#her and i both realized we'd never thought about it till now

[deathfavor]

@sortilegii said: " i shall not conceal it : you have become that which i have not once had the possibility to calculate or foresee. " there, in her realm of existence, where they sway amidst stars embraced in graceful dance... it has come to be a place he fancies dearly, a most welcomed detaching from the world below. " in the world we have both long forsaken, i found beauty in next to nothing. you, on the other hand, are marvelous, dear. and i would tear it all down, all to know you mine, to know you may continue to linger on undisturbed by the dullards who would seek to chain you. i know this paints me selfish. yet, i have never once been one to bury my passions. " (i am sorry but he is awake and he wants his elegant waltz with dreya ajsjshdhsbdgd)

   Her hand links to his, a connection outside of time’s near omnipresence. ( They, if only them, bring time’s omnipresence to just that — nearly, but not fully.) Dancing, even simple swaying, was human knowledge that had been burned from her memory upon her death and rebirth. It would have not mattered even if it had remained. Dreya had never danced with anyone after she was a little girl. It was easier then to follow in Parma’s steps with a sharp mind of observation. She had always been quick to learn, and it hadn’t taken but a few moments after their first dance for her to pick up on the pattern. When a new move came to exist, she observed and catalogued it to gracefully follow the next time.  For now she sways with him, leads him through an ocean of stars that accept only them, where galaxies ripple and shine around them. It is enjoyable in a way she’d long forgotten in her transformation and isolated realm. 

   His voice draws her in, a star in his own right to be able to draw the queen of the cosmos to listen with attentive care. Marvelous. He calls her marvelous. It takes a moment for the words to process, thoughts swirling and rearranging themselves into alignment of importance to be acknowledged. 

   “  No… “  Her voice is calm, echoed in the space. One hand gently frees itself simply to immediately grasp his again, guiding to rest above her chest. It spawns a peculiar thought she’s never once considered – she does not know if her heart beats or if it is silent. Or maybe pulses in rhythm to the heartbeat of the Perishing Star, rhythmic in the way star pulses are, not a human's.  It does not matter. Parma is smart, and the gesture itself should be understood symbolically.  “  Not selfish. " At least, not to keep her free of chains. " No, rather, even if it is, I accept it in full.  “  

  Then, the corners of her lips raise into a small smile, one that appears only when a celestial event occurs that catches her eye – or for Parma. He speaks of these people who wish it chain her and restrict her; she does not know of them but it is not such a hard thing to believe when there had been people seeking to limit her in life. “ You would tear it all down? Does that mean you’d intend to be here? “  Rarer are the times something more audibly emotive creeps into her voice, the moment like a single shooting star in the otherwise still night.  It would be nice, that company. 

  Still they float through space, a dance for space to witness of them together.  “ I would never ask you to bury those passions of yours. This you know. “ Words spoken with upmost confidence in her assessment of his understanding.  “  To do so is to bury and chain oneself.  “ She slides her lithe fingers back into his grip   

[ch3rrywond3rland]

Here for you

Fezco had know Y/N since the first grade. They never used to talk, unless they sat next to each other in class, and then they would only talk about school and assignments. Eventually, they grew up and Fez stopped attending school. She thought about reaching out to see if he was okay, but decided against it when she realized that: 1- she did not had any way of contacting him; and 2- it was, quite frankly, none of her business. So that was that, for a while. Until she became best friends with Lexi, who sometimes hanged out with Cassie and her friends. And they knew Fez, so, consequently, her and Lex also did. He recognized Y/N immediately and even went up to hug her. They started hanging out a lot and eventually started dating, which was a surprise to all of us. They were complete fucking opposites who somehow complimented each other. I had seen her around his house sometimes and she was one of the nicest people I'd ever met, and treated me like we'd known each other for ages despite not having had an actual conversation.

Fez and I lay resting on his bed after a long morning of doing absolutely nothing. A blunt hangs from his lips, the smoke creating a bubble around us. My arms are wrapped around his torso and our legs intertwine, yearning for proximity.

As I'm about to kiss him, loud knocks coming from downstairs startle us both. We look at each other worryingly, and I grow afraid that Mouse is popping by for a surprise visit.

He seems to notice my fear, because he sprints out the room before I can even get up. I do so, reluctantly, and follow his path downstairs.

"C'mon man, don't be a dick." I hear a familiar voice coming from outside.

"Rue?" They both turn to look at me standing at the bottom of the stairs. Fez offers me his hand and pulls me closer to him.

"Nah, I'm serious...you can't come in."

"Look man, all I- all I need is just like, a few OC's"

"Sorry, I can't help-"

"Fez, I've had a fucked up day. This is all I'm asking, okay? I just need you to open the door for me, okay?"

"Nah, man..." He nervously runs his hands through his buzz, trying not to glance at her.

"Just open the door, man." Her palms push the metal door, making the sound echo all throughout the house. "Just open the fucking door. C'mon, tell him, Y/N."

She hopefully looks at me, and I look down, gulping.

"I'm sorry, Rue."

"Nah, you both gon' do me like that? Fuck you, man."

"I'm not gon' help you kill yourself, man. I'm sorry, but you can't be comin' here no more."

He starts closing the door and Rue pushes herself against it, in a worthless attempt to break it down.

"Fez, I'm begging you just to open the door." Her fist meets the metal, again. "You're full of shit, man."

Fez's forehead rests on my shoulder, my hand soothingly rubs against his back, trying to comfort him somehow.

"You know you make your living off of selling drugs to teenagers. And know, all of the sudden you wanna have a fucking moral high ground? You're a fucking dropped out drug dealer, you know that?"

I stand on my tip toes and wrap my arms around his neck. His' hug me by the waist, pulling me closer.

"You're a fucking dropped out drug dealer with seven functioning fucking brain cells. Open the door!"

Her scream makes me jump and I feel Fez's breath hitching against my neck.

"Open the door!"

"I can't do it, I-"

"Open the door! Open the door! Open the door!" Rue's voice breaks and my heart clenches.

I hear sobbing before she speaks again. "You did this to me, Fez. You fucking ruined my life so the least you could do is open the goddamn door and fiz it!"

"C'mon, let's go." I tug his hand, leading him back upstairs.

"If you don't open this door right now, I swear to- I swear to God, I will fucking hate you 'till the day I die."

"I'm sorry." He says from halfway up the stairs and she seems to hear because she high-pitchedly screams.

I make him lay on top of me once we reach the bed. His head lays on my chest and my fingers run through his head.

"It's okay, she didn't mean it."

"I know." He says, but I hear him breathe out in relief anyways.

"I love you."

"I love you, too. Thank you for everything."

I smile and kiss his forehead, drifting into relaxation.

———————————

A few days have gone by since the encounter with Rue and Fez dragged me to a Halloween party he wanted to try and sell stuff in.

I had been invited, but didn't plan on coming. However, Lexi had also insisted she wanted someone to be with. Which was a total lie because we'd arrived less than half an hour ago and she'd already disappeared from my side.

Fez and I are sitting on a couch outside, and he is just finishing a deal when I see Rue walking towards us.

"Hey, babe." I motion my head to her direction and Fez's eyes follow.

We watch as she sits down on the other side of the sofa. I start getting up from Fezco's lap but Rue is quick to talk.

"You can stay." She offers me nod and I smile at her.

"It's fine, I think you two should talk." I turn towards Fez.

"I'm going to go find Lex, look for me when you're done." I give him a wink and he sweetly smiles, eyes twinkling.

I start walking away, but decide to stop in front of Rue.

"You look amazing, Rue Rue." She looks up at me and smiles, seemingly still embarrassed after our interaction. Still, I reassure her by gently grabbing her head and placing a kiss against her temple.

As I make my way back to the house, I hear Rue's voice talking to Fezco.

"She's an angel."

"Yeah...she is."

[lizzyk137]

Hwiyoung's Secret- A Hwiyoung Fanfic (Hwiyoung X Reader)

Description: Hwiyoung and you have been dating for two years, but he isn't ready yet to make it known to anyone. But when one of his friends announces that they're into you, he makes it known to you that you're his. Warning: Smut, breeding kink, angst, arguing, finger penetration, oral (male receiving), unprotected sex, aggression, teasing, possessive.

Want to read more, visit my Masterlist!

"Y/N, you're looking really good today." Dawon said, smirking as you walked through the door to their dorm.

You looked down at your crop top and leggings. You had just finished working out and got a call from Hwiyoung to hang out, and you didn't think of changing because you knew what he wanted to do with you did not involve any clothes. You also didn't realize that the whole group would be here either, something Hwiuoung had forgotten to mention.

You just shrugged and sat down on the floor near Hwiyoung. You smiled up at him, and he gave you a small smile back then proceeded to look back at his phone.

Hwiyoung and you have been friends before he became a K-pop star and during his debut, you guys started leaning more towards a different type of relationship. You both didn't talk about it till a two years ago since he was busy with the guys and with building up his acting career and learning more about production and song writing. All the guys knew you were close friends and always teased you about getting you both together but you just shrugged it off until Hwiyoung came clean about his feelings for you during a drunken night. Ever since then you have been secretly dating each other, and it didn't seem like Hwiyoung was ever going to let anyone know about it any time soon.

You've always supported his decision to keep it private from the public eye but you didn't understand why no one close to you could know. They guys didn't know, your best friend Sam wasn't allowed to know and neither of your parents knew that you were anything more than close friends that have known each other since they were kids.

It frustrated you not to be able to share anything with anyone or ask anyone for advice. You had your fair share of fights over it but it always ended with you giving in to Hwiyoung. You didn't care if the world didn't know, in fact you would rather not be in the public eye, but at least your close friends and family. You didn't want to keep hiding and lying to them. It was starting to become too stressful and it was taking a toll on you mentally. And you sure as hell, wasn't bringing up the idea of marriage, no ,atter how much you wanted it, if he couldn't even come clean to his parents.

"So Y/N, are you seeing that guy who gave you his number a few weeks ago?" Rowoon's voice pulled you away from your thoughts. Hwiyoung turned to look at you questioning along with the rest of the boys, except his look had a hint of jealousy behind it.

"Nope," you said quickly, "I threw out the napkin that it was on. I'm just focusing on me right now."

"We've known you for years now, and we have never seen you date anyone. I'm not getting any younger, I need grandkids!" Inseong chimed in dramatically, making everyone laugh but Hwiyoung who was scrolling through his phone not caring. "No, seriously. You should get out there, you don't have to marry the first guy you see but at least have fun. You're young, enjoy it."

You nodded back, not knowing what to say when your boyfrined of two years is sitting right next to you and not seeming to be interested in the conversation.

"You know who would be a good match for her?" Dawon said after a minute.

"Oh?" Hwiyoung said, finally showing interest.

"Me!"

Everyone looked at him confused.

"Y/N and I have a lot in common plus we hang out the most after Hwiyoung. Plus, I'm good looking, you're good looking." He pointed to you. "We'd make some cute babies. It's time for me to settle down, plus have I also mentioned how good looking I am?"

You laughed nervously as the rest of the boys chuckled and started to tease Dawon for his 'secret' crush. You snuck a peek at Hwiyoung but he just stared at his phone with his jaw clenched tightly.

It carried on for two weeks. Hwiyoung not saying a thing as Dawon openly flirted with you in front of everyone. You gave excuses when he asked you out and you shyly ignored when he flirted with you even though it wasn't the guy you wanted it from, you secretly liked it. And Hwiyoung knew that. He didn't let you know that he knew but he saw you look down as your face turned slightly pink before you rejected Dawon for another time.

You didn't say anything when the two of you were alone and neither did he but he knew you wanted that from him but he couldn't give it to you. It was starting to frustrate him too and a lot of time that frustration took its form through picking a stupid fight with you over something so small or nothing at all. He could see that he was hurting you but every time he saw you, all he could see were Dawon's advances and you enjoying them enough that you would leave him. Hwiyoung knew you would never cheat on him, you loved and cared for him, but he knew that that could only go so far after awhile and you wanted more than what you were recieving. He was afraid you'd leave, but he didn't do anything to stop it because Hwiyoung knew that you deserved better.

"Hey, where have you been?" Youngbin asked as Hwiyoung made his way into their dining area.

"In the studio. Were you guys waiting long?"

"No, we all just got here."

Hwiyoung looked around as he sat down at the table noticing two people were missing from the group. "Where is Dawon and Y/N? I thought they were supposed to be here."

"Oh, they're down at Lucille's, I think." Chani replied, and Hwiyoung's eyebrows raised.

"Like the restaurant Lucille's?"

Chani looked confused. "Um, is there any other type of Lucille's around?"

Hwiyoung grunted in reply and opened the lunchbox that Jaeyoon passed him. He stayed quiet the rest of the meal as he felt his anger boiling over as he thought of Dawon and his girlfriend on a date, especially in public.

Eventually he followed the guys back to the lounge area and sat down on a couch watching the clock waiting for your arrival.

Finally, after an hour of waiting, the door opened, and you and Dawon walked through chatting. You were wearing the tiniest dress with the biggest smile on your face, as you walked past him without even noticing him. He knew he was angry and jealous, especially when you were dressed in something he gave you to go out with another man. He knew that you would never cheat on him on him, but being quiet for so long was starting to eat at him. Hwiyoung knew he shouldn't say anything, but he couldn't help it. "So how was the date, love birds? Set a date yet?" He regretted it as soon as he said it as he watched the hurt flash across your face.

"If you call running errands for my manager at different restaurants a date then I guess it was good." Dawon said as he sat down confused to why Hwiyoung was so angry.

"Well, at least you can be so open with your relationship in public. I know a lot of girls like that kind of stuff. Right, Y/N?"

You looked down at your hands nervously, as you felt tears prickle your eyes before swallowing the rock that was sitting in the back of your throat as anger overturned your hurt. You looked up meeting his dark eyes and held your head high. "I wouldn't know. I never had a boyfriend, and if I did, it sure would be a guy who was okay with me hanging out with male friends."

You could tell you riled Hwiyoung up as he stood up and got close to you. "Well at least if I had a girlfriend, she would be appreciative of our relationship being private to keep her safe in public."

"Well, if I had a boyfriend, we would at least have communication and compromise on it. I don't need a man to protect me, I can take care of myself and would know what I was getting myself into." You took a step forward, both of your chests touching as you starred at each other.

By this point the boys were starting to piece things together as you two continued to argue back and forth.

You were over the argument after a couple minutes passed and you didn't care that the boys knew that you both were dating. "At least I would be with a guy who wouldn't hide me away from everyone and to have the guts to let everyone know I'm his when his best friend openly flirts with me!"

Hwiyoung's jaw clenched and eyes narrowed as he spewed out, "My room now."

"Fine!" You stomped over to his room, and the door slammed behind you before you felt yourself pinned to the wall as Hwiyoung's lips crashed onto yours.

He lifted you up as your legs circled his waist as he grinded his hips into yours, earning him moans of pleasure from you. His lips pulled away from yours as they made a trail down to your neck where he sunk his teeth into your flesh for a few seconds before sucking on the spot and then running his tongue over the bruised skin.

He pinned you closer to the wall as his hands left your butt and up your dress, tugging it off as he kept you lifted up. One hand found their way back to your butt, squeezing it as he continued to lift you, and the other found its way to your throat as he wrapped his long fingers around it. You gasped as he grinded back into you, pleasure filled your body as the feeling of your airways being squeezed with the pleasure of his large cock rubbing into your wet sensitive areas.

He let go of your throat and stood you back on the ground as his lips trailed their way from your ear down your clothed chest and down to the waistband your panties. He took it in his teeth as he slid them down, his nose lighting touching your clit making you whimper. He tossed your underwear to the side, then traveled his hands back to your bra, unclasped it, and threw it. His pulled off his shirt, and you licked your lips in anticipation as he undid his belt and then slid his pants off, revealing a very large and hard mound in his boxers. You knelt down and licked up his clothed member before pulling down the material to expose his large, girthy cock.

You took it in your hands as you rubbed them up and down his shaft before enveloping him in your mouth. He moaned your name before grabbing the back of your hair as he forced you up and down his cock making you gag as the tip of his penis hit the back of your throat easily. "Just like that baby." He moaned as your chocked on his cock, tears springing from your eyes. He started bobbing your head faster as he thrusted his pelvis back and forth out of your mouth, making you gag as your spit covered his length shaft.

You looked up at him with tear filled eyes and his breath hitched at how beautiful you were, especially taking his cock in your mouth. Thinking about how you could look at another man with those innocent eyes infuriated him. He quickly pulled his cock out of your mouth, pulled you up from the floor and slammed you against the wall, lifting up your leg and shoving his cock into your tight folds, making you scream in pain and pleasure.

"Are you trying to make me jealous?" He whispered, his lips brushing your ear while his cock pounded in and out of you. "Going off with another man, a man you knew wanted you, for hours while I waited only for you to return only to find you wearing a dress that barely covers you and acting like nothing happened."

"Maybe I was, you never show your emotions for me and you barely do when we're alone. It was payback for all those girls you were with that sparked those stupid dating rumors all these years." You could barely get the words out since he was pounding into you so harshly but you knew you had to lie to get him angrier or he would never let out what he needed to.

"Payback?" He grunted as he shoved deeper into you, your legs wrapping themselves around his waist to keep up with his pace. He pulled your close to him, lips barely brushing against yours. "I can give you payback, baby."

He carried you over to the bed, throwing you down as he pulled out and turned you around on all fours. He spread your legs as he knelt between them and slowly shoved his cock in, the both of you groaning in pleasure. He started slowly going in and out, making you whimper as his girth stretched out your wet pussy. His hands tightened on your hips as he pulled out, his tip rubbing agaisnt your entrance. He grabbed both of your arms and pulled them back, your face shoved agaisnt the mattress looking back at him.

Hwiyoung smirked while he looked at you ass wiggling for his cock to fill you up as you looked at him with big, wanting eyes. "If you were looking for payback baby, then look no further. I'm going to fuck you you so good that you won't look at another man. You'll be mine, bouncing on this cock with your pretty face." He shoved his cock in hard pulling out slowly and repeated.

"What if I don't want to be yours?" You taunted between moans.

He groaned at your taunts. "Baby girl, I'm going to spill so much of me seed into you constantly till you're nice and full. Just the thought of you carrying MY baby sends me on edge. I'm going to make you a breeding machine so every man knows your mine." He thrusted in harder and as his pace quickened.

"Oh my god... Hwiyoung!" You screamed as his tip hit you g-spot over and over, sending waves of pleasure over you. His cock rubbed against your tight walls as he fucked you senseless, your legs shaking from pure ecstasy. You could feel your orgasm building and getting closer as your brain went blank with only thoughts of his cock spilling into your tight, wet pussy. "Oh baby, fill me up."

"Gladly." He thrusted into you harder making a scream fall out of your mouth from your orgasm at the sheer force of his cock slamming into you. You felt his cock stiffen followed by ropes of his hot cum spewing into you. He kept fucking you until your were a moaning mess, just moaning his name repeatedly over and over.

Your body shook and you could barely hold yourself up. He let you fall onto the mattress as he continued to fuck you from behind. "Look at you all cock drunk. I can't wait till my seed claims you. You'll be drunk on this cock even as your belly grows bigger from my baby. I'll breed you like crazy." He thrusted one last time into you, his cock spilling his seed and your felt your walls close in at just the thought of him claiming you.

He slowly thrusted his cock into you, shoving as much cum into your pussy as he could.

Hwiyoung placed a kiss on your back and gently pulled out, making you groan as your pussy felt empty. He turned you over and placed a kiss on your clit, took his two fingers and shoved them into you, pushing the cum back in that was starting to spill out. You hissed as his tongue lapped up your juices near your clit. He chuckled, a big smile spread across his face as he continued to finger fuck his cum into you. "You're all mine, baby girl. And now they definitely know we're dating."

[heard-nsfw-is-back]

Steddie but I try and fix my own parental trauma

Steve was packing up. His parents had been gone for three months. Longer than they ever have. Longer than was fair. After two months and trying to call any one that might know where his parents were turning up nothing he gave up and figured that this was when they gave up the ghost and finally abandoned him. He didn't have a lot to pack but dutifully he was emptying the fridge and unplugging all the appliances to make sure nothing went bad or stale. Shit, did his parents even deserve that much? On the way to the trash bin the bag broke and he just kicked at it and started screaming. His body hurt, he was tired. He was alone. His parents didn't fucking care. Frustrated and sniffing he sat down debating on just leaving it there. Let it rot. Let this house rot. Let him rot. Steve was just. Done.

Two car doors slammed shut and the smell of his mother's perfume shook him out of his thoughts. "Wh. Huh? Mom?" Steve's mom was crying and wiping at his face. "Steve! Steve what's wrong baby what happened?" His dad looked around at the trash. "You didn't get hurt did you, son?" Steve's brain just went stagnant. What were his parents doing here? How long were they here? The confusion bled back to anger and exhaustion. He pulled away and got up. "Where. The hell have you been for the past three months? Huh?! Have you any idea how sick of this shit I am? Constantly never knowing where my parents are at any point? No note? Nothing? No cards no bullshit souvenirs? Not even a hi honey voicemail!" His parents just looked at him. It wasn't fair. They looked so pristine. Crisp clothes. Make up and hair done. His dad even got his eyebrows waxed. And here Steve was, covered in snot and garbage juice looking exactly how he felt, probably. "Sweetie we have to work. We have to pay bills!" His mom reasoned. "I know it's not fair but we have to be responsible." "Right. Because a kid isn't a responsibility." His parents at least had the decency to look mortified. "That's not what we mean." His father raised his hands to reach for him. "Look come here. Sit down." "Why do you even have this place. Why do you even have me?" Steve's mom sat close and leaned against Steve and his father sat on the other side. "I was your age when I got pregnant. My mother. Well you've met her. She was not happy. Forced me and your father to get married. Well both of our parents did. It was fine we liked each other well enough." Steve was reeling. His parents always preached about being safe and smart. Apparently with good reason. His father cleared his throat. "Well we had to get a job. Your grandfather made it clear that we could not ask him for a penny. Despite that big ol house he's got." Steve snorted. They rarely visited that house, even when his parents were around. It was stupid big too. His parents laughed, relaxing now that Steve was breathing normally. "Getting a job wasn't easy you know. Sometimes we'd come out of work covered in grease and soap and just go to the motel we were staying at exhausted. Took really good care of money to make sure your momma could eat enough and keep me up and moving. Luckily the motel was cheap and clean. We didn't need much. Mostly we were too tired to care." His mother laughed so hard at that. "We didn't even realize the pictures were creepy clowns till we were leaving." "Oh God don't remind me." His father laughed too and dammit Steve couldn't help but join in. This was the longest time he's spent with his parents and they're covered in dirt and sitting in trash. "Anyway. It was getting to the wire. I could barely hold a tray without someone kicking for attention." His mom glared at him playfully. "But it was almost time. And you were ready. And we needed a good job. Quickly. Baby food is expensive. Luckily the mom sharing the hospital room was looking to hire. She owned a hotel. You've met her." Steve vaguely remembered a woman with bigger hair then his, yeah she owned a hotel before she retired. "She offered me a job working for her until she signed the hotel over to me. Your father was great at business with customers and I have always been good with numbers. We got lucky. You have always been a motivation though. You never go to our hotels but we have your art from when you were a kid in every room. Your school's colors are the themes of every lobby. You are our legacy baby." Steve is fully sobbing again. "I didn't. I didn't know. I just wanted to see you." "We let you down. Trying to provide for you we actually well I guess neglected you. We're sorry. We'll fix it." His dad promised.

And to their credit they did. They met all of his friends and made genuine efforts to get to know them. They found out that Wayne was working ridiculous hours and when Steve saw his dad talking to him and shaking hands he just snorted and shook his head. "Hey what's your dad talking to my old man about?" Eddie shoved some animal crackers in his mouth. "Have no idea." Steve passed him a glass of water. "How are you? By the way?" Eddie coughed and waved to the adults talking. "Not sure to be honest. They're trying. Mom was working on some new plans for a hotel but apartments are kind of getting her interest so maybe that'll be her new big plan." Eddie smiled, all dimples. "She's talking to you about that stuff? That's awesome man. I'm. I'm glad." Steve bumped Eddie's shoulder. "You know. If apartments are something she's going for she's probably going to need some help. Maybe you could ask her. Get a place with benefits and retirement funds." Eddie stared at him for a moment. "Wait are you serious? Me? What do I know about apartments dude? I can barely keep my own going." "Well if maintenance isn't something you're ok with then maybe you can work with some of the other hotels!" Steve's mom walked up to Eddie, game face on, all business. "They've got staff that works with kids when parents are on trips and you seem to be good with people over all." Eddie was trying not to wiggle away from this conversation. "I don't do uniforms Mrs. Steve's mom. I have to be able to express myself. Now if you ask me to paint some stuff I'm your guy. I'll babysit some kids, no problem. But I can't do uniforms." Steve's dad held out a hand. "That works we'll see you next week. Say Monday? Wayne's already going to be there at a hotel we're finishing up." "I'm." Eddie hesitated, then reached out to shake his hand.

Steve and Eddie were hanging out in the living room, Robin was on her way. She was still frosty to his parents but they allowed it gratefully. "Look! Robin waved to me on the way out honey!" Steve didn't have the heart to correct them. It was definitely sarcastic.

Eddie was tugging on his shoe laces. "Is it going to be awkward working for them? I mean. Is it going to be weird working for you eventually? Shit I love being artsy and creative. And your parents really are cool." Steve smiled. "But?" "I like you Steve. I really like you. And it'll be awkward having a crush on my boss' son! I don't think they're that cool." Steve stared at Eddie. "You like me?" Eddie let his foot fall. "Only since I first saw you in home ec!" Steve wrinkled his nose, he didn't even know about face cream in junior year. And he definitely wore too much cologne. "Really? That's your type? I don't even look the same." Eddie looked at Steve, really looked at him. Covered in scars and too long hair. "You're my type." Eddie said softly. Firmly. "Steve you're my absolute daydream man." Steve's heart was going to beat out of his chest. "Eddie. Kiss me." "Any chance I get." And he was wrapped up in Eddie's arms, kissing this beautiful man like there was oxygen only in his mouth. Gripping and squeezing each other like their lives depended on it.

"Oh c'mon man. Gross!" Robin interrupted them. They broke away laughing. "Hey birdie." Eddie called and Steve sat up still sitting in his lap. Robin wrinkled her nose but winked. "I could come back later." Steve pretended to think about it before Robin threw a crumpled receipt at him. "I'll be inside. I'll see if you still have that twinkie I hid the last time." "I would join in your twinkie quest but alas." Eddie waved to Steve. "Yeah yeah you already found it." Robin teased and left to go raid the pantry. "Does that mean you'll fill me with cream?" Steve pulled at Eddie's hair. Eddie just looked up at him. "First. How dare you make me think of America's snack in a sexual way I'll never not think of it again." Steve laughed and leaned on Eddie's chest. "Second?" "Second. Yes. And a third and a fourth. Give me a minute I'll even do it again after."

Awkward ending cause I don't know how to end it.

[obigem]

Before long they were seated at the table ready for dinner. The nerves were already getting to Mimi about their announcement, but before they could work up to it, Mel decided to beat them to the punch. "Quiet everyone," Mel said, "Meems told me they have something to announce."

"Mom!"

"Don't 'Mom' me! I'm not good at the waiting game. I wanna know and I wanna now. So, go ahead and take the floor, sweetie."

"Ugh," Mimi sighed, "OK, fine. Well, as you all know Evie and I counselored at camp, but while we were there I had a realization."

As they were recounting it, they couldn't help but feel twinges of guilt from what precipitated the realization. They wish they had more time to soften the storytelling, for Evie's sake, but they continued on.

"So the thing is, Mom, Saunders, I'm transgender."

It was quiet a bit after that, with only the sound of Journee scraping her plate as she decided to dig in before anyone else.

"Well, aren't you gonna say anything?" Mimi looked up apprehensively.

"Oh, um congrats? Err no, we should ask for a pronoun update shouldn't we, honey?"

"That's it?"

"Sweetheart, we're happy for you." Mel smiled.

"Your mother is right," Saunders chimed in, "We both just want the best for you. If figuring this out makes you happy, we're both happy for you and we support you."

"Oh. I guess I just thought—"

"That we'd be against it?

"No. Maybe more surprised?"

"Truth be told, the older you've gotten the more you've been leaning masc, so it makes sense to me."

"Oh. Well, I guess that's reassuring."

"So, are you still they/them or he/him? I hate to ask, but are we putting the name Meems out to pasture?"

"Oh, um, I guess I wanna transition to he/him pronouns permanently, but for now you can still use they/them till it feels comfortable. As for name, I guess I haven't thought of that yet." His thoughts drifted to Evie, and he realized they hadn't talked about this yet.

He had been so focused on fixing everything between them, well, he just didn't wanna rock the boat too hard before they were good again.

Mel could sense his conflict and said "Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out. It's a big deal. I'm proud of how far you've come, kid."

"Thanks, Mom." Mimi smiled. He knew he could always count on his mom to always accept him for however he was and whoever he chose to love, and he'd never stop being thankful for that.

But now that she had put it on his radar, Mimi couldn't stop thinking about the future.

[kpopandmusicpassion]

Dream in a Dream

There are many humans and many of them are in hiding for being hunters. The supernatural rule the world and humans are trying to take over. A pretty 17 yr old named Yutseli was raised by her hunter parents. She only knew training and was taught supernaturals are disgusting and humans are superior.

    She was so tired of their shit but she had already tried running away and got caught earning a beating for her efforts. She refused to hunt so she basically became a live in maid her parents disowned her. One day after they returned from a hunt a large group of 13 supernaturals burst in. 2 recognized her as the little girl who saved them from the same hunters they now realize are unfortunately her parents. They grab her before setting her house and parents ablaze. What happens when the others learn this is the girl they have been looking for? What will they think when they learn of her abuse by her parents and their fellow hunters? Will she find love in this crazy family or will someone take away her happiness again?

"Go! Hurry before they come back! Go, Minghao! Seokmin before they catch you again!" A 6 year old Yutseli said.

"What about you?" Minghao asked as Seokmin frowned.

"I'll be fine. Promise. Please go if they catch you now I won't be able to help you." She pleaded.

"We won't forget you. We will come back for you I promise." Seokmin vowed.

"Then I will wait till we meet again." She said as they ran off and she made it back to her room.

*. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *.

"You are a disgrace to the hunter name!" The woman shouted at the 16 year old girl.

"Good! I'd rather be that than a hunter! I NEVER wanted to be a hunter! But you guys just won't listen! I want a peaceful life! Not a war filled life where I have to always look over my shoulder!" The girl Yutseli shouted back.

A loud slap echoed in the room.

"You shouldn't speak so disrespectful to your superiors. As of now we have no daughter but a servant. That is all you are and all you will ever be." Said the man who watched as the mother and daughter fought.

* * *. * * *. * * *.

5 yrs later .....

"This is all your fault!" The woman screamed at Yutseli slapping her.

How the fuck is a fruitless hunt my fault? I was here cleaning the house as usual. The pretty girl thought.

Before the woman could scream at her more the door was broken down and a group of 13 hybrids (all young men) burst through the door.

The Burmese python hybrid and the cougar hybrid instantly recognizing her. "Yutseli! "

The young woman looked over smiling when she recognized them. "Nice to see you both are well, Minghao. Seokmin."

"These are those first pathetic hybrids you let get away when you were 6!" The man in the corner snarled angrily.

The two hybrids glared at the hunters before marching over and grabbing Yutseli and going back to their pack. They hugged and scented the young woman.

They took her outside as soon as the others tied the hunters up and poured gasoline all over them and the house. As soon as everyone was out of the house a wolf hybrid lit a match and set everything ablaze.

"We told you we'd come back for you." Minghao purred as he and Seokmin scented her aggressively. She giggles since it's the first time she's had affection and she grew to like the cougar and python during their short stay with her and her parents. A gorgeous shoulder length blonde haired man came up to them growling causing them to move and he grabbed her and scented her too. She was very relaxed around the kind hybrids. They had been kinder to her in a few minutes than any human in her whole 21 years of life.

The fox hybrid rumbled happily as she started dozing in his arms causing him to pick her up in a bridal carry as she snuggled into his chest.

"She's adorable!" The tiger called Soonyoung gushed as he watched Yutseli cuddle into Jeonghan's chest.

"It looks like she's been abused by her own parents!" The bear named Vernon growled in anger. They couldn't understand how such a sweet girl could be abused but they never really wanted to understand hunters anyway the biased bastards.

"We'll protect her from now on. She's ours now and we'll make sure she has the best life she could ever have." The pack leader a wolf named Seungcheol declared his eyes had a glint of determination in their depths.

They went to their cars Jeonghan passing the sleeping Yutseli to a happy Mingyu in the back seat who instantly had her straddling his lap as he buckled them up.

* * *. *. *. *.

As soon as they got home Hoshi and Woozi claimed her and laid her between them on the bed. When she woke up two hours later she was being cuddled by a tiger hybrid and a leopard hybrid. The tiger nuzzled into her neck with a happy purr. She wasn't quite sure what to think. This was quite a bizarre situation. It seemed like it was just an amazing dream but she distinctly remembers how rudely she was woken up by those people. She started playing with the tiger's platinum blonde hair causing him to open one eye. When he realized she was awake he sprung up.

"Hi! How did you sleep?" He asked waking up the leopard Woozi as well. The leopard and Yutseli sat up as the tiger was on his knees bouncing excitedly on the bed.

"It was great. I don't get a whole lot of sleep. Where am I?"

Yutseli asked.

"You're at our mansion! You're new home!" The tiger shouted.

"New home?" She asked.

"We burnt the house you were staying in. You didn't expect us to abandon you to live on your own in the woods did you? From now on you're ours to protect." The leopard said.

"Oh. Well that's unexpected. Can I get your names now?" She asked, expectantly.

"I'm Soonyoung but call me Hoshi and this is Jihoon call him Woozi." The tiger grinned widely causing her to pinch his chubby cheeks and giggle adorably. A black bear lumbered in and flopped on Yutseli's lap. She stared for a moment before realizing he wanted pets. She ran her hands along his fur gently amazed at the softness.

"Vernon!" A voice shouted before a dingo was panting in the doorway. "You can't just abandon me like that! I could have died!"

"Mingyu, stop being so dramatic if Jeonghan-hyung or Joshua-hyung wanted to kill you you'd be dead already. Calm your ass down before you freak Seli out." Woozi snapped.

[waterforlorn]

day four. october 10th. 9:02am

day five. october 11th. 11:38 am

two days are gonna go in one entry, cause i already know i ain't gonna do SHIT today and i didn't get to write anything down yesterday. turns out nico's decided that being sappy in just one place wouldn't cut it. so he took me not only to 1 waterfall, but 3. you'd think if you saw one, you saw them all, but nah.

i hate how easy this is to him, like he's never done anything else in his damn life while i'm barely hanging on. like, i'm FINE, i'm not worried per se, i'm just taking every day as it comes. i'm trying to adapt to nico's pace, trying to keep up with him and i think i'm not doing terribly but geez. days like today DO make me worry if he isn't gonna realize i ain't relationship material. i wouldn't blame him if he dropped me for someone more.... well, more. just more ... i don't even know how to word it cause sure, i'm lacking in something i never wanted to even be good at in the first place so it's not like i wish i'd done differently in the past to be better.

i know i wouldn't. i didn't WANT to until that dumbass looked at me with his stupid puppy eyes. one hook up was all i wanted. maybe a few more. casual shit. but how can i run from someone whose happiness makes ME happy? the moment i set foot into the hepha-whatever cabin after avoiding him for like what? days? a week? don't remember. the way he beamed when he saw me. i never fucking cared about other people's happiness, even less so what they thought of me. until nico. such a damn bother.

he demanded we take a picture together like an actual couple, which.. i mean... we ....are? yeah. kinda. i guess? like, we didn't exactly talk about it, but we talked about retiring together, we exchanged weapons... i mean like... even if i wanted to claim we aren't.. we ARE. the nice lady taking our picture was way too nosy but nico ...handled her so i didn't have to. thank fuck.

i thought we'd grab lunch after and maybe get back on the road, but no. second waterfall, nico ... i don't even know how he did it, but we had a picnic there. a picnic. like a pair of dumbasses. it was good though, guess he found someone to prep food for him. no picture that time. though he did kiss me and some guy with kids semi-choked. not the first time i've witnessed that. though i never felt defensive about it before. i never really cared about the people who kissed me in public, i just wanted to get off.

nico held me back though. good thing he's calm. sometimes. cause i ain't. like ever. by the time we reached the third waterfall, it was dark and of course he knew. cause when we came there and i told him we should just go back because going to see a waterfall in after sunset made no sense... well, of course nico knew what he was doing. it fucking glowed in the dark. don't ask me why someone thought it a good idea, but the place was crowded, so ... someone had a pretty good idea when they decided that. it was pretty.

after that, well.. we were busy for most of the night. i thought about sneaking out of bed to write, but nico at night... is like.. fifty percent security system, fifty person huggy bear. you get up, he'll know and worry. you don't get up, he'll snuggle your ass off. not .......that i mind. I DON'T. i like the way his body feels against mine even when we're NOT fucking.

soooo yeah it's like.. 12 pm by now. uh, not sure what the plan is for today, but i'm guessing food and driving, which is fine with me. i can drive for a while, too. i wonder if nico has more of these ... uhhhh dates? was it a date? well, kinda? whatever. i wonder if he's got more planned. guess i'll find out. kind of unfair HE got to prepare and i'm getting dragged along. WHATEVER.

nico's out getting breakfast... or lunch. both kinda. i can't believe i slept till 11. way to piss off my schedule. but it's okay. IT'S OK. i can derivate from the schedule sometimes. i'll be fine. it was worth it, too.

thoughts and emotions and stuff uh... think i got into that already up top but.. feeling a little frustrated with stuff. torn .. yeah. maybe overwhelmed, but like i'm not panicking. i'm just... overwhelmed and trying to follow the current. otherwise... i'm good. i mean like.. really good. pretty damn good if i ignore the little voice singing for me to find a target.

as for plans? just ... trying to think of a way to show appreciation i guess. nico's trying really hard and i feel like it's a pretty one-sided process for him. I KNOW WHY but he doesn't. i don't think he realizes he's the big exception.

and i hope he never finds out. he'd be unstoppable.

[rogue-durin-16]

THINGS NEVER GO AS PLANNED (Part II/VII)

"candy floss"

Summary: After Fred's death, George and Y/n lean on each other to carry on. This wasn't the most brilliant idea, though; George was pretty much in love with the girl, and Y/n— well, she had been dating Fred prior to the Battle of Hogwarts.

Pairing: George Weasley x Reader

Genre: angst

Tags:

Suggested by: @crispykittywitch

Things never go as planned: @sarcasticallywitty15 @beautyschoo1dropout @s1ut4georgeweasley @leovaldez37 @missmulti @weasleywh0r3s

Permanent taglist: @elia-the-bibliophile @randomparanoid @karlthecat15722 @thebutchersdaughtersblog

Warnings: grief, feels, brief mention of Fred x Reader ig?

A/N: I decided to name the parts bc why the fuck not so keep an eye on the titles 👀. This story is based off this convo and these headcanons. If you wanna be tagged in the next parts tell me, and enjoy <3

Prologue :the aftermath

Part I : sleepless nights

Part III: shock therapy

Part IV: wrong name

Part V: the perfect excuse

Part VI: the downfall

Part VII: apart

Epilogue: I still love you

Rogue-durin-16 masterlist

The moment the last group of customers decided it was time to call it a day and exited the shop, I left the till counter and grabbed my wand from my pocket, instantly turning the sign in the door so it could be read from outside 'closed'.

A sigh escaped my lips as I leaned against the multicolored wooden rail.

I was drained.

The shop helped our minds to get distracted and stray from the grief, yes, but it was also exhausting.

We had been subconsciously overworking ourselves to the point where it was borderline self-destructive.

It didn't help that I was throwing myself into comforting George, either. I could not be blamed for doing that, though; he was broken.

A part of me, the rational one, knew he would pick up the pieces and build himself up again, it would just take a lot of time.

There was another part of me, though, that depressed, drained part, that was beginning to think he would never heal by himself —maybe he wouldn't heal at all— but still held onto the hope that, if I tried hard enough, I would be able to mend what had been broken in him.

A terrible idea, really, because I started to dismiss in its entirety my own miserable, damaged state.

And George, ever the caring, sensible one, would have noticed that; he would have made me realize I was not doing nearly as well as I thought, he would have talked some sense into me, but he wouldn't— he couldn't, because George was lost in an ocean of grief, trying so hard not to drown that he wasn't able to notice I was trying to aid him from my very own sinking boat.

It also seemed to be working; he was more animated, slept more soundly, and his smile was a bit brighter even —at least the one he had for me.

"Rough day?" My eyes, which I didn't know I had closed, fluttered open at George's voice.

"Very."

He walked to me with a tinge of guilt in his face. "You know we can switch places, right?" I had been working as the public face of the shop since we had reopened, and George had taken on the task of doing the paperwork and shippings instead, showing up from time to time to help me and to let people know there was still a Weasley running the business.

I had been the one to suggest this, since I knew George had compromised with reopening only because of me, and he was clearly not ready to put up a sociable, positive attitude for dozens of people every day.

"Nah, it's fine like this." I assured him with a reassuring smile.

He measured me with his eyes for a second; I couldn't really tell if he saw through me or not. "So I was preparing the today's shippings," he rocked a tiny purple basket I quickly recognised in front of me. "I found this in the back of the stockroom."

"Are those—?"

"Candy floss cupcakes, yes." A year and a half ago we had bought five baskets of candy floss cupcakes from Honeydukes per George's request in order to unsuccessfully try and implement them.

"Are they even edible anymore?" I couldn't help but laugh.

"I hope so?" He chuckled too, tearing the film covering the sweets. "Thought we might as well finish them."

My eyes travelled from the basket to him and viceversa before stating, "well I'm hungry so..."

"Same here." He was the first one to pull out a pastel colored cupcake, though he handed it to me. "Wanna get food poisoning together?" Laughing, I gave him a nod as he grabbed his own cupcake. "At the count of three?"

"One"

"Two"

"Three." We said in unison right before taking a bite of our respective madeleines.

I frowned at its surprisingly good flavour. "Am I delirious or are they actually edible?"

"Dunno," he shoved the rest of his cupcake into his mouth with a shrug. "maybe we're just starving."

"Go big or go home, I guess." I finished my cupcake before leaning on the basket to pick another one. My head snapped up with my brow quirked when I heard a soft chuckle. "What?"

"Nothing." George shook his head, motioning at the stairs. "Shall we sit down?" I followed his lead, sitting on the stairs and waiting for him, who had stepped towards the drinks aisle to grab a couple of juice bottles, to do the same.

We stayed there, eating and drinking in a comfortable silence until the basket was empty and our eyelids threatened to shut.

"I think we should head back to the flat." He spoke, leaving the half empty juice aside so he could stretch.

"I'm gonna learn how to cook." I stated, getting up. "We can't get by based on most likely expired sweets and whatever is in the Leaky Cauldron menu."

"Aight." He mimicked my actions, picking up the stuff we left on the stairs. "We will learn the basics tomorrow." He got behind me and began to gently push in the flat's direction. "But now we're gonna get some sleep, miss."

I would be lying if I said my heartbeat didn't pick up when his hands landed on my shoulder blades and made their way to rub both my arms reassuringly.

I would be lying if I denied I leaned back when he did that, letting myself get closer to his chest.

And I would definitely be lying if I said I didn't crave going back to my room so I could cuddle him all night.

One Week Later

"—right in the cauldron, love." I pointed at the cauldron besides me, giving a sweet smile to the kid in front of me, visibly going to be sick thanks to the free sample of Skiving Snackboxes.

"Y/n!" I spun around at the loud calling of my name above the shop's racket. I was able to discern a long, red mane flowing fast towards my position right on time for the owner to wrap her arms around me.

"Glad to see you too, Ginny." I laughed, trying not to lose balance due to her enthusiasm. "How come you're here?" I questioned, pulling away.

"We heard you were open." Harry walked up to me, appearing from behind the girl, "And thought we'd pay a visit to our friends, right?" Ginny nodded, looking around while Harry gave me a quick, yet comforting hug. "Where's George?"

I motioned up to the small office, redirecting the couple's eyes to the second floor. "Doing paperwork—AH!" I jolted when a pair of hands tickled my sides, my head snapping to see the towering ginger standing behind me. "Speaking of the devil."

"I thought I saw Gin through the window," George explained, his hands lingering on my waist for long enough to his sister to stare, before pulling Ginny into a tight hug. "And came down to check if she was distracting my employee."

"You got her all bored here, mate." Harry pointed out, a light joking tone in his voice.

"And you're the one supposed to help with that?" George rolled his eyes dramatically. "Pfft... What a world we live in." With the said, he gave the boy a side hug. I heard Harry murmur an 'We missed you' before they pulled away with a pat on the shoulder.

My gaze landed on the youngest Weasley, whose welled up eyes were trained on her older brother's half smile. I only averted my eyes and waited for her to discreetly wipe away the unspilled tears while Harry and George catched up.

By the letters she had sent me, I reckoned the last time she had been near George, he had been lifeless; seeing a glimpse of who was once one of the most cheerful, funny and charismatic people in her life, was probably poignant to Ginny.

I hadn't realized she had moved closer until I didn't hear her soft voice. "Thank you." I offered her a confused smile, though deep down I knew what she meant.

Two Days Later

George was having one of those days.

We both knew it was coming soon; it had to happen sooner rather than later, since he had been in a surprisingly good mood for almost a week. I suspected seeing Harry and Ginny had brought back the events of the Second of May.

I suggested to close the shop for the day, since he was unable to move out of bed; he refused to do so, but I convinced him to stay in the flat and rest —it was Tuesday, anyway; I wouldn't have to handle many customers.

Due to that, when I saw Hermione, Ron, Bill and Fleur entered the shop, it was understandable that I hadn't become the happiest person in the world.

I greeted them, there were hugs, kisses, and even a joke or two, and when Bill asked about George, I excused him without giving much detail.

They understood.

Fleur was the one to restart the conversation, lightening a bit before requesting a tour for the shop, since she had not yet been there.

It was when we reached the love potions that Hermione, using the fact that Fleur was very much interested in the product, held my hand and pulled me aside.

"So... how are you doing?" The frown in her face, the fact that she was whispering, the squeeze her hand gave mine, let me know she had read me the moment her eyes met mines.

I sighed with a shrug.

"You can tell me." Could I? "No one's asking you to put on a happy face, Y/n." The girl assured me, her eyes digging into mines. "It's not just George, we all lost—" she shook her head at her own words before correcting herself. "you lost him too."

I lost him too.

I bit my lower lip to stop it from quivering.

The memory of Fred's broken smile as his corpse laid on the stretcher, that memory that haunted my dreams, appeared vividly before my eyes.

My lips started to burn with the ghost of that kiss he gave me before we split up, him with Percy and me with George; it hadn't been meant to be a goodbye kiss. It was meant to be a good luck kiss.

I covered my mouth to muffle a sob, and Hermione's arms were quick to be wrapped around me, reassuringly rubbing my back.

GEORGE'S P. O. V.

I saw them entering from Y/n's balcony; I wasn't emotionally ready to face them all at the same time, but when I didn't see them exit, I figured Y/n hadn't been able to dismiss them.

I decided I owed to them all to bite the bullet, so I threw on a shirt and the first trousers I grabbed, cleaned up a bit and left the flat.

With a deep breath, I made it to the second floor and mentally prepared myself to go down to the first one.

As I began to climb down, though, I noticed Hermione and Y/n talking in private, closer than the others to the stairs.

I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but all my senses were automatically focused on Y/n whenever we were in the same room; she just stole me away from reality.

"You lost him too."

Hermione's words visibly triggered something on Y/n.

'Something', as if I didn't know what they had triggered, as if I didn't know what— who was on her mind.

I guess he was always on her mind, though.

What was left of my heart shattered in a million pieces when she broke down to tears —for several reasons—. "I miss him." She whispered in Hermione's shoulder. "I miss him so much."

If I had any tears left, I would have cried my eyes out right there. Had I been so selfish that I had disregarded how she was feeling? So blinded by the light and love and warmth she was constantly giving me that I had forgotten about her grief? Was I that bad of a person, that I would have rather live in the illusion that she had not lost the boy she was dating?

My mind told me I didn't want any of those questions answered.

"George!" As Ron yelled my name in surprise, Hermione and Y/n pulled away, the latter rubbing her eyes while both of my brothers jogged upstairs to hug me. "Ginny told us you're open—"

"But Y/n said you weren't feeling well." Bill finished, squeezing my shoulder. "We only stayed a little longer for Fleur to see the shop."

"Yeah, we'll come back tomorrow," Ron assured me. "So you can rest and..."

My brother's voice sounded further and further with each word; I felt myself drifting off, getting lost in my own mind and gravitating towards the same thought over and over.

She deserves better.

[fitzs-trained-monkey]

Chapter Nine: Sleep Peacefully

(Image not mine)

Rated: PG

~What story should I tell? Will it end happy, will it turn out well? What dreams do I own? Can I call any place my home?

And I rock myself to sleep, and I tell myself "don't get caught too deep" 'Cause I know by now, you're here for me.

And I tell myself "move along" and I tell myself "you were all wrong" But I know by now, wrong was right for me.

I'll sleep peacefully~

The black paved road of the near-empty highway stretched out in front of us, a stark contrast to the piles of glittering snow that the snowplows had pushed off the street. We had been on the road for 9 hours and were now somewhere in Iowa. The area we were now driving through was so much brighter than Copper Harbor ever was. There wasn't so much as a cloud to be seen in the sky. The last few orange rays of light from the setting sun sprinkled across the landscape as it dipped below the horizon, glittering and reflecting off hills blanketed in white. The sight almost hurt my eyes. It was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. Whipping out my phone I snapped as many pictures as I possibly could, though I knew they would never do justice to the spectacular view.

The sun sank lower and lower and eventually vanished beneath the horizon. Then the stars came out. Scattered across the black velvet sky, they were so numerous it seemed impossible. I could see the differences in colors and size, and I could trace the shape of the Milky-Way. There were no trees or streetlamps lining the Iowa highway and it felt as if I was swimming through inky blackness, like I was swimming between the stars. The glittering lights were so bright and so close. It was special sort of magical.

I rested my elbows on my knees and my head between my hands and stared out the windshield at the beautiful black expanse. On my right, Castiel copied my position.

"Jack tells me you like the stars," he said. Upon hearing his name, Jack briefly looked to me and smiled before turning his gaze back to the window. I had been drifting in and out of conversation with various partners throughout the car ride.

"I do, I love them," I kept my voice soft and my answer simple, "I've never seen so many at once before. I don't think I'll ever get used to it." Castiel smiled softly.

"You know, I am several billion years old, and I am still baffled by the magnificence of this universe. Sights like this, they never get old." I turned my head away from the bright lights in the sky to look at the angel beside me.

"Have you been up there?"

He nodded.

"Yes, I have."

"What's it like?"

Castiel sighed in a melancholy sort of way. I could see the reflection of all those stars gleaming in his eyes.

"It's more beautiful than you can imagine."

I nodded and gazed back out at view of the heavens.

"I wish I could live up there."

Castiel chuckled.

"Someday you might. Who knows what will happen?" He said.

"Yeah."

"However," he added, "As for right now, I think you need to get some rest."

"Nah, sleep is for the weak." At that moment I yawned, emphasizing my point. Dean glanced at me in the rear-view mirror.

"We can pull off and stop at a motel overnight if you need some sleep," He offered. I shook my head and tried to blink away my sleepiness.

"Don't stop on my account! I can sleep in the car," I insisted.

"You sure?" Dean asked. I gave him a thumbs up.

"Oh yeah. I actually sleep better in cars, if you can believe it. Something about the noise and the motion puts me to sleep like a baby, I'm all good." For once I told the truth. I really did sleep better in cars.

"Okay, as long as you're comfy, we've got about eight more hours till' we get there." Dean turned down the volume on whatever album we'd been listening to all day. I'd never been a fan of rock music, but some of Dean's songs weren't that bad.

"We'll try to be quiet for you, Marty," Sam said. I yawned again and rubbed my eyes.

"Thanks guys, for everything. Honestly, I can't even remember the last time I had a good night's sleep."

"You're welcome, kid. This is what we do. Now shut your eyes." Dean mock commanded. I rolled them instead and turned to Jack.

"Jack?" I said to get his attention.

"Hm?"

"What are your feelings on being used as a pillow?" Jack's face was painted with all shades of confusion.

"I-I don't, um, I-" He tried to answer but I cut him off with a wave of my hand.

"I'm just kidding," I explained. "You don't have a choice in the matter!"

I grabbed his arm and tugged it around my shoulders so I could lay my head on his chest. Jack's entire body stiffened, and he looked to Cas with an expression that said 'Help me, she's doing something weird. Tell me what to do'. Castiel merely shrugged and in the front seat Dean snorted. I chuckled and waited for Jack to shift around a bit and get comfortable before I closed my eyes.

"You're a comfy pillow," I remarked.

"Um, thank you?"

I couldn't see his face, but Jack sounded extremely confused. I decided then that I needed something to hold on to. It took me a few moments to feel around for his arm but when I found it, I gripped his hand and held it up.

"This is mine now."

Wrapping his arm around my waist, I tangled our fingers together and smirked when I felt Jack chuckle and wrap his other arm around me in a way that was friendly and natural.

"If this keeps up, I think we're gonna have to have a talk with Jack about a thing or two." I heard Dean whisper to Sam.

"I heard that."

"Shut up, Mcfly. You're supposed to be sleeping." He scolded, teasingly. I kept my eyes closed but stuck out my tongue at him. I smiled when I heard him laugh.

"Goodnight, guys."

"Goodnight." Dean, Sam and Cas chimed together.

"Sweet dreams, Marty," Jack whispered.

With that, I let myself slowly drift into oblivion's velvet embrace.

***

"Is she asleep, yet?" Dean asked in a whisper, peering in the mirror at the sleeping girl.

"Um, I'm not sure." Jack craned his neck in an effort to find out, but he just couldn't tell.

"I'm trying, Mom," Marty mumbled into Jack's chest. That made him grin.

"From that I'd say, she's close."

"I'm not your mom, Marty," Dean sighed.

"Sorry, dad." She murmured. Dean just shrugged.

"Well, that's a little closer I guess," He said, his lips twitching with a tiny smile.

"Say, Jack, when's the last time you slept?" Sam asked, turning in his seat to face Jack who's face scrunched up as he thought about his answer.

"Four days ago, I think." He replied. Now that he thought about it, Jack realized just how tired he was.

"Dude. Sleep. Now." Dean ordered. Jack blinked a few times and yawned.

"No, I can wait." He yawned again.

"Jack..." Cas pressed.

"I can't go to sleep yet," Jack insisted.

"Why not? Marty back there did it just fine," Dean said.

"Gimmie back my socks, Biden," Marty mumbled.

"See? Out like a flickering lightbulb." Dean joked.

"No, you don't get it. I can't go to sleep, she's right here. She'd think I'm weird or something." Jack worried.

"Well, you're not exactly normal, Jack." Cas muttered under his breath.

"Look, she's the one sleeping on you kid." Dean paused, glancing at the others in the car. "That came out wrong. The point is, she clearly doesn't know the meaning of personal space. Just go for it." He finished, refocusing on the road.

"What do you mean?" Jack asked. Dean's eyeroll was nearly audible.

"Go to sleep, Jack. She ain't gonna care."

Jack nodded.

Snow began to fall on the roof of the Impala with a tip, tip, tipping noise as Jack rested his head atop Marty's. Her hair was soft under his cheek and he matched his breathing with the gentle rise and fall of her chest.

"I love that sound," She sighed, in her half-asleep stupor. Jack guessed she was referring to the sound of the falling snow.

"Me too," he whispered, closing his eyes and drifting off to the same place as the girl beside him.

***

"Jack."

...

"Jack!"

...

"You have got to be kidding me... JACK!"

Jack woke with a start. Blinking rapidly, he attempted to make sense of the world around him. Confusion washed over him as he could have sworn, he had fallen asleep in the Impala next to Marty. But he wasn't there anymore. In fact, he wasn't sure where he was.

Everything was white. The walls, the ceiling, the floor. Well, actually this place didn’t really seem to have walls or a ceiling or a floor. It was all just white, stretching off forever. Behind Jack somebody coughed.

"Behind you," They said, sounding rather annoyed.

Jack turned around slowly and cautiously. Standing in front of him now stood Marty. Her tiny hands on her slim hips and her face twisting into a frown that was somehow amused and annoyed at the same time. She raised her eyebrows at him, and her foot tapped rapidly on whatever surface it was that they seemed to be standing on.

"Heya, Jack." Marty smirked.

Jack's eyes shifted nervously left and right. His hand reached up on its own accord to rub at the knot he felt in his chest. He got the distinct impression that something here wasn't right. He planned to figure out what was going on as soon as he could determine where exactly 'here' was.

"Don't worry Jack, it’s just us. Or, I should say, it’s just you," Marty said, clarifying and confusing things for Jack at the same time. Jack shifted his gaze back to the girl in front of him.

"Where are we?" He asked, his brows drawing together. Marty smiled at him pleasantly.

"We're inside your head!" She answered.

"What?" Jack wondered how she could answer his question while giving him so many more at the same time. She giggled a bit at his confused expression. Spreading her arms like wings, she spun in a circle.

"Look around, Jack! It’s so big! You should be proud!" She stopped spinning to grin at him. The line between Jack's eyebrows and his confusion were deepening quickly. Marty tapped her chin and looked upward with a smirk, as if thinking about something. "But we really should both be proud." She mused.

"Marty, what's going on? Are you okay?" Jack took a step towards the girl reaching his hand out. Marty flicked her eyes up and down between him and his outstretched hand, her expression darkened. She held up her hands in a defensive gesture as she took a few sauntering steps back.

"First of all, I'm not Marty," She stated, evenly. Jack's position instantly switched from inviting to aggressive. He bent his knees and widened his stance, shifting his weight onto the balls of his feet, readying himself for a fight.

"Who are you?! Where is she?! What did you do to her?!" He demanded. His eyes pulsed with an orange light as he prepared to use his powers. The person in front of him, who apparently wasn't Marty, put a hand on her chest, gasping with obvious mockery.

"You wound me, Jack! You're not even going to ask who I am? I thought we were better friends than this." She closed her eyes and shook her head, sighing in an obnoxious and sarcastic way. Jack wasn't having any of this thing's games. He clenched his teeth and raised his hand threateningly.

"Where's Marty?" He growled, trying his best to imitate Sam, Dean, or Cas when they were in similar positions. The not-Marty just rolled her eyes, like she was bored.

"Yeah, no. We ain't doing that in here." She frowned, waving her hand simply. Jack scowled and tried to blast her back with his power, but he abruptly realized that he couldn't. Nothing was happening. She had taken his powers away. His eyes snapped open wide and he stared at his hand. Now he was the one taking a few steps back.

"W-what? I-" Jack stuttered. The not-Marty crossed her arms and leaned back on her heels, taking on a much more relaxed position.

"I think we got off on the wrong foot here, Jack. Can we start over?" She tilted her head and smiled pleasantly at him before sitting cross-legged on the ground. Jack nodded at her with a distrusting expression but hesitantly copied her position.

"Thank you, Jack. I'm sorry about the attitude earlier, it's just that, with this form you gave me, her personality and came with it and then there was your expectations and perception to deal with, so I had to battle through that. I'm very sorry, but I think we're all good now."

Jack was struck by just how pretty the pleasant smile on her face was and had to remind himself that it wasn't really Marty.

"What do you mean? Who are you?" He asked, expecting another vague and confusing answer. The girl giggled, her laugh sounded exactly like Marty's bubbling, wind chime laugh.

"I'm you, Jack!" She replied, brightly.

"No, you're not- you can't- how can you be me? I don't understand," Jack shook his head, bewildered. The girl giggled again.

"I'm not you you, of course. I'm your conscience! Or your sub-conscious or whatever, really." Jack didn't know what to say. Not-Marty leaned forward as if to tell him a secret. "Ya remember what I said about us being inside your head?" She reminded him.

"So, this is a dream?" He asked. She nodded.

"You could call it that, yes. So, you don't have to worry about Marty. When you wake up, she'll be right were you left her, safe, sound, and all cuddled up in your arms." She wrapped her arms around herself, jokingly. Jack nodded, sighing with relief, now he could figure out the rest of this weirdness.

"If you're my conscience, why do you look like Marty?" Was his next question. The girl claiming to be his conscience shrugged.

"You were thinking about her when you fell asleep. It's that simple." Jack nodded slowly.

"This is confusing," he stated. The girl just nodded.

"It is. Let's make it a little less confusing, shall we?" She stretched her hand out for him to shake, "I'm not Marty so how bout' you call me Cricket?"

"Why Cricket?"

"Like Jiminy Cricket! From Pinocchio!" She cheered. Jack took her hand and shook it firmly, still not completely sure he trusted all she was saying.

"Hello Cricket, it's nice to meet you?" He said, more as a question than a statement.

"It's nice to meet you too, Jack!" Cricket giggled for a moment before sobering up in a snap, "But we need to have a talk," She said, her voice grave.

"About what?" Asked Jack, carefully. Cricket chuckled at his apprehensive tone.

"Relax kiddo, it's not like I'm mad at you!" She reassured him.

"Then why am I here? What do we need to talk about?" Cricket frowned; her expression dark.

"We need to talk about Marty," She said. Jack narrowed his eyes.

"What about Marty?"

"There's something off about that girl, but I don't know what it is," Cricket answered.

"Why not?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Well, if you don't know, then I don't know, and we don't know!" She he exclaimed.

"Oh."

"But I'm telling you, all five-foot-two of this," Cricket gestured at Marty's body, "Isn't what it seems." Jack frowned.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying, Martina is dangerous," Cricket deadpanned.

"No! She's my friend! She's not dangerous!" Jack protested. Cricket raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Really? How much do you actually know about her? You don't even know her full name," She pointed out, her voice harsh. "She's keeping secrets, Jack."

"No."

"Don't make me the villain here, Jack. You're making me the villain, I'm not!"

"Stop! Get out of my head!" Jack shouted.

"Jack, listen to me. I'm you and I'm trying to protect us!" Jack scrambled to his feet, shaking his head.

"I don't believe you!" The girl in front of him stood too.

"If you won't listen to me, then maybe you'll listen to mom." Then Marty was gone. Standing in her place was Kelly Kline.

"Mom?" Jack whispered he couldn't stop himself inching forward. Kelly opened her arms.

"Jack! Please listen to me, you can't trust that girl. I know she's your friend, but you need to look-" Jack cut her off.

"You're not real!" He said, backing away. In an instant, Kelly was gone, and Cricket came back.

"Fine, suit yourself." Cricket's glared was ferocious and her voice was cruel. "But don't say I didn't warn you."

Jack blinked and when he opened his eyes, Cricket was gone.

***

"We should probably wake em' up," Sam whispered as the Impala rounded the turn off on the dirt road that led to the bunker.

"Wait! Cas, do me a favor," Dean said passing his phone to the angel in the back seat, "take a picture of those two." Jack and Marty were still fast asleep. The only thing that had changed in eight hours on the road was that Marty had grabbed a hand full of Jack's shirt. Taking the phone from Dean's hand, Cas snapped three pictures of the sleeping duo.

"Here." He passed the phone back to Dean who took his eyes off the road to observe the pictures.

"Awesome." Dean grinned. "These are going in the black-mail folder."

"In the what?" Sam asked.

"The black-mail folder, Sammy. You don't have one?"

"Uh, no."

"Your loss," Dean shrugged, turning his attention back to driving. The car was quiet for a few minutes.

"So, what's in the black-mail folder?" Sam asked after a bit. Dean smirked at his brother.

"You'll find out," He said, ominously, "Next time I want something, you'll find out."

Sam decided in that moment that he did not want to find out what was in Dean's black mail folder. As the bunker came into view, Castiel reached over and shook the shoulders of the sleeping pair next to him.

"Jack, Marty, we're here," Cas urged, gently. Jack eye's opened and he blinked the tiredness from them, his neck was stiff, so he stretched it out. Marty, however, did not wake nearly as easily.

"Martina." Cas shook her shoulder again.

"Hmm?"

"Wake up."

"Five more minutes." She murmured. Jack chuckled at her antics.

"Marty, wake up. We're home." Marty's big grey eyes fluttered open and she turned her head to look up at Jack.

"Home?" She sighed.

"Yeah, home," Jack said. Marty sat up and yawned, stretching her arms and rubbing her eyes.

"Home sounds pretty good."

~What story should I tell? Will it end happy? Will it turn out well? What dreams do I own? Can I call any place my home?

And I rock myself to sleep And I tell myself "Don't fall to deep" Cause I know by now You're not comin' for me

And I tell myself "Move along" And I tell myself "You were all wrong" But I know by now Wrong was right for me

I'll sleep peacefully~

Lyrics from: Sleep Peacefully by Lilly Kershaw

[secondhandnewsradio]

SHN INTERVIEW: Sleep Walking Animals

by Claire Silverman

photo: Ryan Hall

Sleep Walking Animals, the indie-folk alternative rock band from Manchester, England, have just released their self-titled debut EP. Since SHN first interviewed the band at the start of the year, they have released two more singles, started playing live shows again as restrictions opened up, and have announced a co-headlining tour around the UK in October. At their EP launch gig at the Fiddler’s Elbow in Camden on the 20th of September, they performed their new music to a sold out crowd.

CS: Congrats on the EP coming out. When we spoke back in February, you mentioned your plans for the EP, so it’s very exciting that it’s here now. How are you all feeling?

Tom: Like it's about time.

Jack: “Angus’ Fool.” “Wild Folk,” and “Dance Laura Dance” are on the EP, so we started recording this EP in October 2019. So it's been a big process, and the EP is kind of about that process.

Tom: We didn't want to release things until we were happy with everything, because we did record enough songs back in 2019 to go on an EP. But in post [production], we were a little bit concerned that they weren't all up to the standard that we wanted. It was our first time in a studio together as well when we recorded those songs, so we needed to practice, we needed to get together more and get more experienced in the studio. Then we ended up going up to Stockport and using a studio called Green Velvet Studios and we laid down five tracks, three of which are on the EP.

Jack: So, yes, excited.

photo: Ryan Hall

CS: Is there an overarching theme across the EP?

Tom: It feels like it's very much about things that have happened to us in the time it took to put the EP together, and things that have inspired us enough to write about, you know, various introductions to people, to new experiences, illnesses, life events that sparked something within us to try to make a good song out of.

Jack: The whole EP spans across when we started the band in 2018 right up to now, so a lot of the songs are about growth and change. But the songs are about our growth musically as well, which is a nice kind of coincidence.

Tom: “Angus’ Fool” was the first song we ever wrote together, so the EP spans from our first song together to things we were writing in lockdown. So like Jack said it’s a span of two and a half years.

Alex: “Native” was written after we played Farm Fest [this summer].

CS: So now that you have more music out and have started to establish your sound, how did you figure out what genre of music you wanted to make?

Alex: It's funny, you just mentioned “Native” and I think that was the point that pushed us to fatten up the sound a little bit. I mean, the style of the song made us realize that we can push it a little bit more. And we have a few like one recorded songs, which are definitely a lot more rock-y.

Tom: We're inspired by all sorts of different bands as well. And, you hear it said a lot but a lot of great artists steal from other great artists and that's how they become great, so we're taking influences from people that we all listen to. So this is why it's hard whenever anybody asks “so what kind of genre of music do you play?” I can never really answer that because it’s changing all the time.

Jack: But I was saying to Bill the other day, (he's not officially in the band yet but he kind of is. He's the drummer who played with us on Monday) we've never really spoken about what genre we want to write. We didn't speak about influences, particularly.

Tom: We're just going with ideas. We all have our own little pockets of interest that we bring to the table and I think that’s what makes out sound quite unique

Alex: When someone brings something and then all of a sudden there's so many layers on top of it, which are coming from all kinds of different directions. And it's just hard to put your finger on what it actually is. But it's cool and we like it.

photo: Ryan Hall

CS: It seems as though COVID restrictions are kind of mostly lifted here in England. At least, concerts are happening again. What's that been like, through the pandemic till now, and being able to play live shows again?

Tom: It’s been a massive relief, really, it means that we can get out there and get some gigging experience, start playing our stuff live. It's a completely different beast to be in the studio, it’s a completely different skill to have. And the more we do it, the more we’ll improve, and the more people will respond well to our gigs. There is such a massive impact from a live gig that you don't get from sitting down and putting your headphones in and listening to the Spotify track. You get the performance, you get the live engagement with music, and with the people on stage. That's just palpable.

CS: Since you're all performers, you're all actors, how do you think your other stage experience impacts your music?

Jack: That's an interesting one. Because I think the three of us are definitely coming out of acting and want to follow music, solely. Obviously, Tom, you both really well. [Laughter] And Nuwan’s also still following both. It's just something that when we are playing live, and it's going well, and there aren’t any technical issues, that we can just give ourselves completely to that moment. And I think that's easier for someone who has trained to do that, which is kind of what we did at drama school, I guess, to give yourself to the moment,

Tom: Yeah, there are great artists and performers, actors, musicians who haven't haven't gone through a formal training process. I think it's actually more important than training. Personally, I find the two things very different, being onstage as a member of Sleep Walking Animals and being on stage or on screen and being an actor in a role. I think the only similarity for me really, is the fact that when we go on stage as Sleep Walking Animals, I feel myself put on a character. I'm not Tom, I’m whatever else that is.

Jack: John. [Laughter]

Tom: I think we all do that whether we realize it or not. Because we'd be crippled with anxiety and insecurity and all the other horrid things that sort of flood into you when you're onstage performing in any way, you know, those don't happen or they sort of diminish if you put on that guise. So I guess that helps in that sort of transition.

photo: Claire Silverman

CS: You mentioned Farm Fest a bit earlier. What was it and how did it come about? And how was it?

Tom: So Farm Fest is a new, upstart festival that myself and my girlfriend Lottie host and organized. It's on her childhood farm and it's something that Lottie had wanted to do for a long time, to use that land to provide a space for a festival, entertainment, camping. We started it a couple years ago. There was that little bit of time between lockdowns where we got a weird freedom in the summer of 2020 and people felt like it had kind of gone away. Luckily, we all collectively know a bunch of musicians and comedians. It started small and then this year, we did it again. We charged a bit more money for tickets, and we are getting bigger and better. It feels like it's sort of gaining a bit of momentum. And it was the highlight of our year, we got to perform on a mainstage with a great sound set up. For us it was a big crowd to play to who all knew the songs and were singing along. It felt like a real festival, right.

CS: You guys are pretty active on social media, at least on the Sleep Walking Animals account. You guys don't always take things super seriously, which I like. What’s your approach to using social media? What do you think of it?

Jack: I wish we didn't have to. I think we probably all do realize the importance of it because Instagram is pretty much the only way of promoting anything, which is so fucking sad. Yeah. And I thought today, because Joe and I are reading a book about Joy Division and the start of the punk scene stuff, and they didn't even have t-shirts, because they wanted to stick it to the man and that kind of thing. But you just can't do that now. It's just like times have changed and there’s so many bands and so many artists that you have to be on it. Like, it will only be a matter of time before we go on to TikTok.

Tom: As an unsigned band without management or label yet, you know, we're left to do it on our own. Like Jack said, it's our only way of letting people know about our music. We might as well try and enjoy it if we've got to do it.

photo: Ryan Hall

CS: Now that the EP is out, what are your future plans for the band?

Tom: World domination?

Joe: Recording.

Tom: Yeah, more tunes. We've got quite a few unrecorded ones. Keep doing what we're doing, really, following the footsteps of the people and bands and artists who have inspired us. Just keep going with it and see what happens. We're not putting immense amounts of pressure on ourselves. We do it because we love it. We do it because we think our music is worth pursuing. Yeah. Just see where the wind takes us.

CS: And you've got a tour coming up in October.

Jack: Yeah, a UK tour. It’s a co-headlining tour with Polary and My Pet Fauxes. So we're playing in different cities and we're all sharing the headlines slot and supporting each other at the different venues.

Tom: The 17th of October we're playing Leeds at Oporto, then on the 18th at Dublin Castle in London, the 19th we’re in Bristol at Crofters Rights and then the 20th at Night & Day in Manchester.

CS: Good luck for those shows and again, congratulations on releasing your debut EP.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

Listen to Sleep Walking Animals’ debut EP here

Follow the band on Instagram Twitter Spotify YouTube 

sleepwalkinganimals.com

[z-iridest]

(A/N: Okay! I'm aware of what time it is, but I can't help it! I got a cute idea for a one shot, this time for our baby cinnamon roll, Izuku Midoriya! With that in mind, I give you....: )

Well, your night was going well.....

Stood up by yet another date, you were bitterly gulping down the carbonated substance in the glass in front of you. You looked down at the tattoo on the inside your wrist, the tattoo that had been there since your 15th birthday. Just when you thought you would meet your soulmate on the blind dates Mina set up for you, you were stood up by each one. The tattoo itself was a timer, counting down the years, months, days, hours, minutes and exact seconds that you would meet your soulmate. It had shown up with mere months to go, but now?

It tauntingly read: 7 minutes, 15 seconds and counting.

You let out the biggest sigh of your life as you put your chin in your palm, watching the couples on the dancefloor with a scowl of envy. You wished your soulmate would just pop up... You'd give anything for this agonizing wait to finally be over... You finished off the soda, glancing at your wrist every now and then. Just as that timer hit 2 minutes, 30 seconds and counting, a pounding beat started, causing you to perk up. You knew this song...

Ladies and gentlemen, we've got a special treat for tonight

I'm gonna call my friend Olly up here to sing to you ladies

Olly!

Let's go, man

You closed your eyes, the scowl replaced with an easy smile. Your head bopped along to the beat, failing to notice that the timer on your inner wrist had hit only 1 minute and 42 seconds to go the same instant a classmate of yours walked in, the male's green eyes instantly landing on you.

My name is Olly, nice to meet you can I tell you, baby

Look around there's a whole lot of pretty ladies

But not like you, you shine so bright, yeah

I was wondering if you and me could spend a minute

On the floor up and close getting lost in it

I won't give up without a fight

To say that he was nervous the second he saw you was an understatement. He had always thought you were absolutely beautiful, but he had never gotten the courage to talk to you in class... You didn't even know his name, having only been hanging around the girls with what was, so far, the whole school year at U.A. He glanced down and the inside of his wrist and his heart came crashing to a halt. The soulmate timer was gone! He nearly died then and there. Were you his soulmate? Oh, boy, did he hope so... He gulped. Okay, no big deal, Izuku. You've dealt with ruthless villains, some more monstrous than others... Asking her to dance should be no problem! He attempted to give himself a mental pep talk, but it only made him want to run from the situation. However, his body betrayed him before he could even think about setting one foot back out the door, his feet leading him straight to you.

I just wanna, oh baby

I just want you to dance with me tonight

So come on, oh baby

I just want you to dance with me tonight

You felt a light tap on your shoulder, your eyes opening as you turned around, your e/c eyes meeting a pair of emerald green ones. You blinked, recognizing the fluffy green hair. Izuku gulped the second your eyes met his. It wasn't helping that you were beautiful, but that look just then? "H-Hi, um... I-I'm so sorry to bother you, b-but... I-I was w-wondering... I-if y-you... m-maybe... w-wanted to... d-dance w-with m-me?" It was honestly a miracle the poor boy could even get a understandable word out considering how much he was stuttering. He watched as a blush crossed your own face before you nodded.

"I-I'd love too... B-But... I-I don't know how to d-dance." Your cheeks flushed darker in embarrassment as you stuttered out a confession that you had no idea how to dance with a partner. Dancing alone? You could handle no problem thanks to Mina, but with a partner? Forget it. An adoring smile crossed Izuku's face.

"I-If you want, I-I could teach you." He stutter out in response before holding out his scar littered hand to you. You looked up at him before taking his hand. You didn't fail to notice just how tenderly he held your hand, or how perfectly your hand fit in his own as he gently helped you stand before walking with you to the dance floor.

We're getting sweaty, hot and heavy in the crowd now

Loosen up and let your hands go down, down

Go with it girl, yeah just close your eyes, yeah

I feel the music moving through your body

Looking at you I can tell you want me

Don't stop keep moving till the morning light, yeah

Izuku stopped with you in the middle of the dancefloor, still holding your hand. He was so damn thankful in that moment that his mother had taught him how to dance in his childhood years, that he remembered all the moves. He took your free hand and placed it on his shoulder before wrapping his arm around your waist, pulling you into him. "Follow my lead." He told you softly, his eyes not leaving yours as he led you into the dance. Your eyes, however, stayed on your feet. You followed his lead, keeping your eyes on your feet to make sure you wouldn't step on his feet accidentally. You both moved to the beat, however, you weren't exactly trusting yourself at the moment.

When I saw you there

Sitting all alone in the dark

Acting like you didn't have a care

I knew right then, you'd be mine

We'd be dancing the whole damn night, like

Oh baby, I just want you to dance with me tonight

So come on, oh baby

I just want you to dance with me tonight

Izuku noticed it and let go of your hand for a quick moment to make you look up at him. "Trust me." He whispered to you before retaking your hand, effortlessly continuing to dance with you. His green eyes never left yours, and somehow, you found yourself unable to look away from him this time. Your feet still moved in time to the song with his, and a smile started crossing both your faces as you danced together.

Break it down now (yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)

Shake it like that (yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)

Now bring it all back

To dance with me tonight

One more time, one more time, come on now

(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)

Do your thing (yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)

Everybody sing

I just want you to dance with me tonight (come on)

I just wanna, oh baby

I just want you to dance with me tonight

A giggle escaped your lips as he spun you a couple times before pulling you back into him, placing his forehead against yours as your bodies kept in time with the music. Both of you were smiling brightly as you two danced, not a care in the world.

Everybody, everybody, come on now

Pretty girl, just close your eyes

We can dance all through the night

I just want you to dance with me tonight

And everybody sing

Pretty girl, just close your eyes

We can dance all through the night

I just want you to dance with me tonight

So come on

Pretty girl, just close your eyes

We can dance all through the night

I just want you to dance with me tonight

Laughter bubbled out of you as he dipped you just as the song hit its last notes, your arms wrapped around his neck as his were around your waist. The crowd around you began to clap, both of you blushing scarlet red as soon as the two of you realized that you two had had an audience the whole time. He pulled you back up, holding you close to him as a slower song began to play. His green eyes held a tender look as he held you close, his arms staying around you as he started to sway with you, not that either of you were paying attention to the new song. Both of you had what you'd been missing your whole lives.

Your soulmate....

Maybe your night hadn't been so great to start with, but it sure ended on a sweet note...

Fin

[jamkookies]

Okay

Description : A trip to Malta for the shooting of Bon Voyage seems peaceful enough until the moment things take an unexpected turn...

Word count : 3.3k

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

"Please, sir! I'm begging you! Open up, please!"

It was surprising how the both of you hadn't even moved an inch despite the cries that had begun to turn downright hopeless but as Jungkook's arm shields your body defensively, you decide that you just can't take it anymore.

"Jungkook, we should take a look." you say hesitantly, turning your head in his direction.

"No way. It's a trap." he claims. "I'm sure of it."

Your eyes keep boring holes into the door as if your vision could penetrate it.

It's quiet for a while.

Maybe he left.

Maybe he-

A thunderous boom to the door.

"We have to at least take a look, dammit!" you exclaim and push his arm away, now decisively heading towards it.

"Wait!" Jungkook yells after you but instead of stopping you, he joins your side. Before you can make any further attempts, he mushes his face onto the platform and looks into the tiny peephole. Curiosity can hardly keep you still.

At last, Jungkook retreats and motions for you to take a look as well but you don't know whether to expect a garnison of soldiers or a horde of wild bisons behind the door because the expression on his face is unreadable.

The cold surface of the platform touching your forehead only makes you grow even more uncomfortable. Then, your eyes are able to discern an obscure figure behind the magnifying glass. "You've got to be kidding me, " you whisper as your eyes naturally widen.

This could not be.

Him, out of all people....

Both you and Jungkook exchange a look of silent agreement and he pushes the open button with no words needed. The door swings open to reveal a slightly dishevelled-looking man with multiple cuts and bruises marking his face. Those eyes you'd seen gleaming with vigilance are now tired, drowsy yet still scarred with horrors you could only imagine. You'd never forget those eyes because they had been the ones that had given you a chance to escape, a chance to save yourselves.

"What are you doing here?" Jungkook wonders, not bluntly but rather in a puzzled demeanor.

"Let me in, please. I'll explain everything, " the old bodyguard says and throws a look behind his back and down the stairs.

You and Jungkook exchange another look and then the latter opens the door wider, giving him space to enter. The bodyguard's face almost melts in relief upon the gesture. He crosses the doorstep in two huge strides, putting the farthest distance from it.

From the moment the lock clicks back in place, a deafening silence hangs into the air, adding even more to the suspense.

You decide to break the ice first. "What do you mean they're gonna kill your family?"

The bodyguard takes notice of where your eyes are fixed and he unconsciously touches a bruise on his chin. "Actually, I lied about that. I had to convince you to open the door."

Your anger flares like wild fire but before the flames can grow higher he quickly compensates for his mistake. "I'm really sorry. I had to.They...they did some things to me...I'll explain everything but I don't have much time."

"Why?" you demand. "Are they following yo-"

"What are you doing here in the first place?" Jungkook interrupts.

The man appears to be going through an internal conflict as his eyes shut tight, hands clench and unclench and the line of his eyebrows angles into a wide V. His distressed condition explained so much and yet so little. His eyes that up till now had been staring at the ground, lift to level up with yours and then flick to Jungkook's. "I went through hell itself to get here unnoticed. I'll have to go soon. But before I do, there's something you should know."

* * *

As much as Jungkook refused to drop the disgruntled attitude, he still made the man sit on the couch and then proceeded to offer him a much needed glass of water. The man drank and drank and drank like he'd forgotten its taste and freshness and after his thirst was sedated, he started chirping like a bird.

"First of all, I want to apologize about trying to take you by force back in Malta, even though in reality it was not my choice."

"We'd figured that out, " you confirm. "But why did you help us escape?"

You'd been racking your brains out for a long time now, trying to come up with a logical explanation but no answer fit in the frame. You just couldn't understand why he would put himself in danger so you could run away.

It didn't make any sense.

"I couldn't just let them take you like prisoners, " he says. "I had to at least give you a chance because I myself wasn't given one."

Jungkook's brows wrinkle in confusion. "What do you mean?"

A look of something like shame casts upon the man's face and he stares at his clasped hands. "When I first got this job, I didn't know what I was getting myself into. Being a bodyguard, I had taken everything into account, including the fact that I would probably have to give up my life at some point but I never thought I'd be involved in criminal affairs."

Criminal affairs? What was he talking about?

"I thought it was normal at first. I thought this was how things normally went but when you decided to go to that trip in Malta I realized that I couldn't get out of this sucking hole no matter how much I tried. And the worst thing about it is that you've had to suffer along all this time without even knowing it."

Jungkook raises a hand to stop him. "Whoa whoa whoa, hold on there a second. Are you talking about Sejin making Y/N leave? And the the thing at the plane? I know he went a little too far but-"

"You think that's a coincidence?" the man shoots back. "He set everything up. From the tickets to the hotel to everything. Every single piece of it was planned out."

Your teeth grind against each other with a mixed state of anger and shock putting them into action. When you throw a glance at Jungkook's traumatised form, tears start to form at the corners of your eyes. The man's statement seemed to had jarred him to the bone and rendered him speechless, incapable of forming a coherent thought.

"I apologize for that, " the man continues. "I didn't want to say it straight away because I knew it would come as a shock to you but Mr.Sejin is not who you think he is. I've had to live with this knowledge for years now."

For a moment, Jungkook's eyes clear up and he blinks a number of times till his attention is completely aimed at the man's face. "Is this a joke or something? Did he send you here to play with us?"

The man's expression remains stoic, forever expressionless but even through his mask you could make out the scars of horrendous truths.

He wasn't lying.

You both knew that but you just couldn't accept it, even though deep down you had always sensed that the origin of your ordeals had been somehow designated.

The said bodyguard points a finger at his face. "You see these bruises, sir? They gave them to me as a punishment for not being able to bring you back. Beat me up till I fainted. When I woke up they made it clear that this time the job had to be done properly. That's why I'm here. To bring you back. But I won't be doing that. I'm here to make sure that you know who you're dealing with. I don't have the authority to talk with his superiors. Trust me, I've even tried to but he's always one step ahead of me." He smiles sadly. "I've gotten countless warnings because of that."

Jungkook puts his head in his hands and agressively ruffles his hair. "How long has this been going?"

The man doesn't hesitate. "6 years. Since the moment Ms.Y/N set foot on that company. He was obsessed with the idea of a boy-group only and didn't want any other intruders. I can witness the number of times he complained to his superiors about not letting her join. He kept pestering them, kept telling them all sorts of things but PD-nim was the one who insisted on taking her. After that he was absolutely furious. You should've seen the way he flung things around in his office. It made me scared for a moment."

He releases a long-kept sigh and shakes his head dreadfully.

"This went on for as much as I can remember. He never changed, always kept making attempts into kicking her out and covered it with a fake smile. But this time he had it all planned out to the smallest detail and couldn't afford to just brush it off as usual. That's probably his biggest mistake so far. He just couldn't stand hiding in a bush anymore so he went 'go hard or go home' I guess."

All this new information was making your head spin. Your mind wasn't helping either, continuously attaching images to the words, helping build up the portrayal of the man who had detested you for so many years, piece by piece. To say that you'd been dismayed was an understatement. You just couldn't believe your ears, couldn't wrap your head around the idea.

"What exactly had he planned?" asks Jungkook with a tint of hesitation in his voice. Understandable enough, taking into consideration the fact that he was fed up with the truths he'd heard. The bodyguard takes a sip from his glass and gulps audibly. He keeps throwing nervous looks at the door, as if waiting for someone to burst in.

"If you can remember....the accident with the saesang girl...."

No

Not that

Anything but that

"It was not an accident, " he confirms. "Your manager planned it."

No

No no no no no no-

"He hired that girl knowing she was a saesang and told her what she had to do. He promised her Jungkook would be hers if she managed to get the job done. That night, when you sneaked out into the forest, it's like you offered yourselves to her in a silver platter. And that's how it went. She took care of everything; the car, the tools, even her assistant."

He shakes his head and you see a melancholic smile cast upon his lips as he looks directly at you. "Stupid girl. She hated you so much to the point where she even ignored Sejin's orders for a moment. He'd never intended to kill you. Obviously, he wasn't that stupid. But she didn't care at all. Thought about getting rid if you since she had the chance and went all-psycho. Unfortunately for her, you managed to escape and that's when Mr.Sejin got angry. Really, really angry. His face got all red and puffy and when Namjoon-ssi tried to talk to him, worried about you gone missing, he yelled in his face."

Joon.

You can almost feel the nostalgic taste of the word in your tongue. It was like smelling that familiar aroma of fresh flowers that grew in your back yard and being swept into a wave of old memories. Sick of you, to not think enough about him all this time, when all he'd ever did was worry about you.

You missed them. All of them. So much to the point where it hurt.

Were they okay?

Now that you were certain about your manager's intentions, you couldn't help feeling concerned about the rest of the boys.

Unaware of your thoughts, the man continues with his story. "And things got even worse when she shot you and you jumped into the stream. I guess she panicked. Her voice was literally shaking from the other side of the phone during the call with manager-nim. I don't know what she said exactly but it still didn't make him give up. After all, he had to prepare for the grand finale."

Jungkook's sharp intake of breath switches your attention to him. You examine his face carefully, looking for any signs of panic but nothing makes it to the surface.

At least not yet.

"-called the ambulance to make sure you wouldn't die."

The momentary distraction had made you zone out and you're only able to catch the last part of the phrase.

"Then what?" Jungkook asks softly.

It's like the man's physiognomy is put into action; eyelids blinking furiously, lips opening and closing, hands fumbling with each-other. He seems nervous to keep talking and that only puts Jungkook on edge even more.

"Then what? " the latter insists. Bolder this time.

The man chokes the words out. "Th-then you wrestled with that girl's assistant. And-"

"And I killed him." Jungkook finishes for him. You notice the way his eyes turn glassy and distant, as if they'd travelled back in time, recalling the events.

"No, sir. He's alive."

Both yours and Jungkook's head snap in his direction with lightning speed.

Had you just imagined him saying that?

"What?" you voice.

"He didn't kill him, " the man confirms and this time you can clearly see his lips matching the words. "It was all a trick."

Clash

"No!"

Tiny little glass shards scatter across the floor, but you don't even have time to react as another loud noise joins it.

"No!" Jungkook yells again after taking out the anger on the second vase. " I don't believe you! You're lying!" He's fully risen to his feet, his chest puffed from breathing too hard. You've never seen him like this, so angry and panicked and scared.

"He's alive, sir. I'm not lying. They enacted the death-"

"Shut up!" Jungkook screams.

"-to make Y/N-ssi feel guilty and leave. Please, sir. You have to listen to me. You did not kill anyone."

A storm of emotions drowns you whole and it's impossible to pinpoint a particular feeling in the midst of all the chaos. Pain, sadness, relief, anger. They all come as a flooding mess, an absolute wreck.

But none of that matters now.

Not as you notice Jungkook from the corner of your eye, slowly sink to the floor and curl into a ball. It's just like that night at the hotel. He rocks back and forth with no awareness of his surroundings, completely lost in his despair.

The storyteller gives him a perplexed look. He must be wondering why Jungkook was reacting this way, why he didn't sigh in relief upon the news of his innocence.

That's because the man didn't know what the idea of killing someone had done to him and how hard it was to just rip that thought out of his mind. He'd convinced himself over and over that he was guilty, that he was a murderer. You'd witnessed it yourself during all those restless nights filled with nightmares driven by his own conscience. You'd both tried to speak as little as you could about it by trying to avoid that fact but now that he's given up and let himself fall apart, you're able to see how it had ruined him beyond repair.

You glare at the bodyguard to stop him from going further and rush to Jungkook's side on the floor.

And your heart shatters into a million pieces.

He's sobbing like a little child.

A grown-up man turned into a little kid just like that, with his arms wrapped around his knees, head buried low within.

You carefully approach him and crouch on the floor, putting a hesitant hand on his shoulder. "Kook..."

He doesn't even acknowledge your presence and his sobs only seem to increase but that doesn't discourage you from throwing your arms around him in a wide hug.

"It's okay, Kook. You're okay."

Suddenly, his hands wrap around your waist and he hugs you so tightly, you almost fall back. You thread your fingers through his dark silky hair and pat his head.

Another choked sob escapes his throat.

Oh how you wished you were the one suffering, not him. If only you could take all his pain from him, you'd gladly do it. You'd do anything for him.

His fists scrunch the fabric on the back of your shirt as hit tears spill on your collarbones.

"You're okay, you're okay, shhhhhhh." you whisper in his ear.

All is forgotten by now. The only thing you can focus on is to let him know that you were here, that you understood, and that it was okay to feel like this.

It was okay not to be okay.

* * *

You'd lost all sense of time with Jungkook in your arms that you'd failed to even throw a look at the man in the corner, silently waiting for the situation to cool down.

"I'm sorry." you hear Jungkook's worn voice at the side of your neck.

"Don't be." you answer. "It's not your fault."

He finally unties his hands from your waist and takes a deep breath. A dark veil still hangs in his eyes but he tries to cover it up with a weak smile. However, the smile turns a tad bit more genuine when you cup his cheek with one hand and gently caress it.

"I'll get you some water," you say and make to get up but he grips your hand and looks up at you with pleading eyes.

"Don't go."

If you could choose to have an image branded at the back of your mind, this particular one would be it. Those big round eyes and the messy curls that fell over them carelessly, that scar on his cheekbone, the one you'd always loved, and the pouty lips under the frame of which a tiny mole showed.

You feel like crying and laughing at the same time.

Yet you still understand.

He needed the physical support as much as the he needed the emotional one in order to have something to hang onto. A safe harbor to keep him from straying off into the dark corners of his traumas.

"Okay." You sit back down and Jungkook clings onto your arm almost immediately.

"Sir, " the man finally decides to speak. "I'm really sorry about everything."

Jungkook nods in affirmation.

You're just about to add something when the man's inner pocket of his coat starts to vibrate.

He gulps.

Looks at the door.

With shaking hands, he reaches inside his coat and retrieves his phone.

"It's him." he says upon taking a look at the screen.

Your senses tingle with a mind of their own. What you'd been talking about all this time takes the form of a man. The source of all your fears and sufferings.

The floor suddenly grows uncomfortable.

Bzzzzzzzz

It's like the vibrations are digging into your brain, each buzz more unbearable than the other.

The man can't seem to take it anymore. He taps on the phone and pushes it to his ear.

A gruff voice joins the line.

You're not able to catch any of the words but the man's face says it all.

Something happened.

"Don't hurt them, " he croaks.

More yelling on the other side of the phone call.

Then, silence.

At this point you don't know what to expect. You tightly squeeze Jungkook's leg in reassurance.

The man's begging eyes turn to plead with yours, desperate, hopeless. "I'm sorry, " he says and runs off to the door.

But instead of leaving, he pushes the open button.

And waits.

Your heart leaps in your throat when a dozen other bodyguards rush inside.

[thatsweetsexypsychotroyotto]

I'm Not a Bad Person- Chapter 6

SUMMARY: Troy Otto does have feelings you know. He's in the process of figuring them out; especially when it comes to his childhood friend, Jaymie. Whatever they are, they're rooted deep, and they're growing.

WARNINGS: Language, Warped thoughts, Violence.

WORD COUNT: Fuck if I know.

PAIRING: Troy Otto x OFC

AUTHOR'S NOTE: My plan is to follow along with the events of season 3, but with my OFC involved. I'll veer off plenty of times and probably switch shit up completely. Not sure yet. We'll be exploring different characters' perspectives throughout the series. I'm not great at this writing thing but I try my best. Hope you like it enough. All characters except my OFC don't belong to me.

*******

Chapter 6

(Jaymie's POV)

The next day, a memorial service was held to honor Charlene- Jeremiah's goddaughter. She was the pilot of the helicopter that Jake, Alicia, Luciana, and Travis were on. She survived the crash, but the dead got her on the way back to the ranch.

To be honest, I didn't like Charlie. She was such a bitch to me. It was because her dad had an affair with my mom, and her parents split up. So she took her anger out on me.

One particular day she was talking shit; telling our mutuals I'd end up a whore just like my mother. That was stupid of her, mostly because Troy happened to be walking by. He turned and made a beeline straight to Charlene and decked her; no questions asked. I laughed my ass off when I found out. Wish I could have seen it first hand.

Naturally, Troy got in sooo much trouble. Mainly because he hit a girl. Pretty hypocritical of Jeremiah, but he was a "Do as I say, not as I do," type of parent. So, Troy was grounded for a month. That didn't stop me from sneaking in to the Otto's house every single night though. I'd take him desert and we'd stay up till 3 or 4 in the morning playing cards and board games.

Anyway, after Charlie's service, it was lunch time. I worked the line with my friend Gretchen, scooping globs of mac and cheese onto everyones' trays. Madison and Alicia were approaching, and I heard a community resident giving them a hard time. I felt bad for them, until Alicia said that people should be harassing Troy instead of them. Madison responded, 'I think they would be if they knew what he had done.' I know what Troy did was fucked up. That won't stop me from defending him though. Nothing will. I guess that makes me fucked up too; and I'm fine with that.

Both Madison and Alicia stopped abruptly, making eye contact with me. They realized I was serving, and that I most likely heard what they said. I tried not to let it show that it bothered me, but I know my eyes looked sad.

Gretchen broke the awkward silence with her subtle humor and kind words. Then she invited Alicia to attend one of her "Bible studies" (which was actually just a handful of our friends getting together to drink and smoke pot). There was no hiding Alicia's reluctance, but Madison practically made the decision for her to go. I'm grateful for it, because I need to figure Alicia out. Is she trustworthy? Could I see myself becoming friends with her?

***

About 2 hours later...

(Jake's POV)

How am I going to convince Troy that he needs to stay away from the Clarks? Ever since T.E. began he's been harder to control. I need Jaymie's help on this. She's the only person who has more influence on him than I do.

I find the two of them working together on mending one of the crops' fences. Both their faces are plastered with smiles. They kneel, preparing to wrap extra barbed wire around the bottom of a post. I can't make out what they're saying, but Jaymie throws her head back with a vivacious laugh. She nudges Troy with her shoulder, and he retaliates with a playful shove, causing her to topple over. She counterattacks by throwing a handful of dirt at him. They're honestly adorable.

It's a heartwarming sight to watch my brother in normal-human-being mode; and genuinely happy. Jaymie's good for him. Except on occasion she tends to enable his psychotic side. Though I'll admit that many times his semi-sociopathic behavior has been in her defense. He saw nothing wrong with it when he ki- ...never mind. I don't want to think about that. Anyway, the pros still outweigh the cons by a long shot, and they really are a good match. I kind of thought they'd have gotten together by now.

Troy offers Jaymie a hand and pulls her back to a kneeling position. She tries to wipe the dirt off that she threw at him, but she's actually making it worse since her hands are covered in soil. They're still laughing when I reach them.

Troy notices my presence and his smile falters slightly. "The boar's back. Keeps digging up the fence posts to get to the cabbage. Could use an extra pair of hands tracking it tonight."

May as well cut to the chase. "Stay away from Madison and her family."

"They're my friends."

"They came here under my invite. They trust me."

"They came here not to get eaten. I wouldn't flatter yourself."

Jaymie snickers at Troy's response, then looks at me with a grin she tries to suppress.

"Yeah, but they're staying cause I said I'd protect them- from you.

"And how are you going to do that?"

I knew this would be difficult. "Please don't do this, Troy. Please. I'm the one who still believes in you."

"Well I don't need you to anymore."

"Yeah, you do. If the ranch knew what you really are-"

"And what am I Jake?"

I look to Jaymie for an assist, but she's clearly upset with me. She stands and stalks toward me, grabbing my arm to pull me away from the scene. "What the hell would you say that for?!" She scolds me quietly.

"You know he broke in to Madison's cabin and threatened Nick?"

"And you're dumb enough to believe she's not over exaggerating?"

"Do you have any idea what he was doing at the depot? Do you?" Her expression is unreadable. "He was murdering people, Jaymie; timing how long it took them to change."

She sighs. "Yeah, yeah I know."

"Then why are you standing here upset with me?" I don't understand. She's acting like it was no big deal.

There's venom in her response. "Because of what you said to him back there, about what he is. You act like he's some kind of monster, Jake. He's your brother! Why would you say that?!"

I cannot believe what I'm hearing right now. So much for getting Jaymie on my side. I walk passed her and reapproach Troy. "Do you really think you were helping those people out at the depot?"

"I think I was helping all of us."

Alright. This is going nowhere. Let's try a different angle: "Troy, when Dad's gone, this is all on us. We have to take care of this place. We have to lead."

"Together." His tone sounds incredulous.

"Yeah. But I need you to do something for me. I need you to stay away from the Clarks. Do you hear me?"

"Yep. I hear you."

"Do you mean it?"

"I always mean it, Jake."

There's nothing more I can say. I turn to leave, and as I pass Jaymie, I beg her in a commanding tone, "Please help me with this. I need you on my side. Troy needs you on my side. He just doesn't realize it." She narrows her eyes at me with annoyed inquisitivity. "Just, think about it, alright?"

***

(Troy's POV)

Jaymie's so pissed off at Jake. She's always got my back. It doesn't matter who it is or what it's about. I know she doesn't agree with everything I've done. She does try and steer me in a different direction sometimes. I don't listen to her as much as I probably should, but whatever I end up doing, she never ever judges me. She's the only one. God, I love that girl... Wait, what?

"You alright?"

"Huh?" I didn't even notice she was by my side again.

"Forget what Jake said."

"Wasn't even thinking about it."

"Good." She gets back to helping me with the barbed wires, in silence, until, "Maybe we should both avoid Nick and Madison. Just for now?"

"Nah, I'm gonna have Nick help out with the boar tonight." I feel her looking at me. "It'll be fine, Jayms."

She considers my words for a moment then nods. "Alright. Well, I gotta get ready for Gretchen's Bible study. I'm gonna try and get to know Alicia; see what I think of her."

I give her a half-hearted smirk. "Have fun with that." I'm just bummed out she's leaving.

"I'll see you later?"

"Yeah. Later, Jayms." I watch her walk away, lost in the thought I had just a minute ago.

*******

[insanely-creative-things]

Big Hero 7: The Series

Big Hero 7 Season 2

The calm before the storm

*Nimble hands set up a camera to record a video, to which it finally shows Cora Mizichio in her living room. She lets out a deep breath before she smiles up at the camera.*

Cora: Hi! It's me again! Wow,a lot of things has happened since I started this video diary, and let me tell you: It was a very insane, yet stupidly awesome ride.

*She pulls out her phone and soon starts a montage of video clips she recorded showing herself and her boyfriend and friends as both themselves and super heroes.*

Cora: Turns out Baymax saved his chip in a rocket first to which Hiro and I decided to rebuild Baymax, but when one glitch caused his body to run around like a lunatic. Didn't help that Yama held Baymax's skeleton and yours truly as hostages for Hiro to do his dirty work on stealing something from Professor Grandville's desk, *Mutters under breathe* more on her later*clear voice*. Because of that it lead to Gogo, Fred, Honey Lemon, and Wasabi to help Hiro rescue us and make it home safely. But when Yama released an army of Boot legged Baymaxes to steal the thing; that was the night we all realized we can be way more. So we put on our suits and stopped the army, stopped Yama, and destroyed the thing. Since that night we became Big Hero 7!

*Cora smiles brightly to herself as she shows the official picture of themselves as super heroes that show their super hero names: Electro-Magnetic Alpha(Hiro), Aqua Girl(Cora), Omega Danger(Baymax), Chemistry Princess(Honey Lemon), Velocity(Gogo), Fredzilla(Fred Frederickson IV) and Blades Master(Wasabi). Then the clips start showing people they met along the way*

Cora: We've met a lot of new people since then, both as supers and students. There's Professor Grandville; a strict but fair dean who is more than what she seemed, Professor Seto my Bio teacher, Mole the pest that bothers Fred and Gogo and deserves a good butt-kicking, *Shows clip of Karmi*… Someone who also deserves a good butt kicking for her behavior to Hiro and I. Esmeralda the fashion major student from SFAI and the woman partially responsible for me going to bot fighting, Commander Carter who got us our super hero licenses along with Mr. Frederickson; both who help young supers get their license to protect them and assist them in whatever mission they are in. Tela-Patty the telepathic girl, Laser blast who uses, you guessed it, laser beams, Sparrow the archer who can hit any target. Finally there's Ice Frost, she can freeze anything and survive subzero temperatures, and who we learned is Miyuki Frost, an animation major student at SFAI. And as any hero can face, there's our Rouge Gsllery: High Voltage, the Mother-Daughter electric dancing crime duo. Globby, a man transformed into a -Globby- mess after a poor choice to steal Honey's chem purse was made. Momakase, a skilled thief and sushi chef who...turned out to be connected to my Papa, and Noodle Burger Boy was an innocent bot before he was hacked and reprogrammed by one man.

*Cora paused as she thinks over what to say next, her smile fading away as she thought about him, along with the memories came a whirlwind of emotions that clash against each other. Finally she looks up and speaks again with a determined brow on her face.*

Cora: A man named Obake, a very intelligent...and very dangerous, mentally stable man whose circumstances turned him into one of our most dangerous villains we ever faced … his birth name was Bob Aken, an orphan... but he was adopted into a Yakuza Clan where he gained a father, a mother...and a brother. He was renamed Kage Mizichio...and his brother... is my father, Mizuchi Mizichio. The heir of the Mizichio Yakuza Clan. The Demonic Titan. *Rubbing her arms as she swallows tightly* Their story was at first innocent and happy... but when their father, Isamu...my grandfather died; Nozako, their mother...*Gulps* My grandmother...took over and immediately darkened their world. They had a strong bond like Hiro and Tadashi, but Nozako's plans for my father and abuse to Kage forced them apart. In the end they both escaped... Kage twice since... he wasn't very successful the first time.

*Cora pulls out two photos, one showing a young Kage with a younger Professor Grandville, and the second photo showing him with a girl that bears a striking resemblance to Cora; save for the freckles, green eyes, and long strawberry blonde hair.*

Cora: With the help of my Papa he managed to get secret classes at SFIT where Professor Grandville protected him and encouraged him to grow. And there's Chara Bonete… she was just a highschool student who met Kage and they... fell in love. But when Kage tried to build an energy amplifier without anyone knowing it exploded. He survived because... Nozako's workers found him as doctors. She punished him by dropping him out of school...and taking away Chara's life. That was when Kage's bond with my papa snapped. Papa's escape was by accident. He was sent on a mission by Kage to retrieve a very powerful medicine that could cure all diseases and heal all wounds. He was supposed to also kill the herbal medicine maker and her daughter to hide any evidence... instead.. he fell in love with her, the daughter of the herbal medicine doctor...my mama. With patience, determination, and love. Papa regained his hope and faith and his connection with Mama grew deeper. But he knew that anytime Nozako could return and harm them, or worse, turn them into her own puppets like she did with him. So he faked his death. After Mama saved him with the very same medicine that he was supposed to steal, he ran away with Mama and Grandmama to San Fransokyo where they hidden themselves and the potion away from the world and from Nozako's reach...even me. But because of Papa's 'Death'... that lead to Nozako blaming Kage for his mission. He was kicked out of the only home he ever had, and since he didn't know Papa was alive he couldn't call for help. All those years of abuse, hate, and mistreatment turned him into a monster... a monster bent on Destroying San Fransokyo to rebuild it to his image, reclaim back his home from Nozako… and mistaking me for Chara. Thankfully Hiro and the gang saved me and stopped him from succeeding his plan. And by some miracle...Papa saved him. He convinced Commander Carter to get Kage help to not only receive treatment for his mental health, but to also get the surgery for his brain damage. A shard from the energy amplifier he built long ago struck his head...and Nozako left it in there to make him suffer. And now...

*Cora pulls out a letter her family received the other day and shows the contents of it.*

Cora: This letter says that Kage had shown significant recovery in both his surgery and his counseling that he's cleared to go home.. and by home I mean here. And the day he's gonna join us is also the day the new semester of SFIT starts. That alone is a shock cause... Hiro and I had been in SFIT for a semester. We've made it this far into our lives and relationship... But that leaves us with something.. what happens now? Kage can't be left alone, and he has to do something. Papa mentioned that he would talk to Grandville when he comes along. Thankfully the first Baymax is gonna join us and help Kage. *Whispers into Camera* That's another story for another time. *Clear voice* We got our answers to this questions we'd thought we would never ask and got closure. But a part of me feels that there's more that my family isn't telling me; I know why Papa had been overprotective of me before but...Grandmama never really told me why they lived in Muirahara woods for so long, or even how Grandmama made such a powerful medicine in the first place. And there's been someone at SFIT that's been seeing 'you know who' a lot...and she gives me a bad feeling inside me... but if we survived Obake and all these crazy things, I'm sure we can deal with whatever happens to us in the future. We're in this together through hell and back.

*Cora smiles brightly as she saves the video and shuts it off to prepare for bed. As she prepares her futon after texting Hiro goodnight with a heart emoji, the moon shines brightly above the bay of San Fransokyo. The waves crashing to the shore along with the pale glow of the moon gives off an aura of great beauty...and great danger. and it shines through not only Cora's window, but to Hiro's as well, then to the rest of the gang, to Mizuchi, to Kaguya...and finally ending it with Kage Mizichio. All of them unaware of their future ahead.*

A.N: Here is a new chapter from me as we near to the premier of Season 2~! The first Baymax is a reference to the KH3 crossover and so he will be joining too! There's also gonna appearances of Kage/Obake and perhaps even... Nozako and the sirens( Which will appear in the future as I post the chapters here). Also, my Editor will update the chapters so the wordings will be different a bit, so till then, enjoy this! Also, Finals is coming for me so I'm gonna be a little busy, so please be patient for me. As for the Hiro HamadaXCora Mizichio ship...

I AM THE CAPTAIN OF THIS SHIP AND I WILL SAIL HER INTO WHATEVER WATERS I PLEASE!

P.s: Please don't share your spoilers into the reviews.

Thank you all for following BH7! Love you all!

[rainyrowan]

Sunkissed - Chapter 1

description: Wedding of the century rolls around as the previous college clique, along with the rest of their family members, stay in preparation for it. During this time, Riley meets Lucas, a gorgeous, green-eyed wallflower who happens to be immediately taken by her. Little did she know, he has a deep secret. One that will either change her views on him forever or make her feel closer to his world.

word count: 2,626

pairings: riley x lucas

Song: Annabelle’s Homework by Alec Benjamin

chapter one; riley

Sparkley Farkley: Did you know that the slowest marathon time ever is 54 years, eight months, six days, eight hours, 32 minutes, and 20.3 seconds? Yeah, in 1912, an Olympic marathoner from Japan supposedly disappeared during the middle of a race. Some say that he stopped to get a drink from an outdoor party, but ended up staying longer than he should have. Risque, if you ask me. Anyways, he was too embarrassed to finish the race, so he flew back to Japan instead. Years later, he decided to finish what he started by running the whole marathon himself. What I'm trying to say is WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU? Riley, you're seriously taking much longer to get to the boardwalk than this Japanese marathon guy. Hurry!!

I looked at the horrifically long paragraph Farkle had sent me and sighed. Being best friends with him also meant being best friends with your very own encyclopedia, which can be extremely useful at times. Although, it really isn't when your phone is constantly being bombarded with numerous texts about everything and nothing.

Gentle reminder that I live farther from the beach than you do. I'll be there soon! Don't miss me too much :)

I quickly text back. I gripped onto my camera strap, which is draped over my shoulder, as I start quickening my pace.

When we became closer over the years, Farkle and I both created a tradition of spending almost every Saturday down at the boardwalk. In regards to this, the main rule that we've agreed upon would be that if one of us couldn't make it, we would have to have an extremely valid excuse. Me being the more "laid back" friend, I've been pretty lenient on Farkle if he couldn't make it. Wish I could say the same about him, though.

Last night, I had to stay up till two in the morning helping my mother out at the flower shop. Arranging flowers isn't as easy as one may think. In result, I woke up later than usual, causing me to be about 30 minutes late. So far, I've received a fact text from him for every minute I ran late. It truly amazes me how he could just drop these facts off the top of his head.

I'm practically already running when I see Farkle by the entrance, arms crossed.

"I'm sorry!" I pant. I take a second to breathe before I continue speaking. "I.. I woke.. Wow, I'm not cut out to be.. an athlete, huh?" I joke.

He rolls his eyes as a grin forms on his face. "Where were you?"

"I was up all night helping my mom with the flowers. I woke up super late. I'm so sorry."

He nods in approval of my excuse. "That's okay. However, I don't think we could go to the diner now. Brooklyn and her minions are there. Seated in our spots too!"

The thought of Brooklyn made me sick to my stomach. Brooklyn was the Regina George of Harbor High School, and basically all of Santa Cruz. Like your typical teen cliche, she was the popular girl who also the prettiest. Brooklyn also had her own entourage, as she always had two minions following her. With her bitchy personality, you may say that it's surprising that she gets all the guys. With her body, though, it really isn't. It's probably how she had my crush of four years and counting, Charlie Gardner, falling for her.

"Well, I guess we would have to postpone our meal then," I say, linking my arms with his. We enter the boardwalk and head straight for the arcade. We're surrounded by all the games you could never ever get tired of. From Dance Dance Revolution to laser tag to racing games, the Santa Cruz Boardwalk Casino Arcade has you covered. Farkle and I have our common favorite, air hockey.

He let go of my arm, dashing straight to the air hockey table. "You ready to get your ass beat?"

He asks, slipping in a token. We love each other very much, but when it comes to air hockey, it's like we're two different people.

"You should be asking yourself that, Minkus." As air starts to shoot through the tiny holes from the table, we both grabbed our paddles. Suddenly, the puck falls through my pocket instead of Farkle's. "Well, that's a first! I guess I'm starting."

I hit the puck as hard as I can towards his goal. Hoping that this time my first hit would make it, he blocks the puck in a swift move and smiles. "Not today." This goes on for quite a bit. I concentrate on the puck as it glides across the table back and forth. That is, until a distraction came my way. Charlie.

I offer him a double take before actually realizing that it was him. He probably didn't even notice me, which was a good thing on my part. I didn't want him to know that I was here. Out of impulsive thinking, I ducked down to hide behind my side of the table. This wasn't really the best decision, though. Farkle managed to make a goal and yell on behalf of his victory. I don't even have to see what's happening to know that attention was surely brought towards us.

"Farkle!" I call out in a whisper. He walks around the table and takes a seat next to me.

"So, explain to me why we're hiding behind- "

"Riley!" Charlie exclaims. Mortified, I lift my head up to find him standing right in front of us.

"Hi, Charlie." I saw awkwardly. Thankfully, Farkle gets up off the ground and pulls me up, as I was too scared to even move.

Farkle clenches is jaw subtly enough that no one could notice, except for me. It's safe to say that he never liked Charlie. I don't blame him. Most of the time, he can be a total jackass.

I'm not too sure how or why I've liked him for so long, and still currently do. I like to think it's because of the fact that I'm always seeking the best in people. I don't necessarily like making assumptions out of people based on looks or first encounters. For Charlie, I realized how much of a good person he is, deep down, whilst working on a school project with him in the public library. My father, who so happened to be my teacher, assigned both of us as partners for a project that we had to turn in a matter of three days. Within those three days, we'd head to the library at night to work, but we were never productive. All we did was talk. Well, all Charlie did was talk. About himself, of course. I would just sit and listen. It was kind of odd not taking part in the conversation, but I mostly did not mind. As a matter of fact, I remember feeling like it was for the best since I would most likely say something stupid. Plus, I got to learn more about him and who he truly was. The downside of it was that I had to take our project home and finish it myself, but I thought that it was worth it. From that moment on, I couldn't help but keep thinking about him, about us.

Charlie extends his hand out to Farkle, expecting a shake, but he steps back. "I'll wait for you outside." He tells me. No, no. Please don't leave me alone with him.

"Well, that was awkward." He laughs. "But anyways, I am so glad I caught you. I was wondering if you're free like right now? I was hoping that you could help me out with something."

Crap. As much as I would love to help him, I promised Farke that I would spend the day with him. However, as I was looking up at Charlie's mesmerizing brown eyes, I seem to have ignored that fact. "Um, sure." I squeaked. I clear my throat and try again. "What would I be helping you with exactly?"

"You see, we're doing headshots in drama, and you're kind of known to be a really talented photographer," I blush as he says so.  Along with the fact that his words make me swoon, another thing about Charlie that I liked was the fact that he is a performing arts fanatic. I'm presuming that it's something that he would like to achieve in the future. He's actually really talented if I'm being honest.

"So, would it be alright if you got a couple of portrait shots of me by the beach?" Charlie asks.

"Maybe in return, I can buy you a milkshake afterward."

Farkle is so going to kill me after this.  "Er, okay."

"Great! C'mon, let's go." He starts heading towards the exit as I trail behind him. Hoping that he was the gentleman I thought he'd be, I expected him to open the door for me. Instead, he ends up leaving it to close behind him. I sigh, disappointed for getting ahead with my thoughts. Once I've exited the arcade, I immediately scan my surroundings in search for Farkle.

"I'm here." He calls out from behind me. I turn to find him leaning against a wall.

"You're going to hate me," I confess.

A smirk creeps up on his face. "Not gonna lie, I was already kind of assuming."

"You're not mad?"

"No," Farkle says softly. "I still hate that bastard, though. But I mean if you like him that much-"

I pull him into a hug. "Thank you," I whisper.

"Yeah, okay." He wraps his arms around my back and chuckles lightly.

"Riley?" Charlie yells.

I pull away from Farkle and adjust my outfit. This would technically be the first time I get to hang out with Charlie alone, so I obviously want to look presentable. However, that's clearly not the case since I'm currently in my maroon Harvard sweater that Farkle had actually bought me from when he visited last year, along with a pair of faded ripped jeans.

"Do I look okay?" I ask.

He holds two thumbs up. "Can't say no to a girl in Ivy League gear."

"I love you, and thanks a bunch!" I plant a quick kiss on his cheek before running towards Charlie.

Once I've caught up to him, we both head to the beach together.

I truly do love the beach. I love the ambiance of waves crashing against the shore, along with the wailing of seagulls as they soar across the sky. Not to mention, the smell of the ocean beach as well. Everything about the beach is so captivating and peaceful, especially since it's a little early and not a lot of people are here. The afternoon is the absolute worst time to visit the beach. The fact that there are so many people who usually come on a day to day basis, makes me a little anxious to go.

Charlie leads me to where the dock is located. Farkle and I would usually come to take pictures underneath the dock. This area is quite aesthetically pleasing.

"I think this is a great spot." He says, placing his bag down as I begin to adjust the settings of my camera. I let him know that I'm ready once everything's all set. Charlie then runs towards the shoreline and starts posing of a shot. Since I'll be capturing portrait shots, I made sure that my camera is set so all my photos can have a shallow depth of field. This way, Charlie will be in focus as the background will be a bit blurry. After taking a few photos here and there, I stop to look at them. Charlie was perfectly centered, the lighting was on point, and all shots have great composition. Perfect. I think to myself. However, Charlie apparently doesn't exactly think so when he sees them.

"Yeah, this situation just isn't working for me. Let's try something different." He looks around for a moment. "Here, why don't you get some bird-eye shots of me laying on the sand."

I was a little offended that he didn't like the photos I originally took. I spoke out, irritated. "I thought we were taking portraits?"

"I'm just trying to think outside of the box here, Riles. Maybe the photos will turn out better." I scoff at what he had just said. What difference does it make? You're just going to be lying down. And I thought all headshots were portraits. There he goes acting like a douche, but here I am, still taking interest in him.

Charlie lies down on the sand and places his hand behind his head. From the looks of it, he could pass for a Hollister or Abercombie & Fitch model.  I stand directly on top of him to get good shots. If I'm being honest, this isn't the ideal position I'd want to be in. It's a little uncomfortable and weird, really.

Suddenly, water hits the shore and Charlie attempts to save his khaki pants by jerking straight up. Instead, jerking straight up somehow caused me to tumble forward, allowing both of us to fall back down. I also end up dropping my camera on the sand. Water continues to run beneath Charlie, which caused his whole outfit to be soaked. "Shit!"

The water still kept going around us. I panic as I watch it slowly ooze towards my camera. Miraculously, the water stopped before it could reach it. I graciously let out a sigh of relief. "Will you get the fuck off of me now?!" He yells in annoyance. I flinched when he does so and realize that what was happening: I was on top of Charlie Gardener. Because I was on top of him, I didn't get hit by the water at all. I quickly scurried to my feet and grabbed my camera.  I turned to Charlie, who was still really angry that he was drenched. He got up from the ground and gathered his stuff. "Thanks to you," He snaps. "I am soaking wet, and I have rehearsals for the musical after this!"

I feel a familiar tightness gripping my throat. As Charlie continues to curse at me, a burning heat rushes through my body and I can hardly breathe. The DJ over by the boardwalk starts blasting music that seems to be ten times louder than usual. My surroundings then become too horrifically bright. My hands become clammy as I start to lose control of my body. My vision starts to get blurry and my heartbeat begins to speed up to the point where I could hear it.

Once Charlie finishes grabbing his stuff, he walks over to me. He stops and takes a deep breath. "Just email me the photos whenever you can." And with that, he walks away. When I've lost sight of him, I walk towards the pebbles near the ocean. I stare out to sea, trying to take big breaths. I stay until I've finally coaxed my heartbeat back to normal.

[kpopandmusicpassion]

Very Nice

There are many humans and many of them are in hiding for being hunters. The supernatural rule the world and humans are trying to take over. A pretty 17 yr old named Yutseli was raised by her hunter parents. She only knew training and was taught supernaturals are disgusting and humans are superior.

    She was so tired of their shit but she had already tried running away and got caught earning a beating for her efforts. She refused to hunt so she basically became a live in maid her parents disowned her. One day after they returned from a hunt a large group of 13 supernaturals burst in. 2 recognized her as the little girl who saved them from the same hunters they now realize are unfortunately her parents. They grab her before setting her house and parents ablaze. What happens when the others learn this is the girl they have been looking for? What will they think when they learn of her abuse by her parents and their fellow hunters? Will she find love in this crazy family or will someone take away her happiness again?

"Go! Hurry before they come back! Go, Minghao! Seokmin before they catch you again!" A 6 year old Yutseli said.

"What about you?" Minghao asked as Seokmin frowned.

"I'll be fine. Promise. Please go if they catch you now I won't be able to help you." She pleaded.

"We won't forget you. We will come back for you I promise." Seokmin vowed.

"Then I will wait till we meet again." She said as they ran off and she made it back to her room.

*. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *.

"You are a disgrace to the hunter name!" The woman shouted at the 16 year old girl.

"Good! I'd rather be that than a hunter! I NEVER wanted to be a hunter! But you guys just won't listen! I want a peaceful life! Not a war filled life where I have to always look over my shoulder!" The girl Yutseli shouted back.

A loud slap echoed in the room.

"You shouldn't speak so disrespectful to your superiors. As of now we have no daughter but a servant. That is all you are and all you will ever be." Said the man who watched as the mother and daughter fought.

* * *. * * *. * * *.

5 yrs later .....

"This is all your fault!" The woman screamed at Yutseli slapping her.

How the fuck is a fruitless hunt my fault? I was here cleaning the house as usual. The pretty girl thought.

Before the woman could scream at her more the door was broken down and a group of 13 hybrids (all young men) burst through the door.

The Burmese python hybrid and the cougar hybrid instantly recognizing her. "Yutseli! "

The young woman looked over smiling when she recognized them. "Nice to see you both are well, Minghao. Seokmin."

"These are those first pathetic hybrids you let get away when you were 6!" The man in the corner snarled angrily.

The two hybrids glared at the hunters before marching over and grabbing Yutseli and going back to their pack. They hugged and scented the young woman.

They took her outside as soon as the others tied the hunters up and poured gasoline all over them and the house. As soon as everyone was out of the house a wolf hybrid lit a match and set everything ablaze.

"We told you we'd come back for you." Minghao purred as he and Seokmin scented her aggressively. She giggles since it's the first time she's had affection and she grew to like the cougar and python during their short stay with her and her parents. A gorgeous shoulder length blonde haired man came up to them growling causing them to move and he grabbed her and scented her too. She was very relaxed around the kind hybrids. They had been kinder to her in a few minutes than any human in her whole 21 years of life.

The fox hybrid rumbled happily as she started dozing in his arms causing him to pick her up in a bridal carry as she snuggled into his chest.

"She's adorable!" The tiger called Soonyoung gushed as he watched Yutseli cuddle into Jeonghan's chest.

"It looks like she's been abused by her own parents!" The bear named Vernon growled in anger. They couldn't understand how such a sweet girl could be abused but they never really wanted to understand hunters anyway the biased bastards.

"We'll protect her from now on. She's ours now and we'll make sure she has the best life she could ever have." The pack leader a wolf named Seungcheol declared his eyes had a glint of determination in their depths.

They went to their cars Jeonghan passing the sleeping Yutseli to a happy Mingyu in the back seat who instantly had her straddling his lap as he buckled them up.

* * *. *. *. *.

As soon as they got home Hoshi and Woozi claimed her and laid her between them on the bed. When she woke up two hours later she was being cuddled by a tiger hybrid and a leopard hybrid. The tiger nuzzled into her neck with a happy purr. She wasn't quite sure what to think. This was quite a bizarre situation. It seemed like it was just an amazing dream but she distinctly remembers how rudely she was woken up by those people. She started playing with the tiger's platinum blonde hair causing him to open one eye. When he realized she was awake he sprung up.

"Hi! How did you sleep?" He asked waking up the leopard Woozi as well. The leopard and Yutseli sat up as the tiger was on his knees bouncing excitedly on the bed.

"It was great. I don't get a whole lot of sleep. Where am I?"

Yutseli asked.

"You're at our mansion! You're new home!" The tiger shouted.

"New home?" She asked.

"We burnt the house you were staying in. You didn't expect us to abandon you to live on your own in the woods did you? From now on you're ours to protect." The leopard said.

"Oh. Well that's unexpected. Can I get your names now?" She asked, expectantly.

"I'm Soonyoung but call me Hoshi and this is Jihoon call him Woozi." The tiger grinned widely causing her to pinch his chubby cheeks and giggle adorably. A black bear lumbered in and flopped on Yutseli's lap. She stared for a moment before realizing he wanted pets. She ran her hands along his fur gently amazed at the softness.

"Vernon!" A voice shouted before a dingo was panting in the doorway. "You can't just abandon me like that! I could have died!"

"Mingyu, stop being so dramatic if Jeonghan-hyung or Joshua-hyung wanted to kill you you'd be dead already. Calm your ass down before you freak Seli out." Woozi snapped.