#i completely lost track of time in realizing we're going to have a new chapter in a few days!!! these two pictures were from a month ago

[minakoaiinos]

[runningfrom2am]

the sea around us; pt 2. chapter one

Snowy saw no choice but to run- wondering if Rafe will ever understand that the pogues mean everything to her. JJ gets it though. JJ will always get it.

(jj maybank x f!oc)

(rafe cameron x f!oc)

warnings/tags: violence, drug/alcohol use, smoking, sexual content (if you squint), slowburn, brother’s best friend, (these tags are obv not exhaustive but regardless it’s pretty PG13)

wc: 2.6k

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*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

How our boat didn't flip in that storm is an absolute miracle, the same goes for how we lost the police just outside of the Outer Banks. I wake up completely soaked, laying on the bottom of the boat with a life jacket on. My mouth is so dry it's the only thing I can feel. I slowly sit up, rubbing my head as it starts to pound and I get dizzy. I look around, and we're completely surrounded by water. No land in sight. The sun is just rising again.

"Shit..." I mumble. I must have gotten knocked out, because the last thing I remember is trying to see out into the ocean as police lights flashed behind us, and holding on to JJ for dear life. "JJ?" I ask, hardly able to make a sound. I look around, panicking as I don't immediately see my friend.

"JJ?" I try again, louder this time.

"Right here." I hear him respond from behind me, and I turn to see him digging through the hold. "Are you okay?" He asks.

I sigh a breath of relief and try and stand up. "Yeah, I'm good. You?"

JJ nods as he stands back up. "Yeah, I'm alright. I just woke up too- that was a rough one. I don't understand how we didn't sink." He says as I sit on the bench and he hands me a water bottle.

"I hope John B made it." I say, taking it from him as he sits down next to me.

"On The Phantom? Of course he made it." JJ chuckles, patting my back. "If we can make it on this piece of shit." He jokes and I shake my head.

"This old thing? A 2020 worth about fifty k? Sure- yeah." I laugh before drinking about half the bottle of water.

"Do we know where we are?" I ask, wiping my mouth. I have never been so in love with the taste of water.

"Uh, well, not exactly," JJ says, standing up again and looking around. "But, the good news is, this kook boat has a nav system that tells me..." He says, trailing off as he goes over to the driver's seat and squints at the screen. "We're heading southwest by the looks of it, which means... drum roll, please... Florida!" He grins, turning back to me.

"Oh christ." I sigh, rubbing my forehead. "I hate Florida."

"What? What's wrong with Florida?" JJ laughs, but I can tell he's just bugging me.

Suddenly I gasp as I make a scary realization. "JJ, these kook boats have tracking devices in them. We have to ditch it, like, asap if we don't want to get caught."

"Shit..." JJ mumbles, adjusting his hat. "Okay, well, I'll figure this thing out and get us to shore as far as we can get, we'll ditch it in the keys and jack another boat to get to Mexico." He's always been the plans guy, but this one seemed a little obvious.

I smile and nod. "Sounds like the best option to me." I stand up and take off my life jacket to take off JJ's hoodie which is still completely soaked.

"While we're cruising, should we get the speakers on this baby going?" JJ asks, fiddling with the controls once he gets us moving.

"Do you have a phone?" I reply, laying the hoodie out on the seat to dry in the sun.

"No, but, they do have a series of CDs already loaded up apparently- can I interest you in 'Sarah's chilling out mixtape'?" He says, already putting it on.

I laugh and walk carefully over to where he's steering the boat now, looking down at the navigation system. He looks over and then wraps his arm around my shoulder.

"Wanna play categories?" I smile, looking up at my blonde friend, who nods.

"Sure- category is..." He thinks for a moment. "J names?"

I nod a little bit, thinking it over. "JJ." I start.

"You took mine!" He laughs, shaking me with the arm he has on my shoulder, draping it around my neck now. "Okay fine- Juliette." I roll my eyes as he says this.

"John B." I respond with a slight laugh.

"We're getting really creative with this apparently."

"Hey, you picked the category. Not me."

"Okay fine, let's change it. Let's do... vehicles." He suggests instead.

"I know you only picked that because you think you'll win- but I know more about cars than you think, JJ."

"Hey, I never said you didn't! It's more fun that way." He laughs. "Okay, starting with A, I'll go with... Astin Martin."

"You can't even spell Astin Martin it's so kooky." I laugh.

"I'm not saying I'd ever drive one, I just know it exists. Which, admittedly, feels like I'm pushing it as it is." JJ says and I smile, shaking my head.

"That's definitely pushing it."

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

We spend the whole day with JJ driving us in a straight shot toward Florida, and me talking on and on about everything under the sun. It's nice to feel a little normal again, when I'm not thinking about everything that led us up to this situation.

We're almost out of gas and it's completely dark when we see a coastline, and confirm on the nav that it is, in fact, Florida. Just outside of Miami, if we had to guess. We almost make it to shore before the engine cuts because of our lack of gas, so we decide to jump ship and swim the rest of the way. It's not really that far. We stop on the beach to look back at the boat we left floating in the water. I do honestly hope that the Cameron's get it back okay, the police will have noticed it by morning, and they'll be contacted to say it was found. Which also means we have to move fast.

"So, I'm thinking we have to hitchhike to make it to the keys," JJ suggests as he helps me walk off the deserted beach and into the city that sits right on the coast.

"JJ, I'm not hitchhiking anywhere." I shake my head as we walk, with no real destination in mind besides finding somewhere to sleep.

"What do you suggest then- an uber? No way. That's basically putting a beacon right on our heads telling the cops to come pick us up."

"It's so dangerous, we didn't make it this far just to die at the hands of a serial killer with a wife and kids in Tampa Bay."

"Come on, Snow, you're not alone. I'll protect you, we'll be fine." JJ insists, peeking around the corner of the building were walking alongside. No doubt checking for cops. I sigh as I stop, waiting for him to give the go-ahead.

"Alright, fine. But my death will be on your hands at that point." I agree as he wraps his arm back around my waist to help me walk. I try to hide my limp as much as possible, because we already look ridiculously sketchy.

We walk into a darker area of dodgy-looking apartments and see an empty, seemingly abandoned corner store that's boarded up. Luckily, since it's Florida, we're not the first to break in. We crawl through a broken window and look around- this is as good a place to crash as any.

We curl up on the floor in the back room with no windows, and try and get as much sleep as possible.

In the morning, I'm the first to wake up. JJ is still snoring beside me, and I sit up and stretch. As soon as I lift my head from on top of his arm, he's rolling over. I get up quietly, and try and find the bathroom. Not fully functional, but it has a dirty mirror which I wipe off with my hand. I stare at my reflection, trying to recognize myself. I'm dirty, my clothes are still blood-stained from when I tried to save Peterkin and was almost killed for it. My hair is matted since it hasn't seen a brush in days, so I decide I should look around the almost empty shelves to see if I can find one.

I look around and find a couple spare granola bars in a drawer behind the desk, and when I move on to the next one I don't find a brush, but I do find a pair of scissors.

I think for a minute before picking them up, and heading straight back to the bathroom. I look in the mirror again, turning the scissors over in my hand. I have to cut it all off. I should, anyways. My hair is so identifiable. But something in my gut is telling me that I can't.

"Your hair holds all your memories."

I hear my mothers voice echoing in my head. I haven't cut it since before we moved, and in a way it's all I have left of my life in Canada. Realistically though, I know it's not true. I haven't talked to my old friends in years. I have no ties there. Except for the memories.

Before I can convince myself otherwise, I reach up with the scissors and cut a chunk off just above my shoulder. I take a deep breath. It's too late now- I have to finish what I started.

I work my way around my head, using that first piece as a reference for the length. By the time I'm done, it's choppy, but my curls will hide that well enough. I go back to staring at myself in the mirror, trying to fix it, make it look okay, but I don't look like me anymore. My cheeks are coated with tears now- what have I done. I've never cried as much in my life as I have in the last month.

"New look?" I hear JJ's voice behind me, and turn as he leans against the door frame. His smile fades when he sees how upset I am. "Come here..." He says softly, holding his arms out and I practically fall into them.

He rubs my back gently, and I can feel it as he looks down at the floor where there are piles and piles of my hair scattered around the sink and the ground along with every version of me I have ever been.

"I'm sorry.." I mumble as I let him go. "We should probably get going."

"No, no, you're fine." JJ insists, smiling at me. "You look great. It suits you." He says, trying to make me feel better.

I return his smile, wiping my eyes. "Thanks, J."

"You're right, though, no doubt they've found the boat by now; we gotta run." He says, turning back and I follow him towards the broken window we climbed in.

"We need to find new clothes." I say as we walk down the block. It's still dark enough out, we only got a couple hours of sleep.

"Yeah, you're looking a little worse for wear." He jokes. "We just need to find one of those bins people dump clothes in to donate, I bet that's got some good shit."

"I'm sure." I laugh. "Or, we could find an actual store, I have some money, you know."

"Oh, yeah, that works too. Somewhere without cameras, though, preferably." JJ agrees.

We walk on for a while longer, in one direction trying to stay aligned with the water without being out in the open. We come across a street of shops just as the sun fully rises in the sky. It's a run down area, with people sleeping on the streets in makeshift tents. It's hard to fathom that right now, that's us. Nowhere to call home, stranded.

"Hey, look." JJ draws my attention from my thoughts, and he's pointing towards a thrift shop that's just opening. "They just opened, so it'll be just us in there. Follow my lead- we're gonna absolutely stumble in there, high out of our minds. Got it? Try not to show your face. If they think we're junkies, they won't recognize us or question the state of your clothes." He says and I nod- unsure if his logic even tracks but it's worth a shot.

We walk across the street and JJ's demeanour changes as he opens the door for me and follows me in.

"Mornin', ma'am." JJ smiles at the woman at the counter, slurring his words slightly as I walk the other way to the racks. I can feel her eyes on me as JJ talks to her.

I quickly grab a few things that I think will fit, and head up to the counter next to JJ as he leans on it.

"You hear about that storm, up in the Carolina's?" JJ asks her as I place my stuff on the counter. Some shorts, a tank top, and some converse.

"I did- it's very scary." The woman agrees, looking at me closely.

"That'll be fifteen dollars." She tells me and I nod, reaching into my pocket and pulling out some cash, handing her a twenty.

She thanks me, and JJ tips his hat at her and heads for the door, but she grabs my hand as she hands me my change.

"Dear, are you alright? Do you need me to call someone for you?" She whispers, a concerned look crossing her face.

I quickly nod. "I'm fine, thank you." I say, pulling my hand away and shoving the change in my pocket. I quickly walk over to the door, looking back briefly at her as I push it open and meet JJ outside.

"What did she say to you?" He asks, joining me as I keep walking.

"She asked if she should call someone for me." I explain. "I need to get changed and we need to get out of here."

"Here, yeah, this way." JJ says, guiding me into an alley beside the next building down. We step behind a dumpster and JJ stands in front of me, holding his hoodie out to cover me as much as possible and closing his eyes.

"Can you- uh..." I stutter, gesturing for him to turn around.

"Oh! Yeah, sorry..." He says awkwardly, turning around. "You act like I haven't seen you naked before." He jokes as I quickly get changed.

"Shut up, JJ." I can't help but laugh slightly.

"The great bathtub incident of twenty-nineteen." He adds and I hit him in the back with my shorts before throwing them in the bin next to me along with the rest of my bloodied and dirty clothes.

"Okay, I'm good." I say, still slightly laughing.

JJ turns back around with a shit-eating grin still on his face. "Hey, you look good for a fugitive! New haircut, new clothes, you're a whole new woman."

"Thanks." I laugh slightly, trying to push my hair back behind my ears, but it's hardly long enough to stay now.

"Hey, uh, I got you something." JJ smiles, digging into his pocket. "I was just thinkin', you know, this outfit, while cute, of course; is looking a little incomplete." He smiles. "Turn around."

I give him a confused look as I turn, and he lifts his hands up over my head, settling a necklace around my neck. I look down to try and see it as I feel him latching it. A little snowflake. It brings a blush to my cheeks.

"Where did you get this?" I say, smiling wide as I hold it in my hand, turning back to him.

"Nicked it while that lady was asking if I beat you." JJ explains, looking down at the necklace as well. "I just thought you had to have it."

"It's cute- thank you, JJ." I smile, looking up at him now.

We stare at each other for a moment, completely consumed by the quiet that surrounded us in this alley.

"Should we... uhm..." I say, focussing again on the task at hand.

"Yeah, yeah let's get going." JJ agrees, wrapping his arm around my waist again as we step back into the street.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･

first chapter of part two- yay!! i'm feeling really good ab this one :) -R

taglist: @boo22sstuff @madelynie @username5786451 @peachprairie @slut4drudy @sadfury @mutual-mendes @cecesrings (i also tagged some mutuals so message me or reply if you want to be added (or removed lol)!!)

[stranger-marauders]

fractured

twenty: the return of billy hargrove

chapter summary: After Eleven reunites with everyone at the Byers' house, the group comes up with a new game plan to close the gate for good.

chapter warnings: language

word count: 3.7k

series masterlist | masterlist

AFTER KATE AND her father had explained that their cabin would be the safest place to take Will to fix him, Steve and Nancy had gone outside to dig through the mountain of objects that sat in front of the Byers' shed. The goal was to find anything that could possibly produce heat to give to Jonathan and Joyce to take with them.

At first, the two had done their jobs in silence again. They didn't know what to say to each other, really—it had been extremely obvious that they were both completely distracted by other people, not interested in one another in the slightest. Besides, after Nancy had seemingly broken up with him at the Halloween party, after Steve had walked away from her the next morning during basketball practice, after she'd run away for a few days with Jonathan, after he'd physically gone to break up with her (the only thing stopping him was the fact that she hadn't even been home)—after everything, it was extremely obvious that they didn't belong together anymore, and they never had in the first place.

"You should go with him," Steve said, finally breaking the silence between them.

"What?"

"With Jonathan."

"No, I'm…" Nancy scoffed. "I'm not just gonna leave Mike."

"No one's leaving anyone." He walked over to her, eyeing something that looked like another space heater. "Kate and I've got it, okay? I may be a pretty shitty boyfriend, but… turns out I'm actually a pretty damn good babysitter."

He handed the heater to her, but she only stared at him. "Steve…"

"It's okay, Nance. It's okay."

"I…"

Before Nancy could say anything else, like she could say anything else that would change his mind, Steve walked away.

Kate walked out the front door and onto the front porch to find Mike and El inches away from a kiss.

"El… Come on, let's go. It's time," Hopper said, making the two pull away from each other.

Kate walked toward them as fast as she could, pain shooting through her body with every step she took. "I'm coming, too."

"The hell you aren't," her father replied before she could even start walking down the steps.

"I'm going with you!"

"Kathy," Steve said, putting his hand on her arm, making her stop in her tracks. He nodded toward Hopper as he threw his arm over her good shoulder.

Her father nodded back once. "We're coming back, Kate. Just stay here and rest, okay?"

"But—" Before Kate could even begin to protest, Hopper and El had both already gotten inside of the SUV. She sighed, leaning into Steve once they, as well as the Byers and Nancy, drove away. "It's not even that bad."

"What?" he said, pulling her closer into him. "Not that bad?"

She sighed again, not wanting to move. She'd been completely sidelined. Even if she was still hurt, she could've helped somehow. That was the only way she could make it up to Joyce, to Bob. She had to do something.

"Nancy and I broke up. Officially, anyway."

Kaet turned her head to him sharply. "Did she—?"

"I did." Steve stifled a laugh. "I mean, I was actually going to do it after you left my house yesterday, but that obviously didn't work out."

"Shit, Steve, I'm so sorry," she said, looping her arm around him and leaning her head closer into him. It was her best attempt at a hug, and for now, it would do the job.

At that moment, even though they wouldn't have admitted it, everything seemed to have started to fall into place.

Kate had stolen a shirt of Jonathan's to change into for the time being. She knew he wouldn't mind, and wearing the sweatshirt with the rips in it had been driving her insane, even if it was Steve's.

She and Steve had changed the bandages on her wounds once again. As they tried to wipe the additional blood she'd lost since the last time they'd changed them, they realized how much blood she'd lost, how much she was still losing. Neither of them brought any attention to it, neither that nor to how she'd almost turned green she was so pale.

After she'd cleaned herself up as much as she could, at least for the time being, she lay on the couch, trying to rest her eyes.

Steve and Kate had assigned the other kids to start cleaning up the house as they waited for the others to return. Kate thought it would be nice for Joyce to come back to a somewhat clean house, even if the paper vines still remained. While Mike, Lucas, and Max cleaned, Dustin and Steve cleared out the refrigerator, and very loudly at that.

Eventually, Kate gave up on trying to rest. She sighed, sitting up on the couch and adjusting herself upright. "Could you please keep it down in there?"

"Sorry, Kathy."

"Sorry," Dustin called. He turned to Steve, who carried the dead Demodog that El had launched through the window earlier in a towel. "It should fit now."

"Is this really necessary?"

"Yes, it is, okay? This is a groundbreaking scientific discovery. We can't just bury it like some common mammal, okay? It's not a dog."

"How many times have you said the word Demodog tonight?" Kate asked, standing in the doorway of the kitchen.

Steve's face grew with worry. "Kathy, please go lay back down—"

"I'm fine."

While she sounded much better than she had before, she still certainly didn't look fine. She'd gotten better at standing on her own two feet, but her walking was still poor. She was able to move around on her own, but not as well as she could've been. Steve was absolutely sure that she was purely running on adrenaline and nervous energy. With that being said, she certainly wasn't well enough to constantly be on her feet, especially when there wasn't any reason for her to be.

Steve sighed, turning to Dustin. "You're explaining this to Mrs. Byers, all right?" Whenever he started to cram the carcass into the refrigerator, he already struggled making the Demodog fit into such a small space. "Christ, help me out."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Get the door, man. The door."

"All right, I got the door."

"Ew, Jesus—"

"God—"

Kate couldn't help but laugh at the two of them as they struggled to cram it inside of the refrigerator. Whenever they finally got the Demodog inside, slamming the door shut, Steve ruffled the hair on Dustin's head, the hat on top of his hair, of course, before he tried to move next to Kate. He had almost gotten his arm around her again before she took a step back. "For the love of God, please wash your hands after that."

Steve pressed his lips together whenever she laughed again, walking over to the kitchen sink to wash his hands.

"How much convincing did that take?" she asked, moving next to him and leaning against the kitchen counter.

"Oh, not much," Steve said, turning the water on. "Just threatened my happiness and wellbeing, so…"

Kate stifled a laugh. "He's literally thirteen years old. What's he gonna do?"

"Okay, in my defense, you were horrifying when we were thirteen."

"I mean, yeah, but that's because I had special cause," she explained. She counted out the reasons on her fingers as he washed his hands. "Cop kid, violent streak, bitch. It adds up."

"I didn't mean it like that," he said, turning the water back off before he grabbed a kitchen towel to dry his hands. "I mean, you're not wrong, I just meant you were scary in general."

She scoffed, trying to act offended. "Are you seriously calling me a bitch, Steven?"

"No, no, no! I didn't… It's not like that—!"

Her giggling had been the thing to cut him off. "Oh my God, I'm kidding. I'm self-aware."

Before he could reply, however, both Steve and Kate picked up on the argument that erupted between the four kids in the living room. They both quickly exchanged glances before joining in on the conversation.

"Mike, would you just stop already?"

"You weren't in there, okay, Lucas?" Mike said. "That lab is swarming with hundreds of those dogs."

"Demodogs!" Dustin shouted.

"Listen, the Chief will take care of her," Lucas said.

"Like she needs protection," Max muttered aloud.

Steve finally decided to step in. "Listen, dude, a coach calls a play in a game, bottom line, you execute it. All right?" He still held the kitchen towel in his hands, drying them off still.

"Okay, first of all, this isn't some stupid sports game. And second, we're not even in the game. We're on the bench," Mike retorted.

"Yeah, right, s–so my point is…" Steve cut himself off, hesitating to go on. Everyone was staring at him, waiting for him to finish. Even Kate was watching him closely—she knew how he could give the absolute worst advice. "Right, yeah, we're on the bench, so, uh, there's nothing we can do."

As Steve threw the towel he used to dry his hands over his shoulder, Dustin said, "That's not entirely true." Everyone turned to look at him before he continued on. "I mean, these Demodogs, they have a hive mind. When they ran away from the bus, they were called away."

"So if we get their attention…," Lucas started.

"Maybe we can draw them from the lab," Max said.

"Clear a path to the gate," Mike added.

"Yeah, and then we all die!" Steve interjected.

"Well, that's one point of view," Kate retorted.

Steve turned to her, staring at her in concern. "Seriously? How are you agreeing with them?" He shook his head as she put her hands up in surrender. "No, that's not a point of view, Kathy. That's a fact."

"I'm sorry, I'd rather not have both members of my immediate family die at the same damn time."

Before Steve and Kate could continue bickering, Mike walked behind them, moving into the kitchen. When the kids had followed him, Steve and Kate followed, too. "This is where the Chief dug his hole. This is our way into the tunnel. So…" He ran off to another spot in the house. "Here. Right here. This is like a hub." He moved to where they'd found Hopper, standing on top of the cluster of papers. "So you got all the tunnels feeding in here. Maybe if we set this on fire…"

"Oh yeah? That's a no," Steve interjected.

"The Mind Flayer would call away his army," Dustin said, ignoring him.

"They'd all come to stop us," Lucas said.

"We circle back to the exit," Mike continued.

"Guys," Steve said, but the kids and Kate continued on like he wasn't even there.

"By the time they realize we're gone…"

"El and my dad would be at the Gate," Kate finished.

"Hey, hey, hey! This is not happening," Steve said, clapping his hands with every "hey."

"But—"

"No, no, no, no, no! No buts. I promised I'd keep you shitheads safe, and that's exactly what I plan on doing. We're staying here, on the bench, and we're waiting for the starting team to do their job. Does everybody understand?"

"This isn't a stupid sports game," Mike said, giving him a disgusted look.

"I said does everybody understand that?" Steve replied. "I need a yes."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Okay, Mom."

As the kids tried to stifle their little laughs, Steve's face grew red. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, an engine revved from outside.

Max ran to the window first, but all the kids looked out the glass to see who it was. Without having to move, Kate sighed, exchanging glances with Steve. She could tell who had arrived outside just by the sound of the engine.

"It's my brother," Max said, almost fearful. "He… He can't know I'm here. He'll kill me. He'll kill us."

"I'd like to see him try," Kate replied.

Steve only looked out the window as he watched Billy pull into the driveway. "I have an idea."

Steve had told Kate and the kids to stay inside while he dealt with Billy Hargrove. While the kids watched from the living room window, Kate had placed herself behind the door, leaning against the wall just in case something Steve's plan went to shit. From where she stood, she could hear almost everything going on outside. Almost everything.

From the porch, Steve watched as Billy stepped out of his car, taking a drag on his cigarette. "Am I dreaming, or is that you, Harrington?"

"Yeah, it's me, don't cream your pants."

Billy took off his jacket as he slammed his car door shut. "What're you doing here, amigo?"

Steve and Billy met between the car and the house. "I could ask you the same thing. Amigo."

"Lookin' for my stepsister. A little birdie told me she was here."

"Huh, that's weird. I don't know her."

"Small? Redhead? Bit of a bitch, just like your little Blondie."

Steve held his tongue before he could punch him just for the comment about Kate. He knew he couldn't hit him. Not if he wanted his plan to work. "Doesn't ring a bell. Sorry, buddy."

Billy took the cigarette out of his mouth and sighed. "You know, I don't know, this… this whole situation, Harrington, I don't know. It's giving me the heebie-jeebies."

"Oh yeah? Why's that?"

He took another drag of his cigarette. "My thirteen-year-old sister goes missing all day, and then I find her with you in a stranger's house, and you lie to me about it."

Steve chuckled. "Man, were you dropped too much as a child, or what?" Billy laughed, blowing smoke in his face as he continued. "I don't know what you don't understand about what I just said. She's not here."

"Then who is that?" Billy asked, pointing to something in front of him with his cigarette.

Steve turned around to find all four kids peeking out the front window. Whenever the kids realized they had been seen, they all four jumped back down behind the couch.

"Shit! Did he see us?" Dustin asked.

Kate looked over to the kids, seeing their newly adapted location. "If you guys were looking over the couch, then yeah, definitely." She quickly turned her head against the door again, trying to listen to what was going on outside. When that wasn't much help, she looked through the peephole of the door, hoping she could possibly see them a bit better or something.

Steve felt a pit in his stomach whenever he looked back at Billy. "Oh shit. Listen—"

Before Steve could say anything else, Billy pushed him to the ground with a slight shove. "I told you to plant your feet." Without another word from him, he kicked Steve hard in the chest, trying to ensure that he wouldn't come after him. 

"Shit," Kate whispered, backing up from the door as it swung open. She stood in front of the kids, trying her best to look as defensive as possible. She had no idea what he'd done to Steve to get through the door, but it had obviously been enough to where he hadn't come back yet.

"Well, well, well," Billy said, his eyes landing on Max. He slammed the door, moving closer toward Kate and the kids. "Lucas Sinclair, what a surprise."

"Leave them alone, Billy," Kate warned, but it was no use. She even sounded weak when she spoke. 

"You're here, too? What're the odds of that?" Billy said, moving closer to her. Kate shivered—Steve needed to come back now. For every step Billy took closer to her, she took a step backward toward the wall until eventually, he had her where he wanted her: close and cornered by him. He moved closer to her, and Kate tried to move away from him. She could smell the cigarettes he'd recently smoked on his breath. "Damn, you look like hell. He hurt you or something?"

"Get out of here," Kate said coolly.

"He do this to you?" 

"Billy, I said get out."

He got closer to her face. "Not unless you and Maxine come with me."

She scoffed. "You serious?" Whenever he didn't back down, she spit directly in his face. "That answer your question?"

Kate almost immediately regretted her decision as he threw her to the ground, moving on to his next target after he'd wiped his face off as the kids called her name. When her head hit back against the wall, then the floor, she lost consciousness for only a second, her ears ringing whenever she made impact with the ground. When she opened her eyes again, her vision was fuzzy, and her wounds started to burn in pain again.

"I thought I told you to stay away from him, Max," Billy said, moving toward the kids again.

As things started to escalate inside the Byers' home, Kate's ears rang, and she still couldn't quite comprehend what was happening around her. Even if she couldn't truly comprehend what was going on, she tried peeling herself off the floor. The kids, the kids, the kids—

"Billy, go away," Max replied. She almost seemed as if she was trying not to cry.

"You disobeyed me," he said, ignoring her. "And you know what happens when you disobey me."

"Billy…"

"I break things." Before anyone could react, he took Lucas by the jacket and shoved him against the wall of Joyce's chain cabinet. As the kids called for Billy to let him go, Kate still fought to get off the floor, watching as Lucas struggled. It almost seemed to be of no use—the little strength she'd gotten back had just as quickly been taken away from her.

"Since Maxine won't listen to me, maybe you will," Billy said. "You stay away from her. Stay away from her! You hear me?"

"I said get off me!" Lucas shouted, kneeing him in the crotch. Billy let him down, an instinctual release because of the pain.

Before Kate could pick herself up off the floor, someone, seemingly coming from nowhere, lifted her up, trying to get her back to her feet. At first, she wasn't able to process who it was or what they were saying to her, but whenever she heard the name "Kathy" (of course, after being followed by many apologies and such), she knew exactly who it had been.

As she got to her feet again, she only watched as Billy gained his balance again, but now seemed even angrier than he had been before. "You're so dead, Sinclair! You're dead."

Steve had moved toward him since helping Kate up off the floor, pushing Billy to face him. "No." A pause. "You are!" Before Billy could reply, he punched him square in the face, knocking him back.

Kate leaned up against the wall, just beginning to process the situation. "Steve!" She knew he couldn't win a fight to save his life.

Billy laughed as he came back from the punch, his nose bleeding. "Looks like you got some fire in you after all, huh? I've been waiting to hear about this King Steve everybody's been telling me so much about!"

Steve put two fingers to his chest, pushing Billy away from him. "Get out."

Billy stared at him for only a moment before throwing a punch of his own.

As the two began to punch each other, Dustin shouted, "Yes! Kick his ass, Steve!"

Kate only stared like a deer in headlights. She only hoped he'd make it—if Steve couldn't even win a fight with Jonathan, there was no way he would be able to win a fight against Billy Hargrove.

Billy only laughed maniacally as he smashed a plate against Steve's head, making him lose his balance for enough time to let Billy pin him to the ground and to start beating the absolute shit out of him.

"Stop! You're going to kill him!" Kate shouted, running to try to tear Billy off of Steve. However, it was no use—Billy wasn't even fazed by her in the slightest.

That was when Max came over to them with a syringe, one that Mike had grabbed from Hawkins Laboratory, and plunged it into Billy's neck. He stood up and stared at Max, who now stood next to Kate, pulling the needle out of his neck.

"The hell is this?" he said, moving closer to the two girls.

"The paralytic," she said, turning to Max. She had never been so thankful for someone to steal something before.

"You little shit, what did you do?" Billy asked, stepping toward them. With every step forward he took, the girls took another step back. Before he could get to them, however, he passed out on the floor. He wasn't unconscious, however—he was laughing.

Kate moved to the floor next to Steve, trying to get him to do something, anything. She looked at his face, her breath hitching in her throat. He looked even worse than she did now with his face completely coated in blood, his nose crooked, both of his eyes black, his lip busted—she had never seen him so beat up before. He was almost unrecognizable. "Steve. Hey, Steve, talk to me. Can you hear me? Steve—"

As she went on, trying her best to bring him back to consciousness, Max picked up his bat, holding it defensively in front of Billy. "From here on out, you leave me and my friends alone. Do you understand?"

"Screw you," Billy muttered weakly.

Max slammed the bat down right in between his legs, landing on the floor, but inches away from his crotch. "Say you understand! Say it! SAY IT!"

"I understand," Billy muttered.

"What?" Max asked again, raising the bat again. His almost inaudible muttering had obviously not been enough of a response from him for her. 

"I understand," he repeated, pushing himself to be louder.

Max threw the bat to the floor as Billy finally fell unconscious. The girl belt down and reached for his keys, holding them up and shaking them once she'd gotten them off his belt. "Let's get out of here."

next chapter

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@thatsonezesty13 @cece5298 @thepowerstoner @alovelytardis @coolchick333 @stand-tall-pineapple @littlet-holmes @guichu @cinderellacauseshebroke @blackbirddaredevil23 @mads-weasley @ilovemarauders @pearlstiare @liableperfections @khaylin27 @girlwiththerubyslippers

[lovemalecforever]

Chapter 18

Silver is the color of the moon.

*The next day*

Everyone was at Catarina's apartment, pacing in her living room or fidgeting with their dresses while waiting for Alec to arrive. Before Alec went to the forest for the awakening of his powers they decided to set the get-together at Catarina's place the next day so that they could comfortably discuss about his new powers and his feelings towards it. But things took a turn when Jace told them about what happened and the silver glow of his Parabatai rune. Now, they were all worried about Alec and were getting impatient by every passing second.

The awakening of his powers was a little overwhelming for Alec, Angel Ithuriel had been there for him the whole day and told and taught him about his new powers. He guided him and assigned him one of his winged nephilim for his further training as he's the new winged nephilim and also provided him with a way to contact him. Alec was somewhat glad that he got ahold of his new powers quickly, though his shoulders still hurt a little but it's better now. He still needed to get used to his new appendages, but he knew that he would in some time.

As he reached Catarina's apartment, he rang the bell. Catarina quickly opened the door with her magic, as soon as he walked in every eye was on him with a worried expression on their faces.

"Why are you all looking at me like that!?" He asked, uncomfortable with being the attention of the room.

"Alec!" Max yelled with excitement, ran towards him, and hugged him tightly.

"Hey, Max!"

"Alec, are you okay? We were all worried about you!" Maryse said and hugged her son tightly.

Alec returned the embrace. "Yes, mom. I'm fine. Why are you all so worried about me?" He asked, confused.

"Alec, your shirt! It's torn in the back, what happened, big brother?" Izzy asked worriedly.

"Umm.. that! That's for the wings! On that note, Catarina, I'll be needing your help to make space for it and glamor them. I can't keep tearing my clothes!" Catarina nodded. "Why are you all so worried, though?" He asked.

"Alec, our... our Parabatai rune.. it glowed in silver! I've been feeling restless since then.. are you okay, buddy?" Jace's voice was filled with concern making him sigh.

"That's because I am. I trained the whole day with Angel Ithuriel!"

As on cue, Catarina summoned a comfortable settee for Alec, more sofas for everyone and they all settled down.

"Thank you, Cat!" Alec stretched out on the settee, ignoring the crowd.

"That still doesn't answer the silver glow, kid, what about that?" Luke asked.

"I guess that's because my powers and wings are silver. Okay, it still sounds weird!" Alec sighed again, it's gonna take a hell lot of time to get used to it.

"You.. have silver wings.." Jace trailed off as his jaw fell open.

"By the angel, big brother! I still can't process it!" Izzy blinked in astonishment.

"Can you show them to us, Alec?" Max asked excitedly. Even as a teenager, he was still a kid.

Alec looked at Max, then his whole family, and they all had the same glint of excitement in their eyes. "Okay, but I need some space!"

He stood up and walked towards the center of the living room, making sure there's nothing breakable or sharp around him. Once he was sure he's in a clear space, he closed his eyes and focused on his wings, his shoulder blades pained a little, his skin cracked beside them, but didn't bled this time, soon enough a pair of huge appendages were hanging on his sides.

He opened his eyes and saw that his whole family was looking at him with awe and astonishment. Their jaws were on the floor, literally.

A loud gasp broke their trance, which was from Simon. They all looked at him but he was still looking at Alec. "Alec, your... your eyes.. it's..-"

"Silver!" Jace finished for him, earning a collective gasp from everyone.

"Wow!" Max and Clary said in unison.

"Sorry to break the moment but, I've never heard about angels being silver, from whatever I've read in that book, is it normal?" Catarina asked, curiosity visible in her voice. With being a downworlder, seeing a literal angel standing in front of her was beyond unimaginable.

"It's rare, but it is." Alec answered and explained to them everything that Angel Ithuriel had told him.

Everyone was speechless, not knowing how to respond but their eyes were talking for them.

"Can I touch them?" Max asked curiously, breaking the silence of the room.

"Of course, young boy!"

Max quickly ran towards him and reached his hand up to the feather he could, then traced it gently. It was soft and silky under his touch, it fluttered when Max ran his palm around it and curled itself around Max's body.

"Woah!" Max squealed.

"I'm just hugging you, Max, relax." Alec said with a broad smile on his face and ruffled his brother's hair.

"Ugh! Alec!" Max protested and everyone burst into laughter.

"Can I sit now? I'm tired." Alec said as he concealed his wings again, and eyes turned back to their natural hazel shade.

Everyone nodded and they settled back in their respective seats. That's when Catarina realized something.

"Wait! Alec, are you comfortable on the settee? Your wings must be glamoured but they could be hurting-"

"Cat, relax! They aren't glamoured, they're inside my body next to my shoulder blades and spine."

"Wait, what?" Jace asked, panic creeping inside him. Others were mirroring his expressions.

"Okay, relax all of you. I could glamor them too, but this is also a way to hide them."

"Alec, I'm confused, honey, how could those huge pairs of wings fit inside.." Maryse trailed off, shock and panic visible in her eyes.

"Mom, everyone, relax. They aren't huge when they're inside." Alec took a deep breath and continued. "Okay, I'll explain from the start. As Angel Ithuriel told me, and I said earlier, there are two ways to hide the wings, I could glamor them, but they'll still be there, which will be uncomfortable for me whenever I'll sit or lay down or when I'm in small space.

The other way is to shrink and minimize them back into my body, from where they originate, next to my shoulder blades and spine. There's a permanent scar over that area now, and if you focus on it you can see the tiny miniaturized wings there. It's painful in the beginning but with practice and time, the pain will fade away. It's more comfortable like this, I don't have to struggle with them at least. It's weird right now, but he said by time it'll become my second nature." Alec concluded, and looked at his family, they were all relaxed now.

"That's why my back is hurting and feeling heavy." Jace said, who was trying to adjust his shoulders for a long time.

"He's been like this since yesterday, Alec. He's restless and didn't even sleep properly." Clary said, worry clearly visible in her voice for her boyfriend.

"Don't listen to her, Alec, I slept fin... how's the pain suddenly gone and I'm feeling better, like strong and refreshed and energetic. How?" He looked at his Parabatai with curious eyes.

Everyone looked between them with surprised expressions on their faces. Alec looked at his Parabatai and smiled.

"I just focused on my Parabatai rune, then Iratze, Nourishment, Stamina, and calm anger rune." Alec shrugged. Everyone's eyes went wide.

"Hold on, What? How did you do that without using stele?" Jace asked.

"just like you do, idiot. the only difference here is that we can activate each other's rune instead of only ours. first focus on our Parabatai rune then the one you want to activate."

"Okay...." Jace said, unsure then closed his eyes and focused on his runes.

"Seriously, Jace! Clarity rune?" Alec shook his head.

"Okay.... Now that's pretty cool!"

"You were worried about our Parabatai bond earlier, right? Well, to answer your questions, our bond got stronger than before because of my powers, we can activate each other's runes without using stele, but it had to be used only in battles or emergencies and is only possible when we're together. I did it to show you how it works."

Everyone's jaws were on the ground as they witnessed their conversation.

"By the angel! That's amazing! But, not fair, you both are going to be stronger than me and Clary." Izzy fake pouted, earning Alec's legendary eye roll.

"That made me remember, where's my stele?" Alec asked and Izzy handed him his stele.

"Jace, come here." Alec said in his Inquisitor tone and Jace obeyed. Alec activated his stele and drew a rune on the back of Jace's arm, he asked him to activate his stele and draw the same rune on him, he was confused but did as he was told.

"Angel Ithuriel provided me this rune, it's a rune only for Parabatais, it got lost centuries ago. It's called lost sight. If there's an emergency or danger and we're not together, you can activate this rune and I will be able to see through your eyes and will be able to know and track your location." Jace was completely dumbfounded and so were the others.

"Alec! I.. I can't believe it.. I.." Jace stuttered, he didn't know why but he had tears in his eyes.

"Seriously, Jace! I told you we're always going to be Parabatais, no matter what!" He kept his stele down on the table and wrapped his brother in a tight hug.

Everyone had smiles on their faces.

"That's so cool! What else can you do Alec?" Max asked, still curious about his brother's new powers.

"Alec, do you have more power? This was already too much to process, sweetheart." Maryse said with concern and tiredness.

"Ah, yeah.. I kind of do, Mom. Cat, can you summon as many plants as possible in this living room?"

Catarina nodded and filled the whole room with different kinds of plants. From small to large of different varieties. "Alec, I'm confused as hell right now, my whole room is filled with plants. What are you up to?"

"Calm down, Cat! Also, can you and Simon stay back for this? This could hurt you both if you stay up close."

The two downworlders exchanged a look and stood as far as possible, not knowing what Alec was up to. When Alec was sure they were as far as they could get, he focused his mind and energy on the plants surrounding him. His eyes went icy silver again, and a thread of bluish silver started dancing on his finger tips.

He stretched his hands out and created a small ball of energy, the faint blues and silver interwining with each other. The whole room was filled with calming surroundings, it was peaceful and the ball was like a calming trance of everyone except for Catarina and Simon.

"Alec, please stop!" Simon begged, he and Cat were trying to move backwards as much as they could. The energy of the ball was creating a severe headache for him.

"Sorry!" He focused again and scattered the energy in all the plants. His eyes went back to normal again.

"W.. What happened? That power.. it was.." Maryse trailed off, her eyes were hazy and she felt like she was in some other world.

"Mom! Oh god! I should've asked you to stay back too. I'm sorry! Are you okay?" He ran towards her and helped Luke in sitting her down. She looked between them in confusion.

"Alec, what happened to her? That energy, it felt like.."

"Peaceful and.. and calming." Izzy said.

"And nice!" Clary added.

"For nephilims, yes it's like how you're describing it, but for mundanes, it's the same but much stronger. Mom, are you okay? I'm sorry." He asked, worry and guilt filled in his eyes.

"Yes, Alec I'm fine, just a little dizzy. Don't apologize, honey, it's fine, I'm okay." She reassured him.

"And I guess for us downworlders, or demons, it's dangerous and deadly." Simon said.

Everyone looked at them and gasped. Simon had his fangs out and Catarina was in her true form, her blue skin visible with long white hair snaking around her.

"By the angel! Simon, Catarina, I'm so sorry!"

Once Catarina was in control of her magic again, she glamoured herself and vanished all the plants. Simon had glamoured his fanga as well then they walked forward

"It's okay Alec, I'm fine. We both are. But, magic? There was no mention of that in the book. So how do you possess?" Catarina asked curiously.

"I do have it but it's only when I'm around nature. But it's nothing like what you, Magnus or other warlocks possess. From what Angel Ithuriel told me, not every angel has magic, it's rare to find angels with full magic. Guess I got lucky." Alec shrugged.

"Wait, Alec, so you can fly too, right?" Simon asked, knowing it was a dumb question, but he still asked, earning a look of disbelief from everyone.

"Yes, Simon, I can, but I'm still learning it. Angel Ithuriel had told me some basics but he had assigned me another winged shadowhunter for my further training. He has provided me with his details and how I can reach him."

Everyone's eyes went wide with the revelation. "How many immortal shadowhunters are out there, which no one knows about!?" Luke asked.

"Angel Ithuriel told me I'm the fifth one. Kasper, the one which I've researched was the first one. I don't know about the one who's going to train me, maybe he can tell me more."

"And what's that angel's name?" Jace asked, a hint of jealousy clear in his tone.

Alec suppressed his smile. With their bond becoming stronger, he could feel his jealousy clearly. "His name is Daniel Nightstorm."

"Nightstorms? Their line ended decades ago. They were never heard of anymore." Maryse said, a little surprised by this piece of information.

"I think we should call it a day, now. This is all a lot to process in, even for Alec." Luke said, and everyone nodded.

They all hugged Alec once again and said their goodbyes. Alec stayed at Catarina's to get some rest properly for sometime then with her help he made space for his wings in all of his clothes which he brought and Catarina glamoured them in that area.

The rest of the day was like a blur for him, he attended the meeting which they preponed which as usual went not so interesting, then completed the paperwork he was supposed to for his inquiry visit. By the time he was done it was late at night but he didn't care, he wanted to get back to his husband, his home. His family argued with him that he could leave the next morning but he eventually won and said his goodbyes to his family and left for Idris.

*****************************

As Alec stood beside his apartment door, he took a nervous deep breath. He didn't get a chance to talk to Magnus that day and his husband didn't know that he was coming back late at night so it'll be a nice surprise for him. He took a deep breath again and opened the door.

As soon as he entered the apartment his nostrils filled with a foul smell which was floating in the whole apartment which was dimly lit. He took in the state of the room which felt like it wasn't cleaned in decades, there were several half empty or full packets of take out scattered on the floor, some leftovers of food were placed on the coffee table and the glass table near the couch, broken shards of numerous glasses were scattered on the kitchen floor and in center of the living room, a empty bottle of whiskey was kept on the kitchen slab. He took in the scene and sighed heavily, rubbing the crease formed on the bridge of his nose.

He looked around and spotted water bamboo on one shelf. To his advantage they both were nature lovers and had many house plants in their apartment like Oxalis, Aloe Vera, Snake plant, different types of ferns and Anthurium. He focused on the lot at once, extracted their mixed scents and spread it in the whole apartment replacing the foul smell. He sighed then started walking towards their bedroom, avoiding the scattered shards of glasses.

"Magnus!? Mags!?" He shouted, his voice echoing on the whole apartment filled with dullness.

He opened his bedroom door and his eyes widened with horror. His husband was curled around in the center of the bed, sheets and pillows scattered around the floor,  eyes  bloodshot with his makeup all smudged and flowing down. His hair was down and messy and the man was completely naked, looking paler, lacking his usual natural glow. Alec's heart raced badly as he sprinted and sat beside Magnus.

"Magnus!? Mags? Love, wake up." From up close he could see that his lips were cracked and bleeding, and it looked like he hadn't taken a shower in days.

"Angels!! Magnus? Mags, wake up love. Please."

Magnus stirred, his eyes were heavy and he could taste metal in his mouth.

"Magnus? Hey, wake up love."

Magnus blinked his eyes when he spotted a figure next to him.

"A.. Alexander?" His voice was rough and croaky from his dry throat.

"Mags! Hey, what happened here?"

He blinked a few times to make sure he wasn't dreaming. "Alexander... W.. Water... I..."

Before he could complete Alec was back with water and some soaked cotton balls in his hands. He put it on the side table and helped his husband to sit properly, then cleaned the blood with the help of cotton balls. After making sure there was no blood on his lips he helped him with water.

"Slowly, Mags!" His eyes were filled with worry the whole time.

"M.. More.."

He filled the glass with more water and placed it on his lips. His fast heart beats refusing to slow down. "Magnus!? How long has it been since you've eaten anything or drank water?" He asked softly, voice laced with concern.

Once Magnus was in his full senses with enough water in his system, realization dawned on him. He lowered his eyes, unable to meet his shadowhunter's.

"Mags!" He said softly and placed his hand gently on his husband's cheeks. Magnus couldn't hold it any longer and tears started running down his cheeks.

Alec quickly placed the glass on the table and wrapped his husband in a tight hug. He winced in pain when Magnus unknowingly tightened his grip just above his left wing scar. He suppressed it down and let his warlock cry on his shoulders.

Magnus didn't know what to do, he couldn't meet his shadowhunter's eyes but he needed him, badly. 'What have I done!? How am I supposed to tell you that I..I kissed.. Camille.. that I.. I cheated.. No! It was Camille.. b.. but I got weak.. I let my guards down. I'm not ready to lose you. I can't. Not again. I don't know if I could, but if not telling you means having you for long enough, I'll add it to my existing pile of secrets.' he thought.

When Magnus' crying slowed down, Alec held his face in his hands and placed his lips softly above his eyes and pecked them gently.

"Magnus? What happened here? Are you okay now?"

"I.. Alexander.. I.." He sniffed, not knowing what to say but he couldn't keep everything from him. He could tell him half the truth, leaving the part where he cheated on his precious Alexander.

"Mags, look at me!" He spoke softly. "What happened, love?"

Magnus looked at him but still couldn't meet his eyes. "C.. Camille happened."

Alec's eyes widened with the information. Several thoughts started running through his mind. "What!? Was.. was she here? Did she hurt you?"

"No, I was at a client's.. when she... she's a vampire again, way more stronger.. more.." he trailed off and started crying again. "I'm sorry, Alexander!"

"Magnus, there's nothing to apologize for. I'll kill her if I see her again." He seethed with anger and wrapped his husband in a tight, comforting hug. He knew his husband was vulnerable right now, and Camille would have tried her way to get to him. Whatever she has done, she'll definitely pay for it.

He broke their hug when he felt his warlock getting relaxed under his touch.

"When did it happen, Magnus?"

"Th... this evening, seven to eight hours ago."

Alec sighed. "And you haven't eaten anything since then?"

Magnus shook his head, fidgeting with his husband's fingers absentmindedly, which were placed on his lap.

"Love, whatever she did, don't overthink it, okay. I'll make dinner for us."

"No, Alexander, I'm fine, there's no.."

"Magnus! I'm going to make dinner, you rest, okay?"

Magnus nodded, he couldn't bring himself to tell him the whole truth. Alec quickly prepared a dinner of spaghetti with meatballs for them and  took it to his husband, with a glass of juice for him. He fed his husband properly then helped him to clean up and changed him into more fresh and comfortable clothing. He himself changed into his night dress and cuddled closely to his husband.

"A.. Alexander, I.. I'm sorry, I was.. the apartment, I couldn't..." he was unable to form a proper sentence, he wanted to be with his shadowhunter, but the guilt was strong.

"Shh, Mags. It's okay. I don't care about the apartment, we'll clean it tomorrow. All I care about is you. Just sleep, okay. You need proper rest."

Magnus nodded and snuggled into his husband's chest, needing all the touch he could get from his shadowhunter. Alec kissed him on the top of his head, stroking his thick silky hair gently, he tangled their legs together and wrapped his arms tightly around his waist. He kept stroking his hair until his warlock slept peacefully beside him then he dozed off to sleep himself.

[alvacchi]

Phantom Thief Hanako-kun AU Story: Chapter 6 - Back in the Early Heist Days

Flashback time!

Let's take a pause from what happened in the previous chapter and backtrack to the past~!

We'll be mainly sticking with Kou for this.

This happened before the first chapter!

Enjoy!

---

-Phantom Thief Hanako released a heist notice to steal yet another jewel

-The detectives and police force were working together to strengthen security

-This thief was astonishingly outwitting them all if he never failed a heist

-Minamoto Kou, younger brother of Teru who is one of the top policemen, was just starting out his career as a new police officer

-His first mission was to join some police officers to capture Hanako

-Teru couldn't join the team during the heist since he was busy taking care of other more serious offenses

-So he was cheering Kou on for the time being, congratulating him on officially becoming part of the police force

-While Kou aimed to be like his brother, he admired a certain radish girl Yashiro Nene

-They didn't really know each other right now

-Before, Kou just came to visit the police station and departments to give lunch to Teru and make sure he's eating properly

-And it was a coincidence that Kou saw Yashiro with Detective Tsuchigomori as they came by at the same time

-Seeing Yashiro working hard on cases became part of his motivation to also work to fight crime along with Teru

-and so she was a Senpai to him in the field and a current acquaintance

-Kou was hoping he could get closer to Yashiro

-Preparing a small bouquet of pink flowers, he wanted to present them to her to make a good impression since they would be working together from now on

-On the day of the heist, he went to look for her with the flowers in hand

-When he found her with Tsuchigomori, he immediately went to hide behind a wall

-Kou peeked over and noticed that they were talking about the heist

-Would right now be a good time to give them?

-He stopped peeking to gather himself together before deciding to head over, feeling nervous

-Only to realize that the moment he let them out of his sight, they were already gone

-Darn, he missed his chance

-Well, it will be okay. He could see them again at the heist itself

-He tucked the flowers in his pockets

-The location of the heist was at a hotel owned by Akane

-Kou heard from Teru that Hanako would go steal from Akane from time to time

-He couldn't help but wonder how the gem collector was dealing with the situation

-Night time arrived and a small crowd gathered

-Not too many people knew of Hanako yet but already there were a few reporters at the scene and word had spread

-Kou was looking around when he accidentally bumped into someone

-"Hey! Watch the camera, Lame-ass Traffic safety Earring!"

-Kou: "Oh sorry--wait what?"

-Kou looked to see a pink haired boy with a scarf and camera on. He seemed to be around Kou's age

-Kou: "Do you know who you're talking to?"

-Mitsuba: "No. Should I?"

-Wow, this guy was testing his patience

-Kou: "Geez. Look at my uniform. I'm a police officer."

-Mitsuba: "Okay, police officer. Now could you let me go? I gotta take photos for the papers."

-Kou's eyes widened as he looked down at Mitsuba's camera he's holding

-Kou: "Oh! Are you a photographer?"

-Mitsuba: "Well I'm a journalist but I guess--"

-Kou: "THAT'S SO COOL! Sorry for bumping into your camera! What's your name?"

-Mitsuba was surprised at Kou's outburst. He felt a little embarassed all of a sudden.

-Mitsuba: "....Mitsuba Sousuke."

-Kou: "I'm Minamoto Kou! Nice to meet you! I can't wait to see all of your work!"

-Mitsuba: "I've done a few already but I'm still new at my job so my writing isn't that great."

-Kou: "That's okay! My reading isn't that great either!"

-Kou gave a thumbs up at that.

-Mitsuba: "Reading and writing are two different things. Also, I don't think you should be proud of that pff"

-Kou: "Hm? Is that so?"

-Mitsuba: "Anyways, I'll be going to the hotel rooftop to take pictures of the cityscape from there. Would you like to come along? There should still be time before the heist"

-Kou: "Sure! Let's go!"

-And so they are both at the rooftop chattering away as Mitsuba took photos with his camera

-Kou: "Huh so you like taking pictures of animals and landscape stuff. How about photos of people?"

-Mitsuba: "I do take them as well. The papers get way more media attention that way anyways."

-Kou: "How about taking one of me? I'll be the ultimate subject! Just call it 'Police Officer Minamoto Kou Makes His Debut'!"

-Mitsuba: "Hm....No thank you."

-Kou: "Aw come on! I want to be in the papers!"

-Kou tried to grab the camera from Mitsuba

-Mitsuba: "Hey wait a minute!"

-Kou: "Just a bit!"

-"Two gentlemen fighting on the rooftop? That's quite dangerous."

-Kou and Mitsuba looked over to find the the phantom thief Hanako standing near the edge of the roof

-When did he get there?

-Oh wait, did the heist start already?!

-They lost track of time!

-Kou: "Hanako!"

-Hanako: "I will be taking the treasure~"

-Hanako showed them the jewel in his hand.

-Kou: "Oh no you don't!"

-Kou rushed towards him and Hanako just dodged Kou's attacks, keeping the jewel out of reach

-As they got closer to the edge of the building, a sudden strong gust of wind burst forth

-Knocking the jewel out of Hanako's hand

-and the pink flowers from Kou's pocket

-Ah. The flowers. Kou completely forgot about them

-Both items were being blown away far apart from each other and off the roof

-Kou: "Oh no the flowers!!"

-That was Kou's immediate response

-Hanako ran and jumped to grab the flowers, dismissing the jewel

-He just jumped off the roof without a thought

-That madlad

-Kou's body moved and he managed to reach and grab onto Hanako's legs to prevent his fall from the roof

-Hanako was a bit heavy so Kou was having trouble lifting him up and they were right at the edge

-Mitsuba grabbed onto Kou and they both were able to lift Hanako up to safety

-Kou was shocked at Hanako's sudden move

-Kou: "Why did you just risk your life for a bunch of flowers?!"

-He couldn't understand

-Hanako also let that jewel drop!

-Hanako: "These are important to you, no?"

-Kou was rendered speechless at Hanako's words

-What kind of thief was that considerate?

-Hanako: "I'm sure you wanted to give these to someone. Also, I got my equipment on me so I wouldn't have fell to my death but thank you anyways"

-Hanako handed the flowers back to Kou and took a bow

-A racket of footsteps and shouts came from the door leading to the rooftop

-Hanako: "Welp, time's up, my fellow gentlemen. Perhaps we'll meet again~"

-Hanako escaped using his smoke bomb as a smoke screen

-Kou and Mitsuba coughed through it and once the smoke cleared, Hanako was gone

-The door slammed open to reveal a frantic Akane, panicked Yashiro, and a curious Aoi

-Akane: "AAAAAA NOOOOO we're too late!"

-Kou: "Huh? What are you talking about?"

-Yashiro: "Hanako made off with the jewel!"

-Kou: "Wait but I saw the jewel drop down the building. I apologize about--"

-Akane: "That must have been a fake! I prepared fake copies but he saw through my plan and still stole them anyways. He already stole the real one when I wasn't looking, since it was in a different location. That bastard thief!"

-Kou:

-Kou: "HAAAH?! Wait, why didn't I know about this??"

-Mitsuba: "Ahhh drama between the police and the gem collector once again. Why do you guys think he managed to get away?"

-Aoi: "So the rumors about Hanako were true! He's a clever mastermind!"

-Akane: "Ao-chan praising that thief....oh no no no no no that charmer did not just--"

-(Inside Akane's head of delusional fantasies):

-Aoi: "Hanako-sama! Please take me with you!"

-Hanako: "My dear sweet lady, I shall come for you as my next prize~"

[They fly and get farther away as Akane runs after them]

-Akane: [reaches out] "AO-CHAN! NO WAIT I LOVE YOU!"

-Aoi: "Hm 1 point~. Farewell Akane-kun! Please forget about me. I'm eloping with him now ♡"

[End of delusion]

-Akane: 'AAAAAAAA NO THAT CANNOT HAPPEN! IT ALL BACKFIRED!! I should not have brought Ao-chan here...Now I gotta watch out for not just that Teru bastard but also him aaaargh!'

-They were all staring at Akane leaning against the wall, agonizing

-Akane: [mumbling] " 'If we met under different circumstances, we could have been friends' my ass you thief, not when you're flirting with Ao-chan you son of a-"

-Kou: "Uh...is he okay? He's been leaning against that wall, mumbling weird stuff"

-Aoi: "He'll be okay ♡. Akane-kun's a big boy"

-Mitsuba nudged Kou

-Mitsuba: "Minamoto-kun, there's something you want to do, right?"

Kou: "Huh? Oh! Right!"

-Kou approached Yashiro who was zoning out, looking a bit troubled

-Yashiro: [mumbling to herself] "Aah~ I can't believe I got lost again...it's a good thing I found Akane-kun and Aoi along the way"

-Kou: "Um! Senpai!"

-Yashiro snapped out of her thoughts

-Yashiro: "Me?"

-Kou: "My name is Minamoto Kou. I'm a new police officer in the workforce so I'll be in your care! These are for you!"

-Kou handed the pink flowers over to Yashiro

-Yashiro: [smiles brightly as she received them] "Thank you! They're so pretty! I think I've seen you around. I'm Yashiro Nene. It will be a pleasure working with you!"

-Kou flustered as steam came out of his head and his heart felt like an arrow shot through it

-He may have developed a slight crush

-Kou: "Y-you're welcome! And I-I look forward to it too!"

-Kou turned around to see Mitsuba, trying to distract himself

-Kou: "Mitsuba! Did you get any good pictures?"

-Mitsuba, taking a look at his camera, smiled to himself

-He had taken a few photos of Kou without him realizing

-Mistuba: "Mhm. I sure did~"

---

-As Hanako walked casually through an alleyway, he heard footsteps coming closer and he stopped

-He didn't have to look back to know who it is

-This happened often enough after all

-Hanako smiled

-Hanako: "Of all the people who could actually capture me if serious, you sure don't really take me seriously."

-He turned anyways to face the person responsible for the noises

-Hanako: "Great detective Tsuchigomori."

-Tsuchigomori stood in the alleyway as Hanako figured, looking at him nonchalantly

-Hanako: "What is this, a game of catch and release?"

-Tsuchigomori: "Hmph so you really did go this way. There wouldn't be many people here after all. It's a good escape route."

-Hanako: "Why didn't you tell the police?"

-Tsuchigomori: "They need to learn for themselves. Seriously incompetent if they can't capture a single person. Besides, I realized there's more to your stealing. I haven't figured out why exactly though."

-Hanako: "Oho I see. So that's what you care about. Curious?"

-Tsuchigomori: "I'm too busy for that now. I have an apprentice to look after....who apparently got lost since she's supposed to be with me..."

-Hanako: "Oh? You have an apprentice?"

-Tsuchigomori: "I'm showing her the ropes for now. And then, she'll be taking over my place to capture you."

-Hanako: "What, great detective? Aw, I'll miss you! Things won't be the same"

-Tsuchigomori: "Oh don't worry. You'll find her to be quite a persistent one."

-Hanako: "Heh~ Interesting!"

-Hanako vanished from sight using his fancy garment and smoke bomb for the second time, saying one last thing.

-Hanako: "I'll keep that in mind."

[cocastyle]

Change - Ch. 1 | E L E V E N

Pairing - Bill Denbrough x reader

Word Count - 7,900

A/N - long chapter because I just couldn’t find a good spot to break this into two parts! there is one more chapter until the first half of this series is complete :(( but then we will be moving onto It Chapter Two and I have so many great ideas for that half and the future of the Losers Club and Y/N Uris! please continue to leave any feedback because I love knowing what people think and hearing what I could do to improve or what people enjoy the most of!

if you would like to be added to the tag list for this series let me know!

C H A N G E

Change Series Masterlist

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E L E V E N - Only the Beginning

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It was like Y/N couldn't breath as pure panic creeped up on her, the realization that her cousin was missing squeezing her lungs so tight that it physically hurt. Y/N didn't even give time for the others to respond to her question and had turned before beginning to move through the tunnel as fast as she could, her panicked voice yelling out, "Stanley! Stanley!"

She didn't even see the others' faces, but she knew they had to be just as worried as she was just from the sound of them scrambling through the tunnel after her and worriedly crying out, "Stanley! Stan!"

Y/N eventually stumbled upon a clearing and would've gone tumbling into the water of the new tunnel if it wasn't for Eddie, who had caught up to her, grabbing onto her arm to keep her from pitching forward. The girl sent a thankful look in Eddie's direction before carefully getting out and helping Eddie out as well, the Losers following after.

"Oh, shit. Grey water," Eddie muttered in disgust while Y/N shined the flashlight around them, trying to find any sign of her cousin and his whereabouts. "Stan?"

"Stanley!" Y/N called out, but there was still no response and all the girl could think about was how her cousin and best friend was lost within the tunnels that held a killer clown.

Her breathing was starting to become more rapid and she struggled to swallow due to her closing throat. But just when she was on the verge of tears, a presence was suddenly by her side and someone was grabbing onto her hand, instantly pulling the girl out of her state.

Y/N's eyes flickered to her side, her tears shining in the glow of the flashlights. Bill's heart broke at the sight and it felt as if she was silently asking him what they were supposed to do. Bill squeezed her hand gently before whispering, "We'll find him. I promise."

Y/N was hesitant as she stared at the boy before finally giving in with a small nod. Bill looked back to make sure everyone was out of the tunnel before looking down the new tunnel they were in. "Come on," he said before he began to run forward, dragging Y/N along at his side as he did.

"Stanley!" Y/N yelled as the group ran through the corridor, their flashlights shining everywhere around them as they desperately tried to find the curly haired boy.

But then she heard it—a noise that had the girl stopping dead in her tracks as her blood ran cold.

Stan's screams.

"Stanley?" Y/N choked out in pure horror before releasing Bill's hand and taking off down the tunnel in the direction of the screams.

The others blinked out of their surprise and shock as soon as the girl began to move and that was when they all began to take action. "Stan!" they cried out before running after the girl.

It didn't take long for them to come upon a door, Stan's screams coming from the other side. "Stanley!" Y/N yelled as she desperately tried to get the door open.

Bill was by her side in an instant and tried pulling on the door as well as he yelled, "We're coming, man!"

"We're coming! Don't worry," Eddie called out as he too began pulling on the door, Mike, Ben and Richie joining as well.

It took all of their strength, but the group was able to forcefully push the door open before entering the room where Stan had ended up. How he had ended up in there when they could barley get the door open themselves was beyond them, but they didn't bother thinking too much of it for they were too focused on Stan.

"Stan?" Bill questioned as they ran inside only to find that the curly haired boy was no where in sight. However, Y/N could see the small light coming from the other side of the room and quickly ran over to find her cousin's flashlight on the ground.

"Stanley?" Y/N called out as she flashed the light around the room before stopping on a view that had her screaming in horror, her eyes filling with tears as she struggled to pull herself together.

The others were by her side in a flash and they all let out gasps of horror at the sight of some lady that looked like she was from straight out of their worst nightmares trying to eat Stan's face.

Rows of teeth were latched onto the boy's whole face and Y/N barely had time to register that her cousin was still moving before she screamed again, her scream mixing with the sob that racked her body as she angrily threw the flashlight at the creature.

"Get the fuck away from him!" Y/N screamed so loud that it would've hurt all of their ears if they weren't too horrified by what was happening in front of them.

The flashlight bounced off of the lady's face and it froze before looking up at the group. Her mouth was still latched onto Stan's face and Y/N felt her blood run cold at the white eyes staring back at her. She instantly got a flashback of her uncle's office, remembering the painting that had given her the creeps the first time she saw it and the look of pure horror on Stan's face as he pushed her out of the room as quick as he could.

This was the painting lady Stan had been talking about. This was his fear.

And by the looks of it, it was now going to be Y/N's as well.

"What the fuck is that thing? Oh, shit!" Richie cried out as the lady released Stan who let out a gasp for air as blood trickled down his face. The creature let out what sounded like a hiss as it slowly backed away from the boy and up a set of stairs. She disappeared around a corner, but what came back around was definitely not the painting lady. It was the clown and the sight of It was enough to make Y/N jump back in fear as she huddled closer to Ben and Richie who were the closest to her at the moment.

It started at them for a moment, a small smile on its face as blood trickled down its chin before the clown disappeared around the corner and didn't return.

Y/N instantly snapped out of her fright as soon as the clown was gone and turned her eyes onto her cousin who was gasping on the floor with huge bite marks in a circle around his face, blood dripping from each mark.

"Stanley!" Y/N sobbed out in relief as she made a move to run towards her cousin. She was on her feet by him within seconds, but as soon as her hands had come in contact with his arm, the curly haired boy had shot up with an ear-piercing scream and he desperately backed away from her and the others who were running over as well.

"No! No! No!" Stan cried out in pure panic as he tried to get away from her, tears streaming down his face as he looked at his friends and cousin with wide eyes.

"Stanley, it's okay," Y/N tried to tell him, tears rolling down her cheeks as she tried to grab onto her cousin to give him comfort, but he only shoved her away and continued to scoot back.

"You left me!" Stan yelled with his eyes not leaving his cousin's face, sobbing as he did. "You took me into Neibolt! You're not my friends! You made me go into Neibolt!"

Stan was full on sobbing by now, but he had no strength left in him to pull away from the group. Y/N managed to grab ahold of his shoulder and she let out a heartbroken sob as she pulled the boy into her for a fierce hug, her arms wrapping around him as she held onto him as tight as she could. She wanted him to feel safe and secure. She wanted him to know she was here.

"You promised you wouldn't let anything happen to me!" Stan cried with a hint of betrayal in his shaky voice. "You promised!"

Y/N let out another sob at that and just gripped onto her cousin tighter, not ever wanting to let him go. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," she cried, holding onto her cousin as he broke down in her arms.

"Stanley, I'm sorry," Eddie tried to say as he put a hand on his friend's shoulder, the others all crowding around him as well.

"You made me go into Neibolt! This is your fault," Stan told them and Y/N swore those words would forever be ingrained in her mind. She promised Stan she would keep him safe and look what had happened.

This was her fault.

The whole group was tearing up by now and Y/N didn't move as she continued to hug her cousin, holding onto him like she was afraid she would never get to again. It took a minute but eventually Stan calmed down and gripped onto him with just as much force, his yelling turning into nothing more than quiet cries.

Eddie didn't even hesitate to join the hug, his arms wrapping around both Stan and Y/N as he rested his head in between theirs. To their surprise, Richie was next and he held onto them tightly before Ben and Mike quickly joined in.

"We would never let anything happen to you," Richie spoke up, his voice shaky as he held onto his curly haired best friend. He didn't even care about how he was showing his true emotions at the moment, for the love he had for his friend—all of them—was beyond compare and he could stop being an asshole for just a second in order to let his friend know how much he was loved. "We're here for you. You know we wouldn't do that to you. Come on, Stan the Man."

Stan relaxed at that and since his arms were still wrapped around his cousin, he tightened his grip on Y/N before whispering, "I'm sorry for yelling."

"Don't apologize," Y/N whispered as she leaned into the boy. "I'm sorry this happened. It's all my fault. I promised I would keep you safe and I. . .it's all my fault."

The group began to pull away at that and Stan looked to his cousin in surprise, not realizing how hurtful his words had been until just then. A look of guilt flashed across his bloody face and he whispered, "Y/N-"

However, he didn't get a chance to say anything else because Eddie's voice was suddenly crying out in confusion, "Bill?"

Y/N froze at that and was quick to turn her head. Her eyes widened once she realized that Bill was gone and so was Mike's gun. It didn't take a genius to realize what he was doing and she suddenly felt the same panic that had coursed through her body when Stan went missing taking over her again.

"Bill!" Y/N yelled as the group all scrambled to their feet. Everyone began to yell for the boy as they hurried down the tunnel, but it seemed like the faster they ran the further the boy got.

Before the group knew it, there was no sign of Bill and all they were able to do was just continue down the tunnel. They had slowed down by now, all of them knowing that they weren't going to be able to find Bill no matter how fast they ran.

Y/N was shaking in fear as her and Stan gripped onto each other's hands for dear life. Neither wanted to be separated again for the rest of the journey down here, so holding onto each other and standing by the other's side was the only source of comfort they had walking through the sewer with their friends by their side.

Y/N had never been afraid of something more than she was now. With everything that It had done to them—all the torture, the splitting the group up, attacking Stan, stealing Beverly, and now hurting Bill so much emotionally that he felt like he had to kill him—how could she not be afraid?

She was thirteen for goodness sake. Barely a teenager and she had to go through all of this? She knew being a teenager was hard, but no one had told her she would have to fight a demon clown that turned into their worst nightmares.

"Bill!" Stan called out, snapping the girl out of her thoughts. She swallowed thickly and gripped onto her cousin's hand more as they walked. Her nerves were going haywire and she felt that if she tried to speak she would puke, so she left it up to the others to yell for Bill's name while she shined her flashlight around the tunnel.

The splashing of water caught the girl's attention and she quickly moved her flashlight so that it shined down on Eddie who had fallen into the water.

"Come on. Get out of there, dude. That's grey water," Richie tried to say in a teasing manner, although they could all sense the small worry in his voice for not only Bill but for Eddie as well.

"Wait, wait, wait. Oh, my god. Where's my fucking flashlight?!" Eddie questioned as he tried to move through the water to find the object. However, before he could, something in the water flipped over to reveal that it was a mutilated head and the group all let out a scream.

It was then that they realized all of the objects in the water were mutilated heads and Y/N was quick to reach out and pull Eddie out of the water as they all screamed. Eddie scrambled to his feet and leaned into Y/N's touch as she kept her hands steady on his non broken arm. The boy shuddered and didn't move until Y/N had linked her arm with his, running a hand comfortingly you and down his arm until his breathing had returned to normal and a look of pure disgust had taken over his features.

The absence of Y/N's hand was enough to make Stan move closer to his cousin, but he didn't mind because he knew that Eddie needed the girl right now almost as much as he did.

"Come on, let's get the fuck out of here! Come on!" Richie yelled as he quickly grabbed onto Y/N and Eddie before shoving them through the water and away from the mutilated heads as quick as possible, making sure to keep them in front of him so that he could put distance between them and the grey water.

Stan was by Y/N's side in a second and the two cousins were content with just walking near each other while Eddie continued to lean on to Y/N for support as the group quickly moved through the tunnels.

Ben had taken a place at the front of the group and guided them through the tunnels while Richie and Mike stayed in the back to make sure nothing attacked the group from behind. With her friends surrounding her, Y/N felt an odd sense of safety and comfort wash over her and that was enough to give her the ounce of courage she needed to step into what had to be It's lair.

"Shit," Y/N whispered out in a shaky voice as she took in the lair in front of her. She could see a mountain of what seemed to be garbage with kids' toys and above that were hundreds of floating objects that made the girl shudder before looking way. She didn't even want to think about what they were.

But then her eyes had latched onto a familiar red head floating limply only a little ways in the air and her eyes widened as she whispered out, "Bev."

That seemed to catch the others' attention and the group was quick to run over to their friend before looking up at her as Beverly floated above them.

"Shit. How-how is she in the air?" Richie questioned as he came to a stop beside Y/N. The two glanced at each other and shared a look of equal disgust and horror before looking back up at their friend.

"Guys. . .are those. . .?" Eddie asked and Y/N quickly followed his gaze to the floating objects she had glanced at momentarily only a few seconds before. She grimaced as she finally got a good look at them and she felt as if she were about to be sick once she realized what they were.

"The missing kids. . .floating," Stan muttered from beside his cousin, his voice shaky.

"Just help me grab her," Ben said, instantly pulling the others' attention away from the floating kids and back to their floating friend. Mike and Richie were quick to step forward and helped lift Ben up so that he could grab onto Beverly's feet and begin to pull her down.

"I'm slipping," Ben began to say, but Richie and Mike quickly steadied him before they brought Beverly down low enough that Mike and Richie could grab ahold of her as well. Once they had Beverly on her feet, everyone quickly crowded around, their eyes flickering over the girl's blank face and glossy eyes.

"Beverly?" Y/N questioned softly as her and the others watched their friend in concern. The red head didn't respond and Ben swallowed thickly before shaking the girl in an attempt to wake her up. However, her head merely titled downwards.

"Beverly. Why isn't she waking up?! What is wrong with her?! Beverly, please! Come on!" Ben cried out before he pushed her head upright and gave the girl a hug. They knew he was hoping she would hug back, but the red head still did not move.

Y/N shook her head and threw a hand over her mouth as she leaned into Stan, tears filling her eyes as she willed Beverly to wake up. Eddie hugged the girl from the side and rested his head on her shoulder as both he and Stan comforted Y/N while Ben continued to hug Beverly.

The group watched as Ben pulled away from the hug to look at Beverly and before any of them could even blink, Ben had suddenly grabbed onto the sides of Beverly's face and was kissing her.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" everyone muttered in complete surprise, their eyes wide. However, no one made a move to stop the boy mostly out of just shock.

"Wow," Richie finally said in disbelief as Ben finally pulled away from Beverly, his eyes staring into the girl's glossy ones desperately.

But then something incredible happened and Y/N's mouth fell open in shock as Beverly suddenly let out a gasp of air as she regained consciousness, her eyes returning to normal as she looked between her friends before stopping on Ben.

"Bev?" Ben whispered and the red head blinked in response.

"January embers," she finally said and the Losers all watched confused as Ben gave the red head one of the brightest smiles they had ever seen dawn his face.

"My heart burns there too," Ben whispered while the others all blinked in confusion.

Richie shook his head, not wanting to ask, and let out a laugh before embracing Ben and Beverly as he muttered, "Jesus, fuck."

The others all let out small laughs of relief as well and were quick to go embrace the three, all of them feeling a sense of relief wash over them now that Beverly was safe.

It took the group a moment to pull away, but when they did, the relief of the moment vanished and Beverly looked around confused before asking, "Where's Bill?"

Y/N tensed at that and was instantly on high alert once again as the others all went wide eyed. "Fuck," Y/N muttered before turning and looking around until she caught sight of the only pathway Bill could've gone down.

She didn't even think twice before running off and she momentarily heard Richie mutter "Shit," before the sound of footsteps were not too far behind her.

Y/N was practically sprinting around the corner with hopes that she would reach Bill in time. She couldn't lose him. She just couldn't.

Then there he was standing just around the corner frozen in place. Y/N let out a small sigh of relief and instantly slowed down, but froze once she saw that Bill was not alone. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of a little boy with only one arm standing in front of Bill with a paper boat in his hands.

"Take me home, Billy," the boy pleaded and that was all Y/N needed to hear to realize who this was or who this was supposed to be.

Georgie Denbrough—Bill's missing brother.

She hadn't seen Georgie for forever now. The last time she had seen him was when he had been only a toddler, so she had almost not even recognized him. But she knew better than to believe what was in front of her. That wasn't the Georgie she remembered even if it had been years since she last saw him. This was It and Bill was on the verge of falling for the trap.

The sound of footsteps approached from behind her and in a matter of seconds the other Losers were stopping behind her, their breaths catching in their throats at the sight of the youngest Denbrough.

"I wanna go home," Georgie told the boy in a shaky voice as he was on the verge of tears. Bill began to shake and Y/N could hear the sharp intake of his breathing as the boy tried to stop himself from letting out a heartbroken sob. "I miss you. I wanna be with Mom and Dad."

"I want more than anything for you to be home," Bill whispered, his voice cracking as a few tears rolled down his face. "With Mom and Dad. I miss you so much."

He began to take a few steps towards the little boy and Y/N wanted to reach out and pull Bill back, but she couldn't help but wonder if maybe she was wrong. Maybe this was Georgie Denbrough. And if she was the one to pull Bill away and ultimately get his brother killed. . .she couldn't do that to Bill. It would break his heart.

"I love you, Billy," Georgie whimpered, his words even tugging at Richie's heartstrings as they all watched the interaction.

"I love you too," Bill whispered and Y/N watched with wide eyes as Bill held Mike's gun up to the little boy's head. So she was right about one thing. It wasn't Georgie. But Bill? He definitely wasn't falling for the trap.

Georgie began to cry out of fear and Bill took in a deep breath before saying confidently, "But you're not Georgie."

A loud clang went through the air as Bill shot the little boy and everyone let out a gasp of horror for even seeing a fake little boy fall to the ground was like watching the real thing. Y/N even felt sick for a moment and it was like she was rooted in place as she looked to Bill who was staring down at Georgie with an unreadable expression.

"Bill," Y/N whispered and the boy tensed before glancing back at her, his eyes filled with tears as he looked to Y/N for confirmation that wasn't his brother. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if that had actually been Georgie.

As if hearing his concerns, the Georgie on the ground suddenly began to convulse, morphed yells escaping his mouth as his body shook violently. Y/N blinked and stepped back slightly in shock as she watched the boy's legs suddenly grow longer and morph into those of a clown.

Georgie's arm began to grow back and flopped around in the air like a worm as a monster like groan filled the air. Y/N was horrified and her eyes flickered over to Bill who she realized was still standing dangerously close to the creature on the ground.

She went to step towards Bill, but just when she was about to the body went still and that alone was enough to make Y/N freeze as well, a sickening feeling washing over her without warning. One by one, each of the limbs suddenly grew longer and to the true proportion of It before the clown suddenly sat up, its head hanging low while the kids all watched with wide eyes.

"Shit," Bill whispered as the clown suddenly shot up onto its feet in an inhuman like way.

"Kill it now! Kill It!" Eddie screamed snapping everyone out of their shock and making the realize what was happening. "Kill it! Kill it! Kill it!"

Everyone began to yell in a frenzy for they were too far away to do anything and only Bill was close enough to kill the creature. "Shoot it, Bill!" Y/N cried out before realization struck her.

There was only one bullet and Bill had used it on Georgie.

"Bill!" Y/N yelled, but it was like the boy was frozen in place, his eyes focusing on the clown that was now looking right at him.

"Kill it!" the kids cried while Mike and Y/N made eye contact as they both remembered the sight of the bullets falling down the well.

"It's not loaded," Mike muttered and Y/N felt herself grow pale as she quickly looked back towards Bill who was holding the gun up at the clown.

"Hey, it's not loaded!" Mike tried to tell him, but Bill didn't hear and just pulled the trigger. Even though nothing came out, It shot back as if it were starting to convulse, its face beginning to turn to dust as its body shot back at a weird angle.

It began to scream and shake and everyone let out screams of horror as the clown suddenly shot back up and began running at the group. Someone grabbed onto the girl's arm and pulled her away before she could grab Bill and she barely had time to register what was going on before Richie shoved the girl behind him and begin backing up.

Y/N gripped onto the boy's arm tightly and all of the kids continued to scream as It suddenly jumped on top of Bill. "Bill!" Y/N yelled as the clown went to bite at him, but Bill was quick and put the gun up fast enough that it held the clown back by the jaw.

Y/N had to shove Richie away from her in order to get away and the boy went to grab at her but it was too late. The girl didn't even think twice before picking up the spear that Bill had made that had been tossed to the ground. She ran at the clown right when It tore the gun away from Bill and was just about to stab him when the clown turned and grabbed the spear with his hand. He instantly tore it from her grip and Eddie cried out, "Y/N, no!"

Y/N didn't have time to register what was happening before the clown lashed his arm at her, It's claws digging into her skin and drawing blood as it grabbed her and tossed her aside like a rag doll. The girl hit the wall with a sickening crunch and Y/N let out a scream of pain while Mike in a blaze of fury ran at the clown.

"Y/N!" a voice yelled, but the girl couldn't process who it was. The whole world was spinning and it was like her body was on fire. She was trying so hard not to cry from the pain, but she couldn't stop one tear from rolling down her face as she slowly pulled herself up into a sitting position.

Everything was blurry, but she was able to make out the figures of her friends jumping on the clown and yelling out words that were muffled from the ringing in her ears. Y/N shakily pressed a hand to her chest and neck and winced before pulling her hand away to see that it was covered in blood. The girl gulped and instantly regretted it once feeling the pain that jolted her body, but she knew she couldn't just sit there.

Y/N began to pull herself up onto her knees and just when she was about to stand up, she got knocked down again as Stan was thrown into her. The two cousins fell to the ground hard and Y/N let out another cry of pain while Stan groaned from beside her.

Y/N blinked a few times to try and regain her vision and just when she did, Stan appeared above her, his eyes wide with worry and fear as he eyed the girl. "Y/N?" Stan whimpered out, afraid to ask if she was okay.

"It looks worse than it is," the girl managed to whisper out although that probably wasn't entirely true. That was enough for Stan and the curly haired boy let out a shaky breath as he hurried to help his cousin up. However, it was when the two were both on their feet and turning to look at what was going on that they caught sight of It tossing the other Losers aside before grabbing Bill and holding him against his body with one of his clawed hand wrapped around the boy's throat.

"No!" Y/N yelled as she stumbled away from Stan and went to run at the clown, but It was quick to show the girl it's row of teeth and hold it near Bill, a sign for her to back off or he would kill Bill without hesitation.

"No, don't!" the Losers yelled. "Y/N, stop moving!"

Y/N instantly stopped and her wide eyes flickered between It and Bill before her face hardened and she glared at the clown. "Let him go," she demanded, her voice so deadly that it made the Losers all blink in surprise.

She was bleeding from the top of her neck down to her chest, her blue dress stained with blood that was only growing by the second. Blood was dripping from the hand she had touched her chest with, but the girl did not waiver and she did not back down.

She was not about to let It take Bill away from her. Not now. Not ever.

"I said," Y/N began with narrowed eyes, her hands balling into fists, "let him go."

"No," It said with a shake of his head, a small chuckle escaping his lips that made Y/N clench her fists in anger. She wasn't afraid anymore, she was pissed. "I'll take him. I'll take all of you and I'll feast on your flesh as I feed on your fear."

Y/N gulped at that, a small bit of fear coming back at just the mere thought of them all dying. It held up a shaky hand and grinned, "Or you just leave us be and I will take him. . .only him and then I will have my long rest. And you will all live to grow and thrive and lead happy lives until old age takes you back to the weeds."

Y/N shook her head, her jaw clenching as she looked at the clown in disbelief. Was It being serious right now? There was no way in hell she was about to leave Bill. No way.

"Leave," Bill croaked and that was enough to have the girl snap her gaze down to the boy in surprise, her eyes locking with his as he struggled in the clown's grasp.

"I won't," she insisted, tears filling her eyes as she looked at the boy in disbelief. "I'm not leaving you behind. There is no fucking way, Bill."

"Y/N, please. Save yourself. Get the others out of here," Bill pleaded, his voice cracking as It stroked his face with it's claws.

"I won't," she said, her lips trembling as she looked at the boy. It felt as if her heart broke at the sight of his defeated face and he just gave her a small sad smile as he whispered, "You will."

He tried to give her a reassuring look before he looked between her and the rest of his friends as he whispered, "I'm the one that dragged you all into this."

The boy looked at each of his friends with tears in his eyes as he gave them a sad smile. "I'm s-s-sorry," Bill told them.

"S-S-Sorry," It mocked with a laugh making Y/N harden as she glared at the clown.

"No, I'm sorry, Bill," Y/N said causing the boy to look at her and see her deadly expression as she bent down and picked up the fallen spear. "Cause there is no way I'm leaving you behind. And there is absolutely no fucking way I'm going to be able to live a happy life without you in it."

Bill's breath caught in his throat at that, his eyes trying to search Y/N's face for any sign of hesitation but there was none. The girl looked back at her friends and they all were staring at her with wide eyes, everyone except for Richie who was still watching It and Bill.

Y/N gripped onto the spear and whispered, "Richie?"

Richie was silent for a moment before pulling himself up onto his feet. "I told you, Bill. I fucking told you. I don't want to die. It's your fault," Richie said, his eyes flickering over his friend's face. Y/N felt her stomach start to drop, but Richie continued. "You punched me in the face. You made me walk through shitty water. You brought me to a fucking crackhead house. And now-"

Y/N watched as Richie reached over in the pile of toys and trash before pulling out a bat. Realization dawned on her and she couldn't help but break into a grin as the boy gripped the bat hard and came to stand by Y/N's side.

"I'm gonna have to kill this fucking clown."

It narrowed it's eyes and quickly tossed Bill down to the ground before getting up. With a yell, It began to move towards the two but the friends only smirked and tightened their hold on their weapons.

"Welcome to the Losers' Club, asshole!" Y/N and Richie cried in unison before they both took their weapon of choice and whacked the clown as hard as they could.

It stumbled back and as it came to look back at them, the other Losers joined in. Mike instantly went to hit the clown and the kids all grimaced as burning hands shot out of the clown's mouth and grabbed onto the steel pipe Mike was using.

"Mike!" a woman screamed and Y/N instantly realized this had to do with Mike's fear and the burning of his house when he was younger.

Everyone was screaming and Stan quickly rushed forward and sliced at the hands making It look to the boy. It morphed into the lady from the paintings and went to run at him, but Stan didn't even flinch as he swung at the clown.

Mike went to help, but It knocked the boy down as it's arms suddenly turned into what almost resembled king crab legs. It began trying to stomp on the boy, but Mike rolled out of the way until Ben was able to stab at the clown from behind.

It began to convulse and Y/N gagged at the sight of it's blood floating up into the air. "Kill it!" Eddie exclaimed and Ben tried, but the clown had turned into some disgusting mummy that made it hard for Ben to get too close.

Wrappings latched around Ben's head and the boy let out a scream, but Bill was now back up on his feet and had grabbed some chains which he quickly used to whack the clown with. It let go of Ben and stumbled back giving Richie and Y/N enough time to hit the clown again who went falling to the ground.

Each of the kids began hitting the clown to the point where It began coughing. It turned to face Eddie and the boy shook his head in disgust before It's face morphed into what had to be the leper Eddie was always talking about. The leper proceeded to throw up disgusting junk onto Eddie's face and the boy sat there in pure horror before opening his eyes and spitting out the throw up that had gotten in his mouth.

Eddie glanced down at the goo all over him and a blazing fire seemed to burn in his eyes as he looked to It and screeched, "I'm gonna fucking kill you!"

Eddie launched himself at the clown and It was able to knock him away but not before Y/N had caught up to the clown and went to stab It. It was ready for her and quickly grabbed the spear before tossing it aside, the weapon falling at Beverly's feet.

It's claws went for Y/N and It grabbed her by the throat before pining her to the ground, a scream escaping her lips at the burning pain coming from her chest. It stared at her and Y/N barely had time to blink before she was suddenly looking into the face of her mother.

"You broke up our family. You broke up your friend group. Is there anything you don't break?" her mother's voice taunted her. "You're a disgrace. No one will ever love you. All you do is break everything you touch."

Y/N let out a scream of anger despite the sinking feeling she got from those words and she desperately reached across the ground for the fallen chains Bill had dropped and grabbed them before wrapping it around the clown's throat. Her mother instantly disappeared and It came back as the clown let go of Y/N in order to grab for the chains.

Y/N took this to her advantage and quickly pulled herself up and around the clown before pulling back on the chains in an attempt to choke the clown. Y/N looked up and her eyes caught sight of Beverly holding onto the spear she had dropped moments before.

"Beverly, kill it!" Y/N cried out and the red head quickly went forward only for It to shake once again and instantly stop Beverly in her tracks as she came face to face with her father.

"Hey, Bevvy," It said, a smirk on what looked like Beverly's father's face. "Are you still my little-"

It didn't get a chance to finish what it was saying as Beverly let out a scream of anger and stabbed the clown through the throat. Y/N jumped back in surprise at that, her hands releasing the chains which instantly dropped to the ground while her eyes flickered up to look at Beverly.

The red head made eye contact with Y/N and Y/N couldn't help but give her the smallest of smiles despite the circumstance and whisper, "Way to release your inner badass."

Beverly cracked a small smile at that and Y/N was quick to join the red head's side as the two girls slowly backed away from the clown and over to their friends. They watched as It turned back into the clown before spitting the spear out as if it were nothing.

"Oh shit!" Eddie exclaimed as he jumped back, bumping into Y/N who reached out to grab onto the boy's arm. It let out some gurgled noises and began to back away, but the kids all stepped towards it threateningly with glares on their faces.

It moved back until it hit another well and let out a gasp of air as it looked at the Losers. It laughed as it looked between the kids, but the laughter quickly turned into small sobs as the clown realized the kids were no longer afraid of it. They were pissed off, not afraid.

"That's why you didn't kill Beverly," Bill muttered in realization. "Cause sh-sh-she wasn't afraid. And we aren't either. Not anymore. Now you're the one who's afraid cause you're gonna starve."

It's face contorted in pain and fear at that and Y/N smirked before taking a step forward to stand next to Bill. Bill didn't even hesitate to reach out and gently take the girl's hand, their fingers intertwining as they stared at the clown confidently.

It whispered and flipped over the side of the well before gripping onto the edge as the rest of the Losers also stepped forward.

"He thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghost," It whispered as Stan handed the spear over to Bill. Bill took it and looked back at the clown who was watching the group with wide eyes. "He thrusts his fists against the p-p-post-"

Bill let go of Y/N's hand in order to hold the spear up and went to lift it up, but It flinched and slid further down the well. Bill hesitated at that and the group watched as It's face began to break apart before their very eyes.

"Fear," It said before letting go of the side of the well and falling within.

Y/N's eyes widened and she was quick to run to the side of the well, Bill joining at her side as the two looked over the edge as the clown fell. The Losers leaned over from behind the two and watched as well until It was out of sight.

"I know what I'm doing for my summer experience essay," Richie muttered, but not even Y/N could find it in herself to let out a small laugh.

They then pulled back and that left Y/N and Bill staring over the edge. The two both let out shaky breaths before looking at each other, their eyes locking almost instantly as the reality of everything that had just happened hit them.

It was silent as the two stared at each other and Bill hesitantly reached out before brushing his hand against Y/N's. She moved her hand the rest of the way and wrapped her fingers around the boy's until their hands were interlocked. No words were exchanged, but there didn't have to be. Their hands gripping onto each other's spoke more than any words could've in that moment.

All Y/N wanted to do was collapse into Bill's arms, to hold him tight and never let go. She had almost lost him. They had all almost died. And all she wanted to do now was hold on to the boy she liked more than anything in the world and tell him how she felt.

But now wasn't the time to tell him and she knew that, so the girl only gave Bill a small smile which the boy quickly returned before yanking her arm forward and pulling her into his arms.

Y/N instantly relaxed into the boy's hold despite the burning coming from her chest, Bill digging his face into her shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her waist so tight that if it were any tighter she wouldn't be able to breathe. Bill let out a shaky breath as he held onto her and Y/N had to choke back a sob as she held onto Bill, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him back just as tight as she rubbed the back of his neck.

"Guys, the kids are floating down," Eddie muttered and that was what had Y/N and Bill pulling away from each other. The two locked eyes for a mere second before Bill wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close to his side, the two turning their attention to the kids who were in fact floating down.

Y/N was too busy looking at the dead kids floating down to the ground to notice that Bill had looked away, his gaze catching on something lying in the mound of toys and trash off to the side. The spear in Bill's hand clanged against the ground and Y/N jumped before looking to the boy who had let go of her and was beginning to move towards the object he had seen.

It was like he had seen a ghost and Y/N had never seen the boy look so heartbroken and distraught in her life. Y/N craned her neck to try and see what Bill was looking at and her breath hitched in her throat at the sight of Bill falling to his knees as he reached for a yellow raincoat.

Richie was the first one to move and Y/N knew Bill needed the comfort of his friends more than anything so she allowed Richie, Eddie, and Stan to walk over there first, the three boys instantly circling the boy. Richie knelt down beside him and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder right as Bill let out a choked sob.

Y/N felt tears of her own filling her eyes and she quickly jogged over to the group while Beverly, Mike, and Ben trailed behind her. Stan, Richie, and Eddie had started to hug Bill and Y/N stood there awkwardly for a moment before she noticed Bill clenching onto the jacket and looking around as if he were trying to find someone.

His eyes locked with hers and he let out another heartbroken sob. Y/N knew what that meant and was quick to hurry over and kneel down in front of the boy, not hesitating in joining in the hug from the front so that Bill could wrap his arms around her as he cried. Bill gripped onto her one hat seemed like desperation and Y/N held onto him tightly while he his sobs shook his whole body.

He clenched the raincoat in his hands, sobbing against Y/N's shoulder as he whispered, "He's gone. Georgie's dead."

Those words seemed to strike a cord in each of them and the Losers all crowded together in a group hug as more tears began to fall. Bill's heartbreak was their heartbreak, but they couldn't tell whether they had begun to cry because of Georgie or because of everything that had happened that summer.

It didn't matter to them though for in that moment they were together, they were the Losers' Club once again and nothing would break them apart. The battle was over. It was gone and they had won.

So why did this feel like it was only the beginning?

* * *

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[capttower]

Hiya Everybody! TOWER here! It's been awhile since I have posted, it's been weeks! But, I took that time to prepare and make my project this whole time.

Am finally ddone with the first one, rather the first chapter of my very own fanfiction! Yes! I'm pretty new to the whole writing thing coz I'm more of an illustrator and making fanarts.

I'm truly grateful to the people helping me out on this and for encouraging me in trying NEW THINGS!

A major thanks to @geekgirles and @indayia-indy for looking out and helping me all the way, and to all the people supporting me on this one!

Without further ado! I present to you...

CRESCENT ~●🌘●~

This story takes place after the world tour, and slowly depicts of a hidden past of the ancient times of all trollkind, way before the strings existence. In the present, the trolls finally lived in harmony and is co-existing one another and their lives once more, a one big party. However, things may escalate in more adventures romance, comfort, isolation, hurt, and longing. The truths of the past, may be revealed, in the most unexpected of places.

  “One… two… three…” a light green trolling counted, with his arms pressed to a tree bark and covering his eyes with it,  his back facing  the opposite direction. While he counted, his playmates looked for the perfect place to hide before the count ended.

“four…,five…, six…,” some were hiding in the bushes, some blended  in along with the foliage of the surroundings, and some went further to find a better hiding spot in hopes of not being caught instantly.

“seven… eight… nine…ten!” He took his small arms away from his face. “Ready or not, here I come!” beamed Keith as he trotted in their playground to find his playmates and looked to every possible hiding spots the place had to offer. As he looked for his friends, he heard rustling from a nearby bush. “Huh?” it moved again and Keith grinned from ear to ear as he found his first catch. He tiptoed to the bush as he rubbed his hands together evilly, thinking of giving them a little scare. As he got closer, he could hear small voices behind the bushes, proving his assumptions right. ‘Thought you guys can do better in hiding such an obvious spot now, did ya?’ Keith quietly chuckled menacingly.

“Hehe”

“Shh! Keep it down, he might hear you.” whispered a light-pink skinned trolling with yellow hair.

“Sorry I can’t help it.” squeaked the other trolling with purple skin and red hair holding both hands up to his mouth, stifling.

“Do you think he’ll find us?”

“Who knows, maybe he’ll find the others before he gets to us” shrugged the light-pink trolling.

“Oh, YOU’RE SO WRONG.”

The two trollings gasped simultaneously. “GOTCHA!” roared Keith as he grabbed the two.

“Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!” they shrieked on the top of their lungs half-scared to death of Keith’s face appearing between them in the bush. Keith and the trollings stumbled in the dirt. Their high-pitched scream caused birds to fly out the trees, disturbed by the sudden outburst below.

The two trollings were clutching their chest as to calm their beating hearts. “Keith! You scared us half to death!” the light-pink trolling exclaimed waving her hands, exasperated as the other trolling nodded, frowning.

“I’m sorry Lilac, but do you guys have to scream like that?” he retorted as he furrowed his brows and put a pinkie in his right ear in attempt to soothe his ringing ears.

“We wouldn’t have done it, if you hadn’t scared us like that in the first place” countered the light-pink trolling as she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest, the other trolling nodded in agreement crossing his arms as well. “Fair point” deadpanned Keith. Both trollings glared at him, waving his hands at them “Ok, ok! Sorry, I won’t do it again. It was just in all good fun.” rising from the ground and patting away dirt of his shorts.

“Looks like we’re out, Lilac.” The purple trolling shrugged.

“And most likely the first ones found too.”

“Of course you’ll be found first. You two are hiding in the most obvious spot of hiding places, and you guys can’t even stay quiet.” Keith quirked an eyebrow at them. The two looked at each other and smiled sheepishly. Keith shook his head in disbelief with his hands on his hips. “Yeah, I gotta go look for the others.” Running to the direction where the others might be, “Wait for us, Keith!” called the purple trolling as he and Lilac ran after him laughing.

Two pairs of feet ran as fast as their little feet could take them, giggling from the adrenaline rush and excitement. They stopped shortly, panting hard from all the running, knowing they were far from being caught, for now.

“I think hah… hah… this is far enough, hah… hah… don’t you think? panted the young troll with pink purple skin and bright blue hair with big headphones on the top of her head. Turning to her fellow panting companion as she leaned with one hand to a rock “Yeah, this is good enough, and I’m exhausted.” groaned the yellow skin and pink haired young troll, slumping all the way down to the rock beside her breathless friend.

“Hehe, he won’t find us for awhile now. We’re far out from them.” giggled the purple young troll, finally breathing evenly. “I suppose, we’ve been running like forever!” exclaimed the yellow troll, raising both hands in the air and bringing them down unto the ground again.

“That gives us time for a breather.”

“Yeah, we’ll just have to wait 'til Keith finds us.” laughed the purple troll, lowering herself to seat beside her friend.

As the purple troll took her time to be comfortable, the yellow troll looked around them, her smile slowly turning into a frown, as she realized something, “Uh, CJ?” worry in her voice, calling out to her friend.

“Hmm?” hummed CJ, now relaxing with closed eyes.

“I hate to ruin your moment of relaxation, but, we're in the middle of one place that trolls shouldn’t be even in broad daylight” fiddling with her fingers as she spoke, voice slowly getting low in volume.

“We’re in Misty Meadows.” Priscilla squeaked.

CJ opened her eyes almost instantly, as to what her friend said, and abruptly sat up, looking around the place. It was a bit misty even during the day, the forest seemed to be low in lighting, critter sounds echoed quietly in the distance from every direction. Both young trolls looked at each other. “I think we lost track to where we were running to.” the yellow troll finally spoke, worry etched on her face. CJ gulped at this, and said, “Maybe we should get out of here, and find somewhere else to hide and rest.”

“Yeah, we really should.” CJ quickly stood up and offered a hand to help out her friend. Priscilla reached out and managed to grab the offered hand when a crack sounded off nearby. Both trolls froze by the sudden sound, eyes wide darting for the source of the sound. They stayed still for a few moments, having enough of it. CJ pulled her friend up, and they both stepped away from the rock, slowly backing away still facing to where the sound went off. Both held unto each other’s hands tightly, to the point they were turning white from the tightness. Sweat forming on their foreheads, threatening to break into a slow trail falling down to their brows, their breathing quickening from nervousness, the pounding of their hearts got so loud,  they could hear it in their ears, and thumping hardly in their ribcage.

“What do you think it was?” Priscilla anxiously asked her friend.

CJ momentarily contemplated the possibilities, what could have made that sound? “Maybe it’s just a critter or something.” she skeptically shrugged. “Now, let’s get out of here before anything more freaks us out.”

BOOM!

The ground shook like thunder, hitting the ground with such force, the two young trolls slightly jumped and stood close to each other shivering in place, eyes wide like it was about to pop out of their head. They heard a growl and a small breeze hit their backs, making them shake uncontrollably from their toes to the tips of their hair and a looming shadow covered them completely. They slowly looked behind them, they frighteningly looked up to the massive figure above them. Their eyes widened in terror, as theirs met four dark beady eyes staring back at them hungrily, all the while snarling at them, with its sharp teeth on display, six long legs, towering over them ready to trap its prey, a tarantapuff.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!" They screamed on top of their lungs in horror, and the tarantapuff roared along with them, lunging itself at them. The two young trolls, evaded on time, and ran away from the huge beast in hopes of escaping the hungry predator. They gasped and panted heavily, the fright of becoming the spiders’ meal fueled them to their very core, forcing their small feet to move accordingly, to break free from the dreadful fate.

It snapped at them too closely, they were able to evade its big mouth on time, as they turned a sharp left changing directions, that was too close! Next time, they wouldn’t be so lucky, for the tarantapuff was even more pumped up and determined to not let its food get away.

They were getting tired from evading, and running, but they couldn’t stop now! “CJ! I’m getting tired.”Priscilla shouted.

 “Keep running Priscilla! We can’t stop now!” CJ shouted back. Priscilla braved a glance at their back, seeing the tarantapuff snarling at them right on their tail. An arched root of a plant caught Priscilla’s left foot and she stumbled to the ground, hard. “Ooof!” Her glasses fell off from her face and she landed face first.

CJ turned back in time to see her friend fall, “PRISCILLA!” she yelled, scared for her friend. Priscilla rose using both hands to support herself and winced of the pain she felt on her left ankle. She looked at it and panicked of the sight of her swollen ankle. “Oh no” she cried in fright, realising she wouldn’t be able to get away now. She jolted when a shadow, once more, towered over her, engulfing her form in darkness. Anxiously looking up, meeting the horrifying gaze of the beast with her own. Her sight getting even blurrier, tears were pooling her eyes and a tear managed to slip from her eyes and stain her cheeks with its wet trail. Is this how she was going to die? Being eaten alive by one of the vicious predators that most critters feared. CJ was crying at a distance away, she couldn’t move, she was shaking from intense fright for her best friend. She had to save her friend! She had to! But her body wouldn’t listen to her! She tried and every muscle in her body tensed heavily, it was starting to ache. She closed her eyes tightly, hoping the next moment she opened her eyes her body would finally go running back to her friend and protect her from the spider. When she heard it roar, she instantly opened her eyes, the world around them seemed to slow down in motion. The tarantapuff was pouncing on the small form from its line of sight down below opening its mouth as wide as possible. The hole that is the mouth of the spider has closed in on Priscilla, who seemed to be screaming in despair. CJ’s eyes widened even more, heart beat pounding hard in her chest a mile a minute she reached out a hand, hoping it would reach her friend instead.

“NOOOOOOOOO!!!”

SLASH!

A loud thud landed on the forest floor shaking everything in its wake, plants swaying from the heavy fall. It was the spider’s body that fell limp to the ground. Lifeless. Everything fell silent, the forest, once more, falling back to its silence. CJ stood still with her tears still falling from her eyes. Her breathing was ragged from all the nervous rush she felt moments ago. What just happened? The spider, why was it in the ground? Priscilla was still there, her body rising and falling from breathing hard in the dirt where she sat, waiting for the inevitable. But it didn’t happen. The next thing she knew, her friend was about to meet her end. And it didn’t. She was confused. It all happened so fast. As these raging thoughts swirled in her confused mind, a figure in the distance before her moved. Her line of sight had come back to focus, and reality resided in once more.

A glint of light shimmered, from a pair of what looked like, two long blades held by a dark tall figure, standing a few steps away from Priscilla. ‘Huh?’ CJ questioned in her mind, ‘Who… is that?’ She eyed the tall figure. A black cloak on their shoulders, its torn edges ended right at their ankles' level. Dark purple mane, sticking upwards, swaying slightly from a breeze passing by them, sharp ears on each side of their head. She couldn’t really make out the skin color since they were mostly covered by their cloak but, she could tell, their skin tone was even darker than their mane.

Priscilla has long looked behind her seeing the tall figure, standing a few steps away from where she sat, in awe and slightly terrified of the figure's intimidating appeal. Despite their sharp look and dark tone, and two huge scars on their face, the first passing through their left eye and to the tip of their sharp brow and the other stretched from the lower side of their cheek, up to their temple. Their clothes were different from the ones that the trolls wore in their village. And their eyes were what caught her attention the most. Their eyes looked like they were glowing, even in daylight. Piercing green-emerald eyes, she noticed, they were like small gems for eyes.

“Are you all right?”

Priscilla’s stupor was broken by the rough hoarse voice coming from the dark troll. CJ snapped as well at this, and slowly went to her friend’s side. Walking a good distance from the stranger, she knelt beside her friend to check on her. Priscilla sadly smiled at her, happy that her friend was at her side again. This lasted for a moment, and they looked warily together at the dark troll.

Seeing the exchange, he sighed and lifted his hands with his blades in hand, he heard the young trolls squeaked shakily, he stopped and looked back on the two young trolls, scared of his sudden movement and caught the yellow troll’s hand at her left ankle. He could see the change in color of her skin under the young troll’s palm. Assuming that he was the cause of their bodily tremor, he then slowly lifted the twin blades all the way to his shoulder and sheathed them in his back, careful not to make sudden movements to scare the young trolls even more. It clicked, indicating that the blades were finally in place. He proceeded to reach from an inside pocket in his cloak, pulling out a small jar. After fishing out the item, he walked to the two young trolls. The two gasped silently and huddled to each other tightly, and looked like they were about to cry. Priscilla whimpered, mostly because of the sting of her left ankle. “Don’t fret, I don’t mean you any harm.” the dark troll spoke in his hoarse voice again.

CJ looked up at the stranger, doubtful of his words. His voice was kind of rough, husky even, but there was a gentle side of it. She looked at her friend, hand still on her swollen ankle and she looked like she was in more pain. She wanted to soothe her friend from the pain, but, she couldn’t do that on her own. So, she looked back at the dark troll, who was standing patiently, jar in his hands, gentle eyes glowing in a shimmering manner. Her heart calm, trusting the offered help from the dark troll, she nodded, and retreated her arms around her friend, as she was about to let go, firm hands gripped on her arms tight, not allowing it to go any further. CJ faced her friend, and saw the worried look on Priscilla’s face, her lips quivering. Her eyes speaking to her ‘don’t let go’. Seeing the message, CJ smiled a soft smile at her in reassurance. “Don’t worry, I won’t go anywhere. I’ll be right here. He just needs a moment to look at your ankle.” She said comfortingly.

“But-“

“I can’t fix your ankle without making it any worse. I don’t know any medical treatment. But, he’ll help you. He’ll help us.” Priscilla glanced at the stranger still not convinced. She looked at her friend again.

“Trust me.” CJ said, squeezing her friends’ hands in hers. Priscilla looked in her friend’s eyes, searching hers asking for her to trust her. She smiled sadly and nodded. CJ beamed at this and looked at the dark troll with a nod.

“See? You’re all better.” CJ inferred at her friend, sitting beside her the whole time, Priscilla smiled and nodded with her friend in agreement. It didn’t hurt as much as it would moments ago, her ankle was bandaged by a dull green cloth with a wet ointment underneath it, soaking the swollen area of the ankle. “Thank You, Mister!” Priscilla gratefully said, no longer scared of the dark troll.

The dark troll was putting away his things when he heard the chirpy voice of the injured young troll. He looked in their way and replied back “You’re welcome.” He stood up, hands in his knees leaning for support to lift himself up, until he was finally standing tall. He was large and tall for a troll. Dark and mysterious in a way, CJ couldn’t help but ask him, “Um, mister, are you from around here? I haven’t   seen you anywhere in the village.” Priscilla, widened her eyes at CJ, bewildered by her friend’s sudden questioning.

Caught off guard by this, the dark troll looked at her, casting a shadow over the young trolls. “No, I’m not.” CJ nodded at this, “So, you’re from another tribe then?” she asked again. Priscilla was gaping this time.

“Yes, I am.”

“Cool!” CJ jumped up from her seat, and her eyes were like stars. Priscilla stayed still, eyes still wide at the unfolding scene before her.

The dark troll was slightly taken aback by her actions, but he didn’t show it. “From what tribe are you then?” the dark troll opened his mouth but was cut off by another voice, “CJ! Um, isn’t it rude to bombard him with personal questions?” the stranger and CJ looked at her like she wasn’t there for a moment until she talked. The yellow troll then slowly shrank in their gaze in embarrassment, feeling like she did something wrong. CJ blinked, and turned back to the stranger, and looked up at him, in time to see him looking back at her as well. Realizing what she'd done, a blush creeping on her cheeks, as she smiled sheepishly. “Hehe, um, sorry about that.” She apologized.

“It’s… fine.” he slowly replied, and continued before he was asked any more, “Look, we need to get you both out of here before anything else comes out.” As he talked, he caught sight of the broken glasses and went to retrieve it.

“Yeah, we really should go back.” CJ replied taking a glance around them. “By the way, what’s your name mister?” she suddenly asked. The dark troll paused at this, halfway from picking up the glasses. He couldn’t reveal his name and proceeded in picking up the broken object.  As soon, as the dark troll got a hold of the glasses, they heard a snarl behind them. The dark troll swiftly turned around, feet dragged along the dirt, and falling into a protective stance in front of the two young trolls. CJ and Priscilla gasp loudly by the sight of five tarantapuffs. Fright taking over their body, and huddled shakily together even more scared than ever.

‘This is not good!’ the dark troll mentally said to himself. He glared at the huge five opponents before them. And chanced a side glance to his small companions, they were trembling uncontrollably, terror shadowing in their eyes. He groaned, thinking how they were terribly at a disadvantage at this point, running away would be futile with five predators that could corner them to their deaths. There was only one thing to do, “CJ, right!?” he unintentionally yelled. CJ jolted at this and looked at him “Ye-yeah??” she shakily answered.

Priscilla had a bad feeling. “You two need to run as fast as you can, and away as possible as you can! Run back to your village!” He then pulled out his twin blades from his back, fully unsheathed in their full glory. “I’ll distract them while you run. Now GO!”

“But Priscilla, she can’t run!”

“And I can’t see well!” they both shouted back with emphasis, finding it impossible to do so.

“You’ll have to do what you can! Even if I take you there myself, they will still catch up on us! Now, hurry! They’re coming closer!” declared the dark troll.

“I’ll hold them off! Now, GO!!” he roared jolting the trembling trolls and, try as they might, ran miserably towards their village. “Be careful, mister!” shouted CJ, as she helped her limping friend.

A tarantapuff tried to chase them but was blinded by dirt splattered right into its beady eyes, screeching from the pain. The dark troll smirked at his accomplishment. But, it was not over yet.

Taking one last glance to assure they were far enough, the spiders screeched at him angrily for being blocked by the dark troll. He glared back at them, his eyes gleaming dangerously, readying his stance. And he took a deep breath closing his eyes temporarily in concentration. The beasts are now advancing for him to make him pay for what he did. He opened his eyes, glaring intensely at his advancing foes. He lunged with speed and jumped so high in the air, the sun’s brightness was blocked by his form. This made the spiders squint, and stopped them from their march. The dark troll descended with his blades, ready to strike, and cried a battle cry.

There you have it! 1st chapter of 'Crescent'. Hope you enjoy this, coz there WILL BE MORE!

Til' next UPDATE! 😉🌘

[nothingbutfangirlsmut]

The Trials of Emi

Pairing: A little Minho. A sprinkle of Frypan. Gally x Emi(OC)

Summary: Emi, her twin brother Thomas, and a small group of gladers had been rescued and taken to a safe haven. Or so it seemed. It doesn't take long for Thomas to realize something is wrong. What happens next is a true trial for all of them but Emi's trials began the moment she was ripped away from a dying Gally. Watching someone you love die right before your eyes truly takes a toll.

Finally meeting the right arm could have been the end but betrayal leads to even more chaos and loss. A new mission to rescue those taken from them leads them to a city. The last city. After Emi finally comes to terms with everything that's happened something unfolds that changes everything again. She will have to not only deal with helping her brother take down WCKD and save their friend but also deal with all the new problems in her head and her heart.

Rating: As of right now it’s at most PG13. Some strong language that’s about it but it could change.

(This is the 2nd part/book to my other story "The Maze trials: A Gally Fanfiction". This will cover the events of the scorch trails and the death cure.)

Chapter Twelve

Six months. It took six long months for us to finally reach the place Vince had told us about. We immediately made the place our base. Vince and some others made the decision to see if they could get one of the old docked ships fixed up enough to use. We needed a way to the safe haven after all. If we had a ship we could get far away from WCKD but we had other things to get done first.

I was currently sitting next to Fry watching Jorge and Brenda argue over what was needed to fix one of the jeeps. Over the past six months, I had spent most of my free time with Fry. He’d been there for me on all my bad days and nights. He comforted me and made me laugh. I could feel the two of us growing closer but I was careful to keep the line drawn. As much as I adored Fry I couldn’t give him more than my friendship. Not yet anyway. He knew that and was incredibly good-hearted about it. He had his arm over the back of my chair as I leaned against him.

"We got it!" Thomas and Newt both shouted as they ran out of one of the old buildings.

I jumped at their sudden outburst. The two boys sat down in front of us looking excited and out of breath.

"We found them!" Thomas said excitedly.

The four of us shared a surprised look as we starred at Thomas. We'd completely lost WCKD for months. The trail was completely cold and now they suddenly knew where to find them?

"What did you find?" Jorge asked.

"We got a transmission. There's a train coming threw about an hour or two from here. It's hauling a bunch of the immunes to a new location." Newt said quickly.

"How do we find this train?" I asked them.

"We passed the track on our way here." Thomas smiled.

"So what's the plan?" Brenda asked.

"We'll need a few more hands. I'm thinking Harriet and Vince. Maybe a few more." Thomas said.

"I'll get Harriet," I told him.

He nodded.

"I'll get Vince. Fry and Newt see if you can get us a few more hands." Thomas ordered.

We each nodded then hopped up to do as he said. I found Harriet in one of the buildings going threw supplies.

"Hey H," I said to get her attention.

She looked up at me and smiled.

"Emi, what can I do for you?" She asked setting down the supplies in her hand.

"We found them," I told her simply.

Her smile grew even wider as she laughed.

"Where?" She asked quickly.

"On a train that's gonna pass close by," I informed her.

"What do you need?" She asked walking around the table she was standing at.

"Thomas has a plan but he said he needed a few extra hands. Thought we'd see if you were interested." I explained.

"Hell yea! Let's do it!" She cheered.

Harriet followed me out of the building then back up to where Jorge and Brenda were working on some of the trucks. Fry and Newt were there with about four others. Thomas hadn't made it back with Vince yet.

"Who are they?" I asked pointing at the newcomers.

"I'm Alex," one boy said with a charming smile as he extended his hand to me.

"I'm Emi," I told him as I shook his hand.

"You're Thomas' sister right?" He asked.

I nodded.

"It's amazing none of us realized it immediately. You two look like the same bloody person." Newt chuckled.

“That’s Ashley, Drake, and Eric,” Fry said pointing to the other three.

"Good you're all here," Thomas said from behind me.

I turned to see him and Vince with two other boys. They joined the group.

"Here's the plan. Jorge and Brenda will take one jeep. Vince and I will take another. Brenda and Jorge will be our distraction as Vince and I get on the train. Newt, you and Emi will be close by with torches to get the compartment loose. These two, Daniel and Greg, will be with Newt and Emi for added protection. Harriet, Fry, and the rest of you will be our hidden backup to jack the aircraft they will most likely send in for help. Brenda, you and Jorge will need to lead that aircraft to them. Once you take it you need to come back to the train to get the compartment and us." Thomas explained.

"When is this going down?" I asked him.

"In two days around midday. We will discuss more details once we have all the equipment we need." Thomas said.

We all nodded then went our separate ways to gather what was needed. Over the next day, we went over every small detail of the plan. It seemed we had every possible outcome thought up and dealt with. When the day finally arrived Brenda and Jorge took Fry, Alex, Ashley, Drake, Eric, and Harriet to where they needed to be while Thomas and Vince dropped me, Newt, Daniel, and Greg off to hide close to the tracks.

"Be careful out there," I told both Vince and Thomas as they climbed back in their jeep.

As they drove off Newt and I took cover behind a larger boulder. Daniel and Greg each hid behind their own boulder. Thomas would signal us when he needed us.

"How are things going with you two?" I asked Newt as we sat in the dirt.

He chuckled.

"Pretty great actually." He smiled.

"I'm glad things worked out for you two," I told him happily.

"Thanks Em" he chuckled.

"Are things getting better for you?" He asked.

I thought about it for a second. Things did seem better. I was sleeping threw the night and didn't feel like the weight of the world was on my shoulders. I felt like I'd finally made my peace.

"Yea, I'm good. It's been rough dealing with losing him but I've finally come to grips with it. I have enough memories of him to keep me going." I smiled at him.

"Maybe one of these days you can completely move on and give all that love you have to someone else. Maybe Fry.” Newt said softly.

I chuckled at that.

"I doubt it. I may have come to terms with Gally's death but I don't think any other guy, even Fry, will ever be able to make me feel like he did. If I happened to meet a guy who did then maybe but I don't think that will happen." I shrugged.

“What is going on with you and Fry then?” Newt asked.

“We are friends,” I said simply.

“Looks like a bit more than friends to me and Tommy.” Next chuckled softly.

“No, just friends. He’s been there for me while everyone else has been so busy. He did confess to me that he’d like to be more than a friend to me one day but he knows that’s a while down the road.” I explained.

“So he is your friend for now until you’re ready to completely move on?” Next asked with a smirk.

“Yea, sure” I chuckled softly.

A train whistled in the distance instantly gaining mine and Newt's attention. We righted ourselves to wait for the action to begin. We could hear the train getting closer and closer. It was traveling pretty fast from the sound of it. I barely peeked around the boulder to see the engine not far from us.

"Brenda and Jorge should already be close to it," I said aloud.

It didn't take long for the engine to reach us. I couldn't see the end of the train but I knew that was where Thomas and Vince were.

"They're on top," Newt said.

I could see two shadows running across the top of the train.

"They have company," Newt said worriedly.

On the opposite side of the train, coming from the engine, was four or five people running towards Thomas and Vince.

"What do we do?" I asked him trying not to panic.

"Nothing, we wait for Tommy's signal," Newt said slowly.

I watched as Thomas and Vince's figures dropped between the compartments. I could hear shots being fired in the distance then a loud explosion. The back half of the train came to a screeching halt. We stayed hidden until Thomas called for us.

A loud whistle rang out. Newt popped up to check it out.

"Newt!" Vince shouted.

"Let's go! Move!" Newt said gesturing for me and the other two boys to follow him.

We ran over to the train as fast as we could. I could hear Thomas on the other side shouting for Minho. The kids inside the compartment we're shouting back. Newt went to the side Thomas was on while I dropped down on the other side.

I pulled my goggles on over my eyes as I pulled out my torch. I got to work as quickly as I could to cut through the thick metal. Thomas and Vince climbed on top of the compartment to start hooking the ropes together. Daniel and Greg were standing on the ground trying to hold off the WCKD guards.

"Newt, how you doing?" Thomas asked loudly.

"Don't rush me!" I heard Newt shout.

"Emi" Thomas said coming to my side of the train.

"Working on it!" I shouted up to him.

Shots rang out in our directions making me jump. I kept my eyes on the torch but I could hear the bullets hitting the metal all around me.

"Newt! Emi! Get up here!" Thomas shouted.

Daniel and Greg were already climbing on top of the compartment.

"Almost done!" Newt shouted back at him.

"Newt! Go!" I heard Vince shout from the other side of the train.

"Emi get your ass up here now!" Thomas shouted down at me.

I finished cutting threw the metal then shoved the torch back in my bag. I slung my bag over my shoulder as I started to climb up the ladder. The boys were lying down and I was quick to join them as a bullet zipped right past me.

"Where the hell are they?" Newt questioned loudly.

"I don't know!" Thomas shouted back as he tried to shoot down some of our attackers.

The sound of a large aircraft had me and Newt rolling onto our backs as Thomas, Daniel, and Greg kept shooting. The aircraft hovered right above us then the bay door opened. I could see Brenda and Fry smiling down at us as they released the large hook. Thomas, Newt, and I jumped to our feet to grab it.

"Come on!" Thomas shouted as he tried to jump for the hook.

"Lower!" Newt shouted.

Thomas grabbed the hook. He and Newt tried to pull it down faster. When we could we quickly hooked all the ropes onto it.

"Go! Go!" Thomas shouted up to our friends inside the craft.

Slowly the ropes started to lift.

"Vince! Get up here!" Newt shouted.

The compartment started to lift off its frame.

"Now Vince!" Thomas shouted.

Vince jumped grabbing the bottom of the ladder. He climbed up quickly as we rose higher into the air.

"Yea!" Thomas shouted excitedly.

We did it. We actually did it. We just stole a whole damn train compartment full of immunes from WCKD. Damn this felt good.

—

[staytiny-angel]

Safe Haven 4/?

Rating: E

Pairings: Drew McIntyre/Becky Lynch, Eventually Drew McIntyre/Becky Lynch/Seth Rollins, Jon Moxley/Renee Young, Sasha Banks/Bayley/Charlotte Flair, Mandy Rose/Trent Seven, Jordan Devlin/Millie McKenzie, Ruby Riott/Liv Morgan

Warnings for this Chapter: mentions of violence

Chapter Summary: Drew and Becky get to know their new mate better while meeting members of his unorthodox family, Plans are made to rescue Roman from Heyman's evil clutches.

Taglist:

@hitory--chan @sethsevolution @finnsauroraborealis @the-beastslayers-queen @pikapuff316 @writinglionqueen @writtingrose

"SETHIE!" Seth hadn't even made it back to town before being tackled by a overly hyperactive blonde girl.

"I missed you too Liv" Seth groaned, slightly out of breath.

"You're lucky I'm here and not Rubes, she's very mad at ya"

Seth grimaced at the thought of seeing his older sister.

"Hey! Redhead!" Liv yelled at Becky. "Is this too basic" she gestured at her hair.

"Um-"

"You're right, too boring" Liv pulled out a compact mirror and smiled at it, Becky and Drew staring in shock as her hair turned bubblegum pink.

"How?" Drew asked Seth.

"Liv's a chaos fairy. Hyper 24/7, pranks everybody. C'mon brat" Liv squealed and hopped onto his back..

"Hey Livvie, Mom conjured my clothes..would you mind?" Seth asked his sister's girlfriend

Drew and Becky watched curiously as the unremarkable clothes Seth's mother had put on him morphed into dark-grey skinny jeans and a blood-red t-shirt.

"Hair too?" the fairy asked

"Yes please."

Seth shook his head and a quarter of it immediately went blond "There ya go Sethie! You look like you again, only bigger!" Liv giggles, patting the wolf on the head.

"Thanks Livvy" Seth grinned. "You're still small though"

"I'm still bigger than Millie!" Liv managed to kick Seth in the hip. "Good luck apologizing to everyone. Trent's mad because you made Tyler cry!"

"Tyler always cries!"

"Okay true, but you also made Mandy upset!"

"How long have you been away from home?" Becky asks

"I haven't lived in Haven in 8 years. I lost contact with everyone 18 months ago." Seth explained

"Dude the only reason we didn't completely lose it was because we still felt you through the pack bond" Liv tells him "We knew you weren't dead but...it was hard, anyway so why are you with the newbies?" Liv asked as they made their way to the main house.

"They're my mates." Seth said simply.

"Oooooh, Sethie's got two mates!" Liv said excitedly. Becky looking at her with caution. "I need to see Sarah, you are making me coffee later!" Liv hugged him and skipped off, Becky and Drew watching her.

"I've only heard of chaos fairies, she was...unique" Becky said.

"I need to remind Ceasero she's not allowed any caffeine" Seth said shaking his head

The three mates walked along the path back to the town in silence after Liv left. None of them really knowing what to say.

"So you guys have had this town for a long time?" Becky finally broke the increasingly uncomfortable tension

"My grandparents founded Haven. Grandfather...used to run a circus and all of the acts were different beings. When he retired, everyone just settled here. Haven was these old fairgrounds and some of the woods surrounding it."

"A Circus?" Drew exclaimed

"Grandfather was a warlock, especially skilled in persuasion and he figured it would be a way for him and his friends to not only use their abilities for profit, but to not have to hide as much. Normies will ignore most Supe shit if they think its a trick"

"Absolutely true, they're dense as hell" Becky replied.

"So, you knew Finn?" Seth asked.

"Sort of, his name was Prince back then, always wondered what happened, not surprised that vampires had something to do with it...when they helped save you. I can't believe I just said that" Becky facepalmed, remembering what Mox and Stephanie had said.

Seth smiled and shook his head "I know Haven is an odd case. Weird even amongst the weird. I mean, I'm the Wolf/Warlock hybrid that claims a Lion, a Witch, a Vampire Queen and a Vampire thats the vessel for a literal demon king for parents. Weird is kinda my thing"

"Do you remember that night?" Becky asked. Seth looked down, toying with his amulet before sitting down.

"A little. I remember being in a car with my mommy and daddy" Seth said in a faraway voice "The was a big flash of light and loud noise, and then I was flying through the woods. I had bite marks on the back of my neck. Knowing now what I know about my bio parents, I think my Mom shifted and was carrying me through the woods by the scruff of my neck."

Becky hesitantly reached over and touched the top of Seth's bowed head. Drew looking on silently. It seemed like his spitfire was already growing attached to the younger man, while Drew himself was more hesitant. Seth lived...by Drew's upbringing, an unnatural life. Haven was a lot to get used to and he'd had Becky to himself for so long.

"Do you think it's possible that your mom changed you?" Drew asked. "To protect you?"

"Could be I don't know" Seth pulled his hair. "I don't like thinking about it"

"Hey brat" A girl said, materializing next to the three. She was holding a coffee cup and had red lowlights and was so pale, Drew thought she could be a vampire.

"Hey, Ruby." Seth said quietly, "Guys this is one of my sisters."

"Yo." The girl greeted them easily and handed her brother the Chicago Bears to-go mug "One Double Chocolate Cappuccino, courtesy of Cesaro. Figured you could use it, heard you haven't had coffee in a year or so."

"No espresso?" Seth groaned.

"You know he puts too much in" Ruby said, "Besides I want to be able to sleep tonight. Your howling was obnoxious" she turned to Drew and Becky. "If either of you hurt my little brother, I will rip out your eyes and shove them down your throats"

"Ruby."

"What it's true. We lost you once, brat. Never again" She replied with a smile

"Did anyone mention that Seth is the baby?" Ruby asked

"Millie is younger then me thank you very much" Seth said rolling his eyes and taking a sip of his drink

"Millie hasn't been missing for 18 months, and gone for 7 and a half years before that. So excuse us if we're all a bit concerned about all this" she says waving a hand at Drew and Becky.

"Excuse me, who's Millie?" Becky asked.

"My baby cousin" Seth replied fondly. "She's my Uncle Shawn's kid"

"She's a fire siren, sneezes out fire like crazy" Ruby added, drinking her coffee.

"She doesn't have much in the way of control yet. So she sets shit on fire a lot...luckily her mate is a water sprite. Jordan is really great st putting out flare-ups" Seth explains "Please don't threaten my mates. Honestly, I'm a hot mess. I doubt they even want to be with me anyway"

"Nonsense" Ruby waved her hand. "Mates are mates always. Do you think I would have gotten with Liv by choice?" Seth chuckled and blushed when Becky smiled at him. " Does anyone know about Ro?" He asked.

Ruby's face fell. "Mom is working on a tracking spell, since you don't remember exactly where Heyman's compound is located. Dad is making her rest before she casts it though so that won't be done until tomorrow, the good this is that Heyman can only do his enslaving curse during the full moon...so we have 6 days to find Ro."

"Fuck" Seth pulled at his hair. "None of this would have happened if I hadn't ran away"

"Stop it" Drew said, gently pulling Seth's hands down.

Drew had sat there quietly listening to the exchange between Seth and his sister, trying to learn more about the odd man the fates had bound him and his firecracker to. From what he'd gathered so far Seth was well-loved by his mismatched pack and had been sorely missed while on his journey of self-discovery.

"Don't beat yourself up. You couldn't have known any of this would happen" Drew says softly, still holding Seth's hands in his larger ones. Seth's brother had been right. Seth did look amazingly...like a slightly smaller version of himself, less so now that part of his hair was platinum blonde.

"He's my big brother" Seth whimpered. "He doesn't even know I'm not mad at him anymore, if Paul's spell works on him, he'll be gone for good" Drew unknowingly wiped away a tear that had trailed down Seth's face.

Becky wrapped her arms around Seth's waist "That isn't going to happen, sweetheart. We are going to get your brother back and Heyman will pay for everything he's done to both of you." She says fiercely. To which Seth nodded but said nothing.

"Forgive me for asking but are you his sister from the witch side or vampire side?" Drew asked Ruby.

"Stephanie and Hunter, can't be around Finn and Violet, my blood is toxic and Bálor hates me" Ruby answered

"I only have one sibling from Finn and Violet and that's Jordan. He's the last of Finn's pre vampiric bloodline. His parents died when he was a baby, and an old woman from his clan brought him to Haven shortly after" Seth tells them.

"Is this the same Jordan that's your cousin's mate?" Becky asked. "Yeah, thought my uncle was gonna kill him, then Finn was gonna kill him" Seth shook his head.

"Haven is completely integrated? " Drew asked, he and Becky hadn't realized just how many different species of Supernatural inhabited the small town.

"Unless they can't be around each other for a physiological reason, yep" Ruby answered "One of our cousins is a sun sprite, and she glows with actual sunlight. So she can't be around Finn and Violet."

"No one gets turned away unless you give our father a reason to" Seth said, "The pack is a family"