#hey maybe if I make a moodboard I'll finish chapter two | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

cxttlefishcxller · 1 year ago

Text

𝔽𝕚𝕟𝕕 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕎𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕤

So I was lovingly tagged by @residentdormouse who is great and awesome and indulgent of my bullshit. So away the shit does bull, I suppose jfkdl;safd The rules are simple - find a sentence, or excerpt, that includes the words you're given and paste it in, and include a link to the finished story of you want. But honestly, guidelines at best - do what you want.

My words to find: White, Cold, Snow, Frost, Ice, Gloves, Hat, Cocoa (or Tea), Blanket, Snuggle/cuddle (or any variation of this) No pressure tags: @caktusjuice-draws, @jaiesondurantkross, @beyondthetemples-ooc, and a massive Open Tag to anyone who wants to! I love seeing things y'all write <3 Your words are (really I'm just going off of moodboard vibes with a couple wild cards thrown in): Paper, Sunset, Natural, Leather, Bookmark, Steel, Chill, Ember, Storm, Makeshift.

Bullshit below the cut!

Okay, so some of these will be from published works, but several will likely be from the as-of-yet chaotically-unwritten remake of Second Lead Serenade. So it's a lot of Stand Shenanigans (tm) but I'll try to drop some other shit in, too. Just to keep things interesting. XD

White: (godfuckingdammit I was making fun of you for having so many Flagg references and the first one I got is a fucking Flagg reference. This one's from a bonus chapter from Serenade that hasn't made its way into the narrative just yet.)

“I went down to Saint James Infirm’ry…saw my baby there,” The voice croons under its breath. The predators may be gone, but the fear remains, and Piper finds that she doesn’t dare raise her head to see who belongs to the boots that draw slowly near. Didn’t Mother Abigail say something about wolves? Dark eyes in the night that were too eager to snap up good souls lost on their way? She had thought about how wolves were sacred to Odin, that not all were hungry and savage beasts, but that truth seems farther away now. “She was stretched out on a long white table…” The voice goes on. “So cold, so sweet, so sweet, so fair.” The footsteps stop. The boots are only a foot or so away now, and the figure pauses before dropping to a squat. A warm glow lights the area around them as a hand comes into her field of vision, extended in invitation. “Hey there, Dani. Need a hand?” Dani. No one’s been alive to call her that in weeks…maybe even months. All of the family and friends that had known her by that name are long dead. Her hair spills into her face as she dares to look up at last. Attached to that hand is a lean man with coiffed, sandy hair and a smile as sharp as glass. His eyes are pale, creased by the kindness of his expression, but she can’t shake the feeling that maybe the wolf had been in front of her all along. Dazedly, she puts her hand in his, allowing him to help her slowly to her feet. His skin burns against hers, and she stumbles when he claps a free hand on her shoulder.

Cold: (I wasn't gonna have Serenade be two for two, but honestly I couldn't resist the urge to shoehorn TedPipes into something. Teddy continues to be the Best Boi Ever, and poor Piper's just trying to drag herself out of her survivor's guilt jfkldsafd)

His worry comes off of him in waves. The last bits of her loathing have returned to their home in the hollow of her ribs, turning her stomach as it settles back into shame instead of rage. “I’m okay.” Her voice is barely above a whisper, energy all but spent. “I’m fine. It’s just…” She can’t find an explanation worth using. Trying to put this emotion to words feels like Sisyphus and his stone. Too much and not enough all at once. “...It’s just me.” He studies her for a long moment, brow furrowing before he shifts to take his legs out from underneath him, sitting beside her on the ground instead. “...Wanna talk about it?” He asks. His radio hisses, someone’s voice reporting that a section is clear. He shifts, turning the device off with a telltale click. “I…I don’t know.” She shakes her head, brushing a loose lock of hair out of her eyes. Her palm is scraped raw from her outburst, skin broken in a few places and stinging as dots of blood meet the cold air. “I don’t know where I’d even start.” “Take your time.” He moves again, settling in at her side and leaning back against the tree. “Whatever you need. I’m not goin’ anywhere.”

Frost: (Ohhhh I had to DIG to find this one. I don't use this word enough, I guess. This is an ooooold WIP of an original D&D-adjacent fantasy piece I was writing about a witch and a rogue finding some royal baby in a rosebush and having to figure out who and where to take it home to. Shenanigans Ensue.)

With such a blue cast to their coal-colored skin, Dark-Elves flush a shade of purple. This purple tinges his cheeks as he coughs, sitting up again as he splutters, “That...that isn’t any of your concern. The important thing is that I was at her estate and she had a need for my services. And we’ll get a tidy sum of gold out of her, so what’s the harm?” “None at all...if you’re successful. If you’re not, you don’t live here. I’ll deny everything if her guard comes by to make you pay for ruining her land.” She decides with a hum, draining the last of her tea. “How heartless, Ketta. After all I’ve done for you.” Despite his words, he laughs, reaching to fill her cup again. “After all I’ve done for you, you mean. I got along just fine before you got here. And when you leave again, I’ll be all the more peaceful for it.” The banter is easy, playful, though her words ring true. Irren is a wanderer, and Ketsiyah a loner. Their arrangement is comfortable, she knows, because it’s temporary. He came into Thornfall just as the last frost was thawing, with half a year spent in the attic space above her home. The arrangement was that he would be gone by the time the first freeze came through.

Ice: (BirdBrains gets some representation! This is from Shine On You Crazy Diamond, the IT/The Stand crossover I've slowly been writing. Which.......I really ought to get back to. <.<;;;;)

“We all tried to find out what really happened--his friends and I, I mean. A bunch of kids looking for a fucking serial killer.” He chuckles wryly, only able to look at his and Crow’s joined hands. Their touch is the only thing anchoring him, he thinks. If he lets go, he might sink down into the pit again. Down in the dark, where It lived. “And I think we did find It eventually. But I can’t remember. I just remember how scared I was. And how badly we were hurt after. And I remember that we all made a promise that if we didn’t kill It like we thought…we’d have to come back. To finish the job.” Silence falls between them as he finishes, and now, with all of the confusing, tangled pieces he has out in the open, Harold feels that ice-cold surety that he has finally, finally managed to find the one thing to say that would be Too Much. The final straw on the back of a camel that’s been struggling for the four years of their relationship. The one thing that even Crow’s infinite adaptability and determination couldn’t overcome. He can’t look at them, picking at his lower lip with his teeth. “...It.” They say at last, putting the same weight on the word that he had. Not just a pronoun--it’s almost a title. A name for something so evil and so terrible that his mind goes utterly blank every time he tries to remember. “So this…murderer. This serial killer. You talk about It like It’s not a person at all.”

Gloves: (I was wondering when Between Iron and Silver would come into this one, but apparently I don't use this word enough either jfdkls;afd To summarize, this is an Undertale fic that's the answer to "what if a human fell into the Ruins and stayed?" and then it just...ran away from me. It's also my first foray into second-person writing, which is way more fun than I thought it'd be.)

At the edge of consciousness, you feel more than hear something snap, that ozone scent filling your senses before the weight vanishes, leaving you coughing and rolling to your side to curl around your stomach. As oxygen helps your mind to clear, you turn a little to see your assailant hovering a few feet above you, flailing and growling as they are held in place by some glowing blue force. They turn to roar at your companions, demanding to be released. As you struggle to catch your breath, you turn a little more to see that Sans has an arm raised in their direction, hand and left eye swirling with that same blue glow. Papyrus has one glove pressed against his mouth, eyes wide, looking between the guard and his brother. “Undyne.” Sans speaks through gritted teeth, and you note that his non-glowing eye has gone pitch black. “Calm down. We’re not here about that--this is more important than Asgore’s manhunt. We’re here for help.” “What the hell could be more important than this?!” Undyne--as you know her to be--growls, struggling anew against the force that holds her still. “This is our freedom, the only ticket we have to survive; don’t you want to get out of here?!” “It’s about what happened to Alva.” His tone sharpens despite never raising his voice. “This human has seen it. We came here to get your help.” At the mention of “Alva”, Undyne freezes, fixing him with a hard stare that he unabashedly returns. After a moment that feels like a lifetime, she goes limp. “...Fine.” The conclusion sounds like a struggle. “Whatever. Just...put me down, Sans.”

Hat: (Ahhh the Fuckening. Serenade yet again, but a WIP chapter this time! I still haven't gotten around to the Fuckening itself, but I sure wanted to write down what happened after. If I ever write a fic chronologically, it'll be a cold day in hell.)

Teddy hasn’t moved since his first few hours in the clinic, laid in a bed in the main room under the rough hospital blankets and the unfinished crochet throw Piper had brought in for the chill of the night. The Free Zone’s newly-acquired electricity has been put to good use -- the steady rhythm of his heart monitor embedding itself into her thoughts as she tries to keep busy. Crow had been kind enough to bring some of their collective yarn stash and Piper’s bag of hooks, giving her a chance to try to work on the hats and scarves they were putting together for the town. Doing as much as she can to occupy her mind. Two days, she thinks. The longest two days of her fucking life. Those old habits she’d built when Tripps was at its height have come back in full-force now -- numbly doing the bare minimum requirements of survival, following a set track and routine with no deviation. Filing her mind with tasks and media to avoid any thoughts toward the future or the dark what-ifs outside of her blinders. Much like it had with Tripps, this method works…for the most part. When it doesn’t, it’s only in flashes -- the image of Teddy holding a bloodied hand to his stomach, the way he had clung to her as he collapsed, the shocked look on Nadine’s face as Piper had torn that gun out of her hands from twenty feet away-- No. No, no, no. Not that. Not now. Not ever. She shakes her head, pulling out a few stitches that her tension has made too tight. That didn’t happen. It can’t have happened. So she sweeps it aside, turns up the radio in her mind. Her next few stitches are much more even.

Cocoa/Tea: (Okay so it's more Serenade, but at least it's a Teddy chapter? Nostalgia and introspection abound during a chat with Mother A, while the plot continues to thicken.)

"It's a shitshow." Crow finishes matter-of-factly. "The whole world ended faster than any of us could blink, and no one's around to tell us how to pick up the pieces. And there are too many pieces around to pick up, anyway." Then, clearing their throat, they add a little more sheepishly, "...Sorry for swearing." The older woman only laughs, shaking her head. "Don't you worry about that--I'm old enough and wise enough to know when polite words simply don't suffice. You're absolutely correct. Now that we're done running around like chickens with our heads cut off, it's hard to tell what way is up." Teddy can’t remember the last time he’d had tea, he thinks, listening to the exchange. At least, not the kind that didn’t come in a big teal can that he could pick up for a dollar at 7-11. For an absurd moment as he picks up his cup for a sip, he’s reminded of afternoons spent with his sisters and their dollar-store tea set made from pink plastic and poorly-painted flowers. It’s an effort to keep from sticking his pinkie finger out, mind replaying their indignant cries of it being “the right way”. The nostalgia makes his chest ache. The drink itself is nothing to write home about, as far as his coffee-saturated palate is concerned. A little weak, a little earthy. Probably needing sugar. He reaches for the carafe. “But you must have some thoughts about how things ended up the way they did. Mr. Bateman thinks it’s human folly. Ray says it’s divine providence. You know how I feel about the divine, but the Lord’s messages to me are more concerned about ‘how’ than ‘why’. What do you all think about it? Why here? Why us?”

Blanket: (ughhhh this one was tough! It isn't that I haven't used this word a lot, but it's never in places that are like. Interesting to share. Except for that post-fuckening excerpt I've already referenced. So back to Iron and Silver I go! Our nameless protag has a mission and they're gonna see it through, no matter how worried their adopted mother gets.)

Not wanting to wake your hosts, you pull the blanket from the next hook on the door, slipping out into the chill night. The lights still bathe the town in warm, inviting light, the snow muffling signs of life to near-silence as you draw the blanket around your shoulders. Steeling yourself for the scolding of the century, you flip the phone open, letting out a deep breath and watching it fog the air before you. “...Hello?” “Where are you?” Toriel’s voice is a comfort despite the frightened sharpness to her voice. “Are you all right? Has anyone found you? Describe where you are--I’ll find you as soon as I’m able.” The questions are fast, going past your attempts to interrupt until you find a breath’s space to break in. “Mom. Momma, I’m fine. I promise. I’m safe, don’t worry.” A beat of silence follows. “My dearest child, what do you think you are doing?” Her voice sounds so small, so vulnerable that you feel a lump forming in your throat. “This world is so cold. So unforgiving. If Asgore finds you, if one of his soldiers catches wind of a human, not even I can protect you. It’s still very early; you should be able to return before anything should happen.” “And what, wait for someone else to figure out what’s going on?” The sharpness you hear from your tone shocks you, shaking your head as you try to force your voice into something more gentle. “I mean...that last cave-in was right in front of our door. And that poor Migosp...Momma, it’s getting closer. It’s getting worse. I can’t let it keep going. And it’s happening out here, too--someone I met has seen it--” “You met someone?” She breaks in, that fear never leaving her voice. “Who? How far did you get?”

Cuddle/Snuggle: (I have only just now realized I have never used either of these words. Like. Ever. I guess I've been focusing WAY too much on the pining and not enough on the actual smoochies, so here, have a cute TedPipes-flavored thing from the unfinished next-chapter of Shine On. The Derry kids come home, and realize that they'd forgotten a little too much in their time away.)

She turns, fixed by the familiarity of the stranger standing behind her. He’s almost a head taller than her, with dark curly hair and a warm smile that crinkles the edges of pale blue eyes. “You make for a terrible door.” he goes on, gesturing to her with one hand as the other slips into the pocket of his jacket. “Teddy?” The name brings a younger face to her mind, bright and freckled and just a little bucktoothed. In a flash she remembers laying in the floor of her bedroom listening to her sister’s old record player, sitting in a dark movie theater waiting for the previews of some new movie to end, and swinging off of a rope into the water at the quarry…never more than an arm’s length away from the one kid who insisted that no one should spend summer break alone. He’s older now, but still has that mischievous light in his eyes. “Hey, Piper. Been a while.” “Holy shit,” Her tension is forgotten completely as she meets him in a hug that smells of cigarette smoke and cologne. The pure warmth she feels is unmistakable, beaming as she pulls back just enough to look up at him. “God, look at you.” She breathes, realizing that time has done him incredibly well. Those freckles are still there, but time has given them some softness, as well as a softness around his eyes and mouth. He’s really grown into himself, features and posture much stronger than she remembers. Oh no, she thinks. Puberty hit Weizak like a Mack truck. “Look at you.” He returns with a self-conscious laugh, arms still looped around her back. Her heart is still racing, she finds, trying and failing to find words to say that encompass the strength of emotions running through her.

#Fef writes One (1) ship forever: news at 11 #But for real I really tried to dig deep to find some more obscure pieces but like. I'm highkey embarrassed of my old writing jfkdl;safd #not like writing quality. I just write some stupid shit for fandoms sometimes #anyways this was super fun though??? I read back through fics I haven't touched in ages; I need to dig through my old docs again #fef writes

4 notes · View notes

vendetta-if · 2 years ago

Text

Announcement - What's Next?

Hey guys! In this post, I'll lay out what I'm planning to do in the next week or two.

First of all, I'll be taking some time off from writing the main story to get some rest and just relax and wind down for a while (maybe around two weeks or so). I've been writing every night non-stop ever since I first posted the Prologue and Chapter 1, and my brain feels wrung out 😵‍💫 and I certainly don’t want to reach a point of feeling burnout. I've been going to sleep at 3 AM almost every night for the past few weeks, so I hope this break can also help me fix my sleep schedule 😴

But don't worry, I will still be active and will try to answer asks on Tumblr! 😄 So, while I'm taking a break, I'm planning to do these stuffs:

Get the 1,000 Followers Celebration event going (I haven't forgotten it!) 🎉 I'll make a separate post about it after this.

Finish the Artbreeder portraits for all the ROs (I already have some done and will be ready soon-ish) 😉

Research and try to set up a Discord Server for "Vendetta", so you guys can start discussing with each other and I’ll be able to talk to you guys directly.

Setting up Patreon (It would probably be open next month since I don't want to charge people for only half a month and I still need to start making content for it first before opening it).

Start trying to write short stories and snippets! Just generally flexing my creative muscle a bit and maybe even make little aesthetic moodboard for the ROs.

Do some 'housekeeping' for this Tumblr Blog (adding more links, making a separate character page post for each RO with the brand new Artbreeder portraits, trying to make a semblance of main directory for some asks and scenarios so it'll be easier for people to find them).

Try my best to catch up with old asks (especially scenario asks that have been sitting in my drafts) 🤞

#writing updates #if: vendetta #vendetta if #if game #if wip #dashingdon #choicescript #cyoa #hosted games #choice of games #interactive fiction #interactive story #interactive novel #interactive games

118 notes · View notes

heyyyharry · 4 years ago

Text

Deep End - Chapter 10: Risky Business

…in which Ezi finds out about sex.

Word count: 3.5k

AU: famous!harry, siren!mc, adult modern retelling of the little mermaid? lol, fake dating, enemies to lovers.

WARNING: MATURE THEMES

All chapters / Synopsis / Moodboard / Playlist

Wattpad link

A/N: sorry about the short chapter, I had a horrible week. I'll do better 😂

That kiss had changed everything.

Ezili had thought that it would bring Harry closer to her, but it had done the opposite. He had stopped going to her room to say goodnight before bed. And he would leave so early in the morning that they had barely spoken to each other in two days, except for when they were in public and had to act like they were in love. Ezili believed in herself. She was smart and powerful, and nothing was impossible if she was determined to make it work. However, this tasted almost like failure.

Maybe Koa was right about her not being able to finish this mission. Harry would never fall in love with her, and she would have to face her mother and admit that she was never worthy of the throne.

The idea had sent her spiralling down the pit of depression, and she wished there was a book to guide her through this. Did humans have books for every situation?

Anyway, now she must consider her backup plan.

“Hey, Dawson.”

“Hey, Ezili!”

Dawson sounded so cheerful on the phone that it made Ezili feel bad when she imagined ripping out his heart. Dawson was the only male human who had not done her wrong. If anyone deserved to live, it should be him. Still, it was either her or him, and she must be selfish for once.

“How are you?” she asked while sitting cross-legged on the bed. Chilli hopped onto her lap and nudged her tiny head against Ezili’s stomach. Ezili smiled and petted the animal. If only cats could live underwater. She was going to miss Chilli most when she left this place.

“I’m good.” Dawson’s laugh pulled her out of her head. “I’m surprised you called. Harry gave you my number?”

More like she got his number from Harry’s phone while Harry was asleep.

“Yeah. I just wanted to make sure we’re okay.”

“Why wouldn’t we be?”

“You know…the other day,” Ezili said while fidgeting with her fuzzy pink sock. “I just don’t want you to think I’m using Harry. I’m not a horrible person, I swear.” Well, not a person at all.

“I could never think so!” Dawson said, sounding appalled. “You’re literally one of the nicest girls I’ve ever met.”

“Really?” Now Ezili was in shock. Her? One of the nicest girls he’d ever met? Well, either she was good at pretending or he hadn’t met that many girls in his life.

“Yeah,” Dawson chuckled. “I’m sorry about the things my mother said to you.”

“Don’t worry. My mother wouldn’t like you, either.”

Dawson laughed then stopped when he realised she actually meant that.

“Oh. Why?”

Ezili shrugged even though Dawson could not see her. “That’s my mother. I’m not even sure she likes me. But let’s not talk about our mothers.”

“You’re right. Not gonna lie, I was kind of worried when I heard you were dating Harry.”

“Really? Why?”

There was a pause. But Ezili knew Dawson was going to say something bad about Harry. Who could blame him? Speaking from her own experience, Harry was a very hateable person.

“You’re just so...different,” Dawson said. “At least from the way I see it. Pretty sure Harry has commitment issues.”

“Yeah, that’s very clear,” Ezili said. She wanted to tell Dawson that Harry had been acting weird since they’d kissed that one time in his mother’s closet, but she didn’t want to make this whole conversation about Harry. This wasn’t why she’d called.

“Would you like to go out sometimes?” she asked.

Dawson sounded taken aback. “Just the two of us?”

“Yeah. My boss told me about this book fair in Central London this weekend. I have no one who would wanna go with me. And I’m new here so—”

“But you’re still dating Harry for PR. Is it alright for us to be seen alone together?”

“You’re Harry’s cousin. It’s fine for me to hang out with his family.”

“Right,” Dawson sighed, and Ezili could make out a smile in the tone of his voice. “That’s great then. I’ll pick you up?”

“Sure. I’ll message you the place and time.”

When Ezili hung up the phone, there was this sinking feeling in her stomach. At first she thought she was just feeling sick, but it wasn’t that. It was worse. It was guilt. She wasn’t supposed to feel bad about trying to finish her mission and return home. Her sister had said that the queendom was in grave danger, so she must do her part as their future queen and sacrifice Dawson for the greater good.

“Don’t look at me like that,” she told Chilli, who was silently judging her. “I know you like Dawson, but you’ll get over it.”

Chilli didn’t react.

Ezili sighed and lifted her arm to take a sniff. “Also, do you think I might actually have a smell now?”

Quietly, Chilli got up and jumped off the bed.

Ezili groaned and got out of bed as well. She must tell Harry that she was going out with Dawson this weekend. She hated that she had to ask for his permission, but considering how much he’d overreacted the last time she’d gone out with Dawson, it’d be safer to just let him know.

“Harry, we need to talk!” she called out loudly while heading down the hallway to Harry’s room. But as she got closer, she heard something. Ragged breathing. Moaning. Weeping sound of a helpless woman.

What was going on in there? Could it be…Oh no, Koa!

“Koa, do not take my human!”

“What the fuck?!” Harry screamed and fell off the sofa when Ezili sent the door flying with one kick.

He was pallid, staring wide-eyed at her with both hands covering his crotch. Why was he naked?! He wasn’t being killed by her sister?

Her gaze jumped to the telly. On the screen was a naked girl sitting on a man’s lap with her back facing the camera and his tail inside her—

Ezili flinched when the telly got switched off.

“Ezi, get out!” Harry shouted.

“What were you watching?” she asked, yet he didn’t respond.

She remembered having seen something similar in one of the ‘forbidden’ books in the bookstore. Her eyes grew wide at her own recollection. “Were they mating? Was that what you were watching?”

Harry ignored her and got up to grab his clothes from a chair, his tail hanging there shamelessly as he pulled on his shirt. Ezili wanted to tell him how funny it looked, but she didn’t think the joke would be appropriate when he was this angry.

“What did I tell you about entering my room without my permission?!” Harry asked through gritted teeth as he caught Ezili by the arm and pulled her to the door. Well, the doorway. Because she had literally kicked down his door.

“Great, now I don’t have a bedroom door,” he huffed. “Thank you, you troublemaker.”

“I thought you were in danger!”

“How?!”

She yanked her arm out of his grip before he could kick her out of his room. “I heard you moaning like you were in pain. Then I heard the girl moaning as well. I thought it was my sister!”

“Why would your sister even be in my room moaning?!”

“Why were you watching other humans mate?”

Harry slapped a hand against his chest and gasped. “You said it like I was a cuck!”

Ezili tilted her head, confused. “What’s a cuck?”

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Harry exhaled. “Well, basically, a cuck or cuckold is a man who enjoys watching his significant other have sex with someone else. I don’t get it, though. Like why would you want to sit and watch people have fun without you. Not to mention that I get jealous too easily, so I can only get off on POV porn.”

Ezili stared at Harry for a long moment, trying to absorb what he’d just said. “I had absolutely no idea what that meant,” she admitted.

Harry’s shoulders slumped as he groaned into his palms. Then, he sat up straight, his brows furrowed thoughtfully. “Okay, so for humans, we don’t always have sex to have babies. Many of us have sex because it gives us pleasure. And when we can’t have sex, we must release the—” He gestured aggressively with his hands. “Tension. By doing what I just did.” His face suddenly grew red. “I can’t believe we’re having this conversation.”

“Why can’t you have sex then?”

“Me? The whole world thinks I’m in a relationship with you.”

“So?”

“When someone’s in a relationship,” Harry said. “they can only have sex with their partner.”

Ezili pursed her lips, curious. “What happens if they have sex with someone else?”

“I mean…if you love your partner, you shouldn’t even be fantasising about someone else.”

That really got Ezili pondering. She didn’t get to read about this in those relationship books. So according to this new information, Harry could only be in love with her when he stopped watching these naked girls on the internet and touching his tail. In order for that to happen, he must have sex with her.

“I want to have sex with you.”

“What?” Harry’s eyes went round in reaction to her proposal. “That’s not how it works!”

“Why not? I’m a female and I have the same hole—”

He grasped her hands before she could undo her pants. “No, no, no. Don’t show me that!” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Look,” he breathed, still holding her hands. “I can’t have sex with you.”

“Like now?”

“Like ever.”

Ezili blinked. “Why not?”

“Because…it’d be wrong.”

“Why?”

“You’re like...a child. That’d make me a pedo.”

“What do you mean? I’m turning twenty next week.”

Harry flinched in surprise. “Wait, what? Your birthday’s next week?”

Ezili nodded. She didn’t want to think about her birthday right now. It was supposed to be her coronation day, and now she was here on this impossible mission with the most stubborn target she had ever encountered.

“Yeah,” she said, shaking off those thoughts to resume the conversation. “So you wouldn’t be a petal.”

“Pedo.”

“That.”

“Still,” Harry blew out his cheeks. “You’re like…”

“Like?”

He eyed her up and down. “Innocent.”

“I’m not.” Brave of him to call her innocent when she’d been plotting to rip out his heart since the moment they’d met.

“No, like, you don’t know what sex is.”

“That’s why I want to try it.”

“Not with me,” Harry said with a small smile. Ezi didn’t think she’d said something funny, though.

“Should I ask Dawson then?” she asked, genuinely. Because Dawson was the only male human beside Harry that she knew. There was also Niall, but Harry had made it clear that she could not be friends with his friend.

“Don’t. You. Dare,” Harry hissed.

“But you said it’d give me pleasure.” She kicked her feet and tossed her arms in the air. “Of course you want to deny me pleasure. You literally hate women. What’s the word for it? Misogynistic. Yeah, that’s what you are.”

“How?!” cried Harry. “I love women. I love women so much I watch porn with only women.”

“You’re the worst,” Ezili scoffed, crossing her arms. “I hope you accidentally break your tail the next time you play with it.”

“That’s physically impossible. See? You know nothing about—“

Without letting him finish his sentence, she shoved him right off the bed and stormed out of the room.

“You asked Dawson out on a date?!”

“What?”

Harry could not believe it. How could she sit there and eat her cereals after she’d pulled this shit?

He stormed towards the kitchen table and slammed both hands on it like he was a detective about to interrogate a guilty person. “Don’t lie to me.” He stabbed a finger at her. “A reliable source told me you asked Dawson to be your date to this book fair in Camden.”

“Who’s the source?”

“Does it matter?”

“Yes, because I wanna know who betrayed me.”

“Niall.”

“You said a reliable source and then it’s just Niall?” Ezi scoffed. “How did Niall even know?”

“Does it matter?”

“Just answer the damn question, Harry.”

“Niall heard it from your boss,” Harry smirked and licked his lip. “Well, well, look at that. The one person you trust has betrayed you.”

Ezi rolled her eyes and scooped another spoon of cereal. “Do you think I care? Even my own family hates me.” Then she started chewing like nothing was wrong while making eye contact with him. “Yes, I asked him to go with me. I was going to tell you yesterday, but you were busy yelling at me.”

“You broke down my bedroom door!”

“To save you. Gosh, at least be grateful for once.”

Harry groaned into his palms and shoved his fingers into his hair. He could not say two sentences to this girl without wanting to rip his hair off. What was it about her that set him off this way?

“We’re still dating, don’t you forget.”

“So?” She arched an eyebrow and leaned back into her chair, arms crossed. “I’m going with Dawson as friends.”

Harry tried his best not to laugh. “You know it’s not like that for him. He doesn’t think it’s going to be a friendly hangout.”

“How do you know what he thinks? You can read minds now?”

“I’m a guy. I know what guys think.”

“Sounds like you’re projecting,” Ezi said as she leaned forward, chin resting on her knuckles, a smile on her face. “Is it because you’re in love with me?”

Harry pulled back with a dramatic gasp. “How dare you accuse me of being in love with you when you literally destroyed my door to save me?”

“You’re right,” Ezi breathed and shrugged. “I’ll just let you die next time.”

“You’re unbelievable,” Harry said defeatedly.

Ezi seemed unfazed. “Why are you so mad, though?”

Yeah, why Harry? asked the voice inside his head, which he ignored.

“Because it’s Dawson of all people,” he said. It wasn’t really true, but it was the first thing he could come up with.

Ezi didn’t seem convinced. “Dawson has not said a single bad word about you, yet you’re always at his throat,” she said.

Harry ran his hand over his face in frustration. “It’s always Dawson this, Dawson that,” he huffed. “You act like you know him.”

“I know him better than you do. You don’t even make an effort to get to know him.”

“I’ve heard enough about him from other people. I’m good.”

He was about to drop the conversation here, but Ezi was as stubborn as she was. She knew she was winning, so she’d rather die before she stopped. Slowly, she got up and walked up to him. “Oh, so your ego’s hurt?” she asked, face so close he could feel her breath against his cheek. “Is that what you’re saying?”

He glared at her, cleared his throat and stood up straight. “I’m done with you.”

“No, I’m done with you!”

“I was done with you first!”

“I was done with you when you started ignoring me when we got back from the manor!”

That one caught Harry by surprise. He blinked. “What? I wasn’t ignoring you.”

“Yes, you were,” Ezi said bitterly, her voice lowered.

Harry shook his head. “I’ve been busy.”

“Busy stroking your tail more like.”

“Hey, that was so uncalled for!”

“Whatever,” she let out a mocking laugh. “I don’t know what the kiss did to you, but rest assured that it won’t ever happen again. You can now stop avoiding me like an angry child. We don’t even need to speak of it.”

“What if I want it to happen again?”

“What?”

What?

“Has it ever occurred to you that maybe I’ve been avoiding you because every time I see you, I would think about the kiss, and if we were alone together I would want to do that again?”

What. The. Fuck?

Harry’s limbs went numb as he started replaying those words in his head. Had he really said that out loud?

“What?” Ezi repeated. She was just as shocked as he was. He should shut up and leave before it got worse, but now that he’d said it, he could not stop.

“Yeah, it’s always Dawson this, Dawson that. Dawson’s so nice. Harry doesn’t have feelings.”

“Hey!” Ezi grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back before he walked off. “I never said that.”

“Whatever.” He shrugged her off, not sure if he was mad at her or himself. “Be my guest. Do whatever the fuck you want."

“Are you kidding me?” Ezi chuckled but she didn’t sound happy. “You know what? You're the most hateable person I've ever met!”

“Yeah, because you’re into Dawson, aren’t you?” He mimicked her laughter even though he was well aware of how childish it was. She just stood and stared at him with her mouth open. “It’s such a huge turn off by the way,” he said. “You liking Dawson. Ew. Basic.”

“Okay, fine!” Ezi put her hands in the air and backed away. “Whatever.”

“Fine! Have fun on that stupid date. I hope you’re allergic to the food.”

“I hope your tail falls off the next time you touch it!” she shouted after him as he left, but he didn’t stop.

“Real mature, Ezi,” he muttered to himself as he headed out. “Real mature.”

“Hey, excuse me. Have we met before?”

Koa jumped. Her body froze as she was now standing face to face with the tall four-eyed man. It took her a moment to remember where she had seen him. The day in that castle. He was the cousin of Ezili’s human lover boy.

“Oh, hi!” She put on a smile and took his hand to shake it the way she’d seen humans did as they greeted each other. However, she must have done it too aggressively, because the man looked a bit frightened.

He tried to conceal his fear of her with a broken grin. Pathetic.

“You were the cook at my aunt’s manor, right?” He pinched his forehead and shut his eyes like he was trying to remember. “Dolores!”

“Y-yes,” Koa laughed dryly. “You remember me.”

She hadn’t expected to be recognised in this marketplace. There were so many people around. If he started suspecting her, there was no way she could escape. What if this was a trap? What if the humans had found out that she’d eaten a man and stole his clothes and place to stay? Unconsciously, she reached for the necklace. Her trident. She could use this to kill all these humans and escape if she must.

“I’m Dawson. Annalise’s nephew. We were looking for you that day. You disappeared,” Dawson said, looking rather friendly. But why? She wasn’t his friend. He didn’t know her.

“Sorry,” she said with a light chuckle. “Something urgent happened at home. I talked to Annalise about it afterwards and she completely understood.” That was a lie. She hadn’t been anywhere near that castle ever since that day, but now that she’d run into this man, maybe he could lead her to her sister.

“Where are you headed to?” she asked him with a smile. This human seemed to enjoy smiling, so Koa thought she could make him trust her by acting like him.

“I’m going to this book fair with Ezili.” Koa nodded while trying not to cringe at the stupid grin spreading across the creature’s face when he said her sister’s name. “I don’t know if you remember her, but she was at the brunch, too. She’s dating Annalise's son.”

Koa pretended to be surprised. “Really?”

“Yes. But he’s busy today, so I’m going with her.”

“Great!” Koa clasped both hands together. “I’m also heading to that book fair!”

“No way.”

“Mind if I join? The more the merrier.”

Hesitantly, Dawson adjusted the black frame sitting on his face. “I-I probably should ask Ezili to see if she’s fine with it.”

“Oh, is that her?”

Dawson turned, and his face brightened as he saw Ezili from afar. He lifted his arm to wave at her. She was smiling, too. But the smile dropped as soon as she saw Koa.

Hello, Sister.

#harry styles #deep end #harry styles fanfic #hary styles writing #harry styles series #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fic #harry styles fluff #harry styles smut #harry styles angst #harry styles one shot #harry styles x mc

111 notes · View notes

thebigoblin · 3 years ago

Note

K, L, and M!

Hiii!!! *flails because WOW hello greatest moodboard creator I've ever seen*

K: What's the angstiest idea you've ever come up with?

Dammn going right for it with the first question huh?

Okay, I have 3 answers for you - one is written and posted already, and 2 are only ideas in my brain as of now.

1. It's a Katana

Okay, so this is one my older works (I say old, but it's like, 5 months old ajjsjsjskabsb, but to be fair, I think I've become a better writer since than???) and I absolutely love it!! It also just got a comment on it but before answering that amazing human back I gotta reread the fic lmao 😂😂 BUT to answer this particular question, this is the angstiest idea because this features Void!Stiles, and Derek feels and some pack feels?? Ig. I don't really remember. But I remember thinking this was pretty angsty, so....

2. The prompt fic I am working on for @ilovepeachystuff. (I'm sorry Ik it's been 2 months 😭 but I WILL get around to writing this!!!) So, this fic is about Stiles and his self-worth issues, with nods to his mom's death and some other childhood stuff that's made him feel like people don't listen to him. I promise it has a happy ending tho!! Working title is Listen.

3. This is a Petopher fic idea!!! I was inspired by Blank Space by Taylor Swift. I want to write this fic for @tw-songevent but idk if I'll finish it tho. So, basically, the idea is that Peter is a playboy who meets Chris and makes Chris fall for him. BUT. In doing so he falls for Chris too, which was not in the plan. It's supposed to be very angsty, Chris falls in love first and when he finally gives into that feeling, he learns about Peter's plan. And then, when Peter is out of Chris' life (and Allison's... this is a human au where Chris just got divorced from Victoria), Peter realizes that he has fallen in love. The ending is supposed to be Chris being like, Allison needs stability, and Peter has been in both their lives enough that she sees him as a permanent fixture in her life, so the two of them remain sorta friends. But in the ending, Chris finally gives in to the idea of actually dating Peter. (I'm sorry if it sounds confusing but it's all very clear in my head! Lol)

L: How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

WHY YOU GOTTA COME AT ME LIKE THIS!!!

Okay so firstly: Sorry for yelling at you 😂 and second: maybe twice? Like, when I write, I usually go back over the lines a few times before proceeding further. So that's one. Then when I go to post them to ao3, I try and read through the whole thing at once, catch any mistakes if I can. That's two. Ik it's not much, but hey, fic writing is for funnn so *shrugs* (also can someone tell my brain I write fics for fun?? It can have errors, damnit! It doesn't have to be perfect 😭)

M: Got any premises on the back burner that you'd care to share?

Ooh, ooh, ooh!! I can't share what it is, but one fic is being written for my Sterek Secret Santa Giftee and I love what I have written so far! Hmm, then, the prompt one for @ilovepeachystuff, and then another prompt, this one for @deepestbelieverstranger. She asked for Sterek leaving together after Monroe, so that's what it is. I'll share a few lines from it!

Stiles shakes his head, winces when the action pulls at his neck; Monroe had her men throw him and Lydia in a too tight cell, the only point of comfort the steady presence of Lydia beside him, and the ever dimming hope of a rescue from Scott and the others.

Derek comes closer, the way he's been doing since Stiles cleared his name with the FBI. Rough, yet gentle hands bring warmth to his neck, take away the pain. Stiles breathes out in relief.

Scott hadn't come. Not to rescue them, at least. Wrapped up in his quest to save everyone, Scott had done what he thought he needed to do, unthinking of what losing Stiles and Lydia would mean in that very quest. Scott might be the True Alpha, but he is not the one leading everyone. So, essentially, Scott hadn't come. Not for them. But someone else had.

Derek and Parrish, an unlikely duo; one a savage beast, and the other the stuff of nightmares to the savage beast. And yet.

I do not have a title for this yet, and I haven't written much more in this one, but I hope I can soon!!

#answered ask #radio-chatter #thank you for the ask!

9 notes · View notes

alexhandersen-marcoilsoe-fandom · 4 years ago

Text

Chapter II: Overhelming city, just because of you!

Thank you @flowers-in-your-hayr, you are a moodboard-goddess, this is stunning!

a/n: I hope you enjoy it, as much I did while writing it. English ist not my first language, so sorry for mistakes.

Pairing: ALEX x Reader

Spotify: Kiana Ledé & Jacquees - Only Fan

Words: 1875

Warnings: NSFW and smut, a bit fluff

Summary: The day with Alex was perfect, but in the end you got an even bigger surprise.

Chapter I

,,Are you ready for breakfast?" She shook your shoulder. "Hey Y/N, wake up, we're late. I wrote Marco that we are going be in the lobby at 10 AM.’’ You never saw her so nervous, it was almost contagious. You only had an hour to get ready and eat.

,,You got his number?’’ You were surprised and start thinking if you’re going too slowly, just because Marco got Ana's number but Alex not yours.

You ran through the hotel room, searching for approppiate clothes and shoes. The light pink/red lipstick looked stunning on you.

~~·······~~

Ana and you left the breakfast buffet and stood now in the lobby. You got impatient. Janina woke you up for nothing, nobody was waiting there. She even asked at the reception, but they didn't know anything.

You were annoyed. It was beautiful sunny weather and you didn't want to waste any time waiting. "Come on let's go, we can do this on our own. They won't come." You went backwards and waited for her to come with you.

,,I hope you like red roses’’ Suddenly you heard this familiar voice behind you.

,,We are late and I don’t want you get angry, so I brought you this rose. I hope you are not mad.’’ He was visibly happy to see you again. His bright blue shirt matched exactly with his eyes, he looked amazing.

He lifted you up so that only the tips of your toes touched the ground. You hugged him tight, like he did.

Marco and Alex rented bikes, so you could change quickly the places. You were impressed by the beauty of this colorful city.

~~·······~~

You stopped at a park. They prepared a picnic for lunch. It was so cozy to lay on that blanket; you closed your eyes to feel the sunbeams warming your face. You felt Alex searching for your hand. His thumb stroking the back of your hand. Your hand squeezed his, signaling that you liked his touch.

You turned your head to the other side looking for Ana. Marco was lying on the top of her, kissing her slowly. They were hidden behind a tree, so you couldn’t see what they exactly were doing. You looked at Alex again in the hope he also saw that, so he maybe would kiss you too, but he didn't.

You broke the silence ,,I want to go up there’’ And pointed with the other hand to Tivoli’s ferris wheel.

,,The view up there is beautiful. Good idea." He sat up and glanced down at you. It was a perfect situation to kiss you, so you took a deep breath.

But Alex got up and went to Marco. "Marco!’’ He yelled.

"Hey, Marco! He yelled again. He was too busy, kissing her neck.

,,Hey lovebirds, you can continue at home, let’s go to the ferris wheel’’. Marco seemed a little bit annoyed, that you disturbed them, but after a minute he was laughing and smiling again.

You got on the ferris wheel and were a bit nervous. The sun was slowly going down, so the view turned out to be much better than expected. The wheel started to move, and you reached for his hand. To be on the highest point of the wheel was a magical moment.

You looked at Alex and said quietly,

,,Thank you…this is an overwhelming city, but just because you’re by my side’. He touched your chin so lightly that you barely felt it, like he was afraid to hurt you.

His bottom lip touched yours, he was so nervous that he wasn’t even breathing. You closed your eyes, to feel the kiss more intense. Your knees were shaking, you felt the kiss all over your body, that you almost got dizzy.

It got cold as soon as the sun went away. Alex and Marco had a surprise for Ana and you, so couldn’t go straight to their apartment, they said, so you went to the hotel first to take a shower and then to their home for dinner. Ana had the address, because you didn't still have Alex's number.

The building looked from outside discreet and a little bit old fashioned. Their apartment was in the top floor, so you took the elevator. You checked your make-up and hair in the mirror for the last time. Marco and Alex were leaning against the door frame as you walked out.

Ana directly jumped into Marco's arms and kissed him. Your shyness prevented you from taking the first step. You weren't sure whether you could kiss him or not and especially because he was the one who kissed you. Alex took you by the hip and pulled you to him. His lips awakened your feelings again.

He stopped kissing you abruptly. "Come in, our neighbors are too curious, I don't want to be their evening show".

The apartment was modern and decorated in a minimalist way. You could see hole Copenhagen through those huge windows. Alex did a room tour; you liked his grey bedsheets and the colossal jacuzzi in his bathroom. You imagined how hot it would be seeing Alex naked in there.

,, Why do you need a mirror above your bed?" You noticed how he thought about what to say.

"Hm, what do you think?" He grabbed your hips. You put your arms around his neck.

"Tell me." He nibbled on your lip before kissing your neck.

,,Because I want to look at your ass while you're riding me." He whispered in your left ear. You became goosebumps all over your body and you felt a cool wave running over your back.

His hand slipped over your ass. "You can also see yourself cumming while I please you with my tongue." He kissed him so rough that your back hit against the door frame.

"I would like to keep watching you guys, but we should eat dinner first, I'm so hungry!" Marco stared at you with a little smirk in his face. You nodded. Alex squeezed your ass before you let go of him and clapped it as you turned away.

You had absolutely no idea what Danish dish this was, but it smelled so good and the taste was even better. Marco was telling a funny story, but you noticed that Alex did not pay attention at all. He was staring at at your breasts. You were wearing a top with deep V-neck, the fabric was thin so he could see the pattern of your bra throught it. You leaned forward, to let him see more of your body and of course to provoke him. You ran your wet tongue over your lip and smirked. He took a sip from his glass, but his gaze remained on your decollete. You liked that game.

,,So how can you have so much time for us? We have already Tuesday and none of you went to work." commented Ana.

It seemed as Marco either Alex wanted to answer the question.

Marco answered after a while. ,,We are actors, we play in the same series and finished shooting last Friday."

"Oh really, I hope you are not disappointed, if I never saw you on TV’’ you said ashamed.

Alex told you everything about it, how long they we’re acting and what the series is about.

,,To be honest, I’m really happy about that. I want you to love me Alex and not this character Ivar. Yesterday in the pub, we noticed that you didn’t know who we really are, so we decided to keep it secret for the moment.’’ He hoped you didn’t get mad. Even if you wanted to, you couldn't. You felt so attracted to him.

,,Should we give them our present now?’’ Marco whispered to Alex. They stand up and came back with two big golden gift boxes.

You thanked and opened it carefully to not damage this beautiful loop.

,,Oh wow, is this a dress? How I deserve this?’’. It was a beautiful dark blue shimmering dress with the matching high heels, it overwhelmed you. You took the dress out of the box and discovered a second little box.

,,I want you to come with me to a charity event tomorrow, you will repent.’’ Alex said and took the diamond chain out of the little box, to put it on you.

"But Alex, I can't" You pressed the dress against your chest you to feel the soft fabric.

"No, why? Don't you like the dress?" He couldn't hide the disappointment.

,Yes, of course...I’d be glad to, but I do not necessarily wish to be on TV."

"I'll do my best to keep you out of the public eye, I promise."

"So if that is the case, I will be in the background, if you are ok with it.’’

,,Of course, there will be no cameras at the afterparty, don’t worry.’’

He hugged you and kissed you. ,,More wine? Let’s celebrate!’’ He raised his glass.

Marco and Ana had a lot more wine than you and were already pretty drunk. Marco ran to music player and started a playlist. The first song was Only Fan-Kiana Ledé and Jacquees. Ana and he went to the balcony and rocked gently in their own rhythm.

You loved that song. ,,I want to dance’’. You pulled him by the hand and pushed him onto the sofa.

,,Keep your hands next to you’’ you said in a stern voice. Your hips moved according to the rhythm of the music. Your butt brushed his crotch and you heard a low moan. You went on your knees, your face passed his crotch again. You pulled with your teeth his zipper down, his dick nudged your jaw. The wine made disappear your shyness. You sat on his lap and moved slowly feeling his dick on your ass. Your hips did circles, up and down, side to side. His hands slid slowly under your shirt and grabbed you by the waist. They felled down, he squeezed your ass and pressed his lips against yours. You were already horny before the lap dance, but he didn’t know it.

You noticed Marco's eyes watching you through the balcony window, at the same time kissing Ana's neck. He smirked when your eyes met.

Alex stood up and walked into his bedroom. Your legs were around his waist, holding you tight so you couldn’t fall. He started to kiss your neck, his tongue traced over your breasts without touching the nipples and passed your navel. He teased you.

Alex forgot to close the door completely, so Marco heard your loud moan, when Alex finally reached your clit. Alex looked up to you and smirked. You took his head away from pussy, jumped on him and thrusted his thick dick into you, without warning him first. One short moan escaped his mouth. He glanced down at his cock and watched it disappear into your pussy again and again.

He let his head fall back and mumbled. "You're crazy"

,,Do you like what you see in the ceiling mirror, huh?’’ you asked him while making him a hickey on his neck.

,,I could watch you for hours, elskede’’. You jumped harder and faster, hearing your buttcheeks clapping against his hips.

"Uh, yes." He groaned and smacked your ass with both hands.

He loved this roughness and couldn’t prolong his orgasm. You keeped the pace. Feeling his warm seed running out your pussy triggered yours.

He grabbed your chin and pulled you down. "Stick out your tongue" He bit into it and you whined. "Hush and kiss me!"

~~·······~~

Alex was still sleeping, when you stood up the next morning. You had to put his shirt on, because you didn't have any clothes with you. The shirt covered your ass and you didn’t wear underwear. Everyone was sleeping anyway so it didn't matter.

,,Do you want a cup of coffee?" You were frightened.

"What are you doing awake Marco?" Your nipples shimmered through the light fabric, so you tried to cover your breasts with your hands.

"I could ask you that as well" He poured himself a cup.

"I made too much and Ana is still sleeping. So do you want or not?’’ You took your cup and sat on the couch and saw Alex's belt laying on the floor.

Your shirt slipped up as exposing your butt cheeks unintentionally as you leaned forwards to pick it up.

,,I saw you having sex yesterday, he satisfied you well’’ He said in a jealous tone.

,,Weren’t you with Ana?’’

,,Ana was so drunk. She felled asleep little later."

You were so shocked that you didn't comment on it.

"I’m sorry, a gap was open and...-"

"and what?!" Your tone became brisk.

"- you were so sexy." You blushed.

"I won't tell anyone, don't worry.’’ He added.

You were confused. Did you like it or not?

Alex interrupted your thoughts. ,,Are you grabbing my girlfriend? Maybe you should ask for permission first.’’ He laughed.

Chapter III: I kissed you and you don’t even know

#alex høgh andersen #hvitserk #vikings #ivar the boneless #marco ilsø #alex&marco #valhalla #denmark #alex x reader #ivar x reader #marco x reader #hvitserk x reader

31 notes · View notes

cynicallystiles · 4 years ago

Text

Seasons of Love: The One with Prom Night

Disclaimer: Moodboard made by me. Pictures found on Google!

Author: @cynicallystiles

Request: @itrocksmysocks basically requested this by making me obsessed with the triplets a year ago.

Warning: Swearing maybe.

Notes: The long awaited series is here! The whole thing still isn’t finished ahead of time like I wanted. So, we’ll see if I actually stay on schedule with this one. Credit to @thotmendes for imagining the triplets into existence about a year ago! Thanks for your patience! Please COMMENT/REBLOG if you enjoy it!

Pairing: Kallie Hayes (OC) x Mendes Triplets

Masterlist Series Masterlist

Chapter One Chapter Three

Words: ~3.6k

She cheers as she pumps her fist in delight. "Yess!" He chuckles while she jumps to her feet and does a cute little dance. "Can we go now??"

"After dinner." He watches her push out her bottom lip and sit down next to him again. "Kallie," he groans slightly. "Mom's almost done with dinner. It'd be rude to skip," he reminds her.

She sighs, scooting in and laying her head on his shoulder to watch the sunset. "You're right," she concedes. "But, right after?" She tilts her head slightly to look up at him.

"Right after," he promises. She goes back to looking at the multitude of colors in the sky, while he rests his head on hers. He loved being the one that she counted on for comfort. It was something that had started on the night of their prom during their last year in high school.

Raul sat on the couch in his living room the night of their last prom of high school. He swirled the thumbsticks of his controller vigorously to complete a challenge while his brothers were in their rooms getting ready.

Prom was in about two hours and despite their and Kallie's begging, he had decided he wasn't going. He didn't have a date (not for lack of girls asking), and he didn't like dressing up anyway. It wasn't his scene and nothing was gonna change his mind.

Peter and Shawn enter the living room in varying degrees of being dressed for the prom. Raul barely looks at them as he continues with his game. "Are you sure you don't wanna come?" Peter questions.

"It's gonna be our last big thing together before graduating," Shawn reminds him. All he does is roll his eyes with a sigh.

Shaking his head, the only thing that sounds in the living room for a moment is the clicking of his controller and the low level of the game on the television. That is until a pounding sounds on the door. The two boys not preoccupied with the game look toward the front of the house.

"Who's that?" Shawn questions.

Peter just shrugs as he takes a step toward the door. "Your fly is still open," Raul points out without looking. Peter looks down and frantically zips it when they hear the door open and rapid footsteps head toward them.

Kallie appears in the entryway, hair already done professionally by the salon she loves but no makeup covering her ivory features. She's breathing heavily and for a moment, Shawn thinks it's because she sprinted from her house down the street.

But then he sees the light glint off of her wet cheeks and notices her red nose and the puffiness forming around her eyes. He rushes over as she fully enters the room and takes her by her shoulders to look over her.

"What happened?? Are you okay?" His eyes don't see anything physically wrong, which is a relief. But, that still begged the question of why she was in such a state.

She sniffles loudly and opens her mouth to explain. "Eli...he, uh," she tries to get through it but she hiccups and her face scrunches up in sadness. "He texted..." a whimper falls from her lips and she can't even finish.

At this point, Raul has paused his game and is turned on the couch to observe the situation. Peter is standing in stunned silence by the other entrance to the room. Shawn carefully takes the phone clutched tightly in her hand to scroll through the messages from her boyfriend.

His eyebrows furrow together and he clenches his jaw. Make that her ex-boyfriend. Without a word, he pulls her into him and carefully lays his hand on the back of her head as not to mess up the stylist's work. He doesn't even care that he's wearing pants without a belt and his shirt isn't buttoned at all.

"I'm gonna kill him," he promises through clenched teeth. No one hurts his best friend and gets away with it. He feels her shake her head as she pulls away.

"No," she murmurs, the tears finally settling down. "I kind of felt this coming...I just didn't expect him to do it on prom night." She sniffles and wipes her nose with the back of her hand. "I don't know if I can go alone and see him with her..."

Shawn shakes his head. "Of course, not. I'm gonna be your date now," he offers.

"Shawn," she sighs. "I'm not letting you ditch your date to take me." Peter steps forward and opens his mouth. "No. Nuhhuh!" She warns as she looks between the two. "Neither of you are dumping your dates for me. I can suck it up for one night."

Shawn and Peter frown. Neither of them thinks that she should have to go alone. How dare he ruin her months of planning to go with another girl. Their thoughts are interrupted by a serious tone, "No, you won't."

The three of them turn at the same time to see Raul standing up and the television has already been turned off. She sniffles again, brows scrunched in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," he sighs, walking over to them. Peter silently does the same. "You're not going to prom alone. I'm gonna take you," he declares.

Peter snorts but quickly tries to cover it up and Shawn starts to laugh. Kallie just stares at him incredulously. "Wha-but you hate this stuff," she points out.

"I don't hate you." He arches one eyebrow and looks away as if that explained everything. She gapes at him for a long moment. "What color is your dress?"

Kallie stutters out, "It's, uh...it's lilac purple. Why?"

"Don't worry about it," Raul instructs and shoves his hands into his sweatpants. "Go home, finish getting ready...I'll be over to pick you up in an hour and a half."

Exchanging bewildered glances with Peter and Shawn, Kallie does as she's told and finishes getting ready at her house. She sits on the couch anxiously after finishing up. Not five minutes later, there's a knock at the door.

She quickly answers it to find Raul a couple of steps back with his head down. Hearing the door, he lifts his eyes from Kallie's feet to her face. His eyes twinkle a tiny bit seeing her all dolled up.

Kallie notes how odd it is that his tie and pocket square match her dress so nicely this last minute. He pulls his hand from behind his back to produce a plastic box with a tastefully sized corsage and boutonnière made of actual lilacs.

She raises her eyebrows. The surprises just kept coming apparently. "Shawn and Peter are picking up their dates. They'll meet us there," Raul clues her in and moves to put the corsage on her left wrist.

Fastening his flower on the lapel of his black jacket, she whispers, "I'm not even gonna ask how you pulled this together so quickly." A slight amusement tinges her voice and a smirk pulls at his lips. "But, thank you..."

"Any time," he responds. She looks up from the lapel. Her green eyes pop against the black of her mascara and the light purple shimmer across her lids. His breath catches slightly before he clears his throat and offers his elbow. "Shall we?"

"We shall," she giggles in return.

Raul was the perfect date the whole night. From pulling out her chair for her to refilling their drinks. Despite all the single girls clamoring for his attention (his bad-boy exterior had every girl crushing hard), he stayed glued to Kallie's side.

And when she sat watching Eli, her ex, dance with the girl he left her for, Raul made sure to take her out to the floor to dance. He made a fool of himself with his long limbs and no idea how to use them. But, it brightened her mood and so he didn't care.

He even slow danced with her, making sure that Eli was looking in her direction when he spun her under his arm producing her beautiful giggle. It was magical. After the king and queen were crowned, he leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Wanna get out of here?"

Kallie nods immediately. Despite having spent ages planning and looking forward to this night, she wanted nothing more than to go do something else with Raul. He laces his fingers with hers and leads her out to his car where he holds open her door.

They find themselves at a local park, walking the concrete running path with absurdly large waffle cones clutched in their hands. She had traded her heels for silver sandals she had packed in case her feet started to hurt. His tie was abandoned in the car, leaving his shirt unbuttoned slightly.

The silence between them was comfortable. It always had been since they started hanging out. He wasn't really much of a talker, and with her, he didn't really need to be. She found comfort in the silence that filled the air between them and she liked that he wasn't one for shallow conversations.

After finishing their cones, they wander across the grass to sit side by side on the swing set. She lets the tip of her toes slowly rock her back and forth. Raul grips the chains of the swing, allowing him to lean back into the open air lazily.

Kallie flips a curl out of her eye as she turns in the swing to face him. "Hey," she says softly.

"Yeah?" He leans back up and shifts to look at her.

She smiles to herself and meets his soft hazel eyes that look more brown in the dark. "Thank you...for being my date tonight." He chuckles slightly and rolls his eyes. "No, I'm serious," she laughs. He returns his gaze to hers while she continues. "You didn't have to save me from embarrassment and you did."

"I didn't," he argues casually. Kallie's eyebrows twitch together briefly. "You were never gonna be an embarrassment, Kallie. Date or no date, you were the prettiest girl there."

A furious blush rises to her cheeks. "Thanks." She smiles despite feeling suddenly nervous under his gaze. Her body shivers and she inhales slightly.

"You're cold," Raul realizes and moves quickly to take off his suit jacket.

"No, I'm fine-" she tries to argue but he's already settling his jacket on her shoulders. Kallie watches how his brows knit together while he makes sure the jacket is securely resting around her. Her eyes flit to his hands where they linger as he plays with one of her curls.

When she looks back up at him, the distance between them is less. Raul looks back up from his hand to her eyes with a soft smile. For the first time since she's known him, Kallie notices how innocent he looks. Normally, he's a bad boy. A player. Innocent wasn't in his vocabulary.

But at that moment, she remembers that he has the same face as her other best friends. The same one as Shawn, who cries while watching romantic dramas with her, and the same one as Peter, who doesn't have an insincere bone in his body. And she wonders how she never saw it.

"It's all fake isn't it?" She blurts out.

He tilts his head curiously. "I don't know what-"

"Your reputation," Kallie interrupts. "You're not a player at all..."

Raul chuckles and hangs his head for a moment. He looks back up and all of his aloofness is gone. "You figured me out."

"Sorry, I didn't sooner," she whispers, her gaze flicking to the playful smirk on his lips. He shakes his head slightly, his smile growing.

Licking his lips, he leans closer. Her breathing gets shallow and her eyelids flutter closed. Raul's lips brush against hers sending a shockwave of goosebumps over her. With a slight jitter, he slides his hand to the back of her neck and pushes his lips forward.

It's a soft kiss. He doesn't kiss too fast, or too much. Just his plush lips against hers for a few long moments. Raul doesn't want to pressure her or make her uncomfortable. It was sweet. When he pulls back, he nudges his nose against hers and swipes his thumb along her cheek quickly.

She lets out a tiny, content breath and opens her eyes. Before she can say anything, a buzzing sound startles her. Kallie clutches her chest and giggles while Raul reaches carefully into an inside pocket of his jacket.

"Yeah?" He deadpans when he puts the phone to his ear.

"Yeah? Man, where did you guys go?! You've been gone for like an hour!"

Kallie chuckles when she hears the boys on the other side of the line. He rolls his eyes and responds, "We left. Whole thing was getting lame."

She watches carefully at how easily he puts on the disinterested tone. It really marveled her to watch him play the part. As she tunes back into the conversation, she hears the end of it.

"Yeah, we'll meet you at home. Drop your dates off at home...this is for Musketeers only." With that, he hangs up and looks at Kallie with a wink. "Let's go."

He grabs her hand and stands up to lead her back to the car. When they meet back up with Shawn and Peter, the two automatically act like nothing had happened. But both of them never forgot about it.

It was an innocent kiss. One that was a result of being caught up in the moment. Kallie didn't know why he had kissed her that night, or even why she kissed him back. But, she never brought it up. So, neither did he.

The two of them head back into the house and settle in at the table for dinner. Neither of them notices the slightly curious looks from Shawn and Peter. Or if they do, they ignore them. Dinner is yummy as usual, but a little less energetic than it would have been if not for the sale of the cabin.

Kallie and Peter help Karen clear the table and load the dishwasher before heading back into the living room. Shawn and Raul have already immersed themselves in a video game round and they're equally matched. She clears her throat loudly from behind the couch.

Shawn answers before Raul can, "One sec, Kal. I've almost got him, then we can chill."

"Sure, you do," Raul chuckles as he promptly wins the round and sets the controller on the coffee table in front of them. "I promised her ice cream after dinner," he explains as he stands up.

Peter plops down in his seat and picks up the controller to play with Shawn, but he sets his down as well. "Oh, sweet. Let me get my jacket and we can all get some," he says happily unaware as he heads toward the stairs.

"Actually," Kallie calls after him with an apologetic look, "this is kind of just me and Raul's thing. Like a tradition..." Her voice is soft as she lets him down gently. It was never easy for her to exclude any of the boys from her activities with the others. But, they all had their separate things with her. It was only fair.

Peter sinks lower into the couch, the awkwardness from the exclusion making him uncomfortable. "Right..." Shawn concedes slowly.

It stung a little considering this was the first time she was admitting to having a 'special' thing to do with him. He was okay when it was with Peter because he didn't feel threatened by him anymore. But, with Raul it's different. He's always had the jealousy bug when it comes to him and he could never quite shake it.

Seeing the disappointed look, she crosses the room and pulls him into a hug by his neck. He returns it gratefully while sneaking a glare in Raul's direction. He just rolls his eyes at the envy. "Stop that," she whispers, knowing what he thinks he's getting away with. "I'll text you after he drops me off," she promises.

"Okay." He grins into her shoulder at that comment, knowing that he'll be the last one she sees tonight.

After releasing Shawn, she heads over to the couch and leans down to kiss Peter on the cheek. He returns the gesture softly like he always does. "See you at breakfast," he says quietly with a smile. Peter never seemed to care that she split her time with all three of them. He was just happy that she enjoyed the time they spent together as much as he did.

"Not if I see you first, Picasso," she responds playfully with a wink.

Raul grabs the helmets for his motorcycle and leads her outside. She gives one last tiny wave before closing the door. Shawn immediately sits back down to resume the game with Peter. As the two click away on their controllers, Shawn breaks the silence.

"You have to tell me that you're at least bothered by her getting on that death trap with him," he laments exasperatedly.

Peter shrugs one shoulder. "Yes! Of course, it bothers me," he sighs. "But, I have to trust that even though he's reckless...he would never be reckless with her."

"...you're right. That helps," Shawn breathes out, a little calm washing over him at Peter's wise words. Though he said the words out loud, and also had her promise, there was still a little weight in his chest that wouldn't go away until the next time he sees her.

Later that night, Shawn paces around his room with occasional glances out his window to see if Raul was home. It was just before midnight and they had already been out for hours. There was no way that they had only gone out for ice cream. They had to be doing something else.

The rest of the house is asleep when the sound of Raul's motorcycle cut through Shawn's anxious thoughts. He quickly scrambles to turn off his desk lamp so it doesn't seem like he was waiting up. Though, he peeks through his blinds to watch him walk up the driveway to the porch.

Once he was out of sight, Shawn jumps into bed and pretends to be asleep as he hears Raul try to creep past his door to his own room. He was terrible at being stealthy. Shawn waits for the opening and close of Raul's door before sitting up in bed.

He glances at his phone, counting backward, "Three...two...one..." Like clockwork, Kallie's name flashes across his screen and he grabs it on his way out the door. He didn't need to read it, it always said the same thing.

He creeps downstairs, much better than Raul ever could, and quietly leaves out the front door. He pauses under the roof of the porch to throw his hood up and then takes off at a sprint down the street. Shawn hasn't even broken a sweat by the time he reaches her backyard.

Shawn sends a short text as he looks up at her window and waits. The lamp next to the window turns on and it quietly shifts open. Kallie leans out over the sill to beam down at him. "You're getting slower, Mendes," she teases.

"As if, Hayes," he scoffs. "Send it down," he demands impatiently.

She rolls her eyes and disappears from the window before a rope ladder unfolds down the side of the house. He begins to climb the homemade contraption, quickly but carefully. They had to get innovative after Shawn almost broke the trellis he used to climb and they almost got caught.

After carefully maneuvering through the window, Shawn helps her tuck the ladder back under her bed for now. He kicks off his shoes and takes off his jacket as she closes the window and her blinds before turning back to him. She leans against it coyly with her legs crossed.

Shawn can't help the way his eyes trail up the smooth skin of her legs to her pajama shorts. Kallie notices and raises a brow at him. "Stare much?" She chuckles as she stands and walks toward him.

"Well," he begins, his cheeks slightly red. He meets her in the middle of the room at the foot of her bed. "I can't really help it," he laughs.

She looks up at him, the foot of height difference stretching between them. "Is that right?" She smirks. He shrugs, returning the same look. Slowly, she grabs the hem of her shirt and twists it over her head. Nothing underneath but bare, soft skin.

Shawn chuckles, the sound coming out strangled and weak. He chews on the inside of his cheek as he smiles reluctantly. "That's not fair," he groans out.

"It isn't?" She plays innocent as she closes the space between them. He shakes his head, not hiding the flicker of his gaze to her chest. Kallie stands on her tiptoes as she rests her hands on Shawn's chest to whisper in his ear, "Then, why don't you do something about it?"

His eyes immediately gaze into hers, the lamplight making his usual dark brown eyes seem slightly golden. He grabs her suddenly by the waist, pulling her hips against his. She lets out a surprised gasp as her hands slide to his biceps. "I will," he almost growls.

With that, he leans down and crashes his lips into hers.

21 notes · View notes

cynicallystiles · 4 years ago

Text

Seasons of Love: The One with How They Met

Disclaimer: Moodboard made by me. Pictures found on Google!

Author: @cynicallystiles

Request: @itrocksmysocks basically requested this by making me obsessed with the triplets a year ago.

Warning: Swearing maybe.

Pairing: Kallie Hayes (OC) x Mendes Triplets

Masterlist Series Masterlist

SOL Teaser Chapter Two

Words: ~3.5k

Anais Nin once said, "Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born."

The first encounter Kallie had with the triplets was a memorable one. This could be because she didn't know they were triplets. She had just moved to town with her family and started her first day in the middle of October.

Kallie was just eight or nine years old, but she was nervous about starting a new school way behind the other kids. Once her parents dropped her off with the principal, she was led to a small classroom. The teacher smiled brightly as he welcomed her in.

"Hello! It's very nice to meet you..." he trailed off, expecting her to reply. Her gaze was anxiously flitting around to all the other students staring at her curiously. So, he cleared his throat.

With a slight jump, she whipped her head back to him. "Kallie, sir." She held out her little hand and gave him a firm shake. Well, as firm as an eight-year-old could give an old person with hands the size of baseball gloves.

"You're very polite! I can't wait to meet your parents," he beamed at her, not noticing the small flinch of her eye. Things don't always go nicely when her parents come to school. It's why she's always on her best behavior. "Well, I'm Mr. Flannigan."

He stood up straight and turned toward the class with a smile that was bright against his tan skin. "Class...this is Kalliope Hayes." So, he already knew her full name before she came into the room?

There was a pause as the students ceremoniously said, "Hi, Kalliope!"

Mr. Flannigan nodded as if the response was what he wanted. "Kalliope, why don't you tell us three fun things about yourself, and then we'll go into the lesson plan for today?"

Funny. He phrased it as if it were a question. But, when adults ask questions like that, they're more likely strong suggestions. So, she took one step forward and cleared her throat.

"Hi," she squeaked out. "My full name is Kalliope but I like Kallie better. Three things about me are..." She stalled a moment, forgetting every single fun thing about her. "Uh...I like bike riding...I'm really good at holding my breath!...and...I've never ice skated?"

Her green eyes look up to the teacher for approval as everyone claps politely. He's about to point to her seat when a small voice cuts him off. "How long??"

"Huh?" She asks as she scans the other kids for the voice.

The boy in the last row, second from her right and wearing a forest green hoodie peers past the rest of the students. "You said you're really good at holding your breath! How long?"

"Um, like, thirty-five seconds? I think," she responds uncertainly. It's been a while since the last time she had her sister time her. His brown eyes stare at her for a moment longer.

Then, he nods. "Nice." He grins at her in approval. She smiles a little wider in response and Mr. Flannigan tells her to take the only open seat left.

She walks toward the back, finding the open seat next to the kid who had questioned her breath-holding skills. As Mr. Flannigan starts the lesson plan, the boy leans over and offers his hand.

"I'm Shawn!" The eagerness of his voice makes her relax. Maybe she just made her first friend here. She takes his hand and shakes it a little. "Let's make up a secret handshake later at recess, okay?" She nods enthusiastically before they turn forward in their seats to pay attention.

Later at recess, Shawn and Kallie are standing under one of the shady trees on the playground, mixing an unnecessary amount of steps to their secret friendship handshake.

"Hey, Shawn! Come play tag!" Some other kids begin to call him to play games with them.

He looks over at Kallie. "Wanna come play?"

"No, thanks," she shakes her head causing her light brown hair to rustle in the wind, "I don't really like tag." He shrugs and squints at her a little, but accepts her answer before running off to join the game.

She decides to take a stroll along the fence to see if she could find some cool rocks to take home for the new garden her parents were gonna plant. As she does, she sees a boy crouched down with his hands cupped around something. He's wearing a jean jacket over his white T-shirt.

As she approaches, she calls out excitedly, "Watchya got in your hand?" The boy startles, his hands opening to let a frog jump out. He hurriedly reaches out and catches it again as Kallie takes a step back. She notes how carefully he cups his hand around it.

"A frog," he says plainly and he sounds slightly similar to...who does he sound like?

Her face contorts in minor disgust. "Why?" Is all she asks. When he turns to look at her, her eyebrows knit together in confusion. "I thought you went to play tag!"

"What?" He asks in genuine ignorance.

She looks him over and her brows come even closer together. "How did you change your clothes so fast, Shawn?"

"I'm not Shawn," he rolls his eyes with a sigh.

"What do you mean? You said your name was Shawn in class today," she reminds him.

He silently sticks his tiny closed fist through the fence to release the frog toward its home. Standing up, he wipes his hand on his jeans. "That's my brother. I'm Raul." He sticks out his frog contaminated hand.

"Oh, so you're like twins?" She swallows her squeamishness and shakes his hand quickly, then wipes it on the back of her shorts.

He shrugs. "You could say that." With that, he walks past her without another word. She turns and watches him run to another group of kids who are playing on the monkey bars.

She heads back to the tree, collapsing against its bark to enjoy the rest of recess. Her relaxing doesn't last long as something drops into her lap from above. "Ow!" She exclaims and opens her eyes to find a notebook in her lap.

"Sorry!" A voice calls out from above. She looks up quickly and finds an increasingly familiar face looking down at her.

His puppy dog eyes match his apologetic smile. Kallie sighs deeply. "Now, when did you get up there??" She was seriously starting to think she'd never woken up this morning.

"I've been here all recess!" He replies with an adorable smile. "Can you hand that back to me?" He asks, laying on his stomach to reach down.

She stands, stretching on her tiptoes to hand it back. Kallie then sees that he's wearing neither a green hoodie nor a jean jacket. Instead, he's wearing a blue, plaid button-up shirt. She frowns. "Don't tell me there's another one of you?"

"Huh?" He quirks his eyebrow for a moment. "Oh! You mean my brothers! Shawn and Raul?" She nods, but in her mind, she hopes it stops at three. Already, she could tell she'd never be able to tell them apart. "I'm Peter!"

"Why are you in a tree with a notebook?"

"It keeps me from getting hit by the dodgeballs while I'm trying to draw." He scrunches up his face like it's obvious. "Duh," he adds on.

The apparent obviousness of the statement makes her giggle. "What are you drawing?" She asks curiously.

He pauses for a long moment, sizing her up. Then, an adorable grin spreads across his lips. "Climb up here, and I'll show you," he half-invites, half-challenges her.

"Okay!" Without hesitation, she rolls the sleeves up on her Princess Belle shirt and scales the tree with only minimal effort.

Peter watches her settle in on the branch next to him in awe. "That was really fast!"

"Thanks!" She beams at him. "My sister can't climb so when she chases me with gross stuff I had to find somewhere to hide," she informs him happily.

He laughs and scoots next to her as he opens his notebook across both of their laps. Slowly, he flips through the pages to show her the different drawings. "These are really good!" She compliments him.

"Really?" He asks shyly. Kallie nods vigorously and continues to marvel at the sketches. Peter smiles and watches her admire his work for a few minutes more.

But, they're not alone for much longer. "Kallie? Where'd you go?" She looks over the notebook below them. Shawn is looking around the base of the tree.

"Up here!" She giggles. His head turns toward the sound of her voice. "Peter was showing me some drawings!"

Shawn covers the urge to frown with a bright smile. "Come down! We gotta finish our super-secret handshake before recess is over," he reminds her.

"One second!" She calls down and turns to Peter. "I gotta go. Thanks for letting me see your notebook!" Then, she carefully climbs down the tree.

Once she hops onto the ground, Shawn slings an arm around her shoulders as he leads her away. "Our handshake is gonna be so awesome! And it'll be just for us! You know what else? You can come with me and my family to our lake house to ice skate in the winter since you've never been!" He chatters happily as he leads her further away from Peter.

From that day on, the two of them were inseparable. That day was the first time the boys had gotten jealous or competitive over Kallie. But, it wasn't the last.

It was disorienting at first, never knowing who was who. Except for Shawn, of course. Kallie could always tell which one was Shawn because out of the three, those two were the ones joined at the hip. Not to say that she didn't grow close with the rest of the boys. Just that Shawn was who she was close with first.

Throughout the years, they were like the Four Musketeers. Getting into all kinds of trouble and mischief. They enjoyed the best of their times throughout the year at the Mendes' cabin in the Muskoka Lake District. Since the very first year they became friends, their parents were kind enough to bring her along on all of their little trips.

Occasionally, her parents and sister came along. Which was nice because a majority of the other parents didn't take kindly to hers. She loved that they were so kind and included them in their trips. That cabin became like a lifeline to them as the years wore on.

They shared every holiday, celebrated every event, and recovered from unexpected hard times at that cabin. Christmas time? They went to the cabin. Someone's birthday? The cabin was there. The worst time of their lives? The cabin saw that too.

The four of them could never imagine not having that cabin, or each other to get through life. Which is why it hurt all the more when they got the news. After graduating high school, the four of them went on to university. Together.

While they all had different majors, it was hard to find time for each other at first. So, they made it a rule to have dinner every Saturday night at one of their dorms. Rotating between them as hosts to the gathering. Which became easier when they all moved in together after the first two years of having to live in the dorms. They were now coming off of their third year of university with one left to go.

As the four of them piled into Shawn's Jeep for the trip home with their bags stuffed in the back, excitement floated through the air to finally be able to relax for a time before heading back to Toronto for the most important year of schoolwork.

"Shotgun!" Kallie, Peter, and Raul call at the same time as they race toward the front seat.

The three slam into the side of the vehicle with laughter. Looking to Shawn to be the referee, he rolls his eyes. "Kallie got there first," he chuckles.

"C'mon!" Peter groans.

"You always let her have it," Raul mumbles as he slides into the backseat.

"My Jeep, my rules," Shawn shrugs and buckles into the driver's seat with a chuckle.

Kallie happily hops into the front seat, smiling at Shawn before turning to grab her seatbelt. "Thank you!" As she buckles it, she exchanges a secret glance with Shawn and he winks at her.

"Anytime," he responds as she bites her bottom lip to contain her laugh.

With that, the four set off toward home. Well, more like toward the cabin. They were planning on stopping at their houses to see their families first and then spend the rest of the summer in Muskoka.

Half an hour later, the boys drop Kallie off at her parents' house before heading down the street to theirs. "Dinner at ours at six?" Peter confirms as she grabs her bags out of the back.

"Mhm," she replies and walks around to his window, while Raul gets out and gets in the front seat. "And then breakfast at mine at ten tomorrow?"

He nods with a grin. "We'll be here!" She mumbles a 'perfect' and leans through the window to kiss his cheek and he kisses hers at the same time, something they've gotten in the habit of doing when they part ways. Shawn shifts his grip on the steering wheel as he watches them in the mirror.

"See you tonight!" Raul calls as his eyes trail after her, lower than they should be when she disappears into her house. Shawn reaches over and slaps the back of his head. "Ow!!" He rubs the new sore spot with a chuckle as Shawn pulls away from the curb.

Later, as promised, she enters the Mendes household as if she lives there. She's right on time for dinner, but it's unusually quiet around the house. "Hello?"

"In here!" Someone calls after a long moment of silence.

Kallie makes her way into the living room where the brothers are seated on the couch. "Hey! What's going on? Why is it so quiet?" She questions as she sits in between Shawn and Peter's legs, stretching her own across Peter's lap and resting her feet in Raul's.

"Mom has news," Shawn says surprisingly seriously. It's then that Kallie notices the shock on their faces and that Karen is sitting in one of the other chairs.

She leans her torso back into Shawn and shrugs. "What is it? Bad news?" They nod and she looks at Karen as she takes a deep breath.

"Well, sweetie," she begins sweetly. "As I've just finished telling the boys..." she pauses, gathering the strength to tell her. "We've decided to sell the cabin."

Kallie's expression falls into the same shock that the boys wear and she feels like her whole body goes numb. "Wh-no. H-how...why-no!" She finally stutters out.

"I'm sorry. I really am. I know how much that cabin means to you all," she sighs. "But...we just can't afford to keep up with it year-round anymore. Especially, since we haven't been back since you all were in high school."

Her eyebrows furrow together in confusion. "Wha..." she breathes out, unable to think straight. To stop her mind from spinning, she focuses on the things around her.

Like the feel of Shawn's heartbeat against her back and the rhythm of his breathing. Like the goosebumps on her legs caused by Peter lightly tracing his fingers over her knees. Like the cold metal of Raul's rings as he squeezes her ankles comfortingly.

"When are you selling it?" Raul asks, taking charge of the situation. It's something he tends to do as the oldest of the three brothers. When things get tough, he steps in to steady everyone.

Karen shrugs. "We haven't found a buyer yet."

"Well," he sighs. "Then, we're still gonna go out for the summer. And every chance we get until you sell it. We can clean and pack up stuff along the way."

She smiles gratefully at him. "Thank you, honey. I hope you all enjoy the summer there...you deserve it before your last year at university!" She smiles, the tension slightly diffused but not dissipated. "Dinner will be ready soon."

Then, she silently heads to the kitchen to leave the four of them alone. Kallie shifts her body to stand up and face the boys. One hand goes to her hip as her eyes train on the carpet. With the other, she pushes some loose strands of hair behind her ear.

"I'm gonna..." she trails off, not having any words. "I'll be outside," she whispers and immediately exits the room.

Shawn leans forward to stand up. "I'll get her-"

"No. Lemme handle it," Raul interrupts and follows her without another word.

Sitting back down defeatedly, Shawn looks at Peter. "The hell was that about? Thought I was her best friend..." he grumbles.

"We're all best friends," Peter reminds him. "Besides...they have been closer since the twelfth grade." He shrugs and pulls his sketchbook out of his bag.

Shawn's brows crease together and then rise on his forehead. "You don't think they're-" He stops himself short because he doesn't even want to go there.

"What?" Peter looks up from the sketch he's working on. His face falls flat when he sees Shawn's panicked look. "Oh my god! They're not. Raul isn't even Kallie's type," he scoffs and focuses on the bright green irises he's drawing, only slightly concerned that Shawn may be right.

Shawn twists his features into an offended sort of confusion. "Her type? We all have the same face!"

"Yeah, but none of us are dating her...are we?" Peter scoffs dismissively.

"No," Shawn grumbles as he sinks further into the couch and crosses his arms grumpily.

Raul steps out onto the porch, barely squinting his eyes at the now-setting sun. Kallie's ash brown hair catches the light stunningly, almost as if it were milk chocolate silk. The red undertones give her hair a cinnamon-like shine you can only see under the sun. He sits next to her on the top step as she hugs her knees to her chest and rests her chin there.

He doesn't say anything as he leans back, letting his palms press into the wood. Time ticks by and he doesn't talk. She doesn't talk. Her body just slowly tips toward Raul until she's collapsed into his side. He feels her sigh heavily and he scoots closer to circle his arm around her waist.

"This isn't the end of the world," he promises like he always does when she gets like this. She huffs, annoyed that he seems to always downplay her sadness at first. "I'm serious."

She sits up, turning on the step to stare at him direly. "Oh, are you? I couldn't tell," she deadpans. "I know it's not the end of the world, Raul...that doesn't mean this all still doesn't suck," she murmurs as her hands move to her words.

"Life's allowed to suck," he chuckles. She watches the light dance in his hazel eyes and sighs. "You're even allowed to wallow about it," he continues.

She throws herself into his lap dramatically. "Then, let me wallowwww," she whines playfully. He rests his arm across her torso.

"But-"

"No...no buts," she begs as she turns her face into his stomach to hide. She curls her legs up until she's almost in a ball on her side.

Raul gently strokes her back. "But," he says pointedly, "you're not allowed to wallow forever. Eventually, you have to pull on your big girl pants and show life who it's messing with."

"You're so lame," she laughs and ventures a peek up at him.

He tilts his head and smiles smugly. "Got you to laugh didn't I?" She nods slightly. "I know how much the cabin means to you. It means that much to all of us," he soothes her.

"I somehow always forget that you guys feel it too," she whispers.

Raul moves his hand to brush her hair out of her face. "I'll make you a deal," he begins. Her attention peaks because he always offers her the same deal and she'd never pass it up. No matter what it is. "Suck it up for now. You can wallow when the place is actually sold."

"What do I get for pulling on my big girl pants?" She challenges.

He scrunches up his face in obvious sarcasm. "What do you always get?"

"Prom night?" She replies hopefully.

"Prom night," he confirms mischievously.

14 notes · View notes