#he bought the kid ice cream and drove him to school the next day

[hoperays-song]

Young Johnny and The Bus

[ally-holmes]

Regular Customer | Steve Harrington x Reader (ch.1)

Series Masterlist.

Chapter Two.

Pairings: Steve Harrington x fem!reader|plus-sized!reader|nerd!reader

Word count: 2876

Regular Customer | Chapter One.

"There she comes," Robin pointed out with a wink.

Sighing, Steve busied himself behind the counter at Family Video.

The door opened and a regular customer walked in with her tapes in hand and a big smile on her face. She made a beeline to the counter.

"Hi, Steve. Hi Robin," she greeted cheerfully.

"Hey, Y/N. What are you looking for today?" Steve answered business-like.

"Is there something new available?"

"You're lucky you came early on a Friday. Maybe Robin could find something for you—"

"Sorry!! I'm busy!!" Robin disappeared, leaving Steve alone.

Y/N smiled at him again with awkwardness. She had a crush on him. Hard. She'd had it since her first year in high school; he waited for Nancy Wheeler outside all the classes Y/N shared with her. Y/N liked to daydream about being Steve Harrington's girlfriend and being the one he was waiting for. She was nothing like Nancy, though, and all the time Steve was a high schooler, Y/N never talked to him too, afraid of blushing like an idiot humiliating herself.

She wasn't the kind of girl Steve looked at twice. She was a nerd, big-sized and quiet with shyness. Once she was comfortable with someone, she seemed like another person, witted and sardonic. Her self-esteem wasn't great, it never was, but the moment she entered the Hellfire Club of Eddie Munson she found a way to be her true self even in awkward situations.

Eddie had been her best friend. Her only true friend. She liked to think that she had a strong friendship with the Hellfire members, but the truth is that that friendship was pretty superficial. Eddie was different. He encouraged her. He challenged her. He pushed her to be better, and she did the same for him. To Eddie, Y/N was the kind of friend to go to if he needed to hide a body or if someday he got abducted by the aliens; she would believe him and support him no matter what. To Y/N, he was the same.

When in the summer of 1985 Steve Harrington worked in Scoops Ahoy, Eddie was the one who drove Y/N to the mall to take a glance at the boy in that ridiculous uniform. He encouraged her to go there and talk to him, but she was too shy to do it, even as a client. She never got to talk to him that summer, but she bought ice cream when Robin was working alone and they clicked.

For a second, Y/N thought that Robin and Steve were in a relationship, but the girl assured her that was never going to happen and once they started working in Family Video Y/N found it easy to talk to Steve now that she knew Robin, too.

"Umm… what about this one?" Steve asked, waving a tape in front of her. She scrunched her nose in distaste.

"Nope. I saw it in the theater, it was boring."

"Sure. How about this one?"

"You don't know much about movies to be working here, do you?"

"Again with your criticism, Y/N. I don't have as much free time as you do if you rent a movie every day."

"Are you worried about my grades, Steve?"

"As if! Aren't you some kind of genius?"

"You could say that."

"Henderson wants to dissect your brain or something."

"I hope he doesn't. I like my brain where it is."

Steve gave her a polite smile, pursued his lips, and grabbed another tape without looking.

"Next Friday is the big Hellfire finale. The big campaign will be over." She took the tape and followed him to the counter.

"What does that have to do with me?"

"Idiot," she smiled, blushing slightly. "I was telling you because of Dustin's ride arrangements."

"Those kids are going to be the death of me. I'm not their babysitter!"

"You sure?" She asked with a naughty sparkle in her eyes.

"Whatever. You drive him."

"You two seem like a couple of divorce parents making schedule arrangements," Robin laughed.

Y/N bit her bottom lip looking away while Steve rolled his eyes at his friend's input. Once the renting transaction was done there was an awkward pause in silence until Y/N smiled again, her eyes not leaving Steve's, and waved her goodbyes with the new tape in her hands.

Steve sighed again, watching her get into her car. Robin smiled openly at him.

"Not a word." He warned.

"I think you should give her a shot."

They walked into the back room, too busy with their teasing to notice how she had reentered the store. She'd decided to bite the bullet and ask Steve out once and for all. She'd been going daily since September and she'd seen him flirting with hot and cute girls. Nothing more than a few flings, so maybe she had a chance; perhaps he believed she was dating Eddie as most people assumed. Of course, she actually believed he wasn't interested in her, but that day she had decided to just ask and stop this nonsense.

She followed them, ready to talk when she heard her name being said. It wasn't polite to overhear conversations, but she was curious. Of course, we all know what people say about curiosity…

"Y/N has a big fat crush on you. She comes here every day, smiles at you, looks at you with such a puppy face… Come on! Don't tell me you haven't thought about it, Steve."

"She's not my type. She's in a club with Dustin and Eddie 'the freak' Munson, you can't tell me that's a catch."

"You cannot seriously be talking like you're still a high school boy. You just said that your dating life sucked. You want someone to have a serious relationship with and it's not working. Well, it might not be working because you aren't giving the chance to the right girl."

"If you like her so much, why don't you date her?"

"Please, don't be ridiculous. Now, seriously, why don't you like her?"

"I don't know! Look, do you think I enjoy seeing her making a fool of herself coming here every day with her smiles and her sparkling eyes? It makes me uncomfortable speaking to her like that. I know that she likes me, even Dustin is trying to set us up, but I just can't. I think it would be rude of me to go on a date with her, give her hope, just to–"

"Not calling for a second date."

"Yeah. She's great, and I'm sure we could be friends, but nothing else."

"Okay, but maybe you give her that chance and a pity date turns out to be the first date with your future wife."

"Robin, leave it! I do not like Y/N and I never will. If you think a random pity date could show us our future wife, why don't you try and ask her out?"

"It's not the same, Steve."

"Well, you don't know if she likes… you know… boobies."

"Ew! Don't say boobies!"

"You know what I mean! There are people who like both. Maybe she does! She's friends with the freak, she has to be a little freak to do so."

"Are you calling me a freak too?"

"You know what I mean, Robin. So, would you?"

"Would I what?"

"Have a pity date with her."

"No. But that's different. She doesn't have a crush on me."

"And if she did? Hypothetically."

After a long pause, Robin finally said "I don't think so. She's not my type."

"There you go. Now you get what I mean with…"

Y/N decided that was her cue to leave the store before being found. When she returned the tape the next day, her smile was fake and gloomy. Her eyes were sad, and she talked at the bare minimum. She thought about waiting for the last day of rent to give it back, but she knew that that kind of behavior would provoke questions that she didn't want to answer. She rented The Goonies, again, and left.

"What's wrong with her?" Robin asked, shocked.

"She looked bad."

"Maybe she was sick."

"Maybe…"

Robin only worked at Family Video Fridays and Saturdays during the school year. Therefore, Steve was alone at the store when Y/N went back on Wednesday. He found it odd when she didn't show up on Monday to return the movie, and on Thursday he asked Dustin if he knew something, but he vaguely answered that she seemed sick.

"Hey!" Steve greeted her with overflowing joy. It sounded fake.

"Hi. I'll take Rocky Horror and Invasion of the Body Snatchers."

"Sure. Yeah! Um… I have a copy of Rocky Horror to restock right here," he smiled at her, waving the tape. That would usually earn him a smile, but this time the smile was thin, barely there. She wasn't looking at his eyes like normally. "Right. The other one is in the sci-fi corridor. Keith says you're the only one renting it, he's thinking of putting it in the for sale section."

She nodded, but didn't say a word.

Steve ran a hand through his hair anxiously. He had no idea what to do or how to treat her if she wasn't responsive to his words. Y/N seemed completely different; she seemed down. Steve covered the space between the counter and the sci-fi corridor in long strides, snatched the movie from its place, and went back with his most charming smile painted on his face. He felt ridiculous.

"Here it is. You have five days to give them back."

"I'll return them on Saturday."

Before he could ask why, she had left, leaving the rental money on the counter. He felt a bittersweet rash wash over him.

Y/N watched those movies with Eddie at her house. She was the Harringtons' neighbor. Her family had money and her dad was on business trips more often than not. When she was little, her mother stayed with her, but the day she started high school everything changed. Y/N parents trusted her and thought that she was mature enough to be left alone. Therefore, on every business trip her dad had, he convinced his wife to go with him. If Mrs. Harrington went with her husband because she didn't trust him, Y/N parents didn't have that issue. They loved each other with such passion it was uncomfortable to be around them. It was lonely, sometimes, having a big house for herself, but Eddie used to make her company crashing in their guests' room if needed.

"Do I have to break Harrington's legs?" Eddie was worried about her depressed state.

"Dustin would be sad."

"I told you Henderson was high when talking about King Steve. There's no way he's a cool dude."

"He could've called me on my bullshit the first time. I don't think Steve wants me to feel bad about having an unrequited crush on him."

"Does he has any flaws? All you do is defend him."

"I give him the benefit of the doubt. I don't think Dustin Henderson is bad at reading people, he likes you, doesn't he?"

"Oh, Y/N, you're going soft on me."

"I'm just tired. I want to get over this stupid crush as soon as possible. The last thing I want is to make him uncomfortable. It's been too long, I'm too old to behave like this."

"And in a few months, you would be far away from here in a geniuses university, won't you?"

"I'll take you with me."

"That's presumptuous. Maybe I don't want to go."

"I don't care. I'll kidnap you."

"Then my future is sealed."

She hugged him and he kissed her head. Y/N was ready to just move on from Steve Harrington.

On Friday, Dustin and Mike had the audacity of asking Eddie for a postponement of the Cult of Vecna because Sinclair had his big basketball game. Eddie went all drama queen on them, making Y/N chuckle.

"Y/N!" Robin shouted, running towards her in her band attire.

"Looking good, Robin."

"Green is not really my color. I'm on my way to the gym."

"I thought so. I have the Hellfire campaign." She pointed the other way.

"Do you have a free place in your car? Steve has a date tonight and he can't drive me back home."

"No problem. Have fun with your trumpet."

"You too with your witch." Robin started walking backward.

"I'm a paladin," Y/N responded laughing, wincing when she saw Robin tripping, again.

The campaign was amazing. Erica Sinclair was a ferocious little woman and with so much sass that Y/N was sure Eddie was ready to make her an official member of the club, even if she was still a middle schooler. They got to destroy Vecna thanks to Lady Applejack.

"Hey, Y/N. I have some business to attend to," he winked at her, "drive safe home."

"You too, Eddie."

Getting out of the auditorium, the party was high on their triumph.

"Could you drive me home too?" Mike asked Y/N without looking her in the eyes. "I have to be home early."

"No problemo, my friend." Y/N intertwined her arm with his walking towards her car. "I heard that you have a plane to catch. Are you excited to go to California?"

Mike Wheeler was always shy; when Y/N talked directly to him, he sometimes blushed and laughed nervously.

"He's dying to visit his girlfriend," Dustin answered with a big smile.

"You boys and your girlfriends. Aren't you too young to date?"

"No, mom. Shut up," Dustin kept playing, intertwining his arm with Y/N's free one. "Plus, my Suzy is much better."

"So I heard. An A in Latin, huh?"

"You told her?" He accused Mike.

"It wasn't intentional!"

Truth is, he found her in the corridors after lunch in his search for a sub for Lucas, and she asked him about his grades. Mike panicked, as he usually did in front of her or Eddie, and he told her about how Dustin had made his girlfriend change his grades.

"Anyway. How long have you and Eddie been dating?" Erica asked her bluntly when they were next to the car.

Y/N laughed, "We're not dating. It's a common mistake."

"You could have fooled me," the kid deadpanned.

"We've been trying to make them date, but Y/N has a crush on Steve," Mike blurted out.

"Wheeler!"

"Why Steve?" Erica asked.

"Oh my God! Could we maybe not?" Y/N looked around, hoping the people surrounding them were too busy to pay attention to what they were talking about.

"I think Eddie is better than Steve for you," Mike claimed.

"Steve isn't a bad option," Dusting defended.

The boys started a discussion trying to figure out who was a better catch to Y/N. Erica, not wanting to participate in the nonsense, got into the backseat of the car.

"Robin! Hey guys, it's Robin! Robin Buckley! Hi! Hello!" Y/N shouted, begging all the ancient gods that Robin hadn't listened to the kids' discussion. She seemed oblivious.

"We could go now. Hi Erica. Your brother made us win the game. It was a good game and…" She kept talking about the game as they entered the car and Y/N started to drive it away. Then she saw them. Steve and a very beautiful girl walking toward his car. Robin was quiet for a moment uncertain of what to say. "Steve had told me that you seemed off the other day. Are you feeling better?"

"Peachy."

"Told you. Eddie's better," Mike whispered to Dustin in the backseat.

Before Robin could ask what he meant, Y/N turned on the radio.

The Harringtons' house was dark when Y/N parked in her own dark home. Those houses seemed bigger with emptiness. She started the kettle to make herself a good tea with honey and maybe rewatch Invasion of the Body Snatchers before going to sleep. Everything was set, she was in her pajamas and ready to enjoy her movie when something hit her backdoor repeatedly. The door was made of glass giving a perfect view of the pool and the wood, and, at that moment, a very distressed Eddie Munson. She opened the door in a rush asking him what had happened. After a few crazy mumbles, Eddie finally said something unbelievable, something that only her could believe.

"We'll figure it out."

"What do you mean we'll figure it out? Chrissy is dead in my trailer! I'm going to be hunted!!"

"I won't allow it. Eddie– Eddie, I need you to trust me. Do you trust me?" He nodded. "Good. You're going to be hidden here. I'm having some ideas… Do you mind staying in the basement?"

"You kidding? Your basement is better than my place. I didn't do it."

"I know, Eddie. I believe you."

"How can you believe me?"

"Because it's you. You would never hurt anybody. Hey… Hey, look at me, Eddie," Y/N held his face between her hands. "I'm going to protect you. You're safe here. I'll keep you safe."

To be continued...

[nctinthehouse]

deja vu

based on “deja vu” by Olivia Rodrigo

reader x ex!Jaehyun

genre: angst, fluff, ex lovers au? idk

wc: 3.1k

AN: I wrote this a while ago but I wasn’t planning on releasing or even write it in the first place however, I just fell in love with the lyrics and song when it came out and I could not pass on writing about it. I guess this is my interpretation of the song? Way too many thoughts at night time lol. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it 💕

Do you get deja vu when she's with you?

Running is something you’ve always enjoyed. It’s relaxing, good for your health and helps you clear your mind. Even as a kid, you were always seen running around and giggling. It made you happy.

You’re currently out on a late evening run along the river. This particular area is your favorite place to go to, whether it's for a run, out for a walk or even on the way to work. You like to come here when you need a break from something. The river, the ambience; it made you calm. It’s a special place and means a lot to you. There’s even a cute small store a few minutes away that you discovered when you started coming to this area more often. It’s like a secret place, not a lot of people seem to know about it. Owned by a local lady, she’s so lovely and kind. Her face always lights up whenever you stop by. There’s a lot of memories around here.

It was a really nice day today; clear skies with a few clouds. The sun is starting to set, changing the colors of the sky and clouds with hints of pinks and blues. It kinda reminds you of cotton candy ice cream.

Hmm, you kinda want ice cream now.

You’ve been running for a while now so you decided to jog to the local convenience store and get some ice cream.

As you’re approaching the store, you immediately slow down before stopping completely. You spot someone coming out of the store.

It’s Jaehyun.

His arms around another girl.

You and Jaehyun make brief eye contact with each other. You realise that they’re now walking towards your direction. Snapping out of your thoughts, you lower your head a bit and start walking towards the store trying to avoid having any sort of contact with them. Luckily, you and Jaehyun just walked past each other without acknowledging each other.

But as they were walking towards your direction and walking past, you hear his girlfriend ask him

“Jae, that store is so cute! How did you find it?”

“Oh I was just in this area one day and stumbled upon it. Came here a lot ever since then”

“Well this will definitely be our place from now on, we should come here more often”

That was our place

I found it first

You think to yourself

Stopping again, you turn your head around and spot them smiling and laughing before walking in the store and greeted by the lovely lady there who gave you a huge smile and wave; also waving back at her.

As you’re looking around the store, you think back to the time when you first brought Jaehyun to this area...

“how am i just finding out about this place??” Jaehyun says as you both are currently walking hand in hand along the river

“well now you know” you chuckle

You tell Jaehyun about how you discovered this area as well as the store up ahead when you took a detour on your way back home from class. One of your classes got cancelled which meant you were finished for the day, much earlier than usual. You didn't have anything planned for the rest of the day so you decided to take a different route back to your house.

It wasn't a very busy place which you grew to love. It was perfect for someone who needed a quieter place to think and relax, away from the crowded pavements and honking cars; a place where you could de-stress

“oh Jae, here's the store, come on!”

You quickly pull Jaehyun towards the store excitedly

As you guys go into the store, you spot the lovely owner. You let out a huge grin and wave as you go up to the counter where she is

“oh, Y/N!! so nice to see you again!”

“oh! and who’s this fine young gentleman?” the lady raises her eyebrows

“this is Jaehyun, my boyfriend” chuckling and gesturing your hand towards him

The lady puts her hands on her chest and looks at you guys adoringly

“oh you guys are such a cute couple! Y/N you want an ice cream?”

“yes please!” nodding your head

“Jae you have got to try the ice cream here! the strawberry flavor is a bonus”

“why am i not surprised that it's strawberry flavored” Jaehyun chuckles

After browsing around, you go up to the counter where you’re once again greeted by the lovely lady

“hi sweetie! the usual today?”

You nod your head and chuckle “yeah, thanks”

Looking down at the counter, you look like you’re miles away. The lady notices and frowns a bit

“sweetie, you alright?”

You look up and give her a small smile

“yeah, i’m alright”

As you see your ice cream is ready, you take your card out of your pocket getting ready to pay. However, the lady gently pushes your hand away

“it’s on the house”

You look at her with wide eyes

“oh, no i-”

“i insist” giving you a smile and holding onto your hand

“thank you. i promise to pay you back next time!”

The lady waves her hand around

“oh sweetie don't worry about it! just think of it as a thank you for always dropping by my store”

“thank you again” letting out a small laugh

“take care of yourself ok? i’ll see you around”

“i will” giving the lady a smile and a wave bye before going out of the store

❀❀❀

As you take a seat at a nearby picnic bench and start eating your ice cream, you see that Jaehyun and his girlfriend are still around. Your eyes can't help but wander towards them hanging around by a car. His car. The same car Jaehyun would drive you around in especially during night time. You see them playing around and her feeding him ice cream. You start to notice small things about her such as the clothes she's wearing; she kinda reminds you of herself. Looks like she’s wearing that jacket too. Just like I did.

Is it jealousy?

Maybe...

But more like pity.

So when you gonna tell her that we did that, too?

She thinks its special, but it's all reused

❀❀❀

Moments later, you see them get into the car and drive away. All these thoughts suddenly start clouding your mind and you can't help but wonder

How fast did he move on?

Did he even move on in the first place?

You’re not just trying to replace me, right?

I wonder, how many more things we did together, you do with her too?

You began to reminisce on some of the things you and Jaehyun did when you were still together…

Do you get deja vu when she's with you?

Remember when we used to go on road trips to Malibu?

Music, ice cream and Jaehyun.

Those were the 3 things you loved and needed the most whenever you went on road trips. Heck you could probably throw out the music and ice cream and just have Jaehyun as company only.

Those road trips were often unplanned. Sometimes you and Jaehyun would go without thinking about where you guys would specifically go or what you guys would do there.

There was a particular time which was the most special. It was the first road trip you and Jaehyun went on after you guys made it official. Actually, it was also the first date you guys went on as a couple.

You remember back in high school when Jaehyun would tell you about the times he and his family would go on road trips to Malibu during school breaks for some family bonding time. You hadn’t been to Malibu before so you were very excited when Jaehyun decided on taking you on a road trip there, especially as a first date since you guys had not been on one yet.

Jaehyun drove up to your house and honked his car, letting you know that he’s arrived to pick you up. You run downstairs and look through the curtains and see Jaehyun getting out of the car. You quickly grab your stuff and head out of your house.

You jog up to him, both of you embracing each other in a tight hug. As you let go, you spot the jacket he currently has on

“wow i love your jacket! is it new?”

“oh this? nah, i bought this a while ago from some vintage store”

“can i try it on? i love vintage stuff” your face lighting up

Jaehyun smirks a little as he takes off your jacket with you taking yours off too. He hands you his jacket and holds onto yours as you put his one on.

You let out a gasp

“thanks, this is mine now” you grin at Jaehyun widely before jumping into the passenger seat of his car

Jaehyun looks blankly at you briefly

“baby what am i gonna wear then?”

“you don’t need to though, it's not even that cold right now” you say as you place your arms on the edge of the car windows

“but what if it gets a bit chilly later on?”

“just wear mines” pointing to your jacket that he’s currently holding

“this? you think this would fit me?”

“what? you won’t know unless you try it on” shrugging your shoulders

Jaehyun reluctantly puts on your jacket. He struggles a bit with the sleeves but he manages to get it on. You start laughing as you see how small your jacket looks on him

“kinda suits you though” you laugh

“shut up” Jaehyun says jokingly as he whacks your arms

You fake a loud gasp as you place both of your hands on your chest, not breaking eye contact with him as he gets into the driver's seat

“Y/N you know i’m only joking” Jaehyun chuckles as you glare at him with a unimpressed face

You look away from him and roll your eyes

“baby come ooonnnn i’m sorry i was only jo-”

“just drive” you say with a monotone voice

Jaehyun looks at you for a moment, noticing you biting your lips. He realised sometime ago that it’s something that you usually do to stop yourself from smiling or break out into laughter.

He takes your hand in his and gives it several kisses. Seeing you breaking out a small smile, he smiles to himself before starting the car and driving.

❀❀❀

When you finally got there, Jaehyun happily took you to some of his favorite places he loved to visit.  Hours went by quickly and you guys were hungry so Jaehyun decided to take you to a park and have a picnic. It was nice out too so why not.

You guys bought some food from a nearby cafe and set up a picnic spot that had a lovely view of the ocean. There was also a hiking trail in the area and you guys decided on doing that after some lunch.

After lunch, Jaehyun went and got both of you ice cream from an ice cream truck that was parked nearby

“you know what?” you say as you scoop out a another bite of the ice cream

“what?”

“i think i’m gonna make it a goal to try as many different strawberry ice creams i can whenever i visit a new place”

“sounds good baby”

As you look out towards the ocean, Jaehyun takes the opportunity to give you a small kiss on the side of your lips which surprises you. You jump a bit and stare at him with wide eyes

“sorry, you just had a bit of ice cream there” Jaehyun smirks

“oh”

You’re quiet for a few seconds before saying

“is it all gone…?”

Jaehyun leans in closer and closer; he rubs his nose against yours lightly

“almost” he whispers against your lips before locking in with yours

Your first kiss. Oh how sweet it was.

Do you get deja vu?

♡♡♡

Remember when you used to come over to my house?

If you weren't hanging out at Jaehyun’s, he’s usually at yours.

You and Jaehyun would stay over at each other's house every weekend. You guys often had days where you just didn't want to do anything special. Just chilling at home such as eating, sleeping and enjoying each other's company. When Jaehyun is over at yours, one of the things you guys like to do is to sit on the couch and binge watch your favorite TV shows. Today is one of those days.

You guys are currently sitting next to each other, crossed legged on the couch at your house; a bowl of popcorn on your lap while the channel you’re currently watching is doing reruns of one of your favorite shows, Glee. This wasn't exactly one of Jaehyun’s favorite shows. He didn't hate it but he wasn't a huge fan of it like you were. He doesn't mind watching it over and over with you as long as he’s spending time with you.

Grabbing some popcorn pieces, you look at Jaehyun

“Jae open up”

Jaehyun looks confused but opens his mouth anyway

You throw a couple of popcorn pieces, trying to aim it in his mouth but failing; the popcorn always hitting his face. You try a few more times before Jaehyun lets out a complaint

“babe come on!! your aiming skills are awful”

“hey it’s not my fault your mouth ain’t big enough”

Letting out a shocked laugh, Jaehyun grabs some popcorn and throws it at you. You guys end up having a mini popcorn fight before stopping as you realise you got popcorn on the couch and the floor. You guys weren't bothered to do a lot of cleaning today.

A while later, your face lights up as one of your favorite songs on Glee has come on. You grab Jaehyun’s arm and start moving it around, you were too excited.

Moments later, you grab the remote and get up from the couch. You pretend the remote is your mic and you start singing along to the song, belting out some words slightly out of tune

“WORKIN’ HARD TO GET MY FILL”

“EVERYBODY WANTS A THRILL”

Suddenly, you point the remote down towards Jaehyun, wanting him to sing the next bit. He hesitates for a second but joins in anyway, with you singing along

“PAYIN’ ANYTHING TO ROLL THE DICE”

“JUST ONE MORE TIME”

Jaehyun thinks you look ridiculous but looks at you in admiration; a huge smile on his face.

Still singing out of tune slightly, Jaehyun sits and watches you as you're dancing around. He shakes his head and throws his head back laughing. He wipes some of his tears away from laughing so much.

“DON’T STOP BELIEVIN’”

“HOLD ON TO THAT FEELING”

You whip your head towards him, slightly taken aback as Jaehyun suddenly gets up and takes the remote from you and starts belting out the lyrics

“STREET LIGHT PEOPLE”

You let out a laugh as you both dance around singing the rest of the song out of tune but somehow in harmony.

Do you get deja vu?

♡♡♡

Remember the first time you told me you loved me?

Being a music major, you spent a lot of time in a music room, especially in front of a piano. Growing up, you’ve always wanted to be a pianist. You remember the time when you were a kid and saw someone sitting in front of a piano playing a song at a train station. You looked at them with wide eyes and was so mesmerized by the upbeat melody. Letting go of your mum’s hand, you ran up to them and watched them play. You found out from the nice stranger that they were playing a song called “Uptown Girl’ by Billy Joel. It was at that moment you realized what you wanted to be when you grew up.

Ever since then, that tune has stuck with you. When you first got your very own piano, you spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to play it as well as listening to the song many times. Whenever you played it, it brought back all those memories. It meant a lot to you.

You were finished with lectures earlier than expected so you decided to head to the music room to work on a few things.

Whilst sat in front of the piano wanting to work on an upcoming assessment, your mind drifted elsewhere and you started playing Uptown Girl.

You were so focused on playing that you didn't hear Jaehyun coming into the room

“whatcha playing babe?”

You slightly jump at his voice before turning around

“what you doing here? i thought you were in class”

Jaehyun took off his backpack and sat next to you as you scooted to the side a bit to make space for him before he set his bag down beside the piano bench

“class got cancelled so i’m free the rest of the day woooo”

You chuckle at his response and nod

“soo… whatcha you playing babe?”

You told Jaehyun the story about how you came across the song and how your love for music came about when you were a kid.

You and Jaehyun met during high school and eventually bonded over music and grew closer throughout the years. Now here you both are, attending the same university as music majors.

“can you teach me?”

“i can try”

You played the song a few times so Jaehyun could listen to it and get the vibe of it before teaching him the basics then the harder bits.

“i think that's enough learning for now”

“okay” you giggle

Jaehyun asked if you could play him the whole song and you happily obliged. While you were playing, Jaehyun looked at you and was fascinated. You had a huge smile on your face and thought you were the most precious person ever. He wanted to love and protect you by all means.

You were about to go onto the next part when suddenly you hear

“i love you”

As soon as you hear those words, your hands come to a halt. You stare at your hands for a moment before looking at Jaehyun in shock, mouth slightly ajar

“i love you, Y/N”

Do you get deja vu?

A different girl now, but there's nothing new

Shaking your thoughts away, you roll your eyes and scoff before getting up and throwing the now empty ice cream cup away. You decided to head home and enjoy the rest of your evening by watching reruns of Glee with some more strawberry ice cream.

I know you get deja vu.

AN: Thanks for reading until the end! My longest fic I’ve written so far and I’m pretty happy with it. As always I’m happy to get any feedback on it and I really hope you enjoyed reading this. I’m currently working on another fic that’s based on a song I’ve been loving lately so I hope to get that one up sometime! Take care everyone 💜

masterlist

[angelmavmurdock]

Our Little Secret: Part Eight - A.R.

LAST OF THE SERIES

Word count: Summary: 5 years later...

-

WARNINGS: MENTIONS OF MURDER AND SEXUAL ASSAULT (basically everything Arvin and the preacher did in the movie is touched on).

-

5 years later

"Well, y/n, your application is outstanding. We'd love for you to work here." The headteacher spoke to me from across his desk.

"Really? Wow! Thank you so much!" I beamed.

"The new school term starts in August and the kids really need a well-taught, professional, young teacher who can help them grow as children. I think you're perfect for the job."

"Thank you so much, that means a lot. I can't wait to start."

Teaching. Teaching year 1. It was my dream to work with kids and now finally after 4 years of college I could do it.

I've been living in Cincinnati since I left high school 5 years ago. I needed to get out of that town as soon as I could. Everywhere I went it would remind me of Lenora...and Arvin.

I kept in touch with Emma, though. We still chatted at least a few times a month on the phone and she told me every time how much she missed Lenora and how much she missed Arvin. Though it was easier with Lenora because she knew what had happened to her - well, not fully - but she knew that she was gone. With Arvin, she didn't know why he was gone, what he was doing or had done and if he was still even alive. I didn't tell her about what Arvin told me on our last night. I promised him I wouldn't.

But every time I called her it was like I was being set back on my journey of grief and getting over him. I was with a lovely guy called William and we've been together since my last year of college. He didn't know about Lenora or Arvin or the Russell's.

But he did come with me to my father's funeral a few months ago.

Daddy had gotten worse and worse since being in New Coal Creek. We thought he was going to get better once we got him into hospital but it didn't make a difference. And when I moved to Cincinnati, I hardly ever saw him and Ma and I's row got in between Daddy and I's relationship.

So I went to his funeral feeling like the worst daughter on the planet. And I felt as if I was losing everyone I had ever truly loved.

Will was lovely and he worked in the same position Daddy used to work at. We had a house together and we lived there comfortably. It's much like how I grew up living. A big house with no one to fill it with. We didn't even have a dog or a cat because of his allergies. We were engaged to be married and he had bought me a very expensive and big diamond ring which was nice but I had no interest in.

Of course, I accepted. But as soon as he asked me the million dollar question, the first person that popped into my head was Arvin. And then Lenora. And then Daddy.

Wedding planning was very stressful when you don't have many friends or family around to help.

And after my meeting with the headteacher I was heading into town to find my wedding dress.

I was dreading it.

Ma was coming down to help and we'd meet at the place.

I thanked the headteacher and walked out excitedly, ready to start my teaching career. I got in my car and I drove into town. The closer I got, the worse I felt. I didn't want to get a wedding dress and I didn't want to get it with Ma either.

I parked outside of the dress shop and reluctantly got out. The shop was extravagant and elegant. I dreaded going inside. But my feet took me in as my brain lusted for home.

"y/n!" Ma exclaimed, shuffling up to me, already carrying dresses in her arms.

"Ma, hi." She nearly winded me as she embraced me.

I lightly put my hands around her but she tore away quickly.

"This place is just wonderful! I've already found a few you'd look great in!"

"Ma, I'd love if I was the one who would get to pick out my own weddin' dress." I raised a brow.

She sighed, "Fine. Yes, of course. Go into the changin' rooms and I'll follow."

I rolled my eyes and walked to one of the rooms where a consultant with a pearly white smile greeted me.

"Miss y/l/n, lovely to meet you. I'm Angela and I'll be helpin' you today! Are these the dresses you'd like to try?" She chirped, referring to the dresses in my mothers arms.

I sighed, "Yes."

"Great! Come on in."

-

I stood on the podium in front of the wall-length mirror with the fourth wedding dress on. It was a column dress that fell straight down with only a slight cinch at the waist. It had long sleeves and a high neck and lace covered the bodice. It was not my style.

"You look beautiful!" Ma complimented.

"I don't like it, Ma." I shook my head, twisting and turning to look at it.

"It's your fourth dress and you haven't liked any of them."

"They're just...not my style." I sighed.

Ma rolled her eyes and stood next to me, "It's not about your style. It's about looking gorgeous on your wedding day."

I furrowed my brows, "It's my wedding dress and it's my wedding. I want to love my dress."

"Well you are not the one paying for it." She brushed over my hips.

I felt rage bubble inside of me.

"Fine. We'll take this one then." I stated with a scoff and returned to the changing room in a huff.

-

"Okay, your fitting will be next month and that's when you'll get your dress home, alright?"

"Thank you." I smiled weakly at the consultant.

"You're welcome. Have a nice day!"

We waved goodbye and began walking out the shop. I placed my white gloves on and adjusted the white hat ornamented with a flower on my curled hair. I smoothed out my white and pale blue polka-dotted dress and adjusted the sky blue belt around my waist. Ma opened the door for me and I thanked her before leaving and hearing the click of my heels on the ground.

"y/n, I won't keep you long, but...you're a woman now. You're 23, you're getting married, you live away from home, you're getting a job. You're a woman. But just because you are older, does not mean I stop being your mother. I will always be your mother whether you like it or not and you have to treat me as such." Ma said, folding her arms over her red, floral tea dress.

I took a deep breath and looked at her.

"You took away my freedom when I was a teenager and because of that, I lost time with - not only Lenora - but Arvin, too. I don't know where he is now. No one does."

Just as I was about to talk about our last night I remembered she still didn't know I snuck out.

"I lost my best friend and the love of my life in the space of weeks and you kept me locked away until there was no one left. I'll never forgive you for that." I said, my head held high.

Ma took a few seconds to process the information and then nodded.

"I'm sorry you feel that way. I had no idea. I love you, y/n. I will always love you, alright?" She held my shoulders.

I swallowed and nodded, not looking at her.

"Congratulations on your new job, honey. I'll see you soon." She leaned in and gave me a kiss on the cheek then turned and walked away.

I took a few deep breaths as I watched her, guilt and anger washing away gradually. Part of me didn't want to go home. I wanted to escape for a while. I didn't want to have to go back and sit alone in a huge house I didn't like and I didn't want to wait up for a phone call from Will. I wanted to be by myself. I needed to. I looked around and at my car before deciding I'd go into town for a while.

I left the car and stuffed the keys further into my handbag. I clicked down the pavement until I reached the main road of shops, leading to a lake and a park where families would walk and eat ice-cream.

It was summer, so the sun was out in full, the trees swaying in the warm breeze and the sound of a few buskers playing accompanied by the noise of town people roaming around filled the warm air.

I smiled and said good mornin' to people as I walked by, waving at a few kids and cooing at some babies. I'd never really spent much time in town. I was always working or at the house with Will. It felt good to be out and alone. I wandered around, looking in some shop windows and wishing for the dresses but deciding against it.

It wasn't until I passed a shop and briefly glanced in it that I actually stopped to look closely. I took a double take and stood in front of the window, looking up at the displayed mannequin. It was a white blouse paired with a white tennis skirt and blue ribbon tied around the neck. A fond grin grew on my face. It reminded me of high school. Though I never wore mine on my neck, I still wanted it. I never wore ribbons in my hair anymore.

I couldn't help myself but go in. I entered the seemingly quiet shop and found the nearest shop consultant.

"Hi! I love that ribbon you have on show, is it for sale?" I asked with a smile.

The woman looked almost confused, "It's a ribbon...it's for decoration?"

"Oh...well, I'd still love to buy it. Name a price." I smiled again.

She looked at me dumbfounded for a moment but then shook it off and walked to the mannequin. She untied the silk and walked back over with it, placing it into my hands.

"It's free." She smiled.

"Thank you so much. I love it." I grinned.

"Have a nice day, now."

"I will." I beamed, walking out the store.

I felt giddy with nostalgia and excitement as I pulled my hair back under my hat and tied it with the ribbon, giving it a delicate bow. I checked it in my compact mirror and smiled with joy. I felt closer to myself.

I continued walking down the road and then to the lake. I stood and leaned against the railing, watching the elegant swans float by, their white feathers contrasting beautifully against the dark blue of the water. I watched them for a while, probably for about 10 minutes before I felt a light tug on my dress.

I got a fright and looked down where a young girl was standing next to me. I immediately smiled with relief and stood back.

"Hello," I waved.

"You're very beautiful, ma'am." She complimented in a strong southern accent.

"Why thank you, Mrs." I grinned.

"Would you like some bread to feed the swans?" She offered, holding up a chunk of bread.

"I would love some. Thank you." I graciously accepted the bread, holding it in my gloved hands.

The girls' mother called her back. She looked up at me and waved.

"Bye!" She said, before running off to her mum.

I smiled and laughed a little before turning back to the swans. I broke a piece of bread off and threw it in the water. I threw some more pieces in and watched as they all swam to the food, fighting over who got what.

Once I was out of bread, I sighed, leaning against the railing by my forearms. I took in my surroundings. I looked to my left where children were playing with each other as parents stood or sat on benches, resting. A few elderly couples walked by, hand in hand, arm in arm, chatting about everything and nothing.

A girl on a pink bike caught my eye. She was gorgeous and sat atop the seat with joy and pride as she rode by. My eyes followed her as she rode behind me and kept going.

But my eyes shifted focus when she rode by someone.

Someone who looked eerily familiar.

He had brown, woven, checkered trousers on and a white dress shirt with sleeves that were rolled up to his elbows. Brown suspenders hung over his shoulders and a white vest peeked out from the unbuttoned shirt.

But the dark eyes with the brown, slicked back hair and the cigarette in his mouth gave him away.

He was already looking at me, however. Like he had been for hours. I turned slightly, feeling my heart beat rise as he threw his cigarette on the ground.

It can't be him. It's just a lookalike. It's because I've been thinking about him today. It's not him. He's not here.

He walked closer to me but stopped about 2 metres away, hands in pockets with his chest rising and falling as rapidly as mine.

I could feel my chest heave against my dress as I stared at him, trying to decipher if that was truly him or if I was just dreaming.

"y/n?" He finally said, unsure of whether I was who he thought I was.

"A-Arvin?" I whispered.

A smile began to grow on his face and I knew it was him. It was him. Arvin.

I dropped my handbag and ran towards him, throwing my arms around his neck a our bodies collided, nearly setting us back.

His arms wrapped around my waist and lifted me up, making my legs pop up. He still smelled the same and he still felt the same. He felt like home.

"I can't believe you're here." I whispered, feeling a tear fall down my face.

He placed me back on my feet and I looked at him, cupping his face with my hands. He held them, stroking my thumbs with a smile.

"Why are you here?" He asked softly.

"I-I live here. I have since...since high school." I gulped.

He raised his brows, "I've been here for four years, y/n."

My mouth dropped open, "What?!"

He grinned, his hands squeezing mine, "We've both been livin' here for four years but not ran into each other."

I stuttered, "Wh-what? How is that- oh my gosh." I laughed, bringing my hands away from his face.

"I can't believe you're here, Arvin." I gulped, my chin quivering slightly.

"I didn't think I'd ever see you again." I bit my lip, trying to stop myself from crying in public.

"Hey, shh." He brought me into him, cradling my head against his chest.

"We're here. I'm here." He said softly.

-

We decided to walk around the park to catch up which seemed both amazing but alien at the same time. We were still us but we had changed so much.

"Still wearin' ribbons I see." He grinned.

I laughed, "Don't make fun of me."

"I'm not. I always loved them." He smiled.

I blushed and looked to the ground.

"So, why Cincinnati?" Arvin asked.

I sighed, "I couldn't live there anymore after school." I gulped.

"It was just too hard. And I got accepted into college here so I decided to move."

"You'll be finished school now, right?" Arvin queried.

"Yeah. I just finished and I actually just got a job today, so." I smiled.

"That's amazin'. I'm happy for you." He grinned.

"Thank you..."

We walked in silence for a little longer than I would have hoped. But he broke it again.

"Why're you in town today, then? Considering I spend every day here and I've never seen you leads me to believe you don't come here often." He chuckled.

I nodded, "Yeah, I never get the chance too. But I was uh...I was actually in town for a dress fitting." I coughed, looking down at the floor.

"Goin' somewhere nice?" He asked.

I scoffed a laugh and looked up at him, "My wedding."

He stared at me in surprise, eyes wide and mouth open, soaking in the information.

"Y-you're engaged?" He croaked.

I nodded, removing my left glove to show the sturdy ring that sat on my finger.

"W-wow. I mean...he must be rich if you got a ring like that." He swallowed, looking down at his shoes.

"I mean...yeah, I guess." I shrugged awkwardly, putting the glove back on.

"How long have you been-"

"Uh, since last year. We met in college. He was doin' finance and Daddy actually put in a good word for him and he got his old job."

"He got your daddy's old job?" Arvin repeated.

"Yeah...yeah once uh...once he passed, they needed someone to fill his shoes so." I gulped.

Arvin stopped, "Your Dad passed? When?"

I chewed the inside of my lip, "Earlier this year."

"y/n, I am so, so sorry." He placed a hand on my arm.

"No, don't be silly. It's fine. He just never got well after he took a turn in Coal Creek." I said, beginning to walk again.

"I remember how sick he was..."

My chest fluttered. It was as if our past was an alternate universe. Like we never really lived it. It was just a different version of ourselves that did. Because now, we were here and it didn't feel the same. Not completely.

"So...should I ask how you ended up here?" I asked cautiously.

He tilted his head from side to side as if trying to figure an answer out himself.

"I don't think you'd like the details." He stated, reaching into his pocket for another cigarette.

"Did you..." I stopped, looking around us before lowering my voice.

"Did you do what you implied you would?" I asked, looking into his seemingly innocent eyes.

He inhaled some smoke and then exhaled, turning away for my sake.

"I did what I implied." He stated simply.

My stomach turned. I kept chewing my lip with nervousness, looking into his eyes. He didn't seem like a killer. He wasn't a bad person. I knew him. I knew who he was. And a murderer was not in his description.

I wanted to know about it. About him. I needed to know. So, impulsively - a word I hadn't used since our last night in Coal Creek - I invited him back with me.

"Would you come home with me? I live 15 minutes out of town and I'd really like to talk but I don't think a public park is appropriate." I said in a hushed tone.

He thought about it before nodding, "Sure."

-

The drive to my house was a little awkward. The radio played at a low hum while we sat in near silence, only the sound of the wind and other cars passing by filling the air.

"Used to be me drivin' you everywhere." Arvin commented with a chuckle.

I smiled, "Oh, how the tables have turned."

He laughed and so did I, then we resumed our mutual silence.

When we got to Will and I's estate, I drove through the gates of the house to the driveway where at the top, a large house sat - much like the one in Coal Creek.

"Our drivin' might've changed but this certainly hasn't." Arvin sighed, almost as if he was disappointed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked with a raised brow.

He shrugged, "Feels all too familiar, that's all." He said before getting out the car.

I screwed my face up at his comment but decided to let it slide. I got out of the car and locked it before following Arvin who seemed as if he knew the place, up the steps of the porch.

"Is your fiancé home?" He asked the ground, hands in pockets.

I shook my head, "He's out of town for a weekend with work."

I stuck the key into the lock of the wide, white front door and opened it. I walked inside then held it open for Arvin.

He walked in and looked around, taking in his new surroundings.

The hallway was wide and white, only paintings filling the wall space and a large staircase to the left winded up to the next floor.

"Wow...I mean, you've done well for yourself." Arvin scoffed a laugh.

"Thank you." I smiled weakly, taking my hat from my head.

He looked up at the high ceilings, appreciating the chandelier that hung above the doorway.

"Come on through. Do you want tea? Coffee?" I offered, walking down the hallway and into the open kitchen/living room area while taking my gloves off.

He walked in behind me, looking around the new room he was in before following me into the kitchen.

"How about a scotch?" He asked with a smirk.

I smiled, "That'd be appropriate, I think."

I got the crystal decanter and two glasses from the tray that sat atop the kitchen table. I poured us two glasses and then handed Arvin one. I brought the decanter with us as we migrated to the couch.

I slipped my heels off before sitting down, my dress puffing and fanning out over my lap. Arvin sat opposite me, his ankle resting on his knee comfortably.

"So..." I started.

"So." He repeated.

"I think I might have more questions about you than you do about me." I smiled weakly.

He nodded, "Probably right."

I took a deep breath before asking any questions.

"Who got Lenora pregnant?" I asked.

I thought that would be a good starting point. It was what started everything.

"Reverend Teagardin. The new preacher that came to town." Arvin answered.

My eyes widened, "What?!"

"He took Lenora - and other girls - into the woods," Arvin began to explain.

He stared at the crystal in his hands and the liquid floating inside of it. He didn't once look up at me.

"He'd make them pray before they got started and he'd take advantage of them."

"Didn't he have-"

"A wife? Yeah. But he was abusin' her at home, too." He gulped.

"Oh my god. That's horrible." I sighed, my stomach feeling uneasy.

He finally looked up at me and I could feel his curiosity burn into me.

"Do you...do you still talk to Grandma?" He asked, his voice slightly shaky.

I smiled and nodded, "Yeah. I talked to her last week."

A slight smile grew on his face with relief, "How is she?"

"She's okay. She always talks about you and Lenora. Mostly you now, though. I mean, I never told her a thing about our last night and she still doesn't know about Lenora's pregnancy. She knows just as much as when you left."

He licked his teeth and nodded, "Thanks for keepin' in touch."

"Of course. I said I would, didn't I?" I grinned.

He nodded with a smile.

"So how about you? Livin' here in this big house with a big-shot fiance. Must be nice." He quirked his brow, taking a sip of his drink.

He was trying to pry something out of me, I could feel it.

"It's good. He takes care of me and we're happy." I stated.

"It's not boring?"

"No." I lied.

He tilted his head, "I can tell when you're lyin', y/n."

I scoffed, "You haven't seen me in five years and you think you can just come back here and tell me you know me so well? Don't start with that bullshit, Arvin."

He furrowed his brows, "Are you mad at me? What did I do?"

I rolled my eyes, "You don't know me, Arvin. So don't act like you do."

I sat my glass down and swiftly stood up from the couch. He did the same.

"I might not have seen you in years but I think I know you better than anyone on this planet. Am I right?" He asked, watching as I paced up and down in front of him.

I scoffed and shook my head.

"You're tellin' me that this guy- this guy - knows you better than I do?" Arvin lifted a picture of Will and I up to demonstrate.

"Yes. He does."

"Bullshit." He spat.

"You don't get to say shit like that Arvin. You know why?" I challenged, standing close to him with my hands on my hips.

"Why?" He retorted.

"Because you left! You left to murder someone! You'd have rather been a killer livin' with guilt for the rest of your life than to be with me." I shouted.

I didn't notice how close we were until he laughed and I could feel his familiar breath on my face.

"I had to do it. That preacher was no good. And neither was that cops sister and her dirt-bag husband." He snapped.

I blinked at him in confusion.

"Wh-what do you mean the cops sister and her husband?" I asked in a soft tone.

He looked away from me and gulped.

I gasped and held my hands over my mouth, "Did- did you-"

He grabbed and held my hands, "They were gonna kill me, y/n. They would take hitchhikers and murder them to take pictures with their dead bodies. I wasn't about to be the next one."

I widened my eyes, "They did what?!"

"And then I got caught out by the cop...his sister was the wife. He followed me to Knockemstiff and tried to shoot me with a shot gun. I had to, y/n. He was gonna kill me I-"

I could see the tears and the panic in his eyes. I just reached my hands up and wrapped them around his shoulders, bringing him into my arms. His face went into my neck and I could feel tears drip onto my skin. I threaded my fingers through his hair.

"I'm a bad person, y/n. I killed four people..." He sniffed.

"Arvin, look at me." I tugged him from my neck and cupped his cheeks.

"You are not a bad person. You were just caught up in some twisted shit and you had no other way. You are a good person, Arvin." I said sincerely, feeling tears spring into my own eyes.

"I lost you because of it, though I just- I can't-" He cried.

"I know." I sniffled, feeling a tear drip down my face.

I looked at him; teary, eyes swollen and red, complexion pale. I didn't know what else to do.

"You're a good person, Arvin." I said again, leaning up on my tip-toes to kiss his cheek.

He hummed at my touch and I kissed his other cheek, "You did nothin' wrong."

I went back to his right cheek and kissed it again like I needed to feel his skin on my lips once more.

Just as I went to kiss his other cheek, he leaned forward and caught my lips with his instead.

I gasped, pulling away from his body and looking at him, touching my fingers over my lips.

"I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. You're an engaged woman and I-"

I launched forward, wrapping my arms around his neck and crashing my lips to his. It took a second to make sure it was real. But as his hands slid effortlessly onto my waist, I knew.

"You're the love of my life, Arvin. You always have been and always will be." I whispered, pulling away briefly.

He stared into my eyes but didn't say a word. But I knew what he was thinking. He kissed me again, our lips moved over each other's with fervour and passion, the excitement and thrill of tasting each other again for the first time in years. In too long. He felt and tasted the same but more mature and wiser.

He pushed me back by my waist until my back hit the wall. I let out a moan of surprise and pleasure. He smirked against my lips before devouring me again. His tongue slipped easily into my mouth and I hummed, fully tasting him. My fingers ran through and tugged at his hair, and his hands ran up and down my sides and my back.

His touch felt nostalgic but euphoric and in the heat of the moment, everything was perfect.

"Your lips taste amazing," He said breathlessly between sloppy kisses.

"So do yours." I replied.

He wrapped his hands around my back and skilfully unzipped my dress. It fell to the floor in a pool around my ankles. I brought my hands to his shoulders as our kiss got heavier, teasing his suspenders before sliding them off his arms. I began unbuttoning his shirt in a hurried fashion as his lips started trailing down my jaw to my neck. I was finally able to push the fabric from his shoulders and then pulling his vest over his head.

And as his hands came down to my thighs to lift me up and around his torso, and as he carried me up and into my bedroom; I knew that he was it. He was the person I was destined to be with. He was the love of my life.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

5 years later

(Play ‘That Old Feeling’ by Doris Day now)

I placed the needle carefully onto the record and turned it up.

I walked through the house and got to the porch where I looked out and saw Arvin and Jack playing catch. I stood with a grin as my husband and 4 year old played enthusiastically - the old baseball still intact and very much in use.

I crouched down and placed the 2 year old who rested on my hip, onto the ground. She wobbled slightly but quickly got up and running. She made her way to the stairs which I quickly intervened and grabbed her hand to help her down onto the soil.

"Go get Daddy, Charlotte. Go!" I laughed, pointing to Arvin.

She squealed happily and ran towards her Dad, arms flailing clumsily as she sprinted. Arvin stopped the game of catch briefly as he saw his daughter coming towards him.

"Hey princess!" He grinned, crouching to his knees and grabbing his daughter.

He lifted her up and sat her on his knee, handing her the ball.

"Throw the ball to Jack, Charlotte!" Arvin prompted, pointing to the blonde haired boy who stood confidently.

She babbled a few words and then threw the ball onto the ground. At least she attempted. I whooped and clapped as I walked over.

"Good job, baby!" I praised in a baby voice.

Arvin stood up, letting Charlotte run around with her brother for a while, the dog joining them, enthusiastically bounding around them.

"Hey, handsome." I grinned as I reached Arvin.

"Hey, beautiful." He smiled.

He wrapped an arm around my waist and kissed me, tongue briefly slipping into my mouth. I hummed in surprise and pulled away.

"Careful, Arvin or you'll be makin' another one of those tonight." I giggled.

We stood side by side, an arm wrapped around each other's back as we watched Jack attempt to play catch with his sister.

"Why don't we make another one, then?" Arvin suggested.

I looked at him with raised brows, "If you want to push one out of your ass, then by all means let's do it."

He chuckled, "I'm serious, y/n."

I turned to face him and he wrapped his arms around my waist while I played with the bottom of his hair.

"Another baby girl or boy? With a dog?" I laughed.

"Yeah...I mean it's crazy but it's our crazy." He smirked.

"Hmm, depends how nice you treat me tonight." I bit my lip.

He held back a shit-eating grin, "Oh...you're so gettin' knocked up tonight."

I gasped, smacking his chest with a laugh.

"I love you." He smiled.

"I love you, too."

"Forever?" He quipped.

"And ever." I smiled.

And we meant it.

-

A/N: oh my god. that's the mini-series done! i loved writing for Arvin it was fun with the southern dialogue and the 60s time period! i hope you all enjoyed reading as much as i enjoyed writing. If you'd like to request any one shots, head over to my instagram @tomholland1510 to request!

ALSO!! bonus points to anyone who understands the easter eggs in the kids' names! do they seem familiar? ;)

-

{Tags: @notandordinaryprincess96 @imagine-yourself-happy​}

[mourntheantagonist]

ok hear me out

(I feel like I start every post like that oops)

but hear me out!!

single dad!billy and ice cream truck driver!steve

whenever “music box dancer” echoes through the neighborhood, billy’s little five year old son jensen will drag him out from whatever he’s doing like the sky is falling. paying his bills at the kitchen table, underneath the hood of the camaro, doing laundry, doesn’t matter... there are more pressing matters at hand and it starts with ice, and ends with cream. and only daddy’s pockets full of quarters can remedy the situation.

the ice cream man was one of the more exciting things about moving to a suburban neighborhood and out of their cramped apartment in the center of town. sure the house wasn’t much bigger and definitely not much nicer, but it was finally physical evidence that billy wasn’t some screw up like everyone had expected after he became a father at the age of seventeen. he had a place that was truly his own that he felt safe raising his son, and the added benefit of the ice cream truck passing down their street every other day throughout the summer months was simply not something a dad could pass up.

the first couple of times the truck came around it was being driven by a man who looked to be in his late sixties and he was always out of the neapolitan ice cream sandwiches to billy’s dismay. the man lacked spirit and it wasn’t the same vibe billy remembered as a child when the truck would come rolling through his own neighborhood. he missed the days when despite his empty pockets, the man who drove the truck always gave him a free otter pop that he bought especially for the kids with no money. this man, however, overcharged and seemed to really just hate life, and if it wasn’t for getting to see the smile on his kids face with chocolate smeared all over it, it wouldn’t be all that great.

the day came just like any other. it was a saturday at home with his son rolling hot wheels down the driveway as he cleaned up the garage when the familiar jingle neared their street. In practically no time at all, jensen was tugging at his shorts screaming “ice cream! ice cream!” over and over again until billy dropped the broom and walked with him out to the sidewalk, ready to wave down the singing truck.

billy’s already counting out the exact $2.25 in quarters while they wait, preparing for the boring interaction with the old man who clearly hated his job, until it finally pulls up and instead of seeing the balding head of grey hair he was used to seeing, it’s a full head of chestnut brown underneath a white paper hat. he’s young, around his age, and he’s damn good looking.

billy has been out of the game since, like, forever. the most he had were flings at random guys houses whenever he could find somebody to watch jensen, and he never even thought about bringing anyone home while he had a kid to think about. the only relationship he was ever in was with jensen’s mom who dipped two weeks after he was born, leaving him to raise the newborn all by himself.

it’s been nearly a year since he’s actually slept with someone, because that’s all it ever was. that’s all he could ever find. nobody wanted to be tied down to someone with a five year old, especially at his age when he should be having fun and going wild. going to clubs and drinking beer, not going to the park and drinking apple juice out of a container with a bendy straw.

the thing is, he’s happy. going to bars and getting absolutely shitfaced was so appealing to him as a teenager, but as an adult and a literal dad, he would much rather sit at home watching the lady and the tramp for the thousandth time, singing along softly to la la lu just like he did when his little boy was just a baby, singing him to sleep. his little star sleeper. just like billy’s mother did for him too. her little star sleeper.

but, he did get lonely at times, especially with jensen already in kindergarten, and he might only be twenty two but he felt like he was pushing thirty and hey, the ice cream man could be some much needed practice.

problem is, his usual method of flirting was largely dependent on his look and there wasn’t much romance in moving eyes that said “you wanna get outta here?” billy knew seduction, not courting. and he definitely didn’t know how to do it in cargo shorts and a greasy white tee and fucking sandals... holy fuck he’s really letting himself go.

so what did billy do? well he didn’t really get to say much with his shouting child screaming their orders at the man. all billy did was hand over the loose change and offer a nervous smile like he was a damn virgin. he couldn’t help but blush when the man offered a soft smile back and held out a hand to shake.

“I’m steve.”

billy reluctantly shakes steve’s hand, mentally cursing his sweaty palms.

“billy,” he responds with a nod, “this is jensen.” he misses his hair.

“is he yours?” he got that question a lot. someone of college age with a kid already in school definitely turned some heads. most just assumed jensen was his little brother. and despite how proud billy was to claim that brilliant kid as his own blood, he didn’t like hearing that question too often from guys he was flirting with, especially when it came out with a tone of worry. every time he was forced to say “yes, he’s mine” they would all go running for the hills.

steve’s tone, however, lacked worry, but there was instead curiosity written all over it in the way he let his elbows rest upon the small counter ledge and his chin rest in his hands.

“yup, he’s all mine.” billy just waited for the smile to falter, but instead it just grew slightly wider.

“you got a cute kid. I got a baby girl at home.” steve does a look up and down at billy, most likely checking to see if he has his attention, which he most definitely does. billy’s trying his best to stare as casually as possible at the little moles that trail down his neck to his chest where the hair is visible in the way he’s leaning forward. “it’s just her and I.”

that was flirting right? the way he said it was definitely flirting. it had to be. billy was completely tongue tied for some reason.

“me too. I mean- us too. it’s just him and I too.” billy stammered.

steve just smiled and turned around to grab their ice creams from the freezer, handing them to the two of them and adding a slip of paper in between billy’s fingers as he takes the fudge bar.

“us single dads gotta stick together right?” steve says with a wink.

billy accepts the slip of paper, twirling it in between his fingers as he tries to hide his blush.

“yeah, uh, have a good rest of your day.”

steve just laughs and turns the music back on.

“you too billy. see you around.”

billy just waves as he drives off in the distance, still twiddling the little post it sized slip in his fingers just standing there out on the side walk as he completely forgets about the little boy standing beside him until he feels that familiar tug on his shorts.

“that wasn’t very smooth daddy.” he says.

billy scoffs. gives a look of offense before dropping it with a sigh and a laugh.

“you’re right. but we’ll get him next time.”

from then on, jensen doesn’t even need to bother getting his dads attention when the ice cream truck drives into their neighborhood, because billy’s already out on the sidewalk waiting with his $2.25 and a proposition for dinner when he’s finished slinging ice cream for the day.

[jaedore]

BINDING BONDS | 1

< next 

parings: jung jaehyun x reader

genre: ceo!au, arranged marriage!au, (semi) angst, consumption of alcohol, asshole/player Jaehyun, swearing 

note: BB deals with themes of mental and physical abuse, which can be upsetting for some readers. If you feel uncomfortable reading these types of plots, you are advised to not continue

[ 4.9 k words ]

Out of breath. That’s what you felt when you woke up this morning and saw that you were going to be late to work. 

“SHOOT!” you jolted out of bed and sprinted to the bathroom. 

Today was the first day where you would work under your mother to prove to her that you’re worth the CEO position. Your mother was the CEO of Audace, a clothing line competing against other luxury brands such as Gucci, CocoChanel, Versace, Louis Vuitton. Today, you couldn’t afford to be late, so there you were, sloppily throwing makeup on your face in your bathroom. 

“Not today, you’re not gonna ruin this y/n,” you talked to your reflection. 

As soon as you looked as ready as you could be, you rushed out the door of your apartment and into your car. 

“Whatever, I’m already late,” you sighed and as soon as you knew it, you were taking a detour to the coffee shop. 

Parking your car, you shut the door and entered the little coffee shop. It was always your favorite, even though you never drank coffee. The comfort it held, held a soft spot in your heart. 

“Hey Soojin, I’ll have my usual,” you smiled, setting your sunglasses on top of your head, “Oh! And a medium chai for my mom please,” you figured that you could bring her her favorite drink while you were at it.

“Of course, $5.75 please.” 

You swiped your card and stood aside, waiting for your drink. You sat at the nearest table and looked at the little pot of sunflowers sitting in the center. You ran your fingers against the soft petals, but soon your thoughts were interrupted by a call. 

You sighed looking at the contact, “morning, mother.” 

“Why are you late? You were supposed to be here half an hour ago,” she asked. 

“I overslept and made a little detour,” you simply replied. 

“Y/n!” As soon as you heard your name called, you stood up and grabbed both of your drinks. 

You nodded at Soojin to thank her and rushed out of the coffee shop. 

“Well you better be on your way in the next half hour because we have a meeting with our joint company, got it?” Your mother sternly said as you opened the door with your back. 

“Of course! I’m coming right n-HEY! Watch it!!” you yelled. 

You looked down at your stained white blazer and blouse. The iced matcha you were dying to drink was suddenly gone and absorbed into your shirt. It was the first blazer your mother bought you for your first day of working with her. 

“Chill, princess, you were in my way” the man stood in front of you, the nickname he gave you frustrated you even more. 

The man stood tall and confident, he was wearing his own suit and he wore it well, too bad your drink spilled a bit on him. 

“Do you have a napkin?” you desperately asked him. 

“Only my handkerchief,” he replied. 

“Oh, thank you,” you reached to grab it from his blazer pocket until he stepped to the side. 

“I never offered it to you,” he bluntly said, taking it out and wiping himself instead. 

Surprised at his comment, you huffed in defeat and walked to your car. You couldn’t be late to the joint company meeting. 

“Hey, mom,” you walked into her office. 

“Hey-oh...what happened to you?” your mother looked up from the papers in front of her. 

“Some douche ran into me on my way out to the coffee shop,” you muttered. 

“My blazer’s in the closet, grab it before we go,” your mother pointed to the closet. 

The only option was a navy blue blazer so you grabbed it and buttoned it, hiding your stained blouse. After you fixed yourself, it was time for you and your mother to go to the meeting. Thankfully the CEO was coming to Audace’s building.

“We’re meeting with Jung Corporation, they’re the biggest trading company here,” your mom explained as she reread the files in her hands. 

“But we don’t need to trade...Audace is international,” you stated. 

“Yes I know, but it’s got to do with partnerships, stocks, it’s a joint business partnership, y/n,” she explained. 

The elevator bell rang and the two of you left for the meeting room. 

“Anyways, we’re meeting to discuss our joint business celebration that’s happening this Saturday,” your mom continued. 

“Shoot,” you whispered to yourself. 

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten,” your mom stopped walking to look at you. 

“I-I mean I-no I haven’t mom,” you lowered your head, “lets just go, they’re probably waiting for us.”

“Greetings, Mr. Jung! Thank you for coming,” your mom was the first to walk in and shook hands with the man and his wife. 

The man was a little older, had some grey streaks in his hair, but still looked fairly well for an older man. His wife stood up and also shook hands with the both of you. She was very beautiful, there wasn’t even a streak of wrinkles, you couldn’t stop looking at her youthful features. 

“My apologies, my son couldn’t make it. He had a...minor incident before this,” the wife spoke. 

“No worries, I’m sure we’ll be seeing him at our joint business celebration this Saturday” your mother smiled. 

The meeting went by smoothly, the talk of the facility, decorations, invitation acceptances, champagne. You had to refrain yourself from yawning so much, the meeting felt like it was never going to end. It felt like forever until the never ending conversations finally stopped.

“So everything’s set!” Mr. Jung clapped.

“Yes, thank you, and thank you Mrs. Jung, for both coming to meet us. We’ll be seeing your family this weekend,” you and your mother shook their hands and walked them out of the building. 

“No, y/n I just don’t think it matches your...vibe?” Your friend Haewon brows furred thinking of the right word. 

“Well then, I don’t know. Maybe I should just wear one of my older dresses,” you sighed. 

“No no no, you can’t do that. We’re going to Versace,” and with that, she took your hand out of the store. 

Haewon was your only friend. Growing up, you had a hard time establishing friendships and later on, relationships. As a kid, no one had a desire to be your friend. Your family was one of the richest where you lived so all the little kids were afraid to approach you, intimidated that if they’d get on your bad side, hell would ensue. As for relationships, you never had time for them. Even when you did, the guys were in it for the money and fame, so you saved yourself the energy to pass dating overall. 

You opened up your heart to many many people in your life, but it always resulted in them leaving after they took something from you. You learned that the hard way. Each and every time someone left, you guarded yourself more and more. Instead, you went to school, studied hard, and focused on the CEO position your mother was going to pass down to you. 

Haewon, was there the entire time. You always laugh to yourself whenever you remember the moment you two met. You met her at a charity ball when you were very young. She took the last cream puff that you wanted and ran off with it, so when you chased her into one of the rooms, you cried to her that you wanted it. Feeling bad, she gave half of it to you. That’s when the friendship began. Even though she’s loud, a talker, and loves to gossip, she’s always been there for you during hard times. 

“Haewon, I’m tired and my feet hurt, can we just-”

“No, we are not going, I’m going to make sure that you look so good at this celebration. Especially when the Jungs are going to be there,” her eyes widen looking at the wide variety of dresses. 

“Huh?” you furrowed your brows. 

“Oh you haven’t seen? Their only son, Jung Jaehyun, he is-oh my gosh- he is the most beautiful man you will ever see,” Haewon gushed. 

“I...doubt that,” you walked ahead of her, searching for a dress. 

“Just wait until you see him! He is gorgeous, but…” Haewon paused. 

“But what?” you asked not taking your eyes off your choices. 

“He kinda likes to uh...play around?” Haewon cautiously said. 

“Really?” you hummed uninterested as you still browsed the dresses. 

And that was the truth, you were truly uninterested. You thought men like him were a waste of time, they’d never survive in the world of business. 

“Girls say that he never gets into serious relationships. The ones that I’ve talked to, had either one night stands or flings with him, but sadly, nothing serious…” Haewon pouted.

“Guess we’ll just have to confirm that on Saturday,” you picked up a dress. 

“Oh, that’s perfect,” your best friend’s eyes widen in awe. 

Saturday came closer than you thought. You just got back from helping your parents prepare for the celebration, along with the Jungs. And again, the famous Jaehyun still didn’t show up. 

You picked up the Barocco Signature Shift Dress that you bought from Versace the other day and carefully slipped into it. After you got yourself ready, you drove yourself back to the facility. There were already so many cars, the sudden amount of people overwhelmed you. You parked your car and sat there, leaning your head against the steering wheel. As a baby, before you could even walk, you were taught a certain way to act at events like these. At the same time, you didn’t find joy in being the center of attention and being presented in front of a crowd like a...prize. It was draining.

Ring ring ring!!

“Hello?” you cleared your throat as you answered. 

“Y/n, are you coming yet? The Jungs will be coming here soon,” your mother said on the other line. 

“Uh yeah, I just parked,” you sighed, rubbing your forehead hoping that the marks from the steering wheel didn’t tattoo on your forehead. 

With your Runway Virtus Mini Chain Wallet, you walked into the facility that held the large room. There were two staircases on both sides of the room that went up to an indoor balcony that oversaw the whole room. 

“Y/n, over here,” your mom waved to you. 

As you walked over, you spotted Mr. Jung and his wife standing behind your mother. 

“Hello,” you bowed to them. 

“You look so beautiful, y/n,” Mrs. Jung hugged you. 

“Thank you, you look wonderful,” you complimented. 

“Oh honey, where’s Jaehyun?” she asked her husband. 

“He said he’s going to be late,” Mr. Jung’s lips thinned, fists tightening. 

“No problem, I’m sure we’ll see him in a bit,” your mother said. 

You excused yourself to grab some champagne. You could feel it in your spine that it was going to be a long, long night. As people started to pour in, the music got louder and the hotter it got. People came by and greeted you, giving out small talk. After a while, you excused yourself to grab more champagne. 

When you could feel the temperature in your body rise, you fanned yourself as you walked up to the balcony to oversee everyone. Despite the second level, it was still cooler. You sighed, sipping on your champagne thinking to yourself how much more you can drink in order to still drive. 

“It’s quieter up here,” A low voice came from behind you. 

It was the guy, the guy from earlier who spilt your iced matcha. He was dressed in a sleek suit and tie that framed his broad shoulders and lean physique. 

“You,” your eyes slightly widen, “who are you to be here?” 

“I’ll leave that for you to figure out,” he sipped on his drink, looking down at the crowd. 

“No I’m serious, I’ve never seen you before, but apparently you made it through security,” you stated, mumbling the last part. 

“Just know that I’m significant enough to make it in,” he turned towards you, eyeing you up and down. 

“Although, I can say the same thing, I don’t know who you are, yet you managed to make it in too,” he raised a brow. 

“I’m-” 

“Didn’t ask,” he waved his hand up and dismissed you off.

You bend your neck to the side and think to yourself, who this man was and who he was to be acting like that. Someone so forthright, rude, and upfront disrespectful. Before you spoke up, another girl around your age came to his side, wrapping her arms around his.

“There you are, I’ve been looking all over for you!” she smiled.

“Just wanted to get some air,” he looked back down and gazed at the crowd as she pecked his cheek. 

Girlfriend…? You took another sip and walked away from the couple. You thought to yourself if you’d ever get to that stage in life. To be in a relationship where things were gentle, comfortable, and felt like home. You had to remind yourself that you didn’t have that kind of luxury. 

“Ahem, excuse me!” Your mom stood on stage holding onto a microphone and her glass of champagne. 

“We would just like to thank all of you who were able to make it to our celebration,” she spoke happily, “being able to become partners with Jung Corporation is such an honor. With this, we hope to expand more internationally. At the same time, I would like to introduce my daughter to everyone,” the light panned on you.

Oh mother, what are you thinking? You sighed, she didn’t inform you on this. You walked up on stage and presented your best smile. You didn’t have a speech written down, so you were only relying on what sounded reliable and serious in your brain. 

“Tonight isn’t just about Jung Corporation and Audace joining businesses, it’s also about our future generation! As you all know, I will be retiring soon, and I want everyone to know who will be taking my position,” your mother explained, “This lovely young lady, is my daughter, y/n. I want you guys to know that she wasn’t given this position. I pushed her to the bottom of the chain and told her to work herself up. She did it quicker than I thought,” she winked to the audience, earning several laughs. 

“Y/n?” Your mother turned her attention back to you, “how about a few words?” 

You adjusted the microphone to your level and began speaking. You weren’t as nervous as you thought, probably because you’ve done this a dozen times already. 

“Good evening everyone, as you know, I will be taking over the CEO position soon,” your voice echoed throughout the facility, “I want everyone to know that this isn’t all fun and games. The world we live in doesn’t grant wishes and it most certainly won’t go the way we want. Business is one of the biggest factors that make the world go around. So, when you invest in us, you are entirely with us the whole way. You are part of the family, and so with this, I hope you can warmly welcome me into it,” you smiled as you bowed and left the stage after the audience clapped. 

It was Mr. Jung’s turn to speak. He gave a few wise words, but you were way too hot to stay for the entire speech so you left to go outside to the garden. As you were leaving, you could hear him faintly introducing his son, who apparently, finally made it to the event. You knew you should’ve stayed to meet him, but you figured that you’d see him sooner or later. He’s the one who’s been absent anyways. 

“Honey, what are you doing out here?” It was your father.

“Father!” you jumped from your seat to hug him, you didn’t think he’d come, “I was just getting some air. What are you doing here?”

“I decided to take a little time off. Work was getting overwhelming, so I’m taking a few weeks off. Hopefully I can spend time with you and your mother,” he smiled. 

Your dad held the CEO position of a law firm in the overseas, so that’s where he mostly was. Of course he came home for the holidays, birthdays, celebrations, and other important things. Your parents were married, but they were forced to be. Nonetheless, they learned to love each other so you grew up with a healthy childhood. You wondered if your parents had thought about forcing you to marry someone as you were around the age they also got married. 

After you and your father got the chance to catch up, you two went back inside to join the celebration. The night consisted of exchanged laughs, short conversations, and business plans. Soon, people trickled out and before you knew it, it was midnight. Sleep was beginning to call your name, you were ready to walk out the door until your mother stopped you.

“Where are you going? We have important matters to talk about with the Jungs,” she waved for you to come back. 

“Really mother? It’s past midnight, what’s so important that we have to talk at this time?” you frustratedly asked, all you wanted was to take off the tight dress, high heels, and the makeup that sat on your skin. 

“No, come,” she gently grabbed your arm, dragging you to an office room. 

When you went in, your father sat on the leather seat and the Jungs sat on the other side of the room, leaving two seats in the middle of the room. The guy you met earlier was sitting in one of them. The one who spilled your iced matcha on you and approached you on the balcony. 

“What’s going on?” you quietly asked.

“Sit please,” she let go as you obeyed her. 

Please don’t be the son, please don’t be the son, please don’t be the son. You mentally pleaded.

“Y/n, this is my son Jaehyun. My apologies that you had to finally meet him,” Mrs. Jung said. 

Shit. Your eyes widened looking at him, and he held your gaze, you could see his dark orbs hold frustration and curiosity. 

“As you two know, we now hold a joint business partnership,” Mr. Jung began from his seat. 

Based on his tone, you knew that he wasn’t going to be delivering good news. You could feel the beating in your heart pick up. 

“And that means that you were joined based on an agreement,” your mother finished his statement. 

By this time, your palms were sweating and you held your breath to stabilize your breathing. You just wanted to get this over with, but you weren’t ready for the bad news.

“You two will be getting married,” Mr. Jung spilled. 

“What??” You and him both turned your heads towards Mr. Jung. 

“No,” Jaehyun stood up, “There is no way I am marrying her,” he spat out, pointing at you. 

Yes, you were hurt by his words, but you were focused more on the big announcement.

“Jaehyun, you don’t have a choice,” Mrs. Jung gently said, patting his shoulder. 

He moved from her touch as he mumbled something you couldn’t comprehend. The sound of voices tuned out into nothing as vexation clouded your mind.

“Don’t say that you don’t know her,” his mother whispered as she pleaded with him. 

The room was soon filled with arguments with Jaehyun and his parents. He was clearly frustrated and the boom in his voice told you so. You had to cover your ears to block out the loudness of his voice that managed to slither its way into your head. You pressed your hands against your forehead to stop yourself from shaking. 

You paused for a second, calming yourself down before you stood up, “I’m not getting married to him.”

“Yeah, same. Anyone but her,” Jaehyun commented. 

“ENOUGH JUNG JAEHYUN,” his father stood up and shouted at him. 

His wife, Jaehyun, you, and your family all stood in shock. 

“Mr. Jung, don’t be so harsh. We just announced it to them, let them process it for a few days,” your mother gently spoke, holding onto your father. 

“She’s right honey,” Mrs. Jung grabbed onto her husband’s shoulder. 

“I don’t think anyone understood what I just said, I’m not getting married to him,” you repeated in a low tone, running out of patience.

“Y/n-” before your mother spoke, you were already out the door. 

When you finally arrived at your apartment, you threw your heels to the ground and quickly unzipped your dress. Tossing it onto your bed, you immediately went to the shower to get yourself cleaned. As the hot water relaxes your muscles you think about the announcement that was made a while ago. You couldn’t believe your parents were forcing you to marry him. Fucking Jung Jaehyun. 

Wait- but how come I never seen him before? You sighed to yourself as you wrapped the towel around you. 

Trudging to your bedroom, you pulled out your pajamas and immediately buried yourself under your blankets. Before you could manage to fall asleep, you mother called. 

“Yes mom?” you were beginning to get tired of her constant calling, but you couldn’t because she is your mother. 

“Where are you? Are you okay?” She feverishly asked. 

“Mother, I’m fine. I’m back at my place, I just need to sleep. Please, let’s just talk about this another time, okay?” You begged her. 

“At least you're safe. Good night,” she said hanging up. 

With that, you set your phone back onto the night stand and finally dozed off.  

Jaehyun on the other hand wasn’t handling it well. He left right after you did, but he didn’t go to his place. Instead, he went to the nightclub run by his friend. He immediately went to the bar, started drowning himself in drinks, and making out with random girls who begged for his attention. 

“Dude, stop this,” Taeyong, the nightclub owner, sat next to his best friend. 

Jaehyun pushed the girl who sat on his lap away from him to speak, “you don’t understand” he slurred. 

After Taeyong didn’t say anything, Jaehyun aggressively grabbed the girl from her nape and continued making out with her. He groaned as her heated core moved against his member. Before it got even more heated, Taeyong spoke up. 

“You’re right, I probably won’t understand, but it’s not gonna be any better if you don’t tell me.” Jaehyun waved his friend off, clearly too busy exchanging saliva with the girl sitting on his lap. 

“Okay,” Taeyong had enough of Jaehyun’s behavior. 

He gently pushed the girl off Jaehyun’s lap and dragged his best friend away from the booth. 

“Dude, what the hell?!” Jaehyun shouted. 

Taeyong politely bowed to the customers who snapped their heads towards Jaehyun’s shouting, “Come on, you’re drunk. Let’s get you home.” 

Jaehyun struggled getting out of his friend’s grasp, it didn’t help that he was intoxicated. Taeyong dragged him to his car and sped off. It took awhile for Jaehyun to calm down. 

“I’m getting married,” Jaehyun whispered, his head against the window. 

“Really? This is about that?” Taeyong curiously asked. 

“But it’s not like that,” Jaehyun glared at his friend. 

“O-oh?” 

“It’s an arranged marriage,” he announced.

Taeyong didn’t speak, he kept his vision on the road thinking of something to say. To break the quietness that swallowed them. 

“Have you met her yet?” he finally asked. 

“Yeah, she was the one who spilled her drink on me, then I met her at the party,” Jaehyun slowly said. 

“Oh her? What’s her name?” Taeyong suddenly became interested. 

“I don’t know and I don’t fucking care,” Jaehyun grumbled, throwing his head back on the seat. 

“Jae, come on, you don’t even know her. She can’t be that bad,” Taeyong stated. 

“Whatever man, she’s the daughter of the CEO of Audace,” 

“What? Really? You’re getting married to y/n l/n, Jae. The y/n l/n.” 

“So?” Jaehyun furrowed his brows. 

“Are you kidding me? That’s where I get all of my business wear,” Taeyong said in awe. 

“That’s not significant, Taeyong.” Jaehyun said before dozing off. 

“I mean, I don’t know her personally, but I heard she’s cute,” Taeyong chuckled to himself. 

“Why don’t you get married to her instead?” Jaehyun retorted. 

“You know what? May-” 

“Just shut up and drive,” Jaehyun rubbed his temples. 

“Wait, but what are you going to tell Gaeul?” Taeyong asked. 

“What- that girl I brought to the celebration? It was nothing to begin with, so who cares? After I don’t respond to her for a couple of days, I’m sure she’ll understand,” Jaehyun quietly replied before quietly falling back asleep. 

“I’m telling you man, you gotta stop doing that…” Taeyong sighed as his drunk friend fell asleep. 

You woke up to the sunlight aiming at your face. You groaned and turned around, hoping your body would fall back asleep. It was your last day before you had to go back to work and the last thing you needed was to be forcibly woken. That wish didn’t stay long until you heard your phone ring. It was your mother...again. 

“What mother?” You groggily got up. 

“Are you up yet? I need you to come over right now. The Jungs are also coming,” she sounded in a rush. 

You shot up, “seriously? Now?” You looked down at your thin pajama shirt that loosely hung from your shoulders and your messy hair poking in every direction, you were far from ready.

“Yeah, Jaehyun’s coming too,” she cautiously said. This was probably unplanned by the warriness of her voice. 

“I’ll see you in a bit,” you heavily sighed before groaning, your body falling back onto your bed. 

In the car ride, your mind wandered to the conversation last night. You felt hurt that he didn’t want to marry you, it didn’t make a difference because you didn’t want to marry him because of the kind of guy he was. 

“I’m not that bad...right?” you whispered to yourself. 

To be honest, after all of those individuals who’ve left you, it really questioned your self-worth. It took years for you to love yourself and not have anyone tear you down. 

Jaehyun barely let you talk, so it’s not like he knows you. You had to remind yourself that you meant business and you weren’t going to let him tear you down. He already wasn’t fond of you, you giving him the cold shoulder shouldn’t be a problem. 

As soon as you got home, the Jungs’ car was already parked in the driveway. You assumed that Jaehyun drove separately since there was another car you didn’t recognize. You gave the driver your keys and walked inside. They all sat in the living room of your large home. It’s been so long since you’ve come back, the smell was nostalgic, you were reminded of your childhood, everything used to be so easy. 

“Good morning,” you held your chin high and greeted everyone. 

“Have you eaten yet?” your mother asked. 

“No, I don’t have the appetite,” you sighed, sitting down, “I have things to do so, let’s get to it please.” 

“Well,” your mother breathed, “as you know, you two will be getting married soon.” 

You looked up at her figure, “mother, I thought I made myself clear, I’m not marrying him,” before you stood up again, your father held you by your shoulder. 

“Just...hear us out please, both of you,” Mr. Jung said, “we’ve become joint businesses because that’s what’s best for the business. With you two as the major players, the media will go crazy once they hear you two are getting married and the stocks will rise.” 

You frowned at his commentary. Players? Does he think this is a game? Seems like money is all he cares about. You sighed, setting your sunglasses on top of your head, a sign that you’re willing to stay and listen. 

“And what if we don’t agree?” Jaehyun asked, to be honest you forgot about him. 

Jaehyun sat on the couch across from you, he looked like he hasn’t slept in days. His eyes held bags under them and his face was a little swollen. You scoffed to yourself. 

Poor boy must have a hangover. What a mess. Jaehyun maintained eye contact with you, he knew what you were thinking and he glared at you for thinking it. 

You turned your head towards his father who began speaking again, “So, we wanted to gift you guys an apartment.” 

“Father,” Jaehyun’s tone rose. 

“You are getting married and that’s it,” Mr. Jung stated, “end of discussion.” 

“Yes, I agree,” you looked at your mother in shock. 

You couldn’t actually believe she was going along with this, “mother,” you began. 

“Enough, y/n. It’s done. We just want you guys to get as comfortable with each other as soon as you can. We want the wedding to happen this summer.” 

“Mother, it’s January,” you retorted. 

Did she really think that you could get to know a person, let alone, love someone within six, seven months? Insane. INSANE! You thought to yourself, Especially if it’s Jung Jaehyun.

You sighed before standing from the couch, “well if this is done, then I’ll get going,” you bowed then walked towards the door. 

“You’re not going to stay and have lunch with us?” Your mother asked. 

“I told you before, I don’t have the appetite,” you shut the door without saying goodbye. 

You stood in front of the door, not moving since you shut it. Most of the time you were rarely mad at your parents, but this made you absolutely livid. How could they just marry you off like that? You’re not even 25 yet, you have so much to do, discover, to love. 

The door harshly swung open and you slightly jumped from the impacted sound it made as he slammed it shut. You turned around to see Jaehyun looking down at you. 

“I-” you began, soon being interrupted by him. 

“One,” he held up a finger, coming closer to you, “when we get married I don’t want you thinking that everything is happy and everything is fine. Two, I don’t want you clinging onto me when we’re in public, and most certainly, number three, never call me your husband. Don’t even call me your fiance now.” As he got closer with each rule, you could feel his breath leaving his lips as he reached the last one. 

[sevlgi]

not-so-sweet secret

requested: yes

group: blackpink

pairing: jennie x fem!reader

genre: angst, fluff

contents: school!au, rich girl!jennie, secret relationship

warnings: none

synopsis: What you had with Jennie Kim used to be your sweet little secret. But recently, as Jennie starts publicly dating someone else, it doesn’t seem so sweet anymore.

a/n: yes you can! I love this prompt, thanks so much for requesting! also thank you all so much for 700 followers 😭 you guys have questionable taste but I love you all

word count: 2.6k

You always knew that what you had with Jennie Kim would have to stay a secret.

To be honest, you had no idea how she had even developed feelings for you. While she as the queen of the school, you were a nobody, just another wallflower who admired her. Somehow, she liked you enough to ask you out, and everything began from there.

At first, the idea of a clandestine relationship exhilarated you. The thought of sneaked kisses behind closed doors, of weekend dates in places no one would recognize you, managed to make your heart beat faster.

And that’s exactly how it was at first. You stayed late after school so that Jennie could drive you home in a car that smelled like her perfume, and you sneaked out at night for the first time to see the stars with her. She stared at you in your shared classes, and you slipped notes into each others’ lockers, each one of hers signed with a kiss printed in lipstick.

It was all you could have ever asked for, even if both of you pretended the other didn’t exist in the presence of other people. Sure, it wasn’t ideal that you couldn’t sit together at lunch and share food like other couples, or that Jennie could barely give you a passing glance in the hallways, but it was enough to know how she genuinely laughed, how she liked to hug the people she really loved.

You wanted to be with her publicly, but you also wanted to give Jennie time. You didn’t want to rush her into doing anything she wasn’t ready to do, even if it meant you had to suffer in silence because of it.

In private, she was the sweetest girlfriend you could have ever asked for. She visited your house almost every afternoon and brought you fresh-baked sweets, and she cooked dinner for both of you whenever your parents weren’t home. Jennie stayed over so often that you kept a special blanket and pillow for her right next to yours.

But in public, she was always a whole other person. Whenever you went on dates outside, even if the two of you were in a different town, Jennie hesitated to even stand to closely to you, to smile that cute gummy smile specially reserved for you.

Especially at school, Jennie hung out with her popular friends, those crazily beautiful and rich kids who never looked your way. When she was with them, she was no better, fake-laughing at insensitive jokes and burning money on designer clothes.

That was the price. To be the butt of those insensitive jokes, to be on the receiving end of falsely sweet smiles and to be unable to love Jennie as much as you wanted. But you were sure it would all be worth it in the long term, as long as you kept your sweet little secret tucked close to your heart.

“Hey, jagi,” you smiled, getting into the car and tossing your bag at your feet. “It’s so nice to see you.”

Jennie gave you her customary gummy smile, eyes turning into pretty crescent moons. “Hi, baby. You look really pretty today, you know? I wanted to tell you in math, but Eunchae kept talking about her new Mercedes.”

You blushed lightly, kissing her on the cheek as she started the car. “Really, another one? Didn’t she crash the last one while drunk?”

“High,” your girlfriend corrected. “Remember, there was that huge party at Jackson’s place? He got drugs somehow, and Eunhae got so high that she backed her car into a wall.”

Rolling your eyes lightly at the mention of the party, you reminded Jennie, “I wasn’t there, remember? Nobody in their right mind would invite me to a party. Pretty sure they don’t even know my name.”

“Well, they should. You’re the greatest,” Jennie cooed, giving you a big smile. “Although, you don’t like those parties anyway, right?”

“Nah,” you shrugged, looking out the window at all the passing houses. Unsurprisingly, Jennie lived in a different neighborhood than you, hers with a gate for every house and at least 4 expensive cars parked in every driveway. Despite that, she drove you to and from school every day. “Although, your daily recap of who started dating who is pretty funny.”

Jennie laughed lightly, and you could hear your heart beating faster just at the sound of her. You had been dating for so long, but just the tiniest action of hers still managed to make you flustered like crazy. “I know you don’t enjoy it that much, you just like to let me talk.”

“Maybe,” you joked, getting out of the car when it parked at the curb of your house. “Do you wanna come in? I bought the ice cream you like so much, milk flavor.”

She pouted at that, not getting out of the car, which was enough of an answer. “No, sorry, Junsoo made me promise to tutor him in math today. See you tomorrow?”

“See you tomorrow,” you answered, waving as she pulled the car away. You did your best to ignore the sinking feeling in your stomach, like a huge stone had been dropped there. It was hard not to get jealous when Jennie routinely hung out with people way better than you, but you always reminded yourself that your girlfriend loved you and would never cheat on you.

Right?

“Good morning,” Wheein greeted you, sliding into the seat right next to you. You smiled in greeting, still copying the notes down from the board. The girl had been your assigned Chemistry partner for a few months now, and you could maybe call her a friend. 

“Hi, Wheein.”

“You won’t believe what happened today,” the girl started saying. She was a bit gossipy at times, but she was still considerably kind to you, so you always let it slide. “Junsoo started dating Jennie!”

Your head snapped up, your hand slipping and drawing a huge mark over your notes. Wheein winced at the huge black arc on your paper, passing you an eraser. “What? Jennie? Like Jennie Kim?”

“Well, what other Jennies are in this school?” Wheein giggled, cocking her head at you. “Why?”

Jennie. Your girlfriend, Jennie, was dating Im Junsoo, quite possibly the biggest asshole in the entire school. You knew she would do a lot to hide your relationship, but you didn’t think she would go that far. “No reason,” you mumbled, starting to scrub at your paper.

That sweet secret that you kept close to your heart started to feel not so sweet anymore.

You didn’t want to believe what Wheein said, and that was the only reason you took the long way to lunch and headed by the cluster of benches where Junsoo held court during lunch. At first, you couldn’t see him or Jennie, a group of other popular kids creating a barrier between you and them.

But you heard her voice, that gorgeous voice that only called you ‘jagi’, flirting shamelessly with Junsoo. You wanted to leave, to pretend like you didn’t hear anything, but the crowd shifted just enough for you to see the happy couple, Jennie practically sitting on Junsoo’s stupid lap.

She was definitely flirting with him, practically giving him bedroom eyes in the middle of the cafeteria. Her friends cooed over them, only fueling the stupid smug expression on Junsoo’s stupid face.

Jennie caught a glance of you when she looked up, and you knew that all she could see was betrayal. And that was exactly what you felt as you turned on your heel and walked away.

You didn’t wait in the parking lot for Jennie that day. Instead, you hitched your bag up on your shoulder and walked home yourself, ignoring your phone when it started buzzing in your pocket halfway.

You didn’t pick up when she called you, and you didn’t read any of the texts she sent. Instead, you spent your time in the garage fixing up your old bike so you could start getting to school easier.

Maybe it was just a rumor, but you had a bad feeling, one that told you something had gone incredibly wrong. You ate dinner with your parents for once instead of going up to your room and video-calling Jennie.

It all felt wrong, but you weren’t ready to talk to her yet. Once you picked up on one of her calls, you knew the truth was going to come out, and you weren’t ready to hear it just yet.

You managed to avoid Jennie for a full 3 days. To be honest, it wasn’t that hard; you didn’t have many classes together, and there was no way she could get alone enough to approach you.

Saturday was the day you were dreading, because you knew Jennie would show up. That was the day she usually came over, because neither of your parents would be home and neither of hers would be watching her. She didn’t need to be let in, since you had given her a spare key, and she had her own car.

It was only a matter of time before she confronted you, and you were not looking forward to it.

Unsurprisingly, you heard the front door unlocking at exactly 9:33 in the morning on Saturday. Luckily, you were already awake, cooking breakfast in the kitchen a few steps away. “Let yourself in, why don’t you,” you called out sarcastically.

“Y/N?” Jennie answered, setting her keys down on the counter and closing the door behind her. “Have you been ignoring me?”

Blunt as always. You turned around with an eyebrow raised, taking in the sight of her. She looked unfairly good, glowing as always, as if she wasn’t worried at all about the fact that you hadn’t talked to her in days.

Under usual circumstances, you would have immediately rushed to her, kissing her and running your hands through her immaculately curled hair, but instead, you stood there, holding the plate of food. “I don’t know, why don’t you ask your boyfriend?”

It came out more spiteful than you had intended, but it did the trick; your girlfriend flinched, regret settling into the brown eyes you loved so much. “Y/N...”

“Jennie,” you deadpanned, staring right at her. “Go ahead, explain if you can.”

“It’s not real,” she implored, stepping closer to you. “I don’t like Junsoo, not at all! He’s just a friend, please, Y/N.”

“Then why did Wheein tell me the big, amazing news that he’s dating you this morning?” you demanded, not caring about the fact that you sounded like a crazy, jealous girlfriend. 

At the sound of your deskmate’s name, Jennie’s expression changed. Instead of the desperate scrunch of her eyebrows, a jealous twist of her lip brought spite to her eyes. “Wheein? I don’t like that you talk to her so often.”

“Don’t turn this around on me!” you exclaimed, your voice echoing off the walls of your kitchen. “Are you serious? Wheein’s my friend, not anything like your official boyfriend Junsoo. We’re talking about you right now!”

Jennie’s expression changed again, into a slightly pained one as her hands scrunched into the fabric of your shirt. “Y/N, you know I’m not ready to come out yet. I don’t know how people will react, much less my parents.”

“Yeah, I know, and I understand that! But dating someone else right in front of my face? What the hell, Jen?” you challenged her, anger furrowing your brow. 

She chewed on her lower lip and looked down at the floor. “I… I think it’s best if I leave right now. You’re obviously angry, and I get it. I don’t want to fight.”

“Okay, then leave,” you scowled, turning back to your food. You could feel a sour pang in your chest as you heard the door close softly behind your girlfriend, but you ignored it. You had a right to be angry when your girlfriend started publicly dating someone else, but was it worth it to hurt each other like that?

A week or so passed without you or Jennie speaking a single word to one another. That was one of the things that made the two of you not such a great match; both of you were incredibly stubborn, and neither of you would give up without a fight.

It hurt, of course, but you wanted her to approach you first. After all, it wasn’t your fault that she started dating someone else and ruined your relationship.

Stumbling in on Jennie kissing Junsoo in an empty classroom was the last straw.

“Excuse me, who are you?” the boy demanded, scrambling to stand in the empty classroom. Behind him, Jennie stared at you in horror, lipstick slightly smeared and her blouse just a little bit wrinkled.

You couldn’t help the horror on your face, but you still couldn’t bring yourself to expose Jennie. It was stupid, maybe, wanting to protect her after all the heartbreak she brought to you, but instead of saying anything, you mumbled a hurried “Sorry” and darted right out of the door.

You didn’t expect her to run after you, and you definitely weren’t expecting the hurried clack of heels behind you and the feeling of her warm hand clasped on your wrist. “Y/N, please wait.”

“What…?” you stared at your wrist and then at Jennie’s pleading eyes, begging you to stay. “Um, Jennie?”

“I’m sorry,” she blurted out. “I’m really, really sorry. I never should have acted like I was ashamed of you, I never was! You’re the best thing to ever happen to me.”

Dumbly, you opened and closed your mouth like a goldfish. Whispers sounded around the two of you, dozens of eyes glued to the two of you as you stood in the middle of the hallway. All you manage to say is “I think we should talk about that” as you pulled Jennie out of the school.

Neither of you talked until you were far enough out of the campus that nobody you recognized was there. “What’s going on? Aren’t you happy with your popular, rich boyfriend?”

Jennie winced, shaking her head pleadingly. “Please, Y/N. I know I don’t deserve it, but I really love you. I want another chance, and I promise I’ll never keep you a secret again. I’ll come out to my parents, and I’ll announce our relationship--”

“I never wanted to force you to come out,” you sighed, stepping closer. You knew that what she did wasn’t right, but you didn’t exactly handle it well either. “I just didn’t want you to date someone just to cover us up. I felt like you were ashamed of me.”

“I promise I’m not. Please, I’ll treat you right this time,” Jennie promised, still holding on to your wrist.

Biting your lip, you looked at the ground. Obviously, you loved Jennie; she was the best person in the world to you, despite what she did, and you didn’t want to let her go. “One more chance,” you suggested, looking back up to her again. “We’re starting over, we’re not continuing our old relationship.”

Jennie nodded fervently, giving you the familiar gummy smile you were so familiar with. “Okay. I’ll take you on a date tomorrow, and I’ll treat you so well. I promise.”

“I’ll be waiting,” you laughed, wrapping your arms around her in a hug and inhaling the familiar sweet scent of her perfume once again.

You felt sweet. Not sweet in the way that your old relationship was, not the kind of sweet that still had a bitter aftertaste. No, you were on cloud nine, and you could stay there forever if you just had Jennie.

[curseofaphrodite]

I hope you don't mind my novel-like asks 😂 Because here's another one.

Well let's sit on the floor and let them be on your lap, and they can leave if they want to. Penny stays for as long as you have something for him, Kid is frozen for a bit and then leaves and Laku almost immediately leaves 😂

And yeah, there were a lot of those... things... and my friend was like "oh that can't be right, they probably just use the smut term wrong or they exaggerate to get more readers" and we looked through one fic and one sentence has been burned onto my retinas forever... let's just say that as a simplified version, it said that "his long fingers rub all the right places" 🤮

But ngl, I've read some of the (neatly written) non-smut Pennywise x readers to mess with Marika and I thought about writing a Marika x Pennywise fic for her birthday next month (don't worry, without smut 😂). But yeah I laughed at the mental image of waking up and seeing Pennywise smiling next to you non-evilly and then you'd lean over to kiss him softly and be like "good morning honey, slept well?" and then go make him a cup of coffee 😂😂 (A lot of non-smut fics are like that and like??? HE DOESN'T EVEN LOOK LIKE BILL AND LITERALLY EATS PEOPLE AND IS JUST THIS EVIL ENTITY, NOT EVEN "JUST" SOME PSYCHO, WHY WOULD YOU BE ATTRACTED TO HIM)

Haha yeah my friends have visited my blog reading fics since I started, at least one of them has said that she visits this almost daily. We were in the same story writing community once upon a time (around 2015-2016) and I guess they still want to keep up with my writing.

Aww yayyy I get to move to Ketterdam! I'm gonna pack up real quick, though I'll spend Christmas with my mom first but I'll leave after that. And omg Nina would give so much love for them, cuddling them every day and we'd just sit inside their enclosure and let them climb over us and joke and she'd tease me for my feelings for Kaz and aaagh...

And yeah I mean... he was SO MUCH DIFFERENT in 2013-2014 when I was crushing on him?? He had selective mutism (meaning he can't bring himself to talk to anyone else than who he thoroughly trusts, which usually means only family) and after a few months of us being friends, HE STARTED TO TALK TO ME?? (Or whisper things to my ear but yeah) Omg I was walking on clouds when he did that. And then he confessed that he has a crush on me too, and then he mainly whispered stuff that wasn't actually necessary, like "you're so pretty", "I like your shirt" and when I had just gotten a haircut "your hair is so cute"... and once he whispered that he wants to hold my hand and kiss me but is too shy to do it in front of other people and I felt like bursting.

Also we had these really cute park "dates" during school days (he bought me ice cream as a surprise a few times 😭😭), he waited for my train to arrive to the school's station (he always came to the station before my train because he wanted to be there when my train came) and RAN to me to hug me when I came out, he constantly looked for excuses to spend time with me, always wanted to sit opposite of me when we were at the school diner, he wanted to walk with me back to the class when we ate and I always waited for him to finish if I had eaten because once I left without him and purposefully was really slow with eating and that resulted in him basically throwing his plates and utensils like a frisbee to the returnal rack before RUNNING UP to me with the biggest smile I had ever seen, and once when train operators were on a strike for a day, he sent me a message on Facebook at like 10pm which just read "My dad drove me to school, but I missed you at lunch ☹ I hope to see you tomorrow, good night ❤" and we just had these looks and smiles we sent to each other, and after we graduated, I got to know that THE WHOLE SCHOOL had shipped us and my teacher purposefully paired us for assignments a few (underestimated) times more often for it to be a coincidence, and even the cleaner had seen the chemistry and had asked my classmate that "when do those two lovesick fools get together" and god, thinking about those times still makes my heart thump faster, he used to be the sweetest boy I had ever met.

He stopped (vocally) talking to me in February 2014 and afterward when I think about the reason why, it seemed like he started crushing on our class assistant because suddenly she could talk to him on phone while he stopped talking to me. Well, we still talked super frequently on Facebook, though he stopped using hearts and our messages were more friendly than flirty/romantic, like "what did you do today, ooh, sounds fun 😊 I hope you had a great time" etc, until he started ghosting on me but yeah, I looked around my messages with him and around September 2014 he had started to talk more like that, but now it's the whole next level 😅 It feels like he's too lazy to form complete sentences and just expects me to understand his gibberish?? For example, he asked when "my days will end" and meant that when does my workday end and if I can come see him that day. For a moment I thought he's asking that when do I die tbh.

Hahaha yeah 😂 Here's one of my messages btw, he asked about how Ketterdam is:

Ketterdam is a rather rainy and gloomy city where the sun doesn't shine much but it has a lot of interesting history. Some of the streets in the city still look like they were straight from the Middle Ages and it was really nice to wander around last time.

Then he was like (I think, because I translated this from part-gibberish) "oh, so you have already visited Ketterdam? When did you visit and how long did you stay there?" (If I freely translated the actual question without modifying it, it would be "Ketterdam? When? Year, month. Visit, long?")

Yeah I've been there a couple of times. For the first time in June 2016, for the second time I went on a surprise visit in October 2018. I stayed there over the summer in 2016, in 2018 I stayed for a little over a month and got back for Christmas.

And when he asked about how long will it be when I retire and move back to Finland:

Kaz hasn't talked much about our retirement, but he said that since he has been doing that job since he was a teenager and it has profited well for at least a decade, we might be able to retire early. I'm the first person he has really been attached to since childhood so if we stay together, we're maybe retiring in our forties or even earlier if we'll get a lot of successful jobs, since we might have enough money to live normally for the rest of our lives at that point. We might move to Finland then, who knows 🤷🏻‍♀️ Ketterdam isn't the safest place to live in if you don't have the kind of reputation Kaz has and Kaz liked Finland the last time he was here, at least nobody is coming too close 😂

(Finland is known for people who don't like strangers invading their personal space, there was a lot of covid memes when this situation started that if covid ever came to Finland, we don't have to change anything in our daily lives since we already stand at least 5 meters apart instead of the required 2 meters)

Back to the piggies:

Yeah, I mean the only thing he didn't even touch has been coconut so far, everything else goes. So I think he'd eat your cookie and then eat the rest of your unattended cookies if you turned away from them for just a second 😂

Btw, a side note: all my guinea pigs have eaten treats from this certain trademark from the very start of me owning them (I mean from when I got my first piggies in 2003) and tbh I thought to look at the trademark name a few months ago and laughed my head off at 2am.

(I gave Penny one of those right after taking the pic, don't worry)

i dont mind your long asks at all, its so nice to talk with youuu (+ i love your guinea pigs, dont mind me fangirling over them)

Penny is so cute that way. He gives off major "pls lemme be your friend!" vibes! i feel like if kaz adopts all of you, penny would be the one who'd follow kaz around where he goes, etc 🥰

and PLS I LAUGHED! Yes, imagine going on dates with pennywise like a normal couple like,, nooo. anyone can like any fictional character, and why would they choose pennywise 🥲🥲 haha marika sounds fun too. and ofc your friends want to keep up with your writing, its spectacular <3

AND IKR! looking back on crushes I often wonder "wow either i was completely oblivious to the red flags or they changed a LOT" (most of the times, it's the former with me)

I love how the school shipped you though, I can definitely see it. He was so sweet back thennn. It's not fair at all how he just started ghosting you out of the blue. It's really rude and ugh, if i was a lawyer, ill sue him for you.

hehe, love the answers you gave him. (and omg he really asked "Ketterdam? When? Year, month. Visit, long?" ? that's so funny i-) and i love how each of the answer wasn't just detailed but ACCURATE!

LIKE YES he can't even find any plotholes or be suspicious because you covered everything from Kaz's life in five to six sentences.

and guess what, im not really a fan of cookies so penny can have all the cookies he wants 💗🍪🍪🍪

[amazingphanisnotonfire-imagines]

Serpents// a little unsteady

Request: Can I have a request sad where Sweet Pea & Fangs & Toni x Reader are friends and Reader had a Boyfriend and her and her boyfriend were super goals but the principal of the school tells the class where she in with her friends that he was found murder and the reader runs out. class crying and her friends runs after run and comfort her also but a Group hug can you put a song name × Ambassadors - unsteady only if your comfort doing this request and thank you! i love your writing!

hey! so first off all, trigger warning: murder, death. i decided to give the boyfriend a name, just to give him a bit more character, and hopefully to make more people cry (just kidding...unless?). but you can change it if you want! also, i know weatherbee isn’t the principal anymore, but...i don’t care sooooo. i hope you like it! 

“Y/nnnnnn!” Sweet Pea can be heard from down the corridor, despite the fact that you’re less than three feet away from him, but it doesn’t stop him from being loud (nothing does). Toni and Fangs stop their conversation as soon as they hear you’re name being mentioned and their faces instantly light up once they see you. 

“You’re awfully cheery for a Monday morning Sweet Pea.” You note, sending him a teasing smile before sitting beside him. 

“All because of you.” He flirts and you roll your eyes. 

“Remember the last time you flirted with her?” Toni warns. 

“Hey, I made up for that. I flirted with him the next time.” 

“That doesn’t really make it any better.” You reply and he just shrugs. 

“Hey Fangs?” He asks and Fangs stops texting to look up at him. As soon as he’s facing you both, Sweet Pea throws a scrunched up bit of paper at his face, hitting him right in the nose and making the three of you laugh loudly. 

“I. Hate. You.” He deadpans and just stares at Sweet Pea for a few seconds. 

Its like you can see the light in his eyes die a little and you send him a sympathetic smile to try and make up for Sweet Pea’s actions. However there isn’t enough smiles in the world that can make up for all of the shit Sweet Pea pulls, so it doesn’t really help. 

“Speaking of Izzy, where is he?” 

“You know he hates being called that Sweet Pea.”  

“I know. But he loves it when it comes from me.” He winks making you shudder. 

“Sure he does.” You snort. “He’s probably still in bed.” 

“Yeah he is.” Sweet Pea smirks and now its his turn to have paper thrown at him. 

“Shut up.” Fangs mumbles.

“That doesn’t even make sense. Really, shouldn’t she be with him?” Toni asks, but he just flips her off. 

“I text him when I got up this morning but he hasn’t replied so I’m gonna assume he stayed up too late last night and has now slept in.” 

“Oh yeah? What was he doing up late last night?” Sweet Pea wiggles his eyebrows at you and in return he gets a smack on the arm. 

“Watching TV...now, has anybody done the homework?” 

“Yep.” 

“Yeah.” 

“What homework?” 

“Here.” All three of you pull your homework from your bags and put them in front of Sweet Pea. He smiles brightly before quickly scribbling down the answers. 

“So what did you do at the weekend?” Toni asks and you smile, the memories of the past weekend flickering through your brain.

“On Friday I spent the night as his and we had pizza and watched a film, and then on Saturday we drove for a few hours and ended up at the beach and we spent like the whole day there. It was great. He bought me ice cream, and we walked along the pier. And on Sunday we just spent all day at his until I had to go home. But Saturday night was my favourite.” 

“I don’t want to know.” Fangs interrupts. 

“I do.” Sweet Pea replies and this time both you and Toni slap his arm. 

“We were supposed to go to Pop’s but by the time we got there it was super busy, so instead he got our order to takeout and we drove to the quarry, and we just sat on the hood of his car and ate Pop’s and stargazed and it was just magical.” 

You can barely keep the grin off your face as you talk about your weekend. Toni and Fangs send each other a knowing look, its the same one they always share whenever you talk about each other. Its a look that says ‘can you believe how in love these guys are?’. When you first got together it kind of annoyed you. It felt like they were mocking you, especially when the rest of the serpents did it, but now, it feels more of a compliment. 

Because Isaac is your soulmate. Everybody who spends even just five minutes with either of you can see that. You have so many favourite things about him, but the fact that people can see just how much you love each other, is definitely your favourite. It makes you smile every time you think about it, and Isaac always says thats his favourite smile of yours, the one where you’re thinking of him. 

“Can I have everybody’s attention please.” Principal Weatherbee pulls everyone’s attention to the front of the class, including your little groups, and Sweet Pea subtly hides the three sheets of homework he’s currently copying off. 

“Oh great.” You mumble. 

“Here we go.” Fangs adds. 

“What have we done now?” Sweet Pea huffs, sending a smirk your way. 

“Has he been crying?” Toni whispers and the three of you shrug in reply. 

“I regret to inform you.” He begins, and you swear his attention flickers to you before going back to the rest of the class. “Isaac Campbell was found dead this morning.”

You feel the air being sucked out of your lungs within seconds. The entire world around you has stopped, everything is just white noise, everything apart from that one sentence. It repeats in your head, over and over like a mantra made to torture whoever is listening to it. 

You’re sure he’s still talking, but it doesn’t matter. Nothing matters any more. It feels like there’s a million eyes on you, and you’re somehow hot and cold at the same time. So you run. You push the desk away from you and the noise it makes scraping across the linoleum floor feels 1000 miles away.

As soon as you’re out of the classroom, the tears come and it feels like they won’t ever stop. They wrack through your entire body until you can’t stand anymore, so you sink to the floor, your back against the lockers while your head falls to your hands. You’re sure your cries can be heard throughout the school, but you don’t care. You don’t care about yourself, or them or anything else. Just him.

Y/n?” You can barely hear Toni’s voice, but you know she’s there. She sits beside you, wrapping her arms around you as soon as she’s sat down and you just cling to her. Sweet Pea sits beside you and Fangs in front of you, effectively shielding you from the stares of your classmates. 

“I don’t understand.” You cry and pull away from Toni. “What happened? He was fine when I saw him last night.” 

Toni, Fangs and Sweet Pea are all crying too, and its a weird sight. 

The only other time you’ve ever seen all three of them cry was when Fangs was shot. The night of the riots, both you and Issac were there, despite Issac’s protests for you to stay home. You remember him holding your hand the entire night, before and after the shooting, even though you were supposed to be keeping Fangs safe, he still held it. Never letting go. And when you heard the gun shots, you had never seen him so scared. 

He’d looked at you instantly, a million emotions flashing through his eyes, but the main one was fear. Not for him, not for anyone else, for you. He was beside you instantly, making sure you hadn’t been hit. It had been an odd moment when he realized you were fine. Both of you smiling and holding each other, thankful that you were both okay. He’d pressed a kiss to your lips that was just so full of love, but then when Fangs had collapsed you’d pulled apart to help, but he still never let go. 

While you were at the hospital waiting for news, his hand was still in yours. You weren’t entirely sure if it was for your benefit or his, and every so often he would look at you, just to make sure you were still there. He’d told you he was never going to let go of you, not for even a second, and you believed him. 

You were the one that eventually let go, and now you hate yourself for it. Maybe if you were still holding him he wouldn’t be gone. And what you wouldn’t give to hold his hand again, just for a second. 

Sweet Pea clears his throat, wipes the tears from his face and sits up properly. He fiddles with his jacket for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and looking at you. 

“He, er. They said he was...murdered.” The words taste like ash on his tongue and he hates himself for even saying them out loud. But he hates himself even more when he looks at you, your face drops even more and he feels like he’s just personally killed a part of you. 

“What?” Your jaw drops and he looks at the floor, a new wave of tears washing over him. Fangs places a hand on his shoulder but he just shrugs it off, shuffling away from the three of you. 

murdered

It rattles around your brain like its the only thought in there. 

“Why?” You mumble. “Why would anybody do that?” You look between Fangs and Toni and their heart breaks at your confused expression. “Why?” You sob again, burying your head into Toni’s neck. She cries while she holds you, thinking the exact same, why would anybody do that?

He was her first ever friend. They’d known each other the longest out of your small group. You joined not long after they had met, and then Sweet Pea a few years later and by the time Fangs joined it felt more like a family than a friendship.

When you were 14, she knew you two liked each other. Everybody could see it, all the shy looks and stuttered sentences whenever the other was around. And if one of you was just mentioned, the other would blush and not so subtly look around to try and find them. And after a few wrong turns, you two finally figured it out. Well, it was more, Isaac told Sweet Pea that he liked you, while you and Toni hid in a cupboard. Toni and Sweet Pea had never been happier to see their two best friends get together, mainly because they thought they wouldn’t have to hear you both talk about them as much...like that happened. 

“Do you know Isaac means, he laughs.” Fangs says sadly. The three of you look at him before crying harder. 

He did laugh. He was constantly laughing, no matter what. Even if it did get him in trouble. But it was truly you’re favourite sound. So much so that for your most recent birthday he’d recored himself laughing at a really awful joke you’d told him and put it in a teddy for you. 

Fangs remembers helping him with it. He’d teased him about it, but secretly he thought it was sweet. And the way you smiled when he gave you it is something that he’ll always remember. Now though, he worries it might be overshadowed by how you look now. 

Every single happy memory, tinged with sadness. 

But death doesn’t just affect the past, it doesn’t just ruin all of those memories. It touches every part of life. All future events, one’s that Isaac should have been apart of, are just going to be that. Something he should have been there for. 

He’s just going to be a story, a side character mentioned when any of you tell stories of high school. 

He was so much more than a side character. He deserved a whole series. He deserved so much more. 

Everyone sits in silence. There’s nothing to be said. A part of each of you is dead, and it deserves to be mourned. 

But life continues around you, despite the fact the four of you seem frozen. 

People walk to their next class when the bell goes, they talk to their friends, kiss their partners, laugh loudly. 

“It’s not right.” You mumble. Slowly, they look at you, not bothering to wipe the tears that stain their cheeks. “Its never going to be right again. Everyone should be sad, they should angry...they-they...shouldn’t be happy.” 

Nobody knows what to say. 

Nobody wants to say anything. 

Instead, they wrap their arms around you, all three of them engulfing you in a hug. Its awkward, and uncomfortable and definitely blocking half of the corridor, but none of you care. 

“What am I supposed to do without him?” You sob, your voice barely above a whisper. 

Toni and Fangs send each other a knowing look, its the same one they always share whenever you and Isaac talk about each other.

‘can you believe how in love these guys are?’

[achliegh]

hi !! i found your blog like an hour ago and i've been reading all your stuff and i love it !

im so in love with the twins and wanted to ask if you'd like to write number 9 from the monthly prompts ?

- love, nia :)

Okay, if this sucks I’m sorry! I for the life of me could not remember what little children school is like!

But! Prompt 9. Twins first days of school (Preschool- 2nd grade)

August 2020

It was the twins second year of preschool! Olive was excited, bouncing off the walls, eating her cereal like a fucking tornado. She was wearing the same thing as Otto, they were going through a phase where they would only wear matching clothes, just a long sleeve shirt with sharks on it and some black running shorts. They never wore the same shoes though because Otto doesn’t like Olive light up sneakers that Leo bought her so they can keep an eye on her when she is just zipping around. 

Otto was a bit slower getting ready, he never minded school down south but none of the kids there really talked to him. He liked to keep to himself and tried not to make many friends. He just enjoys his alone time he doesn’t get at home. He ate his toast with butter and cinnamon sugar on it, kicking his feet while in his own head. 

Leo and Ink dropped them off together outside of the school. They ran off after a quick hug and a smooch on each cheek. Never looking back, it made Leo and Ink realize how independent their kids already were. 

Leo just moped around the rest of the day, feeling weird because his kids were growing so fast. Ink and June didn’t leave each other's side and kept calling for the kids when it was too quiet. 

It was a change.

August 2021

Kindergarten was a little different, the twins were with Logan and Finn this time. Ink, Leo and June were all down south for a funeral of some obscure relative of Leo’s. Otto was clinging to Finn’s back butt ass naked while Olive was hiding under her bed, mad because Logan braided her hair and it didn’t look like how her mama or daddy does it. 

After a struggle Finn wrangles Otto into his lion's jersey and some jeans with his favorite cowboy boots. His yeehaw stage was really kicking in hard. Logan got Olive out from under the bead and put her hair in a ponytail instead. 

What was the difference between a French braid and a Dutch braid anyway.

They drove the kids to school and watched Olive run to join her big group of friends with her big backpack hitting her back and Otto walks over to a girl who is reading a small book. He sits next to her and pulls out his own book and starts reading. Sending pictures to the parents Logan and Finn go out for coffee after that almost trainwreck.

August 2022

June was sitting with Olive in the truck just chatting away about how excited she is that Timmy’s girlfriend was her teacher. Her and Timmy had talked for about a half hour yesterday about how Otto and Olive were in different classrooms this year. June was making sure Olive and Otto’s lunches were packed in the way they like it. 

Ink walks out of the house with Otto in tow, he is not happy about having Olive in a different class than him. She is the one that everyone focuses on instead of him, he doesn’t like the attention that people give him when they find out he’s a twin. He doesn’t want to talk to anyone. But Ink promised him ice cream if he goes to school. 

Ink sends Leo, who is away on vacation with the team, pictures of the kids walking into the school holding hands. Olive convinced Otto to go into the building by promising to hold his hand all the way to classrooms. It was sweet.

Otto bloomed that year.

August 2023

“LETS GO! LETS GO! LETS GO!” Otto was jumping up and down at the front door while Olive was putting on her shoes. Finn and June were the ones to take the kids this year and were being rushed out the door by the two twisters now swinging each other around by their elbows. 

Last year Otto blossomed into his own person because he didn’t have Olive to lean back into. He made a lot of new friends and he was excited to see. They got out of the door and walked to school this time because it was so nice out, Olive and Otto were in between the two as they walked. Once they got to the school they stood with the gaggle of parents watching their kids.

Since no one knew who Olive and Otto’s parents were they keeps getting compliments about how adorable their kids were. People would ask how long June and Finn were married for, how old were they when the twins were born. How June was in such great shape.

They laughed so hard once they got back to the cottage, they were having an adult family lunch that day. Logan, Leo and Ink were in the kitchen watching Leo make food and they told them everything.

[diabloindigo]

Are you the person to open a box of cereal just to get the toy inside? As a kid yes. Right now, I don’t buy cereals with prizes anymore. Do they even stuff toys in cereal these days? 

Do you get scared easy? If it’s in the anxiety induced variety, yes. 

What was one of the stupidest things you cried over when you were little? Not sure, it could have been anything from not wanting to wear a fancy dress or dress shoes to a party or a broken toy. 

Have you ever drank milk from the carton? Despite having a working dishwasher and plenty of glasses, I “waterfall” milk and juice from the containers. 

Juice or milk? I go both ways, leaning more towards juice. Apple or orange. 

Do you ever turn off your computer properly? Once in a while. 

Do you wish you were a fish? Not really, though I kinda envy the blue Dory (Doctor Fish?) in the tank at my gynecologist’s waiting room. It likes to swim to the bottom of the tank and ride up to the top on a bubble jet. That damn fish has probably had more fun than I have in the past several months. 

Who’s your favorite super hero? Invincible (Amazon Prime). Along with Spider-Man (2002) and the Big Hero 6 movie, that character/series is a rare superhero show that makes me feel strong and vulnerable at the same time. 

Who’s your favorite super villain? Slade Wilson/ Deathstroke as seen in “Teen Titans: The Judas Contract” animated movie and the 2003-2006 “Teen Titans” cartoon series. 

Spiderman or X-men? Spider-Man. Tobey Maguire and Peter B. Parker from Into the Spiderverse. 

Movie theatre or stay at home movie night? Theaters. Alamo Drafthouse. I love ordering boozy milkshakes and finger foods.

Do you have a Blue Ray? I have one of those external drives for my Mac though I never use it. 

How about HD television? Yeah

Do you think HD television is kind of a waste of money? No. 

Do you get why people get so frickin’ freaked out during football season? I do not, and living in a state with a hard-on for (American) football makes it weird when I tell people that I do not have a favorite football team/player. 

Do you ever sneak scraps to the dog even though you’re not suppose to? I don’t sneak him food. If I cook or order too much to eat, then I scrape a couple of cup’s worth of leftovers in his bowl. He’s probably got only a year to live so let him live it up a little. 

Are you reading a book right now? If so what? A friend gave me a copy of “The Only Good Indians” but I can't get into it so I’m reading “Full Throttle” by Joe Hill. 

What was the last book you were required to read for school? It’s been so long I can’t remember. 

O donuts or jelly filled? Whipped cream filled. I love Krispy Kreme’s whipped cream filled donuts with raspberry filled donuts as a close second. 

If I’m feeling bland then I do like crullers. 

Do you like your ice-cream in a bowl or cone? Bowl unless it’s a tasty cone. 

Marshmallows in your hot chocolate or no? I could go either way unless it’s a tiny cup of chocolate. 

Do you like cherry coke? Hell yes. I love going to Sonic for a cherry-vanilla-lime Coke or this greasy little 1950s type burger joint for their cherry cokes since they load the cups with several cherries. 

Do you really think diet Dr. Pepper is the equivalent of a cupcake? No, it tastes artificial. Like a bastard child of a soft drink that wants to pass for cherry soda. 

Do you snore in your sleep? Drool? Talk? Snore and talk (I’m pretty stressed out).

Have you ever sleep walked? no

Are you a morning person? I am now. 

How do you wake up in the mornings? by alarm during the work week, naturally at 6-7 on vacation days. 

Do you think guyliner is hot? What is that? 

Is variety the spice of life? yeah

Do you think strawberry milk is disgusting? I like it. 

Have you ever drank after anyone? Like sharing a cup/bottle? Yeah, loads of times.  

Have you ever drank after anyone you don’t know very well? No. 

Do you have any limits on who you drink/eat after?

If we’re talking about sharing, then I will share food/drink with family and friends. If someone offers me bite-size pieces that are individually wrapped or can be torn off the main portion, I’ll eat it, but only from co-workers or acquaintances. 

Would you eat a sucker if someone already ate some of it? No. 

Would you chew somebody else's gum? Hell no. 

Do you know anyone who’s going to die of mono because of that? No. 

Do you enjoy school? My English and psychology classes. 

Are you a teacher’s pet? no

Do you have a job? Yes. 

How did you get to and from school? Parents drove me or I walked for elementary through high school. I drove when I went to college. 

Do you have a bedtime? And if so what is it? I’m in bed between 11-12 a.m.

What time do you get up? 6 am so I can walk/exercise before the sun boils the earth in full force. 

Have you ever pulled an all-nighter? Yeah in college. 

What’s more important? Beauty or brains? brains

Do you believe in yourself? Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don’t. 

Did you ever want to be an astronaut when you were little? No. Being a veterinarian or scientist were my highest ambitions as a small kid. 

How about the president? Never. 

What did you want to be when you were little? Veterinarian, scientist, cartoon character. 

Did you ever want to be a super model? no

Do you believe you’re attractive enough to be a super model? No.

Have you ever had an X-ray? Several in the past few months for pre-surgery and dental work.

What’s your favorite guy’s name? What’s your favorite girl’s name? Guys’: Shane, Mark, Tadashi, Austin, Cade, Trip.

Girls’: Quince, Sienna, Amy, Kit, Lizzie (Elizabeth), Raven.

Who’s your second cousin’s, grandparent’s, sister? The fuck...

Do you laugh to yourself whenever the ketchup bottle farts? No, in fact, I get annoyed when other people hear it and ask me if I farted. 

Do you have any real guns in your house? I have several. 

Do you know how to use nunchucks? No, I bought a pair at one of those Asian imports emporiums, but I donated them since I never learned to use them. They were these crappy foam padded ones with dragons printed on the handles. 

Do you know anyone who can use nunchucks? No. 

What do you want to be next Halloween? In better health and not shitting bricks about using up my paid time off to go to doctors’ appointments. 

Did you ever consider getting a job as a mall Santa? No. I’d rather be one of his elves or a reindeer. 

Are you the one responsible for taking out the garbage? Yes. Grosses me the fuck out sometimes with smelly discarded poultry trays or rotten food, but somebody’s gotta do it. 

Do you recycle? My city has the blue recycling bins, but I heard that since we’re an ass-backward community, “recyclables” and trash all go to the same place. I just place recyclables in the blue bin to help clear up space in the trash bin. Maybe I’m wrong and this city does recycle? Can’t hurt. 

When I was 11, I’d collect empty soda cans to take to the recycling guy since back in the day, they’d pay for aluminum cans. That’s how I scraped up funds for dollar movies and hot dogs. 

Are you a pyro? Yeah. I carry/collect Zippo lighters but mostly because the “click-click” is satisfying to hear since I flip the lids open and closed to relieve stress. And I burn a lot of old bills and letters with sensitive info on them. 

What was the last word/thing you wrote down? I was researching high fiber foods that are also low in carbs to make a grocery and dinner meal plan. 

Sleeping or eating? After my surgery, sleeping. 

Are you overall a positive person? I try to be realistically positive, if such a thing exists. The world will never be all sunshine and My Little Ponies, but I try to find some comfort and positivity when my world is a shit-show. Filling this survey out kinda helps. 

Do you hate hypocrites? Yeah, especially the “do as I say, not as I do” types. 

For instance, a certain family member is pushing good diet and health habits, but it aggravates the hell out of me if I see him drinking high sugar iced tea or eating ice cream. Or Door-Dashing Burger King, even if it is a Beyond Whopper with a diet Coke. 

Do you like to prank people? Yes, but I do benign pranks like leaving dirty riddles and meme drawings on their front doors. 

What was the worst prank you’ve ever done on anyone? I tried fucking with a telesolicitor but I could not stop laughing. 

Have you ever jumped on a trampoline in the ice? I don’t own a trampoline. 

Have you ever ice skated? No. I tried once after a local minor league hockey game. I got the skates on, but my ankles were bending/bowing out so I changed my mind.

Ever water skiid? No. 

Is vacuum spelled funny? Yes. 

Democrat or republican? I don’t associate formally with either party, but I hitch my pony a little to the left. 

Who’s the biggest asshole you know? My former boss circa 2013. Very unprofessional and a veritable loudmouth and a poor (shit) showman wannabe. 

Pen or pencil? Gel-ink pens. 

Should all paper have holes? nope

Speaking of holes. Swiss cheese, what’s the point of that? Fewer calories? Spinning slices in my hand like a TV cowboy spinning his revolver in the trigger guard with his finger? 

Have you ever been in a helicopter before? No. 

Own any airbrushed tshirts? Nope, not even in the nineties. 

Have you ever been suspended? No. 

Have you ever been in a fist fight? A few playground fights as a kid. 

Ever said something to someone that you didn’t mean to say? Yes. 

Do you forgive too easily? I don’t think so. 

What are you listening to right now? The AC running. 

Have you ever seen any of MCR’s music videos? Nope. 

Are you tan? No. 

Have you ever been in a tanning bed? No. I have no desire to look like a Cheeto or woo skin cancer. 

Have you ever played water volley? Once at my uncle’s neighborhood swimming pool. 

Ever had a sunburn? Yes, from neglecting sunscreen re-applications or underestimating the sun. 

How about wind burn? It hurts….. Nah, I don't live in a cold enough climate for that. 

What was the first word you learned how to say? I think it was “mama.”

[suffering-and-happy-about-it]

Another Crazy Plan (Sriracha, Part 24.)

Description: A problematic college student gets the worst summer job of the ‘83 - Jim Hopper, the Chief of police in your hometown will have you as his secretary since his old lady Flo has two months lasting holiday. It was agreed so Hopper could let you far away from all the trouble.

Part summary: Family life can be described as something spectacularly beautiful - when everyone's playing by the same rules. You clearly were not, which ended up in a huge argument.

A/N: We can't have easy peasy lemon squeezy Hopper all the time, can we? Because life isn't always easy peasy lemon squeezy with him.

Warnings: Angst, Eleven being one (1) angry bean.

Word count: 2.8 K

Tagging: @nemodoren​, @creedslove​

Master list: H E R E

The family life you chose for was treating each of you well. Hopper put on a bit of weight and he started to take care of himself again as well. Eleven was starting to speak like other girls her age did, plus she really enjoyed cooking with you. And you?

Well, you had a loving man by your side and a beautiful baby girl you could call yours at the end of the day. What could be more than that? Eleven knew that you're not her real mom, she wasn't that dumb, but that didn't stop her from calling you so. And soon enough, you would turn at that name, accepting it as yours.

But really, it wouldn't be your relationship with Hopper is something didn't go downhill at the end of the day, would it? The day came when you were spending your time with El at the cabin, being bored out of your mind again, because Eleven was doing her homework and you had literally nothing to do. The bathroom was cleaned so much it shone, the bedroom was all tidied up, the laundry was done, the lunch was ready...

If you were fed up with the cabin after one single weekend, how must've Eleven felt? She was there for seven months. Almost seven months. She must've felt so, so, so frustrated and alone. And that was when the shitty idea was born.

"Hey, the homework can wait, what do you say?" - You asked and sat beside her, making her look at you. Eleven adored when you smoothed her back and gave her a smile like that. You looked really pretty and she felt just good to have a momma like that. - "I want to take you out, to have some fun. We need to buy some groceries, what do you say?"

The finger poking the tip of her nose was tickling her, yet she didn't smile at all. You wanted her to leave the cabin? Why? What for? For how long? She panicked.

"But... Papa and bad men." - She whispered, shaking her head. Hopper specifically instructed her not to leave the cabin at all costs until everything settles down. She was safe there. And you were offering her... - "What if they see? Danger." - She caught your other palm in hers, furrowing at you, shaking her head. - "Not allowed."

"Eleven, I'll protect you. Nobody knows you're here, nobody will see. I swear, baby." - You whispered back, taken away by her unapproving reaction. You imagined this going way differently than Eleven disagreeing. - "Just for one day, you are allowed to go out with me. I'll get you ice cream, how does that sound?"

"Leaving the cabin is stupid. And we're not stupid." - She looked you in the eyes, meaning every word of her speech. Hopper told her this many times. You were leaving the cabin because of school and word. He was leaving for work. And Eleven wasn't allowed to leave, because it would be stupid to show herself out there... Just like that and for no apparent reason.

"Eleven." - You put your hand on her jaw to make her look at you once again. - "Please. You need to get out of the cabin... At least once. I'll take you somewhere where anyone gets a chance to recognize you, I'll hold your hand the whole time and I know just the perfect ice cream waffle to buy you on the way home." - You pleaded. She was your baby girl. You took care of her for months and the last thing you wanted was to see her rot in the cabin. And that was exactly what she was doing. Eleven took a deep breath, putting her pen down.

"Hopper. He will be angry." - She said. It could be heard that she's fighting herself inside her head. She loved the idea of you taking her out to the town. Just to shop. She saw moms just taking their girls to the town daily to the city. And she wanted it as well, so desperately it almost hurt. She just wanted to be normal.

"He won't know if you won't tell him. It can be our little secret." - You kissed her forehead lightly and that was the exact moment she gave in. Just one afternoon, she and her mom walking around the city, having fun. What could go wrong?

"Okay. I promise." - She held her pinky up and looked at your hand. That was a gesture she learned from you and Hopper. You usually bet on the chores or cooking, and this was a way of Hopper promising you the reward afterward. A promise. That was what pinkies entwined meant. And you circled yours around hers, smiling. - "I promise and friends don't lie." - Eleven repeated once again and you nodded, slowly getting up from the chair.

Both of you got ready - you put on just some denim shorts and an old flannel shirt since it was a hot spring day outside. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, the birds were singing and flowers blooming. It looked just beautiful.

El took out her favorite dress with small flowers printed all over them. Even if it was a warm and sunny day, you packed her a denim jacket just to be sure that she'd have something to snuggle into in case she would get cold. When you felt like she's ready, you started the car - Talking In Your Sleep suddenly yelling all over the car. You laughed and turned the volume down, watching Eleven with a warm feeling in your eyes. She freaked out and was looking at you as if she never heard a radio play so loud. 

“Sorry for that, I forgot that I have it on so loud.” - You smiled and put sunglasses over your eyes, doing your seatbelt. - “That's my and Hopper's playlist. I listen to it every morning while I drive to college, thinking about both you.” - You said with a smile and drove out of the forest, turning the car at Bloomington. 

“Your and Hopper's playlist.” - She wondered and looked out of the window, watching the surroundings moving at such a ridiculous speed. It almost seemed that Eleven is running really fast; or that she's not moving at all and the world is spinning fast. She liked riding in a car. - “I know this.” - She pointed at the radio, listening to the Romantics.

“You do? I've never played it at home, how come you know it?” - You looked at her, then again out of the car, giving her a piece of bubblegum. 

“Nancy. I heard Nancy.” - She tried to explain, but she knew that her vocabulary is not on the level to explain something so complicated to you. You rose your eyebrows, nodding. She must've heard some Nancy listen to it. - “Nancy... Is that your friend form the lab?” - You asked quietly, letting her know that there's no pressure, that she can take her time before answering your question and that she doesn't have to answer at all if she doesn't feel like it.

But Eleven shook her head almost immediately, chewing on the menthol gum. - “She is pretty. Mike's sister. It would be weird if they would go to Snow Ball together.” - She tried to explain, but the last sentence threw you off the rail. Snow Ball. That was a ball for kids happening on Hawkins Middle every winter and you always loved it. How could Eleven know about it? But you decided to focus on Mike. 

“Mike... Is he your friend or something?” - You asked and turned right on the next road as well. Eleven took a while to think of an answer before she nodded at the thoughts she had on her mind.

“He is a friend. He told me that friends don't lie. He lives in Hawkins.” - She described Mike in the best way she could and at that moment, you had a small revelation. Mike and Nancy... Mike and Nancy. Could these two be the...

“Mike and Nancy Wheeler? You have these two on your mind?” - You asked curiously and Eleven nodded immediately. Her gaze wondered about you knowing the Wheelers. - “Oh, Nancy was a freshman when I graduated. She was fine, we never started being friends, tho. Plus Wheelers live in Hawkins since forever, so my parents know their parents.”

The rest of the ride was rather quiet since you both listened to the collection from the Romantics - What I Like About You and A Night Like This were your jams since you and Jim started to listen to the Romantics together, so you mumbled each word of those songs by heart.

You were real with what you've told to Eleven - you took her to a grocery shopping, taking her hand to yours and not letting it slide the whole time. ou bought vegetables, fruit, cereals, you let her choose some sweets; to say it quickly, you have made yourself some stocks for the whole week in the cabin. She was curious about a lot of things, getting stuck for a while sometimes, just looking at it. 

Nobody was looking at you two. You were just a girl and an adult woman shopping together. Nothing more, nothing less; just you two walking around in a grocery shop, talking and holding hands all the time. When you were done with groceries, you stopped at a lonely bistro, where Eleven got the waffle with ice cream you promised her earlier that day. And it was her favorite thing ever. 

You got her a frozen Eggo filled with chocolate and strawberry ice cream and frozen raspberries. And it was so good. 

Unfortunately, as every good day, even this one had to come to an end. And you end was a Blazer standing on the driveway. At that exact moment, you knew that you're grandiosely fucked. Hopper was at home sooner than you - he usually came home at quarter past eight, but that day was obviously an exception. It wasn't even six o'clock and Blazer was already parked there. 

“El.” - You turned at her, turning the engine off. - “No matter what happens, you will go to your room, close the door and let me and Hopper talk, alright? We might not go easy on each other, but you need to stay in your bedroom.” 

“Won't go easy?” - Eleven repeated after you and you sighed, taking the paper bags with gricer. 

“We will be yelling at each other, I might cry, I might say something nasty, leave... but I'll be back. I'll come back no matter what, okay?” - You smiled and cautiously stepped over the tripwire and Eleven mirrored your actions. 

You could say that Hopper is pissed straight off the bat. One look and you knew that you fucked up big time. But to his bad luck, you weren't that wallflower who would take his bullshit. You were ready to kick his fucking ass. You took one of the bags from Eleven, who looked guilty, worried and about to cry. You put the bags on the table, kissing your forehead, sending her off to the bedroom. 

But you didn't pay Hopper any direct attention after that - he was a fucking diva and you weren't about to give in. And when you ignored him for five minutes straight, he started talking. Slowly, but he started. 

“What do you think you're doin', Y/N?” - Jim whispered unbelievably as you put the groceries on their place. 

“I was shopping. Are you blind or what?” - You asked back in the same, sarcastic tone of voice. Hopper was trying to keep the temper controlled, but in the next moment, he exploded. 

“Do you even realize how much danger you put her both you and her into? If someone from the government would see her if someone had noticed her if...” - He raised his voice, but you turned around and show your index finger directly to his voice as you both stood opposite each other. 

“No-one saw us, Hopper. Do I look like an incapable idiot to you? Do you even care why did I take her to Bloomington?” - You hissed. The tone of your voice said everything your words hadn't. A huge argument was starting and you planned telling Hopper everything you thought of him keeping Eleven there. Every last thought you had, he was about to hear it. 

“There are rules we agreed on. And no, I don't know that did you think about as you drove away, but you acted like a five-year-old fuckin' brat again.” - He pointed back at you. You could start yelling now, yes, but you just smiled, which threw Hopper off the rails completely.

“Oh, oh, oh.” - You laughed, putting your hands on your hips. - “So I am a fucking brat. Well, thanks for that, because you're letting that girl rot in this fucking cabin. And I very much prefer being a brat over being a fucking tyrant.” - You yelled at him, throwing him off the rails even more. - “I love her, Hopper. I took her as my own, I haven't told my mom, I found a job, I study college and I have a total jackass by my side, and yet, I am still here. So stop telling me what I am and what am I not, or I'm leaving and you can take your fucking proposal back.” 

And since that moment, you started to argue a big time. You yelled at each other things about your relationship, Eleven, the fucking cabin, the age difference, the way he cooked - you argued about everything. You threw a plate on the ground while Hopper stuck to pointing his finger at you. But just at that moment, Eleven opened up the door to her room.

She promised you that she won't leave the room, but you were harsh on Hopper - just as Hopper was harsh on you. She ran in front of you, crying like crazy, looking at Hopper. 

“LEAVE MOMMA BE.” - She yelled at him. Since that moment, you barely knew what happened - Hopper wanted to tell Eleven something, but she started screaming (and she went fully in) before he just suddenly flipped on his back. After that, Eleven hugged you and cried, even more, blood was dripping out of her nose. 

She almost let you know that she has superpowers, but you thought that maybe Jim just lost balance and fell on his ass. This was too damn close for Hopper. And he had to look at the consequences of your actions - that little girl was terrified, she hugged you so tight that you could barely breathe while you looked at Hopper with tears in your eyes, starting to cry as well. 

Slowly, Jim sat a bit away from you, watching both you and Eleven crying. 

“Were you... Were you serious about leavin' me? And her?” - He asked after a while. You shot a look at him, reaching your palm to catch him, so he slowly moved closer to both of you. 

“Are you crazy? I would never.” - You whispered and leaned into his shoulder, cradling Eleven. - “I'm sorry about taking her out. I just wanted to see her happy.” - You whispered and looked at him. You loved that man, even if you didn't take any of his fucking bullshit. Jim was your rock just as you were his. And you hurt him and his trust. 

“You're right and I knew that. She can't be locked here all the time, all alone. But... I can't take her anywhere since she's wanted.” - James smoothed Eleven's shoulder carefully, letting his hand rest there a little. And at that moment, you had another idea. And this one wasn't as shitty as the Bloomington one. 

“What if we tell my parents? They are living in the suburb, their house and garden are secluded, they have a swimming pool and the house is large. They will be curious about her and us... Yeah... But they might help up. And Eleven will be safe.” - You postponed and Jim furrowed a bit. 

But he needed to say - it was a great idea. 

[fxkthatdairy]

The Principal’s Office Part Three ~ Grayson Dolan

Overview: (Y/F/N) (Y/L/N) was the new 5th grade history teacher at The Dolan’s Private academy in New Jersey. She moved from across the country to teach at the school. On the first day, an unexpected visitor stops by her classroom to check in on her. What happened when they fall head over heels for each other? Check out to see.

Warnings: Angst, slight mentions of alcoholism

(Y/N) thought long and hard with her decision and finally responded:

Hey Grayson, of course I’d love to attend dinner with you this Saturday. I’d love to know more about you as well.

She laid in her bed waiting for his response like a high school girl who had just texted her crush that was on the football team. Her phone buzzed: One new message from Grayson Dolan.

Wonderful! I’ll pick you up around 7 Saturday night. I can’t wait, Goodnight (Y/N) see you tomorrow at work :).

(Y/N) plugged her phone in and placed it on the floor beside her bed, which reminded her that she desperately needed to go furniture and grocery shopping. She laid in her bed with her thoughts running rapidly through her head; Was this ethical? What would her mother think? What would her fellow employees think? She didn’t know what would happen but she shut off her thoughts when she finally managed to drift to sleep.

The rest of the week seemed to go by in a blur and now it was Friday afternoon and the school day had just ended. Her first week as a teacher had been beyond her expectations and she was in love with her new job and her students seemed to love her. She was packing everything that she needed to take home for the weekend which was a lot. She had the children take a quiz to see what they already knew and she had planned to take them home to grade them. So on top of her purse, she carried her suitcase that had her papers in. She shut her class door and locked it and when she turned around she care in contact with a sturdy chest.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there.” She apologized to Grayson who she had just accidentally ran into.

“It’s fine. Here let me help you to your car. It’s late and dark outside and I don’t trust some of the people that walk around here.” He said and took her suitcase from her hands and carried it out with her following behind him. He walked her to her car and she opened her trunk from her key fob. She didn’t realize how late it was until she checked her watch. It was 6:30 and school got out 2 hours ago. The sun had set and the parking lot was extremely dark and it seemed that Grayson and her self were the last two people there.

“Thank you so much for walking me out to my car and helping with my suitcase. Have a great night Grayson. I’ll see you tomorrow.” (Y/N) said with a smile as she got in her car. She waved at Grayson as she passed his truck in the parking lot. She got home and took a shower. She then sat up her computer on her island and began furniture shopping online. She purchased a leather “L” shaped couch, a recliner, a TV stand with a cabinet attached, she bought a dining room table with chairs, she also bought a TV stand for her room and some dressers and night stands. She knew the money wasn’t a problem, her father had left a shit ton of money in her name and that was the only god thing he ever did in her life. The man who was her father had left her mother shortly after (Y/N) was born entering periodically throughout (Y/N) life. He was an extreme alcoholic who beat his wife and disregarded his children. The bastard died last year after being shot by some man that her dad pissed off. Her father had left her brother, her sister, and her almost 5 million dollars,a piece, what he called an apology for his past mistakes. Nothing would ever make up for the trouble her father put her family through.

After (Y/N) ordered her furniture, she ordered a pizza to be delivered to her house for dinner. She also did a load of laundry and cleaned up her floors a little bit. The pizza man delivered the pizza and (Y/N) are it before taking a relaxing shower. She shaved her legs and washed her hair and body before getting out. She braided her hair, through on a silk teddy night gown and applied lotion to her legs. She plugged her phone in and laid down. She sat up her laptop and watched Dirty Dancing before falling asleep. She couldn’t wait until her TV stand came in and she could watch the actual TV.

(Y/N) woke up around 9:00 the next morning. It felt relaxing not having to get up at 5:30 to get ready for work. She got up and slid on a pair of sweatpants and a loose fitting t-shirt. She slide on a pair of white converses and grabbed her purse. She decided she was going to head to the store to finally get her some groceries so that her breakfast, lunch, and dinner wouldn’t have to come from a fast food restaurant. She got in her car and drove to the nearest market. She grabbed a variety of foods from vegetables, fruits, meats, breakfast foods, some ice creams, personal items such as tampons, pads, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, hair sprays, she also bought a new plant that was on clearance. It was a little cactus that reminded her of home. Once she paid and put the groceries in the car she headed to the Hearst Dunkin Donuts and got herself an iced coffee and a bag of sprinkled donut holes. She then headed home and unloaded her groceries, putting them in the correct place. By the time she was done putting away all of her groceries, it was only 12:00. She decided to take a quick hour nap, watch a few quick episodes of her favorite show and by the time she watched the last episode it was 5:00, so she decided to start getting ready for her dinner date. She plugged her phone in to charge and hooked up her phone to her Bluetooth speaker to listen to music as she got ready. She unbraided her hair and she styled it into a cute curly ponytail and hair sprayed it done. She did a little makeup not too much because she didn’t want to look fake on her date. The makeup she did wear was a very sheer foundation, she filled in her brows, highlighted her face, did a simple nude eyeshadow look, winged liner, mascara, and a pretty nude pink lip shade. She then searched her closet looking for the perfect outfit. She settled for a black off the shoulder top and a pair of dark jeans with a pair of black heel. She but on some simple jewelry and by the time she was done it was 6:45.

She had 15 minutes left before Grayson said he was going to be here so she made sure she had her purse and phone. It was 6:55 when her door bell rang and she answered the door. Grayson stood there with a bouquet of a mixture of sunflowers and roses. They were her favorites. He was wearing a white button up with some dark jeans and a leather jacket.

“I brought you some flowers. I saw them in some of you pictures and assumed they were your favorites. I hope you like them.” He said and handed them to you.

“I absolutely love them. They remind me of home. Thank you so much. Let me put them in a vase real quick. Come on in. Sorry it’s still empty. I just bought some new furniture.” (Y/N) said and walked into her kitchen to grab a vase. She placed the flowers in the vase and added some water in the vase and placed them in the middle of the kitchen island.

“They look absolutely beautiful. Thank you again.” She said as she grabbed her purse.

“You’re welcome. Let’s head there do we can get our reservations.” He said and took her hand. She locked the door of her house before walking with Grayson to his car. His car was beautiful actually. It wasn’t the normal truck he drove around. It was a baby blue Porche. Grayson held her hand all the way to the car and he opened the door for her and waited for to get in and shut her door. He got in on the drivers side and buckled in and started the car. (Y/N) buckled in and placed her purse in the floor board and crossed her legs. In the background faintly played some Kid Cudi music.

“You’re a fan of Cudi too?” She asked as she looked out the window.

“Yeah, I’ve liked his music since I was a teen. I didn’t expect you to like Cudi.” He said with a smile. Damn his dream girl really was real.

“He’s one of the few artists of today’s music that I’ll listen too. Other than that it’s all 80’s music for me.” She said with a laugh and smile. She could picture hours worth of conversations between the two. She didn’t even realize that they had pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant. Grayson parked the car and ran around to open the door for her. She got out and grabbed her purse. Grayson linked hands with her and walked into the restaurant.

“Welcome to Juliane’s, how can I help you.” The waitress asked as the two of them came in.

“Reservations for Dolan please.” Grayson said and the lady nodded and grabbed two menus and silverware and led us to the back where there was a nicely set up booth. (Y/N) sat on one side and Grayson sat on the other.

“May I get you two anything to drink?” She asked.

“Do you drink wine? If so what kind?” Grayson asked (Y/N) quickly.

“A little bit and red wine.” She said.

“Two glasses of your finest red wine please?” He asked and the lady nodded and went to get the drinks. (Y/N) looked through the menu and found what she wanted.

“So tell me more about yourself (Y/N). You have my undivided attention.” He said and sipped on his wine.

“Well I was born and raised in a small town in Oklahoma. I have an older sister named Jaclyn and an older brother named Trenton. I’m the baby of my family, when growing up it was just my mom, my sibling and I. As a child, I was always fascinated by history and had my mom make road trips through historical towns so that I could read and learn. I went to college at Oklahoma University on a full scholarship ride. I have two tattoos: one on my back and that’s a sunflower and I have a butterfly on my ribs. My favorite color is yellow and I have a fascination with everything 70’s,80’s, and 90’s. That’s about the general outline on myself. What about you Grayson?” She said with a smile.

“Well I was born and raised here in New Jersey. I have a twin brother named Ethan and an older sister named Cameron. My father and my mother raised us and my father passed away a few years ago to cancer and left my brother and I in charge of the schools. My brother took the high school and I took up the other. My sister has an art degree and sometimes comes and teaches at the school but she has her own studio downtown. My mother is a hair stylist. I’m allergic to almost every single animal except birds, fish, and some reptiles. I have too many tattoos to count and my favorite color is green. If you don’t mind me asking, where is your dad?” He said.

“I’m sorry about your dad. My dad was murdered last year but I didn’t know him very well. He wasn’t really in my life and when he was it was good.” She said. The lady came and took their orders and they continued looking.

“Are you in any relationship?” He asked curiously.

“Nope and never have been. It’s always been education with me.” She said and sipped on her wine.

“I haven’t been in one for a while. I told myself that I was going to wait till I found the perfect one for me.” He said. What she didn’t know was the Grayson thought that was her. The waitress brought there food back and they made small talk while eating. When it came time for them to get ready to leave (Y/N) began pulling out her wallet to pay. Before she could even get her card Grayson had already given the lady his card.

“Don’t worry about it (Y/n). It’s my treat.” He said with his breathtaking smile.

“Thank you so much tonight. I’ve really enjoyed this.” She said with a smile as the lady brought back Grayson’s card. (Y/N) and Grayson grabbed their things and got up and left. As they were sitting in the car Grayson asked, “Do you mind if I take you somewhere? It’s a surprise so you have to trust me.”

“I trust you Grayson. I have nothing else to do tonight, I’m all yours.” She said with a smile. Twenty minutes later they pulled into an empty parking lot near the beach. There was a long boardwalk with a gorgeous lighthouse at the end of the boardwalk. He opened the door for her and took her hand. By now the sun had set and the wind started picking up and she shivered. Grayson slipped off his jacket and placed it on her arms.

“Thank you.” She said and he took her hand and began waking down the boardwalk. The waves crashed against the shore and it sounded beautiful. The lights along the boardwalk were gorgeous. They walked to the end of the boardwalk and she leaned against the rail staring out into the ocean.

“It’s beautiful here.” She said with a smile.

“You’re even more beautiful.” Grayson said with a smile and turned her around to face him. His hands were rested gently on her waist and he leaned down and gently kissed her. Her heart and stomach exploded in butterflies. He pulled back and spoke, “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over m-“ before he could finish his sentence she kissed him to shut him up.

“Don’t apologize Grayson. I enjoyed it. I enjoy you. You make me feel like I’m a new person.” She said with a smile and placed her hand on his chest.

“Good because I’m not letting you go. You’re my one I just know it.” He said with a smile and leaned down to kiss her again.

Grayson walked her back to his car and decided to take her home since it was now almost 10:00. He walked her up to her front door.

“I’ll see you when your furniture comes in so that I can help. I’ll also bring my brother so you can meet him and he can help. I enjoyed tonight (Y/N). I can’t wait till our next date out.” He said with a smile and leaned down and pecked her lips.

“Thank you for tonight Grayson. I enjoyed it too. I’ll text you tomorrow when the items get shipped in. Text me when you get home please so that I know you made it home safe please.” She said as he pulled away. She took off his jacket and handed it back so that he wasn’t cold. She pecked his lips one last time and shut the door. As soon as the door shut and he was in his car, she freaked out. Her boss was in love with her and she was in love with him. He KISSED her. She was so whipped over him it wasn’t funny. She hopes this doesn’t affect her job and that she isn’t going to be judged even though there are going to be those people she didn’t care at the moment. She walked to her bathroom and wiped her makeup off and washed her face as well as brushed her teeth. She changed into her pajamas and brushed out her hair. She laid down in bed and waited for Grayson to text her that he was home safe and then as soon as he texted her that she fell asleep reliving her night over and over in her head.

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

Here is part three 😊 I was able to write this today because I was trapped in a car for 8 hours and had time to write. I hope you guys enjoy and part four will be out in a few days 🙂 if you guys have any requests, concepts, or blurbs you are welcome to send them to me. Also if you would like to be added to the tag list let me know 😊💛

Tags: @pineappledols @frickin-bats @graysavant @sweet-dolans

[i-went-to-a-cuddle-party-once]

Dance, Dance

Summary: Jessica makes Teen Malcolm go to a dance. He makes the best of a bad situation.

Warnings: Not many? Bullying and people being jerks. Some cursing. 

A/N: So I wrote this a few weeks ago and then forgot to post it and when I looked at it today to make any edits I ended revamping the whole dang thing because Why Not!

He sat in the leaned back chair while the esthetician rubbed yet another lotion on his face. He huffed and wished he was literally anywhere else in the world.

"Can you at least pretend to be enjoying this Malcolm? You're having a spa day, not being tortured by the Spanish inquisition."

"It's not exactly my form of relaxation mother. If you wanted to pamper someone you should have brought Ainsley," he replied through grit teeth.

"There, all done." The woman awkwardly smiled at both of them before leaving the room.

"Usually I would have," she returned her attention to her son," but I needed to get you ready for the dance."

"The what?"

"The dance. Malcolm we talked about this. I allowed you to buy that sword from the auction and you agreed to go to a social event of my choosing." He cradled his head in his hands. It was a nice katana, 15th century, great condition and it looked gorgeous on his bedroom wall.

"Don't touch your face sweetheart, you'll undo all the hard work she did. We can't have you breaking out before the big day!" She squealed with excitement and Malcolm felt himself die a little on the inside.

…

"I don't even go to that school. Or any school! I won't know anyone." They sat at the dinner table hours later, the arguments end nowhere in sight. Ainsley was practically glowing with the endless amount of fuel for teasing that had come along with all the preparations for the dance.

"That's the point, Malcolm. You don't know anyone. Anywhere. You don't socialize!" She set her fork gently down, staring daggers at her son.

"I talk to Gil all the time! And Jackie! And you and Ainsley. And-"

"Don't you dare say his name and ruin our good day," Malcolm slouched in his chair sulking, "Gil and Jackie don't count and you live with Ainsley and I. Although I still wouldn't count what little interaction you grace us with as socializing." She wiped the nonexistent crumbs from her face with a cloth napkin.

"I haven't even told you the most exciting part yet. I got you a date!" Malcolm's mouth hung open, completely speechless, and Ainsley burst into laughter.

…

He had given up on begging and bargaining and had settled into a state of acceptance. Hair carefully combed new suit on, corsage in hand. He sat stock-still next to his mother in his date's living room. His mother spoke animatedly with the girl's parents and Malcolm tried his hardest to remember what Gil had told him.

Of course, he was happy for him. Both Jackie and Gil squealed with the same sort of joy his mother had when she told him about the dance and date. None of them seemed to understand the embarrassment that stemmed from having your mother procure a date for you.

"Just try to enjoy yourself kid. You don't even have to dance. Although I do recommend it," he heard Jackie giggling in the background and could imagine Gil had taken her in his arms, twirling her around.

"Make your own fun. And please, be safe. Call me if you need me to get out of there." He kept the thoughts in his mind wishing he could call Gil now when his date finally joined them in the living room.

They made a handsome pair. Ashley and Malcolm. He could see his mother planning their wedding already. Her parents and his mother enjoyed themselves arranging the two of them for pictures like they knew each other and hadn't just met two minutes earlier.

She was pretty. Her blonde hair was piled into an intricate updo, dark blue eyes staring him down and a dangerous smile that made his stomach do flips that had nothing to do with attraction. She was deadly. The same type of girl that had bullied him mercilessly until he had begged his mother to allow him to be homeschooled.

He knew other boys his age would die to go on a date with a girl like her but all he saw was someone who could be paid off to go on a date with a complete stranger.

After what felt like a lifetime they finally left the house in a limo. The drive to the dance was excruciating. He hated small talk. Hated false pleasantries. They sat in silence. He sighed heavily and ran his hand through his hair, something he'd promised his mother he wouldn't do.

There was something that he knew inexplicably. Despite his temperament, odd interests, and father he was handsome and if he wanted to be he could be very charming. He swallowed his nerves before beginning his performance.

He looked up at his date, catching her eye with a flutter of his eyelashes before smiling shyly. She took the bait and gave him her full attention.

"I know this night probably isn't what you were hoping for. My mother sprung the whole idea on me three days ago. Though I can't say I'm entirely disappointed," he eyed her carefully knowing he'd done well when a slight blush crawled across her cheeks and a hint of a smile touched her lips.

"I only agreed to this because my mom owed your mom a favor. And I broke up with my boyfriend two weeks ago and didn't have a date and I was not going by myself." He laughed like it was the funniest thing he'd heard before shifting to sit closer to her.

"I highly doubt you would have a hard time finding a willing date." She giggled and he ignored the feeling that this was a bad idea.

...

The venue was just as loud as he had expected, music blaring from what felt like every direction. Ashley grabbed his hand in her own and pulled him in, quickly finding her friends and introducing him. He laughed when appropriate and smiled his wide alluring smile. He was clever and told jokes and when Ashley pulled him to the dance floor he danced without protest. He despised every moment of it.

He was only half paying attention when it happened. Half his mind was elsewhere, still trying to weigh if keeping his katana was worth all of this mess. It was the sharpness of his date’s voice that brought his attention back to the moment.

"Look, it's crying," She laughed, "I didn't know lower life forms had feelings." He looked to the girl her words were aimed at, tears and mascara already running down her face.

"What, you thought some cheap makeup and a store-bought dress could change the fact that you don't belong here? You're not Cinderella." His date and her friends laughed and he felt his anger rising.

"What the fuck is your problem," he was standing and the words were falling from his mouth before he could think to stop them. "I knew you were a spoiled brat who thinks that money is a replacement for a personality but I guess I was wrong," he clapped "you're a spoiled brat and an asshole who thinks they can get away with saying anything because mommy and daddy never had had the guts to tell you no." Ashley stared at him in shock before ripping her corsage off.

"This date is over," she stomped away, friends in tow eyeing him.

"Thank God, if I had to listen to another minute of your incessant rambling I was going to jump out of a window," he called back to her.

He looked to the other girl, her shoulders hunched and shaking. He guided her to an exit and watched her sit on the sidewalk before taking a seat on the pavement next to her.

"Thanks," her voice cracked. "I guess that's what I get for attempting to have one glamorous night. I know I'm not blonde and rich like her but does she have to be so obnoxious about it?" She looked down at herself with anger. "Not that all rich people are bad," she added taking a quick glance at him before blushing. He laughed his first genuine laugh of the night.

"No, I think we're all pretty terrible. Myself included." She chuckled and accepted the hankie he handed to her.

"Holy shit I didn't know rich people actually carried these. Is it sanitary?" He laughed again.

"I swear it's clean." He watched her wipe her tears and pull a compact from her bag before groaning at her reflection.

He tried not to stare but allowed himself to look at her, convincing himself that he was just trying to make sure she was okay. Her hair was in tight curls and swung loosely around her shoulders. Brown eyes rimmed with red from crying. Crimson lipstick painted on her full lips slightly smudged. She sat more relaxed, anxiety leaving her position.

"My name is Jenae by the way, and you are?" She offered a hand to him. He shook it, trying and failing to ignore the way his skin tingled at her touch.

"Malcolm. I'm Malcolm."

…

They sat on the curb for over an hour talking. He explained to her how he got roped into the whole situation ("that's the stupidest fucking thing I've heard. God, boys are dumb.") and she explained her situation to him. She had been accepted to the school due to an outreach program offered to underprivileged students. She loved the school and extensive science department but loathed the snooty rich kids that filled its halls. She was glad to put it all behind her in a few years.

"Do you wanna get out of here and do something fun? I have a limo?" She raised an eyebrow and he realized how his words could be interpreted." Oh, oh, no. I didn't mean it like that. I meant like Ice cream or something!” she giggled at his stammering and he had another thought, “Although getting into a limo with a guy you just met probably isn’t the best idea either, huh. How about in a cop car?”

…

Gil was there in minutes despite living over a half-hour away. Malcolm would question him later about it but for now, he was just grateful for the man coming without questioning what happened to the limo and why he was now on a date with a completely different girl. He drove them to an ice cream parlor he had regularly taken Malcolm and Ainsley to when they were younger and stayed in the car while Malcolm and Jenae went in.

She teasingly stole his phone and saved her number to it so he could text her later and his heart skipped a beat. Later. She wanted to talk to him and see him on a night other than tonight.

"You'll be a great scientist, I mean you're already thriving amongst a bunch of single-cell organisms." She groaned at his joke before frowning.

"I should probably head home my Abuelita will ground me for life if I get home after midnight." He offered her a hand down from the stool she sat on and nearly tripped over his own feet when he realized that instead of letting go she had wound her fingers between his.

…

The drive to drop her off went faster then he wanted it to last, which was forever. His hand was sweaty and he was sure she noticed but he refused to be the first to let go.

"Do you have any plans next weekend," she asked, "there's this art show I was thinking of checking out."

"Yes!" He cleared his throat and glared at Gil who was chuckling in the front seat. "I mean yeah, that'd be cool. Just text me the details."

The pulled up in front of her apartment building he held the car door open for her. He watched her make her way up the stairs to the door before closing his eyes, leaning against the car and unabashedly grinning to himself.

"Hey, Malcolm?" He opened his eyes to find her standing closer than he expected and before he could reply she leaned toward him and softly kissed his cheek. She turned away from him and ran up the stairs and through the front door. He slid his way into the passenger's seat where he could feel Gil's eyes on him. He covered his blushing face with his hands.

"It looks like you had a good time."

"Shut up Gil," the older man snorted, started the car and drove into the night. "Do you think it's too soon to text her?"

[heyyyharry]

My Girl Series: Chapter 6 - This Time

…in which Y/N needs a wedding date, and this time Harry’s not giving up.

Series description: Y/N falls in love with the older boy next door who doesn’t feel the same, years later they meet again at a funeral.

AU: actor!harry, older!harry, younger!y/n; (4-year age gap)

Chapter 5: Somebody Else - Once upon a time, there was a girl and a boy, and no one else.

A little happy gift from sad Allie 😂 You’re welcome.

wattpad link

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It had been two weeks since the last time Y/N saw Harry.

Like a ghost, he disappeared into thin air without a single clue only to reappear on a sunny Thursday afternoon via a simple text, saying he was waiting for her outside her flat and that it was an emergency. When she received that message, Y/N was in the library and had to drop everything at once to rush back home for him.

It was not until she had run up five floors and saw him standing outside her door with the brightest smile on his face, intact, that she realized she had been worried all for nothing.

"Hey, Bam—Ouch!" He jumped away, rubbing the sore spot on his arm where she'd just hit him, mouth agape. "What was that for?"

"'Come home quick. Emergency'? Emergency my ass! I was shit-scared when I read your text."

"This is an emergency." He bent down and picked up the paper bag at his feet. "I bought you ice cream and it's melting."

"Ice cream?" She dropped her jaw, hands on her hips. "I thought something bad had happened to you, H!"

"You thought I was in trouble and came home right away?"

Y/N rolled her eyes in response to that idiotically gorgeous smile of his, yet she decided not to answer that question.

"What's the occasion?" She asked, eyes fixed on the paper bag full of snacks he was carrying. She didn't understand why he looked so shocked as if she was supposed to know the answer already.

Wait, am I supposed to?

It took the girl a moment to remember the date, and when she had, she felt like the shittiest person alive.

It was her mother's birthday.

When they were little, Harry had always helped her prepare a small birthday party for her mother each year. They would make cupcakes and birthday cards together. Now that her mother was gone, he knew it was meaningless to come over with ice-cream for her and flowers for her mum since there was nothing left to celebrate. But he felt like he should, hoping his presence would count for something.

"I can't believe I forgot mum's birthday," she groaned into her palms, mentally cursing herself for being so thoughtless. But he knew it wasn't her fault, she didn't mean to forget. A lot of things had happened in her life recently, starting from her dad's engagement, to her struggles with her unfinished first novel, her unpaid rents, and then of course...him.

Harry was just about to say something when the girl lifted her face up, eyes squinted at him. "How did you..."

"Your dad told me you always visited her on her birthday..."

"My dad? Are you best friends with him now?"

"No, I just—"

"Don't." She raised a finger so he wouldn't continue, and he was waiting for her to tell him to leave. To his surprise, she didn't this time. She just took a long pause and asked him if he could give her a ride to the train station, so she could catch the next train back to Cheshire.

Y/N assumed a famous actor like Harry didn't have much free time to spare, and she really had to think twice before asking him for such a favor. After all, he had his own busy life, he wasn't her personal chauffeur.

The last thing she would expect to hear from him was, "I'll drive you back to Cheshire."

"What?" She raised an eyebrow at the man and he supposed she thought he was only kidding. He definitely wasn't. "It's a four-hour drive, H."

"Then we should leave now." He pressed his lips into a small smile, and her heart suddenly forgot how to beat.

She didn't know why he was doing all of that for her. She just asked for a small favor which he could have easily declined, still, he volunteered to drive nearly 200 miles so she could visit her mother's grave. She honestly didn't get it but she didn't want to ask him why.

"Thank you so much," she said. "I owe you this once."

"Wait, but..."

"But what?" Y/N had already climbed down a couple stairs when she stopped to look back at him.

"We should put the melting ice cream in the fridge." He nodded towards the door, making her smile.

It was actually the first smile he'd received from his Bambi after two weeks away from her and Harry couldn't put into words how glad he was to see it again. He knew they still had a lot of catching up to do. But he had a whole four hours in the car to worry about that. Right now, he let himself be happy.

.

.

.

The drive was long but neither of them was tired. Harry and Y/N blasted music in their car while driving away from the big city, singing songs they didn't know all the words to at the top of their lungs with the windows down and wind in their hair. Harry couldn't recall the last time he'd felt this free. He didn't have to worry about all the responsibilities waiting for him in London, nor think about how his manager would react when he found out Harry had rescheduled another interview for personal reasons. At that moment, in his car driving down the empty country road, it was just him and her and no one else.

When the music had become louder than their own voices, Harry stole a quick glance at the girl sitting by his side. She was too distracted by the beautiful sunset to continue singing or even catch his eyes on her.

"Watch out!"

Harry steered the wheel just in time to dodge the massive hole on the road. The car bounced ahead pretty hard, causing him to grip onto the wheels and her to scream out loud. Fortunately, both were safe as was the car but his heart was still beating out of control. When he turned to give her an apologetic grin, she smacked him right on the arm, telling him to be careful or else they would be dead before they even reached the graveyard. That threat really had the 24-year-old rooted to his seat. Maybe from now on, he should keep his eyes on the road instead of her.

When they arrived at Graceland Cemetery in Holmes Chapel, the sky was already pitch dark. Under the pale moonlight, the iron front gate looked exactly like one of those gateways to hell in the horror films she was obsessed with but he loathed deeply. He walked closer to her, one arm hugging the bouquet of lilies to his chest, the other gripping onto her arm as they passed many headstones laying all out of order on the muddy ground. It took them five minutes or so to get to where Y/N's mother was laid.

The girl kneeled down on the sew grass without minding the soil would ruin her beautiful white dress. She burnt three jasmine scented candles on the ground after laying the lilies down by her mother's grave.

"Happy birthday, mum," she mumbled, smiling at the grey stone with her mother's name on it. "I love and miss you very much, and I'm so sorry that I'm late today."

Watching her from the side made Harry feel like he was intruding the special mother-daughter moment and he intended to walk away. But all it took was one sound of his name from her lips and Harry's feet immediately grew roots into the ground.

"Harry is with me. He drove me all the way here from London so I could see you." With a faint smile, she turned to him. "Don't worry. He takes very good care of me."

The green-eyed man could hear his heartbeats echoing in his ear as all the hair on his arms stood to attention. He didn't know whether it was because of the cool April breezes blowing through his thin jacket, or the fact that they were in the middle of a graveyard, or the lovely hue in her sparkling eyes as they were gazing at him. What he did knew was in that very moment she might also feel the same, maybe a little if not entirely. And that was all it mattered.

.

.

.

"Since we're already here, do you wanna stop by to say hello to Anne?"

"My mum's on vacation actually. There's nobody home," Harry said as he made his way to Y/N, standing with his back against the car like she was as they both looked up at the magnificent view above their heads, a sky full of stars.

The sight was almost surreal, like the whole world had been covered in black velvet with little diamonds strung up as decorations. For too long Harry had been living in the big city where all the best views were hidden behind skyscrapers, and the busy lives on the ground didn't allow him to look up, not even once. Now in an open field with just them two and the sound of crickets chirping in fading moonlight, he could finally feel alive.

"You don't get to see this in London, right?" She said as both of them turned to look at each other at the same time.

"I think I've missed out on a lot of things since I left this town," he said, almost as a soft whisper for only them to hear. The stars were mirrored in her crystal clear eyes like little shiny specks of magic dust. The sight of it reminded him of the lake behind his high school on a summer night, when it looked like the water had captured the moon and all the stars. To him, Y/N was no different from that summer late. She carried the entire universe in those eyes.

"Harry," her voice, with the help of a cold breeze, soon dragged him back to reality. She was still looking at him and her expression was unreadable as she questioned, "have you ever considered talking Anne into selling that house?"

"No. She loves that place too much," he said. "Gemma and I don't wanna sell it either."

There was a pause.

"Thank you," she finally said, giving him another smile and looking up again.

Harry knew she meant to ask about their treehouse. She wanted to know if he'd ever thought about selling away one of the few things that were proof of what they used to have. Then she thanked him because he hadn't. Somewhere deep inside he felt joy because now he knew she still looked back to those days to the kids they once were. Maybe the part of him inside of her had never really faded away.

"Do you wanna stop by our treehouse?" He asked all of a sudden and he could tell from her reaction that she was taken aback.

"No, thanks." Y/N shook her head. "I might run into those two."

"Your dad and Marcy."

She confirmed with a sigh, puckering up her lips.

"I got their wedding invitation last week," he said, smiling at her but she was far from happy to hear that.

"I did too, but it's now in the bin." She shrugged, eyes on the stars whereas he was still staring at her. "I'm not going to their wedding."

"Why?"

"Because that would make me feel like I'm betraying my mother."

"But that's your dad. He really wants you to show up."

"So? He's a shit dad anyway."

Harry knew it wasn't his business when he received that stubborn eye-roll from her. He understood that she had every single right to hate that man for all he had done to her and her mother. But Harry cared about Y/N too much to let her keep tormenting herself and her father this way.

"Look, kid, I know he's shit at being a dad but...at least...he's still trying to be one."

That sentence made Y/N turn her head to face him once again. It had been too long, yet she could still remember the photo he had kept in his bedroom. The only photo of the man she had never seen before.

When nine-year-old Y/N asked him who it was, thirteen-year-old Harry hesitated for a little while before telling her it was his father. Before then she had assumed that every dad had to either live with their children, or come visit them once in a while like Celine’s dad. But from Harry's story, she learned that not every father wanted to be close to their kids and watch them grow. Harry's father had left his family since Harry was still too young to remember. Just like Y/N, he had never met the man. His mother had thrown away everything that belonged to his father, except for that one photo the little boy found in the attic and decided to keep as a secret. He had never shown it to anyone but the little girl next door.

Eyes still on her, Harry took a deep breath and squeezed the hand she put on her knee. "You don't have to forgive everything he's done but please don't cut him off for good. At least show up at his wedding."

"I can't do it alone." She shook her head fast and lowered it so she could stare at her feet instead of him. "I couldn't even have dinner with them alone..."

"Then I'll go with you. Sounds good?" He titled his head to read her face, squeezing the girl's hand a little bit tighter to remind her that he was there for her.

And after a moment of thinking, she finally answered, "I'll think about it and...let you know."

.

.

.

It was nearly 8PM when Harry and Y/N got back into their car to head back to London. The drive home was rather silent since both of them had been exhausted and it was getting late. They put on some slow songs and drove through the night with eyes kept away from each other. The scent of candle wax mixed with fresh soil still remained on her clothes. It smelt rather delicate, reminding him of a garden full of jasmines, and he loved it just as much as he knew she did.

"Where have you been?" She finally asked, breaking the comfortable silence between them both.

"Where have I been?"

"In the last two weeks. What? You have a tendency of ghosting on the people in your life once in a while?"

The people in his life, he knew she meant her and Isaac. He couldn't straight off tell her that he'd only been avoiding them while keeping contact with everyone else in his life. She wouldn't understand and hate him as much as she had before.

So he told her he'd been busy getting ready for a new role for a movie which started shooting in the summer. It was also the truth, well, half of it. He'd left out the part about him trying to figure out what he wanted and what he was willing to give up in order to be happy. By the end, he'd realized that he missed her too much to be able to stay away from her life and still feel joy at the same time. He'd done it before, living six years without knowing where or how she was. But now that she had come back, he must admit that it was a struggle trying not to think about her every second of the day.

"Don't worry. I won't disappear like that again," he said.

She didn't reply and he didn't hope that she would believe him. He could always show her that he was sincere.

Harry parked his car outside her building and they both got out at the same time. He was slightly disappointed because he wanted to open the car door for her like they did in those romantic films. But then again he remembered, his Bambi was never one of those cliché leading girls.

Before he could open his mouth to say goodnight and goodbye, Y/N pulled him into a sudden hug and thanked him for everything he'd done for her that day.

"Do you want to come in?" She asked, to his surprise. "There's ice cream in the fridge."

Her offer made him smile.

"I would love to," he said and for sure meant it. "But I can't. I've got dinner with Niall."

"Dinner at midnight?"

"That restaurant opens until 3AM." He shrugged, checking his watch. "But...I'm kind of an hour late now."

"Oh, okay. See you another time then?"

"Sure." He stroked her tangled hair and pressed his lips to her forehead as he wished her goodnight. When they parted, he felt strangely incomplete even though she wasn't even out of sight. Harry now began to think he had turned into one of those clingy high school boys who couldn't stop missing his secret crush, and the fact that he had just implied that she was his secret crush was already too embarrassing. He had no control of whatever going on inside his brain anymore, and he felt like it should be a bad thing.

"What are you doing next Friday night?" He shouted out the question, making the girl turn around just as she reached the glass doors.

"Uh...Probably studying for my finals. Why?"

"You stay at home and study on your birthday?" The amusement in that question of his had her eyes widened and her jaw fell open. That was when the man realized she had not only forgotten her mother's birthday, but also her own.

"Right." She squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her fists. "Now that I remember. I do have plans on that night."

"Oh...With Isaac?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

Even though he had already seen it coming and received that apologetic look from her, Harry still felt like crap. He told her it was no big deal as he got back into his car and started the engine. They waved at each other one last time before he departed. This time, the girl stayed exactly where she was, watching his car until it blended into the moving traffic on the busy avenue.

.

.

.

"Sorry, I'm late!"

"Aren't you always?"

Niall blew up his cheeks as he closed the menu in his hand, dark blue eyes narrowed at Harry, who was still trying to catch his breath as he told the waiter to get him whatever his friend had already ordered.

"And two glasses of Cheval Blanc 2010," he quickly added, with a smile.

"We only sell that by the bottle, sir."

"Bring me a bottle then."

"Wait." Niall held up a hand just as the waiter turned away. "He'll have a glass of water."

"A glass of water?" The actor snorted.

Niall Horan was the least serious person he'd ever known but this time the guy wasn't joking. The singer nodded his head, telling the waiter to leave them and intertwined his fingers on the table, intense eyes staring his best friend down.

"You can't show up here drunk and order a whole bottle of wine, Harold."

"I'm not drunk."

"Then why's your face red and why do you keep smiling like an idiot?"

That one simple question got Harry tongue-tied. He thought he might know the answer. But he couldn't even say it to himself let alone to his best friend who couldn't even keep a secret for longer than a day. Of course, he loved Niall with all his heart and would do anything for that man had he asked just once. But there was a good reason he would always confide in Isaac and had to think twice before confessing something to his other best friend.

"Are you sure you're sober, Harold?" Niall asked, probably still suspecting Harry was lying to him

"I am. Absolutely!"

"Good. I don't wanna see you as that drunk mess when the witch left again."

Niall paused as soon as he realized what he had just said, slowly lifting his eyes to check his best friend's reaction. Despite not mentioning any name, he knew Harry could already tell whom he was referring to. Of course, Niall didn't mean to bring her up at a happy dinner like this, it just slipped out by accident. Now he felt so bad about it.

Harry hadn't thought about Ruby for weeks now. He'd blocked her number and he couldn't even remember the last time he'd checked social media to see what she had been up to. Ever since the BAFTAs, the name Ruby Ellis had completely vanished from his mind. But Niall accidentally bringing her up tonight was almost like opening up an old wound.

Harry didn't know how to describe his relationship with Ruby, if it was ever a relationship. But his feelings for her had been real. His pain, his jealousy, his tears, his nightmares, all of them had been real. He couldn't even describe the post-goodbye since it had been the worst six months of his entire life. He would wake up in the middle of the night screaming her name and reaching out to search for her figure only to hold onto air on the empty side of his bed. What he and Ruby had together was heaven and hell at the same time. So when he'd escaped from the maze that was her heart, and finally looked back from an outsider's point of view, he realized how wrong she had been for him, how much she had damaged him, physically and emotionally.

But he had loved her. He really had loved her. So much to the point even now if he was walking down the street, he would turn his head the second he smelt her favorite perfume on a stranger. However, some people were only meant to stay in your memory and not in your heart or your arms, and Harry had to learn it the hardest way in order to let her go.

"Don't worry. I'm not going back there again," he said, giving his best friend a reassuring smile.

"I believe in you." Niall reached out to hold his wrist. "She taught you to smoke and you quitted. Now you could quit her."

That sounded so sad, yet so true.

His ex-lover was nothing more than a bad habit.

The mood at the two gentlemen's table was lifted once again when the waiter from earlier returned with their food and two crystal glasses of mineral water. Niall had quite a passion for food as he did for music, so the look on his face when he saw the steaming dishes laid down in front of his eyes made Harry dissolve into laughter.

"I'm gonna take a photo for Isey," said the singer as he unlocked out his phone and rose from his chair to find a good angle for the shot.

"Why isn't he here though?" Harry asked. "Is he busy?"

"What are you talking about? He's in Rome right now. Didn't he tell you?"

"He's on vacation?"

"More like workation." Niall sat back down, rolling his eyes and put his phone away to grab the napkin. "You should try the fish, Harry. It's marvelous."

"Niall, what do you mean?" Harry honestly couldn't concentrate on eating at the moment to even think about how marvelous the fish was. "He's working in Italy? For how long?"

"At least six months or more. I don't know."

"Six months? But Y/N's birthday is next week."

"Who's Y/N?"

Harry sighed in frustration as he corrected himself, "Bambi."

"Oh, right! The Bambi/Smiley girl." Niall chuckled, shaking his head. "Isey asked her to be his girlfriend last week, but at that point, he still hadn't received the offer to shoot for Vogue Italy. Somehow Smiley...I mean Bambi found out about it so she turned him down. Isey was really sad so he flew off to Rome without telling anyone, and I just found out last night when I asked him to come with us. I assumed you'd already known because he always told you everything."

As Niall went on with his speculations about how Y/N had discovered the Vogue thing, Harry could only try to make sense why she'd lied to him that she had birthday plans with Isaac, knowing the guy was in Rome. Maybe she didn't want Harry to feel pity for her, maybe she just wanted to be alone, or maybe she thought he had done too much for her and didn't want him to show up at her door with a teddy bear and pink balloons with her initial on them. Anyway, her two best friends were in Boston and she obviously wouldn't come home for dinner with her dad and his new woman. So he couldn't let her celebrate her 20th birthday with a stack of books and way too much caffeine. Harry had missed many of her birthdays already and that was entirely his fault. But this time he had to do things differently.

"Niall." He calmly looked at his friend who had already finished half of the fish. "Do you happen to know any stargazing spot in London?"

[krreader]

BTS scenario → you being their best friend since childhood.

pairing: bts x reader (platonic) fandom: bts warnings: mentions of bullying genre: fluff ; crack ; hints of angst

a/n: so I wasn’t sure whether you wanted this to be a scenario that’s only playing in the past or that kinda leads to the present day, so I settled for the second one since I thought that would be cute!!! (so everything in italics happened in the past) hope you like it!!!

ask box | masterlists | faq | twitter | ko-fi | follower celebration | REQUESTS ARE CLOSED.

kim seokjin

Jin has always been someone who's very protective of others, even when he was younger. Once at school, he found a group of girls bullying a girl by pulling on her pigtails and he had immediately stepped in and told them off.

The girls had run away and left behind a crying eight-year old telling Jin that she would cut off all her hair because it looked ugly, but Jin had convinced her not to do it, because he thought those pigtails looked super cute on her.

That girl was you. And that day, Kim Seokjin didn't just become your best friend, but your hero as well.

“Have you eaten?” he asked through the phone, pacing around his hotel room.

“I'm old enough to take care of myself, you know?” you chuckled, continuing to steer around the ramen in the pot, “And I'm making myself some ramen right now. I'd offer you to come over and eat with me, but I think the food might get cold until you're here.”

Even when he was far away from you, he called you every day to make sure you're alright. It didn't matter how tired he was, that phone call was a must. Checking in on you to see whether or not you were okay was a must. He felt like it was his duty as your best friend.

“Make some when I'm back, okay? I'll stop by.”

“Will do, Jinnie,” you chuckled, “Get some rest, alright? You sound tired.”

“You too, (Y/N). And eat a lot. Eat some for me too.”

“Always do.”

min yoongi

Yoongi always pretended that he was one of the cool kids. That there was nothing in the world bothering him and that he was better than the other kids by pretending he didn’t care about anything in the world.

But when he was with you? My god, you were the princess and he let you do whatever the hell you wanted to.

“Why do we have to play tea party again,” he whined, “I thought we wanted to have a rap battle.”

“Because I'm a lady,” you poured some imaginary tea into his cup and held it out to him, grinning from ear to ear when he took it into his small hands and pretended to take a sip.

That didn't change when you became older. Only that now he was a grown man and if the others found him looking like this, they would laugh at him.

“I hate you,” he muttered as you continued to tie strands of his hair together.

He looked ridiculous, but it made you laugh and happy, so he let you do it. As he let you do anything. Because you were his best friend and the person that mattered most to him.

“Once I'm done here, you can rap for me.”

“Looking like that? That's going to give off the right vibe for sure.”

“Hey.. see it as a challenge,” you grinned, squishing his cheeks together, “You can do anything, Min Yoongi. I always told you that.”

Yeah.. and now here he was. And you were a big reason for that.

jung hoseok

“Rock, paper, scissors,” you pouted, already holding out your hand and waiting for Hobi to do the same, “Winner gets to decide.”

“You always cheat!” he stomped his foot on the ground, “That's not fair!”

“I don't cheat! You're just bad at it!”

Fast forward twenty years and he still doesn't play rock, paper, scissors against you because he still thinks you're cheating every damn time (which was true, but besides the point).

“I won't play you, (Y/N),” Hoseok continued to type away on his phone.

“I won't cheat this time, I promise.”

“Like the last thirty times you promised you wouldn't cheat? Forget it.”

You let out an annoyed huff and fell down on the couch next to him, “You're the worst.”

“I know,” he wiggled his eyebrows and pulled you against his chest, beginning to tickle you.

It's always been this way. And you were glad that even as he had become an idol and was famous, rich and busy, nothing had changed. He was still your Hobi. Still the same seven-year old who continuously lost against you at rock, paper, scissors, because you always managed to cheat.

kim namjoon

Namjoon has always been one of the quiet ones in class, mostly because he was one of the few who actually listened.

He was a good student, but mostly kept to himself. Not a lot of friends, until one day a student from another country came into his class and had just as many friends as him, which was zero. And because the teacher saw an opportunity, she had decided to sit you next to him.

“I'm (Y/N),” you had smiled shyly.

Namjoon was confused at first why you would speak to him out of all people, but then he had returned the smile and replied: “Namjoon.”

Over the years he found more friends, but none ever matched up to you.

You were his best friend, the one he could always count on, no matter what. And even when he became an idol, that never changed.

“What do YOU want, Namjoon?” you asked.

“It doesn't matter what I want.. ARMY needs to be happy.”

“This is exactly the kind of mindset that is destroying you,” you reached out to him, cupping his face with your hands and making him look at you, “Kim Namjoon, you are an idol and you have a responsibility towards your fans, but you also have a responsibility towards yourself. You need to be selfish every once in a while and that means putting yourself first and nobody else. Not ARMY, not me, not the boys.. yourself.”

You were the only person he allowed himself to cry in front of these days, because he trusted you more than anyone else in this world. He could be himself, vulnerable, when he was with you and you would just hold him and tell him it would be okay..

..and sometimes that's all he needed.

park jimin

Jimin had been out with his mother that day. It was incredibly hot, everyone was sweating and desperately trying to find a cool spot or something cold to eat.

His mother was kind enough to buy him and his brother ice cream and while his brother was still deciding what he wanted, Jimin had already gone off to the side somewhere, happily pushing the spoon with ice cream into his mouth over and over again.

That's when his eyes fell on you. You were standing to his left, staring not at him, but at the ice cream.

“Jimin, come on, let’s go,” his mother had yelled, but he kept staring at you. There was something about you.. he couldn't quite tell what it was, but he immediately wanted to be your friend. And so instead of going to his family, he ran back to the ice cream truck and asked for another spoon and then walked back over to you to give it to you, so that you and him could share the ice cream.

His mother had chuckled, had thought it was the cutest thing in the world and ended up taking you to the playground with them after you had told them you were here on your own since your parents were both working.

That's how your friendship had started.. and nothing had changed to this day.

“What flavor?” Jimin asked as he let his eyes wander from vanilla to chocolate.

“All of them,” you laughed, hooking your arms with his.

“You want me to buy you the store? Because I could.”

“Showoff,” you snorted and then laughed, “I'll take whatever you have.”

He bought you way too many scoops, but only because he could. And because maybe he was a little bit of a showoff.

But you were his best friend and now that he could afford whatever he wanted, he wanted to spoil you to the brim.

kim taehyung

When you're older you enjoy going out to eat, but when you're a kid it's the most boring thing in the world.

You pouted and pouted and pouted, but your family ignored you, because they had fun. For them, this night wasn't boring.

But then you looked up and looked directly into the eyes of another kid that looked just as bored as you had.

And before you knew it, you and Taehyung were sitting at an unoccupied table and were folding napkins, laughing and thinking it was the most fun thing in the world. That's how your friendship began, but also the friendship of your families, because they ended up all having dinner together that night.

And nothing changed to this day.

“I'm glad you could come,” you said happily as you looked at your best friend sitting across from you, “We haven't seen you in a while.. I haven't.”

“I'm sorry,” Tae reached over the table to grab your hand and smiled sadly, “Things were a little hectic, but we'll have fun the next week okay? We'll do everything we used to do when we were kids!”

“Not sure that's such a good idea because we almost died a few times, but I'm down.”

As long as you got to spend time with him again, anything was fine with you.

jeon jeongguk

His mother usually didn't take him to playgrounds in this part of town, but his brother had a doctor's appointment here and so they stopped by here afterwards, mostly for the sake of his brother so that he could get a bit of distraction after that shot.

And while his brother was a lot better at finding friends, Jeongguk just stood in the middle of all the kids like a lost puppy, not knowing what to do or where to go.

Until a girl approached him, “Hello,” you grinned from ear to ear, your front teeth missing which made it look even cuter, “Do you want to play with me?”

He didn't hesitate for even a second. All he had needed was someone like you to ask. He immediately nodded enthusiastically and followed you to the monkey bars.

And again, while this was usually not the part of town that the Jeon's spent their weekends, they drove here more and more after you developed such a good friendship with Jeongguk. In the end your parents and his parents even became friends.

And that friendship carried on for years, even as he became an idol.

“You're late,” Jeongguk said into the microphone as you finally entered the arena with two cups of Starbucks and your sunglasses on your nose, striding in as if you owned the entire arena.

“Princess Jeonggukie needed her milkshake,” you yelled back with a grin.

The other boys beside him laughed hysterically, enjoying your playful relationship to no end and they laughed even more when Jeongguk jumped down from the stage and ripped the cup out of your hand, drinking the milkshake like his life depended on it.

You knew him too well.