#he's taking a math class right now and he keeps texting me about it

[queer-reader-07]

something something the juxtaposition of my stem major self taking humanities classes for shits and giggles and my humanities major friend taking math classes for shits and giggles

[sugurugetofavoritemonkey]

Hii girl since you said requests are open I was thinking about reader who loves to get Ethan hard in the most random situations, maybe while they're with friends or in class.

Ps: I love your writing

A/N : Hii ! 🩷 Thank you so so so much for liking my writing and sending me this fabulous request for our boy Ethan, it means a lot to me and I had so much fun writing this 🥰 Please send me your feedback to let me know how I did, it always helps me improve and I hope you’ll like it. Don’t hesitate to send me other requests for our lovely Ethan, love you and enjoy ! ✨

Reader who loves to get Ethan hard in the most random situations.

❦ When Ethan Landry is in love, anything can make him blush and get him hard, really just a kiss or a hug is already enough for him to want you and it annoys Ethan so much to be this weak for you. You could simply be looking at him with doe eyes and a pretty smile while he rambles about his day and the poor sweet boy would avert his eyes from you as he feels his cheeks warming up. Taking his hand in yours in the corridors, to intertwine your fingers, also works very well, Ethan doesn’t mind it, he loves it even, but he’s not used to receiving such affection, just like he’s not used to you complimenting him, as you softly murmur against his lips that he’s « so pretty » while you gently caress his face.

❦ Making out with your boyfriend in front of your friends, your lips pressing kisses on his jaw and neck literally makes Ethan’s head spin as he doesn’t know how to react between completely surrendering himself to you or keeping a straight face in front of Chad and the others.

❦ But obviously, what works best is just letting your hand wander up his thigh under the table and slightly brushing the outline of his cock that’s covered by his jeans that keep getting too tight to his liking, Ethan’s breathing becoming heavy while you act so innocently in front of the others as you all eat.

❦ Sending hot texts to Ethan during classes. That could go from nudes that force him to go to the restroom to take care of his hard-on, to just teasing him. « Do you think this table is sturdy enough for you to take me, Ethan ? », your boyfriend’s eyes are entirely focused on your text as he swallows with difficulty at the fantasy of taking you right here.

❦ Whispering dirty things in his ear while Ethan is in a conversation to make him lose his mind. The poor man doesn’t even know what he was saying seconds ago, as only stutters come out of his mouth now that your lips describe the sinful things that you would like him to do to you.

❦ Making sure you wear the sexiest and prettiest panties under a cute short skirt. And whoops what a strange coincidence, you have to bend down in front of your innocent boyfriend so Ethan can, by chance, catch a glimpse of the pink lace material. Though, Ethan will make sure he’s the only one to see that gorgeous sight, by correctly putting back in its place your skirt behind you when you stand up. What also really works to get him hard is gently asking him in the early morning if he can help you dress, when really Ethan perfectly knows that you can do it yourself. « Please baby, can you help me with the zipper of my dress ? » You bewitched Ethan in such a delicious way, that you can feel the way his fingertips shake a little as he slowly closes your dress.

❦ Considering that your boyfriend trusts you fully, he gave you his phone password ages ago. Little did he know that you would take this opportunity to set his new wallpaper with a quite revealing picture of yourself. At the sight of this, Ethan is debating whether to keep staring at it or to hold his phone pressed very close to his chest so that no one can look at it. « You really are a little minx, aren’t you ? », Ethan would corner you in the corridor as soon as he saw it.

❦ As Ethan helps you study, just like every evening, you make sure to sit on his lap as he explains to you the math exercises, wiggling your butt from time to time just to hear Ethan gasp behind you, his words cut by his own little moans and whines. « Did you u-understand everything ? », Ethan would ask in a stutter. « Yeah, thank you Ethan », you answered him as you kissed the corner of his mouth with a smile.

❦ Ethan reading a book on his own on a bench outside during lunch break as you go over to him with a sweet smile just to sit on his lap, resting your head on his shoulder and whispering in his ear. « What are you reading ? » Ethan doesn’t trust his voice and decides to show you the cover instead while his free hand tightens around your waist.

❦ Asking your boyfriend to accompany you when you go shopping for new sexy lingerie. Ethan shyly waits for you outside the fitting room as he hears you calling his name, hesitantly entering the cabin with you as you ask for his opinion. You slowly twirl around in front of him as his cheeks become red and Ethan knows that he won’t be able to hide his hard-on this time. « You like it ? », you ask him with an innocent smile. « I-I, fuck yes I do », Ethan mumbles as he doesn’t find the will to avert his eyes from your gorgeous body. « But don’t you think it’s a bit overpriced though ? », you ponder. Ethan is quick to make a decision for you, « Don’t care, I’ll buy it for you. »

❦ Watching a movie together at the cinema and there’s a random erotic scene appearing on screen as you ask Ethan in the most innocent tone. « Do you think we could do it ? ». And it’s enough for Ethan to lose his complete interest for the movie, his whole attention now entirely directed to the thought of him and you in the same position as the scene in front of his eyes. Ethan shifts in his seat as he prays for the movie to be over soon enough for him to show you how well he can make this scene come true, hell even in his car if he can’t wait to get back home.

❦ Asking Ethan in the middle of the night to help you sleep in his own way, as you whine sweetly into his ear to wake him up. « Please Ethan, can’t sleep, need you so bad… » Ethan rubs the tiredness out of his face as he takes you in his strong arms that create the most soothing embrace for you. The way you whined and wiggled in his hold was enough to feel Ethan’s hard-on press lightly against your tummy. « My poor baby…Need my help ? Want me so bad that you can’t sleep ? Don’t worry angel, I’m here. »

❦ Now, there’s just a subtle difference in how Ethan would react to this kind of teasing. And it’s simply linked with before and after he lost his virginity to his girlfriend.

❦ Before he made love to you for the first time, Ethan’s reaction would look innocent but really it’s just him trying not to look like a pervert that gets indecent dreams about his girlfriend almost every night and day. He would be a blushing mess that only tries to stop your hand as he fidgets a bit in his seat and stutters while looking elsewhere. « Please, s-stop it, sweetheart…That’s just m-mean… »

❦ After you both had sex for the first time, Ethan would obviously still get madly flustered at your teasing but he also knows that he’ll be able to get back at you when he has you alone for himself, as Ethan warns you about the possibilities which are now offered to him. « You do realize, love, that you’re gonna pay for this tonight, right ? » And Ethan never forgets about his little revenge as he let it all out on you, overstimulating or edging you, it depends on his mood but he, for sure, will tease you in bed as much as you did with him earlier that day. « Did I fuck the attitude out of you, angel ? »

💗 Ethan Landry Masterlist 💗

[xoxoxkisses]

In your eyes

Muichiro x fem!Reader

desc: muichiro falls for the quiet girl, being known as the popular boy, he has to decide to risk his popularity for her or not. Warnings: slight angst, fluff, aged up, slight bullying, cursing

————————————————————————

You had just left class when you heard the teacher call you back. “Y/n! Can you come here please?” You were ready to come home after a long day of school, but you couldn’t just ignore the teacher, especially after you had shown you had heard her. You turned around and started walking back to her class. Once you were outside the door, she ushered you inside. You walked in as she shut the door and you saw Muichiro. You’ve had a crush on Muichiro since middle school. He was always civil with you whenever the two of you had to talk to one another, but other than that, he avoided you.

“Y/n, Tokito here needs a tutor, and after some discussion you are the best we can find.” You looked at her and back at him where he was looking away and crossing his arms. “O-okay.” The teacher clapped her hands together. “Great! The two of you need to discuss some things such as times to meet and where. But the two of you are dismissed now!” You both nodded and left the room. Muichiro stopped you. He grabbed your shoulder and turned you around. “Here’s my number. If it’s okay with you, I’d like to come over and start these sessions.” You took the piece of paper from his hand and nodded. You turned around and left, leaving him there by himself. Or so you thought.

“Muichiro what are you doing talking to that nerd?” He turned to see Genya laughing, Aoi following behind him. “Oh, I was just telling her to leave me alone. You know how those girls are, always asking for my number and shit.” Just then Aoi spoke up. “Then what was on that piece of paper you gave her?” Muichiro laughed. “I just gave her a fake number.” The three of them laughed, except Muichiro’s was fake. He loved his friends, he didn’t want them to know he wasn’t the smartest and that you were his tutor.

“Anyways guys, I should be going.” The laughed died down shortly. “Aw okay. Bye Muichiro!” Aoi said, Genya waving beside her. Muichiro waved and turned around, leaving the two of them alone. “Was he acting weird to you, or was it just me?” Aoi spoke up. “Yeah he definitely did. We need to keep an eye on him.” Genya and Aoi gave each other a sly look and looked back out at Muichiro as he rounded the corner. ————————————————————————

You had changed into a hoodie and some sleep shorts and tied your hair up into a messy pony. You had taken your contacts out and put on your glasses. You had just remembered Muichiro told you he was coming over for a session so you shot him a text.

“Hey”

“Who is this?”

“Y/n, if you want to come over for a session I can send my address.”

“Oh right. Sure.”

“Okay it’s xxxx.”

“Be there in 5”

You left him on read after seeing that message. You grabbed all of your textbooks out and put them in the floor of your bedroom. Your parents wouldn’t be home till late, so you didn’t have to worry about them barging through the door.

Not too long after, you heard a knock at your door. You knew it who it was, so you walked downstairs and opened it. “Hey, come in.” You moved out of the way so Muichiro could come in. You closed the door and locked it back. “Follow me.” He nodded and waited for you to start walking. As he followed you to your room, he couldn’t help but look at you. He thought you looked..cute. Why did he think that? This wasn’t like him. Not at all. You were just a nerd to him, right? So why were you making his heart race and making him so nervous.

In your room, you both instantly started working on some math problems. After around an hour. You tried quizzing him on what you had taught him. When you went over it, you noticed he got one wrong and helped him. “You see, you need to take this and move it up here and then-“ you heard a low growling noise and looked up to see Muichiro was grabbing his stomach. “Are you hungry?” He simply nodded. “Yeah, I forgot to grab something earlier.” You shook your head. “It’s fine, follow me.” You led him to your kitchen and allowed him to pick anything he wanted to eat. Simply enough, he chose some ramen.

“We can take a small break. We’ve been doing it for an hour now.” He agreed. You two sat in the living room watching tv. As he was watching the show, he couldn’t help but steal a few glances at you. The way you sat there crisscrossed on the couch forming a line with your lips when you were confused with a scene, it made him feel weird. “Are you just gonna keep staring at me or what?” He hadn't noticed he was completely staring at you. “Oh sorry. I was just thinking about how comfortable your hoodie is I guess.” You hummed in response. “Are you done eating? If so we need to continue the lesson.” “Yeah I’m done.” He put away his dishes and went back up to your room after you.

After another hour it was getting late. “Well, that should end today’s session. When do you want to do this again?” He looked up in thought, trying to decide which day is best. “How about Thursday?” You nodded. “Works for me. Cmon I’ll walk you out.” The two of you stood up and walked out the door and to your gate. “Bye Y/n.” “Bye Muichiro.” You walked back in and cleaned up the books scattered in your floor. You didn’t know how you kept your composure during those 2 hours. But you did. ————————————————————————

Friday rolled around and Muichiro was with Genya and Aoi. He got his phone out and checked the time, seeing it was already 2:55 and you would be leaving at 3. “Hey guys, I got to go. I’ll see you two Monday.” With that he walked off texting you to find you. “Cmon Genya, we’re going to follow him.” Aoi grabbed Genya’s hand and followed after him.

When they saw him talking to you again with a smile on his face, they knew something was up. “I thought he didn’t like her.” Genya said a little too loud. “Shh!” Aoi clasped her hand over his mouth and pushed him behind a door. “Sorry, sorry.” When she looked again, the two of you were gone.

At your house, you wore some baggy sweats and a cropped tank top. You waited for Muichiro to arrive, preparing the same way you did last time. When you heard the knock at the door, you practically ran downstairs to open it. When you greeted him, he looked you up and down and felt his heart pound. “Hey Y/n.” You smiled at him. “Hi. Come in.” The two of you went to your room, this time you taught him a new lesson in math. The whole time he kept his eyes on you, watching the way your hands moved across the paper and the way your hair lay on your shoulders.

After a few hours, it was time for him to leave. You said your goodbyes and he left. ————————————————————————

It’s been a few months since you started tutoring Muichiro. The two of you began to gain feelings for each other. His friends started to notice how he always looked at you when you passed by. One day however, you were going up to him to ask you to be your date to the dance. Aoi had seen you walking up and decided to wait till you were in earshot to ask her question. “So Muichiro, do you like that little nerd girl you’re always with?” Muichiro almost stumbled over in laughter. “Who Y/n? Hell no, she’s one of the ugliest people I’ve seen. I only talk to her bc she’s helping me out in school.” You heard every word he said. Your emotions getting the better of you. “You really feel that way..?” He looked behind him and saw you crying. “Wait Y/n!” Before you could hear him out you ran off. He turned back to his friends who were laughing. “You two planned this didn’t you? I hate you guys.” He ran after you, leaving his friends stunned.

You went home and hurriedly changed clothes and got into your bed. You cried for around an hour until you heard a knock at the door. Today wasn’t a scheduled day for a session, so you didn’t think it was Muichiro. When you went downstairs and opened the door, you saw him there. You were about to close the door when he held his arm out and stopped it. “Y/n, let me explain.” “No. Leave me alone.” You shut the door successfully and locked it back. Going back up to your room to cry. Muichiro stayed at the door and facepalmed. Why did he say that?

At school he was listening to his friends talk. “Muichiro, you’re going to the dance right?” Aoi said snapping him back into reality. “Huh? Oh, yeah I am.” “Great! We can all go as a group!” He simply nodded. He spaced out again listening to them talk, not caring about what they had to say. ————————————————————————

The dance was today. You decided to go alone. You thought tonight would be a good night to talk to Muichiro about what happened. You were looking for him everywhere when you spotted him with his friends. Aoi gave you a sly smile and looked at Muichiro when she suddenly pulled him into a kiss. Genya looked at you and laughed. You felt tears welt up in your eyes and your heart break. You ran off crying.

Muichiro was listening to Aoi and Genya talk again, he couldn’t stop thinking of you. He didn’t notice when Aoi got quiet and looked at Genya. The only thing he noticed was when she kissed him and heard Genya’s laughter. He pushed her away from him. “What the fuck Aoi?!” She simply laughed along with Genya. He turned around and saw you crying and running away. He tried to go after you but Genya stopped him. Finally he pushed him away and went after you.

After searching for you for a while, he found you by yourself by the rose bushes. He went up to you and stood there beside you. You looked over and saw him and tried to leave, but he stopped you. You started crying again. “Muichiro, why have you been this way-“ Suddenly, he kissed you. You felt your knees get weak and your heart pounded. “What are you doi-“ He cut you off yet again. “Y/n, I don’t like her, I like you. No I love you.” You looked at him stunned. “B-but what about those things you said at school?” He shook his head. “I didn’t mean them. I was embarrassed to admit I liked you.” “I-I like you too Muichiro.” He smiled at you and pulled you into another kiss, this one more passionate than the last. You basically melted into his hold, wishing this would last forever.

“Muichiro what are you doing?” He pulled away to see his “friends” staring at him. “Kissing the person I love.” You looked at them as their jaws dropped. “W-whatever. You won’t be popular anymore you know that?!” He huffed a laugh. “I don’t care. I want her more anyways.” He kissed you again infront of them, smiling into it. They both huffed away as he pulled away. “So will you be my girlfriend?” You giggled. “Oh course!” He hugged you and kissed your head. ————————————————————————

a/n: Ik genya, Aoi, and muichiro aren’t like a trio but I saw a TikTok where they were and it’s been in my head forever 😓

[neysaadept]

Prometheus Chapter 6

Emily Prentiss x Female CIA Reader

Chapter 6 - Restart

Tags: Limited use of y/n but established last name. Swearing, mentions of the pandemic and human and sex trafficking. Canon typical violence. Sexual innuendos. Drinking. Minors DNI.

Word Count: 3.9k

AO3

Chapter 5

You walk into Quantico with a new sense of purpose after having drinks with Prentiss last night. The barrier that the section chief had built up with assumptions and unknowns had been removed and replaced with cautious optimism. That you can work with – a mutual understanding that you’re both on the same side, you meant no harm and were not a threat to the BAU. As it was a workday, you only shared another drink together but the two of you nursed them slowly.

As you still couldn’t say much about your past, you did elaborate on the high-speed pursuit that Tara hinted at.

“Yeah, so it all worked out. Dumb ass fell right into the spike strips. Took care of that quick once I got ‘em there,” you explain before taking another swallow of beer.

“They never learn.” Prentiss smiles and takes a sip as well. “But keeping pace with them was something else. No wonder they panicked.”

You smile. “Yep! Intel was good that they weren’t carrying much. They fired off a few rounds here and there to scare us off. Try and get me to fall back. They just never got the memo that the CIA Surveillance and Pursuit class was renamed cuz of me.” You raise your beer and wink at Prentiss. “Now affectionately known as the Maniac Chase Class.”

“Oh my god! That was you?” She laughs, shaking her head in amazement.

“Yeah. I gotta wee bit carried away on my third try.” You shrug coyly. “Really wanted to beat that record.”

“You demolished it.” She smirks. “And the car.”

“Which slid across the line for a new record,” you explain with pride and then pause for dramatic effect, holding your arms out, beer still in hand, “And … I walked away without a single injury.”

“See, that part I thought was all hype,” Emily admits and looks inquisitive.

“No, sadly. It helped I was young and dumb when I did it.” You say with introspective embarrassment. “I was so fucking stupid.”

She snorts with agreement while doing mental math. “Wait, how old were you when he recruited you?”

“Young,” you vaguely admit.

“But you joined before me,” she says, knowing you were aware of her records and nod that she was correct. “I joined late ’97 and everyone just naturally talked about the course like that.” You heard the implication. She meant that the nickname wasn’t a new idea and was trying to figure out how much longer you have been in the CIA before she joined.

You clear your throat in caution. “Leave it alone, Prentiss. I … I honestly can’t say anything more.” You grimace, knowing you already said too much.

Emily didn’t press for further information, but you knew she gleaned enough to make educated assumptions. You felt like a fool, letting your guard down like that, but the conversation flowed easily between the two of you. It felt … nice, being able to connect with someone new. That hadn’t happened since Rebecca.

You’ll need to keep your guard up since Prentiss reaffirmed that you would be a proper member of the BAU starting today. They would want to get to know you, and you them. You just have to remember to tone it down and not get carried away with enthusiasm. Keep Brian’s wisdom close to your heart that this is new to you and ground yourself. Don’t get swept away with emotions, like last night.

It was a late start at Quantico for you since you had to start at Langley. The stipend funds had been approved and your signature was needed on a lot of paperwork. Finance assured you that the money would be deposited into the BAU budget by the end of day. Prentiss would be able give Bailey the proverbial finger on Monday when she distributed the funds, pushing the unit into the green, leaving the penny pincher helpless with his mission to disband the BAU that way.

Prentiss had texted you that the team would be ready for you in the conference room discussing their current caseloads and leads and would wait for you, providing you that proper do over with them. You appreciated that and said as such in reply.

As you head off the elevator to the sixth floor, you felt a renewed sense of purpose and belonging. You even put a little more effort into your outfit, choosing a charcoal grey pants suit with a black sleeveless semi-spread polo collar, and comfy black work shoes with decent tread. You had your backpack on, holding the straps over your chest as you survey the area.

True to her word, the team was already in the conference room. Garcia happens to see you first and smiles big, giving you a quick, animated wave that caught Prentiss’ attention. She was standing and angles her body to the left to see who was there and visibly relaxes noticing it was you. The team follows her gaze as Prentiss gestures for you to join them.

JJ looks from Prentiss to Rossi, who was suspiciously smirking up at Emily. “And why are you smiley this morning?”

“Hm?” he looks over at her as Prentiss’ attention turns towards the exchange. “Oh, just delighted Whitlock can join us. Orientation’s a pain in the ass.”

He was equally relieved and surprised that Emily spoke to you as quickly as she did. Because of that, he wouldn’t press the orientation fib being told to the team.

“Man, I wish I had the short version like she did when I joined,” Luke grumbles playfully.

“Yeah, but you needed a lot of work honey, and honestly … still do, unlike our CIA cutie,” Garcia chides as you walk in.

“That my new rank?” you say with twinkling eyes and a brow raising to the group. “CIA cutie?”

The members collectively chuckle and laugh at the joke and as you look at Prentiss, she was fighting to keep her lips from curling upwards.

“No. Still a consultant.” Prentiss admits. She gestures to an empty seat between Tara and Garcia. “Please have a seat and we’ll get started.”

You nod and slip past Prentiss, sliding the backpack off your shoulders. You place it on the ground behind your chair and sit down. As you look at the BAU members starting back at you, you feel daunted. But you got this and look eagerly at Prentiss to kick this off.

“I know things have been hectic this week with all the changes and assignments and getting Whitlock up to speed on FBI protocols. She still has a few more items to go over, but I’m pulling her in since we can use all the help we can get,” Prentiss explains. “Garcia, mind getting Whitlock up to speed where we’re at?

Garcia immediately speaks up, almost bouncing on the seat at the chance. “You got it, Ma’am.”

Emily winces and presses her hand down towards Garcia. “What have I said about that?”

She smiles. “Not to call you Ma’am.”

“Please remember that.”

“You got it, Boss Ma’am.” Garcia says cheekily.

Emily sits down in a huff, and you have to cover your mouth to hide the smile on your face. The team did not hide their amusement at the banter.

“Anyway,” Garcia says and laces her fingers together before turning her hands inside out to crack them, “time for catch up!”

Her fingers dance across the keyboard and immediately your eyes go to screen depicting a U.S. map with sixteen dots. Each dot had a line that led to a description of the kill kit number, contents and the city and state of its location. Two of the dots are red, the others blue.

“We have recovered fourteen of the sixteen kill kits, no thanks to our firebug in holding right now. The two missing are from Indio, CA and Rockville, MD and your technological goddess is monitoring anything in the surrounding areas that sounds Sicariusy like.”

“How wide’s the radius?” you ask.

“Fifty,” she answers while you nod. “So far nothing’s pinged that shouts out, ‘I’m a Sicarius henchmen’. However, Mr. Dishonorably Discharged had a test kit that was really oooooold based on soil samples.”

“Five years isn’t that old,” JJ says.

“But the kits being activated by Sicarius, it is,” explains Rossi. “All the lockers we’ve found have new tech, supplies, chemicals …”

“Lab did confirm the soil samples from our kits are newer. So why give Green something older?” Prentiss asks the team.

“Maybe this one fit Green’s M.O. better?” Luke offers.

“Maybe, but I don’t think so,” says Rossi.

“What are you thinking, Dave?” urges Prentiss.

“That Green was set up?” you offer, looking between Prentiss and Rossi.

He half smiles, impressed, and points to you casually. “Kid’s good. That’s exactly what I’m thinking. Maybe he was testing Green to see what he’d do. Confirm if he was truly loyal or not.”

“And either way, Sicarius would get what he wanted. A big explosion or expose Green for who he really is,” JJ says emphatically. “

“All right.” Prentiss takes a moment to digest this and addresses everyone. “Give me some options.”

Luke leans back and gestures to Garcia. “Green was the last to see his sister. So, we’re thinking a cognitive interview might help him remember any details of that night. Anything that could help him ID the guy that took her.”

“Good luck trying to get him to agree to it,” states Tara. “He has big problems with authority figures. He won’t cooperate unless he has good reason.”

“How’s not finding his sister’s killer a good reason?” you ask.

“Oh, he’s really pissed off.” Prentiss says as you raise a brow. “We took away his chance at catching Sicarius and enacting his revenge.”

“And he really doesn’t like that I’m a Fed again.” Garcia pouts with that admission. “He sent me all that info thinking I was still distanced from all of this.” She gestures wildly at the room.

Prentiss looks sympathetic. “But we have to try. Luke, I need you to talk to Green and get him to agree to the cognitive interview. JJ, keep watch on the exchange.” They both nod and she addresses Garcia. “Keep working on any leads that might help us find those missing kill kits. Whitlock, you’ll assist.”

You visibly perk up at the sound of your name and look thankful for a hands-on opportunity. Inwardly, you were doing backflips. Prentiss could feel you buzzing with internal excitement and chuckles. “Not like you can catch up on any paperwork you don’t have yet.”

Rossi and Tara groan while Luke and JJ share a smirk.

“Oh, don’t even,” admonishes Prentiss. “You both get to play catch up in between interviewing Green until a case comes in.”

Luke is silent, lowering his head in defeat as JJ frowns while pouting. “Aww.”

Now that the team had their assignments, Garcia was utterly giddy and squeals towards you. “Come Robin! To the Batcave!”

Garcia catches you up on everything over the next few hours. From the hidden message apps on the unsubs phones, to the discussion forums, and how Sicarius used this to gain followers so he could teach them the ways of being sadistic killers. She had identified the usernames of the unsubs and was able to find that they all chatted with Sicarius - User45125. They also learned about the different murder methods that matched up with the bodies found in the shipping container. Out of the lockers that are missing, the BAU believes that kits would contain methods to kill by acid and strangulation to match the last of the victims.

“I can’t trace any direct messaging, so that’s why all of this is based on the forum info me and JJ combed through,” Garcia says, ending her lengthy summation.

“What a sick fuck.” You shake your head in disgust. “Play with the first round of victims and pass all that fun on to his new friends who do it all over again.”

You were sitting to the left of Garcia, lightly turning the chair back and forth with a foot on the floor. To your delight, it didn’t bother her. It was a habit you developed over time to help you think. You look over the conversations that Sicarius had with the unsubs and Green. He definitely narrowed down the chosen ones based on their psychopathic thrills.

“How many are on this message board again?” you ask, gesturing at the screens.

“Over half a million. Which just…bleh!” Garcia pauses, shivering for dramatic effect, “Makes me feel all squicky that there are that many of them chatting in one spot. But I narrowed down the really, really, bad naughties to seventeen k.”

“Damn. Fucker’s been busy.” You go silent as you calculate options with the information the BAU had.

Garcia glances at you, seeing your eyes darting back and forth in concentration. “What’cha thinking there?”

“I’m not sure. It’s just … “ you pause, words softening, “a half formed thought. A possibility.” You turn towards Garcia. “Can you narrow the users further by who hasn’t been active in a few months? At least since Green last contacted Sicarius? Bonus if longer.”

She blinks rapidly at you and looks put out. “Can I?!” She then closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. “Since you’re new, I will let that slight pass, but there is nothing I can’t do, missy.”

Except get your file, but you don’t need to know that!

“Apologies, M’Lady!” You smile, making sure to file that away to not offend the bubbly woman in the future. “If you would be so kind and continue working your magic?”

“And the lady shall be kind!” Garcia says with vigor and starts narrowing down the possibilities further.

The two of you work diligently over the next few hours. You guide Garcia with different traits to knock down the users into something manageable with the information that can be extracted from text. Emoji use, shorten expressions, length of posts, seeking knowledge and showboating instead of trying to engage in an emotional connection, aggressive language use, and interests.

“Here you go.” Garcia calls up a list of usernames that fit your specifications. “One-hundred and thirty-four.”

“Have any of those spoke to our guy at length? Something substantial?”

“Hm, yes!” She pulls those up.

That got you down to thirty-eight. “And how many of those appear to have contacted him through direct messaging?” You couldn’t know for sure but based on the flow of conversation and quality, there were hints.

She types quickly. “Ah, fourteen.” She shows you the names.

“List them by last known contact with him – earliest to latest.”

“Done.”

“Now pull up last few messages from each.”

“Also done.”

You read through them, ignoring the majority as you skim but there were a few that stood out.

Dark_Muse: Fucking cunt is finally gonna pay!!! Girls night is gonna end on a high!!!

_piouspisces: Woke up from a dream today. Hope it comes true. Just have to set up the right ingredients. Need advice on lacing paper. I have some ideas but need confirmation.

FlamePit23: The world only makes sense at sunrise and sunset. It’s when it looks like the world is set on fire. Beautiful.

You point to that last username. “Show me this one’s profile.”

Garcia clicks on it and reads. “’Nothing burns as bright as the rage inside you. Cultivate and embrace it. Keep it under your control’. Oh, they go on to say to never make any friends. That’s cheerful and lonely.”

“But they admitted to ‘nurturing others so I can take them off guard. Like my mother did to me when I was younger’ makes me think this one’s female,” you say while tapping the screen. “What’s the date and timestamp on the last message?”

“That would be … August 12, 2022 0550.”

You would bet that it was close to sunrise on that day when the user posted.

You pull your hand back to cup your chin in thought as Garcia looks oddly at you. “You know, I’ve been doing this a really, really long time, and I can usually predict where people are going with their data mining. But you? I have zilch of an idea because this makes no sense to me.”

You heard she was talking, but you weren’t listening. You were too focused on formulating a plan.

She puckers her lips in annoyance at being ignored and snaps her fingers twice in front of your face. “Hello?”

“Oh!” you say, jerking back into awareness. “I’m trying to come up with a crazy plan.”

“Please tell me this won’t result in you going AWOL again …” Prentiss had entered and neither of them had heard the door open.

You and Garcia share a look wondering if she even knocked as Prentiss walks in further expectantly. “Well?”

You sit back and reassure her. “Ah, no. Course not.”

“Wait. So, you really went AWOL?” Garcia asks curiously. “Did you serve before the CIA?”

“I didn’t serve.” You bit your lower lip and nod, coming to terms with what you can say. “I did some training with military personnel. All informal.”

You and the other four recruits had gone through training with the Green Berets, Navy Seals, and Delta Force. Something you couldn’t disclose as it technically never happened, hence, the informal part of your cover. You also are glad Garcia was distracted by that and didn’t ask you to elaborate on the AWOL matter.

Garcia whistles. “Wowzer.”

That made you smile. “A very simple, yet precise, way to put it.”

“A talent of hers for sure. But let’s get back to this crazy plan of yours,” insists Prentiss as she leans against the desk on the other side of Garcia.

“Again, it’s just the start of one but it could be a way to infiltrate Sicarius’ chosen ones without the need for vengeance to fuck things up.”

“You really say that word a lot,” notices Garcia.

“What?”

Garcia struggles by opening and closing her mouth like a fish to try and get the word out, but Prentiss beats her to it. “Fuck.”

“Huh?” You look at the section chief with confusion. “No thank you?”

“That’s… that’s not what I meant!” She answers, speaking quickly as you fluster her with the insinuation, and you couldn’t hold in your laughter any longer.

“What’s so funny?” she snaps.

“You!” you answer between cackles. “I knew what you meant.”

Garcia at least has the decency to look away while trying to fight off her own snickers as Prentiss takes a hand to her head to rub at her temples. “I swear to god, Whitlock …”

“Anyway …” you grin. “The idea is to chat him up with a username that is not entirely inactive but hasn’t been used in a bit. Think we found a prospect.”

Prentiss’ irritation with you changes to interest. “That so?”

Garcia nods. “Now that I know what the plan is, yes. I can do a deeper dive into this user and see what I can dig up.”

“Less is more, in this case,” you explain thoughtfully. “If we infiltrate this way, we gotta have enough info to be this user without him really knowing who this is. So, if you can find who they are, then we’re back to finding another. Because that means he would know their identity, too.”

Prentiss nods. “Do it. Green isn’t cooperating at all like Tara figured. He wouldn’t agree to the cognitive interview. Might as well see how this pans out while JJ tries to change Green’s mind.”

“On it, Boss Ma’am!” Garcia jests as she gets to work.

Prentiss looks up at the ceiling as if searching for patience, but as brown eyes come down, they focus on you. “Come with me and bring your stuff.”

“Sure thing.” You rise, grabbing your backpack but before you follow Prentiss, you squeeze Garcia’s shoulder. “This was nice. Working with you, that is.”

She tears her eyes away from the screen to look up at your soulful eyes. You really appreciated how Garcia jumped into working with you with fervor and not giving you the cold shoulder from earlier this week. “Aww, sweetie! Yes, we’ll keep working at it to make this idea blossom into a full blown plan!”

You smile so hard your cheeks hurt and stay that way until Garcia gets back to work. You then meet up with Prentiss to walk out together.

“Good first day.” It was an observation by the section chief.

“Yeah, it really was.” You were smiling again. “Thanks.”

“Don’t thank me yet.” Her tone carries a mystique to it, and you become captivated while walking to the bullpen together. “But I owe you a proper thank you. Langley sent me the confirmation of funds.”

“I’ll behave.” Prentiss’ eyes widen when you say that. “I won’t start making it rain money at you in celebration.”

She chuckles. “So, you can control it?”

“Occasionally.”

“Good. Then I’ve no regrets in getting you something.”

That made you perk up. “You got me something?”

“Bit overdue, but …” Prentiss stops without warning at the first desk to the right when you enter the bullpen. “… it’s yours.”

You are befuddled as you shift your gaze from Prentiss to the desk and audibly gasp. Resting on top of it was your name on display as a consultant. “Wow.”

Pleased with your reaction, she nudges you with her elbow. “This is when you’re supposed to thank me.”

“Ah, right!” you laugh, awkwardly rubbing the back of your neck before looking to her with a radiant smile. “Thank you, Prentiss.”

Your response without jest disarms her like it did last night over drinks. Your gazes lock for several beats and you just stand there with sincere gratitude that she welcomed you as a member of the team.

She recovers quickly with a stiff nod and motions to your desk. “You’re welcome. When you’re done getting settled, get back to working on that angle with Garcia.”

“You got it.” You immediately round the desk, already slipping off your backpack to place on top of it as Prentiss heads to her office.

That felt really nice to say in your head. Your desk. When was the last time you had a desk with a name plate? Everything you did was covert up until now so flashing your name and credentials was the equivalent to placing a target on your back with a bright flashing sign that says, ‘Shoot me!’. The right people knew your name when on mission, but most of your identity was done under aliases and callsigns.

You take a quick inventory of what’s on the desk – laptop connected to dual monitors, keyboard and mouse, stacked plastic organizers, phone, stapler, black plastic pen holder that was empty.

Guess I’ll have to find supplies…

You pick up the stapler and click it, watching a used staple hit the desk. At least that was ready to go for all the paperwork you’ll be doing now. The team will be excited to hear that! You then pull out the chair to get acquainted with the drawers only to be shocked for the second time today.

Waiting for you on the chair was a six pack of Diet Coke bottles with a blue sticky note attached. You peel it off to read and immediately smile.

Welcome to the BAU, Whitlock.

EP

Chapter 7

@unkonw00 @ara-a-bird @rayisaknight @sevyscoven

[jeonsbabygirlsworld]

Stop teasing me girl!

SUMMARY: Jungkook, your math teacher gets a boner when you accidently flash him, it ends you being fucked roughly in his bed .

PAIRINGS: Professor Jungkook X student reader.

WORD COUNT: 1.3K

WARNINGS: unprotected sex, fingering, lots of kisses , cream pies ,jungkook loves calling reader baby 😔❤️

A/N: just a drabble idea I had while resting in bed when I was unwell , JUNGKOOK AND READER BOTH SMOKE AFTER HAVING SEX! ! don't come at me . I hope you enjoy this oneshot .Thankyou @jungk97kwife for beta reading this ! ❤️

Jungkook has been giving you looks since the math class started you sat on the last bench purposefully. You had accidentally flashed him the lace bra you had worn today when he bent down over to look at your maths notebook. You didn’t realise your buttons were open.

“ Students if you have your phones I’m going to send you some maths problems and you have to do them in class right now, “Jungkook said while sitting in the chair, he sent the questions soon after opening your chat. Hoping no one saw his raging boner.

Kook ❤️: y/n are you doing it on purpose? Cause it’s working.

Y/n❤️🥰: What are you saying, Professor?

Kook❤️: Y/n I can see your red lace bra.

You saw his text and nervously smiled looking towards him and buttoning up your shirt.

Y/n ❤️🥰: kook I swear I did it unconsciously no wonder you sat down and gave us math problems to solve! Do you have a boner right now kook? 😂

Jungkook❤️: Yes because of you baby, wanna help me? I think I can wait until this class is over. Also focus on your homework , you’ll take care of this later

Y/n ❤️🥰: yes mr jeon .

After texting him you went forward with doing the math problem he had sent to the group. Some students occasionally asked him to help with the problems while he did them on his own.

It all started when you went to your maths teacher's cabin asking him to help you with some of the problems but jungkook said that your old teacher had left the school and he was going to be the new teacher. You were in disbelief that someone who looked so young was going to be your teacher? Jungkook helped you out with your problems that day.

A few months later, One day while you both were in his cabin he asked you to go through some important questions while you were sitting beside him and solving jungkook slightly pecked you on your cheek, and your eyes slightly widened at his action jungkook muttered sorry from his mouth and stood up only for you to take his hand and make him sit on his place.

You pecked his lips not expecting to kiss him back pulling you onto his lap. Since then you have been hooking up it’s nothing but the deal you both made up. No strings attached whatsoever. You both used yourselves just for pleasure. Jungkook and you would both call each other whenever you wanted to get laid he would secretly come to your dorm or you would sneak into his house. Even thought with that both of you risked, especially him—losing the job he’s been dreaming of you both kept going with it .

Present

You had left the class texting jungkook that you would go to his house first , you knew he keeps the spare keys hid behind the flower pot in the doorway, he had told you about it whenever he’d hear you blow up his doorbell.

The bell rang while you went to unlock the door jungkook closed the door while you pressed him on the door kissing him roughly while he chuckled and spun you so now you were the one pressed on the door your tongues were involved in the kiss while he backed up the string of saliva kept you both connected he went back on leaving wet kisses on your neck . “ kook no hickeys please it’s hard to cover” you groaned when you felt him bitting on your neck. “One baby one, "I've dreamt about it all day,” he said hissing when your hands made it towards his Crotch slowly palming him.

as we kept kissing, he messily led the way towards the bedroom. “fuck” he groans against my lips the second he hits the corner of the door. Jungkook closed the door pushing you onto the bed slowly coming to bed and sitting on your knees you had freshened up and you were in your bathrobe. You had some of the spare clothes in his closet using them whenever you stayed over at his house.

Jungkook kissed your legs telling you how smooth they were. He made you sit removing your robe and sucking your nipples and grabbing on the other making you moan his name slowly came down and made his way towards your pussy “Daddy is gonna give you a princess treatment baby” he said sucking your clit. Jungkook had a habit of rubbing his palm after making your pussy wet with his saliva making you moan his name “ fuck kook it feels so good “ he teased his fingers and finally inserted his fingers and sucked on your clit “Kook I’m gonna cum if you keep doing it” you said warning him. “ let it go princess cum on my fingers you like it right baby? Daddy needs to stretch you a bit for his cock, he is been neglecting your pussy for a few days?” Jungkook kept on talking till you came on fingers soon putting them in their mouth and groaning “You taste sweet princess “.

Jungkook hovered upon you while you unbuttoned his shirt kissing him and telling him how good he made you feel, he chuckled saying “ I’ll give you more baby “ he soon got naked teasing himself by giving some strokes on his cock and spitting some saliva which used to palm himself.

“ Fuck it’s too big jungkook” you groaned adjusting to his length “u can take it, baby, you always take me well,” he said slowly speeding up. You couldn’t stop clenching around him “fuck baby just like that gonna make me come” he whispered moaning your name and curses leaving his mouth. “ you love this don’t you baby, teasing me by wearing the red lace bra I don’t care baby if you did by mistake it turned me on “ he said thrusting fastly “ love it jungkook ……… want you to fuck me like this every day, fu-ck baby im Gonna cum “. His thrusts make you unable to speak. “Right there kook “Jungkook’s hands were squeezing your boobs groaning when your nails scratched around his shoulder.

Jungkook’s thrust soon became frantic as he was soon going to come "You make me feel so good." and soon came Chasing his high “cream pie suits you baby” jungkook said kissing you softly and chuckling , and then asking you if you were okay.

Jungkook soon came up to you with a wet towel and cleaned you up “How are you feeling? “ he asked while giving you a water bottle to drink “ Did I go a bit rough? “ he asked sitting on his side of the bed taking out a cigarette to light up “No kook it’s fine I love how rough you were though I don’t think I can walk now “ you said giggling “ stay with me tonight I’ll drop you off tomorrow morning” he said taking a blunt from his cigarette “ okay I’ll stay over pass me the cig kook” you said reaching over to take the cigarette from his hand . “ Baby I said it’s bad for you, it’s just that I can’t quit now but you’ve started doing it now don’t make this a habit yeah baby?” He said “ it’s fine kook one drag” he sighed and gave it to you, soon finishing, both of you mouth washed and went to the bed .

“Kook how much did I score?” You asked cuddling him you face pressed against his chest and your leg thrown over his waist . “ You did great y/n could have been a bit better” he shrugged you off by not saying your exact score. “ Goodnight Y/n” sleep soon overcoming you both .

Please like reblog and comment sweet pies 💙

Part 2

[elysianologists]

PROLOGUE ꩜ .ᐟ BETTER GET SEARCHING

FALLING, FOR YOU? — DILUC SMAU

now playing! – heartache by hot freaks

previous ep — master list — next ep

slowly.. you stepped up to the to counselor's office, taking a deep breath before knocking on the door.

"come in." you heard the soft yet stern voice of your beloved counselor who may or may have not nagged you about this same thing before during your first year of high school.

see, you weren't dumb or a different kind of learner— you just got so caught up in your own hobbies and extracurriculars that you might've, just might've, forgotten about the assignments from most of your classes.

hey, at least you were still passing band!

slowly, you stepped inside and took your usual seat in front of her desk across from you sat your counselor, looking up from her computer screen and letting out a soft disappointed huff, that's miss rukkhadevata for you, alright.

"(name), i'm sure you know why we're here, you're on the verge of failing english and your math class." she shook her head, pulling up your grades on her computer.

"if you don't pass this year, you won't graduate, you realize that right? she tilted her head toward you, her face was almost concerned.

"i know.. i get it miss, just need to get caught up–"

"well if you're behind, that calls for a tutor." your counselor interrupted, leaning over on her desk.

"you're not usually behind, this was the same excuse as last time. but if you really are behind, i recommend finding a tutor or someone to keep you in check."

someone to keep you in check... huh, seems familiar. someone who could keep you in check.. like that guy that keeps giving you warnings about your uniform? sure it's a bit messy and sometimes you just forget to tie your hair back, no big deal.

what even was his name? dealer? dollop? diluc! yes! you could beg diluc to tutor you, i mean with the amount of times you've been almost dress-coded, you might as well be friends!

but one problem, he's basically inapproachable, impossible to approach. sure, tons of girls crush on him, he's popular, he's the student council president for christ's sake! but nobody actually approaches him.

but you're the friendly and extroverted? ambiverted? maybe extroverted introvert music club president, no way it's that hard.

but it is; he doesn't even bat an eye to his name.

ᯓᡣ𐭩 extra notes: thank you aura for helping me review this 🙏🙏 love yew omg..

couldn't find a good text message app so we have to use.. twitter dms.. 😬😬

didn't want to put narration first one, but me personally; i struggle so much with understanding the beginning of stories without any context

ᯓᡣ𐭩 taglist: @mekiiiii

[ramayantika]

Chaand chuppa badal mein...

Krishna and Bhaishmi are back. Enjoyyyyyy

Krishna and I have regularly stayed in touch with each other after the train took me away from him and the serene temple towns of Mathura and Vrindavan. We talk a lot on text and sometimes on call in the late hours of the night. I have to quietly sneak out to the balcony. If I am lucky, I get to go to the terrace without waking my parents up. If I am luckier, our schedules match our free time in the evening, and I get to call him in the quiet hours of the evening.

I chose humanities. Ranvit and Bhumi had to pursue science even though Ranvit likes art more. Bhumi was indecisive about what subjects to learn, but she fares well enough in science and mathematics than her brother and me, so she decided to go for the science stream.

Ranvit has to struggle a lot in physics and math though. He takes out his stress through painting and reading about Indian art. One thing I am happy about him is that he did not let go of his art, nor did my uncle and aunt force him to abandon his hobbies. Their condition: “Pursue science. Get admission into a decent engineering college and then keep doing whatever hobby makes you happy. But science and engineering.”

As for me, class ten mathematics had given me enough nightmares. I did well in science, but I had no interest in pursuing it in more detail for the next two years. Those monkey problems from Ranvit’s physics book and large derivations on Bhumi’s notebook had me in shivers. Maasi supports me choosing humanities though, but would never want her children to pursue anything apart from science.

Ranvit and I are in class twelve now. We have our boards and entrance exams next year. Bhumi is new to class eleven but she is able to handle her subjects well enough, better than Ranvit though.

“Busy looking at the moon…?” Krishna’s honeyed voice draws my attention from the golden full moon beaming right back at me. I breathe deeply and sigh. A sheepish smile forms on my lips, and I place my phone on my left ear. “Uh... sorry, but you are right. How did you figure out?”

I can hear his smile through the breath that escapes his lips on the phone call. He is outside too — perhaps staring at the same moon with me.

“I have a golden moon dangling down the dark sky too, but there is somebody else who is ethereal than the moon whom I would like to see, but my fate doesn’t support that.” He sighs. It is a dramatic one. “Guess, I will have to make do with this golden ball of light.”

My cheeks warm and I smile. It is actually a full-fledged grin with my eyes imagining how he would look saying all that in front of me.

I can easily picture a charming lazy smile and a hand moving through his soft wavy locks while he leans closer to me and tucks my hair behind my ear.

A realization strikes me as my eyes glance at the gleaming moon once again. I am badly whipped for this guy.

“Bhaishmi?” I hear him question.

“Yes. I am here only. Am I audible?”

“Did I get you flustered?”

“Shut up.”

“Yay!”

“You are an idiot.”

“Only for you.”

We don’t say anything for a minute. I can hear him breathing. It is a faint sound, though. I like this comfortable silence. I do not feel restless to hold a conversation forcibly.

Krishna’s voice from the other side enters my ear. “I composed a new tune.” He pauses for a brief second before continuing. “I would like you to hear it.”

My heart picks its pace. It has been a while since I have heard him play flute to me. The last time it happened, we were on the terrace at Yashodhara’s house before we left for our separate ways.

“I would love to.”

“Wow. Cool. I will quickly fetch it. By the way,” I hear a tone of hesitancy in his voice, “are you okay if I play it to you on video call?”

I slap my palm over my lips to contain my excited laughter. Breathing in deeply, I nod and reply, “Yes. I am alone at my society’s terrace.”

“Okay!” He drags ‘okay’ with happiness for ten seconds and disconnects the voice call.

A minute later, my screen lights up with a pretty aesthetic profile photo of Krishna. I slide the green call sign upwards and receive the call.

An excited Krishna waves at me before placing the phone on his table. It is 11.30 PM and he looks as fresh as a lily flower, with a good outfit on top. A cream polo shirt with half sleeves that proudly boasted his toned arms and dark blue trousers.

I fan my face, pretending that I am adjusting my loose hair from my ponytail. After all, he can’t make out that I am fanning invisible hair strands around my face.

He sits on his chair and pushes himself along with the chair slightly backwards to place himself and his flute in the frame, his flute placed near his lips, a place I had been to a year before. The fateful kiss on the evening of Holi seared through my memory, and I blinked hard to bring my focus back on Krishna.

“Ready?” He asks.

I nod quietly while hiding my blush at witnessing the handsome sight in front of me.

He begins by playing a single note that sounds meditative to me. It is a slow but soothing beginning. I can imagine the moon and the cool breeze blowing around me. A few more slow music tunes flow through his flute, and I observe his face.

Krishna always appears so serene while playing the flute. He is at peace. Each of his facial muscles lie in a relaxed state except the slight curl of his lip. It appears like a soft subtle knowing smile, like that of a talented artist well aware of his craft and the hold he has over his cherished audience.

This time he plays a slow melody, as if taking time to express each emotion through every note. The rise and fall in volume and scale expresses a story of its own. It is hypnotizing.

There is yearning, loads of it. The tunes tug at my heart, as if calling my name. Krishna gently sways. It is a graceful motion. Well, Krishna is perfection incarnate. He is a natural performer.

My eyes close on their own. I can see myself dancing in my head to his music. I once dreamt that I was dancing to his music, only for him, for his eyes to see me and my art, just like he played the flute to me those two nights, only for me.

The yearning melody transforms to a slightly fun tune, as if teasing a beloved to proclaim their love, until it begins expressing bashfulness and devotion. God, he was truly a talented artist. He ought to be on bigger stage shows than post some one minute videos on Instagram and play his genius tunes for my ears to listen.

At one point, the music peaks. I feel my eyes moisten and my heart full with nostalgia, yearning and may I add this secretly: Love. A very tender love blooming like a lotus in the early hours of the morning when its warm golden rays caress its petals, coaxing it awake very gently.

It ends and my eyes fly open. I smile — this time not out of shyness, but of genuine admiration. I wonder if he can see my glazed eyes.

“Oh my, are you crying?”

I shrug my shoulders and blink those tears away. “Have I told you that your music is very moving? It easily makes someone too attached to it. It is like a spell.”

This time Krishna smiles shyly and scratches the back of his head. “Glad you liked it.”

Liked? The word loved too would be an understatement. I don’t say that out loud though. I answer with one of my pretty smiles.

Krishna twirls the flute around his fingers when I see him lean closer towards the screen, his eyebrows furrowed as if trying to focus on something. “Are you wearing my peacock chain?”

I pick the pecock pendant around my neck. “Yes, I keep it around my neck most of the time.”

“So, you still wear it every day.”

I nod with a hum and fiddle with the pendant. It used to be a part of Krishna’s beloved flute until he decided that it would better suit as a parting gift for a girl he met on a train than a beautiful adornment for his musical companion.

His eyes go thoughtful instead of the slightly smug playful expression he bears to mess with my heart with his relentless flirty lines. Krishna’s lips curl beautifully upwards. He is smiling to himself and I don’t question him why.

I know the answer to it.

He brings himself near to his phone. I can see more of his pretty face with more clarity. “The gods did hear my prayer after a long time. I got to see my girl prettier than the moon.”

Rolling my eyes, I reply, “Your flattery continues even though it is past midnight.” Secretly, I preen when I hear him say ‘my girl.’

I am a simple girl. I hear a sweet and charming guy call me as his; I melt into a puddle.

“Flattery for you, sweetheart. For me, it is the truth.”

And like that, my friends, I go quiet except the thudding heart inside my chest.

“So, how are you up this late, Bhaishmi,” He asks, tilting his head. “Your mother makes you sleep by this time.”

Shifting my phone towards my other hand, I flex my right hand a little to ease the stiffness in my wrist and answer, “My parents are out of town. They are visiting a relative’s wedding and will be back a day after tomorrow.”

Krishna’s dark eyes widen in surprise. “So, you are home alone for two whole days.”

Mustering up some courage, I add, “And two whole nights.”

He places his cheek on his palm. He looks like a lovesick fool, a very adorable one at that as he asks, “So, no interruption for two whole nights?”

“Nope.”

He hoots loudly before looking alarmingly at the door. Turning back towards me, he says softly, “Head back to your room then Bhaishmi. You are alone and you must not linger around late at night, especially on a dark terrace.”

I get up from my spot and walk towards the door. My hand accidentally hits the steel door. It creaks in an eerie tone, making the both of us jump.

I jog down the stairs with light feet as images of terrifying ghosts chasing me fill my head, and rush inside my warm cozy room.

“Did you lock the door properly?” Krishna asks.

I nod while curling myself in my cozy pink coloured blanket. My eyes close at the comfort surrounding me followed by the urge to fall asleep right away thanks to the mental exhaustion of being up late at nights for studies and projects for my school.

“Should we do a virtual sleepover thingy? You are sleepy.” Krishna points out.

I laugh and lay my head on my fluffy pillow. “I don’t have enough data pack for that.”

Krishna walks to his bed and covers himself with his blanket. His voice goes soft. He should sing me some lullabies, and I would fall asleep like a baby.

“Go to sleep, Bhaishmi. Try visiting me in my dreams.” He says with a teasing grin.

I smile in content instead of blushing hard. His face and his beautiful eyes are the last thing I see before my call screen changes to my lock screen wallpaper.

A ping awakens my tired eyes. My screen lights up.

“Goodnight Bhaishmi❤️. Sweet dreams.” There is a heart emoji beside my name. It is a red heart this time.

I wonder if he accidentally sent the red heart, since we generally stick to pink and blue ones.

Another ping.

“I will try to visit you in your dreams ;)” He adds a winking emoticon and a laughing emoji.

I grin and press my palm to my forehead before sending a text.

‘Goodnight Krishna 🩷🩷’

I don’t mention the part where I tell him that he has been in my dreams quite often.

--xxx---

Taglist: @ma-douce-souffrance (idk if you are using tumblr. you still haven't read the full series for this, but i am tagging in case you find this in the future hehe byeee) @jessbeinme15 @manwalaage @inexhaustible-sources-of-magic (hii sakhii) @krishna-priyatama @krsnaradhika

I kinda forgot the taglist for this fic. Many have different user ids now. Let me know if you all want to be tagged for krishna fics

[changingplumbob]

Foster Household: Chapter 9, Part 7

CW: Mental Health Struggles - Guide to content warnings

The last thing Carson felt like doing on a warm morning was dressing up and getting the ferry to Copperdale, but he had no choice. That’s where the high school was, even if it was covered in several inches of snow. He quickly headed inside to the library to double check his homework. Confident he hadn’t missed anything he decided to go find some friends.

Darwin was in his usual spot, asking the milling students for some homework he could copy. Study was not his priority.

Darwin: Carson! My best buddy. How about that math homework? Can I check your answers

Carson: Math home- we didn’t have math homework

Darwin: You sure? I got a text from Anya reminding me but then I changed topics

Carson: She’s not even in our year Darwin. And isn’t she like best friends with Artemisia?

Darwin: Oh yeah. She must have taken her phone and sent me a bogus text, she takes me flirting with her friend personally for some reason

Nanami: So I’m thinking we should shift you more to the middle and then while you’ve got the flyer-

Onyx: We’ll have more room for tumbling up the left side, got it

Ariadne: Hey Onyx

Onyx: Hmm? Oh hey Ariadne. Have you met Nanami? She’s in cheer with me

Ariadne: I don’t think so. I was actually hoping I could speak with you for a minute

Onyx: Yeah sure. Catch you in math Nanami?

Nanami: Math. The best class for doodling routines in

Onyx: You all good Ariadne

Ariadne: Yeah thanks. I, um... how close are you and Carson

Onyx: Me and Carson? Oh we go way back, best friends since forever

Ariadne: Are you and he... like together?

Onyx: What? No, no. We just grew up together in scouts and stuff, our dads are best friends

Ariadne: So he... he’s not dating anyone?

Onyx: *smiling* Tell you what, he’s over there by the mural project if you wanted to check with him

Ariadne: Oh no, I mean I didn’t-

Onyx: Bye now

Carson stared at the wall. What to paint, what to paint, what to paint? He was deep in thought when he heard Ariadne talking and had to stop himself kicking over a paint can accidentally.

Carson: Sorry what?

Ariadne: Oh, ah... I just asked if you’re... painting anyone-thing at the moment

Carson: I’m trying to paint but *sighs* I don’t know how mum does it. I love art but a blank canvas and I just falter. Maybe I didn’t inherit the right genes

Ariadne: I know what you mean. My grandmother... well she did a lot and I’m not sure I can do any of it half as well

Carson: I’m sure you can, you're brilliant

Carson was busy staring at the mural but that made Ariadne smile.

Ariadne: It’s so much colder here than Sulani, how do you stand the change everyday

Carson: *shrugs* I get by. I mean I have been in snow when we lived in willow creek. Are you cold?

Ariadne: Yeah... a little bit

Carson: You should tell your dads. I’m sure they’d wrap you in furs before you could blink

Ariadne: Oh I like my animals alive thanks. Listen, could we- I wanted to ask...

The bell rung loudly and a startled Carson began to pack up, terrified of being late. If he was late his grade would go down. Or he’d get detention. And if he got detention once he was bound to keep getting it and then he’d be kicked out of school. His parents would probably die from embarrassment. Wait, Ariadne had been saying something...

Carson: Sorry, you were going to ask something?

Ariadne: Nevermind, I better get to class

Carson tucked the paints away and watched her walk off. He liked that they were both wearing green today. It was matching in a way. Not that she was likely to want to match with him. Especially if he got kicked out of school. He ran the rest of the way to class one she was out of view.

Mrs T: Hurry up, everyone sit down. Who can tell me what we did in our last math class

Darwin: Sleep

Mrs T: We all know you did Darwin, we heard you snoring

The class giggled and Darwin tried to look put out but Carson knew he loved being the centre of attention.

Carson: We were talking about how to find x if there’s more than one

Mrs T: Very good Carson. Now, who can tell me our first step to solve the written equation

Carson: Nice job on that last question Paola, it threw me for a loop

Paola: Thanks! I was practising all weekend, no way am I flunking exams this week

Onyx came over and pulled Carson aside.

Onyx: What do you think you’re doing

Carson: Talking to our friend?

Onyx: Dude did Ariadne not talk to you? I think she’s interested. Last thing you want her to see is you talking to someone attractive. Oh quick, look like you’re talking to me so I can watch Zharfina

Carson: Does she... have binoculars?

Onyx: Isn’t it adorable

After eating Carson went to work on the mural again. Every so often he checked behind him to see who was around. He hoped Ariadne would come over and talk again, he was a doofus for not giving her more attention earlier. When she did come in she made a beeline for the food and Carson was sad to see that Artemisia was there talking to her. Stupid. Artemisia was probably busy telling her that Carson was seeing half a dozen girls, or gave terrible hugs, or-

Carson got so worked up at himself he had to leave the mural to chill out upstairs before class. As it was he almost stabbed his book with his pencil several times during science class. Thank goodness he had an appointment with Chad after school.

Previous ... Next

[kira-dofc]

Chapter 1---

A sunkiss fell upon you while you lay on your bed. 6:00 a.m., your usual time to wake up. You woke up upon seeing the bright sunlight on your window. You have done your daily morning routine, another boring, bland day.

"Ugh, Mondays..." You sighed as you got out of your room for breakfast. "Young Master, food is ready." One of your maids said.

"Where's mom and dad..?", "Oh, your mom went to an appointment with a client. As for your father, the usual, he went out early." Though you had rich parents, you didn't see them much. Your mother is the owner of a big food chain in Japan, and your father is a high paying surgeon as of the moment.

You ate breakfast and left immediately for school.

~6:30 a.m.~

Your chauffer dropped you off to your school, just on time. Outside the gate, you saw your friend, F/n.

You walked silently behind him, giving him a whisper, "F/n..",

"AH! W-what the hell?! Don't come sneaking up on me like that. It's scary! Ugh, anyway, class is about to start in about 10 minutes. Let's hurry if we don't want to be late again.."

"Okay."

It was currently maths class, as usual, you perfected the surprise quiz announced by your teacher. Every person in this school admired you, smart, rich, good-looking, and even good at sports, a perfect man as they would call you.

Though you weren't friendly, many people still wanted to be as close to you as possible, but one specific girl stands out of the crowd, Sana.

People see her as the female version of you, pretty, popular, and rich. No one else could be the perfect pair for you, but her.

"Hey babe~! How was class?" She exclaimed, "I don't have time for your flirts, Sana, I have other important things to do."

"Aw, come on, don't be coy! I'm your best friend. You don't have to push me away like that~"

"Then act like one, you know I don't like these rumors running around in our school right now.. Plus, don't you have a girlfriend?"

"Oh shush, no one needs to know that..! I wanna keep it secret for now!"

"Sana, you disgust me.."F/n said.

"Oh sush, will you! I was just joking~~"

"F/n, let's go, we still have class."

It's currently your 5th period, one more subject before lunch. You groaned as you  answered the last biology problem.

Though biology wasn't really your thing, you still managed to stay the best among the other students.

It was finally lunchtime, you ate the usual scheduled food with your two friends. As you ate, a text was sent on your phone by some unknown account,

Unknown: meet me behind the school campus. After your training, don't be late.

Y/n: Who is this?

Unknown: You will know soon enough :)

"Who's that?" F/n said,

"I don't know, but they said to come meet with them after our training. I don't know what's their problem but can you come with me? I don't feel safe, especially not knowing this person.

"Sure."

You finished eating and headed to your next class.

"Listen, first years, you joined this club because you either want to play, or just because you want girls running after you. Either way, we all here take things seriously, whether it's just a practice match or a friendly match. This school is known to have the best volleyball players in all of Japan, and i dont want anything to ruin that title we have. We don't want to waste our time in practices so don't do things that would end up in a waste of yours or our time. Just remember to enjoy what you're doing, or at least just train properly. Now, do 50 sets, and you're free to go."

Your school has been seen to have the best volleyball team in all of Japan, getting trophies and winning championships 4 years straight and counting.

This long of a speech has sent the first years a shiver down their spine. They expected to have a strict captain, but they didn't expect you to be this cold.

As time went by, you helped the first years in their first training.

As all cleaned the gym to end the daily training, you waited for F/n before shutting the lights off.

"You really sure you want to meet this person? I have a bad feeling about this.."

"It's okay. I don't know what's the reason to get scared of. we're inside school anyways."

You headed to the designated place along with F/n. As you were getting closer, you saw a man with a jacket on, covering their face.

You headed closer to him, "Are you the one who messaged me..?"

"Ah, you're here..."

"Can your friend leave us for a minute..?"

"Sure, F/n, can you leave for a minute.." You muttered.

"Okay, I'll get straight to the point, I know what happened to your parents, I know how they died.",

"W-what..? Why is this important, I know I've said this to some of my friends, but why..? I have no intent to go back through my past, I wanna leave it all behind."

"Well, the thing is, I also know you have a sister. And in fact, she's alive."

"What..? Where is she? How'd you know I had one?"

"Not all of that is important, but I know where she is. She's studying at a school far from here. Nekoma high-school."

A/n: first chapter!!! Took me so long but was worth it, I would usually post every 3 to 4 days, but it's up to me if I'm not too lazy to post <3

Word count: 929

[catamano]

8:13am - Georgia

When I told Mom that I didn’t want to go to school this weekend, I meant it. School is the last place I want to be right now. Between Nadia and Parker this weekend, it didn’t stop. At least Mom and I seem to finally be getting along again… We actually spent the car ride talking. It’s probably the first time we’ve done that in weeks.

I pull the door to school open and am met with the familiar scent of the hallway. It smells like a bad mix of axe body spray and crappy perfume body spray. I swear everyone here has the same sprays and none of them are good.

The walk from the door to my locker isn’t a far one. I spot two people standing in front of my locker and freeze. Parker. And some boy I’ve never seen before. Probably her boyfriend. Why are they in front of my locker? I sigh. I don’t feel like dealing with this right now.

It’s Monday, which means I don’t have math, which means I actually have to go to my locker. My first class today is Western Civ and Ms. Tully always makes us bring our books to class. I take a deep breath and keep walking. Whatever. I’ll just tell them to leave.

“Georgia,” greets my former best friend. Her voice is cold. She made it very clear this weekend that our friendship is over. I still don’t even know what I did. She kept calling me a bad friend over and over again. She told me I didn’t care. She’s the one who stopped caring. Not me. I feel tears start at the back of my throat and swallow. Not again. I’ve already cried once today.

“Can you move, please?” I ask. I don’t make eye contact with either of them. The guy next to her is staring at me. He doesn’t look mad, he looks… weird. I can’t really read his expression. This is the guy she picked over me? Okay. 

“Good morning to you too.” She rolls her eyes. I feel the urge to do the same, but decide against it. Talking with Mom this morning must’ve gotten to me. Her voice is in my head, reminding me not to stoop to anyone’s level. I didn’t even tell her anything going on.

“Can you move, please?” I repeat. I have no idea what my voice sounds like right now.

“I have your clothes, when do you want them?” she asks. I forgot she said she would bring them today. "Georgia" clothes. I don't know why she had to throw that in my face. My stuff might be nicer than hers, but I've never said anything about it.

“Just give them to me after school,” I tell her. I swallow again. I don’t know why this couldn’t have been done over text. Oh, right. I think she blocked me.

“Fine,” she says. She grabs her boyfriend’s hand and they both leave without saying anything else. Ten years of friendship for… that guy. She doesn’t seem bothered at all. I don’t know how to feel about that.

I get my locker open after a couple tries and pull out my Western Civ book. Parker and I have class together. I forgot until right now. We usually sit next to each other. Not today, I guess.

Lunch will be different. I’ll have to sit somewhere else. On Mondays, we usually sit at a table with a few other people. I wonder if she’s said anything to them about me. Zach hasn't talked to me, so I'm guessing she did. They’re more her friends than they are mine. They probably just pretend to like me. Now they have no reason to.

Without Parker, I don’t really have… any friends here. I have acquaintances, but they all have their own friends. I glance around. Everyone has friends. I don’t see a single person by themselves. Except me. The only one without any friends.

The lump in my throat is still there. I swallow for a third time to try and get rid of it.

I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to go to class. I just want to go home.

[ldhluvr]

☆ close to you

pairing: academic rival!keeho x fem!reader

summary: yoon keeho is a menace to society. especially if the definition of society is you (and maybe your math teacher).

other info: this was written for a friend, so the texting style is specifically to fit her texting style. also i think i made it a fem reader? no proper proofreading / editing soz. also ur math teacher is nosy as hell but also i would love having him as my math teacher

Being the first person in a column of students had its perks, because you were the one who got to see every students’ test scores before you passed their papers back. Usually, you were not the type of person to invade someone’s privacy and potentially embarrass them like that, but with Keeho, it was very different.

He was the biggest smartass you knew, and you were quite smart yourself. You just weren’t a dick about it.

But your seating chart gave you the upper hand here — you get to make fun of any idiotic mistakes he makes on his test, and he can’t do the same for you.

You flip through the papers until you find yours, and then his, and you take a long look at his. You hear him groan behind you.

“Just pass back the damn paper. If you’re so curious, I could tell you my grade. You’re holding everyone else up.”

“You’d lie,” you mutter, as you continue reading his test. “Oh, wow, how’d you get number eight wrong?” You reach back and hold out the stack of papers for him to grab.

“If you’d let me see my paper earlier, I might’ve been able to give you an answer.”

“‘Might’ve,’” you mock. You take a look at your own test paper and see you also got number eight wrong. You feel a presence near your shoulder and you realize Keeho’s reading your test from behind you. You flip the paper over as fast as you can before turning around to glare at him.

“What’re you looking at?”

“Just checking if you have the right answer for number eight. Guess you don't.”

“Shut up. At least I know how to solve it now.”

“Who said I didn’t?”

Of course he’s smirking.

You roll your eyes at him and turn back around.

The next day, he taps on your shoulder. You quickly turn around to glare at him but notice he’s rubbing his nose. You look down at your braid that rests on your shoulder. You fight the urge to laugh.

“Did I just hit you with my hair?”

“Most people would say sorry.”

“Clearly, I’m not most people. What do you want?”

He stops rubbing his nose and looks at you, clearly annoyed.

“Can you pass me the notes for 9.3? I couldn’t really get what he was saying.”

“Why would I help you? Ask one of your friends,” you snap.

“I am.”

You freeze. We’re friends now? Since when?

He’s making a (really ugly) pouty face and you feel like throwing up or something.

“Ugh, fine, whatever,” you say, handing him your notebook. “Wait, how the hell am I supposed to take notes now?”

Keeho doesn’t respond, and stares a little above your head instead.

You cringe, having a feeling that you know what’s behind you. You turn around and are met with your math teacher’s grimacing face. You feel like you’re trapped in a Disney Channel movie.

“Hope you had a nice little chat. If you continue it, I’ll give you your very own detention slip!” he exclaims, a fake smile adorning his face. Normally, you loved your teacher’s sarcasm, but this situation has made you realize you don’t love it as much when it’s directed at you.

Both you and Keeho mutter quick apologies to your teacher, and you quickly snatch your notebook back from him.

“As I was saying, with integrals, you have to keep in mind…”

Turns out, Keeho’s stupider than you thought. Even though your teacher essentially said “shut up or you’ll both get detention,” the idiot decides to open his big mouth.

He asks you for the notebook again and your teacher stops in the middle of his lesson, staring at the two of you with his same pained smile. He looks down at his podium and starts scribbling. You groan quietly and try your hardest not to smack Keeho in front of your entire class.

“Since you two love flirting in my class so much, here’s a ticket to a room just for the two of you. And me, of course. Today, after school.”

You open your mouth to object, but you know that’s going to make it worse. Wait, what the hell did he just say?

Whatever. Your mom’s going to kill you.

A couple hours later and it’s finally time for your first detention. If only he’d given you detention tomorrow so you could’ve explained that you didn’t interact with him that second time.

Whatever, it’s probably already on your record already.

Fuck Keeho.

Speaking of the boy, he’s seated in your usual class seat.

You give him a weird look and sit at the desk closest to the door. He gets up from his (read: your) seat and sits at the desk closest to yours.

You roll your eyes. “Just stay away from me. Because your idiotic self couldn’t pay attention in class, I’m stuck in detention. This is on my record because you didn’t take notes like you should’ve.” You pull out your computer from your backpack and decide to do homework.

Your math teacher still hasn’t arrived.

You take a quick glance at Keeho’s face and he looks kind of… hurt. When he realizes you saw him, he hides whatever the expression was with a smirk. “Ouch, that really hurt,” he says in the most sarcastic tone you’ve heard. He moves closer to you. “You know—“

Your teacher walks into the room and raises an eyebrow at the two of you. Keeho immediately moves positions and sits like a normal smartass.

Your teacher starts working at his desk. At the same time, you’re handed a post-it note.

“Excuse me? Also I know the post-it note’s from you dumbass, you don’t need to write your name on it. You’re an idiot sometimes, you know that?” You’ve already spoken before you remember where you are, and at this point, you don’t care.

“Actually, I’m not. From our grades, we’re relatively the same intelligence-wise, so if you’re calling me stupid, you’re calling yourself stupid too.”

“Math grades aren’t everything, dipshit. Also, did you just try to use the ‘I’m not a mirror’ comeback without using the ‘I’m not a mirror’ comeback?”

“I guess, yeah.”

“Hey, guys, I was joking when I said you can flirt in here, you’re supposed to be quiet. So please be. And do work — please do not just text each other or something,” your teacher sighs, running his hand through his hair.

You could’ve sworn he muttered something about “not being paid enough for this.”

Your phone lights up and you’re once again reminded that Yoon Keeho is actually the biggest idiot you know.

DO NOT RESPOND ❌❌❌ ok so back to what i was saying

YOU how dumb are you

YOU he literally just said “don’t just text each other” and you’re literally texting me

DO NOT RESPOND ❌❌❌ you’re texting back

YOU oh my God how are you in eleventh grade right now

DO NOT RESPOND ❌❌❌ same way you are, sweetheart

You almost shriek and then (luckily) remember where you are. You turn to look at Keeho, and he’s already looking at you. Sometimes, it feels like his smirk is glued to his face.

YOU I don’t think we’re close enough for you to call me sweetheart

DO NOT RESPOND ❌❌❌ i’d disagree with you there

YOU oh?

YOU okay, then tell me. how close are we?

YOU in your opinion, of course

DO NOT RESPOND ❌❌❌ i’d say about a foot

You roll your eyes and turn off your phone, going back to your work. A couple of minutes later and your phone (finally) lights up with another text.

DO NOT RESPOND ❌❌❌ okay fine sorry

DO NOT RESPOND ❌❌❌ i called you my friend today

DO NOT RESPOND ❌❌❌ i’d say we’re that close

YOU and friends call each other sweetheart?

DO NOT RESPOND ❌❌❌ i mean why not?

YOU ugh why are you so difficult all the time

DO NOT RESPOND ❌❌❌ okay fine fine

DO NOT RESPOND ❌❌❌ hey, wait i never said i called you sweetheart because we’re friends YOU okay so then why'd you call me sweetheart

YOU and please be quick with your answer

YOU I could have gotten the math homework done by now

DO NOT RESPOND ❌❌❌ i called you sweetheart because i wanted to be closer

YOU closer than a foot?

DO NOT RESPOND ❌❌❌ you’re the one being difficult now

DO NOT RESPOND ❌❌❌ i wanted to be closer than friends

You set your phone down with a thud. You half-expected his text, but the other half of you feels giddy with surprise seeing the message. This time, when you look at him, he’s not looking at you. In fact, his eyes are trained on his phone screen, and you can see a faint redness in his cheeks.

You tap his shoulder to get his attention. He doesn’t respond. You tap him again. He still doesn’t move an inch. You look back down at the conversation. You squint your eyes at the screen. Wait a second.

YOU wanted?

You look back at him. He finally looks back up at you. The second your eyes meet, he looks back at his phone. The text bubble appears, then disappears.

DO NOT RESPOND ❌❌❌ *want

You try to fight it, but you can’t help but grinning. You pinch him and he yelps, attracting the attention of your teacher. You put on your best goody-two-shoes smile and he looks away.

“You like me?” you whisper. “Hey, Keeho, you in there?” You tap him again. He remains still.

You sit back in your seat.

YOU never thought I’d see the day where Yoon Keeho was rendered speechless

YOU especially by little old me

YOU also Keeho if you’re not gonna let me speak to you, why’d you tell me?

He doesn’t text his response. He, instead, decides to finally look you in the eye.

You look at your teacher and look back at Keeho.

You can’t say it, because it’d be horribly embarrassing for your teacher to hear, so you instead mouth the words.

“I like you too,” a voice rings out, and it’s not your own.

You look at the direction it came from and notice your math teacher grimacing.

“Guys, come on. You’re not subtle; you text kind of loudly. But it’s nice that you guys have sorted out whatever your feelings are. I hope this means you’ll stop interrupting my class with your… conversations.”

You feel like dissolving right then and there. You look at Keeho, and he looks as mortified as you are.

“You know what? You guys are my best students anyway, get out of here and have your teenage fun, I don’t know. I won’t put the detention on your transcripts. I didn’t have the best day today and you kids having your conversation in the middle of one of the harder concepts in the class was kind of the icing on the cake. Sorry for taking it out on you. I’ll give you free As on the next pop quiz. Not like you wouldn’t get them anyway.”

He smiles at you both — a genuine one this time — and waves.

You immediately start packing and head out.

You start walking to the front of the school when a hand tugs you back. You bump into Keeho, who looks down at you with his signature smirk. You turn around to properly face him.

“So…. you like me? At least, that’s what I’ve heard.” He shrugs, a playful look in his eyes.

“This coming from the one who… what was it? Wanted to be close enough to me to call me sweetheart?”

“Yeah,” he breathes, stepping towards you. “You got it right.”

You look up at him through your eyelashes. “I’d say you’re pretty close. Much closer than a foot.”

He throws his head back and laughs, running a hand through his hair. “You’re so annoying,” he sighs. He leans in, and suddenly, he’s as close as he can possibly be, lips on yours.

[where-is-vivian]

Worth The Risk?

from @jegulus-microfic's prompt, risky (805 words)

“Oh, fuck,” James rolls on his bed, hiding his eyes in the crook of his elbow. He locks his phone, that’s still in his hand, and he groans. Though he has a downward smile on his lips threatening to grow more. His cheeks burn him. “Fuuuuck.”

“James.”

James takes his arm off his face to look at Peter staring at him from his desk chair. His roommate is always reading sociology books at his desk; at the beginning of the year, James thought he was always working, doing his homeworks and all, but no, turns out he’s almost never working for school in fact, and that he spends all his time reading these books or playing Solitaire.

“You’re being dramatic,” Peter adds without deigning to give him a look.

Don’t worry. Peter is a nice guy. He’s actually pretty chill, and he’s nice to be around. He’s just pragmatic. He doesn’t get James’ love crises. He keeps pretending that he is a fatalist, and that what happens was bound to happen anyway.

James sighs, and sits up on his bed. But unlike Peter, he’s unable to stay still for too long. So quickly, James stands up, throwing his phone on his bed, and he starts pacing in their shared bedroom. Hands on his hips, then behind him, then fidgeting together, then back on his hips. Then back on his eyes.

“Aaargh,” James lets out, and he’s thankful Peter never seems annoyed by his antics. He just keeps reading peacefully. “Why is he taking so long to answer?”

Peter doesn’t answer.

“Do you think he’s busy?” James is starting to be scared. “Oh god, what if he’s busy.”

He shouldn’t have sent that text.

“But it’s already 7 pm. No one is busy at 7 pm.”

“James, people can be busy at any hour. And at 7 pm, unlike the both of us, many people are just doing their homeworks,” Peter calmly states, without lifting his eyes from his book.

James whines in frustration. He paces a bit more.

“What if he hates me? What if he refuses? How am I supposed to face him after that? We literally have 3 classes together… Oh no!” James stops his pacing briefly before accelerating. “What if he tells Sirius?”

Sirius is his big brother. James’ best friend. James doesn’t know how he would react if he knew about James’ crush for his little brother.

“I completely forgot to tell Sirius! It’s too late now… Oh no…”

“James, can you please, sit and stop panicking? This is just a text.”

James blinks at Peter. “Pete, this is not just a text. This is The Text.”

Peter turns around, to meet James’ gaze, and rolls his eyes at him. “You’re being even more dramatic than Sirius. This is fine. Regulus gave you his number himself. Honestly, he’s been thirsting over you for weeks, and everytime you speak in our mandatory maths class, he’s looking at you with stars in his eyes,” Peter starts to enumerate, looking up at the ceiling, sitting back in his chair. Now that he isn’t reading anymore, he’s giving James his full attention. “The other day he asked if you were into blokes, by any means, and then he mindlessly asked if you were dating anyone. He was less discreet than a backhoe,” James stares at Peter while he’s monologuing, enumerating all of this as if it’s proving a point. “He even bought the only book he’s seen you with— which, by the way, is probably the only book I’ve seen you with, ever.”

“Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Seas?” James asks, unsure.

“Yes. That one. Not that good of a book, to be fair.”

James snorts, but his smile threatens to be back on his lips. “It was a good book.”

“Regulus bought it, and he managed to finish it before you. The fool.”

Honestly, it isn’t hard to finish reading a book before James. He’s rather slow. But he didn’t know Regulus bought it too. Maybe it is a coincidence.

“That doesn’t mean anything. It’s just a coincidence.”

Peter raises his eyebrows at him, giving him a look that more or less means: Are you kidding me right now?

“What?” James shrugs. “That’s true. It’s probably not that meaningf—”

In the corner of his eyes, James sees his phone light up. And he hears it vibrating. He literally jumps on it, under the amused look of Peter. He unlocks it nervously, to see his conversation with Regulus appearing.

James: hi, it’s James, from maths class :) i wanted to know if you were free tonight? i think you’re cool, and i’d like to know you better

James: so if you’re free some time, tell me

Regulus: Hi James. Thanks. I am free tonight, and yes, I think it would be nice to hang out sometime. 

[perfectlywrongformend3s]

Each other's Nurse-Juke

(not my gif)

A/n: Thank you so much for requesting, I really hope you love it. I really love doing unique requests so feel free to do more. Oh one last thing I'm sorry for getting this to you so late, I'm on vacation and now just typing this out.

-Samantha

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

Julie's POV

I was sitting in my math class feeling like the room was spinning. I looked over at the teacher to find her not paying attention so I took my phone out to text Luke about not feeling well.

'Luke I'm feeling super dizzy.'

I sent it, but dint get a respond right away. I knew if I stayed like this it would only get worse so I carefully packed my things since I knew I wasn't coming back to class due to class was about 20 mins away from being done. I slowly walked over to my teacher to ask if I could go to the nurse.

" Mrs. Robinson, I was wondering if I could go to the nurse." I softly asked

She looked up and scanned me over before writing me a pass to the nurse. I quietly thanked her before heading down.

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

It took me a little while to get down there, but I made it. I walked into the room not noticing Luke sitting on one of the beds.

" What can I do for you Julie?" She questioned

I held on to my backpack straps. " I feel super dizzy, and it feels really warm." I said softly

She sighed, but said..." Go sit over on the empty bed by Luke."

I looked over to find Luke. I slowly moved over to sit down. " Seems like we're both under the weather." Luke said softly

I gave him a soft smile. I saw the nurse come back over. " I called both your houses, but there was no answer. Do you both think you can handle the last couple classes." She asked us

I didn't think I could cause every time I stood up it made me dizzy. So that's what I told her. " I don't think I could, I get super dizzy just from standing." I said with a slight cough

She hummed and looked over at Luke. " And you Luke?" she questioned

" I'm fine other than getting hot and cold flashes." he explained

She nodded, " Let me just check your temperature." She said while walking away to grab that."

" Julie you all right? You're looking a little pale." Luke asked with concern

Before I could get anything out I grabbed a near by trash can. As I emptied my stomach Luke moved over to my side and rubbed my back.

" Oh dear..." the nurse said when she come back over then said, "Okay, Julie you will be going home if I can get ahold of your parents. Luke lets take your tempter."

Luke's POV

She put the thermometer in my mouth and we waited. It then beeped so she took to out to see it was close to a fever, but not 100% one yet. She then went back to the room she keeps the supplies. I glanced back to Julie to find her with her eyes closed.

" Jules you okay?" I whispered to her

She opened her eyes and nodded, but I could tell by her face she wasn't. I was going to say something, but the nurse came back out. "All right Julie still no answer do you have anyone else that could pick you up." She softly said

Julie shook her head. I looked over at the nurse and said...

" I can drive her back."

She looked over to me. " Luke, I'm not aloud to unless a parent knows where their child is."

I sighed and tried again. " I get that, but we're family friends we live right next to each other."

She sighed again. " Julie, you okay with him taking you." She questioned

Julie nodded in agreement making me smile and look over at the nurse. " Okay, give me a minute and I'll walk with you guys to the office and explain." She said before walking into her little room and reached for the phone before closing the door.

I then moved my eyes over to her. " Even though I'm sick..." I paused to make sure she was looking. " Doesn't mean I won't take care of you." I finished

She looked over at me and said...

" What if you get worse?"

I shrugged, " I don't mind really I'm fine right now." I told her while grabbing her hand in mine and squeezed it.

Julie smiled and squeezed mine back. The nurse come back and made us follow her to the office.

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

We were in the driveway of my house and we stayed in the car for a little. I glanced over at her to make sure she was still doing okay.

" You think you can walk the short distance to your house or do you rather just head into mine." I softly questioned

She thought about the questioned before softly saying...

" Can we just go in yours since it's closer."

I immediately nod and got out of my car and moved over to the passenger side. I opened her door and held my hand out for her to grab. She gave me a weak smile and grabbed my hand.

" Thank you." she weakly said

I nodded and led her to my front door. Once I got the door open I walked us to the living room.

" Here you sit right there and I will get you some pain medication." I said walking to the kitchen and walked over to the cabinet and took two before moving to get water. I then brought to over to her.

" Here." I whispered sitting next to her.

She gave me a soft smile and took the medication, I gave her a small smile, " How about you just rest now." I said

" Before I do can I say something." She softly said

Julie's POV

I was nervous to tell him. Luke looked over at me, " Jules you don't have to be nervous." he said

I gave him a small smile. " I know." I whispered

It took me a little bit to get the words out. " I know you're older than me Luke, but I can't help how I feel. I mean if you don't like me that's fine. Um then we can pretend this didn't happen." He interrupted me

Luke rested his hands on my knees. " Jules it's okay..." he paused and took a deep breath. " I like you too." he said

I sniffed a little before saying..." Really"

He let out a soft chuckle. " Yes really."

I felt myself smile. " I would ask for you to kiss me, but..." he interrupted me with his soft lips. " Luke." I exclaimed a little once he pulled away

He had a small smirk, " What?" he said

" You're gonna get more sick." I said concerned

He kissed me again before pulling away. " Already, almost to being sick, love." He said while pushing a piece of my hair back.

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

I hope this is good, I didn't know how to finish of the end of the request. But I hope you love it. I really hope there's no mistakes if so let me know.

-Samantha

[oncamelliastreet]

ignore, i just have nowhere to put this rant and no one to tell it to and need to get it into space while i have a quick mental breakdown

i’m just so fucking stressed about precalc and i’m fucking fed up and i don’t know what to do. like i actually don’t think i can pass this class. precalc is like a combination of algebra and geometry, so it would be fine if it weren’t for the fact that my school had shit algebra and geometry classes that barely taught anyone anything. we don’t know the basics going into the class, and we were all hoping to get the old precalc teacher who is actually a really good teacher and could’ve helped us, but he stopped teaching it for some reason this year and hired a new guy who doesn’t understand that we really don’t know anything. like most of my grade failed this test, and he gave us a lecture on it and said that we cleary didn’t study enough and it’s unacceptable that we don’t know it because it’s prettt much review, but WE DIDN’T LEARN IT BEFORE HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO KNOW NOW. and i did all of the homework, i asked my sister for help every night and had her explain it to me, i studied for two hours the day before the test, and i still got a 50% (BAD). and my stupid fucking sister keeps texting me and asking me about when i’ll need help and what i don’t get and I DON’T EVEN KNOW. BECAUSE MY TEACHER DIDN’T EVEN GIVE THE TESTS BACK OR PUT THEM IN THE GRADEBOOK HE JUST SHOWER PEOPLE THEIR SCORES. and i don’t even think he’s gonna give them back, so i don’t know if i actually didn’t know anything or if the questions i didn’t get to because im a slow ass test taker came back to bite me in the ass and it lost a lot of points because he grades by partial credit and he can’t give partial credit to questions i didn’t even get to in time. the whole thing is just fucking fucked and i don’t know how to pass the class and there’s really no alternatives because i have to have four years of math and you can’t really go into stats without precalc and you can’t go into college algebra because college algebra is just algebra 2 and i took algebra 2 freshman year and i can’t take the same class twice. i’m just completely fucking fucked and my grades about to dip so bad and i’m not gonna be able to get it back up and i’m not even comfortable talking to my teacher about it because he’s such a fucking weirdo and he explains everything so fast which doesn’t work for me because i’m an extremely visual learner when it comes to math and i have to have things explained to me slowly and written down first or it takes me forever to get it and i never get his answers when other people ask questions in class because he gets super condescending and explains it to you like you’re a stupid person who should already know it except i am a stupid person who should probably know it but i never had it taught to me in the first place so i don’t know how the fuck i’m gonna start knowing it now and i’m just stressed as FUCK and i’m gonna tell my therapist about this tomorrow and she’s just gonna say “well have you tried asking for help” yes i fucking have it didn’t WORK i just don’t get it ill ask my sister for help and she looks at me like im a lost cause every time i dont know something and says that i should already know it and tells me to watch a video about it and it doesn’t FUCKING HELP and everyone is so FUCKING CONDESCENDINF BEVAUSE I KUSY DONT UNDERSTAND MATH AND IM CRTINF SO FUCKING HARD RIGHT NOW

[worshipme]

and i miss my lover, man || a self-para penned by sora for mayhemhq’s HOOK

“hey rachel, it’s nice to see you again.” he greets the woman with a hug that lingers for longer than a moment. his name rolls off her tongue and once upon a time it had been his favorite thing to hear in the world.

when she graduated and returned home from university, tyler was still the first person she texted even if they hadn’t talked in the past four years. seeing her contact appear on his lock screen was enough for him to stop everything he was doing and reply.

ever since that text, they had periodically been meeting up with each other. hanging out like friends do, and seriously hanging out like friends do. never alone, always with their old group of friends from high school. catching each other up on new updates in life and legally drinking together. but tyler and rachel weren’t ever friends. they were lovers longer than they were friends. their relationship was an instant attraction that quickly turned into tyler trying to make the quiet girl who he caught staring at him in the middle of math blush. the real catalyst was when their assigned seats were right next to each other with the hopes of tyler’s rambunctious self would calm down if he was seated right at the front next to the quiet smart girl.

spoiler: it did.

tucked in his backpack he brought with him is the little box of every post-it note and crumbled up piece of paper that she had ever passed to him from that first day in math class that he sent her one with a simple question of him asking for the answer on a test. there’s a few other things in there - various pictures and different bracelets. the box held every little thing he had kept from their relationship. he can see a similar box tucked under her own arm that he can only assume is his side of their conversations and other things she had kept.

he offers up his arm for her to take, but like she always does, she shakes her head and begins to lead the way down to their spot in the creek. tyler walks beside her. it’s been years since he’s been here, and he knows it’s the same for her. it felt wrong to visit this little part of the creek without the other, but now that they’re here, they can’t help but sit down and talk about the old days.

but when the conversation begins to die out and he’s left with the bitter-sweet beating of his heart in his chest, he knows its time. “thank you for doing this with me.” he says, and his voice is just shy of a whisper.

“i need this too.” comes her reply.

“i feel like we’re at a funeral.”

“it kind of is, if you think about it. we’re both finally letting go of our relationship.”

“i don’t know why i held on to it for so long. i don’t have feelings for you anymore, but…”

“it’s all we knew. we spent our entire adolescence together, and we’re both the sentimental type. talk about a double homicide.”

“yeah, i guess that’s why… can you stop looking at me like that? it makes me sad.”

“why does this feel like another breakup?”

“i’m initiating this one, though. you got the first one.”

“fuck you.”

“one last time?”

she punches his shoulder and he can’t help but laugh. she joins in.

they start to collect nearby rocks and arrange it in a small circle. they continue to talk to fill the silence, and its then that she asks the question he’s been hoping to avoid. “so what happened with mariah? unless that’s still a fresh wound, i know it was only recently that the two of you split.” it makes him pause and look at her with an awkward smile on his face.

“i wasn’t ready to let you go. so while i had feelings for mariah, i was still entertaining the thought of ‘what if rach and i fall in love again’ in my head. i couldn’t do that to her. not be fully committed and all that. that’s just not me. and then when she ended things with me i just… i realized i needed to let you go. that this is why i can’t see myself dating someone else because i keep thinking about you.”

“…. me too….”

“i know. i’m not the only one with stuff to burn.”

there’s a silence that follows that. they begin to dump the contents of their boxes into the center of the rocks, and like some sort of twisted storybook - tyler immediately recognizes the first photo they took and printed out together as a couple that lays on the very top. they were just kids back then, and the smiles on their faces practically screamed out ‘this is my person!’

“i loved you.” it doesn’t matter who says it first, because the other is quick to reply, “i loved you, too.”

a match is tossed into the pile and the world begins to burn.

[skzhocomments]

In the Dark - Choi Minho SHINee Fanfic - Chapter 12 - Somewhere I belong

General masterlist

Story masterlist - please consult it for the summary of the story, trigger warnings etc.

Wattpad | AO3

Chapter 11 | Chapter 13

---

Chapter 12 - Somewhere I belong

chapter word count: ~4.4k words

~Jieun’s POV~

“Okay, kids! That’s all for today. See you tomorrow!” I waved and opened the door of the classroom, watching as parents came and picked up their children.

Just as usual, Nari and I were the last in the room, and I helped her take out some of her books so we could do her homework together until 4 PM, when I would take her to her art classes.

My grandmother’s funeral was two weeks ago, and the days since have brushed over me with such force, I felt like a small boat broken apart by large swells. I was still feeling strange about everything, and wasn’t sure how to keep going further, as there was no longer any final goal for me to reach, anything at stake.

I only moved to this city to take my grandmother to the best hospital in the country, but now that she was gone, what need was there for me to stay here?

I didn’t know anyone, I didn’t have any friends, my grandmother was gone.

Why would I stay here?

My eyes absent-mindedly turned to Nari, and I watched her solve her math problems in concentration. The furrow of her brows was really cute, and her resemblance to Minho was uncanny.

I found myself smiling at the thought of the father-daughter duo, and then I felt a pang in my heart, as Minho and I still haven’t addressed the whole In the Dark fiasco. We haven’t spent much alone time together after the funeral, and it felt unnatural to talk about it.

I wasn’t even sure how to broach the subject anyway.

Hey, Minho, I’m a whore! Surprise!

That surely wouldn’t work.

Instead of thinking about it any further, I started helping Nari with the more difficult exercises, and the hours passed by quickly.

“Okay, Nari, it’s time to go to your art classes.” I smiled and stood up, helping her put everything back in her pink backpack.

As if on cue, the door opened just as I said this, and Minho came in the classroom.

“Daddy!” Nari shot up and ran to her father’s arms, and my eyes widened.

“Hi, baby.” He kissed her head. “You ready to go?”

“Are you taking me to art today?!” She asked, her eyes full of surprise.

“Yes, Miss Park and I will take you to your art classes together today.” He replied, and I looked at him confused.

Nari returned to her backpack to finish packing as Minho came towards me.

“I was hoping you’d be free to talk a bit afterwards?”

“Sure.” I nodded, but I felt my chest tighten.

~

“So…” Minho smiled, looking a bit uncomfortable, and I was feeling just as restless.

He took me to a café, so I decided to focus on my coffee cup for the time being, feeling the impending doom his next words would most certainly bring.

“I really wanted to talk to you, but it’s been a bit chaotic with everything going on…” He continued.

“Yeah…”

“And you’ve also avoided my texts and calls like the plague.”

“I… uhm… I didn’t…” I shifted in my seat, unsure of what to say to excuse myself.

He was right, I’ve been avoiding all his attempts of reaching out, simply because I didn’t know how to act around him anymore. I only answered if there was something at stake concerning Nari, but that was pretty much it.

“It’s okay, Jieun. I know you’re probably feeling very awkward…”

“Aren’t you?”

“Not necessarily. You see… I had my doubts about you being Flame for a while. I just wasn’t certain.”

“I also thought you might be Charisma, but it felt like such an absurd thought, that I discarded it pretty much immediately.” I confessed.

“Absurd? How so?”

“Well, uhm… yeah, you’re right. This is really awkward.” I chuckled nervously, but Minho didn’t seem to pick up what I meant from my gestures alone. “I mean, look at you, Minho. You… you have it all. The personality, the looks, the money. You could be with anyone you wanted. Why would you hire a prostitute?”

“Because… I’ve been really scared of any intimacy after my wife passed. I guess I wasn’t ready for any serious relationships. When I found out about this site… I thought it might be good to try something new for a change.”

“Oh.”

“What about you, Jieun? Why were you on there?”

“I needed money for my grandmother’s bills and didn’t know how else to get it. It’s as simple as that. I’m feeling so ashamed right now. You must think I have no morals-”

“Hey.” He placed his hand on top of mine. “I don’t think anything like that about you. In fact, I’m really glad I found out, and that it was you. There’s nothing to feel ashamed about, yeah?”

“Minho, I can’t even look you in the eyes knowing that if you wouldn’t have been my consistent client I would’ve just sold myself to any other man who would’ve paid. It’s so hard to not feel ashamed, guilty even. And you’re glad you found out and that it was me?!”

“Yes. I’m glad because I was also feeling guilty for having feelings for you, Nari’s teacher, and wanting to pursue a relationship with you, while thinking about Flame. So, yes, Jieun, I’m really glad Flame was you the whole time, and it makes so much sense, too.”

“How does it make any sense?”

“Because I’ve always known what I want, or rather, who I want. But this time… damn, the whole situation was messing with my head, because I wanted you both. I’ve fallen for you twice. I started liking you, Flame, from your gestures alone. Remember that time you ‘kissed me’ with your hand on top of my lips? Who does that to show affection while respecting that one request I had, Jieun?”

“I just… it felt right, in that moment.” I averted my gaze.

“So, you also felt it. It wasn’t simply the fact that we were having sex, it was… more.”

“I also… felt confused. I liked Charisma a lot, I was even glad he wanted to keep seeing me because I enjoyed spending time with him. And then we started spending more time together, and I realised I also like you, Minho. I liked spending time with you and Nari, I liked us drinking together, and when you kissed me that night… I wanted to take it further so bad, but… it felt wrong, considering I was selling myself, you know?”

“I see…”

“That’s why I don’t even know what to say to you now. Because if Charisma stopped seeing me, and my grandma would’ve still been alive, I would’ve… I would’ve continued selling myself... to someone else, that wouldn't have been you.”

“That a hypothetical scenario, Jieun.”

“Even so.”

“I would’ve still understood, if you’d told me. Sex for money and sex for love are different things, so how could I be upset that you were a prostitute?”

A prostitute.

It stung.

“Are they that different, though? Because it sure as hell didn’t feel any different when it was Charisma.”

To that, it seemed I shut Minho down for a few moments. Still, he recovered quickly and kept persisting, going back to one of his previous points.

“If we would’ve talked-”

“Then what?” I cut him off. “You’re being too idealistic, Minho.”

“I could’ve still paid you, or-” He started, but stopped as soon as I threw him a look. “Ok, that was a bad thing to say.”

He chuckled awkwardly, and I also laughed briefly, and the air between us shifted from unbearably uncomfortable and suffocating to a bit more easy to breathe.

“The thing is, I really like you, Jieun, and I want to take us further and to be honest about our feelings. I don’t care that you were Flame, and if you also don’t mind that I was Charisma, then what is holding us back?”

His words made my eyes instantly turn back to my now empty coffee cup. I should’ve been happy hearing this, perhaps, but for some reason, his words were registering in a wrong way in my head, and dread was settling down in my stomach.

I wanted to be with Minho, that much I knew, but somehow, it felt as complicated as trying to force the stars to align. But aren’t stars just old, dead lights?

What is left of us, then?

What if what I wanted from Minho was simply out of reach, even if it seemed closer than ever? After all, I always had the tendency to reach for the unreachable, and Minho felt like he was just that.

He was out of my reach, even if he was sitting right in front of me, confessing some… fleeting feelings.

What if he’d change his mind once he fully processed that I’ve never been that great woman he made me out to be in his head?

I was just a whore. We were doomed from the beginning.

How could I even begin to accept his words, with my heart feeling this deep agony?

What was there even left to say to him about this whole train wreck we found ourselves in? 

I was rummaging through my head like I would for something in my bag, but with such a mess inside, it was too hard to find anything.

It was better to keep silent.

“You don’t have to give me an answer now…” He started after a while, and I realised how much time I’ve been deep in thought for, which forced an apologetic smile on my face. I couldn't say anything after all. I couldn't... I couldn't accept his feelings, not with the ache in my heart and this unbearable fog in my brain.

I couldn't.

“I don’t know where to go from here, Minho. Me, you… us?” I chuckled bitterly. “It’s… it’s too complicated. Too many things happened at once and I think I haven’t fully processed anything. I’m sorry, but I… I need some time to put my thoughts in order.” I said, and every word burned my tongue, but it was true.

My feelings were too complicated to navigate now, and I needed more time to process it all, to think about whether I should stay here or go back to my hometown and friends. Whether I should keep living here and lean on Minho and maybe become the mother Nari’s never had or return to my previous life and try to forget that this past year has even happened.

“I understand.” Minho replied in a kind tone and placed his hand on top of mine, over the table. “You should just focus for yourself on the time being, Jieun. Everything else can wait.”

~

It was hard getting out of the slump I fell in.

Days blurred into each other, grey, never changing. 

Wake up, get dressed, go to work, come home, sleep and repeat.

Day after day, week after week, this mindless routine was the only thing that helped keep my life in a somewhat order.

The first few weeks were the hardest. As my grandmother’s death began settling in, so did all the suffocating feelings I’ve been repressing. It was hard to focus on anything once the shock wore off, because the heartbreak was too painful, and the realisation that my grandma would never call my name again hit me like a truck.

When I was at home, I would try to focus on reading or on watching a show just to get my mind off things, but I would keep spacing out instead. I would try cleaning, only to end up in bed one hour later, realising I don’t have enough energy to at least stand up. I'd go to the bathroom for a quick shower, only to realise it's been two hours and the water ran cold.

Every action I did was performed with thin detachment, as I wasn’t really feeling like a person.

It was quite ironic, really. Having been independent for so long, I was used to being on my own. This time, however, it felt lonelier than ever. It felt isolating and painful, and remembering how I got to this point felt like getting punched in the gut over and over again.

I missed my grandmother. Terribly. And this thought kept recurring, making me break down and sob, crying my heart out until no more tears would fall. But despite of this, time kept moving on, giving me no chance whatsoever to collect myself. 

They say time heals, but it somehow didn't lessen the suffocating pain in my chest.

As the weeks passed, however, I got better at managing these episodes.

On my own, I learnt how to calm myself down, how to stop crying and how to accept the harsh reality. It took a long time to do so.

My destructive pattern of isolating myself from others came in full force though, and a lot of things around me changed. For instance, I stopped reaching out to the friends I still had left in my hometown, and I stopped replying to Minho.

I couldn't. I couldn't speak to anyone. It hurt too much to articulate what I was feeling, and being on my own felt like the safest option.

My former friends all stopped trying, eventually.

Falling into a pointless routine felt like the only way I could protect myself, keep myself from becoming insane. I tried to focus all my energy into teaching my class, coming up with new lesson plans and grading papers, because thinking about anything else made my head hurt.

This worked for a while, but the loneliness started eating away at me slowly. I still wasn’t sure of what to do but knowing that everyone else had their own lives while I was stuck on my trauma felt even more lonely and isolating. It was like trying to speak but having an index finger against my mouth.

I realised slowly that this isolation was not beneficial to me at all. It was hurtful not only to myself, but also to those people I’ve been keeping at arm’s length. Still, it didn't feel right trying to get back in touch with my friends. There was too much distance between us now, too many unspoken words.

I considered once again it might be better to keep staying on my own, but my anxiety got the best of me, and then, one evening, when it all got too overwhelming, I knew I had to do something about it. I needed to stop thinking for once, to stop making excuses or ponder on what to say or how to apologise for being so detached. I just picked up my phone, texting the one person who hasn’t stopped trying even though I’ve been distant.

The moment I sent him the message, he called. Instantly.

“Hey.”

“Hi.” I replied sheepishly. I felt bad.

I haven’t answered him much lately, and despite the pointless conversations about the weather (or such) we had while he dropped Nari off and picked her up from school, we haven’t really talked... at all.

Because of me.

“Are you feeling any better? I was waiting for your text, you know.” He chuckled slightly.

“Yeah…” I replied, but quickly shook my head, even if he wasn’t able to see me. “… no. Sorry.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Should I come over or come pick you up?”

“What about Nari?”

“Sleepover at Jiho.”

“Okay.”

“Great. I’ll be there in 15.”

Once we ended the call, I started looking around my apartment, noticing how messy everything was. Lots of items were misplaced, there were clothes on the floor, unwashed coffee mugs, and it was generally a mess.

I started picking up a few things before realising I should probably take a quick shower and change from my pyjamas, because I haven’t changed since yesterday afternoon when I got back from school, so I gave up on cleaning the apartment and cleaned myself instead.

When I was out of the shower, Minho was already at my door, and the apartment was still a mess. Only the living room was somehow presentable.

I opened the door slowly, peeking from the inside at the man who, despite dressed casually, looked like a million bucks.

“Hi.” I smiled, pondering on whether I should invite him in or not.

Minho smiled at me expectedly.

“Do you… uhm… want to come in?”

“If you’ll have me?” He chuckled softly. The situation was once again absurd. I told him to come over, and now I was reluctant to let him in simply because I had a messy apartment.

“I didn’t clean up…” I smiled apologetically and moved away from the door, and Minho followed me in with a chuckle.

“This is you not cleaning up? You can’t be serious, Jieun.” He looked around and then threw me a look.

“It’s dirty.”

“A few things are misplaced, yeah, but it’s definitely not dirty.” He laughed and patted my head once, as if I was a child.

“Hey, what are you doing?” I grabbed his arm as I saw him bend down to rearrange my shoes.

“Helping out.”

“No.”

“No?” He laughed again, then pointed to my little shoe rack in the corner of the hallway. “It’s gonna take two seconds to put these there.”

“Still.” I shook his hand a bit and found myself pouting, before quickly correcting my expression.

“Can you make me a tea while I put these there?”

“Okay…” I reluctantly agreed and let him be and went into the kitchen. I picked up some dried mint and made tea, and then took the two mugs to the living room, where Minho already made himself at home on my sofa.

“Thanks.” He smiled, picking up the mug I handed him.

I sat down as well and looked into my teacup, examining the liquid as my heart was doing rounds in my chest. I wanted to apologise for basically disappearing, and I wanted to tell him everything that was on my chest, all the thoughts that didn’t let me sleep for the past weeks.

But I didn’t know how to begin, or where.

“Long time no see.” He started for me, placing a soothing hand on my back and making me look at him. I saw him putting his mug on the table, and I followed suit absent-mindedly.

“Minho, look… I’m sorry for-” I started, but he cut me off by taking me by surprise with a hug.

I stopped talking and just hugged him back, breathing in his scent. He smelled good, like soap and deodorant, with a tint of perfume on his shirt.

When he pulled away, he looked at me and removed a few strands of hair from my face.

“You lost weight.” He frowned. “And you’re pale.”

“You saw me almost every day, Minho.” I reminded him. Despite not talking or meeting one-on-one, we did see each other every working day of the week when he came to school.

“Not this close.” He shook his head. “How are you feeling, Jieun?”

He let me go and picked his mug to take a sip of his tea, and I did the same, because I didn’t know where else to put my hands, or what to do.

“Honestly…” I shook my head. “Not good, Minho.”

I let out a shaky breath and blinked back a couple of tears.

“I’m sorry.” I chuckled. “It’s just that… everything is so confusing. My feelings are all over the place, and I’m tired all the time, and I couldn’t even reach out to anyone. It felt like the biggest chore to get up in the morning, to get dressed… and even to reply to texts. I got so fed up with everyone’s texts, really. I am so sorry for your loss. Let me know if you need anything. It’s so damn tiring, Minho.”

He didn’t say anything, however, he placed his hand back on my back, rubbing circles soothingly.

“I don’t know what to do to get back on track, to feel a bit better. I’m completely lost. I focused so much on making sure my grandmother is taken care of, and now that she’s gone, I feel like my life no longer has any purpose.”

“It does, Jieun.”

“Like what? What am I even doing in this city, Minho? I don’t even belong here-”

“That’s not true.” He cut me off. “You have a job to get back to, with so many children knowing that there’s a safe space that waits for them in your classroom. You have your little routine here, your own place-”

“I’m renting, it’s not really my place.” I mumbled, and he let out a soft chuckle.

“You know what I meant. Point is, you’ve been building this life for the past year, you’ve made your own habits, you have a favourite coffee shop, and a favourite market, and hell, you told me yourself about how your neighbour’s dogs even recognise you and come to play with you, so how can you not belong here?”

His words made me pout slightly, which didn’t go unnoticed by Minho, who put his hands on my face and forced my lips in a smile.

“You’re so childish.” I started laughing at his antics, and he smiled kindly.

“And you also belong next to me and Nari. She’s been asking me to invite you to dinner practically every day, and it’s getting harder and harder to make up excuses on why you can’t come. She misses you, Jieun.”

“I don’t know, Minho. I’m still feeling so weird about… everything, really. I’m still confused about us.”

“What is there to be confused about?” He tilted his head. “I’m in love with you, it’s as simple as that.”

He confessed, and I had to blink a few times.

“What?”

“What? Why are you so shocked?” He laughed softly and leaned back. "I told you before that I have feelings for you."

“You did, but... You are so… direct.” I looked at him, confusion plastered all over my face. “I just didn’t expect you to say it so… causally.”

“I told you, Jieun. I want to be honest about my feelings from now on.”

“How come you haven’t changed your mind? I’ve ignored you this past month.”

“Ah, so it was on purpose!” He exclaimed, making me roll my eyes and laugh. “Jokes aside, of course I wouldn’t have changed my mind. If anything, I feel like I got to think way more about you, and us, and it’s made things so much clearer. If it was not fate that we met first on In the Dark, and then practically the second day in your classroom, I have no idea what fate is supposed to be.”

“It’s truly weird that things worked out like this, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, and I told you. You made me fall for you twice. The first time, slowly through your words and actions, when seeing how good you fit in with me and Nari and how much you add to our lives, and the second time, without even knowing who you are or what you look like, once again through your actions and the small details.”

“Damn, I’m pretty good, aren’t I?” I joked, but Minho nodded truthfully, his eyes full of praise.

“Now, of course, there’s also the chance that you don’t like me back, which, I mean, would pretty much suck, but I’d understand.”

“It’s obviously not that.” I rolled my eyes again, then looked at how he was manspreading on my sofa.

“Oh, yeah?” He challenged me, and it felt as if I was under a spell, because the next thing I did came naturally.

I shifted on the sofa and made my way over to him, supporting my hands against the backrest and hopping onto his lap, straddling him.

He raised an eyebrow and let out a smirk, and I could feel my heart beating faster and faster. Although we’ve been in this position a lot of times, even naked, it was the first time I was actually seeing him.

With another leap of courage, I grabbed his face in my hands and pressed a soft kiss against his lips.

“I do like you, Minho.” I said in a quiet voice. “I’m just insecure.”

“Do I make you feel insecure? Do you doubt me, or my feelings for you?” He asks, as quietly as me, and put his hand on top of mine, squeezing.

“No.” I shook my head. “It is I who makes me feel insecure. I don’t think I’m good enough for… for you.”

It was hard getting this confession out of my chest, but it’s one of the main reasons why I’ve been hesitant to let Minho in. While keeping my grandmother in the hospital, I’ve tried my hardest to not look down on myself. I tried rationalizing why I was selling my body, and it made sense, but now, with her gone and with way too much time to spare, my mind kept spiralling.

The same answers I’ve told Minho weeks ago during coffee were circling through my head repeatedly. If she were still alive, and if Minho wouldn’t have found out that I was Flame… what would I have done? Date him while cheating on him with Charisma - or God forbid, with another man - every other night just for some more money to pay the bills?

Everything weighted way too heavily, and I felt another pang in my heart and another headache settling between my temples.

“What do you even mean, Jieun?” Minho asked calmly, his voice soft. “You’re not only good enough. You’re perfect for me.”

As he said that, he moved his other hand closer to my face, rubbing the frown away from between my eyebrows.

“Are you looking down on me for visiting Flame through In the Dark?” He asked all of the sudden, checking my eyes for answers.

“What? Of course not!”

“Why not?”

“You had your reasons.”

“So did you. So stop looking down on yourself.” He moved both hands on my waist and kept looking into my eyes, and God, the way he was looking at me was so beautiful.

The whole moment felt intimate, despite the pain in my chest, and I could feel my heart thump harder. Things looked so easy from Minho’s perspective, so black and white, but my head was a mix of colours sprawled around all over the place.

“Please don’t doubt my feelings.” Minho shifted our bodies, sitting up straight and pressing me closer to his chest, while whispering in my ear.

His hands started dancing from my waist to my back, giving me goosebumps all over.

“I missed you.” He whispered again, pressing a small kiss on my collarbone, before raising his face to look at me.

“I missed you too.” I whispered back, kissing his lips.

“Yeah?” He asked, but this time, it didn’t sound challenging. It sounded genuine, and full of hope.

“You’re such a patient man, Minho. All these weeks of me ignoring your texts, and you still picked up and came here when I reached out.”

“Of course.”

“Thank you.”

“Thank you for reaching out to me, Jieun. Please don’t pull away again.”

“I’m sorry.”

Minho smiled and kissed my lips again, and then hugged me tight, and the night witnessed our silent promises as we went to sleep embraced, and for the first time in weeks, I was able to get a good night's rest.

~

Chapter 11 | Chapter 13