. Both of their ears out. Eddie had his hand placed over Richie’s heart as he listened to it beat inside of his chest. He felt the calming sensation of his boyfriends chest rising and falling. Richie laid nude on the beach with his boyfriend cuddled up on top of him. His wolf tail was half buried in the sand. The dark sand felt cool and moist on his bare back. He had both of his arms wrapped around the fully clothed Ancestor on his chest. The smaller boy was warm, his body gave off enough heat for the both of them.

(Richie needed to undress for his transformation as his was messier. When Eddie’s is more magical. Which allowed him to keep his clothes)

“G’morning” Richie whispered in his deep morning voice when Eddie’s eyes fluttered open.

“Hey” Eddie’s face had been emotionless and peaceful while he slept, now it softened at the sight of his boyfriend. He smiled softly, “How are you feeling? Any aches?” His voice came out low, almost a whisper.

“No I-I’m actually okay… More than okay” Richie’s face broke out into a smile, leaning up, lightly kissing Eddie’s lips. One of his hands wandered up to play with Eddie’s messy hair.

“Good, that’s good. We should go back to the hotel before they realize we’re gone” Eddie hesitated before he rolled off of Richie. “Oh- shit you’re naked” Eddie groaned.

Richie snorted, “What it’s not anything you haven’t seen before” he chuckled.

Eddie’s brow creased, he began to take his sweater off, the pullover one he had brought on the trip since he knew that the temperature dropped the closer you were to big bodies of water. “Take this asshole” Eddie tossed the sweater at Richie who made over dramatic kissing sounds in return.

Nonetheless Richie accepted the sweater, grateful to not be 100% nude on the beach now. He sat up and pulled the sweater over his head. Eddie had a thing for larger sweaters which was fortunate because it fit Richie almost perfectly. He cuddled it closer for a moment, inhaling a scent he was all too familiar with. Rain, evergreen, lilacs, Eddie.

“Let’s get going. I wanna be the first one on that bus, and off this fucking island before they find that damn body-“ Eddie cut himself off, knowing that he’d work himself up if he were to continue.

Richie got to his feet, dusted the sand off of his ass and legs. “Which they won’t. That bitch is swimming with the fishes” Richie made a wave motion with his arm, pointed out towards the ocean.

“Whatever” Eddie shut his eyes and shook his head. His soft curls shook from side to side with him, his bunny ears bopping with the motion. The humidity in the air had made Eddie’s normally straight (ish) hair curl into soft little waves that made Richie’s heart skip a beat.

Richie stepped up towards Eddie and wrapped him in a warm hug. Eddie buried his head into Richie’s chest. The taller boy laid his check on top of the others head.

“Seriously though we should go back-“ Eddie said, mufflered by the sweater.

“Oh god!” Richie barked out a laugh, “You really know how to ruin a moment don’t you?” He smiled down at Eddie once they pulled apart.

Eddie rolled his eyes. He stood up on his tippy toes to kiss Richie’s lips before he intertwined their fingers. “Come on sour wolf!” Eddie called out as he began leading Richie back towards town.

~

They snuck Richie in through the back entrance and hid Richie in the bathroom since he was only wearing a hoodie and literally nothing else. So they had to shove his tail into the back of Eddie’s sweater and pull the hoodie on to hide his wolf ears. Which meant Eddie had to run up to their room without being seen by any of the adults and grab Richie’s clothes. But since Eddie gave RIchie his sweater, he had nothing to hide his bunny ears with, so he ended up sneaking around the hotel with his shirt pulled up over the back of his head like a nun.

After Eddie got Richie to dress down the night prior, he had left them in a neat pile in the grass, along with his hat and glasses and Stanley had taken them back to the room so they wouldn’t get lost.

After about the fifth knock he finally heard the distant sounds of footsteps approaching the door. The door creaked as it opened. Stanley only stuck his head out, which gave Eddie more than enough context on what he and Bill were up to previously. The messy hair, the raw lips, and that little dark patch on Stan’s neck that kinda looked like a hickey.

“Oh” Stanley said, shocked to see him. “Morning” He said, eyes wide.

“You guys having fun in there?” Eddie smirked with raised eyebrows.

Stan sighed and rolled his eyes, his head disappeared for a moment before he shoved the pile of clothes at Eddie. “Go” He growled light heartedly as he leaned out just enough to show some bare chest.

Eddie tried to lean in to see more, “Wait are you naked-“.

“Begone!” Stan declared before closing the door in Eddie’s face.

Eddie had to hold a hand over his mouth to refrain from laughing. He took a moment to collect himself before he went back down to that main bathroom in the lobby where he found Richie aimlessly playing with the agalets of his sweater.

“Here” Eddie tossed them at Richie whoo hastily caught most of it.

“Merci Monsieur” Richie said in his best (Worst) french accent. He closed the stall door and began getting dressed.

Eddie leaned his back up against the door and waited a beat before “Stan and Big Bill finally got together” Eddie giggled.

“Shut. Up. Really?” Richie suddenly opened the stall door, causing Eddie to stumble as that’s what he was leaning on. Richie still was not wearing anything aside from the sweater so Eddie’s eyes immediately shot up to meet his boyfriend’s which were wide and in shock.

“Yes really! Now put some pants on” Eddie laughed and pushed Richie back into the stall before he closed the door once again. He could hear Richie giggling from inside the stall. “Hurry up we need to make it so no one finds out we left” Eddie tried to keep a straight tone.

Richie finished changing and gave Eddie his sweater back so he could hide his own ears. He followed Eddie out of the bathroom and back to their room. But just as they rounded the corner in the main hallway leading to their room, they saw Mr Brock talking to Mrs Stuart in the dead center of the hallway.

“Shit!'' Eddie yelped. He quickly shut his mouth and yanked Richie back to the other side of the corner with him. “How the hell are we gonna get passed him?” He wondered.

“Uhh- Here let me try something…” Richie’s voice drifted off as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and started sending out a text.

“What are you-“

“Wait” Richie held up a hand as if to silence Eddie.

“-What?”

Richie raised his eyebrows but kept his eyes on his phone, “Keep waiting!”.

They both stopped at the sudden sound of a door creaking open. The boys peaked around the corner and witnessed Beverly Marsh come out of her room with a blanket around her waist. They used their other ears to tune in.

“-I don’t have any! And none of the other girls have any” Beverly complained.

“Are you sure you have uh- it?” Mr Brock asked, he uncomfortably shifted from one foot to another.

“Yes of course I’m fucking sure! Do you honestly think I wouldn’t know when I got my damn period” Bev gritted her teeth.

“Ms Marsh please keep your voice down” Mr Brock tried to smile but failed.

Beverly glanced over her shoulder and sent a glare towards the boys, telling them ‘go now’.

“Beverly I must have some on me” Mrs Stuart began rifling through her purse.

Richie took Eddie’s hand and slowly began creeping behind the teachers backs towards their room.

Beverly kept them distracted long enough until they made it to the door. Then just as they slid into their room, Beverly clutched her stomach and nodded to whatever they had been saying. Mrs Stuart got something out of her purse and discreetly handed it towards Beverly, she took it gratefully and shuffled back into her room.

the moment the door closed to the boys room, they were met with a burst of gasps. Richie and Eddie looked to see who was the source of said gasps and found Bill and Stan, making out on the bed, shirtless.

“OH DEAR GOD!” RIchie exclaimed. He fanned his face as if he were an old victorian woman.

“Get a room!” Eddie groaned.

Stanley rolled off of Bill, nearly falling off of the bed while doing so.

Bill cracked a grin, “We-well we did have one-“

“Yeah before you came!” Stan shot back from where he was on the edge of the bed, obviously a little pissed by the interruption.

Bill waved him off, “H-How was the fuh-fuh-full moon?” Bill asked curiously.

Eddie’s face went blank, as did his head.

Neither of them had time to respond because their door opened seconds after. “Hello- Oh! Good to see you boys are already ready! The tide rises in 20 so let’s get going” He motioned for them to get a move on.

Stanley and Bill quickly pulled their shirts on and packed the little things they had out. Since they only had their school supplies because they hadn't planned to stay the night. Everyone was ready and they left the room to meet up with the rest of the group down in the main lobby.

The rest of The Losers greeted them excitedly, happy to see they made it out in one piece. But no one directly asked about it, everyone complained about their shitty sleep and how excited they were to get off of this island. Eddie momentality zoned out and tuned into the conversation that the main bellhop was having with Janet the tour guide.

“Have you seen Elizah this morning?” He asked quietly, but nothing was ever quiet enough for Eddie to hear.

“No… Last night she left in a hurry, said she had some unfinished business to get to” Janet shrugged, not given any further information.

The hair on the back of Eddie’s neck stood tall as his body froze. Apparently Richie was listening too, he slung his arm around Eddie’s shoulders and pulled him a little closer. Just then the teachers began leading the group to the exit, towards the busses. “Let’s get on this bus and out of here” He whispered down to Eddie.

The bus ride home was quiet. The Losers talked about the first 20 minutes, but not about the full moon, they knew that this was certainly not the place to do it. Ben and Mike were the only ones who stayed awake out of the seven Losers. On the way back Beverly opted to sit alone because she and the girls in her room stayed up until 4 binging the newest season of Turtle Creek on TV. During that time Ben introduced Mike to The Jonas Brothers, he explained the enteried of their TV show, Jonas and the storyline to both Camp Rock movies. They also listened to some of their first albums with Ben’s dual headphone adapter. Mike was happily surprised at how much he enjoyed their music.

When they finally reached Derry High, it was noon. All of the students rushed off of the bus, nearly trampling over Mr Brock in the process.

Maggie and Wentworth Tozier had taken the day off work (as they usually do the day after the full moon) to go see their son. They had found a spot near the back of the parking lot and waited anxiously with the rest of the parents in the loading area. When the bus pulled up the two parents’ nerves only escalated the longer they watched students pile off of the bus and split up in little groups.

Finally, they saw the all too familiar sight of their lanky son in his oversized hat and baggy sweater.

“Richie!” Maggie nearly gasped as she pulled Went with her towards him.

Richie sped up once he saw his parents,“Hey” his voice wavered as he was slightly overwhelmed by his emotions. That was when he realized how exhausted he was. A full moon, little to no sleep, and an encounter with an evil witch? That can really drain someone.

Maggie ran to her son and pulled him into a tight hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay” She whispered, almost in tears.

Richie felt another pair of arms wrap around him, recognizing them almost immediately as his father’s long, strong arms.

Eddie had let Richie run ahead of him when he spotted his parents. He felt a feeling of longing wash over him when Richie pulled his arm away from him. He watched as Richie was enveloped in a massive hug by his two, loving, parents. His heart ached as he could almost see the love radiate off of their little group hug.

After a moment, Went loosened up, tilted his head upwards and glanced up at Eddie. “Come on in here, son” He requested as he opened an arm up, making room for Eddie.

He looked up at them, his heart swelling, “Oh No, I don’t mean to intrude” Eddie slowly shook his head.

Maggie turned her head and her gaze landed on Eddie, “Come here Eddie” She smiled warmly, something he never got from his mother. “You’re a part of the family now”.

And with that, Eddie couldn’t hold in the tears any longer. His eyesight blurred as the tears welled in his eyes. He didn’t respond, only nodded quickly and with a wobbly smile he rushed into their big hug. Family. Finally.

~

“... So I had to leave, unless I wanted to die. I came here, like my dad did. And I found Richie” He glanced down at their intertwined fingers. “And all you guys” Eddie looked around at all of The Losers who surrounded him, his real family.

It was now Sunday. The day after The Losers returned home from their very eventful field trip to the small island of Balmoral. As the group had lots to talk about, Eddie agreed that it was best that they all meet up at the entrance of the forest so he’d be able to show them the way to his house. Now they sat on the couch in the late Frank Kaspbrak’s house.

“But you guys can’t tell anyone. Seriously, we’d be in deep shit if anyone ever found out about this” Richie informed them, gesturing to his wolf tail that swayed freely behind him.

Bill nodded approvingly, “O-Of course! Right guys?” He looked at the others who all nodded with him.

“Yeah- oh my god, Eddie that’s terrible” Beverly’s eyes looked sad. She had been through her fair share of family troubles so she (almost) understood what Eddie was going through.

Ben nodded and gave her a solemn smile, carefully placing his hand on top of hers on the couch. He gave her hand a small squeeze that caused the corner of her lips to curl up a little. “Your secret is safe with us” He told them.

“Yeah of course! Losers stick together, right?” Mike’s tone changed a little. It was a little happier than the others which was a nice change.

“Right” Bill smiled.

“I’ve kept the secret this long, and I can’t really stop now” Stan stated as he sat up to put his elbows on his knees.

“Oh yeah- How did Stan find out before the rest of us?” Beverly piped up. Her hand turned over to lace her and Ben’s fingers together. The tips of Ben’s ears burned as he glanced down at them.

Richie had opened his mouth, ready to start talking but Stan spoke instead. “He lost his temper after I whooped his ass at checkers” Stan grinned proudly as he sat up tall. He got some good chuckels for that.

“Hey! You were so cheating” Richie protested as Eddie rolled his eyes from beside him.

“Whatever,” Stan waved his hand, “Your eyes still changed and your fangs came out” he reminded the wolf.

“Yeah we’re gonna have to practise that Chee” Eddie chimed in as he also recalled the various times Richie has wolfed out on him. Of course things would be easier now that Richie has now gone through his first full transformation but now he has to learn to control the shift. If not, that can lead to some very bad situations.

“Chee? Oh yeah forgot you guys are dating” Beverly smirked, “When did that start?” She wondered.

“It hasn't been that long” Richie blushed. He lovingly looked at his boyfriend and smiled.

A beat passed where the Losers just sat in comfortable silence. Bill was the first one to speak up and break the silence “Wuh-What about the Council?” He asked.

Eddie almost froze. After everything, he’s getting better at discussing the council, also seeing Elizah Brightmoon fall off a fucking cliff helped calm his nerves. “We took out Elizah… So I think we should be okay” He shrugged.

“But what about the rest of the council? They wouldn’t be called a council if it was just one person” Stanley pointed out.

“No, there are others. But what was she saying about a force to keep everyone in? And all that stuff about your dad” Richie didn’t dig too deep on the subject of Frank Kaspbrak as he knew it was still a sensitive topic for Eddie.

Eddie glanced away as he recalled an old memory, “The Council always wanted to keep The Ancestors safe. And once they had this crazy plan to make a forcefield so strong and powerful that it would basically forever separate the two worlds” He shivered at the thought. “My dad though… He fought it. It was a weak idea to begin with, they didn’t have the means to make something so powerful so it was an easy idea to dismantle. But what she said about my dad- I knew he had power, but a high priest? That’s a totally different level of power. And to think that I might be able to obtain some of that…” Eddie let his voice drift off as he looked down at his hands. Hoping that maybe they had the answers written there the whole time.

“What if they cuh-cuh-come after us?” Bill’s stutter intensified at the thought.

Richie shook his head, “They have no way of tying us to her death. Even if they do find that body it’ll be all raw and mangled” He smirked at the thought.

Eddie straightened up and looked around at his boyfriend and his closest friends, “But if they do- We’re The Losers, we’ll figure it out… We always do.”

The End

Word Count: 3266

Total word Count: 62623

Holly.Shit. Wow, I really can’t believe Everfalls is done, it’s over… This story was my first big fan fic for the IT fandom, and the funny thing is, this started off as a one shot. Literally! I found Shark Teeth on instagram and said I’d write a one shot about their art (with their permission ofc) and I got 44 pages in when my buddie, Reagan, pointed out that one shots are almost never that long. So I made it into a fan fic. And that fan fic was a truly amazing adventure and I’m oh so very happy with the final product and how everything turned out. I planned each chapter so carefully and made sure everyone was in character so I hope you guys liked it!

Thank you to my two amazing betas, Rose and Richie! You guys gave me feedback and your true opinions on each chapter and I truly appreciate both of you!

At the end of the day, I think it’s pretty fitting that I wrote this final chapter on the night of a full moon, it really added to the atmosphere.

Let me know if you’d like a sequel! I’ve got some ideas in mind but I’ve gotta make sure people want it before I start anything. So comment! IF over 15 people want more, then more they shall receive!

As this is the final chapter I’ve gotta remind you guys to go check out my other social medias, Instagram (Stellar.Cosplays), Tumblr, (stellar-cosplays), even my youtube (Alley’s World). Also don’t forget to check out my other fan fictions! Here’s my master list, or go check out my account and you’ll find them all there.

THis story means so much to me and I’m so happy I got to share it with you guys. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Once again, thank you all so much for everything.

For the final time, that’s all from me, catch you on the flip side.

So Long and Goodnight.

~

[Taglist]

@richietoaster @s-onora @that-weird-girl-blog @beproudtozier @ghostnebula @bellarosewrites @s-s-georgie @lermanslogan @iamcupcakefrosting @madidraw @gazebobullshit @thoughtfullyyoungduck @aangzukos @ambitiousskychild @reddieonwheels @breadheadscorpius

Let me know if you wanna be added to the tag list!

[aithrauniverse]

Chapter 17-Laila

And while the other two are having the time of their life inside of the hallucination, I’m here, watching random things float around me. I crossed my arms as another dinosaur toy bounced across my field of vision.

“Astra, you’d ace every exam and make your parents proud— you don’t want to suffer from not living up to your family’s name anymore, do you? Aithne, you would have friends! How wonderful! Everyone accepts you! Laila could have all the fur and fluff— that’s what you want, isn’t it! Isn’t this the future you all would want?”

“Yes…” Aithne and Astra replied monotonously, as if being possessed. I shivered, then replied,

“Where in the world did you get information that I liked plush stuff? I haven’t held a single soft toy since I was five!”

The spirit concealed its surprise. “My powers never go wrong. You’re just lying,” then she continued, “Aithne, Astra, I will give you this future. But it seems that your third friend doesn’t like it. I can only do so if everyone agrees… so, what would you do? Your friend here is hard to convince. How about… some action?”

Oh no. What kind of hot soup am I in? Maybe tomato… wait, this isn’t the time to think about tomato soup.

“Kill her,” the spirit ordered.

I figured that I’d deal with possessed Aithne and possessed Astra first, then the spirit. I used Astra’s and Aithne’s powers against each other— I enraged Aithne and hid behind Astra’s shield, and Astra’s shield broke (a possessed Astra’s shield probably had way less strength than a normal Astra’s shield) when she tried to throw her fireball at me. I lured Aithne into Astra’s new shield and made them fight one another till they were knocked out. Then I pulled them under a large tree. Guilt clouded my mind, but I told myself it was for the better.

I turned around, dashed towards the spirit and punched its face. The spirit lost its balance, and so did I. Natural human instincts were what led me to stay alive. This time round, I’ll be more careful of the spirit. I quickly created an illusionary environment, which quickly gave me an advantage in the fight. While most of the thousands of toys remained on the ground, a few started floating upwards, defying the laws of physics.

I leaped onto the very dinosaur plush that annoyed me so much earlier. The spirit was following me closely, aiming a punch whenever she neared me. It’s like we were playing a game of chase.

“Stop refusing my offer! I’ve been very kind to make a whole pool of plush toys for you!”

“No! I don’t want those plush toys!”

“It’s free!”

“I’m not taking anything home!”

“You don’t have to!”

“I’m rejecting your offer!”

“I reject your rejection!”              

Not long after, I reached the final toy within my sight; a big bunny plush toy.

“I reject your rejection of my rejection of your— woah!” I nearly stepped off the toy. The spirit was coming, catching up fast.

With one arm reached out for me, the spirit leaped onto the same plush toy as me. I jumped off and spread my wings, saving me from falling straight to the ground. But within this environment, it was hard to stay in one spot. On the other hand, the spirit fell straight for the ground.

I conjured up a low-level explosive, flung it towards her, and quickly landed on the ground. I was not going to risk falling on my own while flying.

“BOOM.”

I could hear the spirit shout in the smoke. So now I’ve accidentally enraged her and she’s going to want revenge. It rushed up to me and started kicking and punching me. I moved to the right, and then the left. I could feel my energy draining, so I flew upwards… only to be thrown down by some force.

“Agh!” I gritted my teeth, landing on my left shoulder and rolling away a little. I saw the spirit charging towards me.

Gathering energy in my arms, I grabbed its right foot, causing it to fall on her back. I giggled, pushing my hands off my knees, standing upright.

Suddenly, while I was still getting up, the spirit did a small leg sweep at my feet. “Ouch!” I exclaimed, falling backwards. I can bet on the lives of those unicorn plush toys that she got me back for laughing when she hit the ground.

Quickly, the spirit pinned me down on the ground. She was gathering some sort of magic in her other hand, with her other hand to my left. The situation was similar to at my first fight. Luckily, she wasn’t trapping my fingers in her hands, so I snapped my fingers to warp away.

The spirit chased after me quickly, so I continued warping. I had a crazy theory—If I can teleport myself, would I be able to do that to the objects around me?

I tested it on the dinosaur plush toy; I opened up a little portal just above its head and moved it down.

It worked! It disappeared! Though I didn’t really know where it landed.

The spirit aimed its fist at me, but I was all too quick at evading.

I tried it again on the unicorn toy, and just like I expected, it teleported to somewhere near the lollipop toy, though the position was still not exact—about one meter off from where it should have landed.

But that worked— a meter wasn’t going to be that much of a distance, not in this endless field of nothing.

Suddenly, the spirit pushed me to the ground again.

I opened a portal and warped somewhere meters away from the spirit, my face facing away from it. I could hear the spirit getting up and running to me, getting ready to pounce.

I was going to end this fight. My arms shivered a little from fatigue.

Three…

I opened my clenched fist.

Two…

Light began concentrating into a ball just above my hand.

One…

I turned around, hand stretched out, and released the energy I had been accumulating, blasting a huge beam of light straight through the spirit’s chest. In that one final attack, the spirit completely broke into pieces.

Nothing of it had remained. The plush toys disappeared one by one, leaving some very stamped-on patches of grass.

Well, that was one energy-drainer. If only I were a guardian angel! It wouldn’t have costed me so much to form the ball of pure light energy. And it would probably be much bigger and stronger. I collapsed to the ground, my legs weak and hands barely managing to keep the rest of my body sitting upright.

But for now, all three of us needed the rest.

I whirled my fingers around, and we appeared, one by one, in a lush green forest, on a piece of dry ground.

Thank god that nightmare was over. I closed my eyes, and fell asleep.

[seraph-novak]

Not sure if you take asks for one-shots but what about the GHC + TJ, Jonah and Marty (or less) taking a trip to a haunted hotel/mansion and Tyrus being equally oblivious, clingy and scared to death. You're a talented writer and I adore your tyrus fluffs

I’m sorry this is so late! Now that school is finished for the summer, I can finally get back to writing… This fic ran away from me a bit, but I hope you like it!

As always, likes/comments/reblogs are very much appreciated! Thanks for reading ♥

~~~~~

There was something undeniably creepy about the house behind the woods. It was old, for a start. And empty. Cyrus could feel it as they approached the treeline: an eerie stillness surrounding the building. It oozed from the rotting bricks and threw a strange aura into the air, discolouring the sky that hung above it. The others could feel it too, if the sudden hush that had fallen over the group was anything to go by.

“Remind me why we’re doing this again?” Andi asked. She was leaning against Amber’s arm with a tight, panicked expression as she stared up at the house.

At the front of the group, Buffy turned around with a slightly manic grin. “Because it’s fun!”

Cyrus frowned, genuinely perplexed by that. “I think we have very different definitions of the word ‘fun’.”

“Look.” Buffy dumped her rucksack on the ground, a cloud of dust rising like fog around her feet, and approached the group. She was in coach-mode right now, hyping up her team before a big game. “The rules are simple, okay? The couple who lasts the longest without chickening out wins.” She considered the small sea of frightened faces staring back at her and smirked. “And judging by the fear in all of your eyes, we probably won’t last more than a couple hours. So don’t worry.”

Amber scoffed. “Is that trash talk, Driscoll?”

“Maybe.”

“Well, I wouldn’t get too cocky.” Amber slung an arm around Andi’s shoulders and smiled, arching a perfectly shaped eyebrow as she looked Buffy up and down. “This idea might be dumb as hell, but that doesn’t mean we’re not gonna try.”

Buffy folded her arms and snorted. “You honestly think you have a chance against me and Marty?”

“Oh, I think we have more than a chance.”

“Okay. Sure.” Buffy barked a laugh. “Good luck with that, Kippen.”

Cyrus glanced at TJ. “Well, this is gonna be a fun night.”

“Yeah.” TJ tore his eyes away from the house and swallowed thickly, giving Cyrus’ hand a brief squeeze. There was a thin sheen of sweat glittering across his forehead, probably from the hike. “This place is kinda creepy, right?”

“I was actually talking about Buffy and Amber bickering, but yeah. Creepy’s one word for it.”

TJ huffed a laugh. “Oh. Right.”

“You okay?”

“Hm? Oh, I’m fine.”

Cyrus touched his boyfriend’s arm, frowning at the shudder that trembled beneath his fingertips. TJ had gone back to staring at the house, and his eyes were wide and watery. But Cyrus didn’t question it. After two years of dating, he could read TJ like an open book, and now was not the time to push him.

“What about me?” Jonah asked from the back of the group, completely dwarfed by the large rucksack mounted on his back. “I’m the only single one here.”

Andi grabbed his arm and yanked him towards her and Amber. “You can go with us!”

“Is that allowed?”

“I don’t care,” Buffy said with a shrug. “It only makes your odds of losing higher.”

Amber patted Jonah fondly on the cheek. “Jonah’s not gonna bail on us. If he can survive teaming up with two of his exes, he can handle a haunted house.”

“Wait,” Cyrus squeaked. “Both of us have to stay to win?”

Buffy rolled her eyes. “Well, duh.”

“Oh, no…”

“Don’t worry about it, Underdog,” TJ murmured softly. He lifted their joined hands to his lips and kissed the knobbly bumps of Cyrus’ knuckles. “I’ll protect you.”

“Sure,” Amber coughed into her fist, feigning a cheery smile of innocence in response to TJ’s cautionary glare.

“TJ’s right,” Buffy said, fixing Cyrus with a mocking smile as she wrapped an arm around Marty’s waist. “There’s no point in worrying about it, because none of you have a chance at winning. You might as well accept defeat and go home now. Right, babe?”

Marty lifted his fist, and Buffy bumped it with a wicked grin. “We’re gonna own these suckers.” 

After a few more rounds of repartee, they gathered their things and broke through the trees, the house standing tall and proud without the veil of leaves cloaking its presence from the outside world. The stone steps leading up to the porch were caked in cobwebs, and there was a single band of sun-faded police tape stretched across the front door. Probably to keep out trespassers.  

“Well,” Cyrus said, his stomach twisting unpleasantly, “isn’t that inviting.”

Buffy flapped a dismissive hand in the air. “It’ll be fine.”

“People come here all the time,” Marty concurred.

“But, the police –”

“Are you forfeiting already?”

“Um…”

Andi placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and smiled. “It’s okay if you don’t wanna do this, Cy. No one’s forcing you to.”

All it took was one glance at Amber and Buffy’s smug faces for him to make up his mind. If he backed out now, he’d never hear the end of it, and he was determined to prove them wrong. Plus, he couldn’t stand the thought of letting TJ down like that, even though he was fairly certain his boyfriend wouldn’t hold it against him.

“Okay,” he said, sucking in a deep breath. “I’m in.”

The door fell open with the slightest touch of Buffy’s hand. Inside the decaying hallway, shadows shrank away from the sunlight as it spilled inside, splashing the walls and lapping into the dank and distant corners. Specks of dust floated like stars in a beam of light that gushed from a hole in the roof, reaching through the cracks in the floors and scorching the crumbling planks of wood beneath their feet. At the end of the hallway, a regal flight of stairs ascended into the shadows, disappearing behind a wall of curling, floral paper muddied with patches of damp. There was a strange, sorrowful scent hanging in the air. Muted, but definitely noticeable. It gave Cyrus the creeps.

“Wow,” Buffy breathed, dropping her rucksack to the floor. With a stunned smile, she reached out her arms and tilted her face towards the exposed sunlight dripping from the ceiling. “Isn’t this place amazing?”

TJ scratched the back of his neck. “Do you want my honest opinion, or…?”

“There’s no internet,” Amber pointed out with a grimace as she tapped impatiently at her phone. 

“It’s very big,” Andi acknowledged.

“Yeah,” Cyrus agreed, gulping as he glanced around. There were only two rooms on the ground floor, one on either side of the staircase, and the hole in the ceiling appeared to journey through half a dozen floors before reaching the sky.

Buffy shrugged. “The more room the better, right?”

“I guess.”

They spread out their things in the room to the right, next to an ancient fireplace stuffed with hunks of festering wood and stone-grey ashes. It was already growing dark outside, the dust-speckled sunlight dwindling as the murky shadows of dusk pressed against the windows. With nothing else to do, they crawled into their sleeping bags and turned on their torches, casting stark shadows across their trembling faces.

“What do we do now?” Jonah asked, his teeth chattering at the sudden drop in temperature.

Buffy leaned back on her elbows and smirked. “Now we wait for the haunting to start.”

~~~~~

For the next hour or so, they entertained themselves with cheesy ghost stories and plenty of snacks, and Cyrus was surprised to find himself having fun. While Marty tried to scare the group with his laughable Freddy Krueger impression, Cyrus snuggled against TJ’s shoulder with a contented sigh. He could feel his eyes drifting closed when he suddenly realised how tense his boyfriend felt beneath his cheek.

“TJ?” he asked, keeping his voice as soft as possible. “Are you okay?”

TJ nodded. “I’m fine, sweetheart.”

Cyrus blinked at the unexpected pet name. When TJ was being affectionate, he always called him Underdog. That was their thing. He only ever used words like ‘babe’ or ‘hon’ or ‘sweetheart’ when he felt guilty. Usually when he was hiding something from him.

“Talk to me, Teej.” He threaded their fingers together and held TJ’s clammy hand against his chest. “What’s wrong?”  

“He’s probably thinking about the Hanging Lady,” Amber said, a devious smile twisting her lips.

Cyrus frowned. “Who?”

“It’s nothing,” TJ said through gritted teeth. “Just a stupid story from when we were kids.”

Buffy clapped her hands together. “Ooh, tell us the story!”

“No way –”

“You really wanna hear it?” Amber asked, deliberately ignoring her brother. Her eyes were shining as she stood up and moved to the centre of the group, grinning like a fame-hungry actress bowing in front of a crowd. “Okay, fine.”

TJ groaned.

“In our old house, before we moved to Shadyside, there was a hot water tank in the loft that made this horrible creaking sound at 3:15 every night. TJ was, like, five at the time, so he still peed the bed –”

“Not true!”

“– and I was seven, so I loved to mess around with him. The tank was right above his bedroom, so you could hear it the loudest in there, and it really freaked him out.”

Buffy sneered. “Why?”

“Well,” Amber continued, her lips twitching with a smirk, “I told him an old lady had hung herself in the loft years ago, at exactly 3:15, and you could still hear the creaking of the rope swinging back and forth in the middle of the night.”

“You were seven when you made that up?” Buffy asked, sounding impressed. “Not bad, Kippen.”

“I know.”

“That’s sick,” Jonah said, but Cyrus could see him fighting back a smile. “I bet that really scared him, huh?”

Amber laughed. “Oh, yeah. He used to cry himself to sleep. It was hilarious.”

Cyrus wrinkled his nose. “That doesn’t sound hilarious.”

“Calm down.” Buffy rolled her eyes. “You’re just sticking up for your boyfriend.”

“Well, yeah.”

“It’s okay,” TJ told him, a shamed blush creeping up his neck. “Don’t give them the satisfaction.”

“But –”

“Are you still scared of the Hanging Lady?” Amber asked as she crept across the room, a creaking noise rising from the back of her throat as she crouched in front of her brother. “Can you hear that? She’s coming for you, TJ. The Hanging Lady knows you’re here.”

TJ pressed his lips into a thin line. “I haven’t been scared of that story since we moved house.”

“It doesn’t matter where you go,” Amber continued. There was a cruel gleam in her eyes now, reminiscent of the old, spiteful version of the girl Amber had worked so hard to shed over the years. It was unnerving. “Ghosts latch onto people, you know? They follow you through your life, watching you grow old, waiting for the perfect moment to strike…”

As if on cue, a sudden gust of wind knocked against the house, rattling the old wood of the front door with a sickening creak. TJ yelped, and Cyrus felt the solid warmth of his hand jerk out of his grip, slicing an arc through the air as he tumbled backwards and slammed his head against the floor.

“TJ!”

“I’m okay,” his boyfriend groaned in response, blindly reaching for Cyrus’ proffered hand as the rest of the group burst into fits of uncontrollable giggles.

With his arm looped protectively around TJ’s waist, Cyrus shot the rest of the group a venomous glare. “What is wrong with you?”

“C’mon, Cy!” Buffy wheezed, her cheeks glistening with tears of laughter. “You have to admit, that was pretty funny.”

“It really wasn’t.”

“We’re just tryna have some fun,” Amber insisted, her tone surprisingly gentle. She was smiling just as widely as the rest of them, but her eyes had stopped glimmering, and Cyrus could swear he saw a flicker of guilt cross her face as she glanced over at her brother. “It was just a joke, TJ.”  

Cyrus scoffed. “He could’ve really hurt himself.”

“How was I supposed to know he was gonna flip out like that?”

“You shouldn’t be ganging up on him in the first place!”

“Well, he shouldn’t make it so easy then.”

“Screw you,” TJ spat at his sister, the hardness in his voice crushing the final titters from the group into silence. There was an angry blush creeping up his neck, and the muscles in his jaw were twitching in time with his rapidly blinking eyes. Cyrus felt him trembling in his arms as he struggled to his feet, sweeping a fierce gaze across his so-called friends before shrugging out of Cyrus’ grip and storming into the next room.     

Cyrus watched him leave, then sighed. “Well done, guys. I hope you’re pleased with yourselves.”

“It’s just a game, Cy –”

“A game that’s turning you all into a bunch of jerks,” he interjected, his cheeks flaming with heat as the unfamiliar insult fizzled on his tongue, tasting like one of those sour sweets you can’t bear to swallow too quickly. He hated conflict, especially when it involved the people he cared about, but some things couldn’t go unsaid. “You knew he was getting upset, and you kept pushing him. That doesn’t sound like a game to me.”

Amber lowered her head, a curtain of blonde waves falling across her face. When she looked up again, her fair skin was glowing faintly in the shaft of white light protruding from the torch in her trembling hands. “I didn’t mean to hurt him,” she said, quiet and earnest. “Can you tell him I’m sorry?”

“Do it yourself.”

And with that, he got to his feet and walked away, following his boyfriend into the other doorless room painted an ugly, yellowing white. TJ was standing at the very back of the room, his forehead pressed against the chipped wood of an old dumbwaiter. He was shaking all over, and Cyrus’ heart pinched at the sight. All he wanted to do was rush across the room and throw his arms around him, but he knew it was best to take things slow. TJ was like a wild animal when he was hurt and embarrassed, easy to startle and quick to run away. So instead, he approached him calmly, letting TJ know he was there before putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey,” he said softly.

TJ turned away. “I’m sorry, Cyrus.”

“What are you sorry for? You didn’t do anything wrong!”

“I overreacted.”

“You were scared.”

“I know.” TJ rubbed his face against his shoulder, drying his eyes as discreetly as possible. “I’m such a coward… I mean, what kind of seventeen-year-old is still scared of stupid ghost stories?”

Cyrus chuckled. “Um. Me?”

“But I’m supposed to be the brave one!”

“You’re not supposed to be anything other than who you are.”

TJ glanced up at him, his eyes underlined by dark lines. He looked exhausted. “I told you I’d protect you.”

“You still can.”

“You really believe that now?”

“I believe one thing,” he said, gently cupping TJ’s chin and tilting his face towards him. As soon as he had his boyfriend’s full attention, he kissed him sweetly on the lips and took him by the hands. His palms were slightly greasy from the thick layer of grime clinging to the wooden lip of the dumbwaiter, but Cyrus didn’t care. “You love me, right?”

TJ nodded, wide-eyed. “More than anything.”

“Good.” Cyrus smiled. He didn’t think he’d ever get tired of the matter-of-fact way TJ told him he loved him, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “And I love you. That much we know for certain, okay?”

“Yeah,” TJ concurred, his tears thankfully starting to cease.  

“So, if a ghost suddenly flew through this wall and tried to hurt me…”

“I’d kill it with my bare hands.”

Cyrus grinned. “Exactly.”

A tentative smile appeared on TJ’s face, instantly outshining the sticky sheen of tears drying dully beneath his eyes. “Are you saying my love for you is more powerful than an actual spirit, Underdog?”

“I’m saying there’s no one else I feel safer with than you.” As if to emphasise his point, he drew TJ closer, the toes of their shoes kissing shyly in the murky shadows swimming around their feet. It wasn’t exactly the most romantic setting, but that didn’t stop his heart from stuttering as he stared into TJ’s eyes, impossibly green and desperately tender as always.

“You really mean that?” TJ asked.

Cyrus bumped their shoulders together, a teasing smile dancing on his lips. “There aren’t many guys who would kill a ghost with their bare hands for me, are there?”

“I think you’d be surprised… I’m sure there’d be people lining up to protect you.”

“Yeah, well.” Cyrus shrugged, gave TJ’s hand a slow, meaningful squeeze. “There’s only one person I want in my corner, and he’s standing right in front of me.”

“Really?”

“Yep.”

When TJ ducked his head, Cyrus could see the beginnings of a blush creeping up the back of his neck. He watched fondly as his boyfriend directed a bashful smile at the carpet of dust beneath his feet, then glanced back up at him with a dazzling grin that sucked the air out of his lungs, leaving him breathless and dizzy for a moment.

“You don’t mind having a wuss for a boyfriend?”

Cyrus pretended to consider the question, then smiled, leaning forward to press a featherlight kiss to TJ’s muck-smeared forehead. He plucked a sprinkling of rust from his dirty blond waves and gave his ruddy cheeks a playful pinch. “Only if you don’t.”

“I guess we’re okay then.”

“Yeah,” Cyrus said, his smile turning even fonder. “We’re okay.”

A few minutes of comfortable silence passed between them, the damp odours and slithering shadows of the old house fading away as they held each other close. Cyrus dried TJ’s eyes with the sleeve of his jacket while TJ wiped his grimy hands on the backs of his jeans, grimacing at the dirt still crusted beneath his fingernails. Once he was relatively muck- and tear-free, TJ’s eyes followed the muffled sound of laughter in the next room, his throat bobbing nervously. Cyrus guided his attention back to his face with a gentle smile.

“We don’t have to stay,” he told him. “If you’re not having fun, we can leave right now.”

TJ shook his head. “Nah. I’m good, I just… They’re all gonna look at me funny.”

“No, they won’t.”

“I made a scene, Cyrus. I gave them exactly what they wanted.”

“Well, if it’s any consolation, Amber looked kinda guilty after you left. She asked me to tell you she’s sorry.”

“Right.” TJ rolled his eyes. He was anxiously rolling his left thumb and forefinger together, his other hand holding onto Cyrus for dear life. “I know it’s in her nature to show off. Buffy’s too. But still… I wish we could even the score, you know? Give them a taste of their own medicine.”

Cyrus paused, his thumb freezing mid-sweep across TJ’s knuckles. The outlines of a plan were taking shape in his mind, an impish smile slowly spreading across his face. He patted his back pocket, making sure his phone was still there, then turned to the dumbwaiter buried in the wall to his right. Its sliding door was nibbled with mould and crawling with dirt, but it seemed sturdy enough. And when Cyrus lifted it up (his fingers twisted in his sleeve to keep them from touching the slimy surface of the embedded handle), it easily clicked into place, revealing a gaping mouth stacked with three wooden shelves, and a fraying rope threaded through the middle.  

“Don’t worry,” he said, turning to TJ with a mischievous grin. “I have an idea.”

~~~~~

When they finally returned to the group, they were met with awkward smiles and mumbled apologies, but nothing considerable enough to put a stop to their plan. Even if they’d all fallen to their knees and begged for TJ’s forgiveness, Cyrus probably would’ve stuck to it anyway. He was tired of TJ walking on eggshells around his friends, and he was tired of constantly playing the meek and submissive role in the group. If Buffy and Amber wanted to have some real fun, then that’s exactly what they were going to get.

“Have you calmed down now?” Buffy asked TJ, the mocking lilt of her voice adding more fuel to the fire burning inside Cyrus’ gut.

TJ flashed her a fake smile. “Yeah. Thanks for asking.”

“Maybe you should worry about your own boyfriend,” Cyrus said, nodding at Marty. “He’s looking a little peaky.”

Marty sat up straighter and forced his drooping eyelids open. “Huh? Oh, no… I’m just a little tired. And cold. And, um… Hungry?”

“Suck it up!” Buffy cried, giving her boyfriend’s shoulder a firm shake.

As Buffy and Marty exploded into a bickering match, TJ turned his body towards Cyrus, effectively cutting them both off from the rest of the group, and rested his forehead on Cyrus’ shoulder. His voice was hushed when he spoke, too soft for anyone else to hear above the shrill sound of Buffy throwing insults at her boyfriend; if it weren’t for the adoring smile on Marty’s face, Cyrus would probably feel sorry for the guy.

“You don’t have to stick up for me, you know,” TJ said, affectionately rubbing his nose against the base of Cyrus’ throat. “I mean, it’s adorable, but… You don’t need to do that.”

Cyrus gave his ear a gentle flick. “Stop it, Teej. You know I’m never gonna stop sticking up for you.”

TJ responded with a kiss, his palm grazing the back of Cyrus’ neck and his thumb stroking the jut of his jawbone. When they pulled away, there was a familiar, dreamy expression lidding TJ’s eyes and softly dimpling his cheeks, and Cyrus could feel the popping of fireworks deep inside his chest, showering his heart with bursts of colour that made the dark and dusty room seem a little bit brighter, if only for a few seconds.  

“I love you,” TJ murmured.

A golden peony erupted in the sky. “I love you, too.”

“Hey, love-birds,” Buffy called over to them, leaning forward to pat the empty space they’d left in the circle. “Care to join us?”

“Sure.”

Before Cyrus could shuffle back towards the group, TJ took him gently by the arm and lowered his voice to a barely audible whisper. “So, when are we gonna do this thing?”

“Buffy told us to wait for the haunting to start,” he said simply, lifting his shoulders in a noncommittal shrug that completely contradicted the devious twinkle in his eyes. “So, that’s what we’re gonna do. We’ll wait until their defences are down, and then we’ll give them the scare they’ve been waiting for.”

TJ blinked at him in surprise. “Who are you and what have you done with my sweet and innocent boyfriend?”

“I think you secretly like it.”

“Well, you could literally spit in my face, and I’d still find you adorable, so…”

Cyrus scrunched up his nose and laughed. ”You’re disgusting.”

“I guess you don’t wanna share a sleeping bag with me then?”

“I never –”

“Hey, it’s okay! I guess I’ll just have to cuddle by myself.”

“That’s not even possible, Teej.”

“I’ll figure it out.”

“Just shut up and get in the sleeping bag,” Cyrus said, giving his boyfriend a gentle shove as he squeezed in beside him, a pleasant shiver rolling down his spine as the warmth of TJ’s body thawed the chill in his bones. And as the rest of the group slowly but surely fell asleep, Cyrus closed his eyes and pretended to snore, quietly waiting for the perfect time to exact their revenge…

~~~~~

It was the whispers that woke them up. One by one, they rubbed their eyes and lifted their heads, still groggy with sleep, and glanced at the same spot on the ceiling, where the noise seemed to be slipping through a spider-shaped crack in the crumbling plaster.

“What is that?” Buffy asked, sounding more annoyed than frightened.

Jonah swallowed thickly. “It… I-It sounds like a voice.”

“Huh?”

“A voice,” Andi agreed, her eyes fixed on the ceiling as she jerked her head up and down. She was clinging onto Amber’s arm so tightly that Cyrus could see the white bands of her fingers glowing against Amber’s skin. “Do you think somebody’s here?”

“No,” Amber said, wrapping a protective arm around her girlfriend all the same. “We would’ve heard them before. Right, guys?”

They all mumbled in agreement, but it did nothing to quell the whispers. In fact, they seemed to be getting louder, more pronounced, as if someone was trying to tell them something…

“Oh my god,” TJ breathed. He was staring at his phone, and looking convincingly terrified, which made Cyrus feel weirdly proud. He even felt a pinch of fear when TJ raised his head and sucked in a shuddering breath. “It’s 3:15.”

“What?” Amber squeaked.

All at once, the rest of the group started checking their phones, the blood draining from each of their faces as they saw the same time staring back at them.

“The Hanging Lady,” Jonah muttered, voicing what they’d likely all been thinking.

Marty snorted a weak laugh. “No, that’s… That’s just a stupid story. Amber told us she made it up.”

“Exactly,” Buffy said. Now that she was fully awake, her annoyance had shifted into wariness, but not absolute fear. Cyrus had predicted she’d need a little extra push.

As if on cue, the indecipherable whispers took the form of real, solid words – names, to be exact. They were distant and muffled, but definitely there, and Cyrus could see the exact moment on Jonah’s face when he decided that enough was enough.

“Nope!” Jonah sprung to his feet and raced for the door. “Sorry, guys, but I’m out.”

Andi was close behind him, followed by a slightly disgruntled- (but mainly petrified-) looking Amber clutching tightly onto Andi’s hand, the pair of them flicking panicked glances around the room as they hurried to join Jonah outside. From the doorless gap in the wall, Cyrus could see them shivering on the stone steps. They were staring up at the twisting staircase at the end of the hallway, where the whispers could be heard even more clearly, and holding onto each other with shared expressions of pure terror.  

“What’s going on?” Andi moaned.

Buffy poked her head into the hallway, clearly masking her own fear with a boastful smirk. “You’ve lost, that’s what’s going on.”

“Hey, babe?” Marty placed a hand on Buffy’s shoulder as he followed Andi’s wide-eyed gaze up the stairs. He tilted his head to the side, his ears perked up, and listened closely as the whispered words rolled steadily down the stairs, like ghostly footsteps. “I think maybe we should leave…”

For a split second, there was a crack in Buffy’s stubbornly brave façade, as if Marty’s fear had suddenly made the whole thing seem more real to her, but she quickly patched it up with a scoff. “Are you insane? You wanna forfeit the game? No way!”

“Buffy –”

“It’s probably just the wind!” she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. “Old buildings always make weird noises.”

“Do they talk, too?”

“No one is talking, Marty! You’re hearing things. We’re all hearing things.” Buffy breathed deeply through her nose, as if trying to calm herself down, then sauntered into the hallway, shrugging off Marty’s desperate grip on her shoulder. With her back to the staircase, she placed her hands on her hips and waited. “See? There’s nothing –”

“Buffy!”

The whispers were verging on screams now. Raspy, ghoulish-sounding screams that kept calling Buffy’s name over and over again, their pleas turning sharp with impatience as Buffy stood at the bottom of the staircase, frozen still with shock.

“Marty,” she said, squeezing her eyes shut as more whispers pierced the shadowed hallway. “Please tell me this is some kind of joke.”

Before Marty could answer, another scream tumbled down the stairs and knocked Buffy forward, effectively shattering her hard exterior into a million, irreparable pieces.

“Buffy! Buffy! Buffy! Buffy –”

“Let’s get out of here!” Buffy cried, grabbing Marty by the arm and dragging him towards the exit.

Cyrus and TJ watched gleefully as they made a break for the front door, almost knocking Jonah down the stone steps in their haste to get out of the house. The moment they were outside, clutching their knees and gasping for breath, TJ fished his phone out of his pocket and silenced the voices with the press of a button.

“That turned out better than I expected,” Cyrus grinned, giving TJ a triumphant high-five as the rest of the group gawped at them from the doorway, their mouths hanging open.

Buffy frowned. “What –”

“What’s going on?” TJ completed her question with the quirk of an eyebrow. “We just won the game, that’s what’s going on.”

“But… But…”

“You messed with my boyfriend,” Cyrus explained, his eyes lingering on Amber and Buffy as he said this, “so I decided to mess with you.”

Jonah took a hesitant step towards the house. “You mean, this was all you?”

“Yep.”

“Oh.” He blinked a few times in obvious confusion, then graced them with a smile of relief as he stepped back inside the hallway. “That was pretty cool, dude.”

Andi laughed nervously. “But, how?”

“We found an old dumbwaiter in the next room,” Cyrus told them, oddly enjoying the rare attention the entire group were giving him right now. “We recorded the voices on my phone and set it as my ringtone, then put my phone in the dumbwaiter and sent it up a couple floors.” He flicked a knowing smirk at TJ. “Then TJ rang my phone when you were all asleep.”

“At 3:15?” Amber asked, sounding unimpressed.

TJ shrugged. “It was just a lucky coincidence.”

“Sure.”

“How did we not hear you recording the voices?” Buffy interjected. She was a little pink in the cheeks, either from her sprint across the hallway, or the humiliation of defeat slowly sinking in.

Cyrus mirrored TJ’s shrug, feigning innocence as he looked Buffy straight in the eye and said, “Maybe you couldn’t hear us over the sounds of you laughing at TJ’s expense?”

For a brief moment, Buffy’s cheeks flared even brighter, her eyes softening slightly as she glanced over at TJ. “Oh. Right.”

“I’m sorry for laughing,” Jonah was the first to say. He walked across the hallway and offered his hand to TJ, giving it a firm, brotherly shake. “That trick was awesome, guys. How the hell did you pull it off?”

TJ tapped his temple with his forefinger and winked. “It’s not about being brave, it’s about being smart.”

“Well, you were definitely smart,” Andi said, still looking a little bit shaken up, despite her tentative smile. She gave Cyrus a quick, one-armed hug, then shook her head at TJ. “You almost gave me a heart attack, you know?”

“Sorry,” Cyrus chuckled.

Amber heaved a heavy sigh as she joined Andi in the hallway. “I’ve gotta admit, that was pretty good… Even though you stole my bit,” she added, punching TJ in the arm.

“That’s what you get for sharing the story with all our friends.”

“Touché.”

On the opposite end of the hallway, still standing in the doorway with an expression almost as cold and grey as the stone steps she was standing on, Buffy folded her arms and lifted her eyebrows as high as her hairline. “You know that’s cheating, right?”

Marty touched her arm. “Babe –”

“I never said you were allowed to use your phones like that.”

Cyrus considered this, then shrugged once again. “Well, you never said we couldn’t either, so…”

For a quiet and seemingly endless moment, Buffy simply glared at him from across the hallway, her face twisted with a scowl as she drummed her fingers against her arm, silently judging him from afar. But then, after a beat of pregnant silence, her lips twitched with an uncontrollable smile, and Cyrus knew she’d already forgiven them.

“Okay,” she sighed, dropping her arms to her sides in surrender as she strolled across the hallway. “You got me.”

TJ grinned. “Are you admitting you lost, Driscoll?”

“Don’t push it.”

“We’re gracious losers,” Marty said, now standing behind Buffy with his arm draped around her shoulders. “Right, babe?”

Buffy plastered on a smile. “Absolutely.”

“She’s dying inside,” Amber said with a snort.

“Definitely,” Andi giggled.

Before another argument could break out, Jonah stepped between them, hands raised in a placating manner, and gave them all a soothing (if not slightly desperate) smile. “Okay, okay… Now that Cyrus and TJ have won, can we please get out of here?”

Amber nodded in eager agreement. “Yes! That sounds like a good idea.”

“You’re just having Instapic withdrawals,” Andi said fondly.

“So what if I am?”

Andi appeased her girlfriend with a kiss on the cheek, then turned to the rest of the group. “Who’s up for leaving?”

Everyone’s hands shot into the air.

“Oh, thank god.”

As he watched his friends collecting their things from the other room, each of them smiling and laughing in ways that made his heart soar with a dizzying sense of contentment, Cyrus found TJ’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Even with the shadows creeping across the splintered floorboards, and the dim wash of moonlight casting an eerie glow across their faces, Cyrus didn’t feel an ounce of fear as he stood there in that rickety old house, holding onto his boyfriend’s hand with an easy, gratified smile.

“Would you come with me to get my phone?” he asked.

TJ pulled him closer, already dialling Cyrus’ number to help lead the way. “Still scared?”

“No, I just… I think I’d like the company.”

And with that, they made their way up the creaking staircase, hand in hand, and followed the sounds of the whispers.

[urdbell18]

Madamspellman Teacher AU: Chapter one: The One Where They Meet

So I got a lot of positive response for this fic that I’m gonna start poasting it. I did get it reviewed by Mostlygayfluff, thank you for indulging me, but if anyone does have any suggestions because we’re only human, then let me know. I’m posting my story without a real title so if you guys think of one let me know! Thanks and enjoy!

Zelda Spellman made a lot of choices in her life. Some of them she made based on necessity, others based on nothing but her own selfish needs. There were the ones that she would stand behind until her death. There were ones that she regretted the moment she made them, the weight of her actions stabbing her deep in her gut. This was not one of them.

With a file box under her arm Zelda entered her new place of employment, Baxter High. After Labor day Zelda would be the schools new language teacher. The superintendent and the principle both drooled when they read over her certification that deemed her fluid in not one language like French or Spanish (which she was), but several including Russian and Chinese. It meant that they only needed to hire her, one woman that can do it all, instead of two or three, to simplify the budget to benefit the whole school. Zelda didn’t believe them for one second, and she felt bad for maybe half a second on behalf of the teachers who might of lost their jobs because of her. Zelda has never denied that she is a selfish woman, and she needed the job.

Zelda’s heels clicked against the linoleum floor, she was supposed to pick up her keys and badge from the school secretary, a sharp angle mousy blonde by the name of Mrs. Meeks. Mrs. Meeks gave her another box, much to her dismay, that had her name along with the number for her classroom, office number, and class schedule taped to the lid. Now with two boxes of considerable weight she turned to leave the office. That’s when she heard Mr. Hawthorne, principal and her new boss, call her name.

“Mrs. Spellman.” Mr. Hawthorne came up to her, a half a step too close for her liking. Zelda just gritted her teeth and held her tongue. “How are you settling in? Do you need help with those?” Before she could protest Mr. Hawthorne had already taken the boxes from her and started walking down the hallway. He talked all the while expecting Zelda to be following and listening to him. Yes, she did follow him, because he took her belongings. However, that didn’t mean she listened to a word he said. She focused more on where she was going, not listening to a life story she never wanted to hear. When they reached her classroom, Mr. Hawthorne opened the door with a smile that made her skin crawl. Zelda entered the space, silently observing the surrounding, her desk, students desk, chalkboards. “I believe I rambled on long enough.” Zelda just hummed and hoped with everything she had that Mr. Hawthorne would take his leave. “What about you Mrs. Spellman?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I’m a very hands on principal, as you will come to learn now that you have joined our little family here at Baxter High.” He smiled at her again and Zelda fought the mental image of his wormy head popping open like a zit. It wouldn’t be pretty, and she sighed to rid herself of the thought. “And I’m always interested in how one of our members has come to join us.” Zelda froze where she was taking out her things from her first file box and, not for the first time, thanked whomever that he could not see her face as her heart stopped cold. Mr. Hawthorne’s words sounded no different than ones that she’s heard before back when…

“Mr. Hawthorne.” The sudden crashing of the present startled Zelda and she dropped her binder containing her lessons for French 1. Mr. Hawthorne, for the first time, ignored her as he turned his attention to the other woman. “Ms. Glover is looking for you.”

“Ah, thank you Ms. Wardwell.” Without even a word or a single glance at her Mr. Hawthorne left, brushing pass Ms. Wardwell. To her credit, Ms. Wardwell did not move from where she blocked half of the doorway, nor did she shrink away when Mr. Hawthorne had to flatten himself to get by her. When he left Ms. Wardwell rolled her eyes but didn’t take her leave, she ventured further into the room, her gaze never leaving Zelda. Before Zelda could yell at this woman to demand why she was entitled to enter her space Ms. Wardwell bent down elegantly at the knee to retrieve the binder that was still on the floor. She was careful of the binders rings falling open, and set it gently down on the empty desk.

“I don’t think there’s anything about Hawthorne I need to tell you that you haven’t already figured out yourself.” Ms. Wardwell’s eyes were a crystal clear blue, her finely shaped eyebrows arched elegantly. A half smirk formed on her lips, which were painted a red color that Zelda found sinful, as well as classic. “You seem like an intelligent woman Ms…”

“Spellman. Zelda Spellman.” Ms. Wardwell held out her hand, her nails were neat and painted a shiny red color similar to her lipstick. Her fingers were warm when Zelda offered her hand to shake, the action was firm and strong, it told Zelda all she needed to know about Ms. Wardwell.

“Mary Wardwell. Spellman, I have a student by that same name. Sabrina Spellman.”

“My niece.”

“Well then, now I know you’re an intelligent woman, Zelda Spellman.” Ms. Wardwell smiled at her in a way that Zelda could just make out a smirk. She turned to leave, her soft brown hair bounced on her shoulder like it was cotton. There was a trail of perfume that was sweet yet sharp, just like Ms. Wardwell. “See you around Ms. Spellman.” And just like that Ms. Wardwell was gone, the door closing behind her softly. Three whole minutes ticked by, before Zelda’s mind snapped out of it. She wasn’t even sure what had happened, and returned her focus to why she was here in the first place.

Zelda left Baxter High around four o’clock. With summer still clinging to life, the sun sat high and round in the sky. As luck would have it, no one else disturbed her and she was able to put the finishing touches on her classroom and office. On her way to the car she called her sister at her bookstore job to see if Hilda needed a ride home. Her sister was working late and the owner offered to take her home later. Zelda wasn’t a fan of Dr. Cerberus, but she bit her tongue for Hilda’s sake. So, she went home where the remainder of her family was. There was something calming about driving through the woods, it didn’t matter the time or the season. Zelda would always roll down the window, and no matter what happened that day it flew away with the wind. She parked her car on a patch of grass and walked up the porch steps, they creaked with her weight but it was comforting, it was home, just like her keys jingling in the lock.

“Mommy!” A little girl no more than four with blazing red hair that fell off her shoulders in neat ringlets sat and waited on the entry steps. Her little body rocked with excitement as she anticipated her sign that Zelda was ready to take her into her arms. Had the car ride not been sufficient in placing her in a better mood, her daughter surely would. She looked at her like she was everything, and it always made her smile. Zelda did not hesitate, she scooped her daughter from the steps, the little girls laugh rang in her ear and her skin felt soft when she pressed a kiss to the child’s tiny cheek.

“My darling, how I missed you. Did you behave for Sabrina? What did you do?” Vida lifted her head from her mother’s shoulder and launched into her childlike details on how she watched a few cartoons. Zelda didn’t approve of much TV and Vida didn’t care much for it. How she did the tree on the puzzle she and Hilda had on the table in the parlor. It was never a rule that no one could work on the Spellman sisters’ puzzle but Vida was the only one that was ever interested. She also proudly described how she finished a page of the workbook Zelda made for her to improve her language skill.

“Hello Auntie Zee.” Sabrina was in the kitchen, reading a book, she looked up when Zelda entered Vida perched on her hip. Zelda placed a kiss on top of the teen’s head as she placed her daughter in an unoccupied chair. “How’d it go?”

“Uneventful.” With Hilda working late it was up to her to prepare dinner. It wasn’t that she minded, it was just that Hilda was better at things like cooking and baking . There was chicken thawed in the fridge, she could work with that. “I did however, meet Ms. Wardwell. Is Ambrose here?”

“Really?” Sabrina perked up, her hands stopping mid motion where she was playing some clapping game with her cousin. “Didn’t I tell you she’s great! She-”

“Sabrina, Ambrose, is he here?” Zelda knew all about Ms. Wardwell, Sabrina hasn’t stopped talking about the teacher since last year. While she was grateful to place the name with a face, plus the help with Hawthorne, she didn’t need to hear more about Ms. Wardwell.

“Oh? No. He left a while ago to do… something. I thought best not to ask.” Smart girl, Zelda learned that it was best not to know where her nephew spent most of his time. “Ah! Before I forget, Aunt Zelda, Roz called and asked if I can go see a movie with her and Susie.” And Harvey, Sabrina didn’t need to say that part, Harvey was rarely not around when she went out with her friends. Zelda was not the most comfortable with her niece dating.

“What time will you be back?”

“Eleven?”

“Ten.”

“Ten-thirty, sharp.”

“Acceptable.” Sabrina squealed and hugged Zelda from behind, she left in a swirl of teenage whim. A sort of melecolly feeling over took Zelda as Sabrina buzzed around the house She understood that her niece was growing up, no longer content with staying home with her aunts, but Zelda still missed her, missed her family being here. She had Vida who, when Zelda turned back around to place the extra chicken back in the fridge, was smiling at her from the back of the chair.

“Am I writing Aunt Hilda’s post-it?” Her intuitive little girl, Zelda nodded and while the chicken was cooking in the pan she washed her hands and gave her daughter the pad of paper from the fridge. Whenever Hilda couldn’t join them, Zelda got things ready for when she got home. It often included a portion of the nights meal in the fridge with a note written by Vida (sometimes with touches from Ambrose or Sabrina), tea leafs in her cup covered with a saucer, and kettle on the burner ready to go. Zelda would admit that she hadn’t been the best, most supportive sister, but Vida, who loved so deeply and knew how to care for others, helped. Along with the chicken, Zelda fixed some rice and broccoli. Vida was like any typical child and didn’t want to eat vegetables, but Hilda was always baking something. This time it was blondies that she spent all last Sunday afternoon making, and they made for excellent bribes. Vida was rarely disappointing, and she was munching on a small square of blondie as Zelda finished.

After dinner and dishes, Vida would read from her book with help from Zelda. Very early on she supplied her daughter with books in several languages, mainly English and French. Vida enjoyed this part of the day, being curled up in her mother’s lap, that strong steady heartbeat and soft breathing that soothed her since before she was born. When she started to show the first signs of sleepiness, which was usually around 8:30, Zelda would take her daughter upstairs to ready her for bed; bath with bubblegum bubble bath and strawberry scented shampoo that added even more sweetness to the air, fresh PJ’s, teeth brushed, and then cocooned in her blankets with her favorite always in reach, Hilda knitted it for her from soft thick blue yarn when Zelda told her that she was pregnant. Last was Oso, her favorite stuffed black bear that was missing one eye, tucked under her arm. Zelda stayed until the small girl’s breathing become deep and slow, leaving one last small kiss on the girl’s temple. Zelda then got ready for bed herself, but didn’t go to sleep till much later. Sometimes she’d go back downstairs and wait for Hilda to return. Other times she would turn on the small lamp so she could read without disturbing her daughter who was in the same room. Before Vida was born, she used to share the room with her sister but Hilda has since moved down the hall.

Tonight, she stayed up reading but not really absorbing what was on the page. Instead she listened, the front door slamming softly shut and the whistle of the kettle at twenty to ten which meant that Hilda was home. Then there was the creaking of the floorboards at eleven o’five when Sabrina tried to sneak back into the house at lights out, thirty five minutes past her curfew. Zelda finally settled down, hanging her robe on her bed post and switching off the light. The room plunged into total darkness, minus the soft pulse of her daughters elephant night light. The night was peaceful and warm, the air was filled with the soft sounds of crickets, Zelda had no problem falling asleep.

Her life might not be perfect, nor one she expected to have, but regret? She had none. 

[legendofzeldaalinktothepast]

Opalescent Tides - Chapter 5

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter 

Waves crashed against the shore, and rain pattered against the ground, forming little brown puddles in the crevices of the sandy beach. Amidst the rainstorm, a large, muscular mermaid heaved herself up onto a plateau of rocks. Jasper coughed as she adjusted to the atmosphere, and then lifted her head upright, sea water dripping from her mass of thick, platinum blonde hair. 

She took in the scent of her surroundings. Humans had walked across this beach very recently. Amber eyes gazed past the trees and spotted smoke rising in the distance.

Before Jasper could observe any longer, she heard the rustling of trees. She didn't want to linger around to find out if it was a human or some other land creature, so she turned and leapt back into the water with a splash.

'I'll come earlier tomorrow.' she thought to herself, clutching a glass vial in her left hand. 'Better to wait another day than get caught...'

* 

The weekend had finally come; as Rose and Greg set out coolers and filled them with juice boxes and ice pops, Steven covered himself head-to-toe with sunscreen. "Amethyst!" he called towards the house, grabbing his frog-shaped pool floaty and slipping it around his torso. "You wanna come put on some sunscreen?"

Amethyst slid the glass door open and stepped out onto the patio, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "What now?"

"Whoa, you look so pretty!" Steven gasped and cupped his cheeks, admiring the beautiful grey and white polka dot dress she was wearing. "Oh, and it's just sunscreen. It'll keep your skin from getting sunburned." Steven said. "Here, lemme spray you!"

"Oh, totally!" she said. Just remembering the horrible sunburns she'd gotten when she'd woken up on the beach made her shudder... "And thanks, kiddo. I mean, it's your mom's dress, not mine, but still.”

"Yeah, and she looks pretty when she wears it too!" Steven sprayed the strong, yet pleasant smelling sunscreen on Amethyst's arms and neck. "There we go!"

They heard the sound of a car door, and Steven's eyes lit right up. "Someone's here! Oooh, I wonder who -- " He peered into the driveway, then immediately bolted over to the car. "Connie!!"

"Hi, Steven!" Connie responded, hugging Steven once they met. She was a couple inches shorter than him, and her dark hair was pulled back into a neat french braid; she wore a pink and white striped tank top, a pair of black shorts, and some brown sandals.

As Steven chatted with his newest guest, Amethyst made her way back into the yard, approaching Rose and Greg. "Uh, you guys need any help? I just woke up, so sorry for not asking sooner..."

"Don't worry about it. It took me a long time to adjust to the human circadian rhythm." Rose said with a wink. "But if you don't mind, could you get us some more ice from the kitchen? It should be at the very front of the freezer."

"No problem." Amethyst gave her a thumbs up, turning and heading back towards the house.

As she pulled the bag of ice from the freezer, she spotted Lion sitting by his water bowl, purring loudly. "Aw, you want some?" Amethyst plucked a few ice cubes out of the bag and plopped them into his water bowl. "There ya go." she cooed, scritching his ears before heading back out.

As Amethyst stepped back outside, she saw that Steven, Connie, and a newer guest -- was Peedee his name? -- had already begun swimming in the pool, while Doug and Priyanka chatted with Rose and Greg on the patio. Amethyst opened the cooler and emptied the bag of ice, and from the corner of her eye, she saw Garnet and Pearl coming in through the gate.

"Hey!" Rose called, waving a hand at them,

"Hey there." Garnet greeted softly, adjusting her heart-shaped sunglasses. Pearl smiled as she greeted Rose, but her expression fell ever so slightly the moment she laid eyes on Amethyst. The latter burned with a mixture of shame and irritation -- Pearl really knew how to hold a grudge. She shyly acknowledged Garnet with a wave before ducking her head and heading towards the pool. She'd rather bathe in that chemical-filled water than deal with Pearl staring at her all night.

"Hey, kiddos." she said, slipping out of her dress and smoothing out the black two-piece swimsuit underneath.

"Hey, Amethyst!" Steven grinned. "Did you wanna play volleyball with us?"

"You bet I do!" Amethyst said, sitting down on the edge of the pool and sliding into the water with a splash. She shuddered at how cold it was, and silently asked herself why regular salt water wasn't good enough for humans, but managed to adjust to the temperature and chemical smell after a few moments.

"You wanna be on Connie's team?" Steven asked. "I'm with Peedee."

"Sounds good." Amethyst said, swimming over to Connie's side of the pool. Then, she leaned into her ear and whispered, "How do you play? I'm out of the loop."

"Oh, it's pretty simple! You just bump the ball back and forth. Like this!" Connie popped the ball up into the air with the palm of her hand. Peedee dove for it and knocked it back in their direction. Amethyst, still processing Connie's demonstration, flinched as the ball bounced back off of her head.

Steven burst into laughter. "It was your turn to hit it, silly!"

"Hey, cut me some slack, I'm new to this." she snickered, grabbing the volleyball and whacking it with full force -- straight into Steven's face.

She cupped her hands over her mouth. "Oh shit! I'm so sorry, I -- "

But before she could apologize any further, Steven had burst into a fit of laughter. "It's volleyball, not dodgeball, silly!"

Amethyst let out a sigh of relief. "Geez, I really thought I hurt you. Now I don't feel so bad."

"Pfft, I'm made of steel. This little volleyball won't even phase me!" Steven whacked the ball back in Amethyst's direction, but she narrowly dodged it. She grabbed the ball from the surface of the water and knocked it in Steven's direction again, hitting him in the face yet again and cackling.

As the two of them went back and forth, whacking each other with the volleyball and laughing themselves to tears, Connie and Peedee exchanged confused glances.

"Try not to knock each other’s brains out, you two!" Rose called from the picnic table, giggling.

"Pfft, like that could happen!" Steven giggled, tossing the ball at the side of Amethyst's head.

"Augh!!" she exclaimed, dramatically clasping a hand over her ear. "My brain is falling out! Nooo!" She fell over into the water, causing Steven to only laugh even harder.

Once Steven and Amethyst had finally settled down, the four of them prepared, once again, for a real volleyball match. Pearl watched from her seat at the table, fidgeting with her juice stained popsicle stick and tearing it to shreds. Garnet rose to her feet and glanced in Pearl's direction. "I think I'm going to join them. Maybe I'll be able to keep it peaceful this time." she said with a chuckle. "Do you want to come along, Pearl?"

"Perhaps a bit later. Still feeling... You know." she said.

"I understand." Garnet smiled, patting her on the shoulder before heading over to the pool.

With Garnet gone, Pearl was feeling even more anxious. Everyone else at the table was chatting and laughing together, but Pearl struggled to chime in, so she simply zoned out, watching the volleyball game in the pool. Her gaze fell on Amethyst more often than she’d like to admit… But when Amethyst caught her glancing in her direction, she immediately averted her gaze... Guilt and anger tangled in her chest. 'Heaven's sake... What is wrong with me today?' she thought with a sigh, taking a sip from her bottle of water.

* 

Later on, a couple more teenagers had shown up -- some of Steven's friends, Pearl presumed, though they looked a fair bit older than him -- and Greg had started setting up the bonfire. For most of the night, Pearl had attempted to enjoy herself; she'd even taken a quick dip in the pool, but ended up getting somewhat overwhelmed by how noisy the kids (and... Amethyst) were being. But when she re-joined the adults chatting on the patio, she felt just as uncomfortable. It seemed no matter where she put herself, she found herself feeling isolated and overwhelmed.

"Excuse me for a moment." Pearl said, half expecting nobody to even notice -- but Rose gave her an understanding smile, which made Pearl's heart pound even faster than it already was, and she hurried into the house before it could burst out of her ribcage.

As soon as she shut the glass door, instant relief washed over her. It wasn't quite as cool as she'd hoped -- with everyone outside, the air conditioning and fans had been turned off -- but it was quiet, and she was alone, and that was all she needed.

With a heavy sigh, she leaned against the wall in the hallway and slid down to the floor. Silence. Then, the soft pitter-pattering of paws on the carpet; Pearl glanced up and smiled at the approaching cat -- Lion, was that his name? -- and stroked his back. "Hey there, little kitty..." she whispered, allowing him to crawl onto her lap. The soft feeling of his fur on her fingertips soothed her, bringing her anxiety and sensory overload closer and closer to an acceptable level...

Then, she heard the glass door slide open. She tensed as Lion leapt from her lap, clearly wanting to greet whoever had just come in the house. She heard two familiar voices in the kitchen; one was Steven, and the other Amethyst.

"I'll get the stuff for s'mores! Do you wanna get the mosquito repellent?"

"Yep! It's in the bathroom, right?"

As Pearl heard footsteps approaching, she immediately rose back to her feet, banging her head against a picture frame she'd completely forgotten was there.

"Shit -- " she hissed as she rubbed the bump on her scalp. When she opened her eyes, she was staring straight at Amethyst.

"Hey, uh, you okay?" Amethyst asked. "Didn't mean to startle ya, heh."

"Yes. I'll be fine." she responded through gritted teeth. As she pulled her hand away from her head, she noticed a faint patch of blood on the pads of her fingers. "Goodness..."

"Man, your timing couldn't be worse. We used up all the ice in the cooler." Amethyst said, continuing into the bathroom. "Want me to get you a cold washcloth?" she added.

She truly didn't, and in all honesty, she just wanted Amethyst to get what she needed and leave, but... She also didn't want to be rude, and if they had no ice, there wasn't really any other option... "Ah, that might help. Thank you." she said, following Amethyst into the bathroom.

Amethyst grabbed a washcloth from the cabinet and drenched it in cold water, handing it over to Pearl after wringing it out. "Here ya go!"

"Thank you." Pearl smiled softly, pressing the cool cloth against the sore spot on her head.

"No problemo." Amethyst said. "Now, for that mosquito stuff... Ah, shit. I shoulda asked Steven what it looked like. Do you know mosquito re... repel... The stuff that keeps mosquitos off, you know what I'm talking about? What's that look like?" Amethyst asked, rummaging through the cabinet.

Pearl crouched down beside Amethyst, still holding the cloth up to her head with one hand, and reached for the mosquito spray in the very front.

"Oh, thanks!" Amethyst smiled sheepishly, a bit embarrassed that she hadn't noticed it right under her nose. "Welp, I'm heading back out. You gonna be okay?"

"I've banged my head before. I think I'll survive." she said, rolling her eyes.

Amethyst rolled her eyes in return. 'That's what I get for being nice, I guess.' "Alright. Later." And with that, she began to make her way out the door, but Pearl lifted her head up and called out, "Wait!"

Amethyst glanced back. "...What?"

"I... Forgive me for being rude, I'm just -- I'm not having a very good night. Or week." Pearl sighed.

"I can tell." Amethyst said. "I probably haven't helped, with breaking shit in your store and calling you a horse and all that." Amethyst shrugged. "I really am sorry about that, by the way. I was kind of a dick."

"Oh, it's not even that... But I appreciate the apology." Pearl began, taking the cloth from the back of her head and setting it down on the sink. "There's... I just feel like something isn't right." she continued, her eyes still not meeting Amethyst's. "Either with my head, or... With you. Because ever since you showed up..." She bit her lip. "Never mind. I need to keep some thoughts to myself. I'll come and join you guys by the bonfire in a few minutes."

Amethyst opened her mouth to respond, but heard Steven call from down the hallway. "Amethyst, did you find that mosquito stuff?"

"Yeah, just a sec!" Amethyst called back. She turned back towards Pearl, but she'd already turned her gaze towards the window, making it clear she didn't want to continue the conversation any longer.

"Alrighty..." Amethyst said. "See ya outside, then." She turned and made her way out, hesitating for a moment in case Pearl responded (she didn't) and then continued on her way down the hallway.

* 

For the rest of the night, Amethyst tried to enjoy herself. Some of her irritation towards Pearl, admittedly, hung around -- yet at the same time, she felt a hint of pity towards her. If she had been in her situation, she'd probably be irritable, too. ’I should cut her some slack…’

"Hey, uh, Amethyst?" Steven tapped Amethyst on the shoulder, snapping her back to reality. "I know they're best when they're crispy, but your marshmallow is gonna be a lump of coal if you don't take it out soon."

"Oh, right." Amethyst pulled her stick out from the fire and blew the flames out from her marshmallow. She smeared it across a graham cracker and placed some chocolate on top, smushing it all together with a second graham cracker.

As the night went on, some of the guests began to file out; Connie, Priyanka, and Doug were the first to leave, insisting that Connie needed to be in bed by ten. Peedee went home shortly after -- his curfew was the same as Connie’s. Now, it was just the Universe family, Pearl, Garnet, Lars, Sadie, and Amethyst.

"Can we tell some scary ghost stories?" Steven suggested.

"If we do that, you'll be up all night." Rose chuckled. "And wipe your face, you have marshmallow all over."

"Aww, I promise I won't..." Steven whined, wiping his face with his arm.

"Sorry, kiddo." Greg ruffled Steven's hair. "Last time you got really scared, and we don’t want that. But I know another way we can have fun! What if we do campfire songs instead?" Greg suggested. "I can bring out my guitar!"

"Laaame." Lars mumbled through a mouthful of s'mores, and Sadie elbowed him in the ribs.

"Ooh, that'd be just as fun! Maybe even funner!" Steven perked right up. "I know someone who's a good singer." He grinned at Sadie.

"Hm? Oh, I don't know about that..." she blushed, nibbling on a plain graham cracker. “M-maybe another time.”

After Greg went inside to retrieve his guitar, Amethyst spotted a cluster of familiar glowing bugs off in the distance. "Whoa..." her eyes widened. "Hey, Rose." she began, glancing towards the woman in the lawn chair beside her. "What are those glowy things called?"

"Hm?" she glanced over in the direction Amethyst was staring. "Oh, those are called fireflies! Or lightning bugs, depending on where you come from."

"They're so cool… I saw them the other night and thought I was dreaming, heh." she remarked. She spotted a fleck of green light just above her head, eagerly reaching out and cupping it in her hands. "Gotcha!"

"Ooh, lemme see!" Steven leaned against Amethyst's shoulder. When she opened her hands, the bug immediately fluttered out, its body glowing bright green. It flew all the way to the other side of the bonfire and landed on Pearl's shoulder, causing her to flinch in surprise.

"Oh, hello there!" she giggled, relaxing once she realized it wasn't a mosquito. She allowed the bug to crawl onto her finger, watching as it glowed and lit up her fingernail. She turned her gaze up towards Amethyst, and for the first time since they’d met, gave her a genuine little smile. But it only lasted a mere second before the firefly took off into the night, and Pearl watched it go.

"Alright, got my guitar!" Greg said, strumming it once he sat back down in his seat. "Anyone got any song requests?"

Silence. Then, Steven decided to speak up. "Oh, I know! You should sing that one song that goes like, um..." Steven tapped his head as he tried to remember it. "The one goes like, 'what are you doing here', you know?"

"I'm still working on that one, though..." Greg scratched the back of his head. "Besides, I'm sure everyone else probably wants to hear a song they already know..."

"Aww, but it's so good! Pretty please?" Steven begged, giving Greg the biggest puppy eyes he could manage -- and with his cat-like pupils, he had an advantage.

"I'd like to hear it, Mr. Universe!" Sadie said.

"Me too." Garnet chimed in.

"Aww... Alright. Guess I can't say no, now." Greg chuckled. He cleared up his throat and strummed his guitar, adjusting the knobs on the side to make sure it was perfectly tuned before he began.

"Do you believe in destiny? Close your eyes and leave the rest to me..."

As she listened to the song, Amethyst reached for the bag of marshmallows and pierced one with her stick. She held it out to the crackling fire, and caught a quick glimpse of Pearl from the other side, who was preparing herself another marshmallow as well. They made a quick moment of eye contact before Pearl quickly glanced away.

"...Do you believe in fantasy? I have to when it's right in front of me, oh...'"

The light from the fire illuminated every little detail of Pearl’s face; if she was aware of it, Amethyst had a feeling she'd probably be self-conscious. Human women were like that... Compared to Rose, she barely wore any makeup, and had some sleep-deprived bags beneath her eyes... Yet it was almost charming. 'Oh, get a grip.' she thought, shaking her head. 'Don't go drooling over her now. She already thinks you’re a freak...'

"What are you doing here, in the real world? What are you doing here, so close I could touch you?'"

As Pearl pulled her marshmallow out from the fire, and smushed it between a few squares of chocolate and two graham crackers, she rest her arm on top of Garnet's -- she'd mostly calmed down from her fit of anxiety earlier, but still clung to Garnet as a way of making sure she stayed that way. Social gatherings, no matter how calm, always had the potential to overstimulate, and physical affection (when Pearl herself initiated it) was one thing that always kept her grounded.

She glanced across the bonfire at Amethyst once more, allowing another soft smile to spread across her face. But she couldn’t help noticing… something about Amethyst's eyes looked so unnatural. The pupils were narrow slits… They almost reminded her of a cat’s. ’What if…’ Her body tensed up once again and she gripped Garnet's arm, her warm smile fading.

Amethyst's heart sank.

"What are you doing here, and what are you doing to me?"

[teddyryker-blog]

cash me ousside howbow dah || a self para

Setting: post-Ravens game but pre-drunken mess (this will make sense later).

trigger warnings: abuse, murder (fairly graphic description).

Teddy could’ve been completely thrown off by the sight of his father, he could’ve completely flunked the game and walked back into the locker room more ashamed than he was already. He thought he and the team had done their best but it wasn’t enough and the loss was already sitting coldly in his stomach — pure disappointment. After a normal game loss, Teddy could’ve just gone back to his room and slept off the discouragement, waking up the next day with in a better state of mind and ready to get back to work. This wasn’t one of those games.

If he could’ve, Teddy would’ve pretended he hadn’t seen his dad at all and just followed the rest of the Foxes back into the locker room but even when he wasn’t looking at his dad, he could feel his eyes on him. Whatever his reasoning was for being here it definitely wasn’t good, Teddy’s dad was not the kind of man that travelled across the country to watch his son play Exy unless it was to ruin it for him. Now that the game was over and he couldn’t be distracted by strategy and technique anymore, Teddy’s mind was racing with possible reasons for his father’s sudden appearance. He thought about the short phone call he’d made to his sister after their last game and that he should’ve just fucking listened and not even bothered. He was ready to accept the more-than-likely fact that he was about to get pulled out of college, no more Exy and no more championships. Teddy felt sick at the thought.

He caught his dad’s eye as they started filing off the court and he jerked his chin up at Teddy, a silent way of saying get your ass over here. Swallowing hard, anxious enough that his hands were trembling, Teddy veered off from the rest of the team and spared them a quick (possibly last) glance over his shoulder as he forced himself off in his father’s direction. They met halfway, Teddy waited at the end of the row where his dad was sat until he made it over and snatched Teddy up by the front of his jersey, dragging him away so aggressively that Teddy nearly tripped over himself. He couldn’t breathe, his heart was hammering so hard in his chest he could hear the blood pulsing in his ears.

Neither of them said anything until they stopped in an alcove just past where the locker room was, far away from the crowd and the team. Teddy was shoved into a wall and he stayed with his back pressed up against it, wishing he could just disappear into it. He was braced for a punch, a kick, a slap, anything, but it didn’t come. Teddy’s dad walked straight up into his face, he was a good 9 inches taller than Teddy, his expression was stone and his eyes were steel. Nobody scared Teddy more than his dad, especially considering everything that had happened the last time they’d seen each other.

“I’m sorry,” Teddy said, even though he didn’t know exactly what he was sorry for. It was a flawed attempt at some understanding, maybe a second chance, another way of saying please don’t take me away from this.

“Shut up,” his dad snapped, giving Teddy’s chest a hard shove, “I...I am so close to throwing you in front of a train right now, Teddy, you have no idea.” Teddy went silent after that. His dad dug around in his jacket pockets and pulled out a phone — except it wasn’t his phone, this phone had a cracked screen and a bright green phone case. “Do you know what this is?” His dad asked, voice low.

Teddy swallowed hard to clear his throat but he couldn’t shake the lump that formed there. “It’s a phone,” he said.

“Who’s phone?”

“Jewel’s.” He almost stammered as he spoke the name. The disappointment at the loss of the game, the anxiety he felt over seeing his father was now completely overshadowed by cold, hard, despair that washed over him like a bucket of ice and sat in his chest like shrapnel. 

“That’s right,” his dad said, his tone worryingly casual, “you wanna know how I got it?” Teddy jerkily shook his head because he already knew what was coming and he kept swallowing back rising tears. He was not going to cry, not here, not now, not in front of this individual. “I went into his shitty, crack den of an apartment,” his dad said, continuing anyway, “I got this wire right? Wound it super tight around his neck and just kept pulling until he stopped struggling. It cut him actually, right here—” He ran his finger horizontally across the middle of Teddy’s throat and he had to suppress a shudder. It was the same place his dad had left bruises on Teddy only weeks prior to this. He wouldn’t have noticed anyway, Teddy was already shaking from head to toe and staring into space as he pictured the scene.

Firstly, he was angry because Jewel hadn’t listened. He’d stayed in California when Teddy told him he wasn’t safe there, if he’d listened then he’d be alive but...if Teddy hadn’t disobeyed the rules then he’d also probably be alive. Teddy felt like he was crashing, this sickening feeling was growing in him like a patch of weeds and all he could do was let it happen. “After that,” his dad continued, “I took him, took his phone, put him in the trunk of some car at a junk yard and left him there. It’s been about a week, bet he’s starting to stink up the place.” Teddy’s stomach lurched and he had to drag his knuckles roughly over the wall behind him to ground him — if he didn’t then he’d throw up.

“You’re lying,” Teddy said through gritted teeth.

“You think so? I took pictures, you wanna see?” Teddy shook his head furiously. He didn’t doubt his father did, he didn’t doubt he did have pictures and Teddy really, really, didn’t want to see them. “Didn’t think so.” Less than a second after he said that, he grabbed Teddy by the front of his jersey again and slammed him so hard against the wall that it left Teddy winded. “We need to get something straight,” his dad said, still calm enough that his voice went right through Teddy, “the next time you disobey me, after I gave you a second chance that you frankly didn’t fucking deserve, I can do much worse things than kill that stupid boy.” Teddy didn’t doubt it. “You can’t call your sister if she’s dead — or if you’re dead. We clear?” They were more than clear. “I don’t wanna see you or hear from you for the next two years and if I do then we have a problem.” He didn’t wait for Teddy to respond, he pulled him away from the wall and harshly shoved him off back in the direction they came from. 

Teddy walked away numbly, not looking back and going straight into the locker room where he ignored everyone he walked past and went straight to the toilet cubicles — as soon as he locked himself in one, his stomach lurched and he emptied the contents of his stomach into the toilet, retching and choking and unable to stop. He kept going until there was literally nothing left, Teddy felt empty and shaky as he fell back against the cubicle door and slouched against it, his knees drawn up to his chest as he tried to catch his breath.

Jewel is dead. Jewel is dead. Jewel is dead...

He kept thinking it over and over again, it was Teddy’s new white noise that was punctuated by And it’s my fault. Shame and anger flashed hot in Teddy’s gut and he lashed out with his leg, kicking as hard as he could at the wall, the noise echoing loudly, until he felt a painful twinge in his knee. This wasn’t real, this day could not be worse than it already was and Jewel couldn’t be dead. He told Teddy he’d leave, they’d promised they’d see each other again soon. He could hear Jewel’s laugh, smell the cigarette smoke on his clothes, see him waiving an optimistic goodbye from that motel parking lot. That wasn’t meant to be the end of it all, they were meant to see each other again.

With that thought, Teddy puts his face in his hands, curls in on himself and screams, it’s so sudden and so much that is wrecks his lungs and his throat immediately. It’s a desperate sound, grief stricken, angry, completely desolate. When he stops, Teddy is trembling and pale and if anyone had come knocking on the cubicle door then Teddy wouldn’t have noticed. All he can think is: Jewel’s laugh, Jewel’s cigarette smoke, Jewel waving him goodbye, Jewel rotting in the trunk of a car...

It goes over and over again in Teddy’s head until he’s in a ‘trance’, he’s numb and he can’t even think about how disappointed he was over the outcome of the game. It doesn’t matter, none of it matters now. Teddy doesn’t even realise how long he’s been in there, it could’ve been minutes or hours but by the time he manages to register I’m still in the locker room, everyone is still outside, the locker room is quiet. Teddy struggled to his feet, he’s still trembling but he can still move and that’s enough to get him out of the cubicle. He doesn’t look at anything except his things and the floor, he changes out into his regular clothes, packs up his things and leaves the locker room as if nothing’s wrong. This isn’t reversible, this isn’t anyone else’s problem, and Teddy keeps going.

[ballastmcgee]

The Party's First Member

The instructor looked at the overfilled room. For how little it had been advertised he was pleasantly surprised to have such a great turnout. The problem lie in that his planned icebreaker wouldn't mesh with such a large group.

"Alright, everyone think of a number 1 to 5. When I call your number of choice come up. Find someone in the group with you and start a scene. Remember 'Yes, and' to whatever occurs."

Continuing his instructions he said, "Once you feel like you've done something good your team of two is allowed to go. This way you can get a feel for the person you'll be working with at these meetings."

In patches the large mass became five smaller sections, which then shrunk into duos.

A handsome blonde young man was approached by multiple people hoping to get to know him a bit...better, all to be turned down. He saw no spark in them.

Markus kept going through the rest of the fours looking for anyone with a decent creative capacity. 

No, nope, close but not relaxed enough. Everyone he inspected didn't matching his standards. Either they slouched a bit, dressed too well, or were just to eager to match Markus's style. 

Thog, on the other hand, was being avoided like the plague. Coming here pissed off probably wasn't the best idea. Even when nothing was wrong people had a hard time approaching him. So one ready to throw down at the drop of a hat? Yeah, he was having difficulty finding a partner.

After getting avoided yet again, he started to head for the door, quitting while he still had an ounce of dignity.

Then he was nearly tackled by the one getting all the offers.

"W-wait."Markus said between gasps for breath. "Let's be partners."

Thog stared at him. While entertaining this guy wasn't on the top of his list of things he'd enjoy, he was giving Thog a shot where nobody else was.

"You're, whew I did not expect to be running give me a sec." Markus held his hand up while he took slow, deep inhales and exhales. 

"I'm what?" Thog prompted through gritted teeth.

"You're perfect." He said standing straight up. "Dressed semi-casual, like me, you obviously like the Arts or you wouldn't be here, and the aura you're projecting! You must have a really deep and brash personality to go with all that angst."

Thog's brow twitched. 

"Let's just set the goddamn scene." he resigned.

Markus pumped his fist in the air, "Alright, I'm a Doctor and you shall be....?"

"...A loved one of the patient. The place is a hospital."

"A hospital...On The Moon!" Markus lowered his face and took on a somber look.

"I don't know how to tell you this but I'm afraid the operation. Well, it didn't fail but..." He trailed off to let Thog interject.

"W-what's wrong? I-is my son alright?"Thog asked in-character, extremely concerned. "Let me see him! Take me to my little boy right now!" he demanded furiously.

Markus raised his hands in defense. "Sir, your kid's fine, it's just that he's been up here in Space so long that his bones are much too brittle. He'll never be able to walk on Earth again."

Thog looked devastated under the weight of the "news". If someone had never met him and heard his son would become a cripple and only had his reaction to gauge it, they'd be sending their condolences.

Thog fell to his knees, "My son won't be able to walk ever again."

Markus stepped in with a look of regret, "Sir, I assure you his legs work. If you were to stay in a location with artificial gravity he'd be fine. Just not Earth or any system close to its strength."

On command, tears began to stream down Thog's face and we're accompanied by convincing sobs.

Markus was thrilled with how great Thog was and that he'd been able to single him out. 

"That was great. My name's Markus." He said reaching his hand out as Thog got back up.

"Thog." he replied, accepting the shake with a firm grip.

Markus winced a little but endured it. "Well Thog, I, for one, believe that our scene was great." he beamed. "And according to the rules that means we've done all we need to."

"Well that was a complete waste of time. That only took five fucking minutes."Thog's natural sneer came back. "This was supposed to be half an hour."

"Well when you have someone that can cry on command and a natural liar the deck is stacked in your favor." Markus responded. "Speaking of. You did great! How long have you been acting?"

Thog mulled it over. "Lying is closer to what I do as well. And for quite some time I guess."

"Well I would love to play a tabletop with you sometime. You seem like you'd be pretty good at it."

Thog frowned. "Isn't that nerd shit? Dungeons and Dragons and whatnot?"

Markus looked extremely offended. "Tabletop Roleplaying games are storytelling adventures, not 'Nerd Shit'.

At storytelling, Thog's eyes lit up. "So I could use them as a creative outlet is what you're saying?"

Markus shrugged, "Well yeah, that's what they're for when it comes down to it." 

Not even listening anymore, Thog was already heading to the door. "Let's discuss while we go get some coffee."

End of Chapter Two.

Chapter One