#he replies with 'take care asshole. your life will be boring and lame. i feel sorry if u ever get a man. ugly ass hoe.'

[uwunnie]

.

[dano-only-fics]

People In Love Make Me Feel Yuck - Brian (Fast Food Nation)

People In Love Make Me Feel Yuck - Drenge

Warnings: F!Reader, Little bit of troubled home life, Alcoholic dad trope etc, Brian being gross lol.

Notes: He's definitely kind of an asshole but just in a stinky way. Might do a part 2. Wordcount: 4,164

"Give me your fucking money then, I'm not paying for your lame asses," you complained from your seat at the table at Mickey's. You had no idea why you were spending your Wednesday night at a fast food diner with people you hated, but you had just moved to Cody, Colorado and it seemed better to have them as friends than enemies. The popular kids, you supposed you would call them, but they weren't really popular. Like most 'popular' kids, it seemed like everyone who wasn't one of them hated them. It made sense, they were assholes.

You gathered up the dollars they thrust in your direction, half remembering everyone's orders. No, Casey, I'm not asking for your coffee freezer with skim milk. We're at a fucking Mickey's. You jumped slightly, feeling the guy next to you rub his hand along your thigh. You grabbed a hold of his wrist, making a point of removing it from your leg and giving it back to him.

"Aw, com'on," he laughed, leaning closer to me. "You know I like you right?"

You looked at him full in the face, unimpressed. Zach, his name was. He was on the football team or something. You hadn't really followed. All you had picked up was that he was some kind of mega jock, lots of girls fancied him and Casey had marked him as her territory, maybe by peeing all over him. He had broad shoulders, sandy blond hair and his eyes were too close together, making his head look strangely too wide for his face.

"You met me two days ago, man," you pointed out, and he just shrugged with a somewhat cocky look on his face, leaning back so you could squeeze past him to go order, but not bothering to get of the seat so it would be easy for you. You rolled your eyes as you went to go to the till.

Brian glanced around the kitchen as soon as he spotted you approaching. Shit. Where was Amber, or Andrew, or somebody else to take orders? He hated doing it with a passion, let alone for those stupid assholes at his school. He hadn't seen you before, at least he didn't think he had. You were hot, definitely, way too hot for him, but he didn't really care. Based on the people you were hanging around he doubted you'd get along. Yet another asshole in a group of assholes.

You came up to the till and he pretended not to see you, hoping you'd give up, or one of the others would come back, but he had no such luck. The people on your table were being loud, laughing in the background at some funny joke, no longer paying attention to you.

"Hey, man. Can you take my order?" you asked the guy in the kitchen with his back turned to you. He glanced over, finally noticing you, then reluctantly shuffled round to the till, tapping a number in. He looked bored, apathetic. You couldn't blame him, but you kinda liked the way his boredom made his eyelids heavy, an almost sarcastic expression on his face.

"Yeah?" he asked irritably.

"No 'welcome to Mickey's'?" you teased, making him scowl.

"Fuck off, man," he replied. There was a reason he didn't go on the till often.

You gave him the order, kinda skimming over any specifics that you'd been told. Fuck it, they could manage to take the pickles out of their burger, you swore they just liked to make it complicated. You got yourself a Big One, same as most the boys had ordered, mainly because you were absolutely starving.

Brian, as his nametag read, tapped in your order silently, collected your money and then turned and went back in the kitchen to get it ready. You leaned on the counter to wait, unwilling to return to the jerkoffs you'd come in with.

Andrew still hadn't come back, and Amber was still on her break, so Brian tossed a load of frozen meat patties on the grill. He kind of liked the sound they made, a sort of ringing clatter. He turned round again, shoveling some fries off the tray into boxes. Andrew had probably gone for a shit, that's why he wasn't back yet. He flipped the burgers and started to put together the buns.

He caught a glance of you stood there, leaning against the counter, watching the clock in the corner, and somehow (despite not being particularly in tune with other's emotions) he could see the exasperation on your face. You didn't seem happy. You seemed out of place. You looked pretty, with your chin in your hand.

One of the guys from your table came up behind you, Zach, the blonde quarterback, and he put his hands either side of your waist. Brian watched you squirm away from him. Brian decided quite quickly that he really hated Zach, so he summoned a globule of spit and let it drop into the burger bun. This wasn't the first time Brian had done that.

"Zach, don't touch me man," you told him sternly, clearly not interested in his advances. He ignored your comment.

"I came to help you carry the food over," he replied, and it really seemed as though he thought that meant you owed him something.

"Yeah, well it's not ready yet. Go sit back down," you retorted. Zach was unfazed. His hand attempted to grab at your waist again and you smacked it away. You caught Brian watching you through the kitchen and pulled an annoyed face. He looked down quickly, avoiding your eyes, but you swear you caught him smile.

"How am I supposed to get to know you better if you keep telling me to leave you alone?" Zach asked, like he'd really done something clever and charming. You sighed.

"Maybe I don't want to know you better, sit down please," you told him honestly. He grinned, misinterpreting your reply as a joke.

"Ah, I see. Playing hard to get," he chuckled. He raised his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay. I'll sit down if that's what you want."

Thankfully he returned to his seat, although Casey and her friend Leah were both giving you bitchy looks as though you had anything to do with his flirting.

Brian placed the food order in front of you and you began picking it up, reaching for the Big One he'd just placed down. He quickly reached his hand out, grabbing yours to stop you picking it up. You looked at him perplexed, wondering why an earth a random Mickey's employee was suddenly holding your hand.

"Not that one," he said, letting go of your hand quickly. He hadn't meant to do that. He suddenly felt quite hot.

"What?" you asked, completely confused. He looked over to the table to see if anyone was paying attention, but they all seemed distracted.

"I just hawked a loogie into it," he admitted, embarrassed.

"Why?" came your response, and it caught him off guard. He had expected disgust or annoyance, some kind of kick off or at least a grossed out look, but instead you just queried the thinking behind his actions.

"It's for Zach," he told you, hoping you wouldn't be offended. As much as he might be spiteful towards the popular group, you were still a pretty girl and he didn't really want you to have reason to dislike him.

To his surprise, you laughed, not loudly, but still a genuine, sweet laugh that kind of made his heart jump around. You took the other Big One and opened it, pulling out the pickles and putting them into a napkin. He watched, wondering what on earth you were doing. You took the burger over to the table, along with the rest of the food.

"Hey, Zach, I think this one's yours. I asked for mine without pickle," you lied, and Zach smiled, taking his food from you. You looked over your shoulder at Brian and winked, leaving him looking at you with an amazed grin, shaking his head and going back into the kitchen.

"Duuuude, that new girl is hot," said Andrew when Brian came back.

"Where the fuck have you been?" Brian replied, incredulous. He was still annoyed he'd been left alone, even if it had given him the opportunity to talk to you.

"I went for a shit, man. What? Am I not allowed to shit at work anymore?"

"You take so long, dude. Besides, she's with those guys. Neither of us have a chance," Brian mumbled, and Andrew rolled his eyes.

"Come on, man. If she came over here right now and said to you 'please, baby, oh my gawwd, bend me over the counter and fuck me' you wouldn't do it?," grinned Andrew, doing a stupid, high-pitched impression and pretending to clutch excessive fake breasts.

"She doesn't talk like that."

"What?"

"I'm just saying, I spoke to her before and she doesn't talk like that," Brian repeated, putting some more chips in the fryer.

"Jeez, what's the matter with you today?" Andrew asked.

"Nothing man, just don't leave me when Amber's not here, I had to do the till."

---

You were squished up on the seat next to Zach, which you didn't like, but it was worth it to see him bite into the saliva burger. It was hard to hide your grin in that moment, so you shoved food into your mouth instead. Casey and her friend had been laughing about something, but you weren't really paying attention.

"Hey," she asked you suddenly. You looked up at her. "How come you were talking to the till guy for so long?" she asked, with a sickly smile on her face. Leah stifled a giggle, hitting Casey on the arm as if she just could not believe she said that.

"Huh?" you responded, acting dumb. "He was just worried he got the order wrong," you lied, and she raised an eyebrow. You didn't think it really mattered what you responded, she clearly had a plan.

"I don't know, if you ask me, it looked like you were flirting with him," she smirked, and Leah burst out into peals of laughter.

"Ha, ha. Flirting!" She parroted. "We're you flirting with the greasy guy from Mickey's?"

You hoped Brian couldn't hear her from the kitchen, she was being quite loud and it made you cringe at the idea he would hear her nasty comments because of you.

"Sure, I was flirting with him. Did I not tell you why I moved to Colorado? I'm a raging nymphomaniac. They sent me here because I tried to fuck everyone," you replied dryly, completely nonplussed. Whatever Casey had been trying to do (embarrass you, probably. Make you seem desperate.) it had completely backfired. Zach immediately turned to you, trying to play it cool but you could see the eager look in his eyes.

"Really? Is that true?"

"No," you scoffed, taking your last mouthful of fries and washing it down with your drink. You stood up, grabbing your jacket from the seat. "You people are the worst, I'm gonna go pee."

You walked off, totally done with the group and deciding to never hang out with them again after you got home. You went to the toilet and after washing your hands you pulled out your phone, sending a text to your dad.

R U HOME?

You sighed, hoping they would leave soon so you could get a lift back. That was the agreement, so even if Casey wouldn't drive you, you were fairly sure meathead Zach could be convinced to drop you home. You dropped your phone back into your pocket and ran your fingers across your scalp, ready to go out and face them again.

As you stepped out into the diner immediately something was off. It was quiet. At the table they had all been sat at was just a pile of rubbish. It was almost eerie. It was late, really late, and they had vanished without a trace. You sort of hoped that they'd been abducted by aliens or something, at least, you wouldn't have to be the girl who got ditched at fucking Mickey's, and at most they might get cut open and experimented on.

You gathered up their rubbish, unsure of what else to do, and shoved it into a trash can, then sat down at the table again. You weren't quite sure what to do except wait to see if your dad texted back so you could ask him to pick you up. It was too late to walk back on your own, and your dad's house was on the outskirts of Cody, a small wooden home in the woods. You supposed it was kind of a blessing, they'd probably take the piss if they saw where you lived.

So you waited for a bit, and it was getting later and later and your dad still hadn't replied, so you rang him. He didn't pick up. You rang him again, and swore at your phone as he continued to not answer his. You rang him three more times, no response, and you could see Brian and the other guy in the kitchen were watching you, which made it worse.

"You're a fucking asshole, dad," you muttered under your breath, phone held to your ear as it rang once more. A few lone customers came and went, and it made you self conscious.

Meanwhile, Brain still had his eye on you. He felt bad, obviously. The popular assholes had ditched you, and if he was fully honest with himself, he actually thought you were pretty cool. Him and Andrew had been discussing what to do. This involved Brian watching you and feeling bad whilst Andrew invented a plan in which he offered you a lift home and then somehow fucked you (the part where he actually convinced you to have sex with him was far less concrete than the rest). Brian had prompted him to enact his plan several times, but so far Andrew had not had the balls to approach you.

Then Amber was back, apologetic for taking so long of course. They filled her in on the situation and she kept prodding Brian in the side to try and get him to go over and ask if you were okay. Brian had acted like he didn't care, but in reality he also did not have the balls to approach you.

He wished he hadn't mentioned it to Amber. He felt weird listening to you cuss out your dad when he wouldn't pick up the phone. Every misconception he had when you walked in had been shattered, and now he knew he wouldn't be able to talk to you. You were miles out of his league.

"Brian, I swear, go over right now," Amber told him again, jabbing him hard in the ribs. "Just offer her a ride home. She needs a ride."

"Okay, fine!" he relented, mainly just to stop Amber from poking him in the ribs again because it was really annoying and was starting to hurt.

"Dude, don't steal my plan!" Andrew protested, and Brian rolled his eyes.

"Fine, you go over there then," Brian suggested, moving aside and gesturing the door. Andrew hesitated.

"...I don't think I have enough gas in my car. What if she lives far away?"

"Fucksake, man," sighed Brian, and walked out into the diner to speak to you. He came up to you, wringing his hands awkwardly. How had he gotten so clammy? He didn't know it was possible to be so clammy.

"Dad, you're a fucking asshole," you cursed into your phone again, louder now in your frustration. "Stupid fucking alcoholic son of a bitch." You jumped slightly, spotting Brian had approached.

"Sorry," he apologised immediately, feeling very uncool in his lack of confidence.

"No, it's fine. I can go. I guess you're closing soon, huh?" you replied, dejected at the situation. He shook his head.

"I was actually going to ask if... uh, like, if you wanted a ride home or something?"

You glanced up at him, surprised by the offer.

"Really?" you clarified. He shrugged.

"Yeah, I finish in ten minutes if you don't mind waiting," he suggested. His cheeks were a bit flushed and he hoped you didn't notice. He wasn't used to being this flustered, it made him feel quite vulnerable in front of you. He felt the urge to protect himself.

"Thank you so much."

"Whatever," he mumbled, turning round and immediately walking away. You frowned, but decided not to question it. You were grateful for the ride, it really saved you from having to walk across Cody to get home. You put your phone back in your pocket, moving to sit down at a table closer to the counter. The guy who had been in the kitchen with Brian was staring at you, oblivious to the fact you could see him. You watched Brian elbow him, muttering something, and then they both turned their backs.

A girl came out to the front till, pretty, with dark hair in a low ponytail and a yellow Mickey's visor. She smiled at you kindly.

"Hey, is Brian going to give you a ride home?" she asked you, leaning herself over the counter.

"Um, yeah," you responded, somewhat uncomfortable with the fact everyone was aware you had gotten ditched by the populars.

"Cool." She paused. "He's a nice guy, you know."

"I don't really know him," you reason, fairly enough. She shrugged.

"I'm Amber, by the way," she told you, flicking her name tag. You told her your name back. "How come you moved to Cody?" she asked.

"My parents got eaten by tigers," you joked, deadpan. Amber laughed.

"For real?" she chuckled, disbelieving.

"Nah," you shook your head, not offering her a proper answer. She seemed to forget about the question, which you were thankful for.

"Oh, well if you need anyone to hang out with you can hang out with me, you know, for like, school and stuff," she offered kindly, and you gave her a genuine smile.

"That's really nice, thanks Amber."

"Hey, I'm done now," Brian announced, coming round to the till. "My cars round the back," he mumbled, and you stood up quickly, saying goodbye to Amber and following him out the back exit by the bins somewhat awkwardly. He didn't really speak until you were in the passenger seat of his car, when he asked where you lived and you told him the directions to your dad's place.

"You live out there?" he asked. You brushed him off with a simple nod, and he backed out of the parking lot. Stifled by the silence in the car, you opened his glove box, rifling through the CDs, determined to make some kind of conversation by any means necessary (even if that was by being obnoxiously at-ease).

"What CDs have you got?" you queried, looking through the stack inn your hand.

"Hey, get off of those," he told you, annoyed, but still trying to focus on driving. You looked through, only recognising some. He had some Slipknot, Limp Bizkit, Beastie Boys and Korn.

"I like this album," you pressed on despite his protest, taking out the CD of L.D. 50 by Mudvayne and putting it in the CD Player. Brian continued to look annoyed, but you noticed the slight smile on his face as you turned the radio up slightly when Dig started to play.

"...I didn't think you'd like this kind of stuff," he pointed out after a minute, tapping his fingers on the wheel.

"What was that?" you clarified, doing a bad job of hiding your smug grin.

"I said..." he began, trailing off when he noticed your expression. "Oh you asshole," he laughed, realising you were just trying to get him to admit he'd misjudged you. His hands were so goddamn sweaty, he'd been gripping the wheel so hard he hadn't even noticed, too caught up in his nerves about being in the car with you. He relaxed slightly, hoping you wouldn't touch him at any point, although he didn't know why you would, in case you noticed how hot he'd gotten.

"What did you think I'd listen to?" you questioned, partly joking but also pretty curious.

"I don't know, like, Snow Patrol or some shit."

"That's so fucking rude," you gasped, and Brian chuckled self-consciously.

"I'm sorry, you came in with the worst people in school, what was I supposed to think?" he apologised, still smiling at your reaction. He wasn't normally this comfortable with someone he'd just met. He still felt slightly nervous, in case he made himself look like an idiot in front of you, but mostly he was surprised he liked you this much.

You picked at the edge of the threadbare seat in his car, looking out the window at the streets of Cody. You wondered if you'd start to feel in place soon, but doubted it. The last two weeks had turned your life over on its head.

Brian glanced at you, your head turned away from him as you stared out over the buildings at the trees and mountains in the distance. He could sense you were lost in thought, something sad in the way you focused on everything that passed by on the other side of the glass.

"How come you moved here, then?" he probed, taking the next left towards the outskirts of town.

"I'm on the run from the FDA," you joked, but he could hear the tension in your voice.

"Stop avoiding the question, you did it to Amber before, I heard you," he called you out, and your cheeks flushed hot. He seemed to change his mind on forcing an answer out of you. "You know what, it's your business. Whatever."

You hesitated. You were going to let it lie, but now the awkwardness in the car had returned and you knew you wouldn't make any friends by clamming up. Keeping things to yourself was a bad habit that you had never even tried to not do, but you considered the possibility that maybe by opening up you might actually make a proper friend. Besides, you could tell Brian wasn't the type to give without receiving anything back.

"...Uh... My mom died," you admitted finally, cringing at how blunt you had put it. He looked at you in surprise. "That's why I moved here, to live with my dad, you know?"

"Oh... Shit," he replied simply. "I'm sorry, I guess." You smiled at his awkward response.

"It's okay," you reassured him. "She was ill for ages, it was kind of a relief to be honest. I miss her a lot, but I can't be fucking bothered to go on about it. People die, shit happens, and there's so much shit in the world I'd rather not let my shit mix with everyone else's." You chuckled slightly. "That shit is my mom, you know? Let me fucking have it."

You were conscious you had made him feel awkward, but to your surprise he just grinned.

"Poetic."

You sat back in your seat and smiled. The car was going along the road through the forest now. It was quite nice, you though, the pine trees and the road that ran through them. Maybe living in Cody wouldn't be as bad as you thought. You spotted the light in your dad's driveway.

Brian turned in, and you took off your seatbelt, turning your head to him. You didn't really care that he could see your dad's cabin, you didn't care that he could see the beat up truck in the driveway. He didn't seem to care, and that assuaged any feelings of shame about your living arrangement. He didn't seem pitiful either, and that really warmed your heart. You really didn't want anyone feeling sorry for you.

"Thanks, Brian," you told him, genuinely, opening the door to get out of his car. He smiled slightly, and this time you did notice the slight flush on his cheeks.

"Uh, yeah. No problem. I'll see you round, I guess."

"I hope so."

He watched you go into your house, lingering for slightly longer than he should. He felt oddly elated, almost proud that he'd managed to talk to you for so long. He didn't want to be all soppy about it, but he thought about you the whole way home, about the things you said and even more about the things you didn't. He wondered what there was to find out about you. He wanted to know it all.

When he got home and changed out of his uniform he lay back on his bed, feeling a lot more confident about himself. He texted Amber, wanting to know when he'd get to see you again.

IS SHE GONNA HANG W US?

Amber's text reply came through a minute later.

MAYBE 2MORROW?

[aliwritesss]

~ Labyrinth

Pairings: Eric x reader

Genre: Fuckboy au!, angst

Summary: “How did I end up being like this?”

You were laying in your bed trying to remember when was the exact moment you knew you were in trouble, when you knew that there was no going back.

But you couldn’t.

You couldn’t remember when was the moment you let your walls down and let him enter your heart. And you were starting to think it happened the first moment he laid his eyes on you.

When a pair of deep brown eyes looked at you and made you feel everything.

They warned you so many times, that he wasn’t the right boy, that you could be friends with him but that’s it.

To not fall in love with him.

And if you could have a time machine you would go back in time and not go to that party.

Where everything started.

Kevin kept saying he wanted to go and that it wouldn’t be the same if you weren’t going, so he ended up convincing you to go to his fraternity, TBZ frat.

You were expecting the unexpected like always, but you wouldn’t have thought in a million years that night was going to start one of the best and worst moments of your life.

You walked in ready to have a good time, greeting your friends and classmates and ready to dance and relieve all stress you’ve been under for the past few weeks.

But you felt something was off, and you couldn’t catch why.

And then he appeared, like he was the owner of the whole universe. Once he entered your eyes were glued to him, he had this power every time he was in the same room as you. He attracted you like a magnet, and you could fight all you want but that wouldn’t change anything.

But something changed that night, something made him look at you, go to where you were standing, take your drink and sip without breaking eye contact. You lied to everyone and said that it didn’t affect you, but he made you feel weak.

You couldn’t say anything for a hot second, too shocked to say something but if you knew something is that you weren’t going to let him go so easily, he was hot and all, but you weren’t going to let anyone, not even Eric Sohn, treat you like an easy girl.

“ Are you thirsty?” You asked him with your most sensual voice.

“ I’ve been dying to take a sip since I came.”

“ Let me help you with that.” And the next thing you did was to throw your drink on his shirt.

“ Next time ask, asshole.” You replied to him. He was too shocked to even notice the way you were shaking, but someone needs to put him in his place.

And now that you think about it, maybe that is what you did wrong, you caught his attention.

He kept his distance from you at the party but the next day he had this superior smile again in his face.

“ I hope you know what you did last night was a little bit messed up, love.” He said.

“ And I hope you learnt that you can’t go around taking sips from other people's drinks.”

“ Seems like we learned a lesson yesterday, Y/N.”

And since that moment he started going with you more. You were acquaintances since both of you shared the same group of friends, but the only conversations you had with him were superficial.

He started to wait with you for Kevin or Jacob, talking to you more and opening slowly. And suddenly you were texting each other lame things late at night and you couldn’t stop smiling.

He made you smile and that was dangerous.

Everytime you locked eyes with him, you’d feel this warm feeling spreading around your stomach, making you feel like no one did before. He had the power to make you feel like you were the only one in the room. But still, you thought you had everything under control. And you did.

Till one night he texted you he needed to see you.

You were worried, you didn’t expect from the cool Eric to actually need someone so you took some things and went to his dorm.

You remember perfectly the image you saw the moment you entered his room, an Eric crying on the sofa, not being able even to look at you straight in the eyes.

“ What’s wrong Eric? What happened?” You told him worriedly. Once he heard your voice he lifted his head up and went to hug you.

“ Don’t leave me Y/N. If you do, there's nothing left.” He says quietly on your neck. You didn’t know what was wrong at the moment but one thing you knew is that he needed you and you were never going to leave his side.

And that's how you stayed the whole night, hugging each other and running your hands through his hair till he fell asleep. You don’t know how long you kept staring at his profile, the curve of his nose, his lips, how soft they looked, his eyelashes, how short they were but still so thick. You traced the letters of his tattoos delicately while smiling softly. Even though they were small, he always bragged about them.

And days started to pass and you felt how Eric attracted you more and more, how you started to care about what he was doing, if you were going to see him on the weekend or if he would text you the next day. He entered your heart without knocking and there wasn’t a way back now.

He came to stay and you didn’t know when he’d leave you without telling first. But deep down you knew, you knew that this game was going to end one day. That you’d wake up one day he wouldn't be next to you.

Despite everything, you still hoped that he’d stay forever with you, and maybe in another life he would have but the universe can be sarcastic sometimes.

He had the power to light you up like Venus, to break you down into tiny pieces and putting it all together again. And he told you, one night he told you he was up to no good, that you deserved better but he couldn’t let you go. He was addicted to you and that he was sorry for being so selfish.

You want to laugh out loud now, because he was right.

He was being selfish. But still, you needed his touch, to hear him laugh, his hugs.. You needed him. And even though you had a million reasons why you should give him up, you didn’t.

The boys told you a million times to stop this game, that the one that would end up getting hurt was going to be you, he cared about you but he wasn’t going to make you his first priority. But it’s funny how blind you can be when you are in love with someone.

You thought he was bringing joy to your boring life but he wasn’t, he was sucking the life out of you. And the worst of it, it’s that he wasn’t doing it on purpose. He truly cared about you, but you weren’t the only one.

And one day you woke up crying, you looked at yourself in the mirror and saw a broken and addicted girl.

You had a fight for a stupid thing again and that ended up no talking for 10 days.

Yes, you were counting them.

But you had enough.

You weren’t going to keep playing this game anymore.

And that’s how you ended up laying in your bed now. One month later and still recovering. Everyone told you that you made the right decision but you still think that you should’ve reached him and talked to him and made him choose.

But you were afraid he wasn’t going to pick you.

So you ran away, since that’s the only thing you can do perfectly.

You stopped checking what he was doing everyday and tried to stop thinking of him. Key word, tried.

You still cared a lot about him.

The worst of it was that you knew he was in pain.

You saw him one day on campus with Sunwoo and he looked devastated, he didn’t have that superior smile anymore, there were bags under his eyes and Changmin told you he wasn’t even sleeping in his room anymore. He couldn’t when you weren’t there to hug him, he said.

You can’t understand why two people who were madly in love couldn’t be together, but sometimes not everything is about being in love.

You almost reached to him one day, but then you looked at yourself in the mirror.

You didn’t have this spark in your eyes anymore, the one he always lit.

But you also saw that you gained a little bit of weight, that you were starting to sleep better, that you were actually getting your shit together and that you weren’t dependent on anyone anymore. And that made you feel good for the first time in a while.

You grabbed your things and made your way to class thinking “who knows, maybe one day he’ll realise what he lost and comes back, ready to love me but in the right way”.

A/N: Hey guys!! Here’s my little AU of Eric. I’m going to do a series for this one, but I’d like to know if you prefer if it’s before this takes place or after? Like how was getting to know him, falling in love... lots of fluff scenarios but also a lot of angst. Or after the break up, it’ll be have fluff scenarios since you two get back but will not have that much of angst like the first option.

Let me know what you’d like to see in the comments!! ❤️❤️

[cherryobx]

I'm all yours//Rafe Cameron x reader

request: "Hii!! I love your writing! What if Rafe and Y/N have a fling, but he doesn’t make a move or show his motives, so she starts distancing herself from him. Later he finds out that she’s been going out with another guy (totally up to you to decide whether it’s obx character or fictional) and decides to have a conversation with her about what they are (he’s a liiitle too jealous and it makes her mad, but they work it out after a small fight). That’s it!! Hope you like it, have a great day🥰"

summary: Rafe realizes something when he hears that you're seeing someone

warnings: language, mentions of sex (but no smut!), FWB, angst

WC: 1.7k

(not my gif, creds to the owner!)

He was never there when you woke up. It was like a tradition at this point. He always left without you noticing. Of course, some mornings you wished that he’d stay a little longer and just hold you and whisper sweet nothings into your ear. But that was Rafe Cameron we’re talking about. It was nothing more than a friends with benefits situation. Although you wished it was something more. You’d never tell it to Rafe though. He’d just make fun of you for wanting something that was so out of your reach, something almost impossible.

After stretching a bit on your bed, you sat up and tried to rub the tiredness away from your eyes. Your eyes drifted to the alarm clock beside your bed. 7:32. Why had you woken up so early? You blamed it on the coldness of your bed and the sheets. After all it was just you in it.

You stood up, put on an oversized t-shirt and started picking up your clothes that had been scattered all over your bedroom the night before. You tossed them onto the bathroom floor and made a mental note to put them in the washing machine later.

Feeling your stomach grumble with hunger you walked into the kitchen and put two slices of bread into the toaster. You opened the fridge and took out the butter. Lately you had been obsessed with toast with butter. It was heavenly on mornings like these.

As soon as the toast was done, you spread some butter on them. You didn’t care enough to put them on a plate. Or you were just lazy. One of those reasons. As you were eating your toast, you scrolled on your phone, seeing all the pictures and videos from last night’s party. You had decided not to go and just stay home and watch a movie all by yourself. You actually treasured those moments. Rafe came over in the middle of the night and of course he was pretty hammered. You still slept with him though. How could you deny yourself such pleasure?

When you were finished eating, you sat on the living room couch, pulling your knees up to your chest. You felt pathetic, sad even. You were sorry for yourself. You had let Rafe crawl into your life, into your head, and now you couldn’t get him out. He was always on your mind.

“This has to stop,” you mumbled to yourself, as you took out your phone and texted the guy you had turned down a few days ago. He had asked you out but you declined because it felt wrong to go out with a guy that wasn’t Rafe. But now you realized that the smartest thing right now would be trying to forget about Rafe. He didn’t see you as nothing more than a friend, a hook-up.

He replied almost immediately which was a bit weird because it was 8 in the morning but you didn’t give it much thought. You agreed to go on a date with him in the evening.

As you were getting ready to go on the date, you got a text from Rafe, asking if he could come over tonight. You didn’t reply. It’s for the better, you thought.

The guy, Luke, picked you up at 7 p.m sharp and took you to out to eat. It was pretty romantic you were not going to lie.

“You’ve been living in Kildare your entire life? How have I not seen you before?” you asked before taking a bite of your food.

“It may be because I don’t really go to parties.” You raised your eyebrows in surprise.

“You don’t? Then what do you do here? There’s really nothing to do here except parties and golf, if you ask me.”

“Well, mostly I just hang out with my friends, play golf, go fishing. You know, the usual stuff.”

“I’d get bored with that fast,” you laughed.

“Then what do you do here?” he asked.

“Umm, I go to parties, obviously, I’m not lame,” you said, sarcastically rolling your eyes. “But sometimes I surf.”

“You do? Isn’t that like a pogue thing?”

“So, sport is now a pogue thing? Yeah, I don’t label things like that. The whole pogue vs kook things is just pointless in my opinion.”

“If you say so.” He took a sip of his drink.

After dinner, you walked down to the beach and just took a stroll there. It was a beautiful sunset and you even took some pictures with him to remember that night.

“I had a really good time tonight. Thanks for not turning me down like I did you.” He had just brought you home and walked up to your front door.

“No problem. Who am I to say no to such a pretty girl.” The compliment made you blush.

“Also, thank you for paying tonight. I promise I’ll pay next time.”

“There’s going to be a next time?”

“Yes. I mean if you want to.”

“I do.”

“Then it’s settled.” You pressed a kiss to his cheek before entering your home and closing the door behind you. You were actually happy with how this whole thing turned out. You hadn’t thought about Rafe even once this whole evening.

When you stopped answering to Rafe’s texts and calls, he became confused. What was going on? Had he done something to upset you?

After a few weeks in the dark, he heard at one party that you were seeing someone. He felt this kind of tightness in his chest. It was a mix of emotions. Almost like anger but not really. He couldn’t put a finger on it why he felt like this. It was not like you were his girlfriend or anything. Although he liked the sound of that. Y/N, his girlfriend.

He left the party and came over to your place. He banged his fist on the door repeatedly. Je might’ve even woken up your neighbours with all the noise he was making.

“Rafe, what the fuck are you doing here in the middle of the night?” you asked, as you opened the door. You were wearing an old t-shirt and shorts. You looked adorable to him.

“Can we talk?”

“At 2 in the morning? No fucking way.” You started to close the door but he shoved his foot between the door and its frame.

“Y/N, please. I need to speak with you.”

“Then come back at a reasonable hour,” you huffed and rolled your eyes.

“This is a reasonable hour. Just let me in.”

You let out a sight but then opened the door for him. You walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water because your throat was feeling a bit dry. He followed you close behind.

“If you’re here for sex then you might as well just leave right now. I’m not in the mood.”

“Is it so hard to believe that I’m here just to talk to you?”

“You want an honest answer to that?” you asked, raising your eyebrow at him.

“Not really.”

You took a sip from your glass and then placed it on the kitchen counter. “If you’re really here to talk then talk. I want to go back to sleep.”

“I don’t want you going out with that Luke you’ve been seeing.”

“How the fuck is that your business? I can go out with whoever I want. You can’t tell me what to do.”

“Yes, I can. I know what’s best for you.”

You bitterly laughed. “Oh, you do now? Rafe, you don’t know shit.”

“He’s not a good guy for you.”

“And you know that how? He treats me better than you ever have. And that’s a fact. Keep your nose out of my business and go find some other girl to fuck. This,” you waved your finger between you two, “is over. I don’t want to see you anymore. Like ever again. So you might as well delete my number.”

“I’m not going to do that.”

“Why can’t you just leave me the fuck alone?” The frustration within you was too much to handle as tears started to fall from your eyes and roll down your cheeks.

“Because I love you, for fucks sake,” he admitted, yelling.

You were staring at him in shock. You were speechless and didn’t know what to say. Was this like some sort of cruel prank he was playing on you? Or was he serious? Could it be? It was hard to believe. Why would he admit it now, after all this time?

“I didn’t realize it at first. I was so caught up in myself and my problems. But when I heard you were seeing someone, I freaked out. I didn’t like the feeling it gave me. I didn’t like the thought of you with someone else other than me. It didn’t seem right.”

He slowly walked closer to your, now sobbing, frame. He placed one of his hands on your shoulder and the other under you chin. He lifted it so you’d look him in the eye.

“If there’s a slight chance that you’re feeling like I do, please tell me. If not, I’ll leave right now and you’ll never have to even see me again.”

“I do,” you whispered, not being able to actually talk. Your emotions were overwhelming you as you broke down. He wrapped his arms around you and rubbed his hand up and down on your back in a soothing manner.

“It’s okay. Don’t cry. I’m here with you.”

You stood there for what felt like eternity, crying between his arms. When you had calmed down you pulled away a bit so you could look at him.

“You’re such an asshole. You know that, right?”

He nodded. He knew.

“But. I love you too. Always have been. I tried so hard to forget you. That’s why I started going out with Luke. So I could forget you for a couple of hours. And it worked. But as soon as I got home it was like he never existed. I thought about you. Only you.”

“Well, now I’m all yours.”

“That’s good to hear because I’m yours as well.”

***

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[kimnjss]

selfishly mine | requested

⇢ pairing: taehyung x reader ⇢ fic type: one shot ⇢ genre: angst, smut ⇢ word count: 3.9K ⇢ theme: boyfriend!taehyung + jealous boyfriend ⇢ warnings: cursing, dirty talk, oral sex (m. receiving), deep throat, possession kink, fingering (f. receiving), doggy style, praise kink, unprotected sex (be safe loves!), cum inside, cream pie. ⇢ synopsis: after what was supposed to be a nice quiet dinner with his friends, taehyung decides he should put you in your place, the best way he can think of. ⇢ A/N: sorry it took so long, lmao! kinda got into the idea of one request a day sooo, i've just been doing that! thanks for being so patient and i hope you like it... i might’ve gotten a bit carried away...... :]

In the past few months you and Taehyung had been together, he never missed the chance to marvel about his admiration for your fashion sense. If he wasn't complimenting you over and over again about the way you dressed, he was asking your opinion on something that he wanted to wear.

You loved it. The drop 'o' expression he'd pull whenever you were rounding the corner. Hearing him tell you in a deep voice how good you looked. How he loved the way something you were wearing fit you. Just that alone was enough to have your toes curling.

Which was why you were taking special care of you appearance after he announced you'd be meeting his hyungs for the first time. About two years ago he had a staring role in a TV drama. He had kept in touch with some of his co-stars and tonight was the first time you were being invited to one of their meetups; you wanted to make a good impression, because that boy loved to brag. Never missing an opportunity to show you off. The memory of meeting his BANGTAN friends for the first time was still fresh in your mind.

He wouldn't shut up the entire night about how great you were. Stroking your ego each and every time he opened your mouth. You couldn't tell if his buddies were getting annoyed or not, you were too focused on him and how good his words were making you feel.

You hoped tonight wouldn't be much different. Dressed nicely in a checkered red and black two piece, a black turtle neck underneath the spaghetti strap top, you waited in the kitchen for your boyfriend's arrival.

He was knocking on the door only two minutes after he said he'd be there. He grinned widely at you at the swing of the front door, arms instantly finding your waist as he pulled you toward him. “Missed you, beauty.” He mumbled, head nuzzled into the crook of your neck.

Due to his extremely busy schedule, you really only got to see each other once or twice a week... unless he was on a break. He was constantly flying from here to there and then back again, you two hardly had time to take a moment.

This was your first time seeing him in a long while and you had to admit, you missed him a lot too. Which was exactly what you were replying before unwrapping your body from his, going to grab your purse and following him out to the car.

He drove, a leisure he didn't always have, you beside him with your hands joined ontop the middle console. You chatted the whole way to the restaurant, him telling you funny stories of him and his hyungs. You listened, putting your input where it fit and laughing along with him.

Before you knew it, he was parking and rounding the car to open the door for you. His fingers wrapped around yours, a wet kiss landing on your lips as you slid from your seat. You smiled against his mouth, arms going to wrap around his neck. “I like what you're wearing,” He mumbled against your lips, eyes boring into yours. The tips of his fingers toyed with the hem of your skirt.

You bit your lip. Noticing the subtle change within his eyes. Much darker and less playful. It seemed almost random, but you knew your boyfriend well enough to know it wasn't. You didn't fail to notice his lingering stare, constant pull at his lower lips, the curious drag of his fingers over your thighs. All this while he was concentrating on the road and telling you stories.

He was nothing if not a multitask-er. “Taehyung-ie, is that you?” The voice came from behind you two. You stepped back, eyes finding the owner of the words. Park Hyungsik took long strides toward you and you had to keep your mouth from dropping.

Of course, you've seen him on TV. In pictures with your beloved boyfriend, but never... not once have you seen him in person. He was just as handsome, if not more standing right in front of you. He grinned.

Tae was quick to introduced you two. You stepped forward, offering your hand for a handshake, which he gratefully took. “Wow, you weren't lying... she's gorgeous,” His words were directed to your boyfriend. “She's making my heart flutter... just standing there,” You couldn't fight the blush that dusted over your cheeks.

“Thank you,” You smiled, hand slipping from his grasp. “You're... uh, very handsome too.” You felt like an idiot. Of course he knew that, he had thousands of people whining about his good looks on the daily. Nevertheless, he accepted your compliment, turning his back to you two.

“Hyung is already inside,” He gestured toward the entrance and you began to follow him. Tae was close behind you, securing an arm around your waist as you two made your way inside. He held you close the entire walk to the table, grip dropping only when he was sitting down.

He took your hand instead. “Aren't you going to introduce us?” Seojoon glanced at his friend in slight confusion. Taehyung nodded his head slightly, lifting your intertwined hands. “Hyung, this is my girlfriend, Y/N. Y/N, Seojoon-hyung.”

You were just barely able to wiggle your hand from your boyfriend's grasp, offering a handshake to the man sitting across from you before sinking back into your seat. Taehyung smiled slightly when your hand was finding his again.

The three men fell into easy conversation, catching each other up on the happenings of their life, excitement on their faces as they talked. You listened quietly, pitching in here and there. And before you knew it they were turning the conversation on to you.

Your interests discussed, your taste in music, what your plans were for the future. You answered all the questions that Tae didn't beat you to. It surprised you how much he knew about you, things that you didn't remember telling him.

“She doesn't answer her own questions?” Seojoon spoke jokingly and you let out a soft laugh when Taehyung was answering again, “She does.” You smiled, running your thumb over the back of his hand.

“He's just trying to show off,” You grinned. “Tae pays so much attention to me,” Your words were enough to wipe the embarrassed look off of his face. If only you knew that wasn't the case at all. He wasn't trying to prove his knowledge on your day-to-day life, not at all. His intentions was much more... primal.

He was able to mask it after that comment, allowing you to speak and not jumping to be the buffer between his friends and you. Taehyung watched how easily you were able to get along with the two men, laughing at their jokes and sharing common interests.

And he would've been happy about it too, if it wasn't for Hyungsik's constant obvious flirting. At least, it was obvious to everyone except for you. You were just falling into it, being shameless along with him.

He nearly lost it when you got up to switch seats with Seojoon so you were now sitting next to Hyungsik. A lame excuse of wanting to see the video he was showing you on his phone, yet you never returned to your original spot.

Tae tried to involve himself in your conversation and when that failed, he tried to talk to Seojoon. Tried to hide the fact that he was a jealous wreck and wanted nothing more than to rip you away from his hyung and show you who you belonged to.

He hated thinking that way. You were a person and not some prize to be fought over, but in the same breath you were his. You had always been his and now he had to sit there and watch his girl get close with someone else? That was enough to put anyone in a bad mood.

He concentrated on his meal, happy that the table was much quieter now that the food was out. “Oh! Y/N, this has to be the best burger I've ever... you've got to try this.” Hyungsik was breaking off a piece of his sandwich, offering it to you on a fork.

“She doesn't eat red meat,” Tae grumbled from across the table and you smiled at him, shaking your head. “Thanks baby, but I can...” He was scoffing before you could finish your sentence, waving you off with a flick of his wrist.

“Fucking eat it then,” He rolled his eyes.

“God, Taehyung. What's your problem?” You spat. It wasn't lost on you how pissy he's been the entire evening-- making everything uncomfortable for everyone.

“I'm the one with the problem? You're the one falling all over my friend as if I'm not sitting right here!” Your cheeks darkened in embarrassment, shocked that he'd lay that out so bluntly in front of everyone.

Didn't he say he wanted you to get along with his friends? You were! You were doing exactly what he asked you to do and now he was being an asshole? You wanted to scream. Hardly ever, did you two argue and now in front of everyone was when he wanted to do it?

“I'm not even doing anything? You've been scowling since we sat down, arms crossed like someone fucked you over. If you were going to be like this, then why did you even invite me?” He took one look at you, rolled his eyes and tossed his napkin onto his plate.

“I'm not hungry anymore,” He spat, digging through his wallet and tossing some cash onto the table. Enough to cover both his and your meals. He was storming out of the restaurant.

Now you were pissed. He was acting childish and deserved a good whack on the side of his head, because who even acted like that? Apologizing to his friends, you stood from your seat and exited behind him-- surprised to see he didn't drive off with how ridiculous he was being.

He didn't speak the entire ride back to his place. That stupid scowl on his face as his fists gripped the steering wheel. You had no idea what went wrong, you were just being friendly! And now he was accusing you of falling all over his friends? Did he expect you to give them the cold shoulder, ignore them and not interact?

Taehyung shoved the car into park, climbing out the front seat and slamming the door behind him. You watched as he trudged the whole way to the house, swinging the front door open.

Yanking you seat belt off, you were right behind him. You were entering just as he was stomping up the steps toward his room. You followed him, pushing the door open before he had the chance to close it in your face.

“We're not going to talk about this?” You asked. He needed to explain himself, you needed an explanation. There was no way you were going to allow him to act all pissed off while you were clueless.

“Sure, we can talk about it. We can talk how you spent the entire night eye fucking one of my closest friends... while I was sitting right there!” Eye fucking? Was he insane?

“Eye fucking?” You repeated, nose scrunched slightly in confusion. “Who was I 'eye fucking'?”

“Don't play stupid, Y/N.” God, wow. Hew was really upset. You never pinned your boyfriend to be the jealous type. He seemed all too level headed for that. You had never given him a reason not to trust you so him acting like this was a bit... odd?

“Did you forget whose girlfriend you were?” He was speaking when a few moments passed where you hadn't said anything. You couldn't help the way your eyes seemed to roll at his sentence. “I'm your girlfriend, Tae. Come on, I was just being nice.”

Taehyung was standing in front of you, a hand running over the sides of your neck before grasping your chin. He forced your gaze to his eyes, the darkness from earlier had returned. There was a wild glint in them. “Whose? Say it again,” He was smirking. He looked so domineering looking at you like that, it was kind of hot.

“Yours, Tae. All yours.” You kissed his groaning lips, arms wrapping around his body as you pressed your chest against his. His big hands were dropping below your waist, grasping the hem of your skirt.

Taehyung yanked the fabric upward as he was pushing his tongue into your mouth. The thong you were wearing doing very little to keep your ass from being exposed to the cool air of his bedroom. His hands dropped down, one covering either cheek. He squeezed and you moaned.

“Mine,” His words were murmured against your lips, slowly he was pulling back his lips finding your neck. Your fists clutched the fabric of his shirt as his lips painted your neck with wet kisses. Your body jerked when his mouth was grazing over the area just below your ear. Mouth working to form a love bite, marking his territory.

Tae was tilting his head back to admire his work. You jumped up, him quickly catching you as you wrapped your legs around his waist. His grasp dropped down to your thighs, taking backward steps until he was sitting back on the bed.

You sat your body up, straddling his lap as your fingers worked at the buttons of his shirt. The moment you had the front open, he was shrugging it off. His fingers caught your chin, dragging your lips onto his.

He kissed you intently, with a purpose. A certain dominance behind each stroke of his tongue, each slide of his lips, had you shivering. His dark eyes bored into yours as he pulled back from your wanting lips, tongue wetting his lower lip before he was sucking it into his mouth.

“Get down,” His 'no funny business' tone had your toes curling. Taehyung lowering you onto the floor between his legs, the bulge in his pants becoming level with your eyes. You sighed, reaching a hand out to feel him. He was smirking, batting your hand away. “No hands,”

Without a word, you were clasping your hands behind your back. You watched as he brought his hands down, undoing the buckle of his belt before shoving his pants down his legs. His hard cock was straining against the fabric of his boxers and you wanted nothing more than to have a taste.

Your mouth was watering. He watched your face as he took his time with revealing his cock to you. He looked so big with his hand wrapped around his length. You watched, waiting as he stroked himself. His face twisting from the pleasure.

“You want a taste?” His tone was teasing, mocking you. You couldn't find it in you to come up with a snarky comment. You were too focused on his cock in front of you, the smooth slide of his hand, a bead of precum rolling down the side. You liked your lips, nodding.

Taehyung had been anticipating your approval, not even a moment passing before he was guiding the tip of his cock to your wanting lips. You opened up your mouth fully, hands staying secured behind your back as you began to suck.

On any normal occasion, you'd manage about half of his dick into your mouth, the bit you couldn't cover would be taken care of by your hands. Tonight was different. You were feeling greedy and you were sure he'd scold you if you moved your hands.

Bracing yourself, you lowered your head a bit more, taking his cock further into your mouth inch by inch until your nose was centimeters from his pubic bone. He groaned, hands tangling in your hair as he held your head still.

“Fuck, baby... you're doing so well,” His praise urged you to go on. Do more. You were sucking your cheeks into your mouth, creating a hallow as you bobbed your head over his length. His hips twitched and you ignored the sting in your throat, lowering yourself once again.

You continued on like that, taking note of how close he was getting. Taehyung strained to remain seated, curses leaving his lips in heavy breaths as he guided the movements of your hand with his hands.

“Look at you,” His hips began rocking, fucking into your mouth. You fought the urge to grasp his hips, allowing him to do whatever. “So beautiful,” Your eyes were watering and there was drool spilling from the sides of your mouth, but if Taehyung said you looked beautiful... than you must be a picture.

“My perfect girl. You're all mine, huh?” He wasn't even giving you the chance to answer, pushing his hips forward so his cock was sliding down your throat again. You felt your throat constrict around him and grunted, pulling back just as you began to cough.

Taehyung used the grip he had on your hair to lift you to your feet, his body rising along with yours. He was covering your mouth with his, kissing you messily and rough. Your head was spinning by the time he was pulling back. “On the bed,” It took you a moment to realize what he was saying. The firm slap on your ass put a pep in your step-- while pulling a yelp from your lips.

You lowered your body onto the mattress. Turning around at the gesture of his hand. You shifted onto your knees and elbows, face resting against the pillow as you awaiting his next move. Your heart pounding as you felt the dip of the mattress.

“You're so wet, baby. Look at your panties sticking to your pussy,” You heard the laugh in his voice, felt the tips of his fingers brush over your slit through your soaked panties. He rubbed his knuckle over your covered clit and you flinched. “Were you this wet all night? I wonder who made you this way... any thoughts?” He was teasing you, stroking at a devilishly slow pace.

“You, Tae. Only...” A whimper slipped through your lips. He had moved his fingers but only to lower your panties. You yelped, body jerking at the feeling of his fingers smacking against your clit. God. Since when was he like this? You could feel yourself getting wetter as the seconds ticked by.

“Don't lie to me,” And that voice. Fuck, you might just cum on spot if he kept talking to you that way. You were mindlessly wiggling your hips, trying to coax him into touching you more. Giving you more.

“Only you, Taehyung. Just you can make me like this,” You were able to gain enough composure to form a coherent sentence and you were more than proud of yourself. Taehyung seemed pleased as well, two fingers slipping into your entrance as a reward. You sighed in relief, thankful for the bit of stimulation.

You just wished he would go faster. There was no way you'd cum when he was fucking you so slow, fingers just barely brushing over the sweet spot deep inside of you. He knew that he was driving you insane too, that stupid smirk never leaving his face.

His hand was quick to still your hips that greedily tried to get more than what he was willing to give to you. “Don't be greedy. You're not cumming on my fingers,” He began spreading them, stretching you out nicely.

“I'm just getting you ready. Although, I don't think I even have to...” He was sliding his fingers out, your arousal displayed in a thin line connecting his fingers. “I've never seen you this wet,” You watched as he pushed his fingers into his mouth, licking them clean.

“Tae, please.” You were gasping, pushing out toward him. Thank God, it seemed like he was tired of waiting as well. His big hand grasping his cock and moving to crouch down behind you. Inch by inch, he was sinking inside of you.

“See that?” He sounded a bit winded, finally being inside of you definitely effecting him. “I just slide right in... you were made for me, baby.” He was pulling his hips back until it was just his tip left. Quickly thrusting forward and making you gasp, “All mine.” His hands found your hips, gripping them as he settled for a pace.

Taehyung was not holding back. No not tonight. Each snap of his hips had you jolting forward, the firm grip he held on your hips the only thing keeping you from falling forward. Fuck, it felt so good. He was being so rough, so dominant and it was driving you wild. You knew, even before you had started, you knew you wouldn't last long... the build in your lower belly only proving you right.

“Close already, baby?” He could feel the way your pussy clenched around his cock. You nodded your head quickly, whines leaving your lips. Whines that you had tried to make sound like you asking for permission to cum.

It seemed like he understood, his hand snaking around your waist to your clit. He rubbed backwards circles against the tiny nub, the movement of his hips never letting up. “Go ahead, cum for me, baby. Show me how good I make you feel. Only I can make you fall apart like this,” He was right. He was so right.

Everything felt better with him. Not once had you thought that it would be better with anyone else and you needed him to understand that. He was it for you. “Oh! God, Taehyung... I'm s-so... I'm so close, I'm so close.” Your hands grasped his, the pressure building between your legs and traveling to your stomach and up to your chest.

So close. “I-I... Keep going. Fuck, I love you, keep going.” All at once, there was a stutter in his thrusts, a strained 'oh fuck,' leaving his lips as his fingers sped up over your clit. You felt the snap. Your legs shaking and arms dropping your body as you came. He was right there with you, groaning as he filled you. It was warm, a feeling you felt you'd never get tired of.

It took him a moment to pull out, admiring the thick ropes of his seed sliding down your inner thigh. He fell onto his back, breathing heavy as he pulled your body onto his. You felt spent; as if you could fall asleep at any given second.

The two of you laid there in comfortable silence, his hand stroking your hair and your fingers drawing random patterns against his bare chest. “Did you mean to...” You felt the rumble of his voice against your fingers, your head peaking up to look up at him.

You grinned at his expression. Cheeks flushed and not from what you had just done. He was being shy and you knew why. “To say I love you? Yeah, I meant to.” He was grinning just as wide as you, eyes turning into slight slits as his mouth formed it's natural box shape. You kissed the beauty mark on his nose and he was quick to find your lips.

“I do too, you know.” His words were mumbling against your lips. A habit of his, speaking to you while kissing. You had gotten really good at making out what he was saying against your lips. “Love you,” You heard him loud and clear this time. You moved closer, kissing him fully.

The smile on your lips only grew as he kissed you. You couldn't be happier. Taehyung loved you. He was yours and you were his and you loved each other. What else could you ask for?

[harringrovetrashrat]

(We discussed this a lot in the discord, so props to the gang for this.  A group effort, it was.  Here are my musings about that Hocus Pocus AU.  Tagging @ihni and @pondermoniums just uh,,, cuz y’all were interested in this kinda thing 👀)

So obviously Billy is Max and Max is Dani (lol).  Like, obviously.

And they’ve moved and Billy is just over it because this town is boring, these people are boring, and who takes Halloween this seriously anymore besides fucking nerds and kids?  A whole town being into it?  Like, what fucking even.

And witches???  Really???  Fucking please.  Billy knows there’s no such thing.  Knows that these people are just whirled up in some sort of town wide fantasy.  And he definitely says as much.  Gets in trouble for it, too.  But, it does get someone to notice him.

The only thing Billy’s even remotely enjoyed in this town is Steve Harrington.  Rich prep boy with really soft looking hair and big eyes that Billy just wants to stare into for ages and long fingers and that pale skin.  Steve is snickering as Billy gets his talking to, rolling his eyes with a smile when Billy shoots him a wink.

Billy leaves on Halloween ready to hole up at home and ignore everyone and everything, especially his annoying brat of a sister.  Of course, on the way home, he runs into Tommy and Adam.  (Tommy is ICE, I don’t make the rules.)  And they’re all Hey, California, nice jacket/earring/etc.  Billy barely entertains it, considers popping Tommy in the jaw, but instead he just skates home.  Goes up to his room and flops onto the bed.

“Steve,” he murmurs.  “Steve Harrington with the delicious peach.” Billy sighs, dragging his hands over his face.  “And what a peach…”

“Boo!” Max jumps outta his closet and Billy jack knifes on the bed before jerking up, red faced.

“MAX!  I told you not to come in my fucking room!”

“Yeah, whatever.  Mom said you have to take me trick or treating.” Billy scoffs.

“No fucking way.”

“She’s going to a party hosted by the mayor--”

“Don’t care--”

“--And she doesn’t want me to go alone, even though I could--”

“Still don’t care--”

“--And I need someone to carry my haul--”

“How is this my problem?” And Max snaps her mouth shut, glaring, before opening her mouth and,

“MOM!”

(Susan moved Billy and Max here to get away from Neil and that’s that on that mmkay)

Needless to say, Billy has a hoodie under his jacket with the hood pulled up because he cannot be seen carting his sister around to trick or treat.  How lame.  Gets shit from Tommy and Adam, who try to steal Max’s candy, but get a broom to the crotch.  Max ain’t playing around, and while she doesn’t need Billy to protect her, he kinda can’t help it.  Pops one of ‘em in the eye and bolts, Max cackling as she follows him.  And they keep on going, Billy’s hood down now at least, before getting to this massive house with a party.  And Max knocks and Billy stands behind her, staring off, when suddenly,

“Well, if it isn’t Mr. I-Hate-Halloween.” And Billy’s head whips around and Steve is there in some fancy ass Victorian garb all ruffles and coiffed hair and tight fucking breeches--

“Harrington, right?” Cuz Billy’s gotta play it casual.  Gotta be cool.  And Max raises a brow, smirking, as Steve hands her a lollipop and stands there, biting his lip before asking,

“Wanna come in for a bit?  This party is fucking boring.” And Billy isn’t gonna look a gift horse in the mouth.  Max frowns.

“But--”

“I’ll let you take as much candy as you want,” Steve offers, face only lightly flushed.  Max shoots in the house, grabbing fistfuls from the frankly enormous bowl of candy.  Billy steps in, hands in his pockets.  He looks around giving a low whistle.

“Well well, Harrington,” Billy says.  “Fancy ass home you’ve got here.”

“I mean-- It’s my parents’ place.  Technically.” Steve scratches his nose and Max comes over.  “That’s a pretty dope witch costume.”

“Thanks,” she replies.  “I like yours.  Billy likes, now wait,” she hums, licking the lollipop, “What did you call it?  His peach?” And Billy goes red, hissing,

“Maxine!” Whilst Steve is confused as hell.  Max presses on.

“Billy really likes--”

“So, you all really believe in the Sanderson sisters?” Billy says, loud and over Max, who kicks him in the shin while he shoves at her to move away.  Steve just kinda… goes with the flow of these two.

“I mean, yeah.  I’ve been to the museum loads of times, and that book of spells is legitimately the creepiest thing I’ve ever seen.” Steve shuffles a little, glances into the ballroom, before seemingly making up his mind.  “You wanna go?” Billy raises a brow.

“You thinking about breaking in, pretty boy?” His tongue pokes from between his teeth as he grins, ignoring Max rolling her eyes.

“Is it breaking in if I have a key?” Steve smirks.  “My parents technically own it, so…” He shrugs and Billy smiles so he doesn’t do something stupid like say something mushy in front of Max.

“Well, grab that key then, Richie Rich.” And Steve grumbles it’s my parents’ money, jeez before going upstairs.

“I’ll be back in a jiffy.” And once he disappears Max elbows Billy in the gut.

“What the hell, shithead?” Billy hisses.

“You’re so fucking obvious,” she says with a grin.  “Pretty boy?  Like, come on.” And Billy ignores her, thank you.

So they go, and Billy and Steve are flirting almost obnoxiously, and Max is so over it, but when they get to the house, they all kinda feel the weird energy.  Billy of course, keeps trying to play it off.  Keeps being a little shit.  Asks if he should light the candle.

“Come on,” he leers.  “Not like anything’ll happen.”

“I dunno,” Steve replies, biting his lip.

“You’re so gonna summon them, Billy.  You’re a virgin.” And wow Max, no need to call him out like that.  And Billy goes red before flicking open his zippo and lighting the candle.

Which.  Bad idea.

(Now, you can imagine the sisters the same, or as Joyce (Winnie), Karen (Sarah), and Claudia (Mary).  Which ever speaks the most to you.  Cuz then Zombie Billy could be Hopper.  Or Bob if you want I suppose.  I’m going with keeping them the same for now cuz I’m a lazy bastard.

Thackery and Emily are Jonathan and Will, I don’t make the rules.)

ANYWAY

The rest pretty much goes the same, with a lot more teasing between Steve and Billy.  And Max being so over these boys.  Jonathan is too, honestly, and he’s constantly swiping at Billy to get him to stop being an asshole.  Steve thinks it’s cute.  Billy does not.

No one listens to Billy cuz, well, he looks like a delinquent whose gonna make jokes.  Steve’s parents ignore him, and everyone knows it, so obviously he’s probably doing it for attention.  And well, Susan is having fun getting to know a lovely and kind man at the party (maybe this is Bob), so she’s just a lil’ distracted.

When they get to the graveyard, and Sarah tries to flirt with Billy, tries to coerce him into giving them his life force, Steve chucks some rocks, furious and jealous, like the brat he is.  Says,

“You’re barking up the wrong tree, Witch Bitch!” And Billy’s already infatuated, but now he’s in love.  Steve’s got that spark, that fire, and Billy kinda maybe likes a guy who can hold his own.  Billy deals with Winnie, Steve and Max deal with the other two.

At the end, once Zombie Billy’s back in his grave, the witches are gone, kaput, and Jonathan has reunited with will, Steve, Billy, and Max find themselves on a bench, exhausted.  And Max maybe says,

“I’m ready to go home.  Steve, wanna come for breakfast?” And well, it’s not like his parents are gonna be up anytime soon, or will notice him being gone at all, so he says yes.  “Awesome.  Billy makes really good pancakes.  Plus, even though we don’t have a guest room, I’m sure Billy will let you take his bed.”

“Maxine!”

Or well,,,, something like that.

[artificialqueens]

If You Ever Wanna Be in Love (I'll Come Around), Chapter Five (Branjie) - Athena2

Previously: Brooke and Vanessa’s night of babysitting turned into them kissing Now: They both deal with the aftermath and find themselves pulled together once again

A/N:Thank you all so much for the amazing feedback and comments you’ve been giving this fic! They really do mean a lot to me and I appreciate them all. It would be great if you could leave some on this chapter as well. Thank you so much to Writ for betaing and helping me out with this chapter, you’re the best.

“I kissed Brooke,” Vanessa blurts to A’keria. Saying it makes it real, proves it wasn’t a dream or hallucination. It really happened, and Vanessa knows it doesn’t mean anything, but her lips are still tingling.

“What the hell happened?” A’keria asks.

“We were babysitting, and her niece chanted for us to kiss and…yeah.” Shit, it sounds lame like that. But on that rug, with the sunset illuminating every inch of Brooke’s face, her cheeks glowing, it was almost…magical. Almost real. It’s not, though. It barely lasted five seconds. Vanessa kissed her abuela longer than that as a kid, scrubbing sticky lipstick off her cheek after.

“Damn. One six-year-old is all it took.” A’keria mutters.

Vanessa swats at her. “Hey! She was loud enough for the whole building to hear, okay? We had to!”

A’keria rolls her eyes. “Yeah, she really forced you. Who would win, two adult clowns or a first-grader? Not you, apparently.”

“You calling me a clown?”

“You and Brooke. Might as well open up a circus.”

Vanessa groans. “It was just so the kids would quiet down. She’s gonna be my fake wife at the carnival to shut Paul up some more, and that’s it.”

But does Vanessa want that to be it? That can be the end of the fake-wives-and-girlfriends thing, but Vanessa knows she doesn’t want it to be the end of their friendship. She can’t lose Brooke in her life, laughing at work stories and sending each other selfies, someone who just gets her, who didn’t ask her to change anything.

They were thrown right into the fire at first, forced to act married. But things have slowed since then, the intense blaze now a cozy fireplace warmth, with more of Brooke unraveling before Vanessa’s eyes. How sweet she was around her family. How she sends Vanessa pictures of dogs she sees. How excited she was after realizing she made mac and cheese. And the kiss–but Vanessa’s not thinking about that.

“If you say so.”

“We’re friends. Not every relationship has to be romantic.”

“No, they don’t,” A’keria agrees. “But if your feelings for her go beyond friendship, I don’t think you should deny that.”

Vanessa shrugs. She’ll deal with that when–and if–she has to.

—

“Hytes!”

The men on the museum board favor last names for address and Brooke can’t argue without being called whiny. She snaps her head up, trying to focus. Her brain is a slow computer with too many tabs open, pinging between guests and her speech and kissing Vanessa—

“Yes, Greg?”

Ugh. Greg. He hadn’t believed Brooke was department head the first time they met, had called the museum director to accuse her of lying. The resulting pride that erupted in her after Greg found out that Brooke is, in fact, department head, had left a stream of tension between them at every board meeting.

“Check with the guests for the T-Rex opening again. Some are major donors, so we need them.”

Brooke nods wearily. So much of the museum came down to donors, and she knows it’s important, but she wishes this entire exhibit opening didn’t have to fall on her. But her shoulders are more than strong enough to carry it.

“Unfortunately, with the expenses of the T-Rex,” Greg continues, “Your department might face cuts if this doesn’t go well.”

The words slice at Brooke’s stomach. “Cuts?” she demands. “But funding got cut last year–”

“Then you’ll just have to do well, won’t you?”

Brooke nods. She could punch Greg, but she has to channel that energy into this exhibit instead. She can’t face more budget cuts. She cried after letting Ariel the intern go last year, and she won’t lose Plastique this year. Cuts would also mean less events and kids programs. How many kids like her come through those doors and gain a new passion for paleontology? How many find a safe space, or realize they’re not alone? How many dream of ages past as they walk through the rooms?

Brooke won’t let them down.

All she wants is to text Vanessa after, to rant with someone who knows that higher-up board-member nonsense. Vanessa said that one racist library board member told her ‘someone like her’ didn’t even belong in a library, and Brooke just wanted to hold Vanessa and comfort her. Now, selfish as it is, she wants Vanessa, because somehow Vanessa has come to mean comfort to Brooke. She writes a text asking Vanessa for coffee and freezes.

Vanessa doesn’t need Brooke’s problems weighing her down. She knows how caring and empathetic Vanessa is, how she takes on the feelings of others, hurts when her friends are and sad when a kid at the library cries. Makes it her mission to cheer them all up. Brooke loves it about her, but she can see Vanessa caring too much and getting stressed, and she won’t let Vanessa do that. They’re friends, and they share things, but this seems too big, something Brooke wouldn’t want anyone to carry with her. She won’t hurt Vanessa with it.

She deletes the text.

—

Vanessa hovers outside Brooke’s office. Something’s up with Brooke. Her replies have been short and half-hearted all week, and though it could be nothing, and she knows she has no right to expect essay-length texts from Brooke, she knows in her gut something’s wrong.

Vanessa finally knocks, and the Brooke that greets her isn’t unlike normal Brooke. But Vanessa looks closer, for things she would have missed before but are obvious to her now. Brooke’s eyes are dull, rimmed with dark circles. Her hair is messier than normal, like she’s been tearing her hands through it. And then she sees Brooke’s hands, usually so sturdy and clever and quick. They’re trembling a little, just enough for Vanessa to see. She has to restrain herself from grabbing those hands, running her thumb over the smooth skin until Brooke is calm.

“What’s wrong?” Vanessa asks.

“Nothing.”

“Liar.” She can see the wheels spinning in Brooke’s mind, the worry in her eyes. She’s seen Brooke nervous before, but this is different. This is tense and stressed Brooke, trying and failing to keep her professional put-togetherness, and it hurts Vanessa’s heart. Vanessa puts her hands on her hips, daring Brooke to lie again.

Brooke sighs. “It’s the exhibit. I need to make sure all the donors are coming, and if there’s not a good turnout my department might lose funding, so everything…everything has to be perfect.” She takes a deep breath, and Vanessa wonders how long she’s been holding that in, letting it poison her.

“Perfect’s a lot to ask,” she says softly.

“I can do it. It has to be,” Brooke says simply, and Vanessa wonders how many times perfection’s been asked of her before, how many times she’s worked herself into the ground to deliver it.

“Who said? That asshole Greg?” She’s heard enough from Brooke to know Greg is not someone she wants to meet.

Brooke nods weakly, and all Vanessa wants is to smooth that wrinkle between her eyebrows.

“Can I help with anything?”

“I don’t think so. I just have to wait for replies. And finish my speech–” she grabs notecards off her desk, “–which is horrible.”

“I’ll listen to it! No arguing,” she says when Brooke protests. “Read it.”

Brooke does, talking about how great it was to bring the skull here and the importance of museums. It’s a good speech, one that’ll have rich people opening their checkbooks. But something’s missing–that breathless, childlike passion Brooke has when she talks about dinosaurs, the excited inner child that comes through in her smile. Brooke is going for cool and professional, and it’s good, but it’s not her. At least, not the Brooke Vanessa knows.

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” Vanessa says gently, “But can you make it less formal? A little more fun, more like you?”

“That’s how I had it the first time,” Brooke admits. “I just–”

“You wanted it to be perfect,” Vanessa finishes. “But it’s perfect when it’s like you too, you know.”

Brooke smiles, and Vanessa knows she’s gotten through to her. “Thank you, Ness.”

Vanessa wrinkles her nose. “Ness?”

“That’s what Sophie calls you. I kinda like it.”

“Okay, Brookie.”

Brooke swats at her playfully, and Vanessa drops into Brooke’s desk chair. Her desk is neat, of course, littered with tiny dinosaur figures and pens in a C-3PO mug. She smiles at pictures of Brooke on fossil digs, in graduation robes, giving presentations.

“Brooke Lynn Hytes, dino expert.” Vanessa shoots a horrible imitation of Brooke into her desk phone.

“I don’t sound like that!”

“Sure you do.”

“‘Sure you do,’” Brooke mimics in a raspy voice that Vanessa admits is accurate. She could sit here all day, but lunch is almost over.

“I gotta go, but take a break,” Vanessa orders. “I know you’re working too hard.”

Brooke nods, and her smile loops in Vanessa’s head all day.

—

Brooke types the last sentence of her speech, sitting back in awe. Her speech for the opening of a special exhibit, a childhood dream come true. It hadn’t been easy to get here. There were the doubtful years of college when Brooke learned paleontology was a lot more than digging up bones, when professors–usually male–approached her in lectures and asked if she had the right room, maybe you’re looking for the teaching department, sweetie? There was the struggle of needing a perfect application for one of only a few internships, the job prospects that made her toss and turn at night, wondering if she should go the teaching route, suck it up and teach earth science to bored college kids needing an elective. And then those first bones shone through the dirt, glittering under the Montana sun, and Brooke had known that this was all she ever wanted.

She reaches for her phone to tell Vanessa. It’s strange—Brooke never would’ve thought of sharing this with anyone, would’ve just kept it to herself. Another day at work. But she’s done it, and all she wants is for Vanessa to know, to share it with her. Lately she’s sharing more and more with Vanessa, from funny memes or restaurant recommendations to the book of Mary Oliver poems she’s going to give Vanessa as a thank you for helping with the speech. She loves when Vanessa sends stuff back, selfies of her in a witch hat, or pictures of crafts she’s done. The fact that Vanessa did something like tiny She-Ra swords and thought of Brooke, wants her to experience it too, makes Brooke warm and fuzzy inside.

There’s a missed call from her mom, and Brooke calls her back first, trying to calm her heart. There’s no reason to think anything bad happened, she reminds herself.

“Mom?” Brooke asks hesitantly.

“Brooke!” She’s too cheerful to report bad news, and Brooke relaxes. “Your dad and I were wondering if you and Vanessa want to come for dinner some time?”

Shit. “Um–”

“We’d love to see her again.”

“I’d have to check.”

It’s not fair to ask Vanessa again. The agreement was one work dinner and one family party, but they’ve strayed so far from that Brooke doesn’t know where they stand anymore. Brooke planned to say they broke up if her mom asked. She never thought her parents would like Vanessa so much. But she should have expected it, because who doesn’t love Vanessa seconds after meeting her?

“Well, I hope so.” Her mother’s voice is so loving that Brooke’s guilt burns hotter. “Vanessa’s such a good fit for you. You’re so happy around her.”

It’s not real! Brooke wants to yell, and she almost tells her mom the truth. But that would crush her, crush the person who always wanted Brooke to be happy. The person who brought her to the park and coaxed her to join the other kids, even though Brooke was too nervous to ask for her turn on the monkey bars and sat under the slide instead, dreaming of worlds where she wasn’t told to come out of her shell. Who brought her to museums and science camps and encouraged her to keep going in college. Who tried to find women for Brooke to date after she came out, wanting her to have someone she could be happy with.

How could she disappoint her mom like that?

She swallows the lump in her throat. “I-I’ll check, Mom, okay?”

“Okay, honey. Love you!”

“Love you too.”

Brooke sighs, shrugging out the tension in her shoulders. She needs the big guns for this one.

—

“I don’t know what to do, Nina.” Brooke burrows herself deeper into Nina’s couch and takes another sip of wine. “Everything’s a mess.”

Nina occupies the couch’s other end, just like their college days, giggling on a cramped twin bed. Brooke wishes they were back in that freezing cinder-block room, where her biggest concerns were finding edible dining hall food and finishing homework and herding drunk Nina, who just wanted to re-enact every Disney movie ever, into bed. Not the absolute disaster things have become. One little lie. One little lie to stop endless questions about dating, the well-meant hopes that she’ll find the one. Now, the lie is a skyscraper about to collapse in front of her, and all she has to mend it is duct tape.

What was she thinking, agreeing to this? One smile from Vanessa and she was gone, fake ring on her finger and knees touching on her parents’ couch like teenagers, watching movies and bringing coffee and texting nonstop. Now she has to break her mom’s heart and tell her they broke up, or do the act all over, pretend to be in love again, and then what? They keep doing this for the rest of their lives?

“I don’t think it’s that bad,” Nina says finally. “You said Vanessa liked your parents, so why not ask her?”

“Because where does it end? We do this again, my mom loves Vanessa more, she keeps asking to see her. I’m supposed to ask Vanessa to do this for every birthday and holiday and whatever? Next thing you know we’re spending Christmas there–”

“Brooke.”

“–And my mom loves weddings. There hasn’t been one since my sister’s so she’ll start asking about that–”

“Brooke.”

“–Then we’ll have a fake wedding, and what if she starts asking about kids? Oh my God, I’m gonna have to kidnap a child and they’ll make a Lifetime movie about me—“

“Brooke! Breathe, okay?”

Brooke realizes how fast the words are tumbling out, how little she’s breathing. She forces a deep breath, willing her lungs to accept the air. Nina pats her shoulder gently, and Brooke nods that she’s okay.

“I think you should just ask Vanessa,“ Nina continues. “There’s plenty of time to figure things out after. You can tell your mom you broke up later.”

“But it’s not fair to keep asking Vanessa. And the longer this goes on, the more it’ll crush my mom when it’s over. It’s easier to end it now, before she really gets attached to Vanessa.”

It’s not just her mom, Brooke realizes. The more they do this, the closer Brooke gets with Vanessa, and the more it will hurt when it ends. Vanessa has become one of her favorite people, and she can’t lose their friendship. What if asking Vanessa to do this again ruins it?

“Honey, I get that. Vanessa did ask you to the carnival though, so maybe she won’t mind going to your parents’ again? It’s one more event each way, so it’s not totally unfair.”

Brooke shrugs. “Maybe.”

“Don’t forget yourself either,” Nina says. It’s familiar, something’s Brooke’s heard since they were eighteen and Nina made sure sleeping and eating didn’t get sacrificed to Brooke’s studying. “You can’t keep fake dating just to please people.”

Brooke nods. “You’re right, Nina. How’d you get so smart?”

“Just born that way, I guess.” Nina sips wine with a smug smile. “And I want a lead role in the Lifetime movie.”

—

The carnival grows closer, and preparation is in full swing. There’s a running tally, currently at seven, of how many game booths Yvie’s told off on the phone for not following safety rules. There’s the list of food trucks Vanessa and Silky assembled from their personal rankings, plus a new Greek one Brooke told her about. There’s Nina and A’keria’s practice sheets of face paint designs, from fierce tigers to questionable butterflies.

Aside from the kids, this is what Vanessa likes best about her job–having different activities to do, things that let her be creative and not have to sit still at a desk like she did in school, or spend hours refolding the same shirts like when she did retail. She can run outside to test paper airplanes for a craft, or arrange displays, or help kids with homework, and maybe that’s why she never wanted another job. What other job would let her have this much fun?

The added bonus is that it distracts her from Brooke and dinner with her parents. She shouldn’t need distracting from Brooke, but try telling her brain that after seeing Brooke in a fire-engine red skirt the other day, the fabric wrapped around her legs like a second skin. Not to mention the fact that she kissed Brooke pops into her head at random moments, and she can still feel those soft lips against hers.

Is there something more to her feelings? But they’ve been faking a relationship, and that’s bound to rub off. How many movie co-stars got together after playing love interests? Not that she and Brooke are exactly movie stars, but hey, their performance was convincing. Sure, she talks on the phone with Brooke for hours at night, just like high school minus the tether of the phone cord, and brought her cookies once, but those don’t have to be romantic. The speeding up of her heart around Brooke, the way she’s drawn close to her like a magnet, how her eyes can’t leave Brooke when they’re together, aren’t anything either.

So having dinner with Brooke’s parents again shouldn’t be a big deal. If this were a real relationship, a second parent meeting would be much more serious, requiring Vanessa to wear her best dress and bring fancy wine. But they’ve already passed the test, and it’s just dinner. Brooke is nervous, she knows, never planned things to get this far and felt awful for asking, but Vanessa gets it. If the situation was reversed, she doubts she could crush her mom, always on lookout for girls Vanessa can date, like that either.

And she did ask Brooke to the carnival, which wasn’t part of the agreement. Another dinner isn’t unfair. One more dinner, and Brooke will end things on her side, and Vanessa will go back to saying her wife is sick when parties come up. Vanessa hates to think of Brooke’s parents being upset they broke up, but she can do it.

A’keria’s wrong. She’s not in love with Brooke.

At least, she doesn’t think so.

—

Dinner is just them and Brooke’s parents, and Vanessa lets herself go. They want to know more about her, and she tells stories of summers at the beach as a kid, sand clinging to her legs as she built sand castles with her mom, how she and brother splashed for hours, how her dad hoisted her on his shoulders to watch the nightly fireworks. She talks about her college roommate Shea–they kissed once, incidentally, but Vanessa leaves that out–and how they threw a party on the dorm roof. She talks about the time she, Silky, and A’keria misread the recipe and made 30 pancakes instead of 15 and passed them around the apartment building.

Everyone laughs, and it’s hard not to love this, not to want this. A girlfriend like Brooke with her nice family, who reminds Vanessa of her own family even if they’re nowhere near as chaotic. Talking about memories must spur something in Brooke’s mom, because after dessert she pulls them in the living room and whips out a photo album.

“Here’s Brooke as a baby,” Brooke’s mom says, and Vanessa melts, her heart damn near exploding at baby Brooke, wrapped snugly in a white blanket patterned with pink hearts. Her hair is lighter than it is now, almost white-blonde, but her smile is exactly the same. Her eyes are wide and shining with joy.

“Here she is in kindergarten.”

There’s five-year-old Brooke outside a red brick building with a huge grin on her face, modeling a pink tutu, in a blue dress at graduation.

“And here’s Brooke in middle school—“

“Mom, I’m begging you,” Brooke groans, but the page flips to a picture of teenage Brooke whose reluctant smile reveals wire-covered teeth.

Brooke buries her face in her hands, and Vanessa gently pulls them away.

“Hey, everyone looked horrible in middle school,” Vanessa soothes. “I bleached part of my hair once and looked like Cruella DeVil.”

Brooke brightens. “You owe me a picture of that.”

“Fine.”

The pages turn, and Vanessa doesn’t notice how late it’s gotten, doesn’t notice anything until thunder tears through the sky, bringing pounding rain with it. Everyone jumps, and the reality that they have a half-hour drive in pouring rain and darkness hits, making Vanessa squeeze herself.

“I didn’t realize it was so late,” Brooke says. “Wanna go, Ness?”

If Vanessa could focus, she’d notice her face flushing over the nickname. But she can’t, because she very much does not want to go out into that storm.

“Maybe we can wait it out?” Vanessa suggests, and Brooke nods.

It’s still going strong half an hour later, and Vanessa’s jumpy, rubbing sweaty hands on her legs.

“I don’t think it’s gonna let up,” Brooke’s mom says in worry. “I’d hate for you to drive in this dark anyway. Maybe you should stay here for the night.”

Vanessa turns to Brooke, who’s biting her lip. Vanessa knows Brooke doesn’t want her to feel uncomfortable staying here, but Vanessa would much rather be in this cozy house than driving in that storm. Brooke gives a nod that lets Vanessa know it’s her call.

“I think we should stay, Brooke,” Vanessa says quickly. “There’s no point driving in this or waiting for it to stop and driving home at midnight or something.” She appeals to reason, not wanting her fear to show.

Brooke agrees, her gaze softening as she takes in Vanessa. Vanessa suddenly realizes she’s folded up into herself, alert for the next crash of thunder.

Brooke’s mom smiles. “I’ll get the guest bed ready…” She heads down the hall and Brooke turns to Vanessa, eyes soft and tender.

“Are you sure you want to stay?” Brooke asks. “I don’t want you to think you have to.”

“I want to,” Vanessa insists.

Thunder rumbles and Vanessa jumps, curling into Brooke’s side on instinct. Brooke seems shocked at first, but softens into the touch.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Brooke says softly. She lowers a tentative arm around Vanessa and her muscles unclench. “We’re safe in here.”

“Sorry,” Vanessa whispers. “I know it’s just a storm—“

“Don’t worry. Everyone’s afraid of something,” Brooke soothes. “I’m really afraid of flying. Small spaces too.”

Vanessa nods shakily. It’s so embarrassing to be scared of thunderstorms as an adult. No one judged her as a kid in her blanket nest, snuggling stuffed animals to protect her from the rain lashing at the windows. Even her brother would stop teasing and let her hold his favorite Batman action figure. Her mom would bring her hot chocolate and comfort her, and Vanessa shouldn’t need comfort anymore. But Brooke is offering it, holding her securely enough to fend off a storm herself, and Vanessa lets her, the safety of Brooke’s arms better than her childhood blankets.

When Brooke’s mom says the guest bed is ready, Vanessa thinks she would rather sleep in Brooke’s arms.

—

The guest bed is a cozy cloud of soft white cotton sheets, and Vanessa wants to jump right in.

Brooke grabs two pillows. “I’ll sleep on the floor,” she says, assembling a makeshift bed with the pillows and spare blankets.

“Oh, you don’t have to–”

“I don’t mind. Really,” Brooke insists.

Brooke’s gaze lingers on Vanessa, and Vanessa tries to catch all the feelings that flash across Brooke’s face. Does Brooke look…hopeful? Like she wants Vanessa to resist, pull her into the bed? Or is she hoping Vanessa lets her stay on the floor so they don’t have to sleep together? Is she worried about making Vanessa uncomfortable? Is Brooke uncomfortable? Vanessa doesn’t want to make Brooke uncomfortable, doesn’t want to force anything, so she agrees, wondering if that’s sadness or something else on Brooke’s face. Vanessa slides between the sheets, and the bed feels way too big with just her in it.

“It’s weird, sleeping in my parents’ house.” Brooke’s voice rings faintly from the floor, and Vanessa moves to the edge of the bed to hear her better. It reminds her of the sleepovers she had as a kid, snuggling in her Little Mermaid sleeping bag and sharing secrets with her friends, everything more exciting when it was past their bedtimes.

“Sleeping in other places doesn’t bother me,” Vanessa says. “I stayed at my parents’ last Christmas and slept like a baby. Even better than a baby.”

“Is the bed okay?” Brooke frets. “I can–”

“It’s fine.” Vanessa pauses. It could be the sleepover memories rubbing off, but she wants to talk with Brooke, talk all night about everything and nothing, in a way she hasn’t since she was thirteen.

“What were you like in school?” she asks, eager for more of the Brooke in that photo album, of the joy in her eyes that Vanessa recognizes now sometimes.

Brooke props herself up on her elbow and peeks up at Vanessa. “Quiet, mostly. You know how some kids just walked in a room and made friends?”

“Yeah.”

Brooke sighs. “I couldn’t do that. I usually read by myself at recess, watching the other kids. I could never think of anything to say, and when I did it was either too late or I was too afraid to say it. I thought everyone would laugh at me. They usually did.”

“I’m sorry,” Vanessa breathes into the space between them.

Brooke shrugs. “It’s okay. I had some friends, but I didn’t mind being on my own. Or I got used to it, anyway. I don’t know if things would’ve been different if I wasn’t as nervous around people, y’know?”

“I get it,” Vanessa says. She would say more, but she knows it’s hard for Brooke to open up, and she doesn’t want to push her.

“What were you like?” Brooke asks.

“I was funny. I made one joke and suddenly I was the class clown. I didn’t always want to be, though,” she admits. “I was smart. I loved reading, loved learning—when I could focus, cause ADHD’s a bitch. But everyone thought I was stupid, ‘cause I was so restless. That’s why I decided to keep being funny instead. I didn’t realize there’s no reason I couldn’t be both.”

She had been friends with everyone—cheerleaders, drama kids, honors students. She had cracked jokes in class and had the charm to win over anyone. But it had been exhausting at times–sometimes she just wanted to curl up in the library and read, but there was no escaping the funny, popular kid gig, no way to try new things or change herself.

“Right,” Brooke agrees. “It’s like you were stuck in a box. Whatever people called you, that’s what you were.”

Vanessa nods, because that’s it. Brooke always gets her, and it’s a relief to have that understanding.

“God, school sucked, didn’t it?” Vanessa mutters. “At least we never have to go back.”

“Shit, yes. You couldn’t pay me to do high school again.”

They keep talking–about school, about childhood, about themselves–until Vanessa’s not even aware of the rain anymore, until there’s nothing in the world but their secrets and laughs floating through the darkness. They keep talking until Brooke’s eyes start drooping, her words growing farther and farther apart as she drifts off around 2am, and Vanessa settles and tries to do the same.

But she can’t sleep. That hole in the mattress where Brooke should be is a hole in Vanessa’s heart. Why didn’t she insist Brooke get in the bed with her? Vanessa usually sleeps well, but her best sleep is always with someone there, with warmth and safety beside her.

As a kid, she slept with her entire stuffed animal collection so no one felt left out. Through all her relationships, it was sleeping with someone that she loved the most–waking up in the night and feeling the safety of someone there, letting arms curve over her waist, the morning sun shining off her girlfriend’s face. There was such intimacy and tenderness in seeing someone sleep, seeing them so vulnerable and knowing that you loved them and would protect them. Maybe it’s better Brooke’s not next to her. Maybe it would bring up those feelings.

Vanessa peers down at Brooke. She’s curled up on her side, lips parted slightly. Vanessa’s heart beats in time with the gentle rise of Brooke’s chest. Sweet Brooke, who held her in the storm and always praised her and brought her coffee just because. Who always thinks of others first and never makes Vanessa do anything she’s uncomfortable with.

She looks at Brooke’s face, soft and untroubled and angelic in her sleep, and her heart swells, and shit, she knows that feeling. She tries to stop it, but it’s like using an umbrella for defense from a hurricane. She wants Brooke here, wants her warmth and intimacy because—

Because she’s in love with Brooke.

[amnachil]

The College Society Chapter 4 Part 7

Next part is up! Meet some new people. Also, Liam gets stuffed because he deserves it ;)

Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey Tuesday April 9

"If you don't feel it, we can postpone this shitty meeting."

Liam smiled cheerfully, but it was only to hide his obvious stress.

"I'm fine." he said nonetheless.

They were at his place, getting ready for the fateful diner with Robert Smith. I tried my best to cancel it but here we are. Fuckin' old fart. The baboon looked... afraid. He was still shirtless and munching on the cookies to apease his nerves. It was pretty clear he wasn't fine. Nate, who was reading a manga on the bed casted a glance at them.

"Are you scared it'll be like with Kilian's father ?" he asked.

Liam tensed. Of course that's it. I'm stupid. He must be afraid it'll be the same thing than before. After all, Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey's boyfriend had revealed his idiotic ex's parents were strongly homophobic. And it led to several traumatic events in his life. Besides, his own father was an ass. So no wonder why he feared a meeting with another old geezer.

"My stupid father is supporting the gay cause baboon." he stated. "Sure, he's a bit vulgar and all but once he'll see you like I..."

The blonde stopped mid-sentence. The other two were staring at him expectantly. They were all ears. Damn, I hate this lovey-dovey thing. No way I'm getting sappy. Liam opened his arm and smiled.

"A hug for comfort ?" he suggested.

At first, Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey looked at him like if he had grown a second head. A hug, seriously ?! Is he stupid ? Yeah, Liam was stupid. Stupidly cute and attractive. The blonde lad went for his hug. Not because he was craving for his boyfriend's touch or anything at all : it was just to make the baboon happy. (Just believe it please).

"Well Nate is right." confessed the chestnut boy. "I don't have any fond memories of fathers... Mine is actually ripping my family apart, and Kilian's one was a butcher who used to hate me. So yeah, I guess I'm not completely fine."

A blind idioit could see that. Even your hug is lame dummy. Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey only sighed.

"I understand but I assure you, nothing bad will happen." he claimed. "Because I'll be with you all the time and I won't let the old fart do anything to you, okay ?"

"But what if I snap ? My shrink Ms Hang said I'm not very good at controlling my emotions. I don't want to hurt anyone..."

The blonde lad pinched Liam's soft side. Well, he's gotten pudgier. I like it.

"You won't." he assured. "I trust you on this. But as I told you before, if you feel unready to do this we can delay."

Liam took a deep breath.

"I think I'm fine thanks to you and Nate. Let's go."

The diner didn't go as planned. Not at all. When they arrived at Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey's place, the old coot he called a father stared at Liam like if he had the plague. Geez what a nice start.

"Wait, you're the Strucker's offspring ?" he asked threateningly.

The blond lad was prepared to go all out to defend his boyfriend. Strangely, it was important for him that baboon felt at ease with his damn family.

"For fucksake you're hella gorgeous !" Robert Smith continued. "My rowdy yet lovely wife wasn't wrong ! If I were younger I would bang you myself !"

The blond junior let an intimidating grunt slip. The baboon is mine moronic father. Thankfully, Liam was half-listening, and he only smiled timidely.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Dami's dad." he whispered.

"I see you got a fucking sense of bloody humor." laughed the old fart.

The whole situation was awkward AND embarrassing for Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey. His father was so vulgar and disrepectful ! And this dummy boyfriend who called him Dami's dad !

"And you have a decent size to be fair." continued Robert Smith. "Well you could be a bit bigger but that will do it."

Now they were talking about size ?! What the hell ?! And I wonder which size my idiotic genitor is talking about...

"I assure you Dami is keeping me well-fed." replied Liam.

After that, it became even crazier. They had diner in a relaxed but awkward atmosphere. And Robert gossiped a lot about Isaac Strucker. Like how he was an asshole who betrayed his damn trust. And how he pocketed money from their company like a fucking thief. Liam agreed to everything. He said he had been sure his faher's wealth was dirty money. So they both found they had something in common : they resented Isaac Strucker. I guess it's good. Not that I care. Honestly, Damian Nicholas Smith was ashamed of his old coot's rudeness. Tch, he's so vulgar. I should teach him how to talk to handsome boys. This boring and annoying meeting finally came to an end.

"It was nice meeting you Liam." stated the old codger. "My wife told me you took my gummy bunny's virginity and I'm okay with that. Bet you're a good top."

Okay. Let's stop this fuckin' ridiculous conversation. That's too much embarrassement to handle. The junior almost pushed his boyfriend towards the door. This one was too stupid and nice to take offense anyway.

"Okay you two are now bestfriend and all it's super nice." he mumbled. "Maybe you can found an anti-Isaac club someday. But it's getting late and Liam can't wait to go to bed. Right ?"

Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey glanced at his boyfriend and winked. I hope he gets the signal.

"Oh yeah I'm completly worn out." he said sheepishly.

Of course the baboon wasn't faking it. He had been so stressed, he truly needed to rest now. And it was past his usual bedtime anyway. He kissed the junior, said goodbye to his father and wished both a beautiful night (his words).

Liam Thursday April 11

He should have know it. It was kind of predictable with his actual way of life. But Liam wasn't a person who anticipate. So here he was, stuck in his bathroom, facing wardobe malfunction. His shirt wasn't the main issue. It was snug, especially around his belly, but he estimed it okay. The jeans. The jeans are the problem : they ain't cooperative at all. It was impossible to close the zipper. His added flesh wouldn't let him do that. But Liam didn't want new jeans. He liked these one. (Yes he was sometimes stubborn like that.) He tried again, obviously without anymore success. Can the unicorns make them fit ? He was positive they had the power to do so. (But they probably won't, since it's a silly and mortal problem which didn't affect them.)

"I know you like to take your sweet time baboon but we'll be late for the movie." grumbled his boyfriend as he entered in the room.

Dami stopped when he understood the situation. He twitched and his brows furrowed. Liam pouted.

"My jeans are playin' cheeky." he explained.

"Maybe... You should just go for the next size ?" replied the junior.

"But I want these jeans !" whined the chestnut lad.

His boyfriend came closer and put an hand on his bulging stomach.

"I'll help you." he growled. "But look at you all beefy and bulky... How much do you weight now ?"

"91 kg (200 lbs)."

Looking at his reflexion, Liam had to admit, he was kind of big. He had broke the 200 only recently however. Althought he looked very muscular, he was also soft and well-padded. He had nicely chubbed up, particulary his tummy. Back in highschool, he had been chubby but it had felt like if he was losing strengh in the process. But right now, I feel stronger and more confident. He got side-tricked for a moment, thinking about his mission for the unicorn now that he was athletic and well-fed when something made him realise he was not alone. Dami had moved around him, trying to close the jeans.  By some miracle, he had succeeded and even if the freshman felt a bit constricted, it was okay. Anyway, what attracted Liam's attention was an hand. An hand which was squeezing his butt comfortably. When he looked at his boyfriend, this latter blushed and ended the contact.

"So- sorry." he stammered. "You were out of it and it was right there... I just... Damnit can we forget it happened ?"

"Why ? You can appreciate my tushie all you want." teased Liam.

"Don't make fun of me baboon. We have to go. And you know what ? I like these jeans too so keep 'em."

He was more than glad to obey.

Dami's mood changed when they entered in the theater, and it took Liam a moment to understand why. The vampire was two raws behind them, and she looked ready to suck their blood. (Usually, the dreamy lad didn't recognise most of the people he had met, but she was different : you don't encounter a vampire every other day !).

"Are you afraid she'll devour us ?" he whispered to his boyfriend.

This latter grumbled something and rolled his eyes.

"Just don't approach her." he replied. "She hasn't any good intentions. And you see the two bi... girls over here ? Same."

He was indicating the whitch and another student who looked familiar. They weren't exactly looking at them, but ogling from time to time. And suddenly, it struck Liam. How come he didn't realise that sooner ? They were Dami's lovers, of course they were ! That was why he boyfriend was acting more distant. The chestnut lad frowned. He wasn't prone to jealousy, especially when he was the one who let his boyfriend slept around. He perfectly knew a succubus needed sex and himself wasn't ready to provide that just yet. So no, he wasn't exactly jealous. He just wanted to remind them what was HIS. (Liam was a 8yo boy at heart so what he owned was his and only his for crying out loud !). He mentally cheered himself : he was about to fight a vampire and a witch to free his boyfriend from his inner desire. Thanks the unicorns he had brought a sword this morning.

"Baboon." Dami brought him back to reality. "Usually you're cute when you're day-dreaming, but right now you look kind of scary. Do you intend to murder someone ?"

"Only if it can't be avoided." Liam sheepishly confessed.

The blond junior almost choked on his drink.

"The hell ?! You never cease to amaze me... What are you thinking exactly ?"

"I just want your lovers to know that right now, you're with me and they can't have you. They can sleep with you later."

Dami's eyes widened while he listened. And then, he mumbled something Liam's didn't catch.

"These girls ain't my lovers baboon. They're here because... Nevermind just don't trust anything they say. And please, for the love of god, do not accept any gift from them. Not even food !"

"Who do you take me for ? I'm not easily bribed !"

"How many pancakes ?"

"Like a thousand !"

Nicolas Friday April 12 – Saturday April 13

"Hm... Are you sure this is necessary ?" asked Nate.

He wasn't the only one surprised. Colton seemed a bit unsure about this plan. But Nick knew it would work. Right in front of them was piled up all the junk food they had found in the apartment.

"I'm one hundred percent sure. In order to achieve my goal of losing around 22 kg (50 lbs), I need to get rid of this crap habit of mine to eat junk all the time. Which means we're getting rid of it now."

Nate shrugged. Since he wasn't eating much lately, this decision wouldn't affect him anyway. Colton smiled.

"If you really want to do it, I'm sure you'll manage." he assured. "Remind me, how much do you weight now ?"

"Like 97 kg (213 lb)." grumbled Nick.

Broke the 200 had been quite a shock. Rebecca's words were still burning in the back of his mind. And to make it worst, he had had the stupid idea to do a video call with his parents. They called me a irresponsible kid who doesn't know how to take care of himself. And mom said I was near obesity. Which might or might not be true. But he didn't need the label. Anyway so yes he was self-conscious.

"What are we gonna do about all this food ?" asked Nate. "We can't just throw it..."

"Don't worry." assured Nick. "If I'm right, our dear roommate will be more than glad to stuff himself with that."

"He doesn't like junk food that much tho ?" countered the short lad.

"Trust me I have an idea."

Said idea worked pretty well. First, Nick had explained to Liam that it was a mission from the God of Light. Only such a lie could manage to catch the delusional lad's attention. Then he told him that for every packet of junk he could finish, they would offer him pancakes. I'm glad to say I know this dude well by now. And pancake is the sacred word. And here they were : Liam was starting to get full while the others were enjoying the show. Nick was fascinated. In all honesty, his roommate was hot. When they first met, the geek had took an habit to covet him when he was half-sleeping half-naked in the apartment. Now Liam was significantly fatter and heftier but still hot. The chesnut boy smiled when his bestfriend brought him another plate of pancake. His stuffed belly wasn't near his maximum capacity yet. Something in Nick's stomach twisted. He felt both annoyed and sad at the same time. I don't like that. Time for some instropection. He discreetly grabbed his phone to contact his online friends. In this kind of situation, watching their discussion was funny. Like being at the zoo.

< TheSavior : Guys I'm angry, say something stupid. >

A belch escaped Liam's mouth and damn, that was both entertaining and kind of frustrating.

< Abeautifulwoman : I corrected the typo in my user name. Three years, and I mean THREE WHOLE YEARS and no one told me. That's low. >

"Can I have more ?" asked Liam.

In one hour or so, he had managed to polish three quarter of the junk food. And several plate of pancakes that Nate and Colton were cooking next to them. It was amazing, and Nick couldn't shake the weird annoyance he was feeling.

< Imagenius : Since you're not a real girl I thought it was only a proof of that... so fuck you. >

< Abeautifulwoman : boyo's mad cuz i won't help him with the treasure hunt >

Liam was busy with hamburgers. How the hell he managed to eat so many at once was beyond Nick's comprehension. And to think he's not stuffed yet.

< Imagenius : srlsy ? My friend doesn't want to say anything more and you neither ! What is it to you ? Is your boss friend part of it or what ?! >

< Abeautifulwoman : you're just jealous because i know things you don't >

Jealous. The word made sense. Liam was chubby and pigging out like if there was no tomorow. And what did he get ? A (weird) boyfriend and friends who admire that side of him. And all the women at the university plus most of the logical men were hitting on him. What about Nick ? Nick was fat and disgusting. Even obese. So yeah, he was jealous of his roommate.

< TheSavior : Ok enough. Got what I needed you're both stupid. Cya. >

< Imagenius : Mean ! Bye :3 >

< Abeautifulwoman :Ugh. See u >

True to his reputation, Liam finished everything. Which was honestly amazing. Stuffed like a turkey, he decided to doze off right away. Archibald came for his usual meeting with Nate, and they went in the bedroom to talk privately (Liam was sleeping and this man wouldn't wake up even for the apocalypse). Nick busied himself with tidying the room but he wasn't satisfied. His famous plan had left him pissed and self-conscious. And hungry. Very hungry.

"Here." smiled Colton. "This is the diet program you asked me."

The fatter of the two ogled the sheet of paper like if it was witchcraft. The word salad made him scowl.

"Are you sure this is what you want ?" asked his friend. "The goal of the regime must be to feel comfortable with yourself, not please the others..."

"Yeah, I know. It's ok thought, I will lost weight in no time, and everything will be fine."

At least Nick hoped it would.

To be continued

Dami’s father is... something :p  What I like with Liam is how he enjoys his body, and the belly. In that light, he’s the total opposite of Nick, who is doubting himself completely. Watch Nick’s online friends, they’ve an important part to play in the story ;p

[blurglesmurfklaine]

Christmas Eve With You (Let It Snow)

Summary: It's Christmas Eve in Lima Ohio, and Kurt has a lot to do: find the perfect gift for his dad, make a life changing decision, and--after an unexpected turn of events--escort pop star Blaine Anderson around town. You know, the usual...Based off of Netflix's Let It Snow

A/N: Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Kwanzaa to you all!! I personally celebrate Christmas and it's my favorite holiday and I've never written a Christmas Rom-Com AU so I decided last minute to write one lol. Relatively short, part one today, part two to come hopefully before the New Year!

Read on AO3

***

Congratulations!

We are delighted to inform you that you have been accepted into the New York Academy of the Dramatic Arts. With an acceptance rate of less than 4%, NYADA is one of the top tier schools for those wishing to perfect their

Kurt tore his eyes away from the page and slowly drew in a deep breath. He didn’t need to keep reading. He had practically memorized the damn thing in the first hour he opened the envelope. He began folding up the acceptance letter for what must have been the hundredth time and opened his desk drawer, tucking the letter underneath some old papers where his dad would never find it.

He pulled on his coat and any other winter wear necessary to make the freezing train ride to the swap meet bearable.

He would probably come home later and read the letter just one more time, scouring it to see if it had the answer he needed, but right now he had an elf to find.

***

“I’m looking for a Townhouse Moments Christmas Elf number forty-three.” Kurt explained to the man at the swap meet while this year’s crappy pop Christmas song played on in the background. “I ordered it online ahead of time, but they gave me number forty-two.”

The vendor simply looked at him with an almost bored (and definitely condescending) expression. “Listen, kid. You and every other collector out here are looking for this guy, and I don’t have him. You’re not gonna find it. Not on Christmas Eve.”

Kurt sighed, the background song seeming even more annoying than usual. Seriously, the swap meet couldn’t find any holiday music better than some lame Blaine Anderson single? “Look, I really need this figurine. My dad’s Christmas kind of depends on it.” He explained desperately.

The vendor shook his head. “Like I said, I can’t help you.”

Kurt angrily huffed and shoved the figurine he’d brought with him back in his pocket. “Merry Christmas,” he muttered under his breath before heading back to the train station.

At least the train had a stop near the Lima Bean. There was nothing quite like sitting with a warm cup of coffee in your hands while watching the snow fall down through the frosted windows.

***

Blaine stepped up from the platform onto the train, immediately searching for a seat in an area that wouldn’t be too crowded. He rarely got a chance to walk through the world without being gawked at like some Zoo animal, and he wasn’t about to have that ruined by an overexcited fan.

It’s not that he wasn’t grateful for everything his fans provided him, but sometimes it got to be a bit much and he needed a moment to just… retract from all the pandemonium.

He finally spotted a somewhat secluded area and headed towards it. Before he could make it, though, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

“Excuse me,” a voice called out from behind him.

Blaine sighed before reluctantly turning around to face a boy, probably around his age, with pale skin and a nose slightly pinked by the cold they both just entered from.

The boy looked slightly startled, as if he had just realized who Blaine was, but remained calm.

“Look,” Blaine started. “I really don’t feel like taking any pictures right now.”

The boy pursed his lips and glared at Blaine. He then extended his hand out and Blaine looked down to see he was just returning his phone that must have fallen out of his coat pocket.

“You dropped this,” the stranger said with a bit of sting in his voice as he shoved the phone back into Blaine’s grasp.

“Oh,” Blaine replied lamely. “Sorry, I—“

Mystery boy scoffed and held up a hand to silence him. “Don’t bother.” He muttered, then turned around to find a seat.

Fair enough, Blaine thought.

Just as Blaine was about to head back to find a seat of his own, the boy whipped around, apparently not quite done with him yet. “And by the way,” he began. “You don’t even know anything about me. I don’t care for your trashy pop music, I’m not one of your Blaineiacs who swoons at just the mention of your name, and I’m definitely not the type of person who would just throw myself at someone just because they’re famous.”

“I never said—“

Once again, Blaine was cut off, but not by the (admittedly attractive) boy. The train suddenly jerked forward and the momentum sent the strange boy flying backwards into Blaine’s unsteady arms.

Blaine felt his breath hitch, caught off guard by the suddenness of it all. He looked down and caught the boy’s gaze, realizing he had some of the clearest crystal blue eyes Blaine had ever seen. Awesome. The universe throws a super cute guy into your arms and it’s someone who thinks you’re a complete asshole.

As soon as it happened, it was over. Before either of them knew it, the train was on its way, steady enough so that the pale boy had the balance necessary to shoot himself out of Blaine’s arms like a repelling magnet.

His face flushed bright red and he gaped at Blaine for a moment. “I–That wasn’t—that was the train,” he said in a huff before whipping around and heading to his seat on the other side of the train car.

Blaine followed him with his eyes the entire time.

***

Not even ten minutes into the ride, Kurt felt the train slowly come crawling to a stop. “No,” he pleaded under his breath. “Please, no, we’re so close to the Lima Bean,” he whined.

But sure enough, the conductor’s voice came over the intercom and loudly announced that the train would be stalled indeterminately due to the recent snowfall.

Kurt sighed and looked longingly out the window towards the Lima Bean. This was ridiculous, he could see the rooftop to his favorite coffee shop just over the snow-covered hill. There was no reason he couldn’t make it there without incident.

He drew in a steadying breath before standing up and heading towards the doors. Unfortunately, before he could completely escape the defective cab, another figure came up in front of him and unintentionally blocked his path.

It so happened to be none other than the Blaine Anderson. Of course it was Blaine. Of course it was the idiot celebrity who thought everything revolved around him.

“You headed to that coffee shop, too?” Blaine asked without turning back to look at Kurt, using his clover hand to block out the morning sun as he stared off into the distance.

Anderson only kept trucking on forward as Kurt followed his lead—coincidentally, of course.

“I’m not following you,” he felt compelled to say. “I also just want a decent cup of coffee.”

Blaine gave him a charmingly warm smile and hopped off the platform into the soft snow. “Of course. Then, I suppose, you wouldn’t mind keeping me company.”

Kurt followed his lead and hopped off the train, beginning to trudge through the snow after Blaine—again, completely by chance that they were headed in the same direction.

“Fine. Just know that this is completely coincidental!”

“Deal.”

***

“Deal,” Blaine said. “So, uh, do I get your name? I mean, it’s only fair since you already know mine.”

“Yeah, because everybody knows your name, right?”

“I–no-! That’s not what I meant…”

The pale boy narrowed his eyes slightly at him and looked him up and down like he was deciding whether or not to trust him. “Kurt,” he finally answered. “Kurt Hummel.”

Blaine extended his hand out and Kurt stared at it for a second before taking it. “Blaine Anderson—because I’m not going to assume anybody knows my name anymore.” Blaine noticed the corner of Kurt’s mouth twitch up, barely noticeable. “Nice to meet you, Kurt.”

They walked on for a few moments in silence before Kurt spoke up again. “Why did you even take the train into town?” He asked.

Blaine shrugged. “I wanted to get away from the tour bus for a while. It felt real being in there. Surrounded by real people.”

Kurt chortled. “If the train made you feel real, the Lima Bean is gonna blow your mind.”

***

Kurt and Blaine stood in front of the long awaited coffee shop, both staring up at the broken and incomplete sign at the top of the building. The worn out block green letters should have obviously spelled out “LIMA BEAN”, but time and weather had taken out the L.

“Say it to yourself,” Kurt instructed Blaine. “Out loud.”

“Ima Bean?” Blaine said questioningly.

“I’m A Bean.” Kurt said dismally. “Because nobody in this town is—or ever will be—anything but a tiny bean in the universe… at least, that’s what we would say growing up.”

“That’s… morbid.”

Kurt simply shrugged before heading in through the doors. “It’s the truth,” he grumbled, remembering the letter burning a hole in his desk drawer and knowing he could never ever let it see the light of day again.

The Lima Bean was empty for the time being, but Kurt knew it would be filled with McKinley high teens in no time.

The couple silently made their way to the counter and Blaine took note of the barista who was… not exactly someone he imagined to be working at a coffee shop, but a job was a job he supposed. The barista had his head down, showcasing his unique haircut (a mohawk) while he began to take their orders.

“Welcome to the Lima Bean,” he sighed before slowly upturning his head. “What can I…” Just as Kurt had expected, Puck’s eyes grew wide upon seeing Blaine. “Get for you today…”

“Uh, Puck.” Kurt started timidly. “This is Blaine… I didn’t expect you to be here, I thought you’d be preparing for your long awaited Christmas Eve Rager?”

Puck pouted. “Uh, yeah… so my parents flight was delayed ‘cause of the snow, and they caught me setting up for the party. Decided I should come to work instead. But!” He held up his index finger and his face lit up. “I convinced Sam to let me have it here! So if you’re free tonight, just come on down to I’m A Bean.”

Kurt stifled a laugh at his friend’s wild antics. “Sure thing, Puck. Though, at this point,” he jerked his head towards Blaine. “I don’t know where this day will take me.”

“Been there… anyways, what’ll it be?”

***

“Order for Kurt!” Puck called out.

It was both their orders, but they’d decided it’d be best if they didn’t use Blaine’s name. It turned out to be a good call considering the fact that a group of Titans and Cheerios walked in as soon as Kurt and Blaine sat down.

Kurt got up and shortly returned with their coffees and pastries.

“Are you going to actually finish all that?” Kurt asked, referring to the small mountain of food Blaine had ordered including a tomato and mozzarella panini, a snowman cookie, a breakfast biscuit, and his medium drip.

“Yeah, I don’t like to waste food. It’s like a charity thing for me.” At Kurt’s unamused look, Blaine rolled his eyes and gave his real explanation. “We uh, didn’t grow up with a lot. It feels kind of wrong to throw out a meal when I remember the days we didn’t get one.”

After a moment of processing, “Oh…” was all Kurt could pathetically offer, suddenly feeling like the biggest asshole in the world.

Here he’d been, making assumptions about Blaine when he really didn’t know anything about him. Kind of the way certain football players would do to Kurt.

Okay, so Blaine had kind of come off as a presumptuous dick, but now Kurt realized he himself was making that same mistake.

He watched as Blaine took a bite of the panini and the too full sandwich overflowed with cheese into Blaine’s upper lip. Kurt giggled. “You’ve got a little…” he pointed to his own mouth, trying to point out the stained area on Blaine’s face.

Blaine stuck out his tongue, but completely missed the area. “Did I get it?”

“Not at all,” Kurt laughed again. “But I’ll go grab you some napkins, your royal highness.”

As Kurt was standing up, Blaine opened his mouth to contest before noting the playful look on the other boy’s face.

“And add some more creamer to this bad boy while I’m up,“ He said, gesturing to his half full coffee.

Kurt was nearly to the condiment table when a hauntingly familiar figure blocked his path.

“Where you going off to, fairy boy?”

“Merry Christmas to you, too, Azimio,” Kurt scoffed, trying to side step his long time tormentor.

Azimio followed Kurt’s move, leaving him in the same position he was not a moment ago. “Heard my boy Karofsky’s got a boyfriend over at Thurston high now.”

“Good for him.”

“That’s the farthest thing from good, my man. If it weren’t for you turnin him gay, we’d still have a winning offensive line.”

“I really don’t have any time for this,” Kurt lamented.

“Not so tough without your army brother to protect you, huh?”

Kurt opened his mouth to explain that he didn’t need anyone to protect him, but was immediately silenced by Azimio suddenly slapping the cup out of Kurt’s hand. Kurt flinched as lukewarm coffee splattered around him, the majority of it spilling right on his shirt.

“That’s for turning my best friend into a homo.”

“Hey!” Puck called from behind the counter. “Get out of here!”

“I am a paying customer!” Azimio argued.

“Read the sign, dickwad. Right to refuse service to anyone. That includes no good Lima Losers like yourself!”

Azimio rolled his eyes and angrily stormed out of the store.

As Kurt looked down his stained shirt, he could feel Blaine’s horrified stare burning right through his back. “Oh my god, Kurt. Are you okay?”

He turned around to face the other boy, still shaking with rage and that twinge of humiliation he always felt after scenes like this, no matter how hard he tried to push it down.

“You wanted real?” Kurt asked, feeling tears he would never let Azimio and Langanthal see begin to burn behind his eyelids. “How’s this? Only out gay kid in the entire town gets harassed on a daily basis—even publicly, as you just saw—finally gets an out when he gets into his dream school, and can’t even go because his dad is too sick to be left alone!”

Blaine reached out to place a comforting hand on Kurt’s shoulder. “Kurt—“

Before Blaine could finish his sentence, Kurt heard the table full of Cheerios become more chatty than usual, and he came to a startling realization. He quickly turned around, scanning the table to see that several of the McKinley High cheerleaders were whispering to each other and pointing at Blaine.

“Shit,” he muttered before facing Blaine again. “Restroom, back window,” he ordered as the head Cheerio stood up from the table and made a beeline towards them.

“What?”

“Just go!” Kurt ordered nudging Blaine in the right direction.

Blaine finally seemed to notice the onlookers and started to quickly walk towards the bathroom as one of the cheerleaders walked right behind Kurt.

He spun around to face her, a fake smile on his face. “Hello, there Satan—Santana!”

“Was that... Blaine Anderson?” She asked brusquely, staring down Kurt and crossing her arms.

Kurt raised his eyebrows before turning his head behind him to check that Blaine had made it to the impromptu escape route. He turned to Santana again and sighed, throwing his hands out in defeat. “Yes,” he said, feigning a trenchant dismay. “You caught me. Blaine Anderson is here, with me, at the I’m A Bean …” Kurt scrunched up his nose and smiled wryly at her. “And if you wait a few more minutes, I’m pretty sure TuPac is going to start a flash mob!”

She rolled her eyes and scoffed. As she turned around her perfectly cooked ponytail nearly whipped him right across the face.

He watched her take a seat with the rest of the Cheerios and let out a sigh of relief before heading out to go find Blaine.

***

Blaine writhed and squirmed with all his might, but still wasn’t able to get enough momentum to hoist himself out of the window. He lay on his back, the top half of his body exposed to the bitter cold while the bottom half was stuck in the warmth of the I’m A Bean. The opening wasn’t big enough for him to turn around to get on his stomach. In that position, he could easily reach out for something and just pull himself out.

He he was straining to reach for the window to get some sort of leverage when he heard a giggle. And if he weren’t in the situation he was currently in, he might’ve taken more time to appreciate how beautiful that laugh was.

“Wow,” Kurt chuckled. “I wonder what TMZ would pay for a photo like this.”

“Not enough,” Blaine grunted, struggling for some sort of hand hold. “Now, are you— going to— help me— or not?”

Kurt rolled his eyes and headed over to Blaine.

He laced his arms underneath Blaine’s. “Alright,” Kurt said. “I’m gonna pull on the count of three, so brace yourself. One…”

“Wait, on three or after three?”

“What? Clearly on three, Blaine.”

“Wait, did that count as three?”

“Oh for fuck’s sake.”

Kurt tugged and Blaine slid out of the window with ease. The momentum of the pull sent them both toppling backwards—Blaine’s entire body on Kurt—towards the ground.

They hit the frozen ground with an “oof,” and immediately bust out into a fit of laughter.

“That went well.” Kurt giggled.

Still laughing, Blaine turned his body to face Kurt. “Yeah, we’re the epitome of grace.”

They settled into a surprisingly comfortable silence, both warmed by being in the other’s embrace. After a moment, Kurt cleared his throat and shifted backwards,as if he’d just realized the position they’d fallen into. He shuffled to his feet and brushed off some snow from his pants. “So, um, it was so nice—and super random and bizarre—to meet you,” Kurt said, shaking his head. “But I have to go. I have… things to do.”

Kurt headed off in the direction of his next destination, but not without Blaine following close behind. “Like what?”

“Like go meet my dad to watch my Jewish best friend play mother Mary in a multicultural holiday play. “

Blaine rolled his eyes. “Fine, don't tell me.”

“Oh, I only wish I were joking… Whatever, I have other things to do. Important things.”

“Like what?” Blaine pried again, hoping it was something he could accompany Kurt to. He was intrigued by him, and wanted to get to know him better.

“Like make the biggest decision of my life!” Kurt finally snapped, whirling around to face him. Blaine wondered for a moment if he had been too intrusive before Kurt deflated, like a cat un-bristling its tail. “I got into NYADA. It’s one of the best schools in the country for musical theatre, but it’s in New York and I can’t go.”

Blaine thought back to the incident that happened moments before he had nearly been discovered, then back to when he first met Kurt. No wonder Kurt was so wary of him.

“Because of your dad.”

Kurt gave a meek nod of confirmation. “He had a heart attack last year that put him in a coma for a few days, and now, he has… cancer… and we don’t know which way it’s going to go… I asked NYADA for a deferral, but they said I would lose my scholarship.”

They both stayed silent for a moment, neither quite knowing what to say after that. “Sorry for the huge downer,” Kurt mumbled. “I just… haven’t said that to anyone yet. Aside from kind of yelling it at you in the I’m A Bean a few minutes ago… Anyways,” he started up again, turning from Blaine and heading off into the snow covered terrain. “Merry Christmas, I gotta go.”

Blaine continued to trudge after him. “What, where?”

“I told you, multicultural nativity play.”

Blaine caught up with Kurt and sent him his most charming grin. “Sounds fun.”

***

“A hundred and fifty six piece elf village?” Blaine asked in astonishment as he and Kurt walked through the underpath of some trees.

Kurt let out a dry laugh. It sounded even more ridiculous aloud. “Some people’s dads collect coins, or artisan beer bottles; mine collects elves and their homes… So, what are your plans for the holidays?”

Blaine just gave him a halfhearted shrug. “I’ll probably just stay in the hotel room.”

“Christmas Eve in a hotel room?”

“I travel a lot. I’m used to it.”

“And I’m used to getting harassed by idiot meatheads, that doesn’t mean I like it.”

Blaine barked out a laugh, making Kurt’s stomach flip involuntarily. “I guess, just once… I’d like to stay in one place for a little while.”

Well, Lima isn't the worst place to spend Christmas Eve, Kurt nearly said before stopping himself and realizing he would look like a total creep if he did. He lightly shook his head, trying to bring himself back to reality. Head out of the clouds, Hummel. He probably has a girlfriend on the tour bus waiting for him.

“So why does your dad like Christmas so much?” Blaine asked, breaking Kurt out of his thoughts.

“Oh. I think… I think it’s because my mom passed away between Thanksgiving and Christmas.” He took note of the sympathetic look on Blaine’s face before continuing. “So now I think he wants to make Christmas this big and spectacular thing… for me, I guess. I used to love the little figurines when I was little, because I kind of looked like them. My mom decided to start collecting them a few weeks before she died.”

“I’m sorry about your mom,” Blaine said, adding a gentle hand on Kurt’s shoulder. “But that’s pretty sweet of your dad.”

“Yeah… I guess it is.” Kurt smiled warmly. “He’s a great dad.”

The two boys finally reached the peak of the hill. The view overlooked a beautiful wintry scene, complete with frosted evergreen trees and a meadow blanketed in fresh pillowy snow.

“Wow, it’s beautiful.”

Kurt scoffed. “Snow can hide a lot… it’s like the spanx of weather…” Blaine laughed and another comfortable silence fell between them for a moment. “So, where did you grow up?”

“New York. Queens. Growing up, you had to be tough and my brother was… I, on the other hand, was a little more sensitive… and I think that came off as weakness to the other kids.” Blaine shrugged it off. “But it was okay because I always had music.”

Kurt nodded and smiled understandingly. “I know exactly what you mean. The only thing that keeps me sane around here is the glee club. When I’m not singing, I don’t really feel… whole. It’s like—“

“Like you’re barely even a person.”

Kurt let out a little puff of air in astonishment. “Yeah… kind of exactly like that…” As they tread on, Kurt could hear the sound of ice softly crunching beneath their feet. “So uh, what do your parents think about your job?”

Blaine let out a short laugh that felt just the tiniest bit bitter. “Well, my mom supports me but… My dad doesn’t think performing is a real job. He’s really strict. He wasn’t too happy when I came out to him either, but he got over it… sort of.”

Kurt snapped his head up to look at Blaine, eyes wide as he processed the words he just heard. Came out, as in… “Wait a second, you’re…”

A smile tugged at the corner of Blaine’s lips. “Queer as a three dollar bill.” As soon as it was there, it faded. “But uh, it’s not something I advertise, you know? My dad thinks it’s better—safer, if I don’t.”

Kurt cocked an eyebrow, doing his best to push down the butterflies raging in his stomach. “Like a safer career move?” Why would Blaine’s dad care about his career if he didn’t even think it was valid?

Blaine shook his head. “When I was in middle school, before my first album, I went to a Sadie Hawkins dance with a friend; the only other gay guy in the school. While we were waiting for his dad to pick us up, these three guys came and beat the crap out of us.”

In an instant, Blaine felt Kurt’s hand on his. “I… I’m so sorry.”

“I uh, never pressed charges or anything. Just transferred and never looked back, which made sense at the time, but now I just regret not standing up to them.” Blaine looked right into Kurt’s crystal blue eyes as he came to a stop. “So if you ever get the chance to do what I didn’t, you should take it.”

***

They lumbered on through the snow, finally reaching the peak of a hill with a gentler slope than the last one.

Families stood huddled together while groups of children, wrapped up tighter than the presents under their trees, waddled to sleds and rode down the hill.

Kurt watched a smile crack Blaine’s face and he narrowed his eyes with a light suspicion. “What are you smiling at?”

“We should go sledding.”

“We don’t have a sled..?”

Blaine just picked up his pace to a light jog and headed towards a group of women huddled together. He faced Kurt, but kept up his jog in a backpedal. “Young moms; kind of my bread and butter.”

Kurt huffed out a laugh as he looked on at Blaine introducing himself to the star struck mothers. He offered to take a few selfies with them before shortly returning back to Kurt with—lo and behold—a sled.

A minute later they were at the edge of the slope and Blaine settled himself behind Kurt. Kurt felt his heart racing and if he was being completely honest, he couldn’t tell if it was because of the dropoff or the way Blaine was pressed flush against his back, his arms wrapped snug around Kurt’s waist so that he could take hold of the reins.

Blaine started to scoot the sled forward and Kurt felt his nerves kick in. “Wait!” He cried out.

“Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, I just… despite living in a snow covered town for eighteen years, I’ve never actually been sledding before.”

Blaine leaned forward and rested his head in the space between Kurt’s head and shoulders. “It’s okay,” he murmured. “I’ve got you. You’re safe with me.”

Kurt had absolutely no reason to believe Blaine—considering the short time they’d known each other—but for some reason, he found that he did. He believed he’d be safe with Blaine because he already felt safe with him. Safe enough to tell him about his mom, safe enough to confide in him about his dilemma with his dad, and now, safe enough to go sledding for the first time.

He nodded and felt himself pressing his cheek closer to Blaine’s. Blaine pushed them forward and off they went, down the gentle curve of the hill.

The air started rushing quicker and quicker against Kurt’s face, until they were riding at an enjoyable speed. Kurt felt Blaine’s arms close in a little tighter around him and he turned his head to smile back at the other boy, who graciously returned it.

The smiles were wiped clean off their faces when they faced forward once more and suddenly came into contact with a bump in the hill that sent Blaine tumbling backwards with an “oof.” Kurt managed to stay on, panic rising as he realized he had no control of the sled.

“Oh no. No no no,” Kurt yelped as he approached the sharp incline of a snow bank, unable to do anything to slow down or avoid the oncoming collision.

The sled went up the ramp and Kurt went flying, landing hard on a cleared path of snow he didn’t even have time to recognize as the road. He heard a harsh noise in the distance while he groaned and tried to gather himself. Kurt finally made it to his feet and the (now much louder and closer) noise finally registered as the revving of an engine from an oncoming car that was coming down way too fast for this weather.

The car seemed impossibly close and Kurt wasn’t sure he’d make it out of the way in time.

Out of nowhere, Blaine came racing across the road and practically tackled Kurt to the safety of the other side of the road.

The curly haired boy lay with his body pressed warmly against Kurt’s for a moment before clearing his throat and rolling off to the side.

Kurt let out a breath (of relief or disbelief, he really couldn’t tell) and watched it wisp away into the cold air. After the initial shock faded, Kurt turned his head to look at Blaine, who lay next to him looking just as dazed.

Of all the things he expected to do after a situation like this, feeling a smile start to curl on his lips definitely wasn’t at the top of the list. But Kurt took one look at Blaine’s (horrified) honey colored eyes and couldn’t help but think how ridiculous this whole situation was. Before he could help himself, he exploded into a fit of laughter.

Kurt felt an unfamiliar tingle in his chest—something light and warm, that he maybe only had a memory of. As his laughter grew and he watched a smile spread on Blaine’s lips, the glow spread down through his arms and legs and all the way down to his toes until his entire body felt sunny, despite being surrounded by mounds of snow.

[dontmeanlove]

not a competition

Pairing: peter parker x female!reader

Word Count: 6k

Warnings: a little cussing, nothing major.

Plot: You’re not competing with Peter Parker, that’s just ridiculous and you were not doing it. No matter what MJ said. You were frenemies with Peter Parker and best friends with spotspidey on instagram. You had no idea what it would mean. 

Prompt: Enemies IRL and best friends online

You weren’t competing with Peter Parker. It was a ridiculous concept, you refused to acknowledge that. But if, and only if, you were competing with him, you were winning anyway.

There was this ongoing thing between you two where you weren’t really enemies, you didn’t even talk if you were honest, but the two of you were always trying to one-up the other.

You didn’t know when it all started, but now you announced your grades nonchalantly loud whenever Peter was around and when he was the one with a better grade you rolled your eyes and scoffed. It didn’t matter that you smirked at him, raising an eyebrow whenever you were the one with the better grade.

It was ridiculous really, that’s why you weren’t competing with him. Nope. Nopety no. It was too lame to admit.

“I can’t believe you’re still doing it,” MJ sounded bored. She had her eyebrow raised when you said you got an A- in physics. You refused to blush.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You tried to sound nonchalant but your voice failed you, you face with a slight blush.

You heard Peter tell Ned he got an A+. You squinted your eyes and pouted.

“C’ mon,” MJ nudged you, “Tell him he’s cute, ask him out or something, this weird dance you’re doing is nauseating.”

“Hey,” You protested. “I don’t like him,” your mumble not really convincing. “He is irritating and smart and dorky.”

“Oh,” MJ chuckled. “You’re in way deeper than I thought.”

“I’m not,” You frowned, you barely stopped yourself from stomping your foot because you’d never hear the end of it.

Your phone chimed, you smiled down at the notification. You opened Instagram and tried to contain a smile.

(yourighandle): spotspidey: school is sucking the life outta me

(yourighandle): spotspidey: I think today took like 5 years out of my life span

You chuckled. He was always dramatic. It was a bit funny how you could feel so strongly about a person you didn’t even know. Sometimes you wondered if you were being catfished, like it was a good possibility but, at the same time, you didn’t really care?

yourighandle: ever so dramatic,,, it’s not that bad.

yourighandle: my day was off to a bad start, I got an A-

spotspidey: who’s dramatic now?

yourighandle: you

spotspidey: no :( meany

yourighandle: aw bby you gonna get over it

You smiled down your phone and ran a hand through your hair. The bell rang way too soon and you sighed.

“I always forget about your ig boyfriend,” MJ looked amused.

“That again? Girl, you seriously need new stuff to talk about.”

“What can I do if you’re into two hopeless boys?!”

“I’m not into either of them.”

“Yeah, right.” MJ wasn’t convinced at all. “Let’s go to class, loser.”

You groaned but followed her through the school to your lockers, they were side by side.

“Where’s that loser penis parker?” You heard Flash say with a tone to his voice that made you frown. “You think I can make him cry today?”

You felt pure rage bubble inside you, you turned to where he was standing and smiled sweetly at him. He smiled back at you, looking surprised. You walked to him and put your hands on his shoulders.

“Oh Flash,” You kept your voice sweet and a smile on your face before you knee him in the balls. “Think again before being such an asshole.”

You cleaned your throat, went back to your locker with a victorious smile on your face, got your things and headed to class. He was on the floor cupping his crotch.

“Oh my god,” MJ was laughing by your side. “I can’t believe you did that.”

“Me too,” You laughed along with her. “I’m kinda freaking out.”

“Chill, nobody’s gonna tell on you, everybody knows that Flash is a jerk.”

You shrugged, you didn’t know why you did that. But the thought of anyone messing with Peter Parker after all he went through was too much for you.

Of course, you two had that grades thing going on, but it was never mean or anything. It was like you needed that sense of normalcy that came with this competition (no, you never admitted it was a competition and you never would).

yourighandle: I just kneed a guy in the balls.

You sent to your ig friend as soon as your butt touched the classroom chair. He replied right away.

spotspidey: you go, girl,

spotspidey: what did he do if you don’t mind me asking

yourighandle: asshole bully honestly I don’t know how anyone did it before

spotspidey: that’s even better omg

yourighandle: I can’t help being so cool ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

spotspidey: lol won’t disagree

You smiled at that, Spotspidey was a dork. It was weird he didn’t say what his name was, so you also didn’t share any personal info. You weren’t dumb, stranger danger and all that, your mom taught you right, okay?

It was your side ig account, you only posted edits and artsy stuff. Never your face. Never anything personal, apart from your nickname.

You always commented on spotspidey’s pictures because they were awesome and his captions were always the best, so one day you sent him a message on the dm and it all started.

Nowadays talking to him every day was so part of your routine that when it didn’t happen you felt like an important piece of your day was missing.

You went through your day like a breeze after the encounter with Flash, most of the classes were easy, the homework that sucked.

You were walking out of the door after the long school day, you spotted Peter talking to Ned. As soon as you saw him, he saw you too. He jogged to catch up with you and smiled brightly when he reached you.

“So, I heard you defended my honor today?”

“You honor? Didn’t know you had that, Parker.” You teased him.

“I’m glad you’re still you.” He chuckled.

“He deserves that. Someone had to do something.”

“I’m buzzing that “something” to you means kneeing a guy on the balls and not like report his harassment to the school administration.”

“Oh, please,” You rolled your eyes. “They’d never do anything about it anyway.”

“So now you’re the friendly neighborhood bully avenger?” He was trying not to laugh at his own lame joke, oh god this boy was ridiculously cute.

“I like to think of myself as the unfriendly neighborhood bully avenger, please.”

Peter snorted and you let out a low chuckle, damn Parker.

“Spider-man has tough competition now,” He commented. You were walking together to the subway station. How the tables had turned.

You saw MJ passing by and raising an eyebrow with her lips pursed so as not to laugh, you sent her a glare that wasn’t convincing at all.

“He better watch out,” You said flipping your hair off your shoulder.

You two giggled and bumped shoulders. You were trying to hide a smile.

“Thank you,” Peter turned his head to look at you.

“Anytime,” You smiled at him.

“Good thing I can count on you to save me.”

“I wouldn't go that far, but I know a friend who knows a friend that can keep an eye on you, you princess in distress.”

Peter chuckled again, shaking his head as if he found the idea quite ridiculous.

“Yeah, I guess I won’t need that,” He ended up saying.

“Why do I feel I’m not getting the joke?”

“Because maybe you’re not,” Peter shrugged. You elbowed him.

“Hey,” You protested.

You ended up going home together and somehow you were now sharing your earphones with Peter as you jammed to Paramore. People who didn’t like Paramore couldn’t be trusted.

You arrived at home and as you slumped into the couch you shoot a message to spotspidey.

yourighandle: do u like Paramore

spotspidey: duh?!?!

yourighandle: good

yourighandle: our friendship was on the line dude

spotspidey: pfff as if my music taste wasn’t on point

yourighandle: tell me more about it

spotspidey: wow it’s like you’re asking me to strip

spotspidey: strip my soul right on this chat

You snorted out loud. Oh god, he was aDORKable. And by even thinking about this you were also in the dork section right beside him.

You sighed. What wouldn’t you give to know who he was so you could hang out. What if you had already seen him on the street or talked to him, or you two went to midtown. What if you two had classes together or went to the same Starbucks all the time?

The day went by just fine, it was starting to get dark out and you were hungry. Your parents were still at work, something had come up and you were going to get take out from the restaurant two blocks away.

You got your food and you felt weird. You snapped a pic for spotspidey and he replayed the story.

spotspidey: thanks for reminding me how hungry I am

yourighandle: anytime ;)

You started walking home from the restaurant and as you passed through an alley someone grabbed you and put a hand on your mouth.

You tried to scream and kick the guy but he was stronger than you. Maybe thirty seconds passed and suddenly Spider-man was in front of you.

“You should really let her go.” He said, his voice weirdly pissed off.

The guy was stunned and dropped his hands quickly. Spider-man put his hands on your shoulders and down your arms.

“You okay?” He asked softly.

“Yeah,” You mumbled, eyes wide still in shock.

The guy started to run away but Spider-man shot a web at him and glued him to the wall.

You were trying to take deep breaths and calm yourself down. It was a fucking big scare and you just wanted to cry. You felt arms around you and stopped breathing for a second. Spider-man was hugging you.

“It’s okay, you’re safe now.” He whispered to you, holding you close.

“Okay, thank you.” You said shakily.

“Let’s get you home, shall we?” Spider-man said and you just nodded. He wrapped his arm around your waist and suddenly you were in the air, swinging with him.

“I live like a block away,” You said breathlessly.

“Cool, which house?”

“The brownstone apartment building, right there” You pointed at your home.

He took you to the top of the building and let you down.

“Are you really okay?” He sounded concerned.

“Yeah, nothing really bad happened,” You shrugged trying to convince yourself too. “Thank you,” You smiled shyly at him.

“Anytime,” He rubbed the back of his neck. You bit your lip thinking if you should do what you were about to do. You guessed there wasn’t a better time than now.

“Uh, it’s gonna sound really weird considering you basically just saved my life but like I have a friend who is a great fan of yours and like maybe, uh, could you take a pic with me?” You were blushing and speaking really fast. Spider-man chuckled and looked down.

“Of course, c’ mon.” He reached for you and pulled you close.

You got your phone out and snapped a couple of pictures, one you were smiling and the other you were pulling a silly face and Spider-man had a peace sign behind your head. You giggled while putting your phone back inside the pocket of your pants.

“Thank you again, he’ll be thrilled and also thank you for, you know, saving me.”

“Nah, it’s just my job.”

“The friendly neighborhood Spider-man,” You joked.

“I mean, yeah,” He sounded a bit embarrassed.

“Cool, I’m called the unfriendly neighborhood bully avenger.”

Spider-man let a laugh out like it was punched out of him.

“Cool, I mean, if I ever have a bully problem I know who to bring them to.”

“Count on me, Spidey,” You make finger guns and winks at him.

You both giggle and you point at the door. “I better get going, you know, I bet you still have people to save and stuff.”

“I guess my shift is over,” He shrugged.

“Even superheroes have to rest I guess.”

“And do homework,” Spidey said, looking startled right after like he said something wrong.

“Homework is the worst! So, good luck with that.”

You waved goodbye and headed to the door, having your back to the hero.

“Good night, Spidey. And thank you again,” You turned one last time, he was still watching you leave. He nodded his head and waved a little. You grinned at him and wondered how that was your life.

You got home and plated the food. Your heart was still beating fast, you tried to make sense of what happened tonight, shuddering when you thought about what could have happened. Thank God Spider-man showed up. You took a deep breath.

yourighandle: I guess I did your job tonight

spotspidey: how so ma’am?

yourighandle sent a photo reply.

spotspidey: holy shit

spotspidey: that’s your face

spotspidey: by Spider-man’s face

yourighandle: we’re bros

yourighandle sent a photo reply.

spotspidey: I have no words rn

spotspidey: you’re distracting me with your cute face I’m trying to do homework

yourighandle: your face is cute

yourighandle: oh wait I guess that’s not an insult

yourighandle: you're distracting yourself

yourighandle: get down to business

spotspidey: to defeat the Huns?

yourighandle: really?

yourighandle: you gonna hit me w Disney songs and expect me not to distract you?

yourighandle sent a video reply.

Now that spotspidey had seen your face you didn’t have much to hide. Even if he didn’t feel comfortable showing you himself, it was nice to have this new layer to your relationship.

You sent him a video blasting ‘make a man out of you’ and couldn’t care less.

spotspidey: this video will be forever kept in my heart

yourighandle: I am all in your heart already silly

spotspidey: like a murmur?

yourighandle: like a heart attack

spotspidey: that’s mean

yourighandle sent a photo reply.

spotspidey: you’re killing me

yourighandle: maybe that’s the goal

yourighandle: you’ll never know my true plan

spotspidey: I guess I’ll have to call a guy

yourighandle: hope it’s not my bud spidey, he’ll fight for my honor

spotspidey: I’m not questioning that at all

yourighandle: lol go do your homework loser

spotspidey: responsible loser at least

yourighandle: true that

You laid on your bed that night thinking about the three boys you talked to today. Peter was funny and dorky, much nicer than you’d ever expect. Spider-man was caring and so nice, too. And spotspidey was awesome, funny, a complete nerd but in the best way possible. You sighed, what a weird day.

The next day at school was ordinary, for the most part at least. Peter waved at you and smiled brightly, MJ elbowed you because of that and you were sure you’d never hear the end of it.

“Guess you talked to your boyfriend irl.”

“I can’t believe you just said ‘irl’, you’re a basic girl now, MJ.”

She gasped pretending to be offended, at least you hoped she was pretending. She had a too good poker face.

“You get the basic white boyfriend and I am the basic girl?”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” You pouted, your voice way too close to a whine for your liking.

MJ snorted and gave you a pointed look, one you definitely decided to ignore. You headed to class and it was just as boring as usual until AP biology. It was one of the classes you shared with Peter.

The teacher assigned a project to be done in pairs and chose said pairs. You were developing a project with Peter Parker.

“Hey, partner,” Peter said with a smile on his face, way too coy to fit him.

“Hey, pal.”

“So, project…” He touched the back of his head.

“My house or yours?” You tilted your head to the side.

“Uh,” He seemed to think. “Let’s go to mine.”

“Okay,” You smiled up at him. “Meet me at my locker?”

“Sure thing,” Peter was at the door to leave for his next class. “See you later alligator.”

You laughed, “See you, loser.”

“Hey, not nice.”

“Never claimed I was,” You shrugged, the smile still on your face, it was getting harder and harder to be serious whenever the boy was around.

Peter shook his head and chuckled looking down, when he looked up at you with a bright smile on his face and eyes sparkling you sucked in a breath and bit your lip, forgetting how to breathe for a second.

He left and you finished packing your bag, also leaving for your next class. At least you shared it with MJ.

It was not good that you had this class with MJ, she was teasing mercilessly about Peter and spotspidey.

“God, your ig boyfriend is being cheated on.” MJ had a frown on her face. “I never thought you’d do that, totally surprised and disappointed.”

“What are you even talking about?” You chuckled.

“You and Peter making heart eyes at each other and you misleading your internet boyfriend, duh.”

“Uh, no to both of these statements,” You tilted your head.

MJ chuckled and revolved her focus to the assignment the teacher had asked. Or so you thought. She lifted her notebook and there was a drawing of you and Peter with your chins leaning on your hands and big silly hearts over your eyes.

You laughed and pushed MJ’s shoulders, “C’mon, MJ, lay off, let me live.”

“I appreciate how you didn’t deny anything.”

“I’m not leading Spotspidey on,” You frowned. “We’re friends, that’s all.”

MJ nodded but pointed at the drawing one more time.

“And about Peter, I’m not even gonna dignify you with an answer.” MJ hummed and smirked, you kept looking at each other until both of you cracked and started laughing out loud, the teacher shushing you and giving you a stern look.

“Sorry,” You said and went back to your assignment.

The class was over and with that, you headed back to your locker to leave. Peter was already waiting for you leaning on the lockers by yours. Damn, he was cute. Who were you trying to kid?

He silently waited for you to get your things ready, looking down at his phone at one point and typing fast.

“Let’s go?”

“Sure,” He pocketed his phone and started walking by your side.

“How do you feel about a sub at Delmar’s?” Peter said looking at you.

“Fine by me.”

They headed to the snack bar and got two sandwiches to go, going to Peter’s right after.

“How do you want to do this?” You asked as soon as you stepped foot on his house. Peter blushed, the tips of his ears getting red as well as his cheeks.

You chuckled. “Get your head out of the gutter, Parker.”

“Easier said than done,” He mumbled. You didn’t think you were supposed to have heard that.

You followed him to his room and sat on the bed, opening your backpack and taking the Biology book and your notebook out.

You started well, Peter doing some research on his laptop as you took some notes and included some things from the book, eating the sandwich between one information and the other. Peter started writing the essay with the information you were giving out, it was easy to work with him, he was crazy smart.

Your mind started wandering as you looked at his room. You hadn’t paid much attention when you first got in.

“Oh my god,” You gasped.

“What is it?” Peter sounded concerned, he was frowning.

“You have the millennium falcon lego set IN A BOX?” You were disappointed with him, seriously. “How dare you, Parker?!”

“Uh, sorry?”

“You should be! Let’s build it!”

You got up from the bed and touched his arm, sliding your hand until you reached his hand and pulled him up.

“But the project…” Peter tried to argue.

“Please,” You stretched the word and pouted. “I promise we’ll finish it later.”

That’s how you ended up spending three hours to build half the ship. You couldn’t remember when you had more fun, ‘God, I’m such a nerd.’ You thought to yourself as you laughed at one of Peter’s science puns.

You retrieved your phone to snap a pic to send to Spotspidey on ig, then took a picture with your thumbs up and Peter looking down in the background.

You sent it to him with a smiley face emoji and smiled to yourself before looking up and seeing Peter looking so cute you might cry.

He was holding the BB8 toy with a bright smile on his lips. “This is the cutest thing I have ever seen,” He said.

“Me too,” You must have had a look on your face that gave you away because you had Peter blushing softly.

“Now I have to take a picture of this moment,” You held your phone up and Peter put the little BB8 near his face and smiled big enough for his eyes to get tiny. Your heart warmed up with that picture and you promised yourself you would cherish it forever.

“This is the best picture I’ve ever seen,” You announce before chuckling softly.

You posted it on your story and not 5 minutes had passed before you received a message from Ned.

(yourighandle): leedstheway: the BETRAYAL this has

(yourighandle): leedstheway: I’m disowning Peter

(yourighandle): leedstheway: I’m calling the police on this crime

“I think Ned is upset,” You turned your phone to Peter for him to see the messages.

Peter laughed, “Excuse me,” He took the phone from your hands and took a picture of himself pouting.

You may or may not have melted right there. Maybe MJ has been right with all her annoying crush thing.

Thankfully you had Instagram save all your pictures, so you had Peter’s pout on your gallery. Small miracles and all that.

You two perked up when you heard the front down open and close.

“My aunt’s home.”

“Cool.”

You two continued building the ship until there was a knock on the door.

“Hey!” May said with a smile on her face.

“Hello,” You smiled back at her.

“I’m May, Peter’s aunt,” She waved.

“Oh, I’m (y/n), nice to meet you, May,” You waved back. “We’re working on a biology project.”

“I see…” May raised an eyebrow and you and Peter had the decency to blush. “Okay, kids, I’m ordering Chinese for dinner.”

“Maybe I should go,” You started getting up, your cheeks still red.

“Don’t be silly, have dinner with us.”

You looked at Peter not knowing what to do. “Stay,” He said. You nodded and sat back.

“I don’t think we’re finishing it today.” You pouted.

“Maybe you can come over tomorrow?” Peter touched the back of the neck, looking embarrassed.

“I’d love to,” You smiled shyly. You heard May calling you so you put the unfinished ship to the side. “We should also finish our essay?”

“Of course,” Peter has that sly smile on his face, “I still have to beat you for valedictorian.”

“Only in your dreams, Parker.”

You kept lightly pushing each other before you started laughing. May was looking at you with a knowing smile on her face, turning around when you both looked at her. You would figure it out yourselves.

They ate dinner in comfortable silence, making small comments about the food and how hungry they were.

“I’ll take you home, (Y/N).”

“I’ll be okay!” You brushed it off. “I live like five blocks away.”

“I insist,” Peter pressed.

“No, really, I’ll be just fine! I promise I’ll call you when I arrive home.”

Peter seemed neither confident nor happy about it, the look on his face making it clear, but he let you do as you wished anyway.

You were about one block away when Spider-man landed on your side. You jumped a foot away, startled.

“Waking by yourself at this time, miss?”

“You’re my mom now, Mr. Spider-man?”

“Nah, just your hero.”

“Good, will you take me home?” What? You wanted to swing through the air in Spider-man’s arms! Who could judge you for this selfish wish? Spider-man could, but he didn’t. He actually chuckled and wrapped an arm around your waist and shot his web. You went flying through the air securely in Spider-man’s arms.

You two landed softly on the top of your building.

“All safe and sound, princess?”

“If you ever call me princess again I’m going to knee you in the balls.”

“You really have something for kneeing men in the balls,” He said, voice playful.

“It’s what they deserve,” You pause frowning. “How’d you know that?”

“haha, interesting question but now I gotta go, you know, save people and stuff.” And as sudden as he appeared he left. You frowned but got in your building, going down the stairs to your floor.

You called Peter to tell him you’re home safe and sound.

“Hey, Pete.”

“Uh, hey.”

“I’m home, just so you know.”

“Oh, okay, glad you’re safe,” He giggled nervously.

“uh, okay? See you tomorrow.”

“See you, good night.”

“Night,” You said before hanging up.

He was so odd, so not himself on the phone that it was weird. You check your ig for Spotspidey and he had just answered.

spotspidey: haha good fun u had today

yourighandle: yeah it was awesome

yourighandle: the millennium falcon is almost done!!!!

spotspidey: cool

You frowned, why was spotspidey so weird now? Why was everybody acting odd? Maybe it was just you.

The next day wasn’t much different. Peter was clearly ignoring you, on lunch break, you walked to him and he turned red and mumbled he had already finished the essay and Ned wanted to finish building the millennium falcon with him, dismissing you greatly.

You had no reaction but to nod stunned. You couldn’t believe Peter was treating you this way. He had never treated you like this, not even when you were low key enemies.

“Okay,” You whispered before walking away, feeling so utterly disappointed you didn’t really know how to act.

You tried to reach out to Spotspidey, to have some comfort but was left on read. Your eyes started filling up with water and you tried to take a shaky breath and stop yourself crying in the middle of the hall.

MJ saw you and came running. You let her wrap her arms around you and then you couldn’t stop yourself. You cried quietly in her arms. She must have pulled you to the side because now you were by the wall.

You looked up, bottom lip wobbling, “Try taking deep breaths, will you?” Her voice was soft and she ran a hand through your hair.

You did as she instructed and started to calm down.

“What happened?”

“Peter is acting really weird and my ig friend isn’t talking to me either and everything was just fine yesterday but now it’s all crumbling down.”

You felt tears threaten to come back, your voice sounding strangled. You didn’t know why it was affecting you so badly.

“What if it’s something I did? It’s my fault, I fuck everything up.”

“No,” MJ said sternly. “You don’t get to talk about my best friend like that.”

“MJ,” You whispered. “Thank you.”

“Boys are dumb, (Y/N),” She hugged you. “Don’t let them make you think less of yourself.”

She let you go and grabbed your hand. “Now let’s wash this face and get our shit together.”

You chuckled softly and followed her. She was the best best friend you could have ever asked for.

After washing your face and breathing deeply you headed to the rest of the classes for the day and wished for them to go quickly. You couldn’t wait to go home.

When you were leaving you bumped into someone, you looked up to apologize and it was Peter. You shot him a hurt look and mumble an apology, not giving him time to reply and left with your head down.

You decided you would try again with Spotspidey, maybe he was just busy.

yourighandle: hey dude (seen)

You waited for hours deliberately trying not to check your phone. You did all your school work, procrastinated a bit, made dinner with your mom, watched a couple episodes of queer eye to pretend you were crying because of that and not because your online best friend was ignoring you.

He was ignoring you. You were sure of that after the second day he refused to answer your messages. You could see him typing but soon he would delete it and not send anything.

The message you were so anxiously waiting came after the fourth day trying to reach out to him.

spotspidey: leave me alone.

It hurt, but it hurt so much more than you ever thought it would. The thought that he could have been just playing with you, that he had been collecting info, or that it meant nothing to him made it sting.

You were waiting for the pictures of you being silly pop out throughout the school, or on the internet. You were waiting for the other shoe to drop. You were waiting for a sign that it all meant something other than you being so easily discarded that it wasn’t even worth a second thought.

All these days when things had been weird you had seen Spider-man. He was always somewhere near you when you went out. As if he was watching over you exclusively. It made you angry.

You saw a red suit pick out of an alley near your house.

“Leave me ALONE,” You said loudly. “Stop doing this weird stalking thing, dude.”

Spider-man got out of the alley with his head down.

“Sorry,” He mumbled. “I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“Why?” You laughed bitterly. “I’m just some lame girl you saved once, nothing more, nothing special about me.”

“Don’t- don’t say that, please.”

“It’s true,” You said with finality to your tone. “Now, if you could please stop doing what you’re doing-“

“Why?”

“Because- because seeing you reminds me of people I’d better forget.”

“Oh,” He said softly.

“I’m sorry I’m being ungrateful right now but- but- oh my god,” Your voice broke and you started to cry (fricking cry!) in the middle of the street. “I gotta go.”

You all but ran the rest of the way to your house, feeling embarrassed and just sad.

You put on your earphones, laying on your bed and just as you were about to put some music on you saw a notification that made your breath catch on your throat.

(yourighandle): spotspidey sent a video.

You sucked in a breath and clicked on the ig icon, went to your messages and clicked on his icon. You wanted to delay this as much as you possibly could.

Spider-man appeared on your phone screen and you sat up immediately.

“I know I fucked up, but this-“ He paused to take his mask off. You gasp out loud as you saw Peter Parker’s face, eyes bloodshot as if he had been crying, hair a mess and looking so soft you just wanted to hold him in your arms.

“This is why I disappeared. You knew me three different ways and I thought-“ The vídeo ended. There was another one.

“I thought you’d be disappointed to know they were me. Penis Parker, the loser.” Peter sounded defeated and as if he would start crying any minute. The video was over and you had a hand over your mouth, too shocked to do anything else.

There was another video and a message.

spotspidey: this is me, I know it’s not what you expected.

spotspidey: or wanted anyway

“So like if you could keep this a secret,” Peter had his hand in the back of his head. “I’m sorry, (y/n).”

Your heart was beating so hard it seemed like it was going to pop out of your chest. Your finger moved on its own accord and suddenly you were calling Peter.

“Hel-“ You didn’t give him a chance to speak.

“You’d never disappoint me, Peter Parker.”

You heard him sigh. “You don’t have to do that,” he mumbled.

“Peter, listen to me now. You are the smartest guy I’ve ever met, you’re a great friend, you are so sweet and kind to everyone you meet, you are an amazing person and you don’t get to talk about my best friend like that. You’re funny and yes, Parker, you’re a nerd! But in the best way possible.”

You were a little out of breath because you were speaking fast in case Peter decided to hang up.

“You are everything, Peter.” You finished your little speech.

“I-“ He chuckled sounding self-conscious. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Come over so we can hug it out.”

“Okay.”

You waited for less than five minutes and Spidey was knocking on your window. You opened it and he slipped inside the room.

“Hey,” You watched as he took his mask off.

“It’s really you,” you were still impressed and a bit astonished by it all.

“Yeah,” Peter smiled sadly.

You walked up to him and pulled him into a hug. He melted into it, wrapping his arms around your waist and bringing you close. Your bodies molded into each other, you fit like a missing jigsaw puzzle piece. You breathed him in and he did the same.

You had your eyes closed and was just enjoying being that close to him. Peter, spotspidey, Spider-man. They were all the same.

You pulled away, hands resting on Peter’s shoulders.

“It might mess everything up,” you said before leaning in and kissing him on the lips. It was just a press of lips at first but then your lips started moving against his and it changed everything.

You ran your fingers through his hair and he pulled you impossibly closer by the waist, fingers slipping under your shirt to touch your bare hips. You split in order to take a breath.

“So…” Peter said.

“That’s that,” both of you chuckled feeling a little embarrassed.

“That’s cool.”

“Yeah?” You asked with red cheeks and a small smile on your face.

“Yeah, I’d like you to do that again.”

“Many times?” You pushed him a little.

“All the time from now on,” He was still holding you and smiling.

“I could get on board with that.”

“We still need to talk, I kept things from you.”

“Aw please, later? We can talk about all the feelings later,” You leaned on his chest, he chuckled hugging you tight.

“What do you suggest we do now, then?”

“Nap, cuddle, make out. In that order, please.”

“Maybe I should change,” He suggested. He was probably right, it would be weird if your parent caught you snuggling someone dressed as Spider-man.

“I’m gonna grab some sweatpants for you and me.”

You rummaged through your closet and you two quickly changed, turning your back to the other to give them a sense of privacy. Maybe it would have been easier to go to the bathroom but it would take longer and you wanted to cuddle that boy to death right away.

You settled on the bed and Peter spooned you. “I don’t know why I have to be the little spoon,” you complained. “You deserve to be held and cared for too.”

It was much easier to say these things when you weren’t facing him, so you just told him everything that was on your mind.

“We can switch later, grumpy.”

“Hey!” You protested with no heat.

You enjoyed being held and could feel his breath on the back of your neck, it calmed and settled you.

“I forgive you,” you whispered suddenly. “If that’s what you need to hear. You were always forgiven, Pete.”

Your voice was getting slower and deeper was sleep took over you.

“Thanks,” was the last thing you heard him say before falling asleep in Peter Parker’s arms.

[sourwolfstories]

Hey! Can you rec some sterek university AUs pls? Thanks you!

Oh boy… okay so this is one of my favorite tropes and I have a crap ton of these. I couldn’t fit all of my faves on here (well i could have but it would have taken forever and the list would have been HUGE) but here are several for you to enjoy!! :)

No Homo by orphan_account

Stiles’ sophomore year starts something like this:3 FourLokos+ 1 peer-pressuring cat- 1 best bro to end all best bros= 1 Craigslist ad headline that reads “str8 dude - m4m - strictly platonic”.Derek is the fool who replies.

It Started With A Whisper by allyasavedtheday, warmth

“I’m Stiles, by the way. In case you did, you know, need something, cause Librarian is kind of an old lady term and… yeah. So, Stiles. S-T-I-L-E-S, like that one dude in that band from the UK.”

Or the one where Derek and Stiles are both in college, Stiles is the school’s librarian, and Derek is just trying to study.

The Company I Keep by secondstar

Stiles has a favorite table at the library. Then some asshole comes along and steals it from him.

Maybe by MellytheHun

Tumblr Prompt:

my fave overheard on campus moment of all time was the two guys who sat behind me in pop culture theory

as class was starting one of them was like “so… do you want a blowjob after this” in a rly bored voice, and then the second guy was like [pause][dejected sigh] “yes”

Not Mine to Love by Sabeley

It should have been awkward then, as the haze of lust left them, but Derek really didn’t mind the fact that Stiles was collapsed on his chest, breathing heavily. He didn’t care that he was naked in his roommate’s bed, coming down from the best orgasm he had ever had. He didn’t even care that he had just lost his virginity to someone who wasn’t Jennifer.

“That can’t happen again,” he said simply.

It happened twice more that night and it never really stopped.

The Hunt by HenryMercury

Stiles wakes up with a hangover and the phone number of the most attractive (and the frowniest) guy he’s ever encountered.

…Who also happens to be the front-man for the band Scott’s just joined.

Pushed to the Limit by kittylovessterek (kitty_fic)

Watching Stiles get ready to go out is torture. The universe is obviously testing him. There’s only so much temptation one werewolf can take.

I Keep On Fallin’ by xKookiesandCreamx

Ow fuck!“

Stiles sprung up out of his slumber, dazedly looking around for the cause of his roommate’s pained sounding exclamation.

He got his answer when he flicked his desktop lamp on and looked to see Derek sprawled in a graceless heap on the floor by Stiles’s bed.

~~~

Or a little college au ficlet in which a middle of the night accident actually turns out to be a not so bad thing after all.

Hot Nerd Alert by alisvolatpropiis

Derek can’t believe he’s actually doing this: taking a selfie snap of the guy he’s been crushing on for weeks to prove to Danny that one, yes, he really does exist, and two, he really is that hot and thus he is totally justified in being too scared to make a move.

Or you know, even talk to the guy outside of the class they share.

In his defense, this isn’t just any guy. This THE guy. Hot Nerd. The utterly adorable but still somehow insanely sexy freshman in his twentieth century American Lit class who he’s been lusting over since the first day of the semester. If there were ever a time for him to be that person who tries to be subtle while taking snaps of other people, this is it.

Love Comes in Spurts by talktowater

Stiles has always had sort of a hero worship thing going on with Scott’s step-brother Derek so moving into a house with him freshman year was basically fulfilling a childhood fantasy. Discovering how Derek was putting himself through college, well that was a whole other fantasy that Stiles didn’t even know he had.

Your First by Simone (fvckyourfandoms)

It’s Stiles freshman year of college and he decides to rush a fraternity. He becomes Vice President Derek Hale’s favorite pledge and they end up much closer than expected.

or

A story in which Derek can’t keep his hands off of Stiles’ sweet, irresistible, virgin ass and fails at not feeling him up.

A Comprehensive Study in Getting a Boyfriend via Persuasive Essay-Writing by Luddleston

Stiles is a junior Journalism major who takes Rhetorical Strategies because it covers his English requirement. He’s also trying to be subtle about the way he keeps checking out his professor.

Derek is a grad student teaching his first class ever. He also has the most annoying student on the face of the planet, and is done reading essays about the history of male circumcision.

Flirty e-mails are exchanged, Stiles spends way too much time in Derek’s office, and they fall in love over a mutual hatred for APA formatting.

take two and hit to right by gottalovev

Stiles enjoys ogling the very handsome shortstop of the varsity team while in class. One day, when he cannot have the seat he prefers to watch the baseball diamond, he starts a conversation on his desk (including cartoon characters and eventually sharing secrets).

Unfortunately, Stiles’ first meeting with the hot shortstop - crowd darling Derek Hale - doesn’t go well. When Hale turns out to be Stiles’ desk pen pal, will they be able to move past first impressions?

If You Wanna Be My Roomie (Lover) by xKookiesandCreamx

Realistically, Stiles knew that the local University’s popularity and commonality meant that many members of his graduating high school class would be starting the Fall 2016 semester alongside him, but he never expected his longtime crush to be one of them. Even more so, he never expected said crush to be assigned as his roommate…oh boy.

Just to See You Again by MellytheHun

A sterek college!AU where writing student Stiles specializes in love letters, runs a blog about it and can be commissioned to write love letters on behalf of lovers who are at a loss for words.

He makes some cash, he’s good at what he does (especially when he gets to be a little more explicit in his letters), it pays for his textbooks and that’s all he’s really looking for and life is fine. That is, until someone anonymously commissions him to write a love letter to mathematics student, Derek Hale.

It’s Happening by isthatbloodonhisshirt

Derek stopped listening to him, brain going a mile a minute.

Derek, it’s fucking happening!Derek, please!

He would recognize that fucking voice anywhere.

Two years. Two fucking years had passed, and now this little shit was standing in front of him, speaking his name, and grinning like an idiot.

“It’s you,” Derek said, earning him a confused look from Stiles. “The phone call. Two years ago. It was you.”

Beauty and the Ex by aggybird

Stiles doesn’t want to screw up his chances with Josh, so he does something he may regret: he goes to Derek Hale, Josh’s intimidating ex-boyfriend, for dating advice.

Things don’t go according to plan. But with a little magic (and werewolves) they might go all right.

We’re caught in stone, you know we might not make it by LunaCanisLupus_22

He does this thing then, while Stiles is watching, rolls his left shoulder a little as if he’s adjusting the books in his arms and suddenly Stiles recognises him from the gesture.

“Oh my god,” he cries, dumping his books, bag and coffee into one big mess on the ground and rushing over to them at once.

Or the one where Derek and Stiles are childhood buddies who lost touch and reconnect by chance at college. Only they end up doing a lot more than just reconnecting.

There is a Brotherhood by minusoneday

So far, college has taught Stiles three things:

1) Eight am classes are cruel and unusual and should be avoided at all costs, even if it means having to enroll in something truly hideous instead, like Econ 101.

2) Dorm security is just as tight as Stiles’ orientation leader had promised it would be, and the dude guarding Scott’s dorm in particular does not respond well to bribes.

3) Mrs. McCall clearly had no clue what she was talking about when she’d insisted that Scott and Stiles needed to branch out and room with strangers, so it’s all her fault that Scott ended up with a total dick of a roommate and Stiles got stuck all the way across campus with some guy who has a girlfriend two towns over and is thus never around.

‘Linski’s Late Night Antidote To Lame by WhoNatural

Where Stiles has his own college radio show, and the mysterious, faceless Derek is his number one fan.

Also there’s this really hot guy he keeps meeting in the library who totally hates his guts.

Inside This Place Is Warm by wolfcloaks

Coming down; One love, two mouths

Stiles Stilinski:

-Senior at Berkley-Double majoring in Human Biology and Biomedical Engineering-Student Librarian-Closet Artist-Basket case extrodanaire-Hopelessly crushing on Derek Hale (read as: pining)

Derek Hale:

-Grad Student at Berkley-Philosophy Major-Dog enthusiast-Does not cry during The Notebook, fuck you,Laura-Is definitely not pining over the librarian with the cute moles-Would very much like to tell the librarian’s curly haired boyfriend to fuck off

Or

Where Derek and Stiles are complete dweebs in love and jump to horribly inaccurate conclusions

Or

When your meet-cute turns into a bit of an (light) angst fest but it’s all ok in the end

———————

If you want to find more college/university goodness you can check out my tag for it here

[the-is13]

Pinch of Salt Pt. 2

Description:  You didn’t expect to be working tonight. It was a regular Friday night, or so you thought. Two beautiful men happen to come into the small pizza joint, one with particularly captivating hazel eyes.

Characters: Jared, Jensen, Reader, OFC’s OMC’s

Relationship: Jared x Reader

Warnings:  None really, cursing? A bit of fluff

Word Count: 1804, not as long but oh well

A/N: So this is my first fic, I read a lot but have never wrote anything. This stemmed from a dream I had. For the purpose of this fic its set in early stages of the boys filming Supernatural. Jared is a bit younger, late twenties. Him and Gen are friends but nothing more. This purely fiction! I mean no harm to J2 or their families, I love them all the to moon and back. Any hate will not be tolerated. Please be kind and let me know if you liked it!

Thanks as ALWAYS to my Alycat even after being sick you still beta for me @team-free-will-you-idjits-67 love youuu 

Part two

*Your POV*

“YOU’VE GOTTA BE KIDDING MEEEE!!!!” Hannah practically screeched on the other end of the line, nearly bursting your eardrum.

“No, Han, I would definitely not kid you about this,” you deadpanned.

“How in the world did my best friend manage to meet Jared fuckin’ Padalecki and get his number all in one night?! Girl, did you sell your soul? How is this real?” She questioned

Truthfully, you were wondering the same. No one ever showed an interest in you. Well, except for grabby drunks. Now here you were with a tv star’s phone number and a supernaturally hot one at that.

“Ha, I really dunno Han, but I’m pretty sure I didn’t sell my soul. I think I would remember.” You laughed slightly at her statement of selling your soul.

Hannah had always been a character, it's why you got along so well. She was the crazy to your normal. You were two halves of the same piece. She pushed you when you needed it and you toned her down when she became too much.

When she graduated college with some scientifically geological degree she moved off to Denver to pursue her career, which you still weren't exactly sure what it was, but you supported her through and through. That left you all alone in San Antonio. You were supposed to stay here together and live the dream. Although you were still trying to figure out what that dream was, you were supposed to do it together, just like everything else in life.

But in traditional Hannah fashion, she fell in love with the environment and decided she was going to do everything she could to save it. You were a little sad that she wanted to move away after graduation, but she always promised to visit, even if it had been a little while.

You just missed your best friend. You were too caught up in wishing she was here with you freaking out alongside, that you momentarily zoned out.

“Y/N?! You still with me here?? Heeelllloooo..” She said trying to catch your attention.

“Yeah, sorry Han, I’m here. I just wish you were here with me. You know I miss you and our girl talk.” You said with a bit of sadness in your voice that didn’t go unnoticed.

“Sweetie, I know, as do I. You just need to put yourself out there and make some friends.” She replied sympathetically with a tinge of hurt lacing her words.

“But you’re my friend Hannah.. No one is going to know me as well as you,” You laughed half heartedly trying to lighten the mood, “I’m not sure I want anyone to know me like you do.”

She chuckled lightly but, as always, could see right through your rouse. You could hear her sigh through the phone, you knew what was coming next, she was about to whip you into shape.

“Y/n,“ Uh oh, mom voice, it was definitely coming. “I know I left you for work, but that does not mean you need to throw a little pity party for yourself. I’ve been gone for 8 months! You can’t be a hermit as much as I know you’d like that, you need to put yourself out there.” Another sigh lingered through the phone “I know you’re feeling overwhelmed, you miss me, you miss mom, but I think that you’ve hit a wall and Jaaaared,” She drawled out his name almost seductively, “Is going to be the one to break through it! When was the last time you got laid?!”

You nearly choked on the water you had been drinking listening to her monologue spitting it all over your lap. “Uh-eh, what?! Why does it matter? My love life has nothing to do with this!” You exclaimed.

“Excuse me! Yes it does! You’ve been so uptight since Cole and what was that? Two years ago??” She exclaimed with a hint of irritation.

Getting slightly irritated with her tone you snarked back, “You know very well what me and Cole had was complicated and he’s the one who decided to cheat! That asshole was fucking with her for seven months behind my back!”

“This is my point, you’re wound up, you need to get laid, like now.” She huffed back at you.

“Okay, whatever, besides the point. What in the world makes you think that Jared is going to sleep with me?! He probably just feels sorry me.” Now it was your turn to sigh. “I’m so pathetic and he knows it, I definitely don’t need sympathy sex, and god knows Jared Padalecki isn’t going to give it to me.” You whined.

“Alright y/n do NOT make me jump through this phone and beat your ass!” Hanah yelled at you. “He obviously gave you his number for a reason! Why can’t you just give him a chance? Who cares if he’s famous? Maybe he just wants to have a normal life and maybe you can give it to him?” She questioned.

You really didn’t know how to answer, you never thought of it like that. You had been too wrapped up in feeling sorry for yourself that it never crossed your mind that Jared might want normal. What did that even mean? Normal. Your life was normal, a bit boring, but fairly normal.

A fuzzy voice snapped you back to reality and out of your thoughts. “Y/N! Are you listening to me, like at all?”

You cleared your throat, “What? Of course, Han. I’m always listening to you.”

“Uh-huh, sure.” She snipped back before sighing into the phone once more, “Just give him a chance, please. He might be the thing you need. A friend and maybe even one with benefits at that.”  You could practically hear her wiggling her brows.

“Haaaaan-” You were about to reprimand her for being so vulgar, but didn’t get the chance as your phone chimed in your ear. “Just a sec, I think someone texted me...” You told her, pulling your phone away from your face.

You clicked open your messages wondering who would be texting you at this hour as you glanced at the clock on your phone, 11:54pm. Wow, you didn’t think two hours could’ve passed so quickly, but then again, when you talked to Hannah time always seemed to fly.

Going back to your messages you opened it and screamed out loud which had Hannah effectively screaming on the other end as well.

11:53pm: I really did have a good time tonight, I don’t want to seem like I’m coming on too strong but I really wanna get to know you better. I have to fly back out to Vancouver tomorrow afternoon, but I would really love it if you could join me for coffee. :)  -Jare

You were stunned. You couldn’t even breathe. Hannah yelling through the phone at you barely registered in your ears as your heart was pounding so hard.

“Holy shit,” You whispered

By some miracle you came back to reality. Ignoring the yelling on the other end of the line you brought your phone back to your face.

“It was him..” Was all you could muster.

“IT WAS WHO?? I NEED SPECIFICS, DETAILS, GOD, Y/N, DON’T BE VAGUE!” She continued to scream.

“Jared” You whispered. “I-it was him.. H-he wants to meet..”

“WHAT! What did I tell you?? I’m always right and you know it!” She snarked. “Now what’re you going to say? ‘Yes’ obviously, but you gotta be cool, let's face it y/n/n, you’re two gray hairs from being more lame than Mema, and you knoooow she’s lame. I mean, who eats dinner at 3pm and goes to bed at 6?!”

“I am not!” You huffed. Although, as usual, Hannah was right. You were lame. You didn’t have a life outside of work. You just sat at home and watched Netflix or read a book. ‘God I am so lame,’ you sighed to yourself.  

“Whatever you want to tell yourself y/n/n. Anyways, you need to play it cool, be cute and seductive, but not needy or desperate.” She quipped

“Well thanks for the confidence boost Han,” You deadpanned. “I’m going to let you go so I can think of a ‘witty’ reply.”

“Urg, fine, but you better let me know everything!!” She whined. “Night, love you jerk.”

“Night, love you too. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. I promise, bitch.” You replied hastily.

After hanging up with Hannah, you proceeded to just stare at the message from Jared. What should you say? Trying to take your friend’s advice in not sounding as lame as you were, you began typing a reply. After almost ten minutes of typing, deleting, and retyping you had come up with a decent reply and you didn’t want to keep Jared waiting any longer since it was already past midnight.

12:13am: Hey, yeah that sounds nice. Wish we had a little more time though. I’d love to get a coffee, there’s a shop down on broadway st, it's amazing! Know the place?

Sent.

“God I hope this wasn’t a mistake,” Saying to no one imparticular as you thought out loud.

Watching the little text dots pop up almost immediately had your heart beating out of your chest.

Chime

12:15am: Yes I actually do know that place, you’re right. It is amazing, and I love their muffins! They’re like as big as your face! Can we meet at 10? - Jare

Oh lord, he was in. He was actually in, he agreed to meet you, again, after the horrible shipwreck at dinner you really didn’t think any of this was going to happen.

Typing a quick reply not wanting to keep him awake, I mean this is Jared Padalecki he needs his beauty sleep. Yes, beauty sleep, you internally sighed to yourself getting lost in the thoughts of how truly beautiful Jared really was.

You looked back down at your phone to make sure the message sent, of course not, so uncoordinated. Clicking the send button you anxiously waited for a reply.

12:19am: Ha, you’re right the muffins are HUGE! 10 sounds perfect I’ll see you there, goodnight!

His text bubbles took a little longer, of course you kept him waiting too long.

12:21am: Perfect. See you then, g’night. Xo - Jare

You read the message over and over until your eyes felt like crossing. He sent you ‘xo’. “X FREAKING O” you exclaimed loudly to yourself.

You quickly sent Hannah a text briefly telling her what was going on. Before waiting for her reply you locked your phone, avoiding another two hour phone call.

Making sure your alarm was set for promptly 7:30am you cuddled up in your bed and fell asleep, thinking of Jared.

You were going on a date with Jared Padalecki. 

A/N: Hope you liked this part. I’m still very new to this. Tell me your favorite part I LOVE feedback since I'm brand new. I will write a third, not sure post date, but maybe sooner than later if I get feedback!

POS tags

@crystallstaircase @squirelnotsam @allaboutthebooz @team-free-will-you-idjits-67 @squirrelnotsam

#supernatural rpf#jared padalecki fanfiction#jensen ackles fanfiction#jared padalecki x reader#jared padalecki fluff#supernatural fanfiction#supernatural fluff#jared padalecki and reader#sam winchester fluff#sam winchester fanfiction

[jinamonrolls]

You despised Kim Namjoon.

You stood fixing your hair in the store window, musing over your thoughts.

Maybe “despised” was too harsh a word. It implied you cared more than you did.

Detest?

Loathe?

Still too strong.

Dislike.

You disliked Kim Namjoon.

As you approached the studio and faced the inevitably of seeing him walking towards you from the opposite end of the quiet street, you rolled your eyes and sped up your pace slightly. You didn’t fail to notice his similar reaction, how he shook his head and pulled out his phone to ignore you with. You pursed your lips slightly, where did he get off ignoring you?

You both reached your studios at the same time, much to your displeasure and his mild amusement. You gave him a small nod and turned your attention to unlocking your door.

The jingle coming from your pocket made you internally sigh. You pulled out the phone and took a step back from the door, barely processing how Namjoon looked up at you, or the devious grin that spread across his face. As you opened your mouth to reply to your mother’s rambling about the latest neighbor who had annoyed her, a loud blaring of swear words drowned out whatever you planning to say.

Your head whipped around to look at Namjoon, who was simply smirking and taking his sweet time to unlock his studio door as some obnoxious rap song screamed from his phone. Your eyes bore daggers into his back as your attention turned back to the phone.

“Mom! I have to go, I’m sorry! No, that’s some annoying punk kid who doesn’t know how to be respectf-Yes, mom, I know. Yes, mo-Yeah. Love you too. Buh-bye.”

Namjoon paused his music after you hung up and entered his studio, whistling casually as he did. Your hand blocked the door as he swung it shut, and your other hand grabbing his wrist and pulling him back.

“What the hell was that? How rude can you be?” You asked. Namjoon took in your stance, your raised shoulders and eyebrows, your clenched jaw, how your feet were spread, and laughed.

“That one really got you riled up, huh?”

You smacked his shoulder.

“Don’t be such an asshole!”

“Maybe you should try the same thing.”

You two stood, staring into each other’s eyes, until you huffed and turned back to your studio.

Entering your studio, you slammed the door shut and threw your bag on the floor, much to the alarm of Chaeyoung.

“What’s your damage?” She asked, watching as you sat next to her and angrily began sliding on your dancing shoes.

“Kim freaking Namjoon.”

She sighed loudly, returning to her stretching. “He’s really not a bad guy, you know.”

“Tell that to me when he didn’t interrupt my phone call with some dumb rap song!”

“You’ve been a jerk to him too.”

You rolled your eyes. “Don’t tell me you’re going to start defending him all because of Hoseok?”

“Not because of Hoseok. It’s because I took the time to get to know him before making judgments.” She stood up. “I also didn’t call his job dumb.”

“Neither did I!”

“What words did you use instead?”

You focused your attention on your shoes, ignoring the way Chaeyoung’s eyes dug into you, looking for any hint of remorse over what you said to the rapper.

“I said the rap industry had no creativity, was soulless, and no one worth anything would ever call it a career.”

Chaeyoung shook her head. “Sometimes I wonder if God simply forgot to put the filter on your mouth before sending you to us.”

You continued looking at the floor as you moved onto stretching.

“You love me.”

Chaeyoung grinned. “Never said I didn’t.”

“Besides, he said ballet was meaningless too.”

“Probably just to piss you off.”

“Can we stop talking about him? He’s bad for my health.”

Chaeyoung made a noise that sounded somewhere between a laugh and a sigh.

“Fine.”

Chaeyoung was persistent.

“Pleeeeeease go on this date? Just once? For me?”

You scoffed and flipped through your magazine. Chaeyoung’s brightly decorated apartment made you nearly forget night was falling, but no pastel walls or fairy lights could make you forget that this argument was reaching the thirty minute mark.

“This isn’t some romcom, Chae. Blind dates aren’t for me.”

“He’s a great guy, you’ll hit it off right away!”

“Who even is he?”

“One of Hoseok’s friends.”

“...What’s his name?”

Chae’s eyes glanced around, before awkwardly looking back at you.

“I forget,” she admitted. “But! He’s amazing. He’s into music too! You’ll love him, I promise.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Then I’ll never get involved in your dating life again.”

You laughed and tossed the magazine down; you had heard that plenty of times before, but here you still sat.

“Why do you want me to go?”

“Well, Hoseok said his friend never spends time outside of his studio. And since you’re always dancing or over here, I figured you needed a night out too.”

You stared at her, your eyebrows raised as you mulled over the offer. Chaeyoung’s smirk infuriated you, because before you even opened your mouth to concede, she began squealing. She knew she had won long before the battle began.

“You won’t regret it!”

You had a feeling she was going to be wrong about that, but you allowed her to pull you into the bathroom so you could start getting yourself ready.

-

You were going to kill Chaeyoung.

Your hands gripped the phone and your nails tapped erratically against the screen as you blew up your best friend’s phone.

I hate you.

I swear after tonight, you’ll need a new best friend.

I’m so MAD >:(

YOU NEVER FORGOT HIS NAME DID YOU

YOU DID THIS ON PURPOSE

Chaeyoung sent back a single message.

Have fun! :)

You groaned. You were stuck now, Namjoon had already spotted you and developed a similar look of annoyance. He was typing on his phone now, no doubt sending Hoseok similar messages to the ones you sent Chaeyoung. Mentally facepalming at your failure to see through your best friend’s plan, you slowly approached the table and sat down, sharing a half hearted smile.

He was wearing nicer clothes than you had ever seen him in before. His shirt and jeans fit him rather well, and you were surprised to learn his ears were pierced. You never found him unattractive before, but he was certainly holding back just how good he could look.

You found yourself staring for a moment too long, only to be brought back to reality by Namjoon’s waving hand in your face.

“Y/N?”

You blinked. “Oh, sorry. What’d you say?”

Namjoon’s annoyance only grew as he began to stand. “I said maybe we should just go, I don’t see this—”

“No!” Your voice was too loud, even to your own ears. “We’re here now, and we’re going to have a good time, so then maybe our friends will think that we don’t hate each other and never do this to us again.”

Namjoon paused for a moment, and you could see him weighing the pros and cons of going or staying. Cons: You two had to go on a date. Pros: Your friends would get off your backs.

After great and what looked to be a considerably painful debate, Namjoon slid back into his seat. “You have a point,” he finally said, sipping his water and awkwardly avoiding eye contact with you now.

You two needed to connect on something, and you weren’t going to get anywhere when he was making eye contact with your shoes.

After a few beats of silence, you decided to break the ice.

“You look nice,” you offered lamely, mentally pounding your head against the table. You look nice? Way to really open up a conversation there. You’re already on the date! Stop being awkward!

You nearly didn’t notice the way Namjoon’s eyes subtly moved up, how his eyes scanned and judged. You shifted under his gaze, unconsciously pulling up the low dip of your collar and tugging down the hem of your skirt that suddenly seemed too short, until his eyes met yours again.

“So do you.”

You gave a half smile that looked something more like a grimace, and the two of you lapsed into silence once again.

“So...what else do you do besides rap?”

Namjoon’s eyes turned slightly colder. “You mean besides ‘wasting my life chasing a rap career’?”

You winced. “Did I...really say that?”

Namjoon nodded solemnly, and you sighed.

“I make the beats for my songs. I read a lot too,” he continued eventually.

“Read anything good lately?”

“I'm reading Shakespeare for class. I'm in the middle of Othello right now.”

“Ooh, really? My favorite is Midsummer.”

Namjoon grinned. “Of course it is.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Comedy over tragedy. You just prefer lighter things to death and betrayal.”

You squinted suspiciously at him. “What are you, a psych major?”

He laughed. “No, just observant.” He brushed off his shirt. “What do you do other than ballet?”

“Photography, sometimes. Other times I try to do my makeup and instead look like Pennywise.”

Another laugh. “I don’t think you look like Pennywise.”

Why was your face warming up?

“Thanks.”

You were interrupted by your waiter finally appearing. As you two ate and laughed together, it almost became easy to forget about any previous animosity between the two of you. Conversation was so easy, the jokes and quips flowing from both of you into an endless stream of chatter, and you both found out a surprising amount about one another.

You were thoroughly enjoying yourself and laughing along to his story about his friend Jin, who enjoyed annoying his other friend Yoongi with puns, when Namjoon’s smile suddenly faded. He leaned back in his chair as he took a long sip of his drink. Your own grin nervously evaporated as he stared at the table.

He finished his sip but let his cup hang in front of his mouth for another long moment. He took a deep breath, at the same moment you decided you could no longer take this sudden tension.

“What’s wrong?”

“Well, I...I wanted to ask exactly why you hate me.”

You internally winced at the words. “I don’t hate you. I never did.”

“You seemed to.”

“I...dislike—er, disliked, you.”

“Why?”

You sighed. You knew he was going to ask, even if this date had never happened. Your resentment for him had never been explained to anyone, not even Chaeyoung, simply because you weren’t very sure of the logic behind the reason.

When you first met Namjoon, he had come over to greet his neighbors after buying the studio next door. He was a tall, smiling, polite man with an interest in music. Sprinkle in the intelligence, and you have what most would call the perfect man. He greeted you enthusiastically, never pushing boundaries and saying all the right things in the conversations to make the others laugh.

It drove you crazy. You wanted to see the darker side lurking underneath him, you wanted to know why he put on this perfect facade, you wanted to know why his friends looked to him as their leader.

It was awful of you, you knew that, and you weren’t sure why you were pushed with such a desire, but when others asked you about your opinion on rap, you heard yourself give bitter answers, meant to break away the mask Namjoon wore.

It worked.

The gap between you two had begun, and only grew worse, deepening and widening as you two pushed and chipped at one another, until you two could barely stand being near each other. Constant fights over the pettiest things made others actively seek to separate you both.

It was your turn to take a long sip of your drink.

“You were too perfect.”

Your answer surprised both of you. He raised his eyebrows and stared silently, waiting for you to continue.

“You were too perfect. I could sense something about it was off, and I didn’t like it. I assumed the nice guy thing was fake and you were just good at hiding it. You were perfect but not genuine, and I hated it. I insulted rap, and I thought it proved me right. I thought you were a bitter, petty person, but you’re not. I made you treat me that way.”

Namjoon hadn’t moved since you started your explanation, and he continued to sit completely still minutes after. You pictured weeping angels as you stared at him, thinking if you blinked or looked away he would disappear.

“I’m not a douchebag, if that’s what you’re thinking,” He said finally. “I’m not...comfortable around people, so I always try to make sure every else is comfortable. I just try to be polite.”

“I know. Now, anyway. And...I’m sorry for how I treated you. I shouldn’t have done it. It was fucked up.”

A long pause.

“I forgive you. I’m sorry too.”

A breath of relief from both sides.

“I forgive you too.”

As you stood up and split the check (after mch arguing), you walked out of the door together and allowed the conversation to flow naturally back to comfortable teasing and jokes. As you reached your apartment, you hugged him and smiled brightly.

“I really had fun tonight. Maybe rap isn’t so worthless.”

“Maybe ballet isn’t so dumb either.”

You playfully hit his shoulder, and he laughed.

“Want to go out again?”

You couldn’t say yes fast enough, and you headed into your apartment clutching your phone that now contained Kim Namjoon’s number.

You liked Kim Namjoon?

You smiled at yourself in the bathroom mirror. What a perfect word.

You liked Kim Namjoon.

[jjkpls]

The Squib (Harry Potter!AU #1) (G)

> genre : pure fluff

> pairing : park jimin x reader

> words : 4.5k

> warning : none

> Park Jimin (Slytherin, 6th yr) is in love with you, the hufflepuff squib with whom he shares some classes. To help you out with your ineptness in anything magic related, he comes up with a plan that doesn’t go… well, as planned. At least, he gets you at the end. (fluff, shy ball of sunshine Jiminie)

/The Harry Potter!AU Masterlist/

The room is so quiet, it's deafening.

Most of them are trying to not be too obnoxious. Jimin doesn't think it is out of kindness. They probably feel like your position is lame enough and they don't want to lose houses' points just for kicking a prey already caught.

But as the quietness weighs heavy on the atmosphere, he can't help but wonder if that wouldn't be easier if they would make noises. As if on cue, he catches from the corner of his eyes two girls he knows by face snicker loudly. You are bend over on yourself. You can't even hold McGonagall's stare now, as you try desperately to shake your wand into turning a mechanic pen into a quill. He wishes he could help you but he is too far back and if he is being completely honest, he hasn't practised this spell since first year. He's not even sure he could get it right on the first try.

These girls couldn't either he thinks as he throws their way a dark stare. One of them catches it and rolls her eyes, annoyed, but she stops chattering with her friend at least.

“I'll see you after class, ___.”

McGonagall says, sternly, while redirecting her attention to the whole class. You are so slumped over now, Jimin can hardly see the top of your messy head. His heart stings a little. It is not the first time it's happened. And it is not the first time he has witnessed it. You are a squib. He is not exactly sure why or how you were accepted in Hogwarts but it occurred. And since your first year, you've been struggling like crazy for all classes that involved the least amount of magic input. Transfiguration is probably the worse. McGonagall would always pick you and never let you off of the hook until she's made sure to make you question all of your life's decisions, in particular, the one regarding your presence here. Of course, Jimin has to be with you for this class. He's not too sure why, but he hates seeing you in this situation. Weird for a Slytherin, some might think. But he can't help it.

After class, he waits for you in the hallway for half an hour though he has a class to attend to as Taehyung thought of importance to remind him.

“I have something to do.”

“You're waiting for the squib ?” Asks Yoongi, sounding even more bored than he looks. Jimin wants to punch him. He knows he can't do so, so he makes sure to write down in the back of his head to not forget to place some voodoo fountain under his bed later.

“___. Her name's ___. And yes, I am.”

Taehyung and Yoongi share a glare. Eyebrows raised in surrender, Yoongi turns on his heel and starts walking away. He's not even walking towards their next class.

“You're still not going to talk to her ?”

Jimin frowns. He doesn't know if he'll talk to you or not. You're not out yet. And why do they care so fucking much? If he just wants to see you come out and not say anything to you, that's none of their business.

“Taehyung, fuck off.” Jimin simply turns his back to him, childishly. He knows he is ridiculous he doesn't need other people telling him. Taehyung, though, as always, doesn't take it personally. He pats him gently on the back.

“See you later, buddy!” Jimin smiles to himself. He's lucky he has those friends when he's acting all insufferable like that. Most people would have been done with his antics a long time ago.

He’s started being that way two years ago when Slytherins and Hufflepuffs started sharing classes. To put it simply, this schedule arrangement signed the end of Jimin's sanity.

At first, he just noticed you, like everybody else, because you were unable to come up with any spell in class. He could feel for you, as anyone with a heart would. But progressively, this innocent sympathy of some sort turned into a crush. Well, he's not sure that's a crush but that's what his friends call it.

He wouldn't say that he wants to date you. He's never really thought of it. But he does care about you. He does feel bad whenever he spends a whole class with you and doesn't even catch a smile of yours. He does find it more interesting to stare at your face during lessons and tends to do it more than study these days. And yes, he does think about you quite a lot outside of class too. Still... Would he call it a crush?

“___.”

You look up, surprised, as you close the door behind you. Jimin is walking towards you with careful feline steps, looking all smiles and soft eyes. Seeing his kindness makes you want to cry again. But you worked so hard on stopping the sobbings ten minutes ago -as McGonagall was awkwardly patting your shoulder- you won't allow yourself to start again.

“Oh sorry. You needed to talk to professor Mc-”

“Ah no, no. I am just... waiting.”

“Waiting ?”

Jimin nods simply. He's looking everywhere, unable to settle his gaze anywhere, fidgeting awkwardly on his spot. You're not sure what is up with him but you're way too late for your next class -which you are also failing miserably to- to attempt to figure it out.

“Ok. Well, I have class. I'll see you later.”

You wave with a thin smile, it's the most you can give right now. Jimin just shakes his hand back and remains there, waiting.

Well, maybe he has a crush on you and that's why he turns into a freaking dumbass in front of you.

The next week, Jimin literally hops to his seat as soon as McGonagall opens the door. She sends him a squinted glare. She can't remember the last time a student walked in her class so excited.

“Can't you look more obvious ?” A drawling voice groans, while its owner lets himself slump on the chair next to Jimin. The latter throws daggers at him but Yoongi just sighs. “I'm just saying. It's going to be weird anyway so don't look so suspicious beforehand.”

He could reply something but he's not sure what. It's one of this moment when Jimin can't remember why the hell he is friend with that guy. They've been hanging out since the middle of first year. Yoongi has been kicked out from his room by his other roommates -for being an asshole, he suspects- and Jimin being Jimin, he had to invite him to finish his night in his room. The other kids were pissed but Jimin stood his ground. At the time, he didn't know Yoongi was, in fact, an asshole and just saw him as a poor underdog or something. The temporary fix happened to turn permanent. It was pretty simple, Kyungsoo -his ex-roommate- left his place to Yoongi and went to the other room. Jimin had to learn to appreciate Yoongi over the years. Even though, he's never made it an easy thing to do.

Slytherins and Hufflepuffs walk in in a loud buzz of chatters, slowly taking their seats. Jimin searches the crowd for your silhouette. Even hidden partly by the other students, it's not hard to find you. As always, you're walking with your back bent, head hung low. You're sweating anxiety and dread.

But this time, Jimin is not sharing your apprehension. He's planned it all right and he can't wait for McGonagall to start her weekly torture session with you. He doesn't have to wait for long as she turns to you within the first minutes of the class, with the same request she had last week.

“Go ahead.” McGonagall encourages, after having set a pen on your table.

Jimin can only see the back of your head but he can imagine you staring at the little object as if it were a monstrous device ready to jump at your face. Next to his own leg, there's Yoongi's one, shaking up and down in a nervous bounce he's never witnessed before. Even Yoongi is apprehending it? Jimin can now feel the weight on his shoulders. You wouldn't know about it but he does. He does and he puts so much pressure on himself. He'd feel like he had failed you if this doesn't go right and you have to go through the hardship you always encounter, once more. He's always terrified to walk in the Great Hall one morning to see your seat empty because you would have been tired of the whole shitty situation and given up your place.

Therefore, he gets on his forearms and pushes on them to elevate himself over the rows of students in front of him. His friend is there, staring at you. She's chewing nervously on her lower lip, and he notices her wand missing from the top of her table. Jimin can't see her hands and guesses they're hidden under the desk, ready to do what she promised him.

He beams to himself, and to her even though she can't see him. He is lucky indeed. He's surrounded by the greatest, most supportive and helpful people ever -except for Yoongi, maybe, but the fact that he is nervous about you succeeding today hints that he might not be that much of a dick.

There is that deafening silence again. Everybody waits for you to fail terribly like you systematically do. Some have already picked up a book or late homework to occupy themselves with, assuming it will take most of the lesson as it usually does.

McGonagall raises a hand in the air, shakes gently her wand to demonstrate to you the right way to do it -even though you saw it so many times, you can see that stupid hand gesture in your fucking nightly nightmares at this point. You stretch your arm above your desk, shaky fingers holding into your short crooked wand, and slowly, focusing all your will in it, you pronounce with the clearest voice possible the words. You haven't even finished saying the last word that the mechanic pen is trembling on your desk to then turn into a beautiful clear-white quill.

There is a loud, general gasp resonating in the room. Everybody, McGonagall included, has their mouths open wide, eyes ready to roll out of their sockets as they watch with pure astonishment the transfigured object laying on the wood table. The professor, unable to hide a proud smirk, claps her hands elegantly before leaving your side.

“Wow. That was really good.” Mumbles Yoongi, eyebrows raised. It's the most emotions Jimin has ever witnessed on this face. But what makes it all so worth it is the expression drawn on your face. You're whispering animatedly to your friend, a grin stretching your pink lips from ear to ear, cheeks tainted with an adorable red blush. You look so happy right now, Jimin can physically feel his heart shaken by the view. “Perfect. Now we can get on with the next sort. You better pay attention to this one as I can guarantee you, it will be on your final exam...”

Jimin is the first one to get out of the classroom. He wants to make sure not to miss you.

“If you're that good maybe I should ask you to do it for me too.” It's Taehyung's low voice. He's walking out, an arm wrapped around the quiet Hufflepuff girl who saved your ass today. Jimin would get mad at him for being so loud if only he wasn't overwhelmed with gratefulness. He looks at his friend, eyes hidden in two thin splits because of the wide grin he's wearing. He shoots her thumbs up but she just shrugs and leaves quickly, obviously upset.

“Does she know I was kidding?”

“Yeah... I don't know. Maybe. She just doesn't like cheating.”

“She's so good at it though!” Taehyung chuckles, hands clapping like a dumb seal. “Seriously, even though I knew it, it genuinely looked like ___ did it on her own!”

“Shut up!” Jimin gazes at him with pure rage in his eyes. If Taehyung wasn't almost twice as big as him, he would have trapped him in a headlock, and have him suffocate to death already. He should purchase a second set of voodoo fountains, he thinks.

Taehyung doesn't have time to argue as you're walking out of the room, arms locked with your best friend. Jimin dismissed him with a rude gesture and decides to walk up to you. Why does he feel so brave today? Before he can even think of an answer, he realizes he's already at your side.

“___! Hi. That was awesome, earlier. I knew you could do it!”

His voice sounds weird, too jumpy and unnatural, his words are stumbling messily out of his mouth but you don't seem to care as you smile gently at him. The sweet blush from earlier is back on your cheeks. “Thank you, Jimin. I have no idea how I did it but-”

“What do you mean? You're a great witch! You're working so hard all the time, of course you'd be able to do it-”

Jimin can feel the back of his neck burning from a sneaky pinch. He turns to look at Taehyung who is shooting an awkward rectangle smile to the two girls.

“Well, well, well, loverboy, I think we have places to go to. See you later, girls. You did great, ___!” He grabs the shorter boy by the back of his robe and pushes him towards the hallway, throwing a wave to the two slightly confused girls. Jimin is overly pissed now. Trying to get himself out of his friend grasp, he mumbles coarseness for only him to hear.

“Did you really need to call me 'loverboy' for fuck's sake tonight I swear to God you're dead you fucking-”

“Jimin, you were so embarrassing though.”

That little arrangement lasted for a few weeks only. Jimin would spend his evenings sweet-talking his friend into executing all the spells, for all the classes, for you. It wasn't an easy task to do, by the way, as she hated cheating and would always get out of class, pissed off. She couldn't tell him 'no' though, like most people. Jimin is charming. He's also very kind and overall appreciated by everyone. It's hard to deny him anything. Therefore, she did it for a little while. Until she couldn't take it anymore. It's Taehyung who came to him to tell him that she was too uncomfortable with the whole situation, and didn't want to be mean, but seriously, it's not even a solution for you.

Jimin panicked after the break of the news. He stayed awake the whole night, burning all his brain cells into finding a solution. There's one thing that has changed since you started receiving help: you're not the only one who gained in confidence, he did too. He could talk to you now, between classes and even during free times. And as you felt less upset all the time, you would take the time and the effort to engage in conversations with him.

And god you were sweet. He could hardly handle it. For some reason, he felt silly before for liking you without really knowing why. Yes, you were cute but so many people are. That's not a very valid reason. The fact that he felt bad for you not being able to produce a spark from your wand, was even a worse one. But now that he's having all these little conversations with you, now that he's shared laughter, and heard you lose yourself in tales of your life, he has a great reason. You're incredibly sweet and so lovable overall. He can't help it.

Yet, his accomplice, probably the best witch of their year, the only one he could ask this favour to, doesn't want to do it anymore. And along with her help, she's going to take away all the improvements you two have made. He feels sick at the thought alone. After having perambulated for hours, he throws himself in bed, grabs a pillow and screams his soul into it.

“Yah!”

“shut up yoongi i'm sad” He mumbles, face still buried.

“I don't fucking care. I need sleep.”

“why you need sleep all the time you ain't doing shit”

“YAH! That fucking brat... Who d'you think you're talking to?!”

Jimin groans some more and Yoongi gives up on sleeping now. He turns in his sheets, facing his way.

“Don't you have at least one working brain cell in that annoying head of yours? Seriously...”

“Tell me what to do if you're that smart.”

“Ask that Weasley kid for one of his Scintillation potion.”

“Scinti- what? What even is that?”

“It's what weak kids use this day to pass exams. It's supposed to increase your magic flood or something. I mean, she's a squib, it might not wor-”

“Yes! YES!” Jimin yelps, jumping on his bed like an excited puppy. “That's exactly what I need ! You could have told me that four hours ago but well-”

“Whatever. I got you a solution so shut the fuck up now.”

“I'll let you sleep, don't worry. Thanks, Yoongi.” He whispers through a smile. Who would have thought that Yoongi would have been the one to calm his troubled heart?-

“Get yourself an Armotentia too, you'll need it.”

Certainly, not Jimin.

The thing about potions you can get under Hogwarts cloaks, and especially the ones used to cheat, is that they're not made by professional potion makers. They're made by stupid kids like Weasley who just want to make some pocket money by extorting it to poor students, and also wish a little bit to cause chaos whenever that's possible. So of course, necessarily, that back up plan had to abort.

After weeks of being so successful in most of your classes, you failed miserably during one of your Divination class. In the middle of the lesson, as everyone was looking in their teacups, the content of yours unexpectedly started to boil and boil and boil until spilling everywhere. You were about to call for the Professor when the ominous crow you've vaguely caught a glimpse of before, materialised itself out of the liquid and flew at full speed out of the cup and collided against the roof. Another followed, and another one, and another one again and again until the room was full of angry birds, flapping their wings and croaking in hysterics.

Students started running around, screaming their heads off as if they were being attacked by them Hitchcok's style -which was not the case. Eventually, the whole class has been evacuated in the hallways except for you who had to follow Argus Filch to Professor McGonagall's office.

Jimin learned the incident as soon as his class was over. Overexcited students were discussing in the hallway, spreading all kind of rumours that made his blood ran cold. He knew most of it was bullshit -informations' accuracy never survived Hogwarts' telephone game- but he still caught your name and he knew you were involved somewhat in the new drama shaking up the school.

Grabbing the first Hufflepuff he could get a hand on -them being Taehyung, fortunately- he asked eagerly for what had happened. His friend just shot him a defeated sorry pout.

On his way to Professor McGonagall's office, his insides are all twisting and his mind is running like crazy. He's determined to do the right thing. He'll knock on this door; he'll face the severe stare of the Headmistress; and he'll admit all his offences. He won't mention his accomplices, of course. He just hopes they won't feed him some Veritaserum because then, they'll be fucked. He knows what he needs to do and he's not even that moved by the thought of the consequences. He did what he did. He knows why he did it. They might not approve but he doesn't care much.

All he cares about is your reaction. You're in there. In some way or another, they're probably figuring out what happened and telling you.

The moment he enters the corridor, he sees you closing the door. He calls out to you and rushes to join your side. You look at him, surprised to see him there until it clicks.

“It was you ?” You whisper, unable to hide the bitterness from your tone.

Jimin bites on his lip. His heart is literally breaking. He can actually feel it as he acknowledges your reddish nose and swollen eyes. He made you cry.

“I'm so sorry, ___. I-I never meant for all-”

You shut him off with a hand wave and just turn on your heels, ready to leave without sparing him another glance.

“I really am, ___. I promise you. I'm going to talk to McGonagall, don-”

“Don't!” You hush him, rushing back to him, with wide eyes. He frowns, not getting it, but you're already dragging him out of the main hallway to a more secluded one. “They have no idea it's you, Jimin.”

“Still. It's my fault, I should be held responsible for it.”

“Is it necessary? They didn't scold me when they learn I wasn't aware of anything. They're just going to expel you.”

“Well, I would have deserved it.”

You can't help but hum in approval. He grimaces. He should have gotten that Armotentia potion. His cause is fucking lost.

For a while, none of you says a word. You don't even face each other. You're pretending to study a painting hung on the wall -that would have been more believable if only the characters usually hanging out there were actually present. He is pretending to be interested in a crack on the wood floor, even though, he's glancing at you from the corner of his eyes.

After some time, he hears you let out a long, heartbreaking sigh.

“Why would you do that, Jimin? I thought we were friends.”

He flinches, taken aback not only by your words but also by the pain he can hear underlying in your voice.

“Of course, we're friends.”

“Because friends plan pranks on each other to make them believe they can actually do something they're yearning for for years? To then take it all away like that?”

You're clenching your fists tight against your side to hold in the tears. It hurts him to notice it but of course, he's so aware of you right now, he can't miss the least tremble of your body. He doesn't know what to do. Everything is playing now. If he doesn't explain his intentions right, he's losing you forever. Now that he heard you put it that way too, he's not so sure the whole thing ever was a good idea. It's so obvious put that way. How could he have missed it?

“___, I'm so terribly sorry. I didn't mean to fool you into believing anything, I just- You were so sad and I just wanted to make you feel better. I didn't think about how you'd feel if you learned the truth, I'm really sorry.”

“How could you not ?”

“I'm a fucking moron, ___.” A thin smile draws itself on your lips. He's not even trying to denigrate himself to get into your good favours. He is just so done with himself.

“I'm a squib, Jimin. I'm supposed to struggle and probably never make it. You can't go around passing my exams for me. It's not really helping.”

“I know. I get it now. I'm sorry.” He says. His voice is all milk and honey. You decide you can't be mad at him for much longer.

“It's fine.”

“Is it?”

You nod, tempting a smile his way.

“So we're good?”

“Yes, Jimin. We’re good.” Finally raising his chin up, he faces you. He's shooting you his infamous timid smile now, the one where his front teeth end up biting lightly on his plump lip. Through your messed up face, you grin in return. Although you don't really have the time to worry about it because of the fond way he's looking at you. Why is he even looking at you this way? “There's one thing I don't get, Jimin. There was this other squib in Slytherin last year, and even Tae is failing Transfiguration class since year 2. Why didn't you do it for them?”

“Cause I don't want to date them.” You choke on air at that. He keeps on smiling, pretending to be cool with what he just said, but you can see the tip of his ears darkening. The more you stare at him, eyes wide and open-mouthed, the less casual he looks. “If that's rejection just say it but don't let me- like that. Please.”

You start laughing, wholeheartedly, a hand claps to your mouth when you remember you're in the quiet upper hallways of Hogwarts. Jimin just stands there, awkwardly. He still is unsure what it all means but he's smitten by your laughter. Maybe he hasn't lost all his chances.

“I had no idea you liked me, Jimin.”

Well, he thought he was being sly but apparently his technics were just totally ineffective.

“Thanks to you, I don't have any classes left for today...” You start again. Jimin groans playfully. If you two are going to do this, you'll have to let go of this debacle. “Maybe we should go do something.” You're standing in front of him, looking at him square in the eyes, with obvious suspense painted all over your pretty face. He knows it's time for his line but he doesn't know what to say. He knows you're teasing. He can tell now that you want it too but for some reason, you want to hear him say it.

“Do you wanna go on a date with me ?” He mutters hardly loud enough for you to hear. Wow, he can't remember the last time he's been so fucking shy, it's ridiculous. He attempts to hide his burning face under his hands but you're quick to grab one.

“Okay.”

“I didn't plan anything obviously so don't like- hate me if it sucks.”

“It's okay. I think I hated you enough for today.”

“Cool.”

“By the way, now that I think about it... Tae was hinting your crush quite obviously, wasn't he ?”

“Um.”

[kookiesbadhabits]

My Firsts [M] no. 1

gif credit

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6?

SUMMARY: three hot boys. one girl. college!au.

PAIRING : vminkook x reader

WORD COUNT: 3.1k

GENRE: fluff, introduction

Part 2 (real plot) coming 5.21.18-5.23.18 

Description

A love... square? I love me some maknae line okay?

So this might be the ONLY story I have ever made a draft for with an ONGOING series in mind, instead of just a smutty oneshot. Don't get me wrong, there's going to be a whole lot of sin, but expect minimal porn logic, but real plot. These boys' characters are based on my life, but in not wanting it to hit too close to home, I'm adding a bit of a twist. 

Based on a true story: that is my mess of a love life (like seriously my life can seem very fanfiction with the level of drama with these three boys. also minus the smut in my life of course, i wish my sex life were this exciting, but maybe in a world with almost no risk of contracting STDs or a world with effortless straight As in university courses) The characters are inspired by some past loves in my life, so this should be a fun little ongoing series I want to try out. 

Also, for context, all three boys plus reader are the same age. 

Opening/Prologue?:

*READER POV*

Boys in general sure are dangerous, but god, these three in particular are on a whole other level. How did I earn such luck to find myself with our paths all intersecting at once?

THE BOYS:

Kim Taehyung was my first everything. Well, every "first" a clueless 8-year-old could comprehend. The first crush, the first boy to push me on the swing, the first guy best friend, the pure-and-filled-with-curiosity-and-confusion first kiss, the first boy I asked to be my boyfriend after all my classmates started asking each other out. He was the first to make me laugh the hardest I ever thought I could; the first to make me cry the hardest I ever could. The first boy to break my heart: my first "almost love". That was who he was to me from elementary to junior high. 

Can you blame me for taking the emotions so seriously? I was just a young, ignorant tween with all my hormones out of whack. None of that should matter anymore, it was a small piece of my past, a small milestone in life, it should have been completely irrelevant to who I became and where would bring me, or us. I guess I was a fool to think it would be entirely irrelevant, we are attracted to what we're familiar with after all. 

Nevertheless, Taehyung was such a blurred fragment of my past, I was already a completely different person by the time we ran into each other for the first time in six years, right there on our university's orientation day. So why did bumping into him and slowly recognizing him feel like a truck against my chest? Seeing him shouldn't have struck such a heavy chord with me, so why?! 

The least of my worries should be none other than Park Jimin, I know this for sure. He was my high school sweetheart, my first real boyfriend, first real kiss . . . first to be intimate with. Two years of growth well spent, back when neither of us had developed a sliver of personality. Our relationship had its fair share of cataclysmic moments, but it was worth it in knowing how well we existed together in that snippet in time. 

We fought frequently due to the difference in our values and passions, and our clashing personalities in general. He was my exact opposite, aloof, childish, an improviser, clueless, innocent and hopeful. I was reserved, serious, ambitious, a careful planner, too mindful for my own good; a realist. I was aware that our relationship had slim chances of keeping its strength after graduation, with him not enrolling to the same post-secondary school. Not to mention, our relationship had been kept a secret from my family for its entirety due to my parents and their rules to keep me focused on my studies. 

As I predicted, after high school graduation we had grown stagnant in our relationship, no longer growing as people. He was a safe anchor, a source of unconditional love, so unconditional that neither of us worked to help improve the other anymore. I loved him but I outgrew him, so naturally I broke up with him on the worst possible day: the day after our 23rd month together, the same day as his father's first death anniversary. I knew it would paint me as the worst person in his eyes, but maybe that's just how I wanted it.

Finally, there is the most dangerous of all, in that I cannot deduce why I feel such a strong pull towards him. He is exactly not my type and it doesn’t add up. I was introduced to him as I was being absorbed into a friend group by my first uni friend, he instantly became the first man in uni to have an energy that effortlessly drew me towards him. This man is Jeon Jungkook, a cheeky flirt clearly hiding behind the mask of a self-fulfilled prophecy as an asshole. 

In the first instances we had met, Jungkook spent two hours pining for my attention, like a child scrambling towards a shiny new toy. Killing time in the library, our "study" group played a bootleg version of Cards Against Humanity. I had read him enough to know what would make him laugh, and he proved so in his verbal praise on my anonymous answers. The whole while we felt connected, we met after all. In just meeting, I knew the universe had already shifted for us. He spent the whole rest of the day finding excuses to continue to spending time with me, actually the whole rest of the term. 

Sadly, I knew he spelled nothing but trouble. Fortunately, it was the kind of trouble I was longing for.

Anyways, enough blathering on about these three boys with such vague air to it, why don't I start from the beginning? I'm ________, 18 years old, in the middle of my first year of university, and had no idea what I was about to get into.

Chapter 1 - Chance Meetings

“CHILDHOOD FRIEND: THE FIRST CRUSH”

"Hey ______," an unfamiliar and rather deep voice calls out to me as I brushed past a small huddle of friends in the crowded university centre.

I instinctively replied hey back, only to stop in my tracks in realizing I didn't recognize the voice. Stunned, and a little confused, I glance over only to lock eyes with a complete stranger with a small friendly smile walking away in the opposite direction.

With a perplexed look plastered on my face, the stranger brushes past his group of friends towards me. My curiosity compelled me to stay put. My eyes, and head naturally tilted up slightly to keep eye contact. He was tall. His sweater was from some high school other than mine, so he couldn't be an old classmate. He just kept smiling at me, beaming like he had met an old friend.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" I finally asked politely. 

He chuckled, "You don't remember me?" gesturing towards himself, pausing as if waiting for his appearance to sink in with my memories. I was still stumped no matter how long the pause, and honestly it was getting too awkward to bear for someone like myself, who doesn't usually voluntarily make small talk with people, much less with strangers.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I do?" I replied, furrowing my brows trying to will some kind of familiarity still looking up at him and his big boxy smile. 

"You look great though!" He continued, practically disregarding my current confusion. "You here for orientation too? This little scavenger hunt is pretty lame, don't you think?" 

Not wanting to be rude, I put on my best socializing voice. "Aww, thank you!" I replied, matching his friendly energy. "I'm actually not. My sister brought me to give me the tour herself, she told me how boring orientation would be."

As we carried on, I kept thinking about who the heck this mans could possibly be? We ended up talking about high schools, he went to XX high, and I mentioned I went to YY high. I noticed his hoodie was not just any school sweater, he was in vocal jazz. 

"So he sings," I thought as I pondered who I knew as a friend that was a good singer. 

Finally, his goofy smile sinks in, and my eyes grew wide and lips pursed into a small 'o' 

"Oh my god, Taehyung?!" I exclaimed, he only laughed at my reaction, though pleased I finally recognized him.

"Most people call me V now but hearing you call me that is so nostalgic," he smiled softly. 

I blushed a little recalling that he had said I looked great, what with the onrush of memories hitting me like a truck. Holy shit, he looked good, grew his hair, parted down the middle, but somehow he was making it work. 

We had talked a little more, asking for bits and pieces on the last couple of years we had been out of each other's loop. That's right, he moved after 7th grade, it had really been nearly 6 years, he had no social media, and our social circles never overlapped. 

We could only talk a moment more before realizing he was keeping his group waiting, and I, my sister. 

Before he could end up out of my life again, I impulsively asked, "What's your number? We should keep in touch!" 

"Wow, _______ since when did your introverted ass have the balls to utter such words?" I thought to myself, mentally biting my tongue, but what's done was done. 

He smiled warmly but with some slyness in his eyes, "I already follow you on Instagram, no worries." 

I was stunned once again, "His name had never shown up on my follower list?" I thought. Before I could say anything, he had jogged to catch up to his group and so I turned to my sister. 

“HIGH SCHOOL SWEETHEART: THE FIRST BOYFRIEND”

As usual, my last bus home from campus had to be unbelievably delayed due to the heavy rain. I was on the phone with my ex-boyfriend, now awkward best friend. 

"Are you sure about it? I can really just wait for another bus," I spoke into my phone as I huddled in the roofed shelter of the bus stop, the chilly night air starting to bite through my jacket.

It had gotten pretty dark, despite it only being six in the evening. However, the shadiness of downtown undoubtedly had me on alert.

"It's really no problem, I'm already finished my classes today," Park Jimin replied on the other end. "I don't like the idea of you being alone this late, downtown of all places."

I could hear in his voice that he was already getting up from bed to pick up his keys and head for his car. He already had his mind set and there was little I could do to stop him. He could tell from the pause in my voice I was unsure about the whole thing. The breakup may have been amicable, but it still hurt a little to be with him not being able to instinctively reach for his hand for comfort. In fact, I had been careful not to give him opportunities to come and see me. Yet, here we are.

A drunkard was already beginning to babble out in the streets, with people doing good to veer past him. I watched him warily, slouching to lessen the prominence of my chest, tucking my hair in the folds of my jacket to lessen chances of easily being pulled by the strands. 

"I guess that would be best," I admitted. "Please drive safely." 

"Keep the call on, okay?" Jimin requested with the usual soft concern. "I need to know you're safe there, too."

I smiled, "We couldn't be together anymore, but I'm really happy this is where our relationship led up to," I thought.

In less than twenty minutes, I could see a familiar car approaching towards my stop.

"Get in quickly, _______." he said, also alert by his surroundings now full of potential threats.

I scurried over to his car, and got in quickly, greeted by his familiar welcoming smile. I kept my hand from doing its conditioned action of opening to await his fingers to interlock with mine. He kept his hand on his gear-shift, despite never doing that before and with his car not being manual.

"This is a decent compromise," I thought and smiled to myself, letting my lids bat lightly, the day's events catching up with me. 

Slowly, I let myself fall asleep as usual in our drives, and he woke me gently upon nearing my complex. My roommate, Jean, waited patiently for me to get home safely, leaving a light on. 

Jimin and I exchanged a brief hug at the door, and I thanked him again for his kindness. I watched him walk away as I slowly closed the door. As I thought, there's still a bit of melancholic air in his smile when we see each other.

"I'm sorry, Jimin." I whispered under my breath with him too already too far away to hear. Not that he hadn't already heard that enough times before.

“THE STRONG PULL/NOT-MY-TYPE TYPE: THE FIRST MAN ”

"Oh yeah, since I'm practically absorbing you into my friend group, you've met Jin already but this is Jungkook," Kim started as I sat next across from her in our usual study spot in the library. 

I looked to him, establishing eye contact to give him a sup nod with a smile, he laxly raised a hand and raised his brows to acknowledge the greeting. 

I had met all Kim's guy friends from high school, but none of them piqued your interest in this way. Before even sitting down, I had already spotted him after my eyes found Kim. He was an unfamiliar and attractive individual, emanating energy with a distinct warning written all over it: "TROUBLE".

Nonetheless, I couldn't resist initiating the game that started the moment the universe decided to shift in tune with our meeting. 

In spending no more than half an hour with them, I found Jungkook persistently trying to shift my attention towards him whether it be to tell a witty remark or to try and make me laugh with poorly constructed jokes I had already read off the internet over five years ago. The cool air had to be a facade, all I could see was a dorky squish, spoiled for some attention.

I giggled none the less, to humour him (literally) and to end up one-upping him in the comedy department when we decided to play an app that was practically a bootleg of Cards Against Humanity. 

The phrase was "The worst thing to scream at my grandma's funeral" and my answer had been a blank where I typed, "RIP girl may your bingo wings flap your soul to heaven."

Jungkook, being the judge, burst into laughter mid-way into reading my answer out loud. 

"Whoever put that, good one," he said as he banged a hand against the table with his nose still crinkled in amusement. 

I raised a hand laxly, and he blinked at me, his eyes twinkled with a glint of further intrigue and curiosity. 

Jin ended up winning all the games, and when time came for Kim and I's class, Jungkook quickly got up with us. 

Growing tired of the library scene, Kim and I moved to go to the university centre to get some food. Jin and Jungkook naturally tagged along behind us. I don't know how they did it, but Jin and Kim disappeared for god knows what counselor, leaving me alone with Jungkook. 

We sat with no more and an inch separating us and he looked to me with the same curiosity and intense gaze. I had voiced my discomfort about being left alone. 

"Why are you scared to be alone with me?" Jungkook asked bluntly. "I don't bite."

"Ah, I'm not afraid of you, I'm afraid of being alone with people I just met," I corrected him. "Don't flatter yourself."

By this time, we had easily established some playful banter between us, with him every now and then joking about not being able to handle too much of gaze. Before I knew it, he was telling me a bunch of stories about parties and trips to Paris I didn't ask about.

"Yeah, I woke up with just some girl's bare ass bouncing on my jeans." He continued, trying too hard to show how admired he was by the ladies. 

"We get it, hun, you're hot," I thought through a split-second of lidded eyes before raising my brows again to politely portray my interest in his stories. 

As he was finishing up a story about a flock of French girls crowding him during his class trip to Paris, I sighed in relief to see Kim and Jin approaching. Jungkook was cute, but he was still a boy in my eyes, needy and arrogant. I was fascinated by his character nonetheless, I had never met someone who could sound so full of himself, yet  still seem like just some dorky squish.

Kim and I got up to start walking towards our class building.

"Aw man, it's probably rush hour so I can't drive home even if I wanted to," he spoke to himself aloud. "What class do you guys have?"

"Psych," Kim replied as he pulled the other strap over his shoulder. 

"I might as well sit in your class," Jungkook spoke casually, as if not to sound like he actually wanted to spend more time with us.

"You do you," Kim nodded as she gestured for me to follow her. 

It was only 2:15 pm. I looked over my shoulder to Jungkook, we locked eyes again, I swear I could see his pupils dilate in those big brown eyes. I gave him a small smile before following ahead.

He ended up sitting in our class, beside me the whole time trying to jokingly distract me every now and then. Many times, he showed signs of wanting to leave, leaning over into my ear to whisper.

"When does this class end?" His voice was low and hushed and too close to my ear.

I refused to give him any reaction for satisfaction though and simply whispered back, "Not for another 45 minutes."

He ended up pulling out a book, piquing my interest even more, "A boy into reading on his spare time?!" I screamed in my head. I, _______, had never in my life seen a boy reading a book for pleasure. 

We carried on with class this way, and I just smiled thinking to myself, "Silly Jungkook, everyone knows rush hour isn't until 4pm, you're not fooling anyone you squish."

~ END OF CHAPTER 1 ~

A/N: Ho man 2/3 of these stories are 100% true tbh I may as well have said their real names. It's 2:30 AM now that i've finished this. Worth it. I am so inspired by the comeback and have been craving to start writing again. So I can't wait to get to putting my ideas for this series into ink.

[pyropsychiccollector]

Goodbye Despair, Chapter 1: Destination Despair (Pat 1)

            It had been three days since the start of Ultimate Despair’s incarceration on Jabberwock Island. True to Munakata’s word, Class 78 had been allowed possessions and other privileges that most prisoners would never even dream of having. Nothing dangerous was allowed, and of course there were restrictions, but in general it really was like a holiday retreat instead of a tense imprisonment.

            The main thing was the curfew. Every night, at 10pm, the Despairs had to be back in their cottages. And in the mornings, starting at 7am, everyone was required to attend breakfast, which was prepared by Hanamura. Most Despairs were allowed to freely roam the six islands that made up Jabberwock, as security cameras and announcement monitors were stationed in various locations. Exceptions included Kamakura, who was restricted to the first island for the purpose of restraining him if necessary; Asahina, who was also restricted to the first island (unless escorted to and from other islands) because she would become a threat in the ocean; and Sakura, who required a heavier presence of Foundation personnel around her because of how exceptional she was as a warrior.

            Mukuro Ikusaba would have required as much supervision as Oogami, if it weren’t for the fact that she listlessly stayed in her cottage when she wasn’t required to be present for breakfast or anything else.

            Not too surprisingly, Ultimate Despair didn’t act too excited with their freedom. In fact, they seemed pretty miserable and withdrawn, even from each other. Some even deliberately went out of their way to “break the rules” just so they would be forced to stay in their rooms as punishment. They seemed to crave disciplinary action, as more restrictions brought about a “greater” despair for them.

            This didn’t stop their senpai from reaching out to them. But progress was close to nil.

            ~*~

            “Um… What’s the problem, again?” Hajime scratched his cheek as he looked between the Imposter and the prefect, who was huddled and sulking in the corner of the dining hall.

            “He wants more ‘structure’.” The Imposter, now dressed as Munakata, crossed his arms and frowned deeply. “He likes the idea of a morning meeting and a curfew, but he wants to be able to hold… seminars.”

            Hajime blinked owlishly at that.

            “Seminars?”

            The Imposter held an index finger to his face as his brow furrowed thoughtfully.

            “He says they’re too old for high school classes, and we don’t have the materials for college courses, so he wants to hold these ‘seminars’. I asked him about what he had in mind, and he said he would start by educating everyone on etiquette, hygiene, and health. When I probed him further on these topics, he described what was essentially the exact opposite of these things… I assume this is his Despair, so I simply told him ‘no’. And to try again, when he came up with something meaningful. He’s been like this ever since.”

            Hajime sweatdropped and stared at the depressed hall monitor’s backside.

            “And… how long has he been like this?”

            “The past half hour.” The Imposter plainly responded, which earned a sigh from the brunet. He knew the Imposter hadn’t just left him here, and had likely been trying to cheer Ishimaru up, but sulking for half an hour was pretty intense.

            Tentatively, Hajime approached the dark-haired young man and placed a hand on his shoulder. He wasn’t entirely sure what he wanted to say, but he knew he didn’t want to leave Ishimaru like this.

            “H-Hey, um… Ishimaru? Did you wanna hang out?” He paused for a moment. “… Or find one of the others to hang out? I don’t mind if you think I’m boring, I just… want to help, I guess…?”

            Hajime finished off lamely, and the Imposter frowned at his self-depreciative attitude. Hinata had come a long way since becoming the Ultimate Counselor, but he still had that tendency to put himself down. The Imposter supposed all that time in the Reserve Course was to blame for this; as exceptional of an institution as Hope’s Peak was, it did tend to be elitist. Arrogant. Even to the people who paid to attend the school.

            As the Imposter considered approaching Miss Yukizome about having another pep talk with Hinata, the Ultimate Moral Compass stood up rigidly and turned to face Hajime sternly. The Imposter arched an eyebrow curiously at this development, and even Hajime’s eyebrows were raised in surprise.

            “And?! Why do you presume to be a boring person, Hajime Hinata?!” The hall monitor barked out as he crossed his arms in a huff. Though his red eyes were blazing like normal, Hajime could tell something was… different.

            “Um… Well, to be perfectly honest?” Hajime scratched his cheek sheepishly. “I… I was a Reserve Course student at Hope’s Peak. I didn’t even receive an ‘Ultimate’ talent before the world went to hell. Frankly, I’m just a boring, unremarkable kind of guy. The kind of person you’d lose sight of in a crowd and forget about.”

            “But that’s not true…!” Hajime backed up as Ishimaru raised a fist and shook it passionately as he closed his eyes. “It doesn’t matter if you’re middle-class! As long as you work hard, you can get anywhere in life! I, myself, was born into a middle-class family – no, not even middle-class! And despite that…! Despite that!”

            Ishimaru shook his head vigorously before reopening his intense eyes and jabbing a finger into Hajime’s chest. The brunet continued to be shocked.

            “Listen! I don’t care if we are enemies! You got where you are today because you worked hard, right?! Then you should take pride in your achievements! Just because you weren’t born a genius, it doesn’t mean you’re worthless! The people who work hard, they’re the ones who shape society and provide food on dinner tables! Never put yourself down just because you’re ‘plain’ or ‘average’!”

            Hajime wilted under the intensity of Ishimaru’s impassioned state. Having been in the Reserve Course, Hajime never knew what Ishimaru was like, prior to the Tragedy. He’d borne witness to the cold, tyrannical Kiyotaka Ishimaru, but even when he harped on about unreasonable rules and regulations to the general masses, he’d never seemed this… energized. There was a ferocity and passion in those eyes that Hajime couldn’t quite place. Hajime was truly out of his depth.

            But the Imposter wasn’t. Though he’d only known his underclassman in passing, he saw it. A flicker. A faint silhouette of the boy Kiyotaka Ishimaru used to be.

            Cautiously, the Imposter took a step forward.

            “Oi… Ishimaru…?” The Imposter used his own voice without thinking, shocked as he was. Hajime craned his head toward his comrade at the abrupt change in atmosphere; and like a spell being broken, Ishimaru massaged his temple before shaking it vigorously and giving a wide, malicious grin, typical of an Ultimate Despair.

            “My apologies! I seem to have lost myself for a minute there. Hahaha…!” He spread out his arms benevolently. “Rest assured, Munakata-san, I shall rethink my proposal and approach you again in the near future! You better be ready for an intense negotiation~!”

            With one last boisterous, forced laugh, Ishimaru stomped away with that wide grin still plastered on his face. Hajime and the Imposter exchanged looks, both agreeing that incident was… odd.

            ~*~

            “I still don’t get what the big deal is!” Kuwata moaned as a blonde yanked him along a bridge that led to the central island. “Why have a tank all set up, if you’re not gonna use it?!”

            Natsumi’s scowl remained firm, and she cursed under her breath as she stomped along.

            “Because, dipshit, that’s for us to use in case someone like, I dunno, Ogre decides to try something!” Deciding to vent a little more, she yanked his arm harder. “How do you even go from baseball to motherfucking tanks anyway?! It’s like trading a Siamese cat for a German shepherd! Two different animals, dumbass!”

            To the yakuza’s irritation, Kuwata smiled fondly as he ran his free hand through his hair.

            “You ever seen one of those machines that spits out baseballs? Well, Enoshima suggested I should try one-upping that! So the tanks I drive around shoot out baseballs.” He then grinned madly, his eyes glowing a brighter, more ominous red. “Metal ones. Your body gets shot with those suckers, you’re a goner for sure! It’s really somethin’ to behold!”

            Deciding she’d had enough of the former baseball star’s insane ravings, Natsumi slugged the redhead hard enough in the face to knock him out, and then just dragged his unconscious body along the ground as a petty revenge. It was as she was stomping through Jabberwock Park that she encountered another Remnant.

            “Honestly, you can’t go one day without getting violent with someone, can you?”

            Natsumi growled and whirled on her heel to face the woman who was sitting under a tree, looking bored as hell. The woman flipped a strand of lilac hair behind her ear, which only caused Natsumi’s eyes to narrow further. She never did like this bitch.

            “What do you want?”

            “What makes you think I want anything?” Kirigiri asked airily, arching an eyebrow, despite Natsumi’s hostile tone. To further piss the yakuza off, the detective’s posture was completely relaxed, not tense in the least.

            But then, Kyoko Kirigiri had always been one to keep her emotions in check.

            “You’re the one who stopped me.” The dishwater blonde deadpanned. Kyoko made a small noise of understanding.

            “I was just making a casual observation. Wasn’t even addressing you. Feel free to ignore me.” Kirigiri dryly replied, craning her head away from the yakuza and staring out at the ocean. A clear dismissal, but Natsumi didn’t have the patience or control to ignore the detective.

            It was like Sato all over again.

            “Like hell you didn’t call me out just now…!” Natsumi growled as she released Kuwata’s legs unceremoniously and took one step over to Kyoko. “I dunno what bug crawled up your asshole, but you’ve always had a bone to pick with us yakuza! My big bro hated going to the same school and not being able to touch you! When that Sato bitch attacked me, you didn’t give a flying fuck until it looked like we were gonna murder her punk-ass! You were just chomping at the bit, waiting for us to give you a reason to get me and my bro expelled!”

            Kyoko had her arms crossed for the duration of Natsumi’s little rant, and her gaze remained firmly locked on the ocean. Her expression remained impassive. When Natsumi was done, not a fraction of a reaction could be seen.

            “And?” The lilac-haired girl wondered, after the silence had seeped into them for several uncomfortable moments. Natsumi snarled.

            “And?!” The blonde hissed.

            “What’s the point of dredging up ancient history?” Kyoko continued to needle the girl. “Of course the police and yakuza would never get along. Don’t act so shocked.”

            “That’s not the fucking point!” Natsumi all but screeched. “You might’ve become a crazy cold-hearted bitch, but you used to have fucking morals! You preached about the law being unbiased – hell, you threw it in my bro’s face when you thought we’d murder that bitch! – but you ignored all that shit about Sato attacking me and Hinata!”

            “… Oh. That.” Kyoko’s flippant response had the desired effect of Natsumi advancing towards her threateningly. “I guess I just didn’t care. A yakuza wanting justice is strange, don’t you agree?”

            “You bitch…!” Natsumi snarled and almost lunged at the detective, before a hand clapped firmly on her shoulder. When she fiercely whirled her head to face the unwelcome intruder to the conflict, she was only slightly mollified to see the stony-faced Munakata facing Kirigiri. And beside him was Togami, who only looked mildly annoyed to have apparently been dragged along by the second-in-command of Future Foundation.

            “That will be enough of that, Kuzuryu. Get Kuwata back to his cottage – I will be along shortly.” Munakata frowned slightly as Natsumi shook with rage. He thought he would have to call her brother to take care of her, but a few tense moments later she waspishly obeyed, notably shooting Kirigiri the middle finger that the detective naturally ignored. As the yakuza stalked off, dragging Kuwata behind her, Munakata’s full attention was once again on the Ultimate Detective. He crossed his arms disapprovingly. “I had thought you, of all the Remnants, wouldn’t need to be told to restrain yourself, Kirigiri. The rift between you and the Kuzuryu Clan aside, you’ve handled all interactions rationally and logically. You never pick fights, regardless of how annoyed you may or may not be.”

            Kyoko remained perfectly still in her seated position, and didn’t respect Munakata by returning his gaze.

            “As I recall, you’ve given us the freedom to move as we please. If you can’t handle a little hostility between obvious enemies, perhaps you should just put us on ice until the Neo World Program is complete?”

            Munakata’s frown deepened. He tapped his finger on his forearm as the steel in his gaze sharpened.

            “Being allowed freedom at all is a privilege that we can easily revoke at any time. Do not mistake our kindness for softness.” The silver-haired man warned. It seemed to go in one ear and out the other for Kyoko, however.

            “Even Izuru Kamukura?” She replied blandly.

            “Kamakura will not be a problem.” Munakata boldly asserted, causing the detective to finally turn towards him and arch an eyebrow dubiously. She was surprised his confidence held steadfast.

            Such naïve arrogance.

            “You should listen to him.” Togami spoke up in the same bland tone that Kirigiri had previously been using. “Men of Munakata’s status and character are rarely arrogant. And I should know, because he is my business rival, after all is said and done.”

            Kyoko scoffed, while Munakata scowled at the slight against Chairman Tengan. Never mind how much he wanted to deny that Ultimate Despair couldn’t compare to the Future Foundation – they did. Ultimate Despair and the Future Foundation were the only major superpowers in these apocalyptic times. The old world order was in shambles.

            Before Kyosuke could retort, however, his phone rang in his pocket, and he merely shot Kirigiri one more reproachful glare before squarely facing Togami.

            “I will leave her in your hands. Though if Kirigiri stirs up trouble again, there will be consequences for her, so keep that in mind.”

            “Duly noted.” Togami deadpanned in return, arms still crossed as he kept his head craned in a mocking manner. Kyosuke glowered warningly at this, but then strode away briskly.

            Now the heir and detective were left alone.

            “You’re a suck-up.” Kirigiri coldly pointed out, once Munakata was out of earshot.

            Togami rolled his eyes.

            “I am doing what needs to be done,” the heir’s tone was just as frosty as his jaded eyes glared daggers back at the lilac-haired girl. “There is a very real chance that program won’t be completed. If that eventually proves true, we will need to be in a position to communicate with one another. Being holed up in cottages will do nothing but hinder any possible insurrection.”

            For the briefest of moments, Kirigiri was taken aback. But Togami caught that miniscule change of inflection in her face, and there was a sad sort of vindictiveness in being able to garner such a reaction from the poker-faced detective.

            “The Neo World Program… might not get completed…?” Kirigiri whispered, aghast. “What in the hell are Matsuda and Gekkogahara doing?”

            Togami scoffed at the mixture of disbelief and rage that bubbled under her aloof tone.

            “I don’t know the full details, but apparently there really is a bug that is making the program incapable of operating. They brought in that animator to see if he would be able to offer insight to a potential solution, but I have my doubts. I knew we should have gone with the original plan of infecting the program, rather than remodifying its original purpose… We had a copy of Enoshima’s AI stored in Towa City, but now even that is lost to us, and we’re left in this hopeless situation.”

            Kyoko narrowed her eyes as her gloved hands curled into fists and she stared off into space.

            “If we can’t be the vessels for Enoshima’s return… what’s even the point of being here? We should kill everyone here before reinforcements arrive.”

            Togami tilted his head thoughtfully, index finger tapping his temple.

            “Hnn. How strange. I never would have pegged you for a coward. Haven’t you heard the phrase, ‘no risk, no glory’?”

            Kyoko scowled at the uppity tone her blond classmate had taken with her.

            “Don’t tell me Ludenberg has influenced your decision-making. Without Fujisaki, I highly doubt Matsuda and Gekkogahara would be able to fix a computer program. And there’s even less chance they would trust him to be anywhere near their computers. If our chances are close to nil, we might as well cut our losses and get the apocalypse back on track.”

            “And what if we had Kamakura actually be useful for once?” Togami sneered back, causing the detective to broil over with more rage.

            “I am not entrusting our fate to a man even more untrustworthy than the Future Foundation! If he was truly a Remnant like the rest of us, he would have joined our inner ring of leadership, rather than watch as the world burned. He is an indecisive shell of man that Hope’s Peak created, and that Enoshima used like a puppet to gain our loyalty. Nothing more.”

            Togami tapped his temple again mockingly.

            “You forget. He is entirely obsessed with watching the conflict of Hope and Despair. I am confident we can use him to our benefit. Enoshima has shown us that it can be done. You know that Enoshima’s return would bring the most Despair to mankind. You know that I am right.”

            Kyoko did not appreciate being talked down to like a child.

            “And you know that if this fails, the whole plan falls apart, and only despair awaits in our future.”

            “That is the whole purpose behind our organization, is it not?” Togami sneered. “We go big, or go home. Either way, Despair gets the final word.”

            Kirigiri clenched her fists once more as she stared down into her lap, gritting her teeth. She still disagreed on principle, and she knew for a fact that others in Ultimate Despair would side with her, just as others would rally behind Togami. Ultimate Despair would split in two, and there would be no way out for them once that happened.

            Was Togami so blind? Was he so short-sighted?

            ~*~

            “You’ve been awfully quiet since arriving, Oowada.” Fuyuhiko muttered as he leaned against the entrance to the abandoned ranch. The Ultimate Biker sat on a stump nearby, and his hands were curled into fists in his lap. His head was dipped, so Fuyuhiko couldn’t make out his expression.

            “What’s it to you?” Mondo groused. “Didn’t get enough to think about when you brought me in?”

            The yakuza heir scowled at the memory of their last encounter. It was true. Mondo had given him food for thought, and he was mulling that over.

            That didn’t mean he was going to leave his fellow gang leader to mope around. He held more respect for the fearsome leader of the Crazy Diamonds than to allow that to happen.

            “Tch. You really think I’m gonna let that keep me down? You’re more of a dumbass than Hagakure.” Fuyuhiko clicked his tongue and crossed his arms, craning his head away from Mondo.

            Mondo clearly bristled at the insult, but he didn’t lash out like Kuzuryu had half-expected him to.

            “Whatever. I guess one of us has the stones to move on with their life.” Mondo grumbled. “Then again, it’s not like you lost all that much anyway.”

            “You really think Daiya would want you to just give up like this?” Kuzuryu asked rhetorically, and that got a reaction he was aiming for.

            “Don’t go there, Kuzuryu.” Oowada growled dangerously.

            Anger fit Mondo a whole lot better, and Kuzuryu was a lot more adept at dealing with it, even if he himself was known to have a hair-trigger temper.

            “Daiya was an actual fucking leader, if you ask me.” Kuzuryu carried on fearlessly. The sound of tightening fists could be heard from Mondo’s quarter. “You put on a damn good effort, but then you ruined everything when you helped end the world…”

            “I said shut up!!!” Mondo roared head whipping up as his red eyes flared a bright, threatening red. He held a fist up furiously. “You of all people don’t get to lecture me, when you were doin’ all this illegal shit before the world went to hell!”

            “You’re a fucking hypocrite.” Fuyuhiko deadpanned, unimpressed. “We were both in the same boat before the Tragedy, and you know it. The Crazy Diamonds was knee-deep in just as much shit. The difference between us, I actually made an effort to keep the world together. You tried to burn it all.”

            Mondo’s teeth were bared, and his hand was twitching uncontrollably as his body shook. Fuyuhiko imagined the only thing holding Oowada back was the ‘despair’ of refusing to vent his anger. And that was, ultimately, Fuyuhiko’s goal. To get Oowada to pick his old self back up. Screw how unhealthy rage was – it was even worse to bottle it all up.

            “I don’t need to explain a single damn thing to you, asshole! I might be a worthless piece of shit, but at least I acknowledge I fucked up! The most you ever do is admit it’s possible you’re partly responsible for what happened! You wanna turn this into Storytime?! Why don’t you start talking first? Tell me what you assholes did against Enoshima! What you all lost!”

            Fuyuhiko’s lips curled into a deeper scowl. Oowada was still clinging to that. The fact Class 77 had been more fortunate than Class 78. The fact they couldn’t truly empathize with Class 78. And maybe he was right, to an extent.

            That didn’t justify ending the world, no matter how great the pain was.

            But before Fuyuhiko could mouth such a rebuttal, the Ultimate Biker got up from the stump and stomped away, effectively ending the conversation. Fuyuhiko’s mouth clamped closed as he weighed the pros and cons of pursuing the biker, but in the end, decided against it for now. They’d have time to get all of the Despairs to open up… They would just need to take it one step at a time.

            And that sucked. Because time was a rare luxury in this apocalyptic world.