#i ask do you think but the answer is yes erica would go crazy for Queen Latifah

[findafight]

Do you think Sue Sinclair got Erica Queen Latifah's 1989 album "All Hail the Queen" and do you think Erica and Tina spent a week listening to it non stop and memorizing the words to Ladies First and do you think they used hair brushes for mics and danced around Erica's room and do you think Erica got to still be a silly kid despite what she's been through

[fanficimagery]

Guns, Claws & Teeth pt. 2

On the way back from running an errand for your brother, you stop by an auto garage for a tune-up for your car. Once there, you run into a bit of trouble but it's nothing you can't handle. Unfortunately, the humans you've made friends with are dragged into the mess.

PART ONE | PART TWO | PART THREE

Words: 4.1K Author's Note: Violence. Some good 'ol fashion wolf vs. wolf action.

The parking lot of Teller-Morrow Automotive is tense.

Gemma and the men had taken your words seriously, pulling out weapons from their hiding spots and arming themselves. Though they do keep a respectable distance from you as you angrily pace back and forth, texting your brother every now and then.

"So.. werewolves, huh?" Juice wonders. You glance at him, eyes narrowing as you try to determine whether he's actually curious or what.

And seeing that he actually does look curious, even as his brothers nudge him to shut him up, you grin. "Yeah. There's so much you don't know about the supernatural world, man. I'll tell you about it later if I live through this night."

That stops everyone short. "You don't think you're gonna make it?"

"M'not sure," you answer distractedly. "Alphas are more powerful than a beta or omega, but it is possible for them to fall to a less powerful wolf."

"So your family," Gemma says, arms crossed and foot tapping as she stares you down, "was that all bullshit or..?"

"Definitely not bullshit. I just left out a few key details."

"Such as?" She asks.

"Such as the fact that the bitch who targeted my family came from a family of werewolf hunters. They had a code to only hunt wolves who hunted humans, but she defected. She killed all wolves, no matter if they were good or bad, and who better to take out than the one wolf family who was highly respected in the werewolf community."

"And the relationship with your brother? That true too?"

"Yeah. She needed to know the ins and outs of our home, and when a majority of the Hales would be in the same place at the same time. I had family who were human, including the ten month old, and she didn't care. As long as they bore the name Hale, she thought they deserved to die."

"You said your uncle got justice for the family. He kill her?" Opie asks.

You glance at him and give him a nod. "He ripped her throat out. And then my brother ripped his out."

Everyone frowns, but it's Jax who mutters, "What the fuck."

You chuckle, scenting the air real quick to make sure no one is approaching, and then explain. "When they pulled my uncle from the fire, his body had trouble healing. He was basically trapped in his mind, slowly going crazy. Fast forward years later when my sister gets lured back to Beacon Hills and my mostly healed uncle kills his own niece for her alpha power." The men and Gemma all stare at you in shock. "He wanted her alpha power to start his own pack and hunt down those responsible for the fire. So when me and my brother came back, and figured everything out, we let him get his revenge before my brother tore his throat out and became the next Hale alpha."

"So what, you both just picked right back up in the place your family was burned alive?" Jax asks.

"Yes. We rebuilt our home and opened the garage. Those kids I told you about, the ones who work in the garage? My brother gave them the option to take the bite since it was fifty-fifty it would take. A bite from an alpha can either kill you or turn you. It cured Erica of her epilepsy, let Isaac be strong enough to stand up to his father, and gave Boyd a new family. It's our job to protect Beacon Hills and it's people from supernatural threats."

Everyone goes quiet as your words sink in.

Eventually, Juice snorts. "So do you like get furry on the night of the full moon?"

Opie, Jax and Chibs all start to laugh.

"Only those with great power can turn into an actual wolf. I only have a-" Your ears perk up at the sound of slowly approaching vehicles and you tense. You glance over your shoulder, scent the air, and let loose a low growl. "Enough about me. We've got incoming."

"How many?" Jax is immediately at your side as you face the gates.

"Four."

He scoffs. "Easy."

"Four wolves against one wolf and five humans? I don't know, Jax." Two vehicles park outside of the opened gates, but only one man gets off. "Stay behind me," you mumble.

You're not surprised to have these bikers spread out on either side of you, but you are surprised when Gemma joins them. Red eyes flare, which causes an automatic warning growl to reverberate through your throat, and a smirk spreads across the man's lips as he steps under a street lamp. "It appears we've brought claws to a gun fight," the alpha muses. "Let me rectify that real quick."

Three more wolves get off the vehicles, joining their alpha with weapons in hand.

"You don't want to do this," you tell him. "You're gonna start a war you have no hope of winning the moment alpha Hale catches wind of your scent."

"You're trespassing on my land, beta."

"You didn't claim it with the alpha in charge, pup." The alpha's smile falls and you raise an eyebrow at him. "What? Didn't think I could smell the difference," you say. "You're not a born wolf. You're newly bitten and in way over your head. You start this fight right now and alpha Hale's gonna rip your head off."

He stares at you before a cruel smirk forms. "I'll take my chances."

The wolves open fire, causing the humans to duck and take cover before they can fire back. Your instincts are telling you to take cover as well, but you quickly realize they're not firing at you or the humans. They're firing at the shops and vehicles.

The sound of glass shattering has you whirling around and your eyes widen at the sight of the back windshield of your car having been shot out. You face the wolves once more, eyes glowing and teeth elongating as you let out a heart stopping roar of rage.

"WHAT THE FUCK!?"

You rush forward, meeting one beta head on as the gun fire ceases. You deflect a punch, raising a hand full of claws and slashing the wolf across his torso. Another beta approaches, but you're quick to kick out and catch them in their gut. A gunshot rings out, too close for comfort, and you roar as you feel your right shoulder jerk back upon impact. Someone wraps their arms around you from behind and you're quick to throw your head back, grinning viciously at the snap of bone you hear before dropping and sweeping their feet from underneath them.

The gunfire picks up once more and you feel a searing pain in your thigh, but you ignore it. You take claws across the chest before the beta attacking you takes a bullet to the side of his head, and you glance back at the men you'd gotten to know earlier who are clearly watching your back now. The alpha roars something awful, which makes you flinch, but your focus is still on the other two betas.

More searing pain erupts in your side as you throw yourself at another beta, slashing claws across their throat before falling into a crouch before launching yourself at the third beta. The fight with a third beta is a struggle and you can feel your control slowly slipping. And when you feel yourself losing the upper hand, you growl before sinking your fangs into the side of their throat and ripping out a chunk of flesh.

"BEHIND YOU!"

More gunshots ring out and you whirl around just in time to see the last wolf stumble in surprise at all the gunshots now littering his chest. And in your blood lust, you lunge up and dig your claws into his throat before yanking out his trachea.

As quiet takes over the parking lot, you become aware of your heavy breathing. You're still on high alert as you glance around at the bodies littering the lot and you let loose a warning growl when you hear a pebble skip across asphalt. The five humans freeze, two of them halfheartedly raising guns in your direction.

"Hey, weren't your eyes blue before?"

Those words knock the angry haze from your mind and you blink in confusion at Juice. "What? They are blue."

"Nah, they're red now."

"What?" Your heart stops and you glance around at the bodies littering the ground, bile rising in the back of your throat when you see the then-alpha staring blankly up at the sky. "No, no, no."

"Honey, I don't know what you're freaking out about, but we really need to remove those bullets from you," Gemma says, though she keeps her distance.

You look at her, brow furrowing. "What?"

"You've been shot three times. You need to get those bullets out."

Gemma's words slowly sink in and you glance down at yourself. Sure enough, there's a wound on your right shoulder, your right side, and your left thigh. "Oh."

"So come on. Come join us in the clubhouse while Chibs dig those out for you."

"Y-Yeah. Okay."

You're in a bit of a daze as someone leads you into what they call the clubhouse, then over to a table where everything is swiped off before you're told to lay down.

"Shirt's gonna have to come off, lass."

Without a care, you strip off your shirt which leaves you in just your bra and shorts. Before you lay down, your eyes land on a bar and the liquor shelf behind it. "Can someone grab me a bottle? I don't care what it is, I just need something stronger than beer."

Juice jogs over behind the bar, picking up a random bottle of liquor and running it back to you. You twist off the lid and take a long pull from it, only stopping when Jax puts his hand on the bottle to push it down. "Hey, take it slow."

Your nose wrinkles at the brief burn of alcohol. "Don't need to. I can't get drunk unless it's a special mix." You take another long pull of the liquor before setting the bottle aside, and lay down. "Okay. I'm ready."

Chibs dig into your shoulder first and you can't help the flare of your eyes or the elongation of your teeth. But you don't snarl or glare, instead you grit your fangs and bear it.

The moment the first bullet comes out, Juice is there with a dish towel to press against the wound. You wave him off before he can ruin it. "Don't bother. It's already closing." Everyone freezes and glances at your shoulder wound, and you tiredly smile at their awe. "Perks of being a werewolf. We heal quickly."

As Chibs works on the other two bullets, you dig your phone out of shorts. You unlock it and scroll down to your brother's contact, tapping on it and then placing the phone on speaker before letting it clatter to the table top.

It rings and rings, and then, "What happened?"

"The pack attacked." You grunt as the bullet in your thigh gives Chibs a bit of trouble. "I'm currently laid out on the table as a friend digs out a bullet from my thigh."

"Shit. Did any get away?"

"Only four came- three betas and the alpha. M'not sure if there's more to his pack, but-" You trail off, unsure how to say what you have to next.

"But what, YN?"

"I killed the alpha." Your brother goes quiet and tears slowly fill your eyes. "I didn't mean to, Der. It just happened. I was so caught up in the fight and-"

"We'll figure it out, little sister. Just sit tight. We'll be there soon."

"Okay."

The phone beeps, signifying that Derek's hung up and you sigh. "Are cops going to be an issue?"

"Nah," Jax says. "We have them in our pocket."

Just as Chibs tells you you're all done, numerous sounds of roaring engines fill the air.

"Shit." Jax cusses.

"Don't worry. I'll hold them off," Gemma says. "But they will want an explanation."

You sit up and gratefully accept a shirt Opie holds out for you. "That's fine. So long as they can keep this between us, they can know." The shirt is black with the words SAMCRO stamped across the front and you grip it one hand. "Is there a bathroom I can wash all the blood off in?"

"Yeah. Ope, get her a shower," Jax says.

Opie nods and gestures for you to follow. "Thank you." Staring at Jax once more, you ask, "Do you think some of the boys can get the bodies in the vehicles and park them out back? I'll have my brother get rid of it all later."

"Sure."

You follow Opie further into the clubhouse just as there's a bit of a commotion outside, but you don't pay it any mind. Opie opens the door to what appears to be a dorm room and he points to another door inside. "There's the bathroom. My wife has some leggings here if you want a pair."

"Yes, please."

The tall biker turns towards the dresser, pulling open a drawer and pulling out a pair of dark gray leggings. You flash him a smile as you accept them and then head into the bathroom.

A quick rinse off and some fresh clothes later, you're stepping out into the room where Opie is still waiting. Upon seeing you, he chuckles. "You're so unassuming. If I hadn't seen what you did earlier, I wouldn't believe whatever Gem and Jax are telling the boys outside."

You shift nervously in front of him. "That's what's scary about the supernatural world. You never know who is human and who is not." He hums in agreement. "So, uh, is there a place I can burn my bloody clothes?"

"Yeah. I'll tell a Prospect to get a fire going."

"Thanks. And if you can have someone catalog the damage those assholes did to the garage and club, I'll pay for all damages."

Opie looks at you in surprise. "I'll let Gemma know."

Walking back out into the club, you grab up your bloody shirt and follow Opie. Outside in the lot, it seems like Jax is holding court to a bunch of bikers that are listening intently to everything he's telling them about the fight that took place and werewolves. The scent of bleach assaults your nose, and you watch as one individual pours bleach on the now body-free parking lot and another washes it away with a water hose.

Opie pulls someone aside, murmuring something in his ear, and the man glances at you with wide eyes. He nods and hesitantly makes his way towards you, holding his hands out for your bloodied clothes that you readily hand over. As he scampers off, you glance back up to see several people staring at you.

One individual with a head of curly dark hair and receding hairline scoffs. "She's a werewolf? I don't know what you've been smoking, kid, but werewolves don't-"

You snarl, flashing red eyes and very sharp teeth at him.

Nearly everyone pulls a weapon, but you stand your ground and don't say a word. Instead, you let your supernatural features fade away as Jax yells at his people. "ENOUGH! I didn't tell you about werewolves so you can shoot the one we're on friendly terms with as of right now. YN came here as a client to the garage- nothing more, nothing less. She didn't know she was bringing a fight to the club, but she made damn sure to eliminate the threat. Show her an ounce of respect."

There are several unhappy grumbles, but everyone listens. Weapons are holstered and everyone eyes you warily as Opie leads you to the picnic tables. You sigh, stepping up onto the bench so you can sit on the edge of the table itself. You're surprised as Jax joins you, and Opie and Juice sit near your feet on the bench. The other picnic table is brought in front of the one you're sitting on, and Gemma takes a seat along with Chibs and two other individuals.

"YN, this is Clay and Happy." Jax introduces you to a white-haired man who still looks like he has a lot of fight in him and another individual whose stoic expression unsettles you. Both nod in greeting.

"Hi." You fold your arms in your lap, looking at Gemma head on. "I already told Opie, but since you're here.." She perks up, listening. "If you can have someone catalog the damages to your garage and club, I'll pay for it all."

Jax nudges you. "You don't have to do that."

"I do." You look at him, smiling faintly. "These wolves came because of me, so I'll pay for any and all damages."

Gemma slowly smiles. "Thanks, baby."

"Don't even mention it."

Gemma yells for someone and tells them to start logging the damage and it's worth. Then after they run to get started on the job they were assigned, Chibs looks up at you.

"I got a question for 'ya, lass."

"Shoot."

"Why were 'ya so freaked to have red eyes instead of blue?"

You exhale tiredly. "Because red eyes signify alpha status. No pack can have more than one alpha unless they want to constantly butt heads, which means I'll have to leave my pack and start anew elsewhere."

"I have a question too," Clay suddenly speaks up. "Why tell us all of this? If you creatures are dead set on keeping the secret of your existence, why tell my family?"

It takes you a moment to think about it.

"Have you ever met someone and just instantly clicked with them?" You ask. "Someone you met that you just felt at ease with even though they were a complete stranger?" Clay shrugs. "Well when I met Chibs, Jax, Juice and Gemma, that's exactly how I felt. Like I knew them for years and was reuniting with an old friend."

Jax coos next to you and you immediately nudge him, chuckling as you shake your head at him. Clay has a few more questions for you and, though he's not the one in charge, you feel like you should answer anything they throw at you.

A couple hours later, after all the remnants of a gunfight having taken place have been discarded and beers have been passed around to those sitting around you, three vehicles pull up to the lot. Everyone tenses, but when seeing the Camaro that's nearly identical to yours out front, you tell them it's okay.

"It's my brother." When Derek and the betas get off their vehicles, you're surprised to see Peter trailing after them. You hop off the table to greet your brother, hesitating briefly upon touching him before giving in and hugging him. He chuckles and then you stare at your friends before asking, "Can I?"

After all, you didn't want to trigger your brother's wolf by another alpha getting too close to his betas.

"Of course."

Erica, Isaac and Boyd can immediately tell the difference when you hug them, and you smile faintly when you flash red eyes at them.

"Holy shit," Erica says.

"Yeah." Looking at your brother, you say, "There's two vehicles out back with the bodies. Can they take them far out of the county and stage a scene? I don't wanna bring suspicion to the garage's doorstep."

"What's the scene gonna look like?"

"Shootout and an animal attack." You shrug. "I used claws and teeth, and the humans used guns."

"Okay."

Derek gestures for the betas to do as they're told as Juice tells them where to find the vehicles around back. Boyd mentions he'll follow in one of their cars, and Isaac and Erica jog around the garage to go find the vehicles they need to dispose of.

Left alone with just Derek and Peter, you quickly introduce everyone to each other.

"Hold on," Juice says, frowning. "I thought you said your uncle Peter was dead? That your brother ripped his throat out?"

All gazes dart to Peter and Derek who are only a few feet apart, and Peter chuckles as you roll your eyes. "Uncle Peter has an awful habit of not staying dead. He's a nuisance, but as the Pack Enforcer, he's kind of needed."

"Thank you, darling niece. It's so nice to hear that you only keep me around because of my role in the pack and not because we're family."

"I stopped caring for your well-being the moment we found out you cut Laura, your other darling niece, in half," you deadpan.

Gemma gasps and suddenly the humans are on edge.

From the corner of your eye, you see Happy sit a little straighter at that information as he stares at your uncle. Everyone kind of reshuffles around then so that Peter and Derek are not at anyone's back, and you end up between Jax and Opie once more as they stand close by on either side of you.

"So what's your plan?" Derek asks, arms crossing over his chest.

"I'm not sure." You copy his posture. "I don't want to risk making betas. The bite has a 50/50 chance of taking, and I don't want to risk killing someone."

"You and I both know that it's possible to have a pack with members who are human." His eyes dart to the men standing next to you and you frown. "So long as you bond with these people and treat them as family, they're pack."

"What happens if she doesn't form a pack?" Jax asks.

Derek's gaze darts to him as he answers. "If an alpha remains packless, it'll slowly make them feral to the point they need to be put down."

Every gaze then turns to you and you try not to shrink under their gaze.

"I have a better idea," Peter says. "Why not give the alpha power to another wolf who actually wants it?"

"Yeah? And who would that be?"

Peter smirks as his eyes flare blue, but the moment he takes a step in your direction, Jax and Opie are closing ranks on you and putting you just behind their shoulders. You glance at the backs of both men in surprise, head whipping in the direction of Happy and Juice who now have guns resting casually in their laps.

Peter freezes and scoffs, and Derek smirks. "It seems you might already have that pack of yours without even realizing it." Wide eyes meet the gaze of your brother and he chuckles. "Charming is in need of an alpha now, little sister. And it seems you're a new alpha who unknowingly formed a bond with men permanently attached to the town."

You gape at Derek, your expression not changing as Jax and Opie grin over their shoulders at you. When no one says anything, you sigh. "Does anyone know of a house for rent? I'm gonna need a place to stay while I purchase some land and build a house away from nosy neighbors."

"Juice, get on that," Jax says. "Find a house with a decent landlord and then look for land that can be built on."

"Got it, Prez."

Juice jogs away to get started on his new task and you shake your head at your brother. "Congratulations. Charming and its people are now your responsibility," Derek says. "Problem solved."

Clay clears his throat. "That's pretty much the job of the Sons here. We look out for Charming and the locals."

Derek nods at him. "That's great. But if another pack rolls into town, looking to cause trouble, or a rogue werewolf wanders into town and starts killing people for food, how are you going to take care of that problem? Do you know the signs to look for to determine whether or not it's a supernatural threat?"

Clay frowns. "No."

"Then that's where YN steps in. She's going to be a fountain of knowledge. Tap into it."

"I don't have to be a part of whatever operation you have going on here," you say while gesturing towards the building, "but apparently my wolf has shown interest in these knuckleheads," this time you gesture to Opie and Jax, "and any attack on them is an attack on me. And if a supernatural threat comes to town, you're gonna want me in your corner."

Clay seems to think over that before he subtly nods and tucks Gemma under his arm, accepting whatever may come next. Jax slowly smiles, playfully punching his friend's arm. "Werewolf bodyguard.. sweet."

[luckybyler]

I swear some people lack even a modicum of emotional intelligence. There's a reddit thread saying Will was at fault for not reaching out (normal and valid opinion), and I said that the last time he did, they mocked him for still liking DnD. This was the reply (not from OP) that I got:

I'll copy my answer here, because I think it's important to understand their fight better:

----

That's exactly how Mike or Lucas would describe the situation if they posted on /r/amitheasshole and wanted everyone to validate them and agree with them.

1. It's clear that the issue wasn't about Will wanting to play that single DnD campaign. The context was that Mike had been ditching his friends to go make out with El for a long time now. We heard it from many characters, including Lucas himself, not just Will.

2.

Will wakes Mike and Lucas early in the morning to spring a D&D game on them.

Which implies they had a sleepover at Mike's, right? The three of them. And I assume all they did was talk about their breakups with El and Max respectively, while Will was just ... there, probably wondering if they could be their old selves for at least a day.

Although they aren’t enthusiastic, they agree to play.

Ding ding ding!!! Here's mistake #1. Either play enthusiastically, or use your words and say "Will, our girlfriends just broke up with us, we're trying to get them back, and we're not in the mood to play DnD". It would still have led to an argument ("and when you get them back you'll ditch me again"), but it would've been a smaller, more open and solvable one.

Will protests that the Khuisar tribe still needs their help. Mike proposes a course of action that will save the Khuisar and end the campaign. Lucas agrees.

Yes, mockingly. The campaign lasted for long, but that is standard for their DnD campaigns. Doing this was worse than just not playing (and explaining to him why). This is the part where the OP in the AITA post says "I was totally calm and offered a fair solution based on facts and logic and the other person went crazy for no reason 🤷🏻‍♀️" when they know good and well there was a damn good reason.

When they see that Will is upset, Mike offers to finish the campaign “for real” and Lucas concurs. Will refuses and leaves.

They offer that just to appease him, not because they really want to keep playing. Will refuses and leaves because he's not an idiot and sees that the offer isn't sincere. You know the meme that women say "I don't want you to do the dishes, I want you to want to do the dishes"? That's what we mean. Will wanted them to enjoy their friendship together like they did before, for at least one day. Not to force them to play for his benefit.

In the course of their confrontation, where Will accuses Mike of destroying the Party and refers to El as “some stupid girl”

And Will was right that Mike was destroying the Party.

and Mike counters that it’s not his fault Will doesn’t like girls, Mike asks if he thought that they’d never get girlfriends and would play games in his basement for the rest of their lives.

Translation: "I'M NOT GAY WILL!!! Also I outgrew you and my concerns are more important than yours".

This hurt Will's feelings so bad that it shattered his whole childhood (really, that's literally in the script: "his childhood, gone."), he was so hurt that he destroyed his safe haven with the baseball bat that his abusive dad gave him. That's the sort of thing that will come up in therapy for the rest of Will's life, and it never got resolved.

Lucas apologises for his lack of interest in Will’s D&D campaign, calling it really cool.

When they're too busy with the monster thing, so Will says it's not important anymore. Not because it really isn't, but because the supernatural crept in again. And yet again, it rings hollow.

When Will adds his D&D manual to the box to be donated to Erica, Mike asks if he’s sure, and points out that he might want to join another Party. Will says that that won’t happen.

It's a beautiful moment and it solves the surface problem, but (as we see in season 4) the damage is already done. This is putting a band-aid on a festering wound. They're back to being friends and he's not mad about the DnD thing specifically, but it's no longer the same. Now, besides the caution that comes with being in love with Mike and not wanting to come off too strong or reveal his true feelings, now he has also the nagging thought on the back of his head that maybe he's not that important to Mike, or that he's a bother or a nuisance to him. Their relationship can't be fully repaired until that issue is actually and meaningfully addressed, which it hasn't been as of now.

None of the characters make fun of Will for liking D&D.

Maybe "make fun of" is the wrong expression. They belittle him and act condescendingly to him for it.

Having priorities other than D&D doesn’t mean that Mike, Dustin and Lucas no longer like the game, or that they look down on Will for enjoying it.

But that's now it came off. There's no other way to interpret Mike's words during their fight in the rain.

We see in Season 4 that with El thousands of miles away, Lucas and Max broken up, and no Russian spies for Dustin to chase down, the three of them join Hellfire Club.

1. Maybe not as far as Will knows (only a couple of calls), and 2. That makes it worse. From Will's POV, it looks like they called him childish (at the ripe old age of 13 years old) for still liking DnD, only to turn around and join a DnD club the second he's gone. That's gotta hurt.

I'm not saying Mike or Lucas are evil or anything, I'm just shedding light on why it's understandable that Will didn't reach out and instead waited to see if Mike still wanted to be best friends with him. And the next time he sees him, Mike acts like a dick to him at the airport giving him a bullshit No Homo shoulder tap and being awkward about the painting, basically confirming that it's true that he's "not interested in anything I have to say".

----

I think Will and Mike still need to address this in Season 5 in order to heal. And of course, and we Byler's know, to be together.

[asterekmess]

Did you ever watch Buffy? The first episode where Anya was introduced was titled "The Wish" and all I can think about is if Scott McCall had ever run into a pure Sidhe where they offered him a wish. Instead of, "I wish Buffy had never come to Sunnydale." It would be more, "I wish I was never bitten to become a werewolf." But just like all feaye tricks, the outcome is more, his Dad ended up with primary custody rather than his Mom and he was forced to leave BH. And then Stiles ended up more friends with Heather and others. And while Scott's life is worse, when he tracks down the others he finds all of theirs are greatly improved.

I think about it a lot and how Scott never really dealt with the consequences of any of his actions, everyone else did, and how an episode or mini-arc could have fixed a flaw in the show's design. I mean, we were already dealing with a lot of Celtic lore, why not someone from the Sidhe courts?

I have no idea why this took me so long to answer, so apologies for that. <3 I did watch buffy! I've seen all of it, and all of Angel as well. XD

I remember 'The Wish' episode, and whoooo boy it gave me chills. I loved how big the butterfly effect was, how something that seemed so small, something that Genuinely seemed to be the cause of a lot of problems in Sunnydale, ended up being so important to how things had progressed. Because, yeah, you would think Buffy not coming to Sunnydale would be a Good Thing, right? Sunnydale didn't have all of these insane issues before she arrived. It was quiet, and nothing big or scary ever happened. Her arrival matches perfectly with when everything started going absolutely nuts, so whatever selfish ideas Cordelia had, her thought that Buffy not coming to Sunnydale would be a good thing, makes sense. Except that, as she finds out, she's entirely wrong. Buffy's arrival was a lucky coincidence, or fate, whatever your taste leans toward. She showed up right as things started going nuts, and she kept it from going SO MUCH MORE NUTS.

Now, moving on to TW, it is a fascinating mix of being the Exact same situation, and the exact Opposite. I'll add a Read More, cus' holy god is this a lot of Rambling.

Because Scott wishing not to have been bitten...yeah, the bite Did improve things. But it improved things for him. He would absolutely regret making the wish, just like Cordelia did, because he would realize how many good things the bite had brought with it. BUT, conversely, he would have to realize how many good things the bite had brought for him, not for other people, and how their lives either wouldn't have been affect, or might've even Improved without him being bitten. Without the bite, Scott wouldn't have gotten on first line, period. His health issues made very clear in the five minutes he had them that any kind of stamina based sport was just out of the question for him. If he is unable to walk through the woods at a moderate pace without needing to grab his inhaler and stop against a tree, he just plain cannot play lacrosse for two or three hours of running at high speeds and working a bunch of muscles in his upper body. He likely wouldn't have gone out with Allison, because he would have no convenient way to get her attention. Furthermore, he wouldn't have the extra senses that both impressed her on the lacrosse field, and told him about her 'family dinner' the night of Lydia's party. (I've discussed this before, but... While it's true, Allison would have still brought him the dog; that dog would likely have attacked him, and his chances with her would have been shot in the foot when they both got in massive trouble and he likely had to go to the ER for stitches or something. Without Allison or first line, he wouldn't have started hanging out with the 'cool kids,' and quite frankly, wouldn't have had anyone to help him study for the classes he was struggling with. It's true that he also wouldn't have had werewolf things to worry about, or even a girlfriend to distract him from homework, so maybe that wouldn't have been such a huge issue, but still.

If we look at other people's lives and how They would have been affected by Scott not getting the bite...well, let's talk about that.

Stiles didn't get on first line because of Scott, or because of a werewolf bite. Or even because of the werewolf bullshittery occurring in town. He was put on first line because of his abilities, and even after being taken OFF first line for missing the game, he was put Right onto the field in the next game, chosen OVER other players who were perfectly viable options. Which means, he still would've ended up on first line. Allison wasn't interested in dating before she met Scott, and part of her draw to him was based on how 'different' he was. He knew things she didn't know how he could know, he had a weird ability to calm a furious, injured dog, and he had charisma that was ALSO gained from the bite, since being on first line made Scott Much more self-confident. If she didn't end up dating him, it's likely she wouldn't have dated at all. Which would mean no hiding from her parents, no strange conflicts of interest, AND, interestingly enough --depending on her involvement in the murders, etc that would still be occurring in town--no night in the school that would scare her bad enough to ask Kate for extra help and tip her headfirst into hunter training. AND, even if she DID still end up getting those lessons from Kate? There would be no bitterness to fuel her behavior at the end of season 1.

Allison was Traumatized after Kate showed her Derek on the grate. She was horrified, and didn't know what to do about it, and while we can ramble all we want about the morality of her not confronting her family (whom she's just discovered is willing to electrocute people) about it, the fact is that she pushed the thoughts aside to stop freaking out and went to that dance. Where she found out Scott was a werewolf, and was So fucking Betrayed that she was willing to help Kate catch him and Derek. No Scott, no betrayal, no willingness to help Kate recapture the miserable man who'd been chained up in a basement.

If we go back to that specific night, and try to unfold the events from there if Scott hadn't been bitten, things get a little complicated, but I'll take a few artistic liberties. Scott isn't bitten. Presumably, he just happens to get out of the woods in time, or he gets caught with Stiles by the sheriff, or doesn't go to the woods in the first place. These all change the possible outcomes of that night. If he hadn't gone in the first place, and Stiles went alone, would he have been bitten instead? Would Scott have been dragged into all of this anyway, but without the protection and boost of being a werewolf and cured of his asthma? If he weren't the one bitten, and he saw everything Stiles gained from it, would he still have such a hatred for the bite? Or would he want it, like Erica did, to cure him and make him powerful and cool? But, let's assume Stiles doesn't get bitten either. The second half of Laura's body still hasn't been found, and Stiles has no reason to fear running back into the preserve the next day, and no real punishment from his father as far as we can tell. So, does he go back to look again? If he did, he would run into Derek, because Derek would still be there after retrieving Laura's body himself. He would see Derek and still recognize him, and from there, things might spiral, still involving Stiles in the supernatural, and it's likely Stiles would try to involve Scott, and Again we get hit with "Would Scott want the bite, if he hadn't gotten forcibly bitten in the first place?" The answer is probably yes. He wanted to be cool, and popular, and on the lacrosse team. He wanted everything being a werewolf gave him. BUT if we're looking at this wish as similar to "The Wish," then no matter what, Scott won't be bitten. He'll be transported to a new world where it just never happened, and he'll be human, and forced to watch everyone around him be just plain different. Scott not being bitten would isolate him from Stiles, if Stiles got involved in the spn anyway. We SAW how Stiles cut off his other friends once the spn starting getting in the way. He and Harley? We have no clue how close they were. They were close enough for her to tease him about his crush on Lydia, for her to wander up comfortably to the locker and talk to them. And he cut her off as soon as the werewolf stuff hit. What if he cut Scott off? To protect him, if nothing else, like he did his own father. Once he realized the danger involved, I doubt he would be willing to put Scott in harm's way.

So, Scott would not only lose first line, lose his girlfriend, lose his popularity, lose his health and strength and heightened abilities, lose his 'importance' to the goings-on of Beacon Hills, but he would also lose Stiles, who seems to have been his only friend, unless he also had a relationship with Harley.

Okay, I've rambled enough about the what if's, so let's talk about the Reason why this wish would go so badly for Scott, in such a different way than it went for Cordelia. Cordelia, first off, wished that someone Else would not have/do something, rather than wishing for herself not to have done something. She watches how fucked up the world gets, and how much worse her life is without Buffy around to save the day. Scott wished for Himself not to have done something (even something passive, like 'get bitten') and would have to watch how fucked up his world gets, and how far behind he would fall. The other's lives might not necessarily get better, because Peter is still on the loose, and the hunters are still there, etc etc, but they would still Progress, while Scott would stay stagnant.

And WHY is that? Because Scott isn't important to the story. It DOESN'T start with him. That's the Whole Point of his character. He is supposed to be the 'everyman' who gets dragged into crazy shit and becomes integral to things that he wasn't ever meant to be a part of. The guy who wanders into becoming King or 'The Hero' that will save the world, even though he's just a small lad from a tiny town, whose highest prospects were "get on first line."

He was NEVER supposed to be Buffy, or if he was, it was done Very Badly.

But Beacon Hills WASN'T a quiet town before Scott was bitten; however much he might've said 'nothing ever happens in this town.' It was FULL of bullshittery and magic from the very beginning. There was the fire, and Paige, and the blinding of Deucalion, and the death of Alexander Argent, and the Nogitsune in the internment camp nearby. All of these things were around So much longer than Scott's bite, and they'd been affecting the world that whole time too. Because yes, in Buffy, the master was There before she was, but he was literally rendered inert by the situations he was in. And the things he'd done happened Centuries before, not six years. There is a difference. Sunnydale was Not Known for the insane number of weird deaths. Beacon Hills was. And aside from the Nogitsune, every single fucking thing that happened in Beacon Hills, was attuned to the Hale family in one way or another. Deucalion's blinding occurred during a meeting on Hale land, because Talia was known as a wise leader, etc, in the area and other wolves flocked to her. Deucalion biting Argent seems unrelated (if you even believe Deucalion did that, despite being a fucking pacifist before Gerard blinded him), but again, it occurs just a couple hours away from Beacon Hills, which is Hale Territory. The one who plays the Buffy role here? Who shows up at just the right time, and launches themself against an endless wave of evil, with slightly enhanced senses and a thorough need to do good and not back away from things that 'aren't they're problem'? The actual hero who is somehow tied to everything going on in ways even they don't understand? Was Derek. The guy who entirely unwittingly allowed Julia Baccari to survive, because he was trying to be merciful to his first love. Who entirely unwittingly was manipulated into giving up information that let a hunter kill his family. Who followed his sister back to town after six years of just trying to survive in New York, fell into a fucking tragedy, and decided to stop the bad guys anyway, even though he knew he didn't stand a fucking chance.

And as annoyed as some might get. The 'everyman' who stumbles onto the set and accidentally becomes integral to the saving of the world? The one whose ambitions are small and who expectations are smaller? Who is misunderstood, and has abilities that aren't recognized or appreciated, that doesn't really fit in, but tries their best anyway? The literal Angel to Derek's Buffy?

Is fucking Stiles. The son of the sheriff who just could not let it go when he discovered there was something funky going on. Who hung around on the edges, even though he wasn't really wanted, because he needed to help. Who ended up saving Derek's life over and over, and becoming so important as to be Derek's anchor? Who literally WENT DARKSIDE and HAD TO BE NEARLY KILLED, even though Derek didn't to kill him???

I know how it sounds, but JD SAID he took inspiration from Buffy. The issue is that his parallels are between DEREK AND STILES, and BUFFY AND ANGEL. Respectively.

Derek might act like the broody bad boy, but it is STILES' mentality that matches Angel's behavior, and it's Derek who matches Buffy.

I'm so fucking off track. Scott would be miserable if he ever managed to get a wish and used it to keep from having been bitten. And it would be sad. I would feel bad for him, had I watched something like that happen. Seeing him realize that most of the good things he had, he only got because of the bite. That Stiles would still be on first line, that Lydia and Jackson would still be the popular kids. That Allison wouldn't know he existed, or if she did would avoid him entirely. That Jackson would never have been turned into the kanima in the first place. That everyone else would move on and up in life, and he would still be standing at the bottom step. Because it wasn't his actual limitations that were holding him back, it was his refusal to accept them, to work with them, and to just plain stop Envying Everyone Around him, and start living his own fucking life instead of trying to steal other people's.

Scott wishes he were Cordelia, and I promise that would backfire too.

[dramatixwillow]

We Die Together (A TETOCU fanfic) (Chapter one)

Melvin holds the stupid crystal in his hands tightly almost as if he was about to break it. George and Harold laughing at him thinking he’s crazy. Earlier Melvin had said something about the crystal being magical and of course George and Harold didn’t take it seriously at first, eventually they would believe it right? Suddenly that “stupid” crystal started glowing all sorts of colors. Melvin immediately dropped the crystal, probably a bad idea. It broke and shattered into millions of pieces. George and Harold got a bad feeling and ran away. Melvin stood there for a couple seconds before decided to run away with them too. After a few minutes of running the sound of an explosion happened causing ringing in all the boys heads. They slowly went back to check on the crystal. Alas, the crystal was missing. Melvin just shrugged it off. George and Harold obviously knew something was wrong. They both looked at each other with worry. After all the crystal was magical so it could have done anything after the explosion. But they both walked away eventually. Suddenly Erica stood in front of both of them “do you know anything about the explosion?” She said with a very serious look. Both of them stayed silent as they didn’t know what to say. They tried walking away but erica walked after them. “TELL ME!!” She yelled in their faces. Both of them looked at each other. Then George just blurted out “ASK MELVIN” then they both ran away. Erica raised an eyebrow before going to Melvin and asking the same question. Melvin stood silent. Erica looked angry as she was waiting for an answer. Melvin gulped “OKAY OKAY OKAY. UMMM I MIGHT HAVE DROPPED SOMETHING AND IT BROKE AND THEN IT EXPLODED” he started taking deep breaths before taking out his inhaler and taking puffs out of it to calm down. Erica rolled her eyes as if she was going to believe that. She walked away. Melvin couldn’t believe that erica didn’t believe him. He just walked to the cafeteria and sat at a table with Stanley. “Hi-“ Stanley tried speaking before Melvin slapped him “don’t. Talk.” Melvin was upset and didn’t want anyone to talk to him. Stanley slowly nodded his head as he was now upset that he had been slapped. They both were quiet before Stanley tried talking again. “So why are you in a bad mood-“ Melvin slapped him again “SHUT UP!!!” Stanley stayed quiet again. Melvin groaned “UGH FINE CONTINUE” Stanley continued “so are you in a bad mood? And why?” Melvin stayed quiet “ugh, Erica doesn’t believe me” Stanley looked confused “that’s what you’re upset about?” “YES!!” Melvin yelled in anger slamming his hands on the table. He sighed “I’m sorry I just need time alone..” Melvin said before walking away. “Then why did you come here-“ Stanley tried saying before getting interrupted “SHUT UP”

[yurtletheturtlehenderson]

COSMIC - S3:E2; Chapter Two, The Mall Rats - [Pt. 2]

A Will Byers x Reader Series

Baffled with Mike's sudden behavior, El seeks out Y/n and Max for advice while Will struggles to get through to Mike and Lucas. Billy takes his co-worker on a field trip, and Steve and Dustin enlist a helpful ally in their top-secret mission.

||𝟑𝐫𝐝 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐎𝐕||

"And then he said he— he missed me. And then he just hung up."

Max, who had been pacing for as long as El had been telling the story from her bed, pauses briefly.

"He's a piece of shit." She says, resuming her angry pacing.

"What?"

"Mike doesn't have jackshit to do today, and his Nana obviously isn't sick," she stops again, a strained grin growing on her face. "And I guarantee him and Lucas are playing Atari right now,"

A sigh comes from Y/n, who sits up against Max's headboard, one leg dangling off the bed and the other propped up next to El. A similar expression to Max works its way onto her features as she looks between the two girls.

"She's right," she shakes her head, cupping her glass of f/d in her left hand even tighter. "I was with Will earlier and he told me he and Lucas were meeting at Mike's house,"

Growing visibly confused, a wounded expression comes over El's face as she looks between them.

"But... friends don't lie."

"Yeah, well boyfriends lie." Max fires back. "All. The. Time."

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

"She knows I'm lying. She knows I'm lying!"

Mike paces his basement floor, his heart hammering in his chest just at the thought of how deep he was into trouble. Lucas sits on the recliner, just feet away from Will who was setting up the campaign Y/n had helped him to plan.

"I don't even understand," Lucas says. "Why lie?"

Will looks up from the D&D board he was setting up.

"Hopper," Mike answers. "He threatened me,"

"Did he say he'd kill you?"

Mike stops, looking at Lucas baffled. "What? No!"

"So what's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that if I don't do what he says, he's gonna stop me from seeing El. Like, permanently,"

"Did you try telling her the truth?" Will asks. "You, know tell her what Hopper wants?"

Mike shakes his head, seeming eager to dismiss the thought. "No, she—" He sighs, running a hand over his face. "She wouldn't understand. She wouldn't take it the right way,"

Will makes a face. "I think you're underestimating her,"

"It wouldn't matter anyway," Mike says, clearing beginning to get worked up again. "You don't understand," he looks again between his two friends with a frantic look in his eye. "Neither of you understand. Hopper's crazy. He's lost his mind. I had no choice. I really had no choice,"

"You could have told her the truth," Will tries again. "That was an option,"

"So was consulting me first," Lucas chimed in, causing Will to roll his eyes and return to his game. "Because, the way you handled this..." he shrugs. "You're in deep shit,"

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

"You're gonna stop calling him," Max says, growing stern. "You're going to ignore his calls. As far as you're concerned, he doesn't exist."

"Doesn't exist?" El gaped.

"Or you could call him out," Y/n adds. "Confront him. Work it out?"

"Bullshit! He treated her like garbage," Max says, turning back to El. "Now you're gonna treat him like garbage. Give him a taste of his own medicine."

El nods stoically as the works soak in.

"Give him the medicine,"

Y/n smiled to herself down into her drink at that before taking another sip.

"Mm-hmm," Max nods, proudly. "And if he doesn't fix this? If he doesn't explain himself? Dump his ass."

Both El and Y/n's eyes go wide.

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

"Arhhgg!!!"

Mike slaps his hands against his forehead after collapsing into the couch with an aggravated groan.

Lucas winced beside him.

"I'm not gonna lie. It's gonna be bad,"

"ARGHH!"

Lucas draws in a deep, thoughtful breath. "But, you can fix this." He jumps to his feet. "It's just one little mistake. I've made hundreds. Thousands!"

Will looks up from the D&D board again with a frown.

"Are you guys really this bad at relationships?"

Lucas looks over at him and scoffs. "I wouldn't call Me Winning Max Back Five Times being bad at relationships," he boasts, turning back to Mike.

It's Will's turn to scoff. And he does so while placing another character on the gameboard as he mutters to himself. "I would,"

"That's right," Lucas continues, not having heard Will's little remark. "Max has dumped me five times. But what I have done? Huh? Have I despaired? No. I've marched back into battle and I've won her back every freaking time."

"I don't think that's a good thing, Lucas," Will tries again, but is again, ignored.

"How?" Mike asks.

A grin stretches across Lucas's lips. "I'll show you." Lucas makes a break for the stairs, gesturing for Mike. "Come on,"

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

"Come on," Max says, pulling El and Y/n up to their feet.

"Where are we going?" El asks.

"To have some fun," she answers, pulling them both to the door. "There's more to life than stupid boys, you know."

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

Mike jumps from the couch and follows Lucas closely on his heels, leaving Will without warning and no time to follow.

"Wait, guys!" He calls, peering over the table and up the stairs where they have already disappeared. "I'm still here!"

The only answer he receives is the muffled sound of the garage door opening and closing upstairs.

"Guys?"

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

Another plastic spoon dives into the sea of Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream, scooping up a taste for Erica Sinclair. Robin reluctantly hands the spoon over to the young girl who waits eagerly with her posse of friends. She gives the taste a moment of thought before licking her lips and discarding the spoon.

"Hmm, can I try the Peppermint Stick?"

"Haven't you already tried the Peppermint Stick?" Robin asks tiredly.

"Yes, and I'd like to try it again,"

Fighting a losing battle with a sigh, Robin turns to the closed window behind her and gives an exasperated cry.

"Steve?"

On the other side of the window, Dustin is seated at the break table with an open copy of Russian to English translation while Steve paces the floor and eating a banana.

"Поездка в Китай звучит хорошо, если действовать осторожно... Неделя длинная."

"So what do you think?" Dustin asks, pausing the tape he had gotten of the broadcast the previous night.

Steve nodded, shoving another piece of banana in his mouth. "It sounded familiar."

"What?"

"The music," he answers through stuffed cheeks. "That music right there at the end,"

"Why are you listening to the music, Steve?" The boy asks, growing aggravated. "Listen to the Russian! We're translating Russian!"

"I'm TRYing to listen to the Russian—"

-"Alright!—" Robin comes lumbering through the door she had just thrown open.

-"but there's music—"

"—babysitting time is over." She orders, her sudden appearance sending Steve stumbling back in shock. "You need to get out there. Hey, my board!"

Robin gestures angrily to the YOU WIN | YOU SUCK whiteboard that had now been wiped clean and replaced with the Russian to English Alphabet from the book.

"That was important data, shitbirds,"

"I guarantee you what we're doing is way more important than your data," Dustin says.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," he says, matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, and how do you know these Russians are up to no good, anyways?"

Dustin gapes up at Steve, looking dangerously close to livid. His voice lowers in a not-so-quiet whisper that only entertains Robin more.

"How does she know about the Russians?"

"I don't know!" Steve whines, once again through a mouthful of banana.

"Did you tell her about the Russians?"

"It wasn't me," he says, through puckered lips.

"Hello, I can hear you," Robin says, pulling their shared gaze over to her. "Actually, I can hear everything. You are both extremely loud. You think you have evil Russians plotting against our country on tape, and you're trying to translate but you haven't figured out a single word because you didn't realize the Russians use an entirely different alphabet than we do."

She looks between the two gaping boys and quirked a brow.

"Sound about right?"

Robin knows to take their silence for a yes and grabs for the tape. But Steve is just a bit quicker and swipes it out of her reach.

"Woah, what are you doing?"

"I wanna hear it,"

"-Why?"

"-Why?"

"Cause maybe I can help," Robin shrugs. "I'm fluent in four languages, you know,"

"Russian?" Dustin asks hopefully.

"Ou-yay are-ay umb-day,"

"Whoa-ho-ho-ho!"

"Holy shit!"

"That was Pig Latin, dingus,"

Steve whacks Dustin on the arm, "Idiot!" He hisses.

Robin takes a seat across from the Dingus Duo, lounging back.

"But I can speak Spanish, and French and Italian and I've been in band for twelve years. My ears are little geniuses, trust me,"

Steve gives a nervous laugh, the beginnings of 'I don't know...' dying on his tongue. The shrill cry of the customer bell ringing loudly from out front and Robin jumps in.

"Come on, it's your turn to sling ice cream, my turn to translate. I don't even want credit," She flops over the table, reaching for the tape in Steve's hand. "I'm just bored."

Steve has only a moment to think on it before the sound of the bell returns. Erica wanted more samples. Steve didn't want to go out and work, but he couldn't deny Robin's credentials. And so with a begrudging look, Steve hangs up the tape for a scooper.

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

The bus doors swing open with a squeak and out spills a small group of mall-goers. In that bunch, is Max, Y/n, and El.

El's jaw goes slack when she takes in the sight of Starcourt Mall.

"So, what do you think?"

It was wonderful. And wonderfully terrifying. It was exciting and new but it was also extremely intimidating. El hadn't seen a building this huge since the lab—apart from Chicago—and as she stood here now under the gaping mouth of the archway she couldn't help but feel like it was ready to swallow her whole, never to be seen again.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Max asks.

"Too many people," El answers sadly. "Not safe,"

Max chuckled. "Seriously?"

"You have superpowers," she whispered excitedly, giving her a nudge. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"I think you just answered your own question," Y/n laughed.

But truthfully, every possibility of disaster popcorning in her brain was lulled to sleep by the idea of sharing a day showing El a well-deserved day out.

And seeing the yearning growing in El's eyes as she gazed upon Starcourt's walls—a look she hadn't seen on the girl since the snowball—was all the persuasion she needed. It was time to make new memories.

The three of them.

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

Starcourt Mall was brimming with activity that day, most like it had any other since its grand opening. The entrance swallowed whole gaggles of citizens at a time, the outer rims of its halls pumping life all throughout, but none more so than the heart. It was here the neon azure sign bearing its name shone brightly even in the waterfall of sunlight pouring in from the roof of skylights. The yellow and blue hands of the clock telling everyone the warm morning had leaked into a toasty afternoon.

There is joy and plenty of unbridled fun being had by all who attend, and yet they all seem to pale in comparison to the new trio bounding in.

A grinning Max and Y/n have hold of either of El's hands, only releasing when the three of them have reached the very center of the mall. Joy fills their lungs as they watch El, silent and slackjawed as her wide eyes drink up everything around her.

"So," Y/n gave her friend a light nudge, unable to wipe the painful smile off her sore cheeks. "what do you want to do first?"

Max gave another chuckle. "You've never been shopping before, have you?"

El's still shocked face comes to look between her friends, and she shakes her head.

Max and Y/n share an elated look and turn back to El, knowing they were thinking the same thing.

"Well then I guess we're just gonna have to try everything," Max says, spreading their infectious smile to El.

Y/n's eyes widened with delight. "I think I know where to go first,"

Seizing the hands of her best friends, the three of them took off, disappearing into The Gap, unknowingly missing their respective significant others only just.

"I just... I don't understand what we're looking for," Mike sighs, two of his best friends in tow.

"Something pretty and shiny that says 'I'm sorry.'" Lucas said, eyes already scanning the mall for outlets that might cater to their needs.

"What, just something that literally says 'I'm sorry?'"

Will laughed and Lucas threw his hands to his face in agitation.

This wouldn't be easy.

·· ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

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Tag List:

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[ickle-ronniekins]

silent confessions

request from nonnie! “Hey erica! I have a request for you, it's a bit challenging i think but I'm sure you'll do perfectly. Imagine like, the fake dating trope with fred, BUT at the end it's a george x reader? Like, imagine george feeling uncomfortable and jealous seeing the reader and fred acting like a couple even though he knows its not real and stuff anyway im obsessed with your writing love you bye”

pairing: fred x reader, george x reader

word count: 3.8k

A/N: wait, i loved this request. so different from the normal fake dating tropes! i hope this lived up to expectations.. idk why i just feel like my writing sort of sucks in this?? wah, idk, sad, feedback pls? also we’ve got some POV changes in this but they’re pointed out ayyyee, thanks for enduring the fluffiest fluff ever bc that’s all i have to give you hooligans

tag list: @mintlibri @georgeweasleyx @seppys-return-to-madness @fopdoodledane @fredd-weasley @iprobablyshipit91 @darling-details @laneygthememequeen @lupinsx @keoghans @helloallthethingsilove @bobduncanlover @dreamer821 @feffffffy @the-hufflepuff-of-221b @62442-am @wtfweasleyy @obsessedwithrandomthings @thoseofgreatambition @sleep-i-ness @shadowsinger11 @shadychaoticcollection @haphazardhufflepuff @afriendlyneighborhoodhufflepuff @hood-and-horan

You

You could practically hear the smirk that grew on his face — he wasn’t exactly being subtle. He took his place next to you in the Great Hall, ignored the fact that you were removing spellbooks and quills from your bag to begin your work, and didn’t bother to heed Snape’s warning glance.

“Hey, Y/N?”

Fred’s voice was a little too sweet for your liking; sweet as sugar, in fact. You knew this voice. It’s the voice he always put on whenever he needed a favor — whenever he wanted something from you. You didn’t look up from the table.

“Whatever it is, I think I’m going to pass.”

He scoffed and closed your spellbook. You grunted in annoyance; you were positive he wasn’t going down without a fight, but you supposed you still needed to try, even though you knew in your heart that this was a fight you wouldn’t win. You turned toward him and he batted his eyelashes at you.

“Dear, dear Y/N — you won’t pass when I tell you what’s in it for you.”

“What type of chaotic mischief that you have planned could possibly be beneficial to me?”

He digested this; you were right, and he knew it. He just shrugged, though, took in your rejection and tried to use it to his advantage.

He nodded across to the other end of the Gryffindor table; there sat Angelina Johnson — fellow Gryffindor, member of the DA, Quidditch captain and, to your most recent knowledge, Fred Weasley’s crush. Again. Boy was crazy about her.

“Thought we already tried this, Freddie?” you sighed, stealing your spellbook back from his very tight grasp and opening it to your desired page. He huffed a bit, and you were quite sure he was remembering the disaster that was the Yule Ball, just a year ago.

You noticed a small grin lift his cheeks; he looked rather smug now, which made you worried. What was it, exactly, that he had planned? “I know last year didn’t go exactly as I’d hoped.” Right. Fred had gotten a little too sloppy on his date with Angelina. She’d been a bit turned off. The night ended and she never pursued anything else; he was so embarrassed, neither did he. Fred Weasley? Embarrassed? The word wasn’t even in his day to day vernacular. But boy, was he shook.

“But it was a long time ago — besides, she’s been sending me all types of signals.”

“I don’t think her eye rolls mean she fancies you, Fred.”

He jabbed you playfully in the ribs. “Don’t be rude, Y/N. I know she fancies me. I just know it. You don’t go on just one date with Fred Weasley.”

You scoffed at his air of egotistical confidence; you shut your eyes at the prospect of him maybe going to someone else for help. Much to your dismay, it didn’t happen. He just stayed where he was, resting his chin on his hand, peering at you longingly as if his staring alone would convince you to say yes to whatever he had up his sleeve. After a few minutes, you said, ��If I agree to help you, you prat, will you leave me alone?”

“Can’t say leaving you alone would exactly work with what I’ve got planned,” he replied, relaxing now, tapping his foot underneath the table and not taking his eyes off of Angelina. “I need you to pretend to date me.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Relax, Y/N, I’m not going to pin you against the wall and snog you, if that’s what you’re so worried about,” he laughed, running a hand through his hair. You felt as though your throat was closing up at the mere thought of it. “Just some hand holding, things of the like. Need to make her jealous. Need to make her realize what she’s missing.”

You groaned in frustration. “Can I take back what I said?”

“Nope,” he answered brightly. “You can’t. Thanks for coming along for the ride. Don’t get in too deep, though. No falling in love with me, alright?”

You felt a pang in your chest; you weren’t in love with him and you never would be. He was your best friend and nothing would change that. You knew it and so did he. You felt worried, though. What would others think? What if Angelina did get jealous — but in a bad way? Or worse — what would George say?

His was the only opinion that mattered to you, truthfully.

So that’s how you came to be Fred Weasley’s “girlfriend”, and when you both finally told George what Fred had strategically planned, you were relieved and also a bit upset at how nonchalant he seemed; a small grin tugged at the edges of his lips which sent you into a tizzy. You tried your very hardest to hide your disappointment; you didn’t want to let on how absolutely mad you were for him. So, you supposed, when you thought about this ridiculous stunt one night in your four poster, fake dating Fred would certainly squash any and all suspicions George had (if he did) about you fancying him.

“How’s my favorite couple?” he’d asked teasingly one day in the middle of the common room, sinking into the couch on the other side of you. Angelina then popped in through the portrait hole, and Fred placed his hand on your knee, stroking it absentmindedly. You felt a dull ache in your heart when you saw George’s eyes dart toward Fred’s hand.

Angelina had done the exact same thing; you were able to see a very faint shade of pink flush her cheeks before she stormed upstairs to her dormitory without a word to any of you. Fred immediately dropped his hand and you felt your muscles relax, but not without a quick squeeze to your knee and a cheeky grin. “Brilliant, Y/N,” he said, earning himself a dull grunt from you. Not that you’d done much, or anything, for that matter. But still, your heart felt sore at the thought: you wanted, more than anything, for George to reach over and gently graze your knee, pull you into him, kiss your temple as Fred had been doing the last few weeks.

The dull ache in your heart just seemed to grow stronger.

George

“Help me!”

You frowned. “I’m already in the middle of the other favor your lovely brother asked me to do,” you told him with a slight twinge of annoyance to your voice; however, it wasn’t difficult for him to detect a bit of cheekiness, too — especially when he saw the slight grin that spread itself across your lips.

“I just need some help with this stupid Potions essay.”

George noticed you soften at his request; he supposed it wasn’t as time-consuming as pretending to be someone’s girlfriend, and was rather elated when you agreed. You pulled out your desired books from the shelves in front of you and pointed at an empty table in one of the rows. “Let’s get started then, Georgie.”

But the truth was, he didn’t really need help. He was actually doing surprisingly well in Potions, for the first time since he began at Hogwarts. He didn’t want to let it get to his head, though. He figured there wasn’t anything wrong with getting some extra assistance.

It wasn’t assistance that he yearned for, though — it was you. More importantly, time spent with you. Any time — which he found himself getting hardly any now that you were “dating” his brother. He was first impressed at the idea that you’d decided to help Fred with his ridiculous request, and spent most of the time hanging around you teasing you and taunting you mercilessly for it, earning himself adorable laughs and flustered looks in return. But now, as he watched Fred press featherlight kisses to your temple and snake his arm around your waist at every given moment, all he felt was resentment. Jealousy. Hurt.

He felt himself feeling guilty; he shouldn’t be allowed to feel any of those things, because Fred didn’t know. Nobody knew. Nobody knew how he felt about you. Also, this whole stupid thing was just a ploy, anyway. So he suppressed those feelings everyday until he ended up alone in his dorm room, where he’d kick his trunk and scream into a muffled pillow while he let his brain unwind and digest the day's events.

“Ah — work here is finished,” he said after a few hours in the library. Much needed hours, in fact. He watched as you slowly placed your spellbooks back into your bag. “Thanks for your help.”

And in between those bouts of jealousy and resentment came moments of clarity, moments of affection, overwhelming feelings of admiration toward you. “For you?” you started, a gentle smile on your lips as you placed a hand to his knee, “Anything.”

You

You woke up before the sun and groaned; it was Saturday. Four Saturdays, in fact, since Fred had asked you to embark on this silly endeavor with him. Three Saturdays since you’d begun wondering when this would finally be over. Two Saturdays since Fred had told you sooner rather than later. One Saturday since George had noticeably become off balance.

You felt a pull at your heart when you popped through the portrait hole with Fred and Ginny later that evening after a much needed trip into Hogsmeade; you chewed nervously on the sugar quill you’d purchased as you placed yourself next to the roaring fire, Fred taking a seat next to you on the couch when Ginny made her way to the girls dormitory.

You didn’t know where George was; he hadn’t come to Hogsmeade. Or maybe he did, and he’d just very successfully avoided you both as you ended up, hand-in-hand, wherever Angelina was. With the exception of a few measly youngins on the other end of the common room, you and Fred were alone.

“Freddie?”

“Hm?”

“I really need to talk with you.”

He looked up from his copy of the Daily Prophet he had clutched in his hands. He furrowed his brow and placed the paper on the table in front of him, criss-crossing his legs and peering at you longingly. Then he turned cheeky and wiggled his eyebrows at you. “Must be important,”

You cleared your throat and felt your heart thundering against your ribcage.

You opened your mouth to speak and closed it just the same. You didn’t really know how to ask what you wanted to — to tell him what you wanted to. So instead, you opted for, “How much longer d’you think this is going to last?”

“I dunno — a few days, or so. Why?” He raised his eyebrows. “Sick of me already?”

“Ha-ha,” you replied sarcastically, jabbing him in the chest. “I just — I’m a bit worried —” you broke off and let your mind wander for a moment. You thought about truthfully telling Fred how you felt. Guilty. Upset. Lonely. In love with someone who didn’t seem to notice. Worried he’d find someone else. “I just hope Angelina isn’t getting the wrong idea.”

Fred digested this. “How d’you mean?”

“Well, you want her to run to you in a fit of jealous fury, right?” he nodded curtly, taking this in. “I just hope she doesn’t see us together and instead, turns the other cheek. Looks the other way. Finds somebody else. You know?” But it wasn’t Angelina you were worried about.

Fred thought about this for a moment. You watched as his cheeky expression turned rather stoic, and then a bit grim. “I never thought of it that way.”

Suddenly, you felt extremely worried. You started, “No, no, you know what? I’m being silly — she wouldn’t, because she’s absolutely mad for you, too. Just forget I said anything, okay? I reckon she’ll be round to snatch you right out of my hands this week.” You laughed, but it felt foreign in your mouth. Fred noticed.

“Y/N,” his voice suddenly sounded a lot less like his own — more concerned. “What’s going on?”

Just then, George popped through the portrait hole with Ron, Harry, and Neville. You met his gaze and let it linger for a few long moments. He then smiled brightly, as if he hadn’t been acting strange this entire past week. With a quick wave to you both, ignoring Fred’s motion to come and sit down, he made his way straight up to the boys dormitory. Fred shot you a glance, and you answered his previous question.

“Nothing, Fred,” you sighed, silencing him before he could ask you if you knew what was up with his twin. You hated how painfully true your next words were. “There’s absolutely nothing going on.”

George

George was outside in the courtyard with Ron, Harry, and Ginny. He’d been doing his best to avoid you and Fred at all costs, which was pretty hard when you were his best friend and Fred was his twin. But he tried.

He found himself growing incredibly uncomfortable around you both; the sheer sight of Fred slinging an arm around your waist, intertwining his fingers with yours, calling you his “love” — it sent George spiraling. He didn’t want Fred doing those things. In fact, he didn’t want anyone doing those things. Only him. He wanted you to be his love.

“Georgie?”

You took him by surprise in the courtyard; the others were immersed in a conversation about bets, or something. He, though, was peering up at you, doing his very best to not look as bloody nervous as he felt.

“Can we talk?”

You didn’t give him a chance to answer; you pulled him to his feet and immediately brought him back into the castle. You found an empty classroom and sat yourself down on a desk across from him. He had to resist the urge to spill his guts, tell you everything, grab your face in his hands and confess his unwavering love for you.

So instead, he opted for a generic, “What’s up?”

“I’m not sure..” you started timidly. He could see the shyness in your eyes and he didn’t like it one bit. You? Shy around him? You’d never been. He hated that this is where it had gotten too. “Are you mad at me?”

He was very much taken aback at your forward question; way to cushion the blow. He swallowed a few times, trying very desperately to dislodge the lump that appeared in his throat and hoped to Merlin that he could fool you. “Mad? Of course not. Why would I be?”

You crossed your arms, now looking a bit angered. George felt his insides constrict. “We haven’t spoken in days.”

“I’ve just — been busy,” George lied. His jaw tightened. “Assignments, and things. Detention. You know,” he winked, trying to lighten the mood, “the usual.”

You smiled back, though it was a broken sort of smile. Lonely. It took everything in him not to lean over and kiss it right off of your mouth. “Are you sure? You’d tell me if anything was wrong, right?” He swore he heard more than yearning in your voice; he scolded himself silently for being dishonest. Was your voice breaking? “You’re my best friend.”

Inside his pockets, he clenched his fists. He was going to go for it. Who cared about Angelina? Fred could get her without this ridiculous bloody stunt of his. And George needed to tell you before you fell for his twin, for real, and the both of you ended up heartbroken. He stepped forward, but before he could do or say anything, you slung your arms around his shoulders and squeezed him tight. He felt revitalized at your embrace, like he was reentering his body after having been off balance for months. His fingertips found your hips and he focused solely on the smell of your shampoo, the feeling of your body pressed tightly against him. When you both parted, he took your hands in his. He wet his lips and took a steady deep breath. “Honestly?”

“Darling!”

Fred’s voice, much to George’s dismay, came from the classroom door. Damnit. How had he found you both? The door was closed! Frustration, anger, and gloom raced through George’s body; he was about two bloody seconds away from decking his brother for interrupting. But he couldn’t. Of course he couldn’t. Fred didn’t know. George sighed through gritted teeth, let your hands fall out of his, and backed away slowly.

“”C’mon, love, we’ve got dinner,” Fred called, sounding much happier than George would’ve liked. To him, Fred said, “you coming, mate?”

“Be there in a minute, Freddie.”

Fred grinned brightly and left you both standing in the middle of the classroom, the tension still hanging in the air. You turned back from the door, a solemn sort of look on your face, and asked him, “What were you going to say?”

“Oh,” George’s voice got caught in his throat, “just — been a little stressed. Knackered from class more often than not. Reckon I’ve just got a lot on my mind.”

You frowned. He knew that you were aware not to press on; that was all the information he was going to give. You took a deep breath. “As long as we’re okay?”

“Of course we are.”

“Okay,” you said. You grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “I’m famished. Let’s go eat.”

You

“Did I do something wrong?”

Fred was standing across from you in the common room, arms crossed, shoulders back, and a smirk growing on his face. He laughed at your nervousness. He’d just told you that things were over between you both. You’d asked, of course, just to be courteous. But you were actually pretty bloody excited. “Of course not, Y/N. You’ve done quite the opposite, actually.”

“Meaning?”

Fred walked over to you and placed his hands on both of your shoulders. He wet his lips before a huge, cheeky grin swept itself across his face. He squeezed you. “Angelina cornered me this morning.”

You raised your eyebrows. You were suddenly feeling much more invigorated. You grabbed his face out of pure excitement and shook him. “And? Keep bloody on, would you?!”

He threw his head back and laughed haughtily now. “Haven’t seen you this excited since before we began this,”

“Sorry,” you calmed down and frowned a bit. “Reckon I haven’t been the greatest “girlfriend”...”

A soft smile found its way across Fred’s cheeks. You furrowed your brows in confusion, hoping that he was going to tell you that he and Angelina were finally, wonderfully, officially together, which meant that you and Fred didn’t need to be. But he caught you completely off guard and said, “Don’t blame yourself too much. I reckon it’d be difficult to pretend to date me, especially when you’re in love with someone else.”

You were certain that your heart had jumped directly into your throat; your entire body went rigid at his words. He knew? Who else knew? Did George? Did everyone?  “I don’t.. know what you’re on about, Freddie.”

“Merlin, you are being thick today,” he teased, pulling at your hair and shaking his head. “C’mon. You think I didn’t notice? Each time I’d drop your hand, or unwind my arm from your waist, I saw you steal glances at him.” Fred leaned in to get closer to you and you noticed a light shade of pink wash over his cheeks. Had you been silently confessing your love for George this entire time? “He was stealing them right back, you know.”

You swallowed thickly. Did Fred know more than he was letting on? Where was George? “He was?”

“He’s in the Great Hall.” It was evident to you that Angelina was watching from the other end of the common room, and she was smiling brightly. No doubt, Fred had told her everything. You turned back toward Fred and grinned nervously. He took your hands in his and squeezed them. He simply said, “Go get him already, would you?”

And as quickly as your feet could carry you, you ran swiftly down the staircases, through the corridors, into the Great Hall and all the way to the front, where George was sitting, pouring over a bit of parchment, looking positively ghastly. Adrenaline was coursing through your veins like fire; your cheeks felt hot and flushed and each and every muscle in your body ached from running so bloody fast. “Ah,” he said brightly at the sight of you. “Come here to help me, have you? This assignment is a right load —”

You cut him off, ignored this completely and pulled him to his feet; he peered down at you with a confused expression and opened his mouth to speak, but you cupped his face in your hands, pulled him forward, and kissed him. The muffled moan that escaped his lips gave you your answer — he was certainly shocked. However, it didn’t take him long to melt into it; he was kissing you as though he’d never kissed anyone in his life, like the pure feeling of your lips moulding together with his was the very oxygen pumping through his lungs at that very moment. His hands were tangled in your robes, but he eventually found himself stroking your spine delicately with his fingers, earning himself slight whines from you as he laughed cheekily against your lips. From behind you somewhere, someone said, “Hey Y/N, you do know that’s the wrong twin you’re snogging, right?”

“Oi, shove off, Finnegan!” you called, parting from George only for a moment. “I know which twin it is!”

You turned back toward George and the two of you let out a bit of relieved laughter, limbs still entangled together. “I’ve got a confession to make,” he began, biting down on his bottom lip to keep himself from pouncing on you, “I’ve been wanting to do that for a while.”

“Yeah?” you asked, wiggling your eyebrows at him.

“Pretty difficult to do anything about it when you’ve been dating my brother the last month or so,”

“You’re right,” you told him, pulling a bit on his tie, “but I’m pretty sure he broke down and told Angelina everything.”

George raised his eyebrows at you in surprise. You continued, “Pretty sure he got sick of me being a mopey “girlfriend” because all I wanted to do was be with you instead.”

His sweet smile turned rather sensual. “Is that so?”

“Yeah, that’s so,” you told him straightforwardly, running your hands through his very messy red hair.

Somewhere in the distance, over the sea of people watching you both, Seamus Finnegan shouted, “Wait, has it always been George?”

George actually snorted a bit at this; then he bit down on his lip again, wiggled his eyebrows at you, and asked, “Well — has it?”

You didn’t break your gaze, though; instead, you let your eyes linger on George’s for much longer than you normally would. You were pretty sure that you could hear the steady thumping of his heart against his ribcage, and his eyes washing over you like a cool tide completely sent you into overdrive. Suddenly, you were feeling much more confident than normal. Perhaps it was the way he was looking at you. “Yeah,” you said to George, pressing your lips to his once more, “it’s always been you.”

reblogs, comments, feedback, and all of the above are always appreciated!

[strangerthingsharrington]

Can’t Fight This Feeling

A/N - sorry for the lack of update once again! Covid life/seasonal depression isn’t a good combo!! But here you go!

-21-

We drove in near silence, aside from the quiet music coming from the stereo, with Dustin only giving out a couple driving instructions for Steve to follow.

Steve sighed semi-aggravated, “How far is this place?”

“Relax we’re almost there,” Dustin told him, “besides you’re the one who told me to keep quiet unless there were instructions. That includes being quiet about arrival times,” he added to Steve.

I bit my tongue to stop the laugh that almost slipped out, because technically Dustin was right.

“Suzie must be pretty special, huh?” Robin asked from behind me, “I mean, if you built this thing and lugged it all the way to the middle of nowhere just to talk to her?”

That wasn’t something that surprised me at all about Dustin. He’s just...like that. For as sassy as he could be, he was an extremely caring and loving kid.

“I mean, no one is scientifically perfect, but Suzie’s about as close to being perfect as any human could possibly be,” Dustin answered.

And there was another side to Dustin. Smart ass Dustin.

Steve squeezed my hand gently and continued rubbing his thumb across my knuckles.

“She sounds made up to me,” Erica interrupted.

I scoffed and looked back at her, she looked at me and shrugged, “What? It’s true!”

“Dustin wouldn’t make up a girl! She’s totally real,” I defended, before turning to face the windshield again.

“Does she sound made up to you?” Erica asked, popping her head in between me and Steve, but she was looking up to Steve.

He sighed lightly as Erica sat back in her seat, Steve wasn’t answering and I looked over to him, only to see him looking awkwardly in the rear view mirror.

“Steve? Come on,” I scoffed with a small eye roll.

“Why are you hesitating?” Dustin demanded.

“I’m-I’m not! I think she sounds real! Totally...absolutely real,” he said drifting off before looking to me with wide eyes and a small shoulder shrug.

Again, I rolled my eyes with a small grin. I had to believe my brother. I mean, if he made her up, then that’s a whole other issue we would need to deal with at a later date.

“Turn left here!” Dustin suddenly exclaimed.

Steve looked around rapidly, “There’s no road here!”

“Turn left now!” Dustin demanded.

Steve let go of my hand and brought it up to the steering wheel turning it sharply to the left, “Hold on!” he called to the rest of us as we all shifted harshly with sounds of disapproval coming from us all.

We turned onto the grass at the bottom of the hill where a week ago I had picked up my brother after he intercepted the Russian transmission.

“Whoa, Henderson! Where are we going?” Steve yelled.

“Up!” Dustin and I shouted together.

We were all bouncing around in the car since we were driving over grass at a slight incline now.

“Jesus!”

“We’re not gonna make it!” I exclaimed looking to Steve.

He had both hands firmly on the wheel, never taking his eyes off the front of us.

“Yes we are!” he called to me, “Come on, baby! Come on!” he instructed to the car, as if it would listen to him and continue taking us higher and higher.

But a moment later, the engine began making noise and slowing down. Steve continued pleading with the car and pushing on the gas to no avail. He were just getting stuck further into the grass.

Steve finally relented and put the car in park, cutting the engine.

“Well, I guess the Toddfather has its limitations,” Robin quipped from the back seat.

Steve shot his head back to her and gave her the death glare before looking back to me with a grimace and opening his car door. I followed quickly, getting out of the car and helping Robin and Erica get out of the backseat.

We all stood and stared up at the hill in front of us. After the past few days, I knew none of us wanted anything to do with climbing this thing.

But we obviously had no choice.

“Come on, guys,” I sighed as I began climbing.

Within seconds Steve was by my side holding my hand as we climbed together. None of us wanted to use any extra oxygen to speak and I could hear everyone panting and groaning or mumbling things under their breath.

Finally we reached the peak and saw Cerebro sitting there.

“Holy shit...this is pretty impressive Henderson,” Steve said between gasping for air.

“You do what you have to do to talk to the person you love,” he said simply.

Dustin went right away to the radio and began messing with it, getting it to the frequency needed to speak to the adults in the lair.

“Bald eagle do you copy?” Dustin asked.

I snickered slightly. After knowing Murray Bauman for only about half an hour, I knew he would hate that code name, and that’s exactly why Dustin had chosen it for him.

“Bald eagle, I repeat, do you copy? This is Scoops Troop.”

A second later, the staticky voice of Murray came through, “Yes, I copy.”

I breathed out a small laugh and patted my brothers back.

Dustin chuckled and cleared his throat, “Call sign?”

“Bald eagle,” came the dry response.

I grinned at my brothers back as Steve put his arm around my shoulder.

“Please repeat,” Dustin instructed.

“Bald eagle! This is bald eagle!” Murray snapped back.

“Copy that!” Dustin said with a laughing edge, “Good to hear your voice bald eagle, what your 20?”

“We reached the vent. I’ll contact you when I need you,” he barked through the radio, “until then, silence.”

“Roger that bald eagle, this is scoops troop going radio silent. 10-10, over,” Dustin answered immediately.

I shook my head, wondering if Dustin thought others took his radio lingo as serious as he did.

Dustin looked up at us, I smiled down at him as Steve patted his shoulder.

“Good job, Dust,” I told him.

He grinned back at us. I sighed heavily and looked out towards the trees. Just beyond you could see Starcourt all lit up. I took a few steps away from the group, as Steve followed along with me.

Steve rubbed my arm slightly, “You okay?” he asked me.

I smiled softly, “I could definitely be better. But waiting for Mrs. Byers and Chief Hopper to close the gate to another dimension...it’s definitely something,” I said with a small laugh.

He grinned and nodded a couple of times, “Yeah...but it’ll be over soon. Then your essay will finally be complete.”

I laughed and nodded, “Escaping from a Russian underground lair and helping direct people to the key to close the gate is really the way to go for ending it.”

He chuckled, “Easily an A plus worthy essay.”

I smiled softly and nudged him lightly, “Yeah...depends on how it actually ends, I guess.”

“Hey,” he said quietly, removing his arm from my shoulders and standing in front of me, “we’re all gonna be okay,” he said cupping my face with his hands, “I’m gonna keep you safe, Lou. I’m gonna do everything in my power to keep all of you safe.”

“I know,” I whispered, looking up at him.

His face was still a bit swollen on his left side, and it looked like the discolouration had deepened. He was still cut up with dried blood still lingering in different spots on his face.

But I trusted him fully. As crazy as that sounded. I really, really did trust him.

The crackly voice of Murray Bauman broke the silence, “Scoops troop,” he said through Cerebro, “this is bald eagle,” he said through strained voice.

I looked over at the group surrounding the radio tower and walked over to them with Steve next to me.

“I’ve reached another junction,” he told us.

“This is what?” Dustin asked, looking down to Erica.

“The fourth junction,” she responded.

“Alright,” Dustin sighed, “so if memory serves, this is right after the My Little Pony thesis.”

My Little Pony? I looked up at Steve, confused, but his face told me that he had no idea what he was talking about either.

“We went left so he has to go right!”

“Right,” Erica agreed.

“Fly right, bald eagle,” Dustin instructed over the radio.

“Flying right,” Murray echoed.

“What’s the My Little Pony thesis?” I asked the group.

“Don’t get them started,” Robin begged.

I smiled and shook my head, “What do you mean, get them started? Come on, just tell me!”

“Hey guys?” I heard Steve call.

I looked behind me, suddenly nervous because Steve’s voice sounded worried. I took a few steps forward until I was next to him, staring out over the tree line and knew instantly why he sounded worried.

The lights at Starcourt were flashing through the night. I wasnt totally sure what it meant, but I knew it wasn’t good.

“Shit,” Dustin whispered behind me.

At almost the same exact second, we all turned and ran back to the radio tower. We needed to talk to the group at Starcourt.

“Griswold family, this is scoops troop! Do you copy? Over!” Dustin shouted.

He repeated himself once more before we heard an inhuman screech through the radio. I grimaced at the sound, shrinking under Steve’s sudden protective arm around my shoulder.

Dustin continued shouting into the radio, asking them to confirm their safety.

A loud roar sounded through Cerebro and my eyes filled with tears immediately. The monster was at Starcourt. We had to do something.

There were more noises coming from the radio but Dustin tried, still, to communicate with the others.

But no one ever responded back to us.

All I could hear was the snarling sound coming from the radio and Dustin’s yells for confirmation that they were okay.

Steve’s arms were suddenly gone from my shoulders and I looked up and saw him taking a few steps away from us.

“Where are you going?” Erica yelled to him.

He turned back frantically, “We have to get them the hell outta there! Robin, come on!”

Robin was up immediately and following him towards the hills decline, and I saw her with an extra walkie talkie in her hand. I got up and followed with them.

“I’m coming too!” I called out.

Steve spun around and faced me, “No you’re not,” he told me shaking his head, “No, no way, Lou. Stay here with Dustin and Erica.”

“No, I’m going with you,” I said instantly.

I knew that Dustin and Erica would be safe here on the hill, the monster was at Starcourt. If they stayed on the hill they would be fine.

He stared at me intently, “Lou, please please just stay here,” he begged.

“Why? I want to help!” I exclaimed, “Besides, Robin should stay here too! She was in the vents!”

“Robin already said she doesn’t know where they went! That’s why Erica and Dustin are going to navigate!” Steve told me, pleading with me.

I sighed and bit the inside of my cheek, not willing to back down on my stance. I needed to go and fight and help end this. I needed to help...to protect everyone.

Steve looked down at the ground for a moment before looking back up to me.

“I can’t let anything happen to you, not now,” he said thickly with watery eyes.

I sighed gently, “Nothing will happen to me, we’re all gonna be okay.”

He walked over to me, and gently put his hands on each side of my face, “Please...just do this one thing for me. After everything the last few days...I really can’t let anything happen to you. I don’t know what I would do...”

I put my hands on his wrists, “I’ll be okay, if something happened to you, Steve and I wasn’t there...” I let the sentence drift off.

I really wasn’t sure what would happen if something happened to Steve after everything.

“Please just stay here with the kids...I swear I’ll come back and get you as soon as this is done,” he promised me softly.

I knew I really wasn’t going to be winning this battle. Even if I stayed stubborn that was just going to keep Steve here longer, and possibly risking everyone else at Starcourt from getting help.

“Okay,” I relented.

I physically felt the tension release from his body at my acceptance.

“We’re still on for tomorrow, right?” he asked me with a small smile.

I nodded wothout hesitation, “Wouldn’t miss it,” I said, taking my hands away from him.

He nodded before letting his hands fall slowly from my face, “I’ll come back as soon as I can,” he whispered.

I nodded, “I know.”

“Steve,” Robin said quietly, “we have to get back.”

Steve sniffled and looked away from me nodding once, “Okay.”

He took a couple steps back before he looked at me again, “Be careful,” I said looking between my Robin and Steve.

He smiled sadly and nodded once, “We will,” he said before turning with Robin to start their descent down the hill.

I took a deep shuddering breath before turning to look back at Dustin and Erica who were sitting in the grass still by the radio.

I walked back to them and sat next to Dustin. He put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it softly.

“You really care about him, don’t you?”

I looked back up at him just as some tears fell from my eyes, “I know it’s stupid,” I told him quietly, “but after all of this...yeah-I mean, I cant really hide that now, ya know?”

He nodded in understanding, “They’re gonna be okay, Lou. Really.”

I nodded, wanting to think of anything other than how scared and nervous I was.

“We should huh...call bald eagle and let them know what’s going on,” I said with a small sniffle.

Dustin removed his hand from my shoulder nodding quickly, “Yeah, for sure.”

“Bald eagle, this is scoops troop! What’s your 20?” Dustin called into the radio.

“I told you radio silence!” Murray shouted through the radio.

“Yeah but we have a problem!” Dustin told him.

“What kind of problem?”

This time is wasn’t Murray that came through. Chief Hopper was coming through the radio, and you could hear the worry in his voice.

“The lights at Starcourt were going crazy, Chief. We tried to radio the others but no one was responding and we heard it,” Dustin said before sighing harshly at the end.

“Heard what?” Hopper growled.

“The monster,” Dustin told him, “it’s at the mall.”

Hopper didn’t talk to us for a moment. I could only assume he was freaking out with Mrs. Byers on the other end.

“Hop, what do you want me to do?” Murray came on and asked.

“Keep going,” Hop instructed sternly, “we gotta end this. Tonight.”

Dustin huffed and dropped his microphone.

“Shit,” I heard Erica mutter underneath her breath.

“They have all the information they need to get in there...bald eagle just has to land and then we’re almost golden. We’ll be-we’re gonna be okay,” Dustin said, trying his best to be reassuring to us.

But all I could think of was the group at the mall, and how terrified I was about not hearing from them. I was scared for my best friend who was on her way back to the mall to try her best to help.

Steve. I was terrified for Steve. I tried not to let my thoughts linger on him to much, but they always went back to him.

——

Title credit to REO Speedwagon and gif credit to owner

[thatssonanii]

Trouble Man

HAHN AU

AN:: Because I ain't like it so rewrite it is. Mitch and Lainey are together, Candace is alive in order for this to work..

Candace tossed and turned in her hotel bed trying to shake the voices of those whose deaths she caused. From Oscar, War and Quincy to Erica and Lil Q. She yelled out in her sleep until she felt someone grab her and her eyes shot open landing on Oliver.

"Stop fighting. Stop. And shut up." Oliver demanded in a hushed tone.

"What are you doing in here? Get out of here! Leave me alone!"

Rolling his eyes, Oliver placed a the handkerchief he held over her mouth only moving it when she stopped fighting. Placing it into the inside pocket of his suit jacket, he stood from the bed and motioned to the men he'd traveled with.

"Restrain her and put her in the trunk."

Landen scoffed stopping the other two service members. "We don't just do what you say, Oliver. You don't make demands."

Oliver stepped into his face. "Who did Charles put in charge of this when the first person fell short? Who knew that there was a job to get done and played around?"

There was silence between the men.

"I'll answer for you. He put me in charge when you played around." Oliver spoke through clenched teeth. "So do what I said. Restrain her and put her in the trunk. Now."

Oliver glared at Landen a little longer then left the room with his phone to his ear.

On the other side of town, Benny sat in Melissa's house changing her locks. The two of them had just come in from their ruined dinner.

"Benny, you don't need to change those right now. They're not coming here. Lemme clean that cut on your forehead."

Benny shook his head still working on the front door locks. "Nah, ima be aight this needs to be done. You don't know these people like I do, they're coming. And when they do you don't wanna be caught slippin. Aight?"

Melissa sighed, "Benny, it's fine. I'll just call Veronica and get this taken care of."

"Isn't she the reason you're in this mess? You not calling her. That kid that they sent its tryna prove a point and I'm not gon let him use you for target practice to prove it."

"Alright, Benny. But when you're done I'm cleaning that cut and you're getting out of here."

Benny shook his head again. "No, I'm not. I gotta make sure you safe. He looking for me too I'm sure now so when he shows up he can get the rest of the ass whoopin he ain't get in that damn restaurant."

"I see you're not budging so I'll give up but I think you should at least go check on your family."

"I got that taken care of, ima call them. Why don't you go fix us something to drink or something. Relax. I got you."

After receiving his punishment from his family, Mitch went to sit across from Vinny in his booth clutching his side. Vinny took a swig of his beer then chuckled.

"Learn ya lesson?"

"Yeah, Uncle Vinny. So we good now?" He asked wincing a bit.

"Yeah we are but you listen to me no more lying to your family and covering up for this kid."

"I was helping my friend. His family is my family too. I told you that."

"No," Vinny barked, "The Malones are your family, not them. We are. Understand?"

Sandy approached the table clutching the ice back to his head. "He's acting like that cause he's dating that guy's sister. He's been hiding it from us."

Mitch turned to glare at his cousin, "Shut your little bitch ass up before you get beat up again, Sandy! Not the time!"

"You ain't gonna do nothin. Guess what else, Uncle Vinny. He's got a baby with the broad. How you like that, Mitch?"

Mitch got up as quick as his injuries would allow and stood in front of Sandy glaring down at him. "What did I say to you? What did I tell you?"

"That dumbass friend of yours is gonna get what he deserves for what he did and if I'm lucky I'll get that broad and that baby too." Sandy taunted with a smirk.

Mitch threw a few punches knocking the smaller man down before being pulled away, backed into a wall. Vinny stood in the open space between them pointing a finger at each of them.

"Sandy, if you knew how to back up the shit you say, you wouldn't be in this mess in the first place. You just love getting your ass kicked, don't you?" Vinny asked sarcastically.

Sandy sucked his teeth. "Oh everybody has jokes now. Aren't you gonna do something? He hit me and he had a baby with the black kid's sister."

Mitch struggled against his cousin, "Oh shut up, you whiny ass cry baby! You're lucky they're holding me!"

"Shut it, Mitch! Sandy, you get outta here and do what you said you were gonna do and I want it done tonight. If it's not done then I'm gonna do it to you."

"You got it, Uncle Vinny. I'll even get extras for you." Sandy answered with a smirk.

"I swear to God, Sandy. If you do this, I'll take you out myself. And unlike you, I'm not afraid to do it."

Vinny waved Sandy out of the bar then got closer to Mitch letting his nephews know that they could move.

"So what ... you're gonna kill your own family over these people? It's that what I just heard?"

Mitch glared at his uncle, "They're my family too."

"You mean the black girl and the black baby? Right?" Vinny chuckled.

"I mean my best friend, my girl, my daughter, all of them."

"When were you gonna tell us the good news? Our boy's a daddy now. Hey," Vinny called out, "Get him a drink. He deserves a congratulations."

Mitch huffed. "I don't want a damn drink. I'm leaving."

"No, you're not. You're gonna sit here and wait for Sandy to call. And while we're waiting you're gonna tell me why you didn't tell us."

"I'm not staying here while he's trying to kill them. I told who needed to know. Mama Rose. That's it. She loves my girl and my baby, she's gonna be pissed when she finds out."

Vinny's nostrils flaired as he grew angrier. "Mama Rose isn't here! I am! I'm in charge!"

"All you are is a placeholder while the heat dies down. She wouldn't leave this to you, Vinny. You couldn't even defend yourself from a drug addict," Mitch laughed.

"You keep it up and you'll end up dead along with your precious family, you lil bastard."

While they were going back and forth, one of Mitch's cousins sent a text to Mama Rose about what was happening. Moments later his phone rung and he stepped away to answer.

Hanna pulled up in front of her house and hopped off after killing the engine. She chuckled to herself approaching her stoop.

"Well ... well ... well ... look at my babygirl. What are you doing here this late with my baby?"

Lainey smiled bouncing her four month old daughter in her arms. "Tell your Nana that we were at home alone and your daddy wasn't answering so we thought he was here with Benny."

Hanna grabbed her grandbaby and gave her daughter her housekeys. "No, he's not here but I'm glad you two came to see me. I missed yall. Let's go in and I'll call your bug head brother, I'm sure they're together."

The three of them went inside the two story home, the older two engaging in conversation with each other.

Oliver stood in front of Candace in the chair she was tied to squinting at her. He took a moment to clean his glasses and put them back on before smacking the side of Candace's face.

"Come on, get up. I don't have all day."

Candace came to with a frantic gasp as she tried to move around.

"You might as well stop moving, you're restrained and that won't change. Now are you going to be quiet while we talk to you or do I need to tape your mouth?"

"No, don't. I just wanna know why I'm here. What's happening?" She asked fearfully.

Oliver stepped to the side as the door opened and in walked Charles. His signature smile plastered on his face.

"We met again, Ms. Young. Bet you thought you got away, didn't you?"

"Charles ... what ... what are you doing? Is this because I didn't want to come back? I'm sorry. Just let me go."

With his hands in his pockets, Charles walked a circle around the chair she sat in laughing loudly. "That's not it. Guess again, Ms. Young."

Candace sat quietly. "It's because I told you that I'm pregnant? It's the truth, I am."

"Its not about that because I know you're not."

"What? I went to the doctor. Yes, I am. Please. I'm go away and I won't bother you. Just let me and my baby go."

Again Charles laughed. "You hear that, Oliver? Just let me and my baby go," he mimicked, "When we met, I told you two things that you shouldn't have ever forgotten. Do you remember?"

Oliver stood back with an amused look on his face.

"No, you told me a lot of things. I don't know, Charles."

Charles stopped in front of her and leaned down so she could see his face. "I told you that I'm not the one to play with and there's nothing that you can do, nothing you can say and nowhere that you can go that I won't know about. That doctor told you that because I wanted her to. Wanted to see how long you'd keep it to yourself before you used the card you thought you had."

"All of this so I would come back? Are you really that delusional and crazy?"

"No, that's not it. Whether you came back on your own or forcefully you were coming back. I always make good on my favors for my friends. And this favor just so happens to be for a best friend of mine."

Candace started to move around in the chair trying to get loose. "This is about that money I took from Jim? He got you being his bitch now?"

"That's cute," he laughed, "You think that shit that you pulled with Jim is gonna work on me and you're wrong ... its not. I wouldn't piss on Jim if he was on fire."

"Then who? Who asked you to do this?"

"Aah, if I tell you then I have to kill you." He smiled wickedly at her. "Well ... I'm gonna do that anyways so I'll tell you. On a few occasions David Harrington let you know that you had no idea who you were playing games with and that he could make your insignificant life disappear just ... like ... that. And you didn't listen, you took him for a joke."

Candace started to get scared but still attempted to hide it. "Why?"

"Oliver, would you please enlighten Ms. Young with the list of offenses, please?"

Oliver stepped forward. "Gladly, sir. You extorted money multiple times, interfered and toyed with his niece, Amanda's well being, inserted his son into a murder and got his fiancé killed. And that's just what you did to Mr. Harrington."

"Thank you, Oliver," Charles said with a smile, "Now let's talk about the things you've done to other people. You screwed a friend over which caused the death of your son so you killed your son, you're the reason your brother has caused heartache in the past, you're the reason your brother almost died twice, you're too blame as to why Benny had bad blood with the Malonrs, and you're the reason you're mother almost died."

Candace bit back tears. "Why does he care about those things? They had nothing to do with David."

"Since you asked so nicely. David sees the pain you put your mother through and he doesn't like it at all. Your mother, Ms. Hanna, it's a beautiful woman and beautiful soul who didn't deserve the pile of shit you left in her lap. But he intends to clean it all up, starting with you being in Itty bitty pieces."

Oliver removed his suit jacket and picked up the electric hand saw starting it. The tears started to fall freely from Candace's eyes as she looked between both men.

"Please ... please don't do this," she sobbed "I'm sorry, I'll give the money back I'll leave them all alone."

"Sorry won't undo any of the shit you did, now will it? Oliver, she's all yours. Have fun."

"Will do, sir."

Furious, Mama Rose called Benny's phone. After speaking with her nephew she knew it was time to come out of her faux retirement to set some things straight. In that moment she didn't care about the heat on her being hot, she was going to protect those she held close to her heart above all else.

Benny looked at his phone and frowned a little before answering. "Who this?"

"Now, Benjamin, is that how you answer your phone for your Mama Rose?"

"No ma'am," he chuckled, "How you doing?"

"Oh I would be better if half of my family wasn't worthless. Where are you?"

Benny glanced up from his spot on the floor at Melissa, so was handing him a glass. "I'm at a friend's house helping her. You need me?"

"Is it the girl Veronica had Vinny go after? Is it her, Benjamin?" Mama Rose asked urgently.

"Yes ma'am and I don't even wanna know how you knew that."

"You know I know everything. Listen, you need to go to your mother's house. I'm on my way there but I don't know if I'll make it in time to stop it."

Benny frowned, "Stop what? What's going on?"Just as she got ready to answer, another call came through from mama. "This her right now calling. I'll call you back, Mama Rose." He answered her call effectively ending the previous call.

"Benjamin, baby. Where are you and that friend of yours?" Hanna asked laughing. "Your sister and niece are not happy that you're stealing him away."

"I'm not with him, Mama. I'm helpin, Melissa out. I'm bout to head that way though."

"Okay, baby and bring Melissa with you. And can you please see if you can find out where Mitch is?"

"Yes ma'am I will. Be there in a few. Love yall."

Benny finished chaging the locks quickly then he and Melissa left her house headed for his mama's house. Thankfully there wasn't much traffic so he was able to speed a bit to get there quicker. While they made their way to the house, Mitch was glaring at his uncle making a plan in his head.

"You got something you wanna say to me?" Vinny asked.

Mitch shook his head. "Nothing that I haven't already told you. You know where I stand on this."

"And you know where your family stands. There were lots of good girls that hang around here that you could've had. And you have too many cousins around here to be lookin elsewhere for friends. You're just gonna try any way you can to get away from us."

"I never wanted this. Ever. And you know that. The only reason I got as involved as I was is because your ass went and got stabbed so I had to help." Mitch fired back smartly. "You're so mad that I'm Mama Rose's favorite and she understood me not wanting to be apart of this."

Vinny grunted, "I don't give a shit about that."

"Yeah ... ya do. That's why you try do hard to find shit on me."

"You know what ... if Sandy doesn't get that broad and that baby I think I'll do it myself. And I think I'll enjoy it."

"The same thing I said to Sandy goes for you too. I'm not about to play this bullshit game with you or him when it comes to my family. I will kill you and not think twice about it. And if I don't," he smirked, "Mama Rose will. Just like I'm her favorite and she would do anything for me ... she feels the same way about those two. You harm any of us and she'll kill you."

Vinny stared at his nephew as he answered his ringing phone. He put it on speaker and sat it on the table.

"Yeah?"

"Just letting you know that we're pulling up to the house."

Mitch's blood boiled as he listened to his younger cousin talk. "You little bastard ... you better not."

"Shut up," Vinny barked, "Good. You do it and then you get your ass back here. Understand?"

Sandy agreed before getting off of the phone. One of the cousins that worked behind the bar approached their table extending the bar phone to Mitch making Vinny frown.

"What the hell are you doin?"

The cousin shrugged urging Mitch to take the phone. "Mama Rose."

Mitch took the phone and the cousin walked away. When he put the phone to his ear, he stared atvhis uncle.

"Yes ma'am?"

"Do not change your face. You keep whatever expression you have, I want him to think I'm pissed at you." Mama Rose instructed quickly.

Mitch sighed harshly, "Yes ma'am., I understand."

"Good, good. I know what's happening and I'm trying to get there and stop it."

Mitch almost broke and cheered but the sight of Vinny's smug smile kept him from doing so.

"But, Mama," Mitch started trying to act as if he was pleading. "Please, that's my baby in that house."

"And I'll make damn sure they all remain safe. But listen to me. Are you listening?"

Mitch dropped his head a bit. "I'm listening."

"If I am unable to get there before it happens and stop it, whether anyone gets hit or not, I will make sure that those involved are handled. In the event that this happens, I will let your cousins behind the bar know and they will do as instructed. Okay?"

Yes, Mama. I understand but please hear me out."

"I know, Mitch. You did good. I have to go."

The phone hung up before Mitch could say anything. The cousin came to retrieve the phone making quick eye contact with Mitch then walked off.

"Mama, can you make her a bottle while you're in the kitchen? She getting all fussy." Lainey yelled from her seat on the sofa in the living room.

"Yeah, baby but you're gonna have to bring her formula! I don't have anymore here!" Hanna yelled back.

Lainey looked through her daughter's diaper bag for the can of formula. Once she had it, she carried it and her daughter to the kitchen. Benny pulled up in front of his mother's house and quickly jumped out of the car with Melissa. He pulled her in front of him then let them into the house.

"Mama! Lainey! Where yall at?" He yelled frantically as he walked through the foyer.

Hanna laughed a little, "We're in the kitchen and stop yelling."

Benny pulled Melissa along with him, when he got to the kitchen he hugged his sister and his mama then kissed his niece's head.

Lainey stared at him strangely and laughed, "Boy what is wrong with you? You squeezing the life outta us."

"Something is going down, it's not safe." He explained quickly. "Mama Rose called to warn me. I'm sure it's about what happened earlier."

Lainey and Hanna shared a look then looked at him. "What did you do, Benjamin?"

Melissa stepped forward. "He was protecting me, Ms. Hanna. Veronica sent the Malones after me and Benny beat him up so now he's pissed."

The black van carrying Sandy and his cousins pulled up slowly in front of the two story home. Inside Sandy readied his gun but kept fumbling.

"You sure you got this? We can do it."

Sandy glared at his cousin. "I don't need help. I got this. You just sit back and watch. I'm gonna take all of them out."

Oliver finished with his task, set up the disposal and went to get cleaned up before going to meet with Charles. He met the president elect in his home office.

"I take it that it's taken care of," Charles said smoothly turning side to side in his office chair.

"Yes sir, of course. She's being disposed of as we speak."

Charles smiled. "Did you save what I asked you to save?"

"Yes sir," Oliver said proudly, "Packaged, sealed and ready to go."

"Good, good. I want to be in Savannah tonight. I like to deliver my good news in person."

Oliver nodded pulling his phone out. "I can make that happen in the next thirty minutes. If I can ask, sir. May I make a personal stop during this trip to Savannah? It won't take long."

Charles leaned back in his chair relaxing, his smile still on his face. "Somce you did such a good job, I'll allow it. What is the stop?"

"I just wanna check in on a friend of mine. She had a baby not too long ago and I haven't been able to see the baby yet."

"You got a girlfriend and a baby, Oliver? Hiding things from me?"

Oliver quickly looked up from his phone laughing, "No, sir. Of course not. Me and her have been friends for years, nothing like that. She's actually Hanna's daughter."

Charles raised a brow, "Alaina? She anything like her sister?"

"No, not at all. If she was, we wouldn't be friends. She's a good girl who doesn't take anybody's shit," Oliver laughed going back to his phone, "She is definitely her mother's child. She loved to fight growing up."

"I think I'd like to make this stop with you."

Oliver glanced at him for a moment then back to his phone. "That's fine with me, sir. But I have to warn you, she is in a relationship."

Charles chuckled. "I just wanna meet her. Nothing else."

"Yes sir of course. We will be ready to take off in about twenty minutes. I'll have a bag prepared for you. "

"Thank you, Oliver. Let Landen know you and Ramsey will be the only ones accompanying me. He is to stay here and make sure that the house gets packed up correctly."

[mbav-2024]

Lemon Dust

Part 1

A/n: okay so i know this took forever...sorry ab that, aha, but we’re back lmao. also if this first part is cringey, pls don’t judge, my writing wasn’t as good at it is now (not that it’s any good at all) but i feel like i’ve improved from the time i wrote this first chapter, so the chapters will improve in quality lmao. but yeah, i hope you enjoy!

The sunny day outside was a stark contrast to what it was inside this school. All of the light looks artificial, and it’s just barely cold enough that you would want some kind of jacket. Fortunately, it’s not totally bland inside (with the few red and blue streaks that color the halls.) It definitely isn’t a terrible place, but you would much rather be spending your day outside. Instead, you have to be a struggling high school student, inside. Once a nice lady behind a desk handed you your schedule, you set out to try and figure out where all of your classes were

Right as you were leaving the office, you noticed two boys standing nearby. They sounded like they were arguing. You figured that they would be somewhat knowledgeable of the campus, so you decided to ask them for help. When you approached them, the taller boy was speaking, “Della totally liked the flowers. That means phase two of ‘Benny Gets a Girlfriend’ is a go.” You furrowed an eyebrow at the boys weird word choice. “Hey, I’m y/n, I’m new here. Would you guys be able to help me find some of my classes?” They both just stared at first, but then the shorter one answered your question. “Oh, um, yeah. My name is Ethan, this is Benny,” Ethan said while pointing to the tall one. A small smile grew on your face. This might not be so hard after all, you thought. “Thank you so much for helping. It’s a little overwhelming,” you said with a laugh. “Tell me about it,” Ethan said, “so can I see your schedule?” Ethan went to grab my schedule and his hand accidentally grazed mine. Which isn’t worth mentioning, but what you saw afterwards was. A bright light flashed, and then an image of blood floating down through water played for a couple of seconds. The scene abruptly ended, and you were back to normal. You looked over to Benny to see if he saw it too, but his focus was on your schedule. When you looked over to Ethan, there was a discernible amount of concern in his eyes. He had obviously seen it too. Judging by his look, he could tell that you saw it as well. Neither of you said anything about it and Ethan just started reading off your schedule. This was going to be a first day to end all first days. 

The whole day flew by for you. You found out that most of your classes were enjoyable, and the teachers were pretty nice. The school lunch turned out to be good, so you ended up eating that instead of the lunch you brought. Ethan and Benny even let you sit with them during lunch, and they introduced you to their friend Rory. Benny also introduced you to a girl named Sarah in your pottery class during second period. Even through all this, though, you and Ethan didn’t mention anything about what happened this morning. Well, until now. It was the last class you had of the day. You had always enjoyed playing games in gym class at your old school, so you thought that you would enjoy it here. You soon found out that the class was neither good nor bad. It was just boring, and was basically just a bunch of teenagers in matching clothes that stood around in the gymnasium. The only plus side to this was that Ethan was in this class. He was in a couple of your other classes too, like chemistry and pre-calc, but you two had talked a lot and you kind of saw Ethan as an actual friend. He introduced you to one last friend of his, Erica, and then he and you went over and sat down together in a part of the gym. 

“So much for an actual gym class,” you said, resting your head in your hands. “I mean, we are technically in a gym,” he said back. The two of you laughed, but then an awkward silence fell upon the two of you. You decided that it would probably be the best time to try and talk about what happened this morning, but Ethan beat you to it. “So, did you like, see something this morning?” You looked up at him, head still in your hands, “um, yeah. I was actually gonna ask you that.” Ethan looked around to see if anyone was listening, and then leaned in close. “I’ve been seeing them for a while now, I call them visions. I know it sounds crazy, but basically we’re in this supernatural town full of seers, and magic, and vampires.” You tried to keep your laugh in, “yes, Ethan, I know about all this supernatural stuff.” He looked taken aback, “Oh, so you mean, you’re a seer too?” This time you couldn’t keep your laughter in, “not quite. I’m technically labeled as ‘merfolk,’” you put finger quotations around the last word. “Some other terms would be like ‘mermaid’ or ‘siren’ but my family and I just stick to merfolk.” Ethan sat for a moment, and then spoke. “Oh, that’s pretty cool. Why’d you move here, then?” You sat up straight, “well my parents tell me it’s to change up the scenery, but I overheard my parents talking about some people that were trying to kill all merfolk, and I’m pretty sure that’s why we moved.” Ethan’s eyebrows rose, “oh my god, that must be terrifying.” You rolled your eyes, “oh, I’m sure you’ve dealt with worse. I mean you said yourself that this town has seers, magic, and vampires” Now he was the one to sit up, “well, we did deal with a vampire that tried to turn a dusk screening into his old flock.” You moved to sit criss-cross, “woah, that’s kinda intense.” He went on to explain the whole ordeal in its ‘full glory’.

The gym teacher blew a whistle to end the class, so you and Ethan got up and started walking to the locker rooms to change. “Hey,” you started, “since the supernatural tend to stick together here, do you think you guys would be able to take me under your wing?” He looked back to you, “oh sure. I might be walking home with Benny, if you want to join?” You smiled, “yeah, that’d be nice.” You could now officially say that you made some friends here at Whitechapel.

[ellewritesathing]

(Un)Requited  -  I.L. III

Summary: Isaac Lahey had gone through many twists and turns in his life, but none of them compared to the whiplash he got when you asked him to tutor you. With a few weeks until the end of the semester and the big dance coming up, he’s hoping to figure out a way to ask you to go with him before it’s too late.

Masterlist Prev. | Part 3

Word-count: 3.1k+

A/N: i really need to work on updating this fic but i’ve finally figured out more or less what to do with this story line so hopefully my updates will be a bit more regular!!

Whenever Isaac thought he was getting better at functioning around you, you always found a way to prove him wrong. 

It had been a week since you developed the Get The Girl game plan, and he’d been spending a lot of time with you ever since. Isaac had left notes and corrections on your algebra homework that made you smile, figured out the kind of jokes that made you laugh, and had gone to your house a few times to study together (and only once had any actual studying been done). Magnus still hated him, but he was slowly but surely winning over Max and the rest of your family. 

You even sat in the stands whenever he had lacrosse practice and committed his schedule to memory - when Isaac knew full-well that you knew nothing about lacrosse. 

Things were looking up. At this rate, Isaac might actually have the courage to ask you out and have the tiniest, most microscopic chance of you saying yes. 

And then the weekend came and you took him to the mall to buy some new clothes and get a haircut. 

It was nothing too serious - Isaac had even said something that made you laugh over lunch - but now he was sitting in the salon chair and you were running your hands through his hair while the two of you waited for the hairdresser. 

Isaac knew it was an absent-minded gesture while you thought of what to do with him, but he couldn’t help the way it made him feel. He was surprised you couldn’t hear how his heart beat out of his chest every time you started combing through a new section, almost as surprised that you hadn’t noticed that he wasn’t paying attention to a word you said. 

“So what do you think?” you asked, dropping your hands on the top of Isaac’s shoulders (sadly). The touch still made him malfunction, but it was easier now that your hands were still and your eyes were focused on his in the mirror.

“I, uh- I think that sounds like a good idea,” Isaac said, trying to look like he’d been listening. He’d meant to, honestly, but it was literally impossible for him to focus around you.

Two social steps forward and about a billion back.

“Really? I thought you’d hate bleaching it,” you said. 

Isaac’s heart nearly exploded. “Bleach?” 

“And a mohawk.” 

“Oh, you’re messing with me for zoning out,” Isaac said. Though he would have been perfectly content to have a bleach blonde mohawk if it made you happy, he pretended to be cooler than he actually was by nodding at your reflection in the mirror. “I see how it is.” 

“It was too good an opportunity to pass up,” you laughed, lifting your hands back to his hair. “What I was thinking is a little shorter on the sides but keeping the top as it is. It would break my heart if we cut off your curls.” 

“Well, we wouldn’t want that,” Isaac said, too softly to be a part of his cool guy routine. Your teasing smile faded into something a bit more genuine. “Sounds good. For real this time.”

Before you had the chance to answer, the hairstylist came over and started occupying your time. As happy as it made Isaac to hear you laughing and talking with them, an ugly pang of jealousy shot through him. 

Derek had explained to Isaac when he turned that sometimes he’d feel emotions that weren’t necessarily his own. Those emotions were why anchors were so important, because otherwise Isaac would drift in a sea of emotions and they’d eventually consume him. At the time, Derek was talking about anger, but Isaac knew this had to be a part of it, too. 

Isaac just wanted you to be happy, he didn’t care who it was with or if it had anything to do with him. 

He spent the better part of the appointment trying to convince himself that he wasn’t a jealous bastard that didn’t deserve the time of day, and by the time his blowdry was done, he was back to his normal semi-functional self. 

You beamed at his hair as he stood up and ruffled it slightly, only to be laughed at by the hairstylist. Isaac couldn’t hear very well over his heart beating so loudly and with his ears recovering from the force of the hairdryer, but he could have sworn the hairstylist said something about you two being a cute couple on your way out. 

Isaac didn’t have time to dwell on the comment, though, because soon enough you were dragging him into stores he’d never been to and picking out things for him to try on. 

It was awkward at first. Isaac had lost the ability to talk to you as well as the ability to make a decision. The result was a clumsy collection of clothing and a very awkward moment before Isaac closed the changing room door with you on the other side. 

After a brief pep talk, Isaac started trying on the clothes. They weren’t bad, they just weren’t what he would normally wear. He hadn’t exactly made it easy to shop for him what with his inability to speak but he still couldn’t help feeling out of place in the stuff you’d picked out. 

When he came out, you were sitting on a bench, leaning your head against the wall and scrolling through something on your phone. You brightened up when you saw him and his heart melted, but he shook his head and placed the clothes on the return counter. 

“You didn’t like any of it?” you asked as you got to your feet. 

Isaac shook his head and sighed. “Nah, it’s not that it’s just … I haven’t really worn anything that wasn’t Camden’s first.” He blinked a few times. Where did that come from? There was no way you wouldn’t realize he was a loser now. 

“Oh,” you said quietly, dropping your gaze to your shoes. “I should have-” You looked back up at Isaac and gave him a smile. “You wanna get out of here?”

“Yeah, I’d go anywhere with you,” Isaac said before he could stop himself. He made a mental note to ask Erica to slap some sense into him when he got home.

Instead of groaning and calling him cheesy, you laughed and looped your arm around his. “Come on. I’ll buy you some ice cream on our way out.” 

The ice cream had sent shivers up your spine so, somewhere between the store and parking lot, Isaac had given you his jacket. You wore it as you drove him home, and Isaac couldn’t help but think how much better it looked on you than it did on him. 

Isaac tried to think of an excuse to not get out of the car once it was parked outside the loft, but he came up empty. He was about to thank you for the ride and the attempted shopping trip when you started talking. 

“It’s Erica, isn’t it?” you asked, staring through the windshield at where Erica was harassing Derek at the entrance to the building. She was having the time of her life and Derek looked ready to drink. 

Isaac let out a laugh. He wondered if she wanted money or if she was just having fun giving Derek a migraine. “Yeah, that’s her.” 

You bit your lip as you stared out the windshield. After a moment, you turned to look at Isaac with a somewhat indecipherable look on your face. “I think she’ll say yes.” 

“Wait, what?” Isaac asked. He had no idea what you thought Erica would say yes to, or how you got there from asking for her name. 

“Yeah, I don’t think you needed to cut your hair or change anything to get her attention,” you said, still not making any sense. “When you ask her to the dance, I think she’ll say yes.” Isaac tried very hard not to frown at you, but it probably wasn’t working because you kept talking before he could say anything. “You’re a really great guy, Isaac. If she doesn’t see that then she’s crazy.” 

“Right,” Isaac said slowly. It was the only thing he could think of to say. He had no idea how to untangle the mess he’d gotten himself into or how to explain to you that he and Erica were the farthest thing from romantic prospects. “Thanks.” 

“Yeah, of course,” you said with a smile. “I’ll see you after practice on Monday?” 

“Yeah, sure. See you.”

Isaac got out of the car, feeling dazed and confused, and waved at you as you disappeared down the street. How had he gone from feeling like he had a shot with you this morning to asking Erica to the dance? 

---

“No way,” Erica said, not looking up from the nail she was painting. 

She’d refused to stop painting them, even though the smell of the open bottle made everyone in the loft feel nauseous. Today, she’d picked out a metallic shade called Black and Blue - no doubt because anyone who got close enough to see the color would be left black and blue. 

Isaac attempted to come closer but stopped when Erica slid the bottle closer to him. “Come on, I never ask you to do anything!” 

“Oh, please. You ask me to do crap for you all the time.”

“Name one other time.” 

“Two hours ago you asked to copy my English homework because, and I quote ‘it’s a Crime and Punishment that I have to read this,’” Erica said. She looked up at him with a sly smile. “And you say you’re not witty.” 

It didn’t take a genius to see that Erica had won that angle of the argument, so Isaac changed tactics. “What if I cover for you next Thursday so you can go to that concert Derek said you’d only go to once he was dead?” 

Erica hummed and looked back down at her nails. She touched up her left ring finger before looking back up at Isaac, knowing that he’d use that time to think up several other options to offer her when she said no. “Is it really that important to you that this girl knows I’d never in a million years date you?” 

“Not how I’d phrase it, but yeah,” Isaac said. He slid into the seat across from Erica and carefully placed the lid over the bottle. 

Erica looked at him for a hard moment and then sighed. “Fine. Then I’ll find a reason to talk to her and tell her you’re not my type.” 

Isaac leaned over the table and kissed her cheek before racing out of the room to ensure he didn’t end up black and blue. “You’re the best, Erica. Have fun at the concert!” 

“Concert?” Derek asked, catching Isaac’s arm as he ran past him. 

“Definitely not,” Isaac said with a grin. He leaned in and kissed Derek’s cheek for good measure. The poor man was so off-guard that Isaac shook out of his grip without using any supernatural influences. 

---

Isaac had come up with a plan. It wasn’t a very good one, but it was the only one he had. He’d go to practice and try to be the best player on the field to impress you, and then when you guys were sitting on the bleachers and he went through his homework, he’d explain this whole scheme to you. Hopefully, the speech he’d prepared would be eloquent and he wouldn’t just throw up words all over you, but that was a risk he had to take. 

The ‘being the best player’ part kind of failed because, aside from all his issues, Isaac was very distracted by a chemo-signal in the air: nervousness. It was everywhere, but particularly near the bench and bleachers. 

He tried to put the first failure aside as he showered and changed into a shirt he thought you’d like. Instead, he went over his speech once more in his head to make sure it sounded halfway decent. 

Hey, so I know this is really weird but I need to come clean: I’ve had a crush on you ever since our brothers first dumped us on each other when we were kids. I’ve never wanted to ask Erica to the dance; I’ve only ever wanted to go with you but I never thought I had a chance with you so I lied. It was stupid, but I can’t change that now and I guess what I’m trying to say is … will you go to the dance with me?

Isaac groaned and hit his head against his locker. The speech was awful, but if he didn’t tell you the truth then he was pretty sure he was going to combust. 

He was still trying to psych himself up to talk to you when he walked back over to the bleachers and heard you laughing. Then he picked the chemo-signal up again. You were nervous. 

And you were talking to Stiles Stilinski. 

That ugly feeling of jealousy shot through him again, and Isaac worked to convince himself he was overreacting as he made his way over. 

“Hey, guys,” Isaac said evenly. He smiled at you and shot Stiles a very deliberate look. “What’s up?”

“Stiles was just telling me this story about one of your away games. Did you really fall off the bleachers right before the match and sprain your ankle?” you asked, mouth pulled up in an amused smile. It wasn’t malicious but it felt different than the one you usually gave him. 

“Uh, yeah. I guess I did,” Isaac said stiffly. “Back in freshman year. Did Stiles tell you about the time he drove his Jeep through the other team’s equipment and forced us to forfeit?” 

You whipped your head around to laugh at Stiles. Again, not maliciously. Just different. This time it was more like you and Stiles had a secret that Isaac didn’t know about. “No way, seriously?”

“Seriously. But in my defense, Scott was distracting me,” Stiles said, not sounding very defensive. He had a surprisingly easy smile on his face that made Isaac want to punch him. “But, uh, speaking of Scott, I should probably get going before he starts asking strangers for rides and becomes a seven o’clock special.” 

You laughed again and gave him a matching easy smile. “Can’t have that, can we?” 

“Definitely not,” Stiles said. His eyes flicked over to Isaac for a second before turning his attention back to you. “So I’ll see you on Friday?”

“Yeah, looking forward to it,” you said. Stiles started heading down the bleachers and you let out a small sigh before gathering up your stuff. He looked at you over his shoulder and you waved at him. 

It was amazing how such small movements made Isaac feel sick to his stomach; a smile here, a laugh there, and now a wave. 

Isaac adjusted his backpack and tried not to look as jealous as he felt. “So what’s on Friday?” 

“Oh, uh-” You pushed a piece of hair behind your ear and shrugged. There was a strange kind of nervousness rolling off you. “Stiles asked if I wanted to go to the dance with him so I suggested we do a trial run before then.” 

“Like a date?” 

“Yeah, like a date,” you said. Your expression was funny; it looked like you were trying to figure something out how Isaac felt about it, but Isaac didn’t know why his feelings would matter. “What do you think of that?” 

Isaac thought that everything made sense now. You’d never been interested in sports, and yet you came to every one of his lacrosse games and had the entire practice schedule memorized. Like an idiot, Isaac had thought all your questions meant you had taken an interest in him. 

Clearly, he wasn’t that far off. You still weren’t interested in lacrosse, you were just interested in Stiles. 

The same Stiles who hated him, made fun of him, and kept him from joining Scott’s pack for the longest time. Everything Isaac did, Stiles found a way to do better - despite being mind-numbingly human.

Stiles had a particular charm that Isaac couldn’t stand but everyone else seemed to love. He was witty, and kind, and some might say he was even good looking. And Isaac thought, most of all, that after going out with a guy like Stiles, there was no way you would ever want to go out with him.

“I think that’s great,” Isaac said with a tight smile. His heart was beating out of his chest and if you were like him, you would have known he was lying. 

But you were human - you didn’t know. 

Still, you frowned. Either Isaac said something wrong or you felt conflicted about something. The frown was only there for a second before you replaced it with a smile only slightly different to the one you usually wore, closer to the nervous one you’d given him when you asked him to tutor you. “You do?” 

“Yeah,” Isaac lied again. If there was one thing his time with you had made Isaac realize, it was that having a place in your life - even a place as a friend with unrequited feelings - was better than no place at all, and he wasn’t going to screw that all up by telling you how he felt. He took a deep breath. “But, uh, do you mind if we talk about this some other time? Derek texted when I was in the locker room and he needs my help with something at the loft.” 

You blinked a few times, trying to piece together the quick change in pace. “Oh, uh, do you want me to drive you?” 

Your pained expression almost made Isaac spill his guts right there. He couldn’t risk spending any more time with you. “No, he’s coming to pick me up.” 

“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow?” you asked, eyebrows knitting together as you looked at him, despite the smile on your face. 

“Yeah, sure. Not like those problems are going to solve themselves, right?” Isaac asked. He did his best to give you a reassuring smile. 

Your smile faltered for a second, but then it was back on your face and covering up any other thoughts. “Right.” 

Isaac left pretty quickly after that, with one thought clear in his mind: Out of everyone in the entire school to go out with, why did you have to pick Stiles Fucking Stilinski?

Tagged: @lettherebelovex​  @britty443​  @ietts  @magnus-the-fabulous-entp-bane​

[tinabean37]

My Superman Part 5

Catch up with Part 1 2 3 4 

Summery: Henry and reader go on their date. Lots of excited nervousness and fluff.

Warnings: None

Important:  I do not know or own Henry’s character in this story. The other characters were made up by me.

I am sorry this chapter took so long to come out. I was having a really hard time deciding where I wanted the story to go, but I now have a clear direction, and I’m excited about it again. 

Tag List:

@lunedelorient @omgkatinka @ju-lehnsherr @kaatelyynn-blog-blog @unbrekeable-abby @sausagefest1996 @whyyykitkat @fathima00-universe @bluegalaxyprime @ivyfatale @catsandra-chan @thereisa8ella @hista-girl @stella-swiftx @xo-mery-ox @xxxkatxo @elinalfrida @fanfictionaddiction99 @mad-hatters-lover @sofiebstar @star017 @suueeeeeee @britishbutnotbritish @the-wheel-of-crime-turns @raynosaurus-rex @sunflowerdeaky

If you want to be added to or taken off of the tag list, let me know!

~~~~~~~~~~~

Arms crossed, foot-tapping, you stood in front of your open closet, half-cleared out as you threw your discarded outfit choices on the bed. Your date with Henry was only an hour away, and you were acting like every rom-com movie you had ever seen. Tossing out outfit after outfit trying to find the perfect ensemble. You were embarrassed at how you were behaving. You were a grown woman, and you had gone on dates before. You allowed yourself to take a deep breath, and calm down. Your eyes scanned the closet again with a clearer head and landed on a dress that would be perfect. Knee-length to show off your legs, cinched at the waist to bring out your curves, and a deep neckline that framed one of your best assets just right. Yah, you could do this. 

After your outfit was sorted, you made your way to your bathroom, untied the towel that wrapped up your freshly showered hair, and got to work drying and curling it just right. When you were finished, your y/h/c locks flowed down your back in loose waves, with the front pinned pack to allow your y/e/c eyes to shine. The tasteful makeup you applied helped that as well. When all was said and done, you grabbed your heals, and stood in front of your hall mirror, taking in the full package. Even you could admit, Henry was in trouble tonight. Grabbing your bag from the side table, you were startled when your phone rang. You saw the smiling face of your best friend from home, Erica on the caller ID. You answered with a smile. 

“Hey, Eri. It’s been forever. How are you?”

“I’m really good. You sound out of breath. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

“It’s never a bad time to talk to you.” You laughed. “But I was just running around, getting ready for a date.” 

“A date? That’s awesome. Who’s the guy? Is he hot?” Not needing much prompting at all, you started relaying the whole story to your friend. That night at the bar. How Henry saved you, then walked you home, and how you haven’t been able to think of anything but him since. “Look at you. You go to a London, and less than a year later, you snag Hollywood’s most eligible bachelor.” You could hear the smile in Erica's voice. “I’m so happy for you y/n. You deserve to be happy. After, you know who.” Just the thought of your ex made your stomach clench, and not in a good way. 

“Thanks, Eri. Honestly, after Josh, I didn’t think I would want any more relationships. He really soured me towards them, you know. But Henry, he’s…” you took a second to find the right words. “He’s a breath of fresh air. I am really excited about tonight.” If on cue, there was a knock at your door. Your heart began to race with the realization that you were going to see Henry again. You quickly opened the door with a smile. You held up your finger to let him know you were almost done with your call and stepped aside for him to come in. 

“I heard a knock. Is that him?” Erica asked excitedly. 

“Yes, my date just got here. I will call you tomorrow. Alright? I’m so glad you called. I miss you.” 

“Miss you too y/n. I better get all the gory details. It’s my right as your future maid-of-honor.” You agreed with a laugh and hung up the phone. Then, you turned your full attention to the gorgeous man standing in your entryway. He looked so large in your small space. He wore a dark blue button-up shirt, neatly tucked into black pants. The buttons were undone enough to give you a peek of the dark curls that are spread across his broad chest. His blue eyes were shining, and his dark brown curls were perfectly tousled. He was the most handsome man you had ever seen. 

“I’m sorry about that. My best friend from home called to say hello.”

“Please, don’t apologize. It gave me a chance to enjoy the view.” His perfect mouth was curved into a playful smirk. “You look beautiful y/n.” You felt your whole body heat up as the blush was all-consuming. 

“Thank you. You look amazing as well.” With a broad smile, he held up his arm, crooked at the elbow. You wrapped your arm in his, and let him lead you to his car. 

The drive to the restaurant was short and quiet. You couldn’t help it. You were nervous. The other night, the crazy events of meeting Henry took center stage. You didn’t have a chance to think too much about it. But tonight, the date itself is the focal point. And you felt like you were on very foreign territory. This is your first date since your ex-boyfriend tried to ruin the idea of relationships for you. And Henry was, well, Henry. You didn’t want to disappoint. You kept sneaking glances of him during the drive, and more than once, you were pleased to find him glancing too. 

When you pulled up to the restaurant, you were shocked and excited. It was a very lavish and romantic choice. A place you had always wanted to try, but knew you never would or, could. He held the door open for you and helped you out of the car. With a guiding hand on your lower back, he led you towards the restaurant entrance. 

Once inside, you were directed towards your table, which was in a less crowded area, more intimate. The restaurant was beautiful. So cozy and romantic. When the waiter brought over the wine list, Henry passed it to you, telling you to pick whatever you wanted. 

“Oh, I’m not sure. I’m not usually a wine drinker. You chose.” You smiled sweetly at Henry and handed the menu back. He gave it a quick glance and ordered a bottle of something that sounded very expensive, but you were assured it was delicious. You both took a few minutes to look over the menu and placed your food order as well. With a nod, the waiter walked away, and you were left with this gorgeous man, unable to believe your luck. 

“I meant what I said earlier, y/n. You look stunning.” Henry admitted as he took you in. Your eyes lowered to the table when you felt the blush return. “I’m glad we were able to do this.”

“I am too. To be honest, I didn’t think I would ever see you again after the other night. I wouldn’t have blamed you. The crazy lady coming up to you at random to have you pretend to be her boyfriend.” You and Henry shared a laugh. “But this,” you gestured with your hand around the restaurant, “is way more than I could have hoped.” You were surprised at yourself for being as candid as you were. You were usually the type of person that kept your emotions close to you, but Henry does something to you. 

“Don’t think that. Like I already told you, I haven’t been able to get you out of my head, it would be silly of me to ignore this chance.” Just then, the waiter returned with your wine. As he was pouring the crimson liquid into your glasses, your eyes didn’t leave Henry's. You exchanged smiles and coy looks until he walked away. You then raised your glasses and toasted to new beginnings. 

The rest of the dinner went very well. You both exchanged comfortable chatter. Spoke about your families, growing up, and even your past relationships. By the time the dessert came, you were truly smitten. And when dessert came to an end, you were sad. This night had gone by too fast. But once the bill had been paid, you realized it had to end. You both stood from the table, and with a warm hand on your back, you headed out to Henry's car. He walked your straight to the passenger side door and held it open for you in the gentlemanly way he had. As you looked up at his face to thank him, you noticed that all of a sudden it seemed to change, almost as if he was trying to make up his mind about something. Then slowly, he raised his hands to cup your face. His eyes drifted to your lips, then back to your eyes, as if he was asking for your blessing. As an answer, your fingers carded through the back of his curls and brought your lips to close the gap. His mouth was more perfect up close. His lips were soft and warm. They moved with an agonizingly slow speed as if he wanted to memorize every inch of your lips. Too soon, the kiss ended, foreheads touching, trying to slow your breathing. This time, when you looked at his face, he was grinning from ear to ear, and you couldn’t help but share the feeling. He helped you into the car and made his way around to the driver’s seat. With one more beaming smile, he started the car and headed back towards your flat. In your opinion, the night was perfect. You just wished you had noticed the paparazzi behind the car to your left, with his camera, taking pictures of your private moment.

[asterekmess]

S3A - E8

I’m realizing just how damn far behind I am on working on season 3, but I don’t wanna skip any episodes of the rewatch, so let’s get to it! Double time, double time!

Content warnings for discussion of cannibalism.

Forewarning, this one is a doozy, so be prepared to Read More:

Lesgo!:

First thing’s first, Derek has experience with those awful sound thingies? Can you imagine how freaked he must’ve been seeing Chris bring those out when they were tracking Boyd and Erica?

Also, Chris Argent has been hunting Derek one way or another since he was a child. Even BEFORE Kate. Why the hell do we have a Derek & Chris broness in the later seasons? This kind of shit doesn’t just go away. I can’t believe I forgot about it.

I love how awkward sweet bby Derek is trying to run through the trees and tripping on branches everywhere. It’s honestly so much more realistic for a teenager than just the crazy cgi stuff. Also, since we know Derek is comfortable in the woods, it really gives you a hint as to how truly messed up he is from fear right now. He’s off balance in a dozen ways.

DEREK HAS BEEN WATCHING PEOPLE DIE IN FRONT OF HIM SINCE HE WAS 15. I’m gonna CRY. If I wanna hurt myself even More, you could argue that the Random Beta (RB) got shot bc he stopped to talk to Derek. So...guilty minds would assume Derek has been watching people die because of him since 15. I hate everything.

PETER comin’ in clutch. Also, hilarious that they use that arrow catching move so much.

I almost like how they tried to make Gerard look younger by just having him wear a douchey leather jacket instead of the serious grandpa one he wears in S2. He swaggers over to the body of RB, and it’s hilarious.

Okay, what is this bullshit about “Bring them back alive, we go by the code?” If you were going by the code then you wouldn’t be fucking hunting them AT ALL. They’re innocent! Why the fuck are you ‘bringing them back’ in the first place? Chris, you piece of shit. This is supposed to demonstrate that you’ve always been a stickler for the code, but all it does is emphasize how little that code actually means. “We hunt those who hunt us.” Fuck off, you hunt anything you deem ‘dangerous’ and find excuses to kill them so you can feel righteous.

Gonna casually note that RB was shot in the Throat with an arrow, but bc of makeup necessities they moved the arrow down to his chest when he’s shown on the ground. It’s funny. :)

It’s seriously so hard to hate Peter, do the writers realize that? Like, yes, he did horrible shit and I’m not denying that, but when you show him running into the hunter-filled woods to save his nephew’s life at 24 years old, then hiding with him in a cellar for two fucking days when he could probably have escaped on his own, it’s hard to see him as a heartless bastard.

I’m almost afraid to find out why Cora knows the details. Can you imagine? She would’ve been, what, 9-10? Her big brother and uncle both go missing for two days after a hunt and she had to stay at home waiting for someone to say they’d found their bodies. God, the lives of the Hales are so fucked up.

The rain is really making the mood here.

I gotta say, I’m confused about this initial Cora-Stiles interaction. He goes on about everyone who’s died or nearly died, but then Cora assumes he wants Derek to do something about the deaths, and Stiles agrees? Except that Derek currently fits the COD that all the other sacrifices have hit. Missing for about two days. Everything Stiles has said implies that he’s worried Derek is also dead. I don’t get why they go with ‘I’m worried about the missing man that I’ve been helping for the last four months because I blame him for the Alphas even coming to town”?

One thing they got on point here is just how disgusting they made Gerard. The slime and the spitting and ugh *shudders* it’s just so gross.

I’m also...I think intrigued is the right word--that they shoved this whole story into the episode without ever addressing the fact that Derek IS missing and they should go looking for him or something. It starts with Stiles asking where the hell he is, but then everything else is about this past moment. Talk about going off on a tangent. I mean, I don’t blame them, but if I shoved this much character background into one chapter people would call me out for the infodump that it is.

Which is all this episode is. Info-dumped exposition. Here’s how werewolves were made. Here’s why Derek’s cranky. Here’s why Duke’s an asshole. Here’s why the Hales are ‘special’

Again, I don’t blame them. It’s just...a lot.

Just a tiny thing: Why do they both roll up their sleeves when Scott only has to touch Gerard’s hand?

It is also very hard to believe that either Allison or Scott are remotely good people when they’re both lying to everyone about Gerard’s existence.

*finger guns, bc now i have to use the tag* I think this is the longest I’ve ever gotten before using it.

Another thing: Why does Gerard make the gross noises like he’s in pain, when we know it doesn’t hurt to get the pain taken away from him? It certainly didn’t hurt that lady in the ER.

I know this is a weird thing to notice, but I find it interesting that Paige is wearing actual makeup. Not just the ‘natural’ look, but eyeshadow that’s visibly dark. *shrug*

Is she Actually playing the cello? The notes Don’t look like they match up with her bowing and fingerings.

HA that music cut in is fucking Hilarious. Derek turns around like he’s in a teen rom-com, with that casual “I never stop smiling all the way bc I’m the coolest guy around” grin and the music just WHAM. That’s right, Derek Hale used to be a JOCK. He didn’t used to be ‘a lot like Scott.’ He was a lot like JACKSON.

So, this group of cronies Derek has. What is that about? He’s gotta have that posse just like Jackson did in S1? Unnamed people to cackle at his jokes.

Paige’s face, right there? That is the SHIT for me. That’s not hidden attraction, that’s genuinely “What the fuck is my life, why are you so lame?” and I am LIVING for it.

Derek peacocking is also hilarious. Peacocking so hard he (THE WEREWOLF) didn’t notice that she’d left the hall, is even more so.

I hate to tell you this Paige, but THAT is where I could tell you liked him. Giving in to his bullshit offer was the first step, that look on your face when he said, “Hold on” was Blatant “Holy shit, my crush wants to talk to me” but then all you idiots did was make eye contact. Paige, if you’re trying to get the ball, try looking away from those pretty eyes, okay?

Derek, you always go too far. You can see Paige lose interest when she realizes that he’s not actually into Her, he’s into showing off.

OOOF, i guess they weren’t such good friends after all, cus’ they left when Paige did.

I also feel the need to point out Derek is WEARING A CHECKERED SHIRT. *inarticulate screaming* Everyone who makes jokes about him thinking plaid is disgusting owes me five bucks bc he CLEARLY didn’t think checkers/plaid were that bad when he was in high school.

I’ll admit...the instant sorry is like...really good. If they’d had him come in and be More of a dick and then end up together, I’d be a lot more bugged. But his First real introduction to her is an apology.

THEN he goes back to being a dick. But at least this time it’s not about him, he wants to know about Her.

And I LOVE the turnaround! THIS is flirting. THIS is cute teasing. She plays his game Back at him, shows her own skill and forces him to get on her level. Then he weasels out of it, but in a Cute Way.

If there’s one thing that I’m routinely impressed by in TW it’s the scoring. They’re Really good with music to fit the moods and the vibes of the whole episode. For instance, all the transition music in this episode is Cello, bc it’s about Paige.

I hate agreeing with Gerard on Anything, but he makes a good point about the Dark Druid taking and killing someone else right alongside Deaton. Why would she take 4 people when she only needed three? She wouldn’t know that Deaton got a message out or that Scott would save Deaton. Plus the addition of the mountain ash circle is kind of weird, don’t you think?

Yah, I have no clue why your body is producing anything Either. You literally make no sense and you shouldn’t be alive. Period. Bringing you back was a lazy way to have someone who could be a sub-sub plot and hand out exposition and red herrings that are totally useless.

HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT GERARD? You weren’t There when Deucalion found out he could still see with his Alpha Eyes (Which makes no sense btw, he doesn’t have TWO sets of eyes???) and if you’d interacted with Deuc since then he’d have ripped you to shreds.

SERIOUSLY people, why the FUCK are we getting this information from Gerard when it makes WAY more sense for Deaton to tell them this? He was THERE for the whole thing!

I get that the point of the episode is supposed to be “Unreliable Narrators” (The whole show has an unreliable narrator.) but you had that covered with Peter’s story. You could’ve Instilled TRUST in Deaton by making a contrast and having Deaton TELL THEM THE TRUTH. Show the difference between reliable and unreliable. Gerard doesn’t need to be here!

Stiles, asking the real questions.

AND GETTING THE MOST BULLSHIT ANSWER IN THE UNIVERSE.

Could these writers GET any lazier? Put some fucking effort in and give us some information about Werewolves IN YOUR WEREWOLF TV SHOW.

What the fuck were Paige and Derek into that they knew where an abandoned distillery was when it wasn’t even in TOWN? And you’re telling me they left town every time they wanted to make out? Even worse, are you implying they had SEX in that distillery? And then trying to tell me that none of the fucking Alphas and their packs noticed the smell of Derek and his girlfriend all over the building?

...what...do people seriously not remember being teenagers? What the fuck Peter? In what fucking universe  is “one minute it’s ‘i hate you, don’t talk to me’ the next it’s frantic groping in any dark corner’ remotely accurate to real life?

Teenagers in the majority don’t DO that. I really fucking hate that all teenagers are made out to be like this. Like they’re “run by their hormones” and “everything is sex to you” STOP. Seriously, STOP. Saying shit like that completely negates the fact that Teenagers are Real fucking People. They’re not just buckets of hormones and sweat that need to be shaped into an adult. They’re fucking PEOPLE and reducing them to sex-crazed idiots is lazy and stupid.

Are you ALSO telling me that the hunters dragged RB’s DEad Body to an abandoned building, then strung the corpse up and cut it in half? AND that someone happened to go the abandoned building and found the body and called the cops, or that they MOVEd the two halves somewhere they would be found, Or that They were the ones to call and report the body?

Has teen wolf got even a Single brain cell?

ALSO, what the fuck is this timeline? Derek and Peter went missing for two days after RB was killed, but the packs don’t get together to discuss RB’s death until After Derek has run out of the building with Paige because he could smell blood from RB being hemisected. So, they waited at Least two days before talking to each other about RB’s death? And Derek apparently recovered Instantaneously from his two day nightmare and went right back to macking on his girlfriend and laughing freely the Day he was found? Or did they wait even longer? I’m so fucking confused!

Okay, you tell me that this place is their favorite makeout/groping spot, but they seriously just walk in the door and start kissing in the middle of the room? You guys didn’t bring some blankets and pillows here? You’re gonna stand there the whole time?

WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU MAKING PETER A PERVERT? He was fucking watching his nephew make out with his girlfriend through the wall??? WHat is WRONG with you?

ALSO, Cora was alive and active in Derek’s life at that point. She wasn’t That young. She could easily point out that Peter being Derek’s best friend is total bullshit if it weren’t actually true. Which means Peter is telling the TRUTH here. Hell, she doesn’t call out his heartbeat for lies the entire time, and while they imply at the end of the episode that Really Good Liars can just force their heart to be steady while lying so they don’t get caught, that isn’t a thing for the entire rest of the show. Derek trusts KATE when she says she’s not lying. So the evidence actually points toward Peter telling the TRUTH in this entire episode.

THAT is accurate to teenagers. Using the word “like” and “liking” so many times in a conversation that it doesn’t even sound like a word anymore.

Paige...dude, I’m so torn. Like I’m glad you’re being honest with Derek about your worries, but also it’s a complete dick move to just Assume that he’s gonna bail? To say to his face that you Know he’s leaving you and you’re just waiting for it? Fucking rude.

Ennis...bro...how exactly did your Beta “Accidentally” kill a hunter? How would that happen?

AGAIN WITH THE TIMELINE. If the packs only CAME to beacon hills because of Ennis issue with the hunters, why was RB running through beacon hills when he was killed?

Also, side note: Where are all of these werewolves staying? Are they territorial so they like, all claimed different hotels to take over? Or do they not mind, and THAT’S why the Hale house is so big for such a small family? Because they had a ton of guest rooms for packs that visited to get that sweet, sweet Hale Wisdom?

I firmly believe that werewolves are clothing-optional people. Talia straight shifts into a naked human form in front of over a dozen other wolves.

Also, where the hell is the Hale pack here? Some random chick comes up and gives Talia a robe, but that person is standing with Deuc’s pack. So....what?

I’m so curious about the formation the wolves make when they hear Talia coming. Everybody backs away, except Deucalion. And they do this weird focus on his face as he watches her come in. And her eye contact is JUST with him.

OH GROSS. DID DEUC HAVE A THING FOR DEREK’S MOM????

I will admit that watching things with subtitles sometimes ruins the surprise. There’s that little pause before “I’m just a deputy” like it was supposed to be shocking to the audience, but the subtitle on Amazon Prime just Pops up right away and it kind of ruins the effect.

Here we go! The one piece of concrete information on “Packs” and “pack members” that we’re given in the whole fucking show. Word for Word. “Losing a member of your pack isn’t like losing family, it’s like you lose a limb.”

That is....severe. Now imagine that your entire family IS your pack. And losing almost every one of them. Is it any wonder that Cora, Peter, and Derek are so messed up? That they’re so dark and wounded looking?

I s2g sometimes Peter literally just sounds like he’s a self-insert for the writers. He explains shit that the writer’s are showing Really Badly as if to wave away the fact that the Ennis flashback is pretty much Completely unnecessary. “You just don’t understand my artistic genius, it’s never just a single moment, it’s a confluence of events. I have to show you all these random flashbacks because you need to understand why Derek is soaked in MANPAIN all the time. Which is totally relevant to the current plot bc....bc....bc ART (and also Tyler Hoechlin was busy so we could only get one shot of him for the entire episode)”

That is just the cutest shit oh my god. Derek listens to Paige’s music while he’s in class and doing homework. THAT is love, you realize? He doesn’t just deal with her dedication to her music, he loves it.

THat little wince when he says “Are you sure about that?” Paige knows he’s gonna screw with her.

THAT IS A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP. He gives her space! She likes studying during lunch so he Leaves her Alone. I LIKE IT.

What do you mean “Laura told you about the packs being here.” Derek KNOWS they’re here because he watched RB DIE IN THE WOODS. Seriously, I”M SO CONFUSED.

FUN FACT (that I might’ve already shared) Oak wood was liked by the Celts because it was really sturdy and hardy and bore food, but it wasn’t their favorite type of wood! Rowan was the favorite, and Irish pagan practitioners used to sleep in rowan trees so they could have prophetic dreams. After that, it was Hazelwood. :P

I...do not enjoy when they bring up the Celtic Druids. *Scuttles to get my textbook bc this is my nerd shit*

“We’re in a Nemeton” This is the correct wording, actually! A “Nemeton” isn’t a thing, it’s a “sacred meeting place” as Chris calls it. Go chris! Nemeton refers to the entire grove/area around the main tree.

I can’t speak to whether they chose a ‘Large, older tree in a grove” but it does make sense bc if we’re talking about Oaks they were a symbol of food and safety (acorns were a staple to Celtic diets) so choosing an older tree would not only look more impressive, but it would probably bear more acorns for the clan.

“It would represent the center of the world” *Puts on vine voice* THat is NOt Correct! The tree at the center of the Nemeton was called a “crann bethadh” or “Tree of Life” and it was essentially a Totem that marked the center of the tribe’s territory. It was not ‘the center of the world’ it was the center of THEIR world. Their land.

“There was a belief that cutting or harming the tree would cause serious problems for the surrounding villages” Not sure if ‘villages’ is the correct term for the era, but the rest of it sounds like a close mistranslation. See, in Ireland there were raids people would do against other clans where the SOLE PURPOSE was to destroy their crann bethadh, because it was demoralizing. It’s like graffiti-ing the front of a church. But technically, it WAS severely frowned upon to harm the tree in any way.

This is mostly because in most Celtic areas, Oak trees were considered symbols of the “Father of the Sky” or the “God of Thunder.” Of course you don’t wanna piss off Thunder man.

Also, you notice how I’m saying CELTS and not DRUIDS. It’s because DRUID isn’t a cultural label, it’s a SOCIAL CLASS. It’s like saying “The Educated”

Okay, back to the--OH WAIT. Before anyone gets any ideas, the blood on the crann bethadh isn’t human. Estonian Celts smeared animal blood on the tree roots as an assurance for rain and good harvests. This is the same concept as TONS of other religions, including Christianity. (Abraham was supposed to sacrifice his son, Isaac, to God, but God stopped him and had him sacrifice a Ram instead. So, Yes. Christians used to perform animal sacrifices.)

NOW back to the show.

THe fact that gerard doesn’t know this stuff implies that Chris is the nerd of the family.

I LIKE THIS. I hate that I like it bc it’s Gerard, but I LIKE IT. Gerard gets up from his wheelchair. He doesn’t need it All the Time.

I’ve never seen another show that bothered to have a wheelchair user who wasn’t wheelchair-bound, which is stupid because it’s Very Common for people using wheelchairs to not need them all the time.

though it does beg the question of why he’s sitting in a wheelchair when he’s in his own bedroom? Was he going somewhere? Or did he know he wouldn’t have enough chairs and didn’t want Allison or Scott to sit in his chair?

The story of Lycaon, who was considered a savage ruler of Arcadia and Zeus went to his house disguised as a human (this is v common in myth) to find out if he was batshit. Lycaon and his FIFTY SONS (he also had one daughter) wanted to know if the stranger was a human or a mortal, so they fed him human flesh in stew. Zeus flipped shit and blasted the room with thunderbolts, murdering all but one of Lycaon’s sons, and then turned Lycaon into a wolf.

So...this whole ‘myth of lycaon’ is totally fucked up when it didn’t need to be? Like, they didn’t NEED to change it to make it a messed up origin story of wolves. It already was.

There’s three major versions to choose from

Lycaon was a pius man who founded the city of Lycosura on Mount Lycaeus and used a child as a sacrifice to Zeus, thinking it would please him. Zeus flips shit and turns Lycaon into a wolf. FROM THEN ON; at every sacrifice made to zeus a man was transformed into a wolf and if he managed to restrain himself from eating human flesh for 8-9 years, he would be turned human again.

The same story as the first, except Lycaon Knew Zeus was in disguise and the child he fed him was Zeus’ own son, and it was revenge for seducing his only daughter Callisto.

If you want to make it match what you’ve already said about wolves in the show, they could’ve used the last one and it would’ve demonstrated how Ingrained the concept of vendetta/revenge is for wolves.

If you wanted to focus on the Turning Human part and working with Celtic Druids to learn to become werewolves, you could’ve used the second one.

there was no reason to add in the bullshit about Prometheus except as an excuse to make Deucalion look like he picked his name to be an asshole, which he fucking didn’t.

 I’m so sorry about all the classical shit (i’m really not) but I studied it in college and I can’t just let this bullshit stand.

I’ll give them a pass on the ‘the lesser known part’ bc it’s technically plausible for the wolves to have run north to the Celts and beg for help, And the Druids (those who’s education was specifically in magic, not all of them) were known for shapeshifting (though not usually into animals. They did that to Other people, not themselves)

I cannot believe this is so long, i’m so sorry.

But WHY tho, Cora? How is an Emissary supposed to keep you connected to humanity if No ONe KNows Who They Are?? How are they supposed to do their job??

Yeah, well now Deaton is a sour bitch who has a chip on his shoulder against the Hale pack so like...fuck his advice.

I will say though! Pre-fire Deaton doesn’t give me the heebies like post-fire Deaton. He’s much more clear about the advice he’s giving, and it’s actually helpful! He still has a dumb little anecdote/parable about the scorpion and the frog (which...in most circumstances I hate. It doesn’t even match what happens) but he gives Real Advice instead of vague asshole nonsense.

“I’m an Alpha, I never walk alone.” I have an inordinate affection for this line.

Paige is clearly some kinda bad bitch if she thought nothing of going to hang out in the school in the middle of the night with Derek.

Okay, but like...why would he attack Ennis like that if he was the one who asked him to bite Paige? And why is the moment played up “A fifteen-year-old boy against a giant” Derek was literally swatted to the side while Ennis walked out of the building. this wasn’t some big showdown.

If she’d already been bitten, why was Ennis still grabbing at her??

....seriously? Peter is literally right there? And no one noticed?

Again with the “Scott is a genius now” LIsten, bro, why the fuck would Scott know a sanskrit fable? If he Did know a story like that, it would be bc Deaton taught him. In which case he would know the FROG and the scorpion. Come on, guys.

OH MY GOD GERARD DOES IT TOO. GERARD, PETER, AND DEUC all have a CHRONIC case of verbal diarrhea when they’re trying to be intimidating.

I do NOT understand this warehouse scene. It’s a GAS gerard, if you stabbed yourself with some sort of...antidote or whatever it wouldn’t save you from the GAS you’re inhaling. At the very least you would be shouting like everyone else because it HURTS going in.

why did it take so long for Talia to come? It’s implied that Peter left to get her, so why did it take so long? Even PAST peter looks fucked up at seeing that Paige is dying, it’s not like he would wait.

I’ll be real, i get weepy so i’m skipping the actual death. Just know that it hurts me. Severely.

Y’all know how much I hate this ‘innocent life’ bullshit for blue eyes. It’s very True Alpha-y in that it’s impossible to pin down the specifics. What constitutes an ‘innocent life’? What constitutes taking it? With wolf claws? With a gun? What counts and what doesn’t count? Ugh.

Eyyy, so I’m exhausted and this is so long that my computer is fritzing. There are five minutes left and nothing happens in them at all. Just Scott pointing out the heartbeat thing and threatening to kill Gerard (so he’s still fine with murder at this point in time. Good to know). Stiles telling Cora that he doesn’t think Peter was telling the truth (which she would Know if he wasn’t) and that he’s gonna ask Derek about it (which we never got to see). And Deucalion murdering his own Beta (who, tbf, tried to kill him first. Which, again, what the fuck is up with Deaton’s office that wolves are able to rip each other apart in it, but it’s still ‘hard for someone like Scott to cause me any trouble.’ I’m just so confused

Final Thoughts: This episode actually had some interesting stuff in it, which is kind of sad considering there was no PLOT, just Exposition. I look forward to tweezing the bits out that I want and dumping the rest in the garbage where it belongs. Oh, and like I said, the music was on Point.

[lynelovespopculture]

THE CHILLING ADVENTURES OF ZELDA CHAPTER 17-WITCHES IN A MORTAL WORLD

 AS CORDELIA FEELS HER FRIENDS DIFTING AWAY FROM HER, FAUSTUS MUST DEAL WITH VERY UNWANTED ATTENTION FROM NINA.

 The silence in the car was deafening.  Once or twice, Cordelia felt brave enough to turn her head to look at her father.  Usually, she could gage how her father was feeling just by looking at him, but now his face was just as unreadable as her mother’s usually was.  Still, Cordelia knew she had to say something to defend herself. After all, she didn’t do anything wrong.

“Dad,” Cordelia started. “I had nothing to do with whatever the Warners and that new girl were doing in that bathroom. I swear, I was only there a second before Becky came in.” Becky Mercer was the hallway monitor, who had entered the girls’ room right after Cordelia did. Becky incorrectly assumed that all 5 girls were in on this together, so all 5 girls were hauled off to Mr. Putnam’s office. Unfortunately, Faustus and the new 8th grade teacher, Mrs. Robinson, were already there. Cordelia felt very uncomfortable having her father there as Becky described the scene in the bathroom. When it came time to leave, her friends gave her dirty looks, as if it was her fault. “I swear I had nothing to do with it.”  Cordelia stressed.

“I know.”

“You do?"

“Of course, Cordy,” Faustus turned to his daughter, smiling. “I know you know what real magic is. It’s sure not a painted piece of cardboard made by Parker Brothers.”

“So, you’re not mad?”

Faustus shrugged. “Why should I be? If you say you weren’t involved…”

“I wasn’t.” Cordelia insisted.

“I didn’t know that the triplets were interested in magic.”

“Nor did I. But I suspect that their new friend, Sara, could be  at the heart of it. She claims to be a wiccan.”

“A wiccan!”  Faustus scoffed. “It’s a false word used by mortals to made themselves feel powerful. Besides, all I have read says that real wiccans died out with the age of  the pagans and there  has not been any pagans in Greendale since before you  were born, Cordelia.”

Cordelia knew that it was time to change the subject. “So, why were you in Mr. Putnam’s office anyway?”

“Well, while your friends were trying to start the 2nd fire of the day, Theo was dealing with the first one. You see since both the 8th grade classroom and the library  are  burned and therefore will  be unusable for several  months, Mrs. Robinson and her class have nowhere to go and since our  class happens to the smallest one this year-“

“They’re going to move the 8th  grade in with  us.”  Cordelia finished.

“Yes.”  Faustus confirmed.

“Do we even have that kind of room to share?”

“We should, once we move some desks and things around. What I can’t tell you is how they expect 2 teachers to run 1 classroom.”

Cordelia didn’t know either, so she just shrugged and looked out the window.  They were passing city hall when she saw a happy  brunette couple on the front steps. Cordelia thought she knew the woman, but she couldn’t quite place her.

 “There, that should do it!” It was Friday afternoon and Faustus and Nina were finish moving the last desk. They had been working afterschool all week to rearrange the room. 8 graders on 1 side, 7 on the other.

“Now you can all move in Monday.” Faustus smiled.

“Great! After bunking down in the cafeteria all week, it will be nice to enjoy lunch again, not have to rush to dismiss  my class early for it every single  day.”

They both laughed then Nina came closer.  “Seriously, Mr. Spellman, I’m really grateful to you for taking me in.”

“Oh, think nothing of it.”

“No, I mean it. If I can do anything, and I do mean anything, to thank you, just ask.”

Faustus’s smile remained on his face right up until Nina goosed him.

  “What?!  Oh no, Faustus, she didn’t do that.” Zelda giggled.

It was late that night, Faustus and Zelda were alone in their bedroom.  Faustus was telling his wife about his day.

“Oh yes, she did!” Faustus insisted. “And I didn’t misread or misunderstand the situation. That foolish woman walked straight up and goosed me! She willingly and knowingly grabbed my left buttocks with her hand and squeezed, hard.  So hard that I think she left a mark.”

Zelda burst out laughing. Faustus felt annoyed. Zelda was the only woman he had ever been faithful to.  Hecate knows that he had no plan or desire to change that, ever! Still, was it so wrong to want the woman he loved to be a tiny bit jealous? That he would comfort her and calm her fears by telling her, truthfully, that he immediately stepped, (okay, more like jumped), several steps away from Nina and told her that he was flattered but very happily married. Was that too much to ask? Faustus supposed it was as Zelda continued to laugh.

“I’m glad this amuses you, dearest. I know that I’m pushing 400, Zelda Spellman, but I thought that another woman being attracted me isn’t that humorous.”

“It isn’t humorous at all.” Zelda was instantly serious.  “I wasn’t laughing at that. You’re a very handsome man, darling. No, I was laughing at the irony.”

Faustus was completely lost. “What irony?”

“Her name.”

“Nina?”

Zelda shook her head. “No, Faustus. Mrs.  Robinson. A woman name Mrs. Robinson made a pass at you! Have you never seen the movie, the Graduate? All that’s missing is for that woman put her leg on a chair and the camera to pan under her leg.”

Now, Faustus was the one laughing.

Zelda smiled. “Remember, dear heart, sexual harassment goes both ways.”

“I’ll remember that. In that meanwhile, I have a question for you,” Faustus leaned forward and tucked some fingers into the knot of Zelda’s bathroom and gently pulled his wife into his arms. “Will you seduce me, Mrs. Spellman?”

“I thought you would never ask.” Zelda smiled and kissed him.

 Ever since they were 7 years old, Erin, Emily, Erica and Cordelia had a deal with their parents. As long as they kept their grades up, the girls were allowed to have sleepovers once a month. They took turns at each   other’s houses. That 1st Saturday after the start of 7th grade, it was Cordelia’s turn to host the triplets and she was excited about it. True, she saw her friends all the time in class and hung out with them outside of school quite often. But something was off this week, namely…Sara. It wasn’t that Cordelia didn’t like Sara, the girl had done nothing to her. It was just that she had known Warners a long time and knew that the sisters had loud, different personalities.  So, why were they seemingly turning into Sara’s yes men? Cordelia tried to bring the subject up to the triplets but they all stared at her like she was crazy. It was like Sara was voted president of a club, a club that Cordelia wasn’t even sure that she belonged to. Of course, they would play with other kids sometimes but the sleepovers were always just for the 4 of them and that’s why Cordelia was so excited for it. That’s why her heart sank when she heard Mr. Warner’s car pulled up and Cordelia saw at the window that the sisters had brought Sara with them.  Still, Cordelia knew it would be rude to turn Sara away so Cordelia swallowed her disappointment and welcomed all of her guests. The girls usually bunkered down in Cordelia’s room but 5 girls didn’t fit, so they made themselves comfortable in the living room. 3 hours into the sleepover, Sara turned to Erica.

“So, are you going to ask her or what?”

Cordelia immediately felt ill at ease. “Ask me what?”

“Cord, you know those old books you have in your attic?” Erica started slowly. “We were wondering if we could go take a look at them.”

“You mean, my cousin Ambrose’s collection?” Cordelia asked, knowing full well that’s exactly what they meant. “Why would you guys want to look at that?”

“To see if Sara could find a spell in one!” Erin said excitedly.

Of course. Cordelia forced herself not to roll her eyes. After never talking about it ever before, the triplets talked about nothing but magic all week long. The only difference between this week and any other, as far as Cordelia knew, was Sara. Still, Cordelia knew she better play it cool.

“You guys don’t want to go up there. It’s nothing but dusty 1st editions of Charles Dickens and Jane Austin.”

“And you’re sure you can account for all the books up there?”

It was comments like that made Cordelia think that Sara was annoying.

“Trust me guys, if I would come across something as cool as a spell book, I would share it with you.”

The triplets agreed and the subject was dropped, or so Cordelia thought. In the middle of the night, Sara woke up the triplets and said that she found books to look over right there in the living room.

“Should we wake up Cordelia?” Emily asked in a whisper.

“No,” Sara whispered back. “She’s only try to stop us or slow us down.”

They all took an armful of books and went into the hallway, leaving Cordelia in a deep sleep on the sofa.

 1 hour later, the triplets were ready to give up.

“There’s nothing here.” Whined Erin.

“Hey, I think I found something!” Declared Erica, but her smile faded quickly. “Never mind, these words aren’t in English.”

Sara took the book from Erica and immediately started to chant words that the triplets could not understand, leaving the sisters to stare at each other. Soon, a fog of green smoke rose up out of the book.  It floated away to the left and into the Spellman dinning room.  By the time the girls had turned the corner, the smoke had turned into a 7-foot green monster. Erin gasped and Erica rushed to cover her sister’s mouth. Only…she wasn’t fast enough for the noise caught the monster’s attention.

“I have been awakened.” The monster boomed at them. “Once I dispatch with you 4, no one can stop me from spreading my brilliant fear.”

“Boy, did you pick the wrong house.”

The monster turned toward the new voice and then the girls saw who was in the doorway.

“Mr. Spellman?”

“Warlock!”  The monster’s growl was so loud that it woke up the 3 people in the house who were still sleeping. Zelda came out of her room and met Jake in the hallway.

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know.”  He answered.  

Meanwhile, in the living room, Cordelia opened her eyes, pushed herself up by her elbow and saw by the dying firelight that all the sleeping bags, 2 on the floor, 1 on a chair and 1 on the sofa across from her, were empty. “Um…guys?!”

After getting up, Cordelia was met at the door by her mother and brother.

“Cordy, what’s happening?”

“Don’t know, Mom, but my friends are gone.”  Cordelia saw the books in the hall and brushed by her brother. “Oh no! I told them not to go upstairs and sort through Ambrose’s collection.”

“They can’t! They might find a spell book!”

Little sister gave big brother a dirty look. “Jeez, you think so?”

Another noise came and Zelda ran into the other room. Cordelia was right behind her and Jake stayed behind just long to pick up the only book that was still opened. They stopped right behind the girls and Sarah. They also beheld the monster with their only eyes. After Jake shook off the shock, he turned the page in the book he held and spoke a sentence.  Instantly, the monster howled in pain and then it disappeared. As it did, green goo spat out of the monster’s mouth and landed on Faustus’s face.

Zelda watched her husband as his lip quivered and she came closer. “Darling, are you alright?”

“Please, don’t leave me, Zelda.”

“Leave you?”

“I know you can have Mambo Marie or anyone in the realms that you desire. But no one can love you like I do. Hecate, I love you so much, Zelda! Please don’t leave me, dearest, please!” Now openly sobbing, Faustus sank to his knees and clung to Zelda’s nightgown.

Unsure what was happening and not sure what to do about her husband, Zelda sighed and looked back at the children. “Cordelia, take your friends back to bed. Jake, perhaps you can fetch the girls some hot coco to calm them down.”

“Calm down?!” Erin shrieked. “Are we just going to ignore the fact that the R rated version of Shrek just came and went? What was that? Why is Mr. Spellman now crying?”

Erin had a million more question as a fuming Cordelia gathered her friends and led them back into the living room. “I thought I told you not to go to the attic and look for books.” Cordelia’s tone was very much like a disappointed parent.

“We didn’t,” Sara shook her head. “All the books we found, came from that cabinet.”

But I locked that up myself before you got here. Cordelia thought silently. For the 10 minutes, Cordelia tried and failed to come up with an explanation for what had happened.  She was so grateful when Jake came in with the hot coco. Emily remarked how yummy the cinnamon was. Cordelia’s mug didn’t have any for she knew that the cinnamon was laced with aunt Hilda’s kitchen magic, designed to make her mortal friends forget the events of this night.

  The next morning, Faustus woke up   with a splitting headache.

“Darling, you’re alright!” Zelda rushed to his side. “How are you feeling?”

Faustus groaned. “Did anyone get the plate of that truck?”

Zelda smiled. “There was no truck. Turns out that our friend, the not-so-jolly green giant is a demon. A fear demon, to be exact.”

“But why did I get hysterical last night and then I remember…nothing else?”

“Well, you were crying so hard that Jake and I couldn’t even think so we put you under a sleeping spell and put you to bed for the night. As Cordelia tended to her friends, Jake and I were able to study that spell book and that’s how we discovered it was a fear demon.”

“But why did I cry at all?” Faustus asked.

“It’s the fear demon’s green goo.  Once the goo made contact with your skin, it made you believe that your greatest fear had come true. Given, how you asked me not to leave you, does your greatest fear involve me?” Zelda asked gently.

Faustus sighed. “As a matter of fact, my greatest fear is you realizing what I already know. That you can do so much better than me.”

Zelda clicked her tongue, sat beside Faustus on the bed and took his hand. “Darling, that’s simply not true. I will never leave you, never! Why won’t you believe me when I say I Iove you just as much as you love me?”

“Because I’ve never been that lucky.” He muttered.

“Will I do.” Zelda insisted and kissed him long and deep.

After gently stroking his wife’s cheek, Faustus got up and reached for his robe. “1 final question, dearest, how long should we punish Cordelia for showing off in front of her friends?”

Zelda frowned. “I’m not sure Cordy did this. She seemed just as shocked as Jake and I was and she’s never behaved like this before.”

“If Cordy didn’t do this, then who did?”

Zelda shrugged as Faustus put his arm around her. As they went downstairs and toward the kitchen, Zelda explained how they were able to rid Faustus of the demon’s goo   by using the strongest anti-spell they had. The one Faustus had discovered himself when they first found LJ and she had spelled Cordelia as a baby. In the kitchen, they saw Jake, who was sitting on the kitchen island, eating a bowl of cereal.  Ambrose and Prudence were at the table, studying a book.  The sleep over guests were gone but Cordelia, still in her pjs, was pacing back and forth.

“Dad!”  Cordelia ran up to her parents as soon as she saw them. “Are you alright? Are you okay?”

Faustus reached down and tucked a stray red hair behind his daughter’s ear. For the past 12 years, 1 of Faustus’s greatest joys in life had been able to raise and claim Cordelia as his own since the moment she was born. Something fate had cheated him out of with his other 3 children. The fact that she was also Zelda’s child was just extra icing on a very sweet cake. The way she ran up to him, coupled with the heavy concern in her eyes made Faustus feel bad he had accused her of anything. He bent and kissed her cheek. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’m perfectly fine.”

Zelda sat down at the table, addressing Ambrose and Prudence. “What are you 2 doing here so early on a Sunday morning?”

“I called them,” Jake explained. “I know you and I studied the spell a lot last night, Mom, but I thought it couldn’t hurt to call in the expert.” Jake pointed his spoon at Ambrose. “Especially since Cordy still says she’s innocent.”

Cordelia rolled her eyes. “I am!” Cordelia insisted. “The only thing I’m guilty of last night is of falling asleep.”

“I believe you, Cordelia, and I believe the evidence does too.” Ambrose said calmly.

“You found something?” Zelda asked.

Ambrose nodded. “This just happens to be 1 of the oldest spell book in the whole house. The demon summoning spell would have had to be performed by someone who   could speak perfect Latin.”

“And we all know that my Latin is very far from perfect.” Cordelia cut in.

Prudence was confused. “So, the Warners did this?”

Her little sister shook her head. “No, no, no. Erin, Emily and Erica don’t speak a word of Latin nor do they know any magic. I’ll tell you exactly who did that spell. It was the new girl from school, Sara Reed. It was her.”

“Do you really think so?” Faustus asked his daughter.

“I’m certain of it! The triplets have slept over here hundreds of times and nothing bad ever happened until last night when they brought Sara with them.  Hecate, it was Sara’s idea to go upstairs to haunt for books.”

“Is this Sara girl magical?” Jake asked.

Cordelia crossed her arms. “She’s a self-proclaimed wiccan.”

“But a wiccan isn’t magical, none that we’ve ever seen anyway.” Prudence pointed out.

Cordelia shrugged. “I don’t know who or what Sara truly is but I know now that my gut instinct was right. I don’t trust her.”

 Cordelia was in a bad mood for the rest of the day. She was still angry on Monday morning when she entered the school and the 1st thing she saw was the triplets and Sara huddled together in front of a poster. After a heavy sigh, Cordelia went to join them.

“Well, ladies, it seems that it’s play season yet again.”  Emily said as her sisters moaned.

“What? Don’t you like plays?” asked Sara.

Cordelia was now near enough to hear her friends and she was happy. She was happy because they were talking about normal stuff confirming that the hot coco had worked. Also she was happy because she knew the problem about the play without having to ask, unless Sara.

“This school does a play 2 times a year, in the fall and in the spring. But the only play they ever put on, year after year is Death of a Salesman.” Emily explained.

“They?” asked Sara.

Well, the play is mostly done by the 7th & 8th graders.” Erin said.

Erica lit up. “That’s us this year, guys. Maybe we could request a change of the play.”

“That a great idea!”

The 4 girls turned to see Cordelia.  The triplets greeted their friend warmly, but as Cordelia noted, Sara did not. The girls had no more time to talk since the bell rang. But Cordelia managed to block Sara’s way.

“I was just wondering how did you learn how to speak Latin?”

Sara shook her head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t know a word of Latin.”

No wonder I don’t trust you. Cordelia thought as she watched Sara walk away. You just lied straight to my face.

The school day didn’t get much better. Since this was the 1st day that grades 7 and 8 were sharing a classroom, it was fitting that their 1st assignment was a joint 1. The whole class has 2 weeks to research and write an essay about their family trees. Later that afternoon, it was announced that some of the 7 graders, including Cordelia, would been bumped up to grade 8 English.

“I’m very excited about the first novel we’re going to read.” Mrs. Robinson declared. “It was 1 of my favorite when I was your age. It’s The Witches by Roald Dahl.”

Faustus overheard all this and didn’t have to look up to know that his daughter had cringed.

 “So, what do you think your father will say when you tell him you’re dating a white guy?”

LJ smiled and shook her head. “I don’t think my father will have anything to say about it. Mostly because he’s a white guy himself. I didn’t tell you because, well, it just slipped my mind.  That’ s how unimportant it is to me. I hope that’s not a problem.”

“Not at all. I just needed another reason to say we’re dating.”

It was a week later and it was lunchtime at the hospital. After 3 weeks of spending every spare moment together, LJ Spellman and Peter Watson are very happy because last night they both decided that they were officially dating.

“My family is very important to me.” LJ told Peter as the 2 doctors sat down with their food trays. “In fact,” LJ reached into her pocket and fished out her wallet. “I always have this with me.” LJ said as she placed the photo in the middle of the table and slid it over to Peter. “See the tall guy with the black hair in the middle there? That’s my father, Faustus.”

 “I had no idea you had such a big family.” Peter said, studying the picture.

 “It’s not that big. It just looks like it because we have the whole gang here.” LJ got up and went closer to Peter to guide him through the picture. “I’m 1 of 4 children. The girl with the platinum hair here,” LJ pointed, “is my older sister, Prudence. The boy next to my father is my twin brother, Jake and this is Cordelia, my baby sister. And this is Zelda, my stepmother-“

Peter frowned. “You have a stepmother? Ug, I’m so sorry. I’ve 2 stepmothers of my own and, well, there a reason why they called evil stepmothers.”

LJ shook her head. “I’m sorry if you had some bad experiences, but it’s not like that for me. Zelda is wonderful, in fact- “LJ sighed, how to explain the insanity cure to a mortal? “Look, I know how insane this will sound, but I swear to you that all of it is true.”

“Okay,” Peter said slowly.

“Jake and I were babies when we were kidnapped by a…would-be cult leader.” LJ continued. “The man was insane and sexiest. He taught us all the wrong values. Thankfully, when we were 16, Jake and I were returned to our father. It wasn’t easy having to relearn almost everything and basically how the real world worked. But our father was there for us every step of the way. So was Zelda. I was so mean to her in the beginning but she refused to give up on me or Jake. Whatever or whenever we needed her, she was there. Even though she had a 5 month old at home and a whole school to run, she was never to busy to help us or hold us, whatever we needed. Zelda wanted to adopt Jake and me right from the start but she waited until we wanted it too.  Our birth mother died in childbirth, so Zelda is the only mom Jake and I have ever known.”

Peter was impressed. “Wow, I’m sorry for my earlier comments. You obviously love Zelda very, very much.”

LJ smiled and then pointed out the other people in the photo. Her Aunt Hilda, Uncle C and cousins, Ambrose and Sabrina.

“They all seem delightful. When can I met them?”

LJ blinked. “You want to meet my family?”

“Yeah, I want to find out for myself if they’re as cool as you” Peter said before kissing her.

  Early the next morning, Faustus was at his desk when Nina came in and without a single word, closed the door and sat in his lap!

“You’ve been holding out on me.” Nina sing songed.

Meanwhile, Faustus could barely be bothered to look up from his work. “No, I’m not.  As I told you before, your makeshift desk is over there” Using his pencil, Faustus pointed to the corner “and if you require a new chair, I suggest you get yourself one.”

“No, it’s not about that. You told me that you were happily married. You lied, Fausty.”

“No, I did not.  And don’t call me Fausty, ever!”

“But you did lie,” Nina insisted. “I asked around and that is how I learned that you are famous or should I say I infamous, for cheating on your wife.”

Faustus made a face. “You asked? Who did you ask?”

“You know, just around town.”

Faustus was furious, standing up and Nora rolled off him and would have crashed to the floor if she hadn’t awkwardly grabbed the desk.

“Where do you get off?” Faustus demanded. “Running around town, asking everyone about my personal business!”

“Look, I’ve respected your marriage up until now- “

“Are you kidding me? In the 3 weeks that we have shared this classroom, all you ever do is come on to me, shamelessly flirt with me, use any excuse to bump or brush up against me and talking in double meanings. Often in front of our students, 1 of which is my own daughter!”

“I won’t tell your wife, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Faustus sighed deeply. This was truly like talking to a brick wall. Actually, the brick wall would be more of an upgrade. “I don’t care if you talk to my wife because there’s nothing to tell her.”

Nina shook her head. “That’s not what I heard, and you know the saying, once a cheater, always a cheater.”

“I’m no longer a cheater! I am not that man anymore!” Faustus declared. “And comparing my 1st marriage to my second is as pointless as comparing day and night. Judging from that look on your face, I can tell that you didn’t know that I’ve been married twice, which proves just how little know about me.”

“Then why don’t enlighten me?” Nina came closer.

“Fine!  But because it’s almost class time and I have no desire to tell you my life story so let me give you the cliff notes. I was blackmailed into my 1st marriage.  Since we met less than a month before our wedding, I didn’t even know Constance when we got married and when we did get to know each other, I didn’t like her. Yes, I cheated on her, a lot, because I was so unhappy. I was trapped in a   marriage I never wanted. My faith doesn’t allow for divorce and worse of all, I had to sit by and watch as the only woman I’ve ever love go out with men that were beneath her.  Aside from my twin children, nothing good came out of my marriage with Constance. When she died, I was finally free to marry my Zelda and it was the best thing I ever did.  It’s been 13 years and I still thank all the stars in the sky every day for that woman and the family she gave me. My marriage to Zelda has given me a happiness that I never knew existed. I used to think that you needed power to be happy, not so. As long as I know my children are safe and I get to wake up next to Zelda each morning, I am perfectly content. You see, Zelda is my very best friend as well as the love of my life and I would never do anything to willing hurt her. For I would be completely lost without her.”

Nina crossed her arms. “You told me about yourself. Now, let me tell you about me. Back in New York, I’m considered a legend. Once I’m interested in someone, that’s it. He’s mine. A man has never refused to share my bed.”

“Well, you know the saying, there’s a 1st time for everything.” Faustus returned.

Nina sighed as she unbuttoned half her top, exposing her bra. “Does this give you any ideas?”

“You know, it does.”

Finally! Nina thought as she smiled, closed her eyes and puckered up for a kiss. Only there was no kiss, and Nina could only feel a tiny movement of fabric. She opened her eyes to see Faustus now had his back to her. She looked down to see that he had buttoned her blouse back up. She was going to call out to him when the bell rang and the children flooded in. After attendance, Nina had an announcement.

“As I told you on Monday, your request to do a new play has been approved. After taking your suggestions all week, I’ve decided to go with the Warner girls’ and Ms. Reed’s idea.”

At her desk, Cordelia frowned. She had no idea that they had submitted a play idea, and the triplets used to tell her everything.

“As per their suggestion,” Nina continued. “we will be doing a watered down version of The Crucible by Arthur Miller. For those of you not in the know, this play is about the Salem witch trials.”

That is when Faustus and Cordelia sighed and buried their faces in their hands at the exact same time.

[wondergal2001]

Little Lamb: Part Seven

When Charlie first woke up and calmed down from her initial deja vu, the silence was wonderful. It was serene and healing; everything she needed in her life right now. Her head had been filled with so much shit the last few years, it piled up and up until all that noise was pounding in her head. Slamming against her skull demanding to be released. But the silence in this room was just... so silent. For once the only thing in Charlie's head, was her, just her. The silence was her balm, her blissful saviour.

But now it was choking her.

The soothing, healing silence had escaped the room with the cold, no-nonsense woman in a pantsuit. Erica Sloane, if Charlie remembered correctly. But to be honest she wasn't really paying much attention. She completely blanked out the second she made eye contact with the giant man with the ugly moustache. The one from the warehouse. The one who saved her, but also seemed like he couldn't care less for her life.

Ms. Sloane had strut in here like she owned the place, which Charlie din't know yet but she did, said some blah blah explanation about what happened to her, like Charlie didn't already know how she got into this situation and what those disgusting people were gonna do with her. It was old news to her, she lost interest almost immediately, she almost didn't notice when Waller left the room. What really interested her was why the not so friendly giant, looked more uncomfortable being in this room than she did. As soon as that door closed she was on the case to find out why. And thus the staring contest began.

They had both been staring at each other for some time now, what felt like hours but really was only a handful of minutes. Both pairs of eyes roaming the others figure. Trying to surmise every fact, every small tiny detail about each other without opening their mouths. Charlie could feel this man's inquisitive gave travel over every square inch of her person, inspecting every bruise, every scar, every freckle on her blemished skin. She made sure to put her best poker face on; she wasn't going to show this random man just how unsettled she was being in this room with him with complete lack of noise.

He was just as tall and just as wide as she remembered him being. He looked pretty much the same as the last time she faced him, just maybe a little cleaner. His previous sand, dirt, and blood stained outfit had been replaced with a pair of black trousers and a tight, knit sweater. The dark navy blue of the garment contrasting well with his light eyes. He stood, leaning his shoulder against the wall, about a metre away from the door. His arms were crossed at his chest, making his already big arms even huger.

The silence was suffocating her again. Sucking all the air out of her body, she couldn't breathe. This was past quiet, way more than silence. It felt like all the air and all possible noise had evaporated from the room. All thought disappeared from her frazzled head, all she could do was not blink. She knew what this was. It was a test for dominance, to see who was the top dog, who was gonna be in charge of this conversation, in charge of this relationship. She could do it, she knew she could. Charlie flippin' Granger was her name and stubborn was her game. She could hold the blinks back and show this dangerous specimen who was boss.

Charlie was quite the stubborn person, stubborn as an ox most people would say. She was often stubborn to a fault.  In fact that was probably the second word used to describe her. The first word was always the same one.

Awkward.

"So who talks first? I talk first? You talk first?", she finally broke, managing to keep her voice steady. Still trying to keep all of her emotions close to her chest, but she just couldn't keep her lack of comfort inside any longer.

"Has anyone ever told you that you have a very piercing stare sir. I mean like seriously, what are you doing? Looking into my soul, trying to see my future? Cause I can tell you now, there is nothing particularly interesting to see here. Nope, nada. Probably just a crazy cat lady with a thousand plants.", god she just kept rambling. The word vomit just kept coming and coming, she couldn't make it stop. She sent a quick prayer to mother Karma that she needed to be stopped, and stopped quickly.

It seemed karma took pity on her. A quiet, smooth chuff of air, left the very, very large chest; sounding suspiciously like amusement. She looked over at him, now sitting in a chair that looked much too small for a man of his stature. When he moved there she couldn't tell you, it must have been when she was stuck in her head. She saw his blank face turn into a delicious smirk. Lips pulling up to the side just enough to show his amusement. That accompanied by the mischief in his eyes from her babbling, making his beautiful face look like a total douchebag. Finally, after their intense stare down he spoke.

"That totally makes sense, you seem like that kind of person.", he said sounding just a tiny bit mocking. Still looking at her with that small smile on his face, as if she was the most hilarious person in the world. But not the type of hilarious where they tell jokes that make you pee your pants, the type of hilarious that's only funny to the people watching. The difference between laughing with and laughing at.

"And what kind of person is that Mr. Steroids?", she retorted with some not so hidden venom in her voice. Kind of insulted that he agreed with her lonely, depressing view of her future.

"You don't have great conversation skills do you?", he spoke through a laugh, his mouth breaking into a huge grin showing off his perfect teeth. Of course he has prefect stinking teeth, Charlie thought bitterly. He seemed to relax more, as he leaned back into the chair, sitting like an actual normal person instead of some perfect posture robot. If Charlie heard that sound a year ago, she would have blushed like crazy. She would be trying, and failing, to flirt back with this handsome stranger. She would have answered yes she does have excellent communication skills, and she always believed people had the best intentions at heart. But she knew better now.

"Well considering the last real conversation I had, I was begging not to be kidnapped I think I'm doing pretty well. Sorry to disappoint.", she said the last bit with all the sarcasm she could muster. Hoping to cover up the real sadness and fear that was bleeding out of her confession.

It seemed her retort had woken him up. He swiftly shifted his weight forwards, leaning his elbows on his spread knees, with his large hands clasped together hanging in between. The previous laughter on his face disappeared, being replaced by a serious face with remorseful eyes that glanced down away from her person towards his fiddling hands. After a few seconds of silence, as her admission sank into both of them, his eyes connected with hers again. The look on his face seeming to plead with her to believe what he would say next.

"You're doing wonderfully. Even though there is no right or wrong way to handle what you've been through, to handle trauma, I can tell you are doing the best you can. And that's great, that's the first step. Always.", he said so seriously she actually believed him. Everything about him right now screamed sincere. Nothing about his face, body language, or tone made her think he was lying to her. That he was giving the classic victim spiel. He looked like a golden retriever right now, he appeared to be so loyal, patient and trusting; someone she could count on to help her through this. As much as his words comforted her, the prolonged eye contact was starting to make her uncomfortable. She quickly cleared her throat, looking away from his piercing gaze.

"Where are we? Who are you? I'm pretty sure we are in some medical facility, and no offence dude but you don't look like my doctor." she questioned, wrapping her arms around her stomach.

So she was deflecting again, sue her. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate his words, she did. Charlie wasn't ready to go down that hole yet. And she'd rather deal with her trauma in her home, or at the very least, when an extremely attractive man isn't there to see her burst open. He didn't seem all that surprised at her dismissal, if anything it seemed like he expected it. His face shifted again, this time becoming a the neutral, calm government official he was. He rose from his chair, standing up to his full height, his arms found their natural habitat crossing his chest. He seemed to ponder his response, Charlie watched a million thoughts run in and out of his head before he finally formulated his answer.

"You are in a US government medical facility in Virginia. You've been unconscious for several hours now which is to be expected with your injuries. I am the government agent who rescued you and who now has been assigned to help rehabilitate you and assist you in getting back into society. Long story short, that means where you go, I go. And before you ask, yes I am essentially your babysitter. My name's August.", he said sounding nothing like the man she had first met. He actually sounded...friendly. But it didn't matter how friendly he made himself seem, Charlie was not happy, nope not one bit. But she was too lazy and not mention too tired to argue with him. She knew, no matter what she said she wouldn't be able to change his mind, so she settled for showing her anger in another more healthy way. She pouted and glared.

"Tt, babysitter.", she scoffed, finding his blue eyes again staring straight at her. She returned his gaze with a fiery glare, putting all the anger and discontent she could muster right now behind it. She thought she came off as serious and intimidating, but really she just looked like kid when they are told no they can't have cake for dinner. A fact August didn't hesitate to let her know.

"It's cute, you trying to intimidate me. Adorable but useless, not to mention unnecessary. I don't like this anymore than you do.", August admitted with absolutely no shame and a sarcastic smile. He was secretly glad the light-hearted atmosphere was back, and that she took it so well. No yelling or fighting or major resisting. This he could deal with.

"First things first, now that you have woken up, we are going to move you to a safe house where you can finish your recovery.", he declared, sounding like the bossy man she knew he was just from the moustache alone. He started to move towards her, coming to stand right next to her on the left side of her bed. He reached for her arm to help her out of bed and onto the wheelchair close by. He stopped about a couple inches away from touching her skin. She looked at him questioningly, maybe there is a glitch in the matrix, she thought trying to understand what he was doing.

"Can I touch you?", he asked softly, as if he could shatter her by speaking any louder.

"What?", she asked. Her face scrunched up in confusion, her eye brows furrowed together, mouth slightly open in pause. After inhaling a deep breath he elaborated his previous question.

"Do I have your consent to touch you? To grab your arm to help you out of bed?", finally clarifying what he was after. Charlie's scrunched up face melted away into one of open shock. No one had ever asked her that before, not her previous partners, not random people she met out in public, and most definitely not the people she had encountered in the last year. Finally getting her wits together she answered back honestly.

"That depends.", she said equally as quiet as August, and equally as serious. His eyebrow quirked a little, in an inquisitive manner. The eyebrow was enough to ask her to elaborate without opening his mouth, a talent she was definitely going to ask him to teach her later.

"Were you really gonna do it?", she asked with no emotion in her voice, no emotion on her face either. She made sure to gaze at his face to see what he was feeling, she wanted to be certain.

"Do what?", he asked even more confused than he was before. He tried to imagine what she could have been talking about. They hadn't known each other for more than a day. This was their first conversation together, what could he have done to make her question him like this?

"Were you really going let him kill me?", she finally revealed. Looking him right in the eye to make sure he knew that she was watching and that she wasn't going to settle for anything less than the truth.

Finally after several seconds of silence, and even more intense eye contact he gave her a look. What it meant she didn't understand at the time, but would later learn to understand every word he wasn't saying. It was a simple yes or no question but he didn't answer. All he did was gently grasp her arm in his large, warm hand.

To everyone who is still interested in reading this: I am so sorry it took so long. Writing isn’t my strong suit and I just have to be in the mood for it. I will try my best to write more regularly and often. I will be trying to make a master list (it will be pinned on my blog) and a taglist so let me know if you want to be tagged. 

[penwieldingdreamer]

Don’t start what you can’t finish

So as a birthday present and a hopefully good way to put a smile on @fanficsrusz​ face again, I decided to put this one out for you. This time we have Doctor Julian Mercer and we know we could all use him some days or other. Let me know what you thought. Have fun and happy reading.

As for Lucy: Happy 21st Birthday, darling 💖💖💖 hope you’ll like it

Warnings: fluff, smut, NSFW (please wrap it up, you know the drill) 18+

Words: 3774

You never thought that you would end up here:

Sitting alone at the bar, wallowing in self pity because you were the only single female there. And to top it all it was at your cousin’s wedding, who after the birth of her daughter Madelyn was born, decided to marry Danny again. Aunt Erica would have a field day, writing another one of her plays with this storyline.

Holding your empty glass up, you signaled the Barkeep to get you another drink, already feeling the buzz in your system. Giving you a raised eyebrow, he did what you asked, but wasn’t happy when you instantly donned it like it was water. A tight lipped smile was the only answer and put your glass down. 

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw someone approach, probably some guy Marin knew from New York. He was quite tall, blonde and lanky and it reminded reminded you of Andrew, an ex of yours who was currently shaking up with one of the bridesmaids. 

“Hi, I’m Josh. I didn’t catch your name.” he said, sticking his hand out for you to shake.

Raising your eyebrows at him, you grabbed your next drink. “I didn’t throw it.” You put the glass to your lips and threw your head back. If you couldn’t have fun at least you’d be able to drink it away. “And to be honest, I’m not interested.” you said, earning a scowl from the man next to you. 

“You’re pretty rude for someone looking like they’d want to be anywhere but here.”

Rolling your eyes you turned to him, ready to chew him out. “I’m sorry to disappoint. I don’t want to be here, but it doesn’t give you the right to think you only have to flash that perfect smile and I get down to my knees.”

Leaning closer to you Josh clamped his hand around your wrist, halting you from leaving. “You think your so amazing, huh?” he asked, a snarl maring his features. “No one says No to me, baby." 

"Darling.” A deep voice sounded next to you, the warmth of a hand radiating across your back. “I thought you wanted to dance.” he commented watching Josh with a dark look, which seemed like he meant business. “You’re supposed to dance with me for the second waltz tonight.” The blonde let go of you wrist, noticing the anger radiating from the man behind you.

Turning your head you saw the dark haired doctor Aunt Erica used to date. His eyes gave you a look to play along, knowing you were in trouble with the guy at the bar. “Oh, hey honey.” You smiled, feeling secure now that he was hopefully leaving. Putting your hand on his broad chest you leaned against his side, smelling the cologne he wore and a scent that was entirely his own. “I was waiting for you to be done with Aunt Erica, you guys had so much to talk about.”

“Yeah, I wanted to know how Harry was doing.” He returned your smile, his hand instantly moving to your waist, like it belonged there. “But now, let’s get going, they’re playing our song.”

The scowl returned to the blonde’s face and you knew that he didn’t like the outcome of the evening. You couldn’t suppress the slight wave when you turned away from him, satisfied that he was shut down instantly.

The doctor led you to the dancefloor, taking your right hand in his left and putting his left on your waist, slightly bunching the fabric of your green satin dress, which surprisingly Marin wanted you to wear to her wedding. Softly swaying to the music, you moved closer to him with a smile gazing into his chocolate eyes. 

“So, may I inquire the name of the damsel in distress?” he asked, a glint in his eyes as you twirled around the room.

Snorting, you bit your lip, the corner of your mouth moving up in amusement. “Who says I was a damsel and in distress?”

“Well, the guy seemed to bother you and I just came to be at the bar, so I decided I should rescue you.” he shrugged, pushing you out and pulling you back again to his body. 

Your left hand moved higher on his shoulder, so that it laid on the back of his neck, softly playing with the hair there. “Ah, that makes sense.” you chuckled. “I’m Y/N and I thank you very much for the rescue kind sir.”

“I’m Julian, I used to be Harry’s doctor.” he explained, nodding at said man you was dancing next to you. Erica raised her eyebrow at you over the manager’s shoulder, grinning as she saw you dancing with Julian. When the older man turned away from you, she gave you a thumbs up over his shoulder which you could see over the doctor’s broad shoulder. Shaking your head you turned back to him, following his movements.

“My aunt told me about you, but only briefly mentioned a name, so I didn’t have  a face to the name, so - uh - sorry for that.” you apologized.

Another shrug, another twirl and you were pulled back against his chest. “So, now that I pulled you away from that sleazy guy, you owe me.”

“Ha.” you laughed, cocking your head to the side. “And what should your payment be, oh humble one.” you lightly mocked, tickling the back of his neck and felt him shiver under your touch. 

Pursing his lips and tilted his head to the side. “I’d say, Y/N, it’s going to be quite simple.”

“Yeah?”

Julian nodded his head, putting a wide smile on his lips. “Yes. I want at least one date.”

“At least one?” you asked astonished. From what you heard from your aunt he was more the type to date older women, not the ones of your age.

“At least!”

Smiling, your teeth pulled your lower lip in and you nodded your head. Maybe coming to the wedding wasn’t such a bad idea. “And what are we to do if there’s going to be more than one date?”

“Oh.” he grinned, his hand moving slightly to lay on your lower back, just above your tailbone. “I think we’ll move on from that.”

»¤«

Five month later

Tiredly you opened the door to your apartment. You were so exhausted, being on your feet since the crack of dawn and people getting on your nerves for the tiniest things. It was crazy. 

Of course with it being the beginning of winter and the flu waves coming like every year there’s bound to be a bunch of patients coming in to get treatment, one way or another, but when you only hear them complain because they have to wait in line to see the doctor and you always have to be friendly and smile, you’ll be happy to get out of there.

Groaning you let your bag fall down to the floor, the keys jingling as they hit the carpet. You closed your eyes and leaned back against the front door, not sure what you were going to do after you recovered for a few seconds.

“Babe?” Julian’s voice sounded from the kitchen where he probably already done with dinner for the two of you, like he always did when he had the early shift and was done sooner than you. “You okay?”

He had made his way to the hallway, wiping his hands on the towel slung over his shoulder. 

Squinting through one eye, you let out another groan, your head still resting against the door, you shook your head. “‘m tired.” you mumbled, closing your eye again and putting your hands up onto your head, feeling a headache coming.

Julian sobered, instantly moving into doctor mode. “Wanna tell me what’s hurting?” He came over to you, putting his hands on your face, watching you closely.

“M-My back, I’m not sure if I can even get to the bedroom.” you sighed, frustrated at yourself for feeling so weak and a bit annoyed by his obvious concern, which was sweet all together, but right now you just wanted to cuddle with Julian, your boyfriend and not Julian Mercer, the doctor.

Nodding his head, he put his arms around you, pulling you away from the door. Concern was written all over his face and you knew it would take everything to convince him to not make another phone call to the hospital. “Okay, babe, I’ll help you over to the bedroom and then I’ll take a look at your back.”

“Aren’t you just a cardiologist?” 

Laughing, he moved you along, occasionally kissing your head or brushing his hand over your hips. “Doesn’t mean I don’t know my way around the rest of the human body.”

You moved your free hand up, giving his chest a slight hit for that comment. “As long as it’s just my body you really know your way around and not another woman’s.”

“I wouldn’t do that, Y/N.” he admonished you, pulling you closer by the waist as you finally reached your bedroom. “There’s only you, darling.”

Nodding you moved over to the bed, falling face first onto the mattress not bothering to remove your clothes before you laid down. Julian shook his head at the sight of you, one half of the body onto of the bed, the other hanging down like you were a ragdoll and carelessly thrown there. He gently pushed you all the way onto the mattress and sat down next to you. Pulling your top up, he started pressing down along your lower back, knowing that’s where most of your pain was coming from, having often treated you to a nice massage after work when he had the time to do it.

When he hit the spot, pushing against the tight muscles in your back you let out a loud groan, burying your head in your pillow. “That hurts like a bitch.” you mumbled and Julian had to lean down towards your head so he could hear you better.

“I know babe, but it’s going to feel worse if I don’t do it.”

Turning your head you gave him your famous eye roll, knowing he was right, but still not liking it. You laid your head on your arms, feeling his hands move along your spine, pushing your top further up than necessary, before they went back down again and pulled at your pants. A soft moan escaped your mouth as he moved to hover over your legs, lightly pressing his body down on yours. “Are you getting frisky with me, Doctor Mercer?”

“Only with you, Miss Y/L/N.” he smiled, letting his hands glide back up under your shirt and around your middle. 

Your hips moved involuntarily against his groin and you heard the sharp breath he pulled through his teeth, feeling the growing hardness press against the front of his jeans. Julian let his hands roam over your waist, giving the flesh a tight squeeze before they went the opposite way again. You were now leaning on your elbows, giving him enough space and access to your upper body so he could reach the destination he wanted to go. His fingers glided over your heated skin and with every inch he moved further to your lace clad breasts, you could feel your core get wetter by the second.

“Do you even know what you’re doing to me?”

The shake of your head was your only answer, knowing you couldn’t form a coherent thought while his thumbs brushed over your nipples, pulling the nubs until they tightened under his hands.

His mouth was next to your ear and you could feel his hot breath against your skin, smell his scent that was as unique as him, fresh and musky all the same. You let out a tiny meowl when he pulled to hard, but the spark that ignited in your lower body was worth it all the same. “I’ve been thinking about you all day and I had it all planned out.”

“Yeah?” you asked breathlessly, closing your eyes at the sensation of his heated skin moving along the goosebumps that broke out on yours. “Wanted to -ugh -wine and dine me and then get around to the - ah - fuck, huh?”

The grin spread over his features, kissing along your neck, gently biting your earlobe as he went to your jaw, nipping at the skin. “Uhu, but I leave the wine and dine for later.”

You let out a disappointed groan when Julian pulled away, but it didn’t last long when you felt his hands on your waist pulling your pants down over your legs. Once they were free, he threw them to the chair in the corner of the bedroom not caring if they properly landed there or not. His hands smacked against your ass, only lightly but enough to pull a surprised yelp from your lips. You looked over your shoulder, giving him a dirty look to which he only smiled, his dark tresses falling into his chocolate eyes. “Don’t do that.” you admonished, trying to reach for his hand that still rested on your ass cheek.

“Oh come on, you secretly like it.” he whispered, giving it a gentle kiss and moving his lips up again, along your spine where he already pushed the fabric of your top away to gain access to your back. Annoyed by your still clothed state, Julian pulled you up against his body, your back to his chest and took your shirt in his hands, dragging it over your head and leaving you only in your lacy underwear.

It wasn’t that you always wore lingerie to work, but sometimes you’d go out in a nice number, hoping for a quickie at the hospital, namely with Julian there in the storage room.

Pulling you back from your thoughts, he put his hands on your breasts, brushing his fingers along the trim of your bra, growling at the sight you offered him. “Fuck, you - ugh- look so good.” His voice got deeper, darker and his lips latched onto your neck, earning another groan from you.

One hand still rested on your breast while the other moved down toward the panty line, reaching his fingers under the band and playing with your nub. He felt your wetness grow and the shiver that moved through you when his thumb brushed over your clit. “You like that?”

“Fuck, yes.” One of your arms moved behind you, holding onto his neck as his finger entered you, rubbing against your soaked pussy, feeling the heat surrounding him.

He was breathing hard, hot waves puffing against your cheek and you reached your other hand down to his groin, rubbing his hard cock through his jeans. If it was possible you sensed it getting even harder with every stroke.

“Shit.” Julian groaned next to your ear. “Don’t do that if you can’t finish what you started.”

Turning your head slightly, you nipped his jaw, kissing your way along his neck as far as you could reach. His fingers were still caressing you, bumping against that special spot that always made you scream. “I intend to finish it, Julian.” you rasped, earning another finger fondling your pussy.

A deep moan left you, your walls clamping around his fingers as you felt the tight coil in your lower belly appear. It wouldn’t take him long to pull that first orgasm from you, knowing how sensitive you were, the more tired you came back from work. Once he had found out, Julian often used it to his advantage.

“Come on, babe.” he whispered in your ear. “Cum for me.”

The words spoken, his hot breath and his fingers still caressing your insides were all it took to soak his hands as the coil snapped with a loud moan, your eyes rolling back and your hand stilling on his cock. Breathing hard you leaned back against his chest.

Your chest rising with every breath, you felt clammy, heat radiating off of your body, as Julian still rubbed his thumb over your clothed nub, his nail scratching the sensitive nerve ending. “Don’t start - ah - what you can’t finish.” You repeated his words with a smile grazing your lips.

Intended as a joke, you suddenly felt him toss you down to the bed, his hands leaving you. Laying on your side, eyes widening you watched Julian put the fingers that were inside you to his face. With clothed eyes he smelled at them, before he licked along the appendage, moaning at your taste on his tongue. When he was satisfied, the pink flesh moved along his lips, not wasting one drop of your essence and as he opened his eyes again, you saw them darker with desire than ever before. Like a predator he moved up on the bed, leaning over you and sealing his mouth with yours. You could still taste yourself on him, your own musky scent on his tongue as he glided along your own, exploring your cavern. Moaning, your hands drifted up around his neck, letting your fingers roam through his dark hair. His body pushed down onto yours, laying you flat onto the mattress and his hands started their descent to your waist. They caressed the skin along your hips, pulling your legs up over his own so you could feel his hardness against your core.

“Do you actually like these?” he asked you once he broke the kiss.

Looking down, you saw that Julian tugged on your panties. Shaking your head, you turned back to him and let out a gasp when he ripped the material from your body, leaving you completely bare from the waist down.

“What am I going to wear now?”

Shrugging his shoulders the doctor grinned. “I’ll buy you new ones.”

Holding onto his waist,  you leaned in to seal your lips with his again, running your tongue along his bottom lip. You moved your core closer, pushing your body to his. Julian felt your hands moving to his face, stroking along his cheeks and chin, as you lips still stayed tightly on his own. He broke the kiss again, breathing harshly before he pulled away from you, getting off of the bed and pulling his shirt and jeans of his body. If you were already naked so would he, no reason in delaying what you both wanted now. Sitting up slightly you pulled your bra off, throwing it to the heap on the floor he had created, before he joined you again, sitting at the end of the bed.

And with that he leaned down, running his lips along the inside of your thighs, kissing his way up to your heated middle. You moaned loudly when you felt his tongue glide along the skin just above your lips, grabbing hold of his hair and squeezing tightly. Julian looked up at you from his position and saw you throwing your head back in pleasure, your back arched and your breasts pushed out and he hadn’t even reached your pearl yet.

His hands moved up over your belly, stroking the soft skin on his way to reach for your chest, lightly squeezing the fleshy mounds. You laid back on the bed and put your hands over his own, gripping them tightly, before you looked down to the doctor, positioned between your legs and grinning like a Cheshire cat.

“You like having control, don’t you?” you asked, when Julian pushed you back down as you moved a bit from the position he had put you in before.

The doctor only just nodded his head and leaned back down to your lower lips, his tongue licking along your pussy. Groaning, you freed his hands again and grabbed your hair tightly, when you felt him moving the wet muscle over your clit.

“Fuck!” you cried and the goosebumps spread over your, when Julian let his fingers glide to your hips, moving them under your legs, so that they laid over his shoulders, giving him free access to your soaked pussy.

“You’re so wet baby. Is it all for me?” he growled against the inside of your thigh, two thick fingers sliding inside her wet heat.

Lifting your head to look at the smirk on his face, your juices already spread over his chin, you put your hand back in his dark hair. “Yeah. And if you don’t hurry and get your dick where I want it to be, I’ll have to do it myself to get off.”

Of course he couldn’t leave it like this, so Julian stopped his ministrations, knowing you were ready enough without much foreplay, and moved up, aligning his cock with your pussy. He ran the head along your slit, coating his member with your juices, before he finally entered you. With a groan he snapped his hips forward, feeling your muscles tighten around him. He moved his upper body over you and propped himself on his forearms, stroking the fingers of one hand along the column of your throat, while the other gripped hair tightly in a fist.

Your breath harsh as you looked into each others eyes, when his lips descended on yours, sealing them and quieting the moan that spilled from your luscious mouth.

Reaching a hand up, you raked your fingers through his own dark hair. “I love you, Julian.”

Giving your lips another peck, the doctor put his head in the crook of your neck, laying open-mouthed kissed where it met your shoulder. “I love you, too, Y/N.”

With every back and forth motion, you neared the edge of your orgasm, waiting to finally take the plunge and you knew it wouldn’t take long now. Julian upped the pace and listened to the quickened gasps he drew from you, when he reached down to your pearl, stroking the sensitive bud in quick circles.

And then he felt it, your inner muscles tightened around his cock, squeezing him, your mouth opening in a silent cry and your head thrown back in ecstasy. With a loud groan he followed you, spilling his seed in your heated channel.

“I don’t want to move.” the doctor mumbled against your breast, his hair tickling against the soft skin there.

“Then stay just like that.” you said, running your fingers through his hair, stroking his scalp lightly. You felt as is cock grew soft inside you, but your thighs tightened around his waist, not wanting to let him leave. You felt refreshed, loved and so satisfied, that the stressful day before was forgotten in only a few minutes.

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