#i could never walk in heels in a movie theater

[spikyegg]

THE HEELS?? I'M GLAD YOU HAD A GOOD TIME THEY SHOULD'VE PAID YOU TO SEE IT THOUGH

Alright it's very rare that I post my face on here but it's necessary today

I'm going to see the fnaf movie in 2 hours will update with how it was

This is my barbie movie

[bartxnhood]

escort at the oscars | a.b

austin butler x fem!actress!reader

summary: getting lost at the oscar’s wasn’t on your roster. neither was getting austin butlers attention.

warnings: definitely poor representation of the oscars but idc this is just for funsies !

w/c: 3.1k

a/n: omg hi everyone !!! long time no see i know, life has been insane. i know no one will read this but ive had some HUGE life changes. i graduated cosmetology school, officially a nail tech now, yay me !! also, unfortunately, ill be having a hand surgery soon. so, im hoping i can write more before i can’t 😭. thank you to everyone who still supports me even though im not ac active as i used to be. one day i promise ill update regularly !!

a/n2: also, austin in the new bikeriders movie had me in a chokehold. the austin butler renaissance is upon us, people !!! (he’s also my bday twin WOO) and i know austin didn’t win an oscar for elvis but for the sake of the fic he did in this !!

not proofread

requests open

Copyright © 2024 bartxnhood. All rights reserved. This original work is not allowed to be reposted on any platform in any format.

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since the red carpets were only carpets, you could have sworn they were easy to manage. the theater was only accessible by walking through a line, but that wasn't the case. after only thirty minutes, you had to make a big mistake by trying to use the restroom and ending up opening a broom closet.

“hey,” you heard a voice, and you quickly turned around only to find yourself facing austin. “the ceremony isn’t in the closet, darling.”

“right..” you whisper under your breath and close the door. you smile awkwardly turning on your heels and holding your clutch tightly.

“i was just uh..looking for the restroom but i couldn’t find it” you laugh, looking down and shaking your head, and begin walking away from the boom closet.

austin couldn’t help but chuckle, following behind you while holding his hand behind his back as he walked slowly for you to match his stride.

he could tell that you were an up-and-coming actress, something about the way you carried yourself gave it away, and he could also tell that this was your first time on a red carpet by the way you were clutching your clutch bag so firmly like your life depended on it.

“you look nervous,” he said softly, “it’s your first time on a red carpet, isn’t it?”

you smile sheepishly. “that obvious, huh?” you trail behind austin assuming he is taking you to the restrooms.

“never knew how big these places are” you laugh, holding up the end of your dress so it doesn’t drag.

austin could see how nervous you were by the way you were holding your dress up while you were walking, and he thought that it was adorable, honestly.

he chuckled as you mentioned how big the venue is because you weren’t wrong, it is pretty damn big. “ive been to a few oscars now and i still think the venue is too big,” he said with a laugh, as he walked by your side with that perfect movie star strut.

“which movie are you nominated for?”

you had never been to something like this, and you didn’t even have a premiere for your movie. but somehow, critics loved the movie and now your movie was nominated.

it felt like it happened overnight.

“blue moon” you answer, not expecting him to know it.

the movie was set in the second world war and your character was the spouse of one of the soldiers. after he died, your character joined the war.

it was an underground film, your first lead and you didn’t expect anyone to pick up the movie. but someone did, ended up being shown at a film festival and the critics fell in love with your performance. and that’s how you landed a nomination for best lead actress.

austin’s eyes widened as you mentioned the movie you’re up for, blue moon; he enjoyed that movie, and as he thought about it more he really couldn’t deny that you were fantastic in it.

“no way,” he said in disbelief, “no wonder you’re nominated for best actress, you were incredible in that film.”

“thank you” you nod, noticing you have finally made it to the restrooms.

“and thank you for showing me the way” you chuckle, dropping the train of your dress then stuffing your clutch under your arm and sticking out your hand.

austin takes your hand with a gentle yet firm grip and smiles, nodding. “no problem, glad i could be of help.”

“i’m y/n l/n” you introduced. “it was nice to meet you, austin. thanks for this” you grin, retracting your hand.

“i guess ill catch you later..”

“it was a pleasure to meet you, y/n,” he replied with a smile before watching you walk into the restroom, and he couldn’t help but keep his eyes on the door as you disappeared behind it.

he thought you were pretty. very pretty, and he kind of regretted not asking you for your phone number before you disappeared.

so, austin stood there leaning against the wall deciding he would wait on you. just in case you got lost again.

no other reason.

after relieving yourself, you stand in front of the mirror taking in a couple of deep breaths to calm the pounding in her chest, making it hard to breathe.

you open your clutch, picking out a compact and a lipstick. you swipe the color on your lips to touch up the splotches, and quickly powder your face.

you put everything back in your clutch smoothed out your hair and admired your dress.

floor-length satin gown in your favorite color, a ribbed corset look.

“you can do this, y/n/n..” you whisper to yourself then pick up the train of your dress and exit the restroom, hoping you won’t miss the award ceremony.

austin was now pacing in front of the restroom, waiting for you to exit, his eyes fixated on the door, and he found himself running a hand through his styled hair, ruining the gelled look.

he wasn’t sure what had compelled him to wait for you, but here he was, still waiting outside the restroom, tapping his foot anxiously and checking his watch now and then.

austin leaned back against the wall as he waited, trying to look nonchalant as ever, and once the restroom door opened, a soft exhale left his lips.

you let the door shut behind you while smoothing out the front of your dress and began walking down the hallway until you stopped seeing a figure.

you look up from the floor and spot austin, assuming he is waiting for you.

“austin?” you ask softly, taking in a deep breath.

austin’s eyes softened at the sound of his name, and he couldn’t take his eyes off of you once he saw you walking towards him, smoothing out the front of your dress and making sure it was wrinkle-free and free of any stains.

“hey,” he replied with a smile and nod, “i was just, uh, making sure you didn’t get lost, again.” austin laughed, looking at you through his eyebrows.

you couldn’t help but chuckle, “no worries, restrooms are pretty simple,” you reply with a toothy grin.

“but, if you wouldn’t mind showing me the way to the theater?” you ask, knowing if you didn’t have the guidance you’d definitely get lost and miss the entire ceremony.

and you didn’t need that kind of embarrassment.

though, deep down you know you wouldn’t win tonight, but still, you wanted to experience being at the freaking oscars!

austin smiled at how eager you were to not get lost again. he chuckled softly as you asked him to guide you to the theater, and he pushed himself off the wall, taking one last look at his watch before walking closer to you.

“and here i was, thinking you’d never ask,” he joked, before holding out his arm for you to grab and wrap your own around.

“don’t wanna risk you ending up in the broom closet again,” he teased.

you drop your head, smiling, and then laugh at his comment about getting lost in the broom closet.

“listen..” you say softly, covering your face with the clutch. “i would say it was one mistake, but with my luck, it’s bound to happen again.”

you carefully take his arm and begin walking towards the theater. you can feel your cheeks warming up.

here you are, lost at the oscar’s and now having the austin butler escort you into the theater.

when you attempted to cover your face with your clutch, he rolled his eyes and gently grabbed it, pulling it away from your face. “no hiding.” he teased.

as you walked side by side, down the halls and towards the theater, austin couldn’t help himself but glance over at you now and then.

he smiled when you laughed at his joke and chuckled even more as you attempted to defend yourself. “just one? you’re sure about that?”

you smile, looking ahead. not being able to look him in the eyes. “no..” you laugh.

“on my first day of filming, i got lost and accidentally locked myself in the hair and makeup trailer” you giggle, recalling one of the most embarrassing moments that’s happened to you. though, this one trumps that.

“no way..” you hear austin laugh wholeheartedly, a sound so beautiful it could turn your legs into jelly.

“yes way” you laugh back, nodding. you weren’t paying attention and almost tripped over the end of your dress.

“here, let me help you with that” austin offers, picking up the train of your dress so you can walk more comfortably.

“see? clumsy.”

austin grins, holding the satin fabric in his hands as you continue towards the theater. “we all have our quirks” he adds. “you’ll warm up to this life, it’ll become easier and if it doesn’t, i’ll help you navigate this journey.” austin spoke without really thinking.

you finally see the two large golden doors which lead into the theater. “ready?” austin grins, raising his eyebrows before opening the door.

when the door opens you’re hit with a soft wind of cool air, the sound of people chattering, and the camera crew getting ready to go live.

“well, let’s hope i can find my seat with ease..” you say walking down the aisle with him towards the seconds for the nominees. “i’ll help,” austin says and begins scanning the row of seats for your name.

y/n l/n

“here you are.” he points to your name plastered on the back of the seat. “right next to mine” he leads you to the two end aisle seats on the front row. your crew sat behind you and austin’s was right next to him.

you were shocked, walking to your seat and letting go of his arm. austin drops the end of your dress gracefully, making sure it doesn’t get dirty.

“what a coincidence, huh?” you take your seat, crossing your legs and placing your clutch in your lap.

austin had what you’d call a shit-eating grin on his face as he sat next to you. “coincidence? or the universe giving us a sign?”

he could tell you were feeling out of place, but he silently tried to make you feel more comfortable by flashing you a reassuring smile.

you shrug, smiling as the staff prepares to go on air. you take in a deep breath, calming your racing heart as you watch the host enter the stage.

“good luck tonight.” austin leans in, whispering. you turn to face him, “you too”. austin winks and then focuses his attention on the stage as the lights dim.

you follow suit, the ceremony officially begins.

a short video montage of all the movies nominated begins to play, and for a second you see yourself.

wow.

after the video, the lights come back on, and out steps the host.

“hello, and welcome to the ninety-sixth oscars, everyone! look at these beautiful faces!”

the room explodes into applause and cheers from the guests.

there’s more to the introduction, bad jokes, awkward laughter, and overall a very, very, long introduction before getting into the awards.

tonight was going to be very long.

“and the nominees for the best lead actor” the host announces, letting a brief video play of all the nominees and their movies.

some actors you knew well, others you didn’t.

“and the oscar goes to..” the host drawls, opening the envelope and a smile appears on her face.

“austin butler!”

the crowd erupts into a roar of cheers and applause, people standing up all around, yourself included. austin stands up hugging his team around him and his friends. he turns to you, smiling as if he won the lottery. “congrats!” you pat his shoulder as he walks past you on stage to accept the award.

“wow..” his deep voice rang through the microphone, looking at the audience and fellow nominees. “i’d uh..wow..all my words are leaving me…i’m standing in front of my heroes. i’m so incredibly grateful to be standing here, i just wanted to say thank you to my team, all the producers, writers, directors, costume, and makeup. everyone. and the presley family for guiding me through this whole process. thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart. and lastly, thank you to all the new people i’ve met” he looks towards you. “i’m so grateful to be standing here. thank you.” he blows a kiss to the crowd before disappearing backstage.

the rest of the male categories went on in between intermissions. many of your favorite actors won, and movies.

then, before you knew it, the female categories were beginning. you saw austin returning to his seat before the nominees were announced.

“now, let’s take a look at the nominees for best female lead role…” the host begins.

like the male category, there are videos of each nominee and then you’re face pops up in a small montage of your movie with your name announced.

austin looked over at you when your face appeared on the big screen, he saw that look in your eyes. he couldn’t describe it. awe? no, it was something more than that. something he had never seen from any of the people he worked with. he had been to many events like this, but you…something about you.

“and the oscar for best female lead role goes too..”

anticipation.

so many great and talented women in this category, that you feel honored to even be considered as good as them.

what if you didn’t win?

but what if you did win? you didn’t even think you prepare an acceptance speech because there is absolutely no way someone like you could-

“y/n l/n! congratulations!”

the world stopped, people around you standing up and applauding. you.

you sat there, mouth agape staring at the stage with your face on the screens like an idiot. your crew grabbing your shoulders to congratulate you as you stand up. hugging some of your crew, then looking at austin wide-eyed. he’s smiling at you, saying something like “i knew you’d win” but you couldn’t be sure, you were in shock.

you begin towards the stage, austin trailing behind you holding your dress so you won’t trip. if there’s one thing austin learned about you tonight, you were clumsy.

you look back, thanking austin with your eyes approach the host, and accept the award.

“oh man..” you begin, feeling tears prickling your eyes. a quiet laugh escapes your throat, looking down at the golden award and then back to the crowd. “i didn’t have a speech prepared, i didn’t expect to win at all. but i wanted to thank everyone who worked on the set of this movie. thank you to the director who saw my indie films and thought i had the talent to portray my character. thank you to my team who always supported me. thank you to my family who always believed in me..who pushed me to work harder..” you sniffle, lip quivering.

“thank you. thank you so much.” you cry. “and thank you to austin, who helped me when i got lost, otherwise i would’ve missed the best moment in my life”. you look towards austin, your teary eyes glittering underneath the lights. the crowd laughs at this, finding it humorous.

austin smiled as he listened to your heartfelt acceptance speech. he couldn’t help but feel proud of you, watching the way you held the award in your hands and thanked everyone who had helped you along the way.

his heart skipped a beat when you mentioned him in your speech. he chuckled softly as the crowd laughed when you joked about getting lost, and he felt a warmth spread through him as he heard you express your gratitude towards him.

“and to all my fellow nominees, i can’t believe im standing in front of you. i’m so honored to be here with you tonight. and i realize i am rambling so i will accept this and go” you laugh, waving to your crew and exiting the stage.

as you walked off the stage, austin stood up and applauded once again, clapping louder than ever before.

the rest of the night continued without fail, the whole thing continued for about three and a half hours. you knew it was going to be long, but you don’t think you’d ever get used to it.

the ceremony ended, leading you and the other winners backstage to get pictures and interviews.

you stand with your friends, who also are a part of your crew. you’re still absolutely shocked. crying on and off as they congratulate you on one of the biggest achievements of your career.

you weren’t aware of austin approaching you until you felt a hand on your lower back. you look over your shoulder and see his baby blues. “austin!” you grin, turning your body toward him. “hi, darling. congratulations.” he says, gesturing to the award in your hand.

“thank you” you bring the award up to your face, grinning like a proud parent. “and congrats to you”

austin nods, looking down at his award. “looks like we both got pretty lucky, huh?”

you nod, agreeing. “i guess so..” you say softly.

you see austin’s eyebrow raise, his eyes dancing over your figure against the wall. you couldn’t quite place what he was thinking. he could be thinking many things, but you wouldn’t know. he was too hard to read, for you at least.

“say, uh..” he smirks, biting his lip. “how would you feel if i asked for your number?” his extra arm came up to the wall beside your head, entrapping you.

oh boy.

you hold the award close to your chest, looking up at him. “well, i’d feel like i’d be dreaming but im not going to say no.” you answer.

“good because i don’t know what id do if you said no” he chuckles, his eyes not leaving yours.

“i’ll call you, we’ll go out sometime. i wanna know more of you. if it’s anything like i saw tonight, i think i might fall in love with you.”

you can feel your ears burning as he speaks, his raspy voice making your legs feel weak. his eyes looking down on you, god. he was driving you insane. his slightly gelled hair, his grey suit, his cologne.

he was so close.

“then i guess you should be ready for that,” you say, smirking.

you heard your name being called, your manager trying to get you for an interview.

you push yourself off the wall, but before you leave you pause. “call me.” you wink and then walk away, leaving austin’s world rocked. never had he met someone like you, never has he been this intrigued and captivated by someone.

thank god he found you when he did.

[punkshort]

somewhere to run | 12. the trial pt.1

Pairing: sheriff!Joel x f!reader

Chapter Summary: Madeline preps you for the first day of the trial and shares a surprise witness being called to Patrick's defense, and Patrick requests to speak to you unexpectedly.

Chapter Warnings: language, smut (MDNI 18+), phone sex, m and f masturbation, dirty talk, mother issues (could be perceived as parental emotional abuse, and probably is), possessive!joel, recounting of previous DV and SA

WC: 7.2K

A/N: If anything in this chapter jumps out as you like 'I don't think that's how the law works', just move past it. I had Google and a dream.

Series Masterlist

The flickering florescent lights from the grocery store were starting to give you a headache as you slowly made your way up and down the aisles, occasionally stopping to grab a bag of chips or some mac and cheese. It was late. The store was quiet. You were supposed to be buying things to keep in your hotel room when you got to Austin, but you could hardly focus. You had the weekend to pack, buy supplies, and check into your room before meeting with Madeline on Monday. She was planning on using most of the day to prepare you for the trial, which was scheduled to start first thing Tuesday morning, and your nerves were a mess. And to make matters worse, Joel wouldn't be able to get to Austin until the morning of the trial.

The one silver lining was your divorce. Madeline felt confident after speaking to his lawyer that Patrick would be signing the papers this week. The cynical part of you wondered if there was a catch because Patrick was never one to take things lying down, but you tried to push it out of your mind. Instead, you focused on the variety of microwavable popcorn in front of you. Butter, lightly salted, movie theater... would you even notice much of a difference? You stepped forward to grab the first box you saw when another person unexpectedly walked right into you. You had been so lost in your own thoughts, you didn't even hear someone else coming down the aisle.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," you began. When you looked up to meet their eyes, the polite smile you had forced across your face immediately fell.

"Nikki, hi," you said, taking a small step back towards your cart. "My fault, I wasn't paying attention."

She tossed you a thin smile and not so subtly eyed you up and down.

"Haven't seen you in a while. Read anything good recently?" she asked icily, and you had to fight the urge to roll your eyes.

"Not really. I haven't had much time," you told her, averting your gaze down the empty aisle.

"Oh, that's right. I heard you're getting a divorce," she said with a little pout, and you nodded as the heat began to creep up your chest. "Gotta make sure all those papers are signed before you go jumping into someone else's bed, right?"

"Excuse me?" you sputtered, lips parting in surprise. You thought she would have been a little more subtle than that.

"I hope you at least made sure he was worth it before leaving your husband for him, because woman to woman, I gotta warn you... it's nothing to write home about," she told you with a wink. You frowned and took another step back.

"I'm not leaving my husband because of Joel-"

"Oh, no, of course not!" she said cheerily.

"N-no, really, nothing's going on-"

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me," she whispered, giving you one more fake smile before turning on her heel and waltzing down the aisle, leaving you in shock.

"Jesus Christ," you muttered to yourself as you absentmindedly rubbed your eyes. Angrily, you reached out and snatched the box of popcorn before turning your cart in the opposite direction.

You hated the idea of someone in this small town having it out for you. She had been swaying the entire female population to turn on you just because she went on a couple dates with Joel and she figured out he had feelings for you, which was hardly your fault. But you thanked your lucky stars she didn't seem to know just how close you and Joel really were, because if she did, there was no doubt in your mind she would have spread that news like wildfire.

Impulsivity won and you swung your cart down the candy aisle, throwing far too many items into your basket.

To hell with Nikki. She had no idea what you were going through and you didn't have time for her high-school bullshit, so you forced yourself to move past it. Besides, you had much more important things to worry about. Like if you should buy Reese's or Snickers.

"I hate all my clothes."

"C'mon, they can't be that bad," Joel's voice filtered through your phone. You tapped the speakerphone button and dropped it onto your bed in order to free up both your hands, then held up two ugly blouses against your chest while you looked in the mirror.

"They really are," you told him, scrunching up your nose. "But Madeline told me if I wore stuff like this, it would look more sympathetic to a jury. Like I'm some poor, modest housewife in need of saving," you said with a roll of your eyes.

"Well, if Maddy told you to wear somethin' specific, you should listen to her. She knows what she's doin'. I've known her a long time, this isn't her first rodeo."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," you grumbled, picking up a couple of skirts that, in your opinion, were far too long and didn't make you feel very confident.

"You look beautiful in anything," he said, his voice dropping an octave lower.

"Thanks, but you're biased," you teased, and you heard a soft chuckle float through the speaker.

"Yeah, maybe," he agreed. There was a small pause as you continued to sift through your clothes, then he asked, "are you tryin' anythin' on right now?"

"No, once at the store was plenty," you huffed, then began folding the skirts up to place them in the bottom of your suitcase.

There was another pause before he spoke again.

"Then what are you wearin'?"

Your hands stilled and you sucked in a breath when you finally realized what he had been hinting at the past few minutes. Glancing down, you grimaced at your favorite pair of stained sweatpants and a tank top that had fraying straps, but you refused to throw it away because it made you feel skinny.

"A tank top," you finally answered, leaving out the part about your ratty old sweatpants.

"Mm, the white one?"

"Yes," you replied, your pulse already thrumming steadily in your throat at the line of questioning.

"Wish I was there with you," he said, his voice low just in case Sarah could hear from her bedroom. "I can see right through that top, drives me fuckin' crazy."

Glancing in the mirror, you realized he was right. You could see the outline of your nipples clear as day in the right lighting.

"Joel, is this a good idea?" you asked, but found yourself flopping down on your bed anyway next to your phone, your fingers dancing at your waistband.

"You're stressed, right?" he asked, his voice a little breathless now and you knew he must have been stroking himself. You've done this dance too many times.

"Yes," you whispered.

"Lemme help you relax, then."

You chewed on your lower lip as you stared up at your ceiling. You knew doing this with him complicated things and you were supposed to be able to take the stand in a few days and honestly say you weren't in a relationship with Joel, but the lines were too blurred and at this point, you had no idea how you would answer that question.

Then again, what difference would one more time make?

"Okay."

"Good girl," he murmured, and you felt yourself flutter at the praise. "Where are you right now?"

"I'm laying in bed," you told him, closing your eyes so you could focus just on his voice.

"And are you touchin' yourself?"

"No," you said, taking a deep breath. "But I want to." You heard him utter a soft groan.

"Go ahead. Just one finger and I want you to tell me how wet you are."

Slipping your hand under your waistband, you did as you were told, choosing the tip of your middle finger to slide through your folds and prod gently at your entrance.

"So wet," you murmured, then teased yourself again, collecting the arousal pooling there. "All wet because of you, Joel," you added breathily.

"Fuck, I wish I was there," he whispered again, and you slowly pushed your middle finger inside with a moan.

"W-what would you do?" you stammered as you felt the tension begin to build, a warm heat sparking low in your belly.

"I'd taste you first," he said lowly. "Only got to do it once, been dreamin' of doin' it again. You taste so fuckin' good, d'ya know that?" His accent deepened the more aroused he became, and it made your heart skip a beat.

"You're really good at it," you mumbled into the phone, your finger curling inside you, that one spot just out of reach.

"Tell me how much you liked it," he rasped, and a little groan slipped past your lips, your finger still pumping in and out.

"Loved it," you moaned, and you heard his heavy breathing now as he listened to you intently. "F-felt so good. God, that tongue... my thighs burned the next day from your beard. Felt it all night at work... thought about you s-so much. Fuck, Joel, I need more," you whined, your back arching pathetically.

"Add another finger and play with your clit, baby," he whispered, and you thought you could hear him fucking his fist on the other end, but his heavy pants drowned out the noise. You did as he said, gasping in relief at the extra stimulation while your legs began to shake.

"Joel-" you whimpered, but he cut you off.

"When this is all over, I'm gonna wake you up every mornin' with my mouth between your legs," he said with a grunt. "Would'ya like that? Hm? You want my tongue inside that tight little pussy? Want me to suck on your clit til you can't remember your name?"

"Oh, fuck, Joel, I-I think I'm gonna come," you cried out softly, tears pricking the corners of your eyes as your finger rubbed fast little circles over your clit, your hips rocking against the heel of your hand as you chased your release.

"Go ahead, lemme hear you. Say my name, baby," he panted, his voice cracking, and you knew he was close. "Tell me - shit - tell me I'm the only man who's ever made you come."

And you did just that.

You fell over the edge, his name tumbling from your mouth over and over as you soaked your own hand, and once you got your bearings, you moaned about how good he made you feel, how no one else could ever compare, how you couldn't wait until he was in your bed again because your own fingers no longer satisfied you now that you've had him. You kept talking until you heard a sharp intake of breath and a low, muffled groan on the other end of the line, leaving each of you quietly panting for air.

"Feel better?" he asked after a few minutes, and even though he couldn't see you, you smirked.

"Yes," you whispered. You could hear him shifting around in his bed, his sheets bunching up and the springs on his mattress squeaked. "I miss you," you added sadly, thinking about the one night you got to sleep in his bed. How comfortable you felt. How at ease it made you feel, and he wasn't even in the bed with you. Just being around him was all it took.

"Me, too. We're so close, baby. Just a few more days. A week, tops."

His words instilled a newfound vigor in you. The fear and anxiety you felt about the trial temporarily disappeared and instead, you felt powerful. In charge. Confident. And eager to take your life back.

Monday

"Have you heard from any of the other women?" you asked Madeline hopefully, and she gave you a quick shake of her head.

"Not yet. I'm sorry," she replied, knowing you were all crossing your fingers that some of the women Joel talked to in Philadelphia would change their minds and come forward, but as hard as he tried to convince them, they were all too scared to say something, putting you back at square one. He had high hopes for one girl in particular, Nina, but so far she had refused to answer his or Madeline's calls and time was running out. "Don't worry, hun. We still have all the evidence on our side. We have the medical records, I can prove years of abuse with that and testimony from the people you put us in contact with. I am confident we will win, regardless of the other victims," she told you, looking you dead in the eye, and you believed her.

"Okay," you replied, taking a deep breath and nodding your head. "And again, I'm sorry I couldn't get anywhere with my mom. Do you think we'll still do okay without her?"

Madeline sat back in her chair and slid her glasses off, holding them gently in her hands while giving you a look across her desk that made your stomach twist.

She had bad news.

"We would do just fine without her, but I found out this morning that she was subpoenaed by the defense."

You stared at her, not quite understanding what you were hearing.

"What does that mean?" you finally asked, and although you had an idea, you needed her to say it.

"She agreed to speak on Patrick's behalf."

Tears sprung up in your eyes but you quickly wiped them away, refusing to allow your mother to cause you any more pain. Before you could say anything, Madeline spoke up again.

"Don't let it upset you. They might think they're making a power move, but I'll destroy her on the stand, mark my words. It will only help our case and paint the picture of a lifetime of abuse," she told you, putting her glasses back on before looking back down at the file in front of her. You hadn't ever considered your relationship with your mother as abusive before. You just assumed most girls had problems with their mothers growing up. But if she was willing to help your husband over her own daughter, essentially supporting everything Patrick has done to you, then 'abusive' was really the only word you could use at that point to describe your relationship.

"Okay, what else," you asked hurriedly, looking down at your hands folded on your lap.

"Well since we are already on the shitty news portion of the day, I do have one more thing I need to mention, and before I tell you, just know you can do absolutely whatever you want, okay? Do not feel pressured to go through with it-"

"Just say it," you told her, and she took a brief pause before continuing.

"Patrick asked to speak to you before the trial. He's holding the divorce papers as a hostage. Says he will sign them if you speak to him."

Your eyes shot up to meet hers in shock.

That was not something you were expecting to hear.

"W-why would he want to talk to me?" you stammered, and you could feel your heart beginning to pound louder in your chest, the fear and anxiety quickly taking hold yet again, just like it always did when it came to Patrick.

"My guess? He probably wants to convince you to drop the charges in exchange for a divorce. And that is something we are not going to do, understand me?" Madeline said, narrowing her eyes at you. "If my hunch is correct, he's scared. He knows he's going to lose and he is desperate. We do not need him to play nice here. I can get a judge to grant an annulment if he won't sign, it will just prolong everything a little more, but the end result will be the same."

The idea of your divorce taking even longer made your blood boil. You wanted to be with Joel. You wanted this to be over. It was only supposed to be a few more days... a week, tops.

Madeline could tell you were spiraling because she put her pen down and stood up from her chair.

"You don't have to talk to him. You are under no obligation to hear him out. We can just go through with everything the way we planned-"

"I'll talk to him," you said quietly.

"I have to give you my honest opinion here. I don't think it's a good idea."

"I'm not going to drop the charges, but... I don't know. Maybe I can convince him this is over. And if not, I'll just get up and leave," you told her firmly, and she examined you carefully before sighing.

"Alright. I'll contact his attorney and set something up in the morning. If you change your mind, you let me know. Night or day, five minutes before you walk into that room, it doesn't matter, okay? You don't have to do this."

"I know," you said, "I want to."

Madeline spent the rest of the day briefing you on what to expect for the trial. After opening statements, Madeline would argue your case with the evidence she collected and the witnesses she subpoenaed, then Patrick's lawyer would have the opportunity to cross examine and afterwards, it would be their turn to defend Patrick with their own witnesses before closing statements and deliberation. Madeline guessed the whole thing would take two or three days at the most, and that gave you some relief. No matter what happened, this would be over by the end of the week.

"I'll call you to the stand last," Madeline said. "It's best if your testimony is freshest for the jury, especially right before the defense states their case."

"Okay. And what do I do when I'm up there? Should I look at the jury or the judge, or just you?"

"Look wherever you feel comfortable, but don't offer any extra information outside of the question being asked. We'll rehearse the questions I'm going to ask before you leave today, and when it comes time for the defense to cross examine, give as little information as possible. Yes or no answers. And they'll try to get you upset - don't let them. That's important, okay?"

"Yes," you said with a nod. "I understand."

After you ran through the questions, Madeline sent you back to your hotel room with the list for you to review and practice on your own, but your head was pounding by the end of the day. Your eyes burned and your mind was racing and all you wanted to do was sleep, but your body wouldn't let you. You ended up pacing around your room and trying not to let your anxiety about seeing Patrick in the morning torment you. You had just found a mindless cooking competition show to put on to help distract you when your phone pinged next to you on the nightstand.

Joel: All ready for tomorrow?

You: I think so, but I'm nervous. Can't sleep.

Pausing for a moment, you added another text.

You: I'm meeting with Patrick in the morning before it starts.

It took less than two minutes for your phone to ring.

"What d'you mean? Why're you meetin' with him?" Joel's voice asked aggressively the moment you answered the call.

"He's holding out signing the papers until he speaks to me," you explained. "He says he'll sign them if I talk to him. I figured there's no harm, he can't hurt me-"

"No harm?!" Joel exclaimed, and you quickly stopped talking. "All he does is harm! The fuck are you thinkin'?" he asked, sounding less angry and more upset now.

"Madeline said it'll take longer to get a divorce if he refuses to sign. I just want this over with, Joel!" you said, your voice beginning to break. "I don't want to wait a few more weeks or months. I'm fucking done! And if listening to whatever he has to say for twenty minutes gets him to sign the goddamn papers, then I'll do it! Because I can't do this anymore!" you sobbed into the phone, the tears you fought to hold back all day finally coming to the surface.

"Okay, okay, calm down," he said soothingly, and you took a few shaky breaths in. He waited until your breathing steadied before speaking again. "What time are you supposed to see him?"

"8:30," you said, wiping your tears away with the back of your hand.

"Alright, I'll be there," he said. "Just in case. I wanna be there."

"You can't come in the room with me, Joel."

"You can't go in alone," he argued.

"Madeline said the conference room they booked has a door with a window. You can both watch from the hall."

He grumbled to himself on the other end and you waited, chewing on your lower lip nervously, for him to say something.

"One wrong move and I'm puttin' his head through the fuckin' wall," he muttered.

"That wouldn't exactly help your lawsuit," you reminded him.

"You let me worry 'bout that," he said, and you yawned. He must have heard you because his voice softened. "You gotta get some sleep. Big day tomorrow."

"I know," you replied, and although you felt like you wouldn't get much restful sleep, your eyelids were still getting heavy.

"I'll be there bright and early, alright? And I'm stayin' til it's over."

"What about Sarah?" you asked sleepily.

"She's stayin' at a friend's house. Couldn't be more excited about it. Practically kickin' me out," he said with a chuckle.

You laughed as you stared blankly at the TV, watching some poor girl cry when her crème brûlée burnt. "I'll see you tomorrow, then."

Joel bit his tongue on the other end of the call, holding back the words he really wanted to say but knew it wasn't the right time. Instead, he said "good night, baby. See you in the mornin'."

Tuesday

As expected, you tossed and turned all night. It was clear as day when you caught your reflection in the mirror and winced at what you saw. The bags under your bloodshot eyes wouldn't be tamed by the concealer Maria bought you so long ago, but you tried your best, anyway. After picking out the least ugly shirt and skirt combination, you made sure your hair looked decent before taking a deep breath and stepping out the door of your hotel room.

The first step towards your freedom.

You were proud of yourself. You had actually managed to not let the nerves get to you until you entered the courthouse and saw Madeline tapping away on her phone, wearing a dark blue pantsuit and hair pulled back in a simple bun, with a black leather suitcase hung over her shoulder. She looked up when she heard you approach, giving your outfit a nod of approval before enveloping you in a quick hug.

"You ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," you said, giving her a nervous smile. Your hands were beginning to shake as she walked you down a secluded hallway towards the conference room she had booked for your conversation with Patrick. You could feel your chest tighten with every step you took, but when you turned the corner and saw Joel leaning up against the wall in a brown suit with another man you didn't recognize but assumed was Patrick's lawyer, you instantly felt relief. When his eyes locked with yours and he gave you a small smile, you felt even calmer.

You could do this.

"Last chance. Are you sure you want to do this?" Madeline said next to you. Glancing through the window in the door, you saw Patrick sitting at the table in a rumpled jumpsuit, his handcuffed arms resting on the table as he stared down as his fingernails. You nodded and looked at Patrick's lawyer.

"Does he have the divorce papers, or do you?"

The lawyer gave you a polite smile before replying "I do, miss."

You nodded before taking a deep breath, and glancing at Joel one more time to remind yourself why you were doing this, you twisted the doorknob and stepped into the room.

Patrick lifted his head up when you walked in and gave you half a smile, but you just shut the door behind you and walked to the other end of the table, as far away from him as you possibly could get, and sat down.

He stared down the table at you, giving you his most charming persona, the side he always brought out when he knew he had gone too far and wanted to make amends. You folded your hands calmly on the table and tilted your head to the side, waiting for him to speak. Minutes ticked by, inching closer and closer to your trial time as you waited, refusing to be the one who bent first.

"New clothes?" he finally asked, and you quirked an eyebrow.

"Yeah, looks like you got some new clothes, too."

You patted yourself on the back for the jab, but you didn't show a hint of the smugness you were feeling when you saw a quick scowl flit across his face.

"Alright," he said, leaning back in his hair and lifting his hands up in mock defeat. "You win."

"What did I win?" you said with a frown.

"This," he said, motioning between the two of you. "You want outta this so badly, fine. I'll sign the papers. I'll leave you alone."

"Great," you said, trying to keep the tremble from your voice.

"You gotta drop these charges, though, baby. This shit could get me killed, you know that?"

"Don't call me baby."

He sat forward suddenly, making you flinch. "What the hell do you want me to call you, then?"

You took a steadying breath and glanced at the door, catching Joel's eye before looking back at Patrick.

"I'm not dropping the charges."

He shrugged and dropped his hands loudly on the table. "Then I ain't signing the papers."

You looked at Joel again. His lips were pressed in a thin line as he watched the two of you and you wondered if he could hear anything through the door.

"What about the charges against Joel? Would you let it go and sign if I dropped the charges?" you asked quietly, and that caught Patrick's interest. He smirked and folded his hands on the table.

"Oh, no. Can't do that. I got your boyfriend right where I want him. Got a rockstar witness that'll help me take him for all he's got. Hope that kid of his is smart, she's gonna need to get a scholarship for college. Daddy ain't gonna have two dimes to rub together when I'm done with him."

Your jaw clenched and your nostrils flared as you stared at Patrick across the table, doing your best to rein in your anger and not say something stupid.

"You don't have shit against him," you spat, and true to form, he couldn't help himself. He just had to show his hand.

"Bullshit. Got that girl he was on a date with that night at the bar willing to testify he had it out for me, that he was obsessed with you and would do anything to get rid of me," he sneered, looking quite pleased with himself.

You bit down on the inside of your cheek. You knew Nikki was pissed, but this was going too far.

"Then it doesn't sound like we have anything else to talk about," you said, standing up. You made your way to the door, passing by his chair, when he spoke once again.

"You're not gonna win, you know. They don't put cops in jail. Juries feel too guilty, knowing how dangerous it is."

You looked down at him, finally seeing him for who he really was: a pathetic, desperate, sad excuse for a man. No matter how long it took for Madeline to finalize your divorce, you would do it the right way. You've suffered for years, a few more months wouldn't kill you.

And then you would be free.

"Hope you're willing to bet your life on that," you said before turning on your heel and swinging open the door.

Joel was at your side in an instant, following you and Madeline down the corridor towards the courtroom.

"Do I even want to ask?" Madeline said over her shoulder.

"You were right. He wanted me to drop the charges in exchange for signing the papers," you told her, then glanced up at Joel by your side. "I said no. We're doing this the right way."

"Good," they both said at the same time. Your hand itched to reach out and hold his, but you knew you couldn't, so you settled for gently brushing your knuckles against the back of his hand and you saw the corner of his mouth twitch.

When you entered the courtroom, which was much smaller than you expected, your eyes immediately drifted around to the scattered few people seated in the spectator chairs. You had completely forgotten about your mother, and seeing her sitting there, on the other side of the room as your cousin, with her hair pulled back tightly and wearing a navy blue dress you hadn't seen before, sent you into shock. Fortunately, she stared straight ahead, avoiding your penetrating gaze, so you looked away and made eye contact with your cousin, who gave you a tight smile and a thumbs up.

Then you heard Joel suck in air next to you and you glanced up at him, following his gaze to Michelle, who was seated a few rows behind the plaintiff's table.

"What's she doing here?" you tried to mutter under your breath.

"Don't know," he replied quietly, turning his focus away from her.

Madeline swung open the doors for you to step through and take a seat behind the desk, where she joined you and began to open up her briefcase and spread out all her files on the table. Joel slid into the row of chairs right behind you, and if you took a deep breath, you could smell him. Gone was the putrid cologne, the only thing he ever had in common with Patrick besides his profession. All that you could smell was him. His natural, masculine scent mixed with a subtle hint of his deodorant and some hair product. A smell you had grown to love and crave.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, you noticed you had less than five minutes before the trial began. More people began to stream in. Witnesses on both sides, some you recognized and some you didn't. A few cops that you knew were close with Patrick on the force sat together in full regalia, no doubt trying to win favor with the jury with their choice in clothes, just like you.

You had a chance to look at Joel just one more time, one fleeting smile and wink from him before the doors swung open. Patrick and his lawyer marched up to their table, both of them avoiding looking in your direction as they got settled in just in time for the bailiff to announce for the room to rise, and moments later the judge and jury walked in.

You were holding up better than you expected. All of these months of preparation finally paid off. You were more confident after each witness Madeline brought up to the stand. She started with a couple old co-workers of yours, who didn't have much to say other than they had asked you a few times about your bruises and you had made up excuses, but they always suspected something else was going on. Patrick's lawyer stood up and objected when they hinted at your husband being the cause, and the judge agreed. Madeline backed off her line of questioning and once she was satisfied, announced no further questions before sitting down. Patrick's lawyer - Beckett Kennedy, you learned - chose not to question them further.

Next was your cousin, Mary, who testified she knew Patrick was hurting you, but as Beckett would clarify for the jury later under cross examination, had no proof other than your word. She explained how you continually went to her for help, that she helped you get on birth control without Patrick's knowledge, and how you confided in her the night before you fled to Texas.

The next witness in your defense was Carol, the doctor Joel had brought you to after Patrick's most recent assault.

That was when things got rocky.

There were blown up images of your injuries being projected in front of the entire room, including some that blurred out your privates, but you still found to be absolutely humiliating. You fidgeted in your seat, trying not to show too much emotion as Carol explained in great detail all of the injuries you had sustained not only that day, but historically as well. Madeline called into evidence your old medical reports from the hospitals back in Philadelphia, and Carol gave her expert opinion on each one, explaining in layman's terms what each and every note meant so that the jury could understand.

Every single cut, bruise, laceration, and broken bone was discussed as you stared down at your hands in your lap, your cheeks burning. You heard Joel shift behind you in his seat and you tried to take a deep breath, tried to catch his scent to calm you, but you were too far away or maybe it wasn't strong enough and the urge to turn around and bury your face in his neck for comfort was overwhelming.

Finally, Madeline finished up with Carol, thanking her for her time before sitting down next to you. She gave you a wink, trying to reassure you everything was going smoothly, and you gave her a small smile in return.

Beckett then got up to cross examine Carol. He tried to poke holes in her medical expertise, tried to question her knowledge about sexual assault and if she could truly be considered an expert in that particular field of study when she was just a general practitioner but Carol sat tall and told the court she was an OBGYN for ten years and that she very much had a vast amount of knowledge in the area of female anatomy.

After Beckett insultingly tried to suggest pap smears and the occasional birth could hardly make Carol an expert in trauma, she was excused.

"We have time for one more witness, Maddy," Judge Dean, an older man with bright blue eyes and absolutely no hair on his head, announced before she stood up and took a deep breath.

"The prosecution calls Sheriff Joel Miller to the stand."

After Joel raised his right hand and swore to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, he sat down and adjusted his blazer, then glanced at Madeline expectantly. She gave him a warm smile and started slow. She thanked him for traveling all the way to Austin to give his testimony, asked him to verify how long he had been town sheriff, and asked him to give an approximate idea of how many incidents he had encountered in his tenure for domestic or sexual abuse.

"So it sounds like you're no stranger to this type of crime."

"Unfortunately, no," he replied.

"The plaintiff didn't call the police when she was assaulted, is that correct?" she asked.

"That's correct."

"Can you explain how you came to find out she was hurt?"

Joel took a deep breath and glanced quickly at you before looking back at Madeline. "She works as a waitress at the diner in town. See her almost every day for lunch. One day she called in sick, I had a hunch somethin' was wrong and her apartment's on the way back to work, so I stopped to do a wellness check on her."

"What caused you to have a hunch, sheriff?"

"The day before, I saw the plaintiff and defendant at a coffee shop. I witnessed the defendant put his hands on the plaintiff in an aggressive manner and it raised some red flags," he explained calmly.

"And when you went to her apartment to do a wellness check, what did you see?" Madeline asked, looking up from her legal pad with her glasses perched on the tip of her nose. You dropped your gaze to your lap. You could remember that day vividly. The shame and embarrassment and the pain all came rushing back, and you tried to blink the tears away as you focused on Joel's answer.

"It was clear the plaintiff had been attacked," he began, and only because you knew him so well, you could hear the slight strain in his voice. "She had a gash on her forehead, a split lip, a bruise on her cheek and scratches all down her neck."

Madeline hummed as she picked up the remote for the projector and flipped through the images that Carol had gone over. She stopped on a picture of your face with wounds that matched Joel's description and you noticed out of the corner of your eye a few jurors shake their heads sadly.

"Are these images the injuries you're describing, sheriff?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"After you performed the wellness check, what happened?" Madeline asked, setting down the remote but leaving the picture of your beat up face on the monitor. You knew she was doing it to garner sympathy and help paint the picture Joel was describing, but it made your stomach turn.

"I encouraged the plaintiff to seek medical treatment and press charges."

"And that is when the plaintiff visited Dr. Carol Parker, correct?"

"That's correct."

"I noticed at the same time, the defendant was in holding, is that true?" Madeline asked, and Joel nodded.

"Yes."

"Why was he arrested, sheriff?"

"He was drunk and disorderly in public the night before, so I took him in to sleep it off."

"Were those the only charges against him?" she asked.

"No. He also punched me when I was attempting to make the arrest, so he was also charged with assaulting a police officer."

"And when the plaintiff came to the station to give her statement, that was when the additional charges were filed, correct?" Madeline asked, picking up the remote to switch to a slide of the long list of charges against Patrick.

"Correct."

"I also see here a restraining order was filed to protect the plaintiff."

"Correct."

"And did the defendant obey the restraining order?"

"No, he did not," Joel said, straightening up in his seat. "He showed up at the plaintiff's place of employment and tried to intimidate her. Threatened her." You closed your eyes for a moment, remembering that night when Tommy and Thor stood up for you. How scared you were, how hopeless you felt and then Joel arrived, and you felt like you could breathe again.

"And the police were called then?"

"Yes. Maria Miller, one of the owners of the diner, called down to the station and spoke with my deputy, who then called me on his way down to the diner and I met up with him there."

"To arrest the defendant for violating the restraining order?"

"Yes, that's right."

"And did you?" Madeline asked, leaning against the desk and crossing her ankles in front of her.

"Not that evening, no. He couldn't be found," Joel said. You stiffened in your seat, bracing for what was coming next.

"Can you tell me what happened after you arrived at the diner?"

Joel swallowed and glanced briefly in your direction again before answering. "I took the plaintiff back to her apartment so she could get some things and stay elsewhere for the night. We were worried the defendant would try to harm her and thought it best she stay away from her residence until he was apprehended," he said, pausing for a moment. "But when we got there, it was clear the defendant had already broken in-"

"Objection," Beckett announced suddenly.

"Sustained."

"Allow me to rephrase," Madeline said, pushing off her desk. "What did you witness when you arrived back at the plaintiff's apartment?"

"It appeared the place had been broken into," Joel began. "Her belongings were destroyed. There were holes in the drywall, dish-ware broken, graffiti on the walls, and what smelled like urine in her bed."

Madeline used her remote to flip to images of your apartment from that night, and when the one of your bathroom came onto the screen, you heard a low murmur from the people behind you.

"According to my notes, you sent out a pair of officers to process the scene the next morning, along with a forensic analyst, is that correct?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"I would like to draw your attention to exhibit 6C, the forensics report," Madeline said, clicking the remote to another slide where a document appeared with the label Exhibit 6C at the bottom. "What can you tell me about this report, sheriff?"

"Objection. The witness can hardly be considered a forensics expert, your honor," Beckett said, standing up.

"I believe he's proven he has many years of experience and can answer basic questions," Madeline argued. "I will wait until tomorrow to question the forensics analyst in more detail, but I believe the sheriff has the ability to answer one simple question today."

The judge looked back and forth between Madeline and Beckett as he considered his answer.

"Be careful, counselor," he warned Madeline, then turned to Joel. "Go ahead."

"The DNA taken from the mattress matched the sample we took from the defendant at the station, so we brought additional charges against him for breaking and entering once he was arrested."

"And when did you finally arrest him, sheriff?"

"The following day."

"Can you please describe for the court how and where you found the defendant?" Madeline asked, leaning against the desk again. You nervously twisted your fingers in your lap as you listened.

"We found him in a crack house with some locals and a couple prostitutes."

"Did he resist arrest?"

"No, this time he was too high and passed out-"

"Objection!" Beckett yelled. "Speculation, your honor."

"Sustained," the judge said, frowning at Joel, but Joel just kept his gaze trained on Madeline.

"No further questions, your honor," Madeline said, turning on her heel to sit back down next to you.

"Your witness," the judge said with a nod in Beckett's direction, and a smug smile spread across his face before he stood up. He paced in front of the bench for a few moments, trying to build up the anticipation, and it was working. Your heart was thundering in your chest as you watched him walk slowly back and forth, but Joel appeared to be perfectly calm as he waited for his first question.

When he stopped pacing and you saw the look on Beckett's face, you knew exactly what was coming. It was the moment he had been waiting for. The bombshell. Their only chance at swaying the jury in their favor thus far, and he was ready to strike.

"Sheriff, have you ever had sex with the plaintiff?"

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[swingingthehatchetnow]

Pete always averted his eyes around the homeless man downtown. Whether it was because he got awkward around social interaction or felt unwarranted guilt about the man’s situation, he’d never managed to look the man in the eyes before. He couldn’t describe his face if he tried.

That changed after Jägerman.

The things that used to be uncomfortable really weren’t anymore. After holding court with the Void, a man on the street really doesn’t seem all that intimidating. Ruth and Richie would’ve made fun of him if he was scared of the little things after the whole ordeal, he knew. It helped him to imagine their reactions. Coping and whatnot.

His walk home was lonelier. As were his study sessions and social life. But the walks home were when he really felt their loss. Even though Pete and Ruth lived in the opposite direction, they’d walk with Richie to his place, and then cut through downtown to get back to the other side of town, where he and Ruth would part ways near the Coldstone, both going to their respective homes.

He still followed that route. Coping. And whatnot.

It was just after noon. Pete had his AP statistics final in the morning, and had no class in the afternoon, because his teachers were proctoring other exams around the school. So here he was. Peter Spankoffski, walking through downtown Hatchetfield, alone. Steph had a full school day, so he wouldn’t see her until later.

“Excuse me, do you have a minute to talk about saving our planet?”

He turned. The Green Peace girl was at it again, with a wide smile and a clipboard in hand.

“It’ll only take a minute of your time,” she continued, now holding out a brochure. Trying to reduce the amount of time he had to talk to her, he took it wordlessly.

“I, um—” his voice cracked, and his face flushed red. Nobody else his age was still having voice cracks. He cleared his throat. “I’ll take a look at it. Saving the world and all.”

Not like he hadn’t done that once already.

The Green Peace girl smiled even wider, and did a little bouncey turn on her heel. The way she bobbed off reminded Pete of Steph when she was in a particularly happy mood. This thought relaxed him a bit.

He tucked the brochure into his pocket and continued walking, though he didn’t get far before he was cut off by someone else.

“Spare change for the homeless?”

Of course he knew that voice. Anyone who spent more than five minutes downtown knew about the homeless man.

Before he even looked at the man in front of him, Pete reached for his wallet. He’d just gotten a bonus at work, so he figured he had a few dollars to spare. Besides, his movie theater job paid surprisingly well.

He grabbed a $5 bill and turned to the man.

“Here you—”

He knew that face.

Older, sure, and a little lost-looking, but there was no doubt about it. Pete was looking at…

“Teddy?”

The 20 year age gap between the Spankoffski boys left them with an interesting dynamic. It was hard to feel like brothers sometimes when one of them was coming home from kindergarten while the other was getting a full time job at CCRP.

But they had their moments. When Pete was learning how to drive, Ted would let him use his car, even though he hadn’t gotten his license yet, or the night before freshman year, when Ted gave Pete his ‘Spankoffski guide to charming the ladies’ guidebook.

Hand trembling, holding out the $5 bill, Pete looked into the cloudy eyes of his older brother. His older older brother.

Somehow, some way… Ted was standing in front of Pete, a shadow of his former self.

“That’s way cool, man,” he said, taking the $5 from Pete. No sense of recollection could be seen.

“Ted, what happened to you…?” Pete watched Ted pocket the money. And then Ted… walked off. Just like that.

“Ted, wait!” Pete called after him, but Ted didn’t turn around. He simply tugged his hat down over his ears and walked off.

With trembling hands, Pete reached for his phone. He spent no more than 3 seconds looking for his brother’s contact info and hitting the call button.

One ring.

Two.

Three.

Four…

“Aren’t you supposed to be in school?”

Pete sighed in relief at the sound of his brother’s voice on the other end of the line.

“No,” he said, “my AP exam was today. Ted, I—” he paused, realizing he had no idea what he was going to say. How do you ask someone if they know that they’re the homeless man from downtown.

He lost his nerve.

“…I was just wondering if you want to hang out later. I— I got a new game, and—”

“Yeah, sure whatever. I get off work at the usual time.” A sound came from Ted’s end of the line, fabric shifting, like he’d adjusted how he was sitting. “Is that all? Because I was about to pull the ol’ Spankoffski charm on this barista that Paul is trying to snag.”

The familiarity of the conversation was enough to ease Pete’s worries. Sure, he’d held court with the Void, lost his two best friends, nearly got shot executioner-style, and ran into what he was certain was some version of his brother in the streets… but all that didn’t matter because somewhere in downtown Hatchetfield, Ted Spankoffski was fine. And so was Pete.

“I don’t say it a lot, but I’m glad you’re my brother, Teddy.”

“Sorry, I was talking to Charlotte. Did you say something?”

Pete smiled and hung up.

Maybe the universe was bigger than he knew and could ever understand.

So what.

[starkwlkr]

we’ll always have paris | cillian murphy

2007

Paris was nice. Y/n loved it. She was currently in the city of love for a movie premiere for her film ‘Atonement’. Even after attending many premieres, she still got nervous. One of her top fears was falling in front of all the photographers.

“You look great.” Y/n heard the Scottish accent that belonged to James McAvoy. She turned around and saw James in a suit. They were currently in the same elevator going down.

“Thanks, so do you.” Y/n replied. Immediately James noticed how nervous she was.

“Hey, don’t worry. I’ll make sure you don’t fall. And if you do then I’ll fall with you.” He smiled.

“Thanks, James.” Y/n returned the smile. She felt better. Soon enough, the camera flashes were blinding her and shouts of photographers were the only thing she could hear. She’ll admit, she could never really get used to the bright flashes or the constant shouting of her name, but she would be forever grateful for the memories and opportunities.

As she made her way to the end of the carpet where James was waiting for her. She was slightly confused since James had said that he would meet her in the theater fifteen minutes ago. She approached him, ready to ask him why he decided to stay back, but she didn’t get the chance to do so.

“I need you to come with me, it’s rather important.” James said, but Y/n could barely hear him.

“What?” Y/n asked, but James grabbed her hand and led her to the building where the movie was going to play, except they didn’t go straight into the theater, James made a turn and led Y/n to a quieter spot. “What is going on? We have to be inside soon!” She tried her hardest to keep up in her dress and heels.

“Do you trust me?” James stopped walking and faces her. Y/n nodded. “Good then you’ll thank me later and many years from now too.”

What does that even mean?

James continued with Y/n by his side until he got to an empty theater. He stopped at the double doors. “Alright, so . . . don’t worry about the premiere for a while. I can only stall for maybe an hour or thirty minutes, but still enjoy those minutes. Also you look good, hair is amazing, no lipstick in your teeth, you’re more than good.”

Y/n was beyond confused. What was James even saying?

“Stop right there. What’s going on? Please just tell me,” Y/n asked. “Is this like a surprise? Because I really don’t like surprises and I’m horrible with reactions to surprises.”

“It might be a surprise, but i promise you this is a good one so just go on in and forget you’re even at the premiere of your own movie that everyone is waiting to see!”

“That is not helping.”

But Y/n still went into the empty theater anyways. It was more curiosity than anything. As she entered, she saw that the theater wasn’t completely empty or dark.

“Hi.” She said, catching the attention of the man seated in the middle of the theater.

“I thought you forgot about me,” Cillian stood up from his seat. “you didn’t call, I thought I scared you off.”

“You didn’t! Sorry, I just . . . I didn’t really remember where I had put your number and I thought you were only being nice because I was drunk,” She admitted. “are you here for the premiere or filming?”

“I just wanted to see you.”

Holy shit, I think I am about to pass out

“You wanted to see . . me?”

“Is that surprising? I enjoyed our limited time together. I’m actually supposed be in filming, but I decided that Paris was a good little last minute trip. I made a few calls.” Cillian had come up to her.

“So you’re the reason why James was being so weird. I should’ve known.” She chuckled.

“Sorry about that, I didn’t want anyone to interrupt us and this seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I’m realizing that you probably want to be seated in the theater to watch-” Y/n stopped him.

“So, how are you liking Paris? This is only my second time being here.”

And in that moment, Cillian swore he fell more in love with her, the way she talked, how focused she was, but most of all, he loved the way his name sounded coming from her lips. It was like a sweet melody that he couldn’t get enough of.

“Cillian.”

For the next half hour, Y/n had completely forgotten about the premiere.

BARBENHEIMER TAGLIST

@thatgirlthatreadswattpad @leclercloml @probablypossesedbysatan @kittyrumbl3r @electrobutterfly @knpgituloh @butlersluvbot @captainwans @bellstwd @theekyliepage @marti-su @multifans-things @ceruleanrainblues @butterfly-skinnylegend @rockerchick05 @agustdpeach @celesteblack08 @cosniffee

[ladykailitha]

The Harrington Pattern Part 7

Hello! It's Tuesday and that means more Steve and Eddie. And it's looking like the story will end in chapter 12. It might take one more than that, but it's definitely almost done.

So what will that mean? Well, I'll start working on working on another story to bring it back up to two, but will still only work on the others on WIP Wednesday because I'm trying to get down the amount of WIPs I have running. I have far too many.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

Day two of the Fair. Will sees Steve and Steve reveals a little trick. And Steve has to be stern mom again.

@mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @redfreckledwolf @emly03 @itsall-taken

****

Steve picked up his usual set and went to the Renaissance Fair. This time they were the first to arrive and they stood there waiting for the rest of them to show up.

He had left the spirit gum with Mrs Sinclair and she was able to do an even better job then he had yesterday putting the ears back on.

The bow and quiver had been left behind today because sadly the poor bow had been a mangled, tangled mess by the time they left the fair yesterday.

Max and Robin’s cutlasses had fared better because they never left their sides, but even slung over Lucas’s shoulder, the poor aluminum just couldn’t bare the brunt of the crowds. And today was going to be even busier.

Steve looked at his watch and then back at the growing crowd waiting in line.

He tapped his foot nervously when he saw the familiar van pull into the lot. And the merry band of fellows hopped out, wearing the outfits they had yesterday. The ones that made Steve green with envy on how well they were put together.

It was like they had just walked off the set of a Hollywood movie.

He was good with a needle and thread, but whoever made their costumes should be making money off it, they were that talented.

Jeff came around to the other side of the van where Steve could see him and his ears looked great too.

“Looking good, Lawrence,” Steve whistled. “The ears are vastly improved.”

Jeff bowed dramatically. “Why thank you, my liege! I had my sister help me pick out the right color and type I needed and then I did it myself.”

Gareth snorted. “After practicing all night.”

Brian elbowed their youngest member. “It’s just like trying to get a beat right, you have to practice. Don’t give him shit for that.”

Gareth grumbled, but muttered a half-hearted apology to Jeff. The older teen just grinned at his friend.

Which after how crazy yesterday was, Steve wasn’t looking forward to a repeat if Jeff took offense to Gareth’s comment.

Eddie had been unusually quiet during this conversation, so while they milled around waiting for the remaining third of their group, Steve came up to him.

“Hey, you okay?” he asked, leaning down and forward to get a better look at the metalhead.

Eddie pursed his lips, but he nodded.

“You know, I have been dying to ask...”

Eddie smiled softly. “Who’s my tailor?”

Steve cackled. “Yeah, that. God, I would gleefully sacrifice one of the teenagers for the material alone, let alone the thread.”

“Which one?” Eddie asked, coming a little bit more out of his shell.

Steve reared back his head. “What?”

“Which one of the teenagers you would sacrifice?” Eddie asked again.

“Dustin,” Steve said without hesitation. “I figure virgin,” he counted on his fingers, “check, most annoying, check, and the one who would be the biggest... ‘value’ as it were, double check.”

Eddie laughed outright. “You don’t have to sacrifice any of them. Brian’s sister works at a big theater, the kind that do plays, as their costumer.”

Steve sighed and rubbed a bit of the black velvet between his thumb and forefinger. “You guys are so lucky.”

Eddie laughed again. “Trust me, even Bri had to pay for the privilege.”

Steve’s eyes lit up. “Oh?”

“Yup!” Eddie said, rocking back on his heels. “We had to pay for all the material and patterns ourselves, plus at least twenty-five percent of labor. These duds may be pretty, but lo they be also pricey.”

“Well, it was certainly worth it,” Steve murmured. “You guys look fantastic.”

Eddie’s cheeks colored a pretty pink. “Thanks. Um...mine is actually based on a character from a short story. Brian’s mom is Polish, but she loves sc-fi and fantasy so she gets this magazine, right?” Steve nodded. “So, anyway she’ll translate into English for Brian to read. It’s about this male witch and he has this minstrel friend named Jeskier...” he pronounced it strange, like yes-keer. “I’m probably pronouncing it wrong. But he’s so cool.”

“So you’re this minstrel guy?” Steve asked, suddenly understanding.

Eddie hummed excitedly. “Brian even went as one of the male witches. Not the main one though. But it’s still fun, you know?”

Steve smiled back. “Yeah. I never would have thought about going as a specific character before. Maybe we can plan something for next year.”

Whatever cloud leftover that was lingering over Eddie vanished in the light of Steve’s bright smile.

Eddie bumped his shoulder into Steve’s. “What’s on the docket today, pretty boy?”

Steve blushed bright red, but before he could answer, Claudia’s station wagon pulled up next to them. The four kids piled out, happily chatting and laughing. Well all but Mike.

Mike had always been a reserved kid, but as he got older, the more withdrawn he seemed to get. Will seemed to do the opposite. The kid was really coming out of his shell and into himself. And maybe that was the reason for Mike’s shrinking back.

Steve just shook his head and turned to Will. “Still no Jonathan?” he teased.

Will rolled his eyes. “He said and I quote ‘I’ll see about maybe Saturday’.”

Steve winced. He couldn’t make Jonathan come, but he could see how much Jonathan coming would mean so much to Will and it made his heart hurt just a little.

“Can’t force someone to have fun,” he said with a shrug. “It really is his loss.”

Will nodded sagely, like the mature person he was forced to become far too soon. “But! He did give me the ten dollars I needed for the staff to make up for it.”

Steve smiled. All right, maybe Steve didn’t have to stop by and give the elder Byers boy a piece of his mind.

He turned to Eddie. “Hey, you want to traverse the fields of commerce with me and Will to go get his staff?”

Eddie grinned. “Hell yeah! I didn’t get to go yesterday.”

Will grinned back. He turned to El and Mike. “You going to come with me. right?”

Mike shook his head. “El wanted to see the weavers this morning, but no one else wanted to go with her and with Steve’s dumb rule...”

“It’s not dumb,” Steve said. “Just because the Upside Down is gone, doesn’t mean there aren’t things that can hurt you.”

“We’re fifteen,” Mike protested. “I think that’s old enough to go by ourselves.”

Steve looked around at the other kids and they were all looking everywhere but at him. “May I remind you that we are literally standing on the ground where human monsters were trying to open a gate? Bad guys come in all shapes and sizes and even if you think you’re safe, is El? Or Will?”

The kids looked down at their feet and mumbled their apologies.

“I just want everyone safe and having a good time,” Steve finished. “You guys can do whatever you want, but do you know who your parents would blame if something happened to you?”

Dustin raised his head sharply. “But there are other adults here, why would they blame you?”

Steve barked out a bitter laugh. “Because I’m the fucking babysitter.” He walked off to get in line and everyone just followed behind quietly, suddenly somber.

Robin fell in step next to Steve and wrapped her arm around his shoulder. “Hey, dingus.”

Steve just ducked his head.

“It’s just a tricky age. You remember what it was like at their age,” she murmured.

“I was getting drunk every weekend, smoking, and having sex,” Steve grumbled. “I don’t want that for them.”

Robin kissed his cheek. “You’re sweet. But they’re going to have to figure it out on their own.”

Steve’s shoulders rounded. “I just want to them to have fun and we keep having knock out drag out fights before we go in and I–” he left out a deep sigh.

“You can’t be held responsible for what they do,” she said.

He snorted. “Tell that to Joyce or Claudia. Just because I’m the oldest.”

She hugged him tightly. “You’re not anymore and you know Eddie would do anything for those kids, too. Plus, this is exactly why you told them to find any adult. Let all of us help shoulder the load, too.”

Steve let out a low shuddering breath. “I’ll try. I just keep butting heads with Mike. Always Mike. And I don’t know what to do, he’s just so prickly and even outright hostile.”

“So don’t do anything,” Robin suggested.

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Let Eddie handle it,” she said. “He did a fine job yesterday. So let him do it again.”

Steve pressed his lips together and then nodded. “Okay.”

She kissed his cheek again and went back to talk to Eddie. Steve paid again for the tickets. Well, not all of them. Thankfully Eddie and his friends were paying their own way.

He turned to Will. “You ready to go get your staff?” He smiled broadly to hide the hurt of Mike’s rebellion.

Will smiled back. “Hell yeah!”

Eddie came bounding up to them. “I’ll meet you at the shop, there’s something I need to do really quick about tomorrow. They’ve messed up the schedule and me and Jeff have to go see someone about it.”

Steve nodded. “Yeah, just ask Jeff where the shop is, he should remember which one.”

Eddie smiled again. “You betcha, big boy.” He flounced back to Jeff and Steve watched him walk away.

When he turned back to Will, the young man was looking at him with curiosity.

“What’s up?”

Will furrowed his brows. “I’m trying to decide if you know about...” he pursed his lips trying to find a way to say what he meant without outing Steve in public. “What you feel about a certain someone?”

Steve looked back at where Eddie had melted into the crowd and then back at this all too perceptive boy. He put his arm around Will and started them walking toward the shop.

“If you’re asking what I think you’re asking,” Steve started slowly, “I’ve known I like both for awhile now. It was just easier to focus on the one. The one that was socially acceptable, you know?”

Will nodded. “I can see that. And then he came barreling into our lives and a good kind of upside down happened?”

Steve smiled fondly. “Yeah. He is so sweet. He’s everything I thought I wanted in Nancy.”

Will grinned. “You do have a type.”

He scuffed Will’s hair a bit. “Yeah, yeah.”

They walked in silence for awhile before Steve spoke up again.

“I feel I should give you a heads up before we get to the shop,” he said with a wince.

Will looked over at him in confusion.

“I may have talked the merchant in to holding it for you by giving them a ten dollar deposit to hold it.”

Will’s jaw dropped. “You can do that?”

Steve laughed. “No, not really. By I can be persuasive and he was willing to do me the favor.”

“Thanks, Steve,” Will murmured. “You’ve done so much for us, I think we take you for granted sometimes.”

Steve half shrugged. “My parents suck and while some of you have actually decent parents and older siblings, I don’t mind being the babysitter the one you guys look up to and come to for advice.”

Will smiled. “Any tips on how to tell your best friend you have a crush on them?”

Steve threw back his head and laughed. “Look, the one time I did that I was drugged up on truth serum and literally couldn’t lie. I don’t think that’s going to help you.”

“Too bad Robin bats for the other team,” he said with a smile.

Steve smiled back. “Nah, I think her telling me that is what made it easier for me to realize that having those feelings can’t make you a bad person. Not when she was so amazing.”

Will cocked his head to the side. “That’s fair.”

“Come on you,” Steve said, “let’s go get you this wizard staff.”

Will stopped in his tracks. “You said it right. You never say the DnD terms right.”

Steve raised a finger up to his lips and winked. “I do it because it drives Dustin up the wall and Eddie just loves explaining it to me, so I kill two birds with one stone.”

Will laughed. “Yeah, okay.”

As they wove their way through the crowd, Will smiled to himself. Steve and Eddie both liked boys, knew they liked boys, and were still unapologetically themselves. And maybe he could be too.

But first, he was going to get that wicked staff he saw yesterday because he had two brothers looking out for him. His biological one and Steve. Someone who cared so deeply that even when he should have walked away, he stayed.

And Will always could use more people that just...stayed.

****

Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13

For those that don't know "The Witcher" was an original short story in a Polish sci-fi/magazine in 1985. I couldn't figure out if Jeskier was in the original tale, so shush if he isn't.

Tag List: @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @messrs-weasley @chaoticlovingdreamer @maya-custodios-dionach @danili666 @goodolefashionedloverboi @val-from-lawrence @i-must-potato @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog @justforthedead89 @vecnuthy @irregular-child @bookbinderbitch @bookworm0690 @anne-bennett-cosplayer @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1 @littlewildflowerkitten @genderless-spoon @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @dragonmama76 @scheodingers-muppet @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt @useless-nb-bisexual @thespaceantwhowrites @paintgonewrong @mogami13 @beelze-the-bubkiss @croatoan-like-its-hot @retro-vagabond @sani-86 @pansexuality-activated @y4r3luv @dauntlessdiva @vampire-eddie-brain-rot

[tkwrites]

Better - Quinn Hughes x Sarah (ofc)

Photo from Pinterest

Title: Better

Author: Tory / @tkwrites 

Relationship: Quinn Hughes x Sarah (OFC) 

Warnings: Swearing

Summary: Sequel to First Fight, Sarah meets Brady and Emma and is thrown into the world of hockey outside the rink. Jack and Luke hear about their relationship in a less than favorable way. 

Word Count: 3,000

Comments: I had so much fun writing the last little bit of this. It just flowed out like water. I hope you enjoy it. Also, I have a pretty basic understanding of cephalopods, and I have no idea if people do research like this with octopus, so please take it with a grain of salt. 

Let me know what you think and if there’s anything you’d like to see in their little universe! 

Better

A Quinn & Sarah Snapshot

They set up the dinner. Brady and Emma would come to Quinn’s for drinks before they went down the street to De Beppe, Quinn’s favorite Italian place in the city, which happened to be within walking distance of his apartment. 

Sarah was in one of the living room club chairs, looking so lovely. When he’d picked her up twenty minutes before, he’d lost his breath for a moment. She was in a dark green dress that sang against her skin, and pulled her eyes to a kind of teal blue. It accentuated her figure, and he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

He was setting things out at the bar, when she stood suddenly. Her low heels clicked on the hardwood floor as she walked to him. He didn’t try to hide his stare. 

“Pour me a shot." 

He laughed. 

“I’m serious, Quinn. Pour me a shot.” 

“I thought you don't like shots.” 

She’d been adamant about that at the movie theater when they’d been discussing which drinks to get. She liked something mixed, preferably fruity. 

“I don't,” she turned around and began to pace, “I’m just nervous and it’ll take the edge off.” 

Quinn walked around the bar and wrapped his arms around her. 

“You don’t need to be nervous,” he said, “Brady and Emma are great.” 

“They’re your first friends I’m meeting for real, like not just in passing. You’ve already met my roommates.” Her roommates weren’t really on the same par as Quinn’s childhood best friend, but they were the closest she had in the city. 

He hummed in agreement. “It’s going to be fine.” 

After fighting and making up, many of Quinn’s fears had been put to bed. He still wanted their opinion, but he felt more comfortable in his own decision now. She had pointed out something he did wrong without name calling, or tearing him down, and had taken responsibility - though she hadn't done much wrong - for her part in the argument. It was something June had never done. 

He ran his hand up and down her back trying to soothe her. The soft feel of her dress had him thinking about taking it off again. 

“You look really beautiful tonight,” he said, “did I tell you that?” 

“You did,” she said, smiling. 

He smelled especially good. It was possible that he smelled exactly the same as usual and her nerves were just heightening her senses.

Before he could follow through with kissing her, his phone trilled in his pocket. 

She started and then laughed at herself. 

He let them up and Sarah tugged at her dress before smoothing it over her hips. Internally, his knees buckled. 

The elevator dinged and Quinn opened the door. 

A very tall man walked in with a big smile and a big voice, “Quinner!” 

They hugged fiercely. She could tell they were best friends even if she hadn't known. It was sweet to watch their reunion.

A very pretty blonde stepped around them and walked to Sarah with a kind smile. “Hi, I'm Emma.” 

“Sarah,” she said, not sure if they should hug, or shake hands. She wished there was something between the two. 

“You must be Sarah,” Brady said, practically bounding over to her. 

She wondered how such a loud, happy, golden retriever of a man could be best friends with Quinn, who was happy, but quiet about it. 

“Can I hug you?” he asked, “we're huggers.” 

Laughing, she nodded and hugged him before embracing Emma. 

Leaving the girls to talk in the living room, Brady followed Quinn to the bar. “Dude,” he said quietly. 

Quinn felt himself smile. 

“Where did you even find her?” He knew the answer, of course. They'd talked for more than an hour the day before and Quinn had given him the lowdown on what had happened in their relationship thus far. 

“I know,” Quinn said. 

“Y’know,” Brady said, glancing over at her, “she looks a little like Jameson Grady.”

Jameson was the it girl Quinn had pined for in high school. Brady had seen all of those years and liked to bring them up frequently. 

“Yeah, I guess she does, a bit,” he agreed. He hadn’t noticed before, but they both had dark hair, light eyes and full hips. Sarah, however, was much kinder than Jameson had ever been. He couldn’t imagine a world where Sarah would laugh in someone's face if they asked her out. 

“Brady told me you work at the aquarium?” Emma asked as they looked over the harbor skyline.

“Yeah, I do research with one of the octopus there for my masters program.” Sarah said, “what do you do?” 

“Charity work, mostly,” she said with a big smile. “It’s difficult to have a consistent job with Brady’s schedule.” 

Sarah nodded, worry edging into her mind. Was she expected to give up her work for Quinn? Was that the good WAG thing to do? 

The boys came over then, Quinn with a rum cranberry for her. She couldn’t remember telling him it was her favorite drink. Maybe she’d rambled it at the bar on their first date. She was touched, he remembered. 

They talked for a while before their dinner reservation. The conversation soon devolved into Brady telling embarrassing stories about a fifteen year old Quinn living on his own for the first time while Quinn blushed and looked chagrined. 

“And then, before we knew it, there was butter all over the kitchen,” Brady said, making a huge exploding gesture with his arms. 

“In my defense,” Quinn said, holding up his hands, “I didn’t know I was supposed to unwrap it before.” 

Sarah giggled, but wondered how she would have survived moving away from home at fifteen. She barely handled the three hour move to college when she was eighteen. 

Walking to the restaurant in the cool spring mist, Quinn held Sarah’s hand and tried not to think about who might be watching them on the street. Being so obviously on a double date, he didn’t want to set the fangirls ablaze trying to figure out who Sarah was. June had such an online presence before they were together that fans had instantly glommed onto her. June had welcomed the new followers.

Sarah was far more private - he’d had to request to follow her on Instagram - and he didn’t want to throw her into something she didn’t want. 

They were seated at a table in the back corner of the restaurant. A few people watched them sit down, but true to Brady’s prediction, no one stopped them on their walk in.  

They ordered a bottle of wine and appetizers and settled in for a long evening meal. 

“Is it just me, or are those people staring at us?” Sarah asked Emma over her wine glass. 

Emma glanced over. “They are,” she said, matter of factly. 

“Why?” 

“They’re probably trying to figure out if Quinn is actually Quinn,” she said. 

“It’s so weird,” Sarah said, “I never would have guessed he would be considered famous.” 

Emma leveled a look at her that instantly made Sarah giggle, “He plays for a Canadian hockey team. It’s like religion up here.” 

“Do you think they’ll come over?” she asked. 

“Probably not. Most fans are pretty respectful. Every once in a while, someone will stop us on the street, but hardly ever in a restaurant. The hardest thing to get used to is the staring while people are trying to figure out if it's actually them.” 

“So, Sarah,” Brady cut in once Emma was done speaking, “tell us about your research.” 

“Oh,” she paused to take a sip of wine. “I’m studying cephalopod social dynamics, specifically in octopus. Even though Octopus don’t live in clusters, they’re the smartest of their genus, so they’re a little easier to study as they’re not so baseline limbic.” 

Brady stared at her. He’d always known Quinn was attracted to someone’s mind as well as their looks, but this was wild. She got this bright twinkle in her eyes as she spoke, and even though he had no idea what she was saying, he wanted to know more.  

“Can you say again in layman's terms?” he asked. 

“Oh, sorry,” she said, flushing a pretty shade of pink, “I get into research mode sometimes, and talk like I’m presenting at a conference. Basically, I study how octopus relate to things in their environment, including other octopus, fish and even me. Walter and I have formed a kind of friendship and I study how he reacts when I change something like my hair, or wear different perfume, or come into the research lab sad.” 

“He can tell all those things?” 

“Yeah. Octopus are extremely smart and aware of their surroundings. There are a few really interesting documentaries about people who live with or visit octopus for years and the bonds they form. Other cephalopods aren’t so aware, so they’re not as exciting to study.”  

The way Quinn looked at her while she talked spoke volumes to Brady. It was too soon for them to throw the word around, but love was on the horizon. 

“How does he tell you’re sad?” Emma asked. 

“Well, there are visual cues of course, but that’s one of the things I’m researching now. Octopus experience most of their world through their suction cups. They have nerves and taste buds in every one that are much more advanced than our own, so I’m forming a hypothesis asking if he can sense my mood via hormones on my skin. I’m also recording how he reacts generally. He tends to be more subdued when I am, and I’m not sure if he’s mirroring me, or trying to comfort me in some way.” 

“How do you even study that?” Brady asked. 

“Observation, mostly,” she said. “I’ve noticed that if I come into the lab happy, especially if I’m singing or if I say hello to him in an excited way, he races in his tank to greet me.” 

“That is so cool,” Emma said, “I had no idea they were so intelligent.” 

“I want to go through the aquarium with you so you can tell us about everything in there,” Brady said.

Sarah laughed, “ I don’t know about that. I know a lot of useless information about the ocean.” 

Brady glanced at Emma and they shared a private little conversation with their eyes. He was beaming when he looked at Quinn. 

“So, what do you do outside of hockey?”

“Can we go for gelato?” Emma asked when they left the restaurant. “I saw a place on the way here.” 

They agreed and started down the street. Brady hung back to walk with Sarah. Quinn took the hint and caught up with Emma. 

Sarah took a deep breath. She’d yet to have a one on one conversation with Brady. It was clear Quinn loved him a lot, and she wanted to make a good impression. Sated with good wine, an amazing meal and good conversation, she felt more comfortable than she had at the beginning of the night. She was instantly glad Brady waited until now to talk to her. 

“So, what do you think?” she asked. 

Brady appreciated that she didn’t beat around the bush. 

“I mean, I can tell you're better for him than any of his past girlfriends,” Brady said as they walked. 

“Really?” she asked. She hadn’t expected him to be so forthcoming right off the bat.

“Oh yeah. You're way more steady than June.”

“Who's June?”

Brady gulped. He probably shouldn't be the one revealing Quinn's dating history, but he liked Sarah, and he liked who Quinn was with Sarah. 

“His most recent girlfriend. They were on and off for like a year and a half. He called it off for good at the beginning of the season. She was a pretty standard NHL girlfriend: model, blonde,” he said.

"Standard?" her eyes flew wide as Sarah tried to talk herself down from the self doubt pouring into her system by the gallon. She couldn't be farther from a blonde model. 

Brady picked up on her distress right away, “oh I didn't mean…” he trailed off. “Shit, Sarah, I didn't mean anything by that. Just that she was kind of a blank slate. I hated her.”

“You did? Why?”

“I always felt like she was just dating Quinn for clout, to get her name out there, but he couldn’t ever see it. It turned into this whole thing. Emma and I both hated her. She was just so obsessed with herself and how she looked. And Quinn’s not like that, you know? He’d wear the same outfit every day if he could.” 

She snorted. Every time she saw Quinn, he was in a variation of three outfits: jeans and a jacket, athletic wear, or a game day suit. 

“It was just a bad match, but it took him a while to see that,” Brady said.

Sarah nodded. 

“Anyway,” Brady gestured widely. “All I’m saying is that I can tell you’re better for him than June, or any of the girls he dated in high school or college. You get him. And you compliment each other. And you're just nice and easy to talk to. I can tell you make him really happy." 

“That's so nice Brady, thank you. He makes me really happy." 

The wide grin Brady gave her in response made her feel all warm and mushy inside. It felt like reaching the top of a summit to gain Quinn's friends' trust. 

"Have you slept together?" Emma asked. 

Quinn shot a look at her, wide eyed and scandalized. 

She shoved his shoulder gently, "oh, come on. You know Brady wants to know. He won't ask you, so I said I would."

A laugh lit up his face. 

"So have you?" 

Cheeks flushing pink, Quinn nodded. 

"Was it good?" 

He'd wanted to tell someone about it, but sex wasn't really something he ever discussed with his friends. 

"So good," he admitted, "like, almost spiritual."

Her eyes widened, "on the first try?" 

"Technically the second," he corrected. "The first try was two strokes and done." 

She giggled, "don't tell him I told you but Brady was that same way our first time too." 

A few days later, Quinn was on the phone with Sarah when Jack called. He ignored it in favor of calling him back when they were done, but he called again right after. “Hey. I have to go,” he said, feeling panic edge into his consciousness, “Jack is calling me a bunch.” 

“Okay, I miss you,” she said. 

“I miss you, too.” 

Quinn answered the facetime call, “what’s wrong? Did something happen?” The last time Jack had called like this, Luke had been hurt. 

Jack was glaring into the phone, a perfectly healthy looking Luke sitting next to him on what looked like a hotel room couch. “Fuck yes, something happened.”

“What?” 

“I found out from Brady fucking Tkachuk that you have a girlfriend?” 

Fuck. 

They got together to call him at the same time? He was in some deep shit. 

“What the hell, Quinn?” Luke asked. 

“When did Brady tell you?” It was the wrong question, but he needed to know. 

“We play the Sens tomorrow, and he comes up to me in the practice facility today all, ‘what do you think of Sarah?’ and I was like, ‘who’s Sarah?’ and then he told me that she’s your fucking girlfriend!” Jack yelled. 

Luke leaned away from the noise with a wince.

Quinn grimaced. “Technically, she’s not my girlfriend,” he said. 

“Bullshit! You didn’t even tell us you were dating someone! I thought we were close, Quinn!” 

A heavy sigh moved Quinn's chest, “I just… I wanted to make sure before I told anyone else.” 

“Mom knows,” Luke cut in. 

Fuck. 

“I asked her and she said she knew you were dating someone, but didn’t know it was that serious.” 

He’d called her for advice when he found out Sarah’s mom had died. Both his parents had experience with grief he didn’t. It just so happened his mom had picked up first. 

“I…” What could he say? 

They glared at him through the phone some more. 

“I didn’t want to keep it from you,” he said. 

“Well, you didn’t tell us!” Luke said. 

“I just… since June I wanted Brady to meet her before I told anyone else.” 

“Why?” 

“Because he was the only one who told me he didn’t like June!” 

An awkward blanket of silence settled over all three of them. 

“I didn’t want to tell anyone I was seeing someone if it was going to turn into another June.” As he said it, Quinn knew it was an excuse that didn’t really hold up. Sarah was so different from June that he shouldn’t have been comparing them at all. Brady even said so when they talked after their double date. He’d just been scared.

“And is it?” Jack asked. 

“No,” he admitted, “she’s really great and I think we could go all the way.” It was the first time he’d dared to say it out loud. 

“How long have you been dating?” Luke asked, incredulous.

“Two months.” 

“Two fucking months?” Jack repeated, raking a hand into his hair, “Quinn, why didn’t you tell us?” 

“I’m sorry, okay? I fucked up. I won’t keep it from you anymore.” 

“You better not,” Jack said, glaring in a slightly softer way. “I want to see a picture of her.” 

Quinn pulled one up from their walk three days previous and sent it to Luke. The sun had been setting, and the golden light had been so lovely, she asked to stop and take a selfie. 

Luke held up his phone and Jack’s eyes widened. The way Quinn was smiling in that picture told him everything he needed to know. 

“She’s pretty,” Luke said. 

“Yeah,” Quinn agreed. 

Jack was blinking silently in a way that Quinn found unnerving. 

Finally he managed to say something, “what does she do?” 

“She’s getting her masters in marine zoology at UBC and she does research at the aquarium.” 

Jack felt like he’d been struck over the head. Not because Quinn had kept something this important from him, or because Sarah was unlike anyone he would have picked for his brother. He felt dumbfounded by the fact that he knew, in a way he could feel in his bones, everything was about to change.

Want more Quinn & Sarah? Check out the Snapshots Masterlist

To read all my fics, check out the Fanfiction Masterlist

[10byten]

❄️ Jeong Christmas Eve ❄️

Summary : your boyfriend is trying to convince you to come with him at this christmas family diner. He bought you a special gift for this occasion.

Genre/Warnings : romance, established relationship, Jaehyun is like totally crazy about you, smut (masturbation), some praising words for his "good girl".

Words : 2.5k

Dating someone from a completely different culture can be tricky, especially when it comes to family. And with Koreans? Yeah, that can be a whole other level of drama. You’ve been with your boyfriend, Jaehyun, for years now, and his family? Let’s just say they’ve made it very clear they’re not your biggest fans. Family gatherings are always tense—like they lowkey wish you’d just disappear. But Jaehyun? He doesn’t care. He’s head-over-heels obsessed with you and insists on bringing you along every time.

This Christmas is no different. He’s dead set on you joining him for the family dinner.

“Jae, babe, come on. It’s just gonna be awkward for everyone. Seriously, just go hang with your family. We’ll be back to our normal chaos in two days anyway,” you say, trying to reason with him.

“But it won’t feel the same if you’re not there.” He’s already pouting, leaning against the table. “You know I’m not backing down on this. You’re the most important part of my life now. I don’t care if they like it or not—they’ll just have to deal.”

You sigh, giving him a side-eye with a smirk. “Why is this even a thing? We’re doing our Christmas tonight, and you’ve already spoiled me with presents. I don’t need to be there.”

Jaehyun smirks back and leans closer, flicking a strand of your hair with his fingers. His voice drops to that low, teasing tone that always gets you.

“Oh, but the gift I’m giving you tonight?” he says, his lips brushing your ear. “It’s gonna change this whole trip.”

You know exactly what that tone means. When Jaehyun gets like this, it’s always about one thing. Your curiosity is piqued, though—what could he possibly have planned? Especially something spicy while surrounded by his disapproving family. Knowing Jae, it could be anything.

When it comes to physical stuff, you and Jae are absolutely unhinged. PDA? That’s your middle name. Whether you’re out at dinner, walking the streets, or literally anywhere, Jae has no problem pulling you into his lap or pinning you against a wall for a long, heated kiss. And behind closed doors? Well, let’s just say “closed doors” don’t even matter half the time.

You’ve hooked up in public more times than you can count—movie theaters, fancy restaurant bathrooms, his car, even at a pool once. There was that one time in the bathroom of an apartment you were supposed to be touring while the real estate agent was just outside. You and Jae have this fire that never dies down. Why hold back when the only thing stopping you is, well, nothing?

The way he looks at you, the way he wants you all the time—it’s addictive. He loves making it obvious you’re his, and you love it just as much. Every touch, every kiss, every heated moment is just... perfect. Watching you lose yourself to him? That’s his favorite thing in the world.

You raise an eyebrow at him, still unsure what he’s scheming. “So, is this gift for me... or for you?”

He grins. “Both. Trust me, you’ll love it. And I’ll love seeing you use it.”

You narrow your eyes, pretending to be suspicious, but you’re already intrigued. “Okay, but you don’t seriously expect us to fuck in your parents’ house? They barely tolerate me as it is.”

Jae laughs, standing up and walking away from the table. Your glass of wine is still in your hand as you watch him grab something from his bag. He comes back with a neatly wrapped gift in shiny red paper.

“It’s not exactly that,” he says, handing it to you with that mischievous grin you know all too well.

When you open it, you discover a small vibrator with a connected remote control. Jae knows perfectly well that you're a clitoral girl and didn't hesitate for a moment when he saw this while browsing on a specialized site. He's been talking about buying you gods so you can send him videos of you having fun when he's away on business.

“My princess should never be left wanting,” Jaehyun says, his voice low and teasing. “The fact that you use these instead of your fingers when I’m not around? It’s like I’m still taking care of you, even from a distance. It’s my way of... participating.”

You bite your lip, already smiling. “You’re actually amazing, you know that?” you reply, leaning in to kiss him softly. “Thank you.” But as the words leave your mouth, you pull back, raising an eyebrow. “Okay, but what does any of this have to do with your family? Jae, don’t tell me you’re expecting me to use this there.”

Jaehyun doesn’t answer immediately. Instead, he leans in again, his lips capturing yours in a kiss that’s anything but gentle. It’s hot, urgent, and laced with so much desire that you barely notice when he tugs on your bottom lip with his teeth before pulling away.

“Of course not, my love,” he says, his grin anything but innocent. “I don’t want you to use it. I want you to wear it during dinner. I’ll have the remote. You’ll stay focused, keeping your cool, trying not to let anything slip... and I’ll make sure you’re so into it, you won’t even realize the time passing. Trust me—it’ll be the best Christmas dinner of your life. Literally.”

You stare at him, absolutely dumbfounded. Like, you know Jae is different. He’s the most exciting person you’ve ever been with—not just because of how insanely good-looking he is (because, duh, he’s Jaehyun), but because of the way his mind works. He’s always pushing your boundaries, pulling you deeper into this wild, exhilarating world that the two of you have created together. And honestly? You’d do anything for him. Anything.

But this? With his family?

Your mind races. Is this just another level of his obsession with you? Like, is his desire for you so overwhelming that he’s willing to risk crossing a line with his own parents? Or is this some kind of long-buried fantasy he’s been dying to play out? You can’t help but wonder what’s really driving him.

“I’m so crazy about you,” he says finally, his voice dropping an octave, eyes locked on yours. “I want them to know that when it comes to you, I have no limits. Not even theirs. I'd fuck you on the table in the middle of my mother's and aunt's dishes if it would make them understand that you're the woman of my life and I don't give a damn about their opinions."

That pretty much answers the question swirling in your head. You stare at him, like really stare, amazed at how the two of you never seem to run out of this insane, all-consuming hunger for each other. It’s intense. Every. Single. Time.

“Okay,” you say, your voice soft but firm. “Do whatever you want with me. You know I’d do anything for you.”

His eyes light up instantly, and the smirk that spreads across his face? Yeah, that’s pure smugness. He looks so damn proud of himself.

“Knew I’d get you to say yes,” he says, leaning in a little closer. His voice drops, lower now, smoother. “I knew my sweet girl wouldn’t ever say no to me. You’re not the type to refuse your daddy anything... or mess up my plans, are you?”

He slowly slides his fingers down your throat and squeezes gently, pulling on them forcing you to tilt your head. He positions himself just above your face and his gaze darkens.

"I know you're already getting wet for me, I know you're already desperate for me to fuck your needy lil pussy. I know hearing me tell you how much I want you and love you makes you completely horny. Open your mouth my love and get your due.

You answer with a simple look filled with tears of suffocation, your eyes crying out with love and longing. At this moment, you want nothing more in the world than for him to destroy you as only he knows how. You know exactly what Jae is going to do and you can't wait. You open your mouth slowly and stick out your tongue slightly. He smiles, as if to tell you that you're the most perfect thing in the world, and spits into your mouth.

"Swallow."

You do exactly as you're told the second his grip eases on your throat.

His hand moves to the back of your neck, pulling you up into a kiss. You let out a soft moan, completely lost in him. The way you burn for this man—he’ll never fully get how crazy he makes you.

His other hand moves down your body to your bottom, which he grabs firmly. You want more and you know he does too, because you can feel the big guy in his tracksuit touching your lower abdomen. He lifts you in his arms to lay you on the floor of his living room.

"Just show me one last time how well you know how to use your fingers before you only use your new toy."

He stands up and sits on his knees in front of you, holding your legs spread around his thighs. You look like a soul that's lost to his master. You're totally under his spell. You slide your hand down your dress and lift it up. You're about to take off your tanga when he stops you. "No, put your hand into your panties. I want to see you do it like it's your first time." You blush and nod in agreement. You let your fingers slip into your panties and start to stroke your clitoris, which is already slippery with all the wetness Jae has been provoking in you for several minutes. You let out a little cry as your finger touches your pussy. Jae bit his lips and pulled down his jogging bottoms, grabbing his cock and stroking it up and down.

"Since I've been with you I've only jerked off when I'm away from you. Even when you're not sleeping with me, I prefer to wait until I'm with you to relieve my urges, because you're the only object of my desires, I can't watch porn anymore, I'm obsessed with your body, I can't stop thinking about you. But to jerk off while watching you touch yourself like two teenagers discovering each other's bodies, my God, I've never experienced such an erotic moment. Every time I think you can't make me lose my mind any more, but you're the most sexual being I've ever met, Y/n your body was created for love, to be the object of desire and devotion".

You squeeze your eyes shut and turn your head away, a desperate little moan slipping out—like you're trying to escape his words, but they’ve already wrapped around your mind and set it on fire. He strokes your thigh and carries on jerking off, watching your panties darken as they come into contact with your arousal.

You know he’s obsessed, his eyes glued to your body, tracing every curve, every shift of your panties as they follow your movements like a magnet he can’t resist.

He knows you're starting to build up power and wants to make both your pleasures last. He leans over and kisses your cleavage, then whispers, "Put a finger in yourself. I want to see you penetrate." You stop and let out a little whimper. You know Jae is trying to slow you down. He knows you like penetration, but that you cum faster through your clit. You make a pouty face, and he responds with a cheeky grin. "Do as you're told and you'll get what you want, sweetie." His words send you back into a state of bliss. You really want to please him, and you clench your vagina around your fingers every time you move. He lets out a grunt at the sight of your expression and your thighs tightening around him. He knows you're enjoying yourself, and that's what gives him the most pleasure. "My girl can take her fingers out of her pussy and go back to fingering herself the way she likes it." He keeps jerking off and takes hold of your hip, squeezing it between his fingers.

"You're so good my love, you're so beautiful I'm the luckiest man with such a precious flower as you in my hands". You look at him and a tear falls, a mixture of pleasure and sensitivity at hearing his words.

How did you end up meeting someone who's so in love with you? He's your essence. You arch your back and your chest rises quickly, and Jae knows that this means you're about to reach climax. "Go ahead, my love. Cum for me. I know you enjoy this." He quickens the pace and ejaculates almost immediately, grunting softly and moaning your name as he squirts onto your inner thighs, close to your vagina. You feel his hot semen splash over your body and drip down your thigh towards your pussy, which you're still touching. He looks at you, his eyes crinkled with tiredness and satisfaction, his forehead wet and his cheeks rosy, with a slight smile on his lips. He looks like a teenager who's just had a satisfying experience, gazing at you with eyes full of admiration and love. And then he whispers, "I love you," followed by an orgasm that takes your breath away and makes you moan louder than ever. You scream Jae's name in a last breath. And then you take your hand away from your soaked panties and put it on your chest, where you're still breathing heavily. Jae leans over you and kisses your pussy, then licks your panties. He looks at you and says, "I want to feel you on my tongue for a while." You let out a little cry when he touches his tongue to your swollen clitoris. Then he comes up and takes you in his arms. You turn to face him and kiss him. "I love you too," you say.

He smiles, "enough to wear any accessory to my family dinner".

"Yes, enough to wear any of your craziness to a dinner party with your family," you burst out laughing.

"So was it a pendant?"

"No, it was a little bit, because I know that imagining what's going to happen tomorrow was way too exciting for you, as it was for me, the first vibration would have automatically sent you to heaven, if we had to contain ourselves until then, I would have gone crazy on the doorstep," he said, laughing too.

"Also because I know my neighbour is smoking in his window and I caught him looking at you the last time you were walking around in your underwear, I want him to know that you're absolutely not available".

You straddle him and kiss him wildly.

"If that's what it was all about, you should have fucked me against the window to get the message clear".

He looks at you, a gleam of fascination in his eyes, he finds you incredible, he stands up to kiss you again, "that's an idea, yes, I'll think about it".

--------------------------------------------------------

Hope you enjoyed it. Was my first shot ! Let me know what u think about it and if you'd like to read a part two.

I probably try another member on next time.

[lantanasmuttyfanfics]

Daring x Lizzie (darizzie??) pretty pleaseeee

I was feeling very pissed of when I wrote this so hope you enjoy some good angst

Anyway when I tell you that I’m fricking excited to share all the fics I’ve written from old and new commissions I mean it

Hope you have a good dayyy!!

————————

Duchess Swan would smirk as she twirled her way into the movie theater. For once she would feel like she was more important, more favored, more fortunate than her fellow peers at Ever After. That was because she had a date with the most desired prince at school, Daring Charming.

Those were the words found in Duchess’s messily discarded diary that lay open on her bed, and that was what Lizzie Hearts saw as she walked into her shared dorm after a long day of boring, unwonderlandifull classes.

Lizzie stared at the diary in confusion at first, she couldn’t quite comprehend the last part. It was as if her mind was refusing to acknowledge the words, but once it did a burst of pure, jealous rage ignited in her.

She was Lizzie Hearts. The daughter of the queen of hearts and the heir to the hearts throne. How dare some low life like that useless swan claim that she was going out with her boyfriend. If she wanted to lie for attention then Lizzie would just have to prove her wrong.

She promptly gathered her things and marched out of the dorm, her eyes wild to anyone who dared to look. And she was glad for that, she didn’t have time to stop and deal with morons who thought that they were worthy of her time.

Making her way down the stairs she quickly found Dexter and Raven sitting together by the big grand doors entrance. “Dexter!” The prince whirled around in a panic his eyes quickly finding the enraged princess.

“Yeah?” His voice was hesitant and Raven was quick to stand by his side as Lizzie approached. “Where is your brother?” Dexter shrugged while looking at Raven, Lizzie gritted her teeth as she turned away without an other word only to be stopped by a feminine voice.

“I saw him go in the direction of the movie theater. I think some girl was also with him.” Lizzie quickly swirled to find Rosabella Beauty feeding a couple of squirrels. At the mention of a girl that anger brewed deeper and deeper.

“Thank you Rosabella.” With that she quickly ran onto the theaters path, her mind wandering to all sorts of possibilities. All being worse and more mad than the other.

Once she had made it to the theater she purchased a ticket for whatever movie was playing tonight and went to find that stupid swan. The movie hall was much more crowded than she expected, but luckily the movie had already begun and everyone was sat.

She surveyed around looking between pairs of couples like Ashlynn and Hunter, Bunny and Alistair, Humphrey and Jillian. She ignored them and looked between each row, her already thin patience becoming nearly non existent.

But atlas she found her. Duchess Swan, true to her word was sitting in a love seat with none other than Daring Charming. The prince had his arm around her shoulders and she giggling at something he whispered in her ear.

Lizzie froze just steps behind them, she felt her heart squeeze as if someone was tearing it apart. It was a sort of pain that she thought she’d never experience but here she was. Taking a silent staggering breath, Lizzie stumbled back nearly losing her balance as she felt hot tears prick her eyes.

“Oh Lizzie! Sit here!” Lizzie barely heard Bunny’s voice as at that moment Daring turned around and gazed directly in her eyes. It seemed as if they stared into each others eyes for eternity, in his she could see panic and recognition and she hoped that in hers he saw the hurt and betrayal she felt.

Without an other word she pivoted on her heel, digging her nails into her palms to keep the tears at bay. She ignored the look Bunny and Alistair gave her and instead practically ran for the exit. From behind she faintly heard Daring say some lame excuse to Duchess as he to stood.

Lizzie stumbled outside the theater, finally letting her tears flow freely as she slumped against a tree. Sobs wracked through her and she felt her chest squeeze as she fell to her knees while tears pooled on the ground below.

It was so unfairest. Why her? Why was it that when she finally let herself open up she got stabbed in the back? Maybe that was why every Queen of Hearts was mad, they were scorned by love. Because the sheer rage and devastation she felt made her think she’d go madder than the mad hatter.

“Lizzie!” She paused as she heard… his voice call out. Scrambling to her feet she tried to hide away from him but Daring found her seconds later. “Lizzie let me ex-.”

Lizzie slapped him across the face.

The dark red hand print that was left on his cheek gave her a strange satisfaction. If she couldn’t hurt him emotionally, she’d hurt him physically. Daring seemed to be stunned for only a second before he came back to reality.

“Liz-.” She threw him a withering glare, warning him to shut up. A tense, awkward silence followed and Lizzie was glad she could collect her thoughts before she went at him. Sucking in a breath, Lizzie wiped away her tears while sniffling.

Daring went to brush away a stray tear but she was quick to push his hand away. “How dare you.” Daring didn’t react as she walked slowly over to him. “How dare you cheat on me with that- that bitch! I should say it’s off with your head!”

She sliced her hand through the air for emphasis. Daring looked down at his feet, hands clenching and unclenching. “My grimm how could you ever do this to me! Did you for one second take a minute to realize how much you hurt me! How you betrayed me! Or is your selfishness that high.”

Her words died out with a sob that broke through her, but ever a princess she continued “you are the only guy- no the only person that I let get so close to my heart! And you took it for granted and stomped on it like it was mud! Did you ever consider what that would do to me! To my trust!”

Lizzie paused breathing hard as she let more tears flow freely. Daring took this as an opportunity to start speaking, “Lizzie you don’t understand! I didn’t want to go on a date with her. But I had to-.” Lizzie cut him of as she shoved his chest.

“You didn’t have to do anything-.”

“I did! My reputation and my ima-!”

“Do you realize what you are saying! You are saying that ‘you didn’t have a choice’ but you did! Instead of being loyal to me and not being self absorbed you chose to pick your image over me!”

“No! It’s not like that! You say you want me to be loyal to you and that I shouldn’t be with anyone but you- you are to scared, to much of a coward to even admit to our relationship! If you remember you were the one to ask to keep this a secret!”

“And yet I had the decency not to cheat on you!”

Silence once again engulfed the night, the only sounds being Darings harsh breathing and Lizzie’s sobs and cries as she rested against a tree. “Look I know I messed up but I can make it up to you. I can-.” Lizzie shook her head while pushing of the tree.

“No you can’t. Because you have broken and shattered my trust and heart so badly I- I don’t think I’ll recover. So no you can’t ‘make it up to me’ Daring.” He swallowed as he went to reach for her hand but Lizzie stepped back, wiping away any tears.

“Your date is waiting for you.” And so, Lizzie Hearts pivoted on her heel and left with a piece of her heart shattered and broken.

——————————

Who doesn’t love a good bit of angst from now and then because I know I do

Anyway no hate to Daring or Duchess all I’m saying LIZZIE DESERVES BETTER the fact that he cheated is canon just is something else

This is why I don’t particularly ship them together but if you guys want Drizzie then I’m happy to write it

[somber-sapphic]

Date Night In

〘Day 4- Hiding an Illness〙

〘Notes- I'm not sure if I'll continue after this prompt, these haven't been doing so well and classes start tomorrow. (I don't mean for that to sound like I'm being petty or anything, I'm just not sure if I'll have time). Hope you enjoy this one though!〙

〘Summary- Date night is ruined when you get sick...or is it?〙

〘Word Count- 800〙

〘Pairing- WandaNat x Sick Reader〙

〚Main Masterlist〛⌶〚Sicktember Masterlist〛

You wrapped the cardigan a bit tighter around your shoulders, a fever chill tearing through your body. Your body had been altering between hot flashes and intense chills for the last several hours, Advil seeming to have done nothing to ease your fever.

Though you were feeling sick, you were determined to push through. Wanda had gone out of her typical routine and surprised Natasha and you with tickets to a popular movie playing in a theater only three blocks away. Her logic was that the three of you hadn’t done anything spontaneous in forever (none of you were particularly interested in spontaneity) and that you needed a night out.

Had it been a different day you would’ve probably been excited. You loved spending time with your girlfriends whenever you got the chance, especially considering that you practically never had a spare moment to go on dates. That was why it was so important for you to push this illness down and deal with it later.

With glanced in the mirror one last time, fixed your hair and took a final deep breath which turned into a bubbling cough. When the fit ended you shook your head (only serving to make yourself dizzy) and turned to leave the bathroom, swaying in your heels.

By the time you got to the bottom of the stairs where your two lovers were waiting, you were out of breath and wheezing. Your nose was running profusely, and you had your hand pressed against your face, feeling disgusting. You did your best to compose yourself quickly and smile, but they saw right through you.

Wanda’s face morphed into an expression of sadness, worry, and disappointment. One of Natasha’s eyebrows creeped up and she crossed her arms over her chest, settling into an “oh really” position. It was the position she assumed when she knew you were going to lie to you in preparation to shoot down any falsehood you told her.

“Shall we?” You rasped, wincing internally at the sound of your own voice. It was bad. The only thing that you could do was paste a smile across your face to cover it, but that clearly wasn’t doing it for them.

“No, we shall not.” Natasha sighed, rubbing a hand across her perfectly done up face. The makeup she had used was apparently excellent because everything stayed in place. Even her lipstick was still perfect.

“But—” You tried to protest, taking a few steps toward the women who were already kicking off shoes and removing overcoats. Wanda smiled softly at you as she removed the earrings you had gotten her on your second anniversary and placed them in her pocket.

“Come on my love, let’s get you into bed. We can go to the movies another night.” The brunette said, linking her arm around yours. You frowned and tried to pull away, only for Natasha to move to your other side and wrap an arm around your waist.

“It’s okay, we can watch something in bed and eat snacks if you’re feeling up to it.” She replied, walking the two of you up the stairs.

You tried to protest the whole way up to bed, promising that you were fine and that it was just a small cold. Every word fell on deaf ears as they helped you change into soft clothes and deposited you in the large bed before following suit.

Wanda let out a relaxed sigh and leaned against you, wrapping her arms around your waist. Natasha flopped down and flipped on the TV, scrolling quickly through Netflix. The woman could surf channels like no one else, her eyes flitting across the description for less than half a second before moving to the next.

“I’m fine guys.” You muttered, actively nodding off as you slouched against Wanda. The witch was comfortable, and perfectly willing to let you use her as a pillow. Nat had begun to card her fingers through your hair while searching for a movie and muttering under her breath.

The two began to bicker quietly, arguing over what to watch with you in the middle. Their sort of playful banter was amusing, and it strangely made you feel better. Now that you were laying down, you could admit to yourself that you really didn’t feel well. Listening to your girls duke it out over what to put on the TV felt normal, even when you didn’t.

You felt yourself drawn more and more into the depths of sleep as Wanda refused an action movie and Natasha made her case for the genre. When you woke up several hours later, your girlfriends both asleep at your side, you saw Jurassic Park running on the TV leading you to assume that they had decided on a marathon and that the assassin had won the debate.

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[the--blackdahlia]

The Table (Michael Keaton x Reader)

Title: The Table

Summary: You are the hottest thing in Hollywood and up for your first Academy Award

Warnings: Just some anxiety, but it's mainly fluff

For @84reedsy

You had gotten lucky. That’s the only thing you could think of. Your debut feature film had blown up in theaters, and from what you could tell lurking on your Tumblr blog, the fans were making Supernatural levels of fanart and discourse. Your short films had gotten studio attention, and then the screenplay you worked on with your best friend ended up being one of the hottest films of the summer.

You got lucky. In your mind, that was all there was to it.

You were up for best director. Your cast were up for best actor, best actress, best supporting actor, and best supporting actress. There were a few other categories, but the big one, best picture, made you nervous. People at the studio told you it’s an hour to even be nominated, and while you agreed, you were so nervous to see what the panel of voters thought of your work. This could make or break your career.

You walked the read carpet in a dress that cost more than your car payment your first year of college, and heels that made you feel taller than you really were. People yelled at you for your picture, and people kept stopping you to ask you questions. Mainly about “who are you wearing”” and “how much did your dress cost”. Things like that. You remembered seeing this stuff when you’d watch the Oscars back in your youth, but you never expected it to be quite this chaotic flurry.

You were so glad when you finally made it into the Dolby Theater and felt the chaos calm down slightly. You could see there was already a line at the bathroom, so you made a beeline for the bar. After you were handed your drink, you looked around and saw so many celebrities in one place. Ones you had grown up watching and ones you had just discovered recently.

This was your life now, and you weren’t sure if you actually belonged.

“Make sure you eat something before you go in,” Someone to your left spoke. One of your actors from your movie. “The tables are just for show. But at least they let us have water now.”

“Do we have to stay there the whole time? Isn’t this like a three hour show?”

“No, but just make sure if you’re leaving for any reason, it’s not right before your turn,” He chuckled a little. “I was at the SAG awards and Michael Keaton won for best actor and they had to wait on him because he was in the bathroom.”

“Oh my god,” You couldn’t help but laugh. You were glad he was there to help you calm down some.

“Hey, and no matter what we win or lose tonight, I want you to know you’re one of my favorite directors to work with. And I will be first in line at any future casting calls,” He gave you a smile before you walked away. Taking his advice, you grabbed some food and sat to eat while you waited to be let into the actual theater portion.

Before too long, you were seated at a table. You couldn’t see the other table cards due to the wine glasses of water, but you could see yours. Pristine white paper with your name written in golden scroll. You reached out and gently touched it. It was real. This was real. It was almost too much and you were starting to wonder if you could just get someone to accept any awards for you.

“Let’s see, here I am,” A voice spoke behind you. Then the chair next to you was pulled out and a man in a tux settled next to you. Turning to introduce yourself, you gasped. That wasn’t just any man in a tux.

It was Michael Keaton.

“Batman,” You whispered softly, but he heard you and chuckled.

“So you’ve seen my work. I’ve seen yours and loved it,” He held out a hand and you shook it. There was a bit of a linger hold before he pulled your hand to his lips and kissed it gently. “It’s great to meet you Ms. (y/l/n).”

“Please, call me (Y/n) Mr. Keaton…Mr. Douglas…”

“Well, you can just call me Michael,” His smile was infectious and you couldn’t help but smile back.

“I don’t mean to sound rude, but why are you at this table? Shouldn’t you be with the other A-listers?” You asked a little bit later when he moved his wine glass and you saw that, in fact, his name was right there next to yours. He chuckled lowly.

“I’ve never considered myself an A-lister. You ever seen Game 6? Or Quicksand? Yeah, not an A-lister,” He took a sip of his water. “Plus, you’re the hottest thing in Hollywood right now. I would not trade this chair for one between George Clooney and Brad Pitt.”

“I…what?”

“Sweetheart, you must not realize just how popular you are. The last time I saw this happen was when Tim, Tim Burton, made Beetlejuice.”

“T-Thanks!” You quickly grabbed your water and took a sip. “Sorry, just nervous.”

“I was for my first time to,” He winked. “It gets better. Trust me.”

Before too long, the ceremony started. As it got closer to best director, Michael could tell you were nervous. He reached out and gave your hand a squeeze when the category was announced.

“And the nominees for best director are: Rachael Hayes, Sunset in San Francisco; Alex Wayne, Batty; Lorien Toomes, The Vultures Nest; Chica Riker, Love or Money; and (Y/f/n) (Y/l/n), The Happenings of Ghost. And the winner is…” You closed your eyes and held Michael’s hand. You couldn’t hear anything with the blood pumping in your ears. You were just so nervous.

And then you felt him pull your hand.

“You won!” He yelled when you looked at him. “Come on babe!” He took your hand and led you to the stairs. He remembered you complaining about your heels earlier in the ceremony. The next thing you knew, he was leading you up the stairs to the stage, making sure you didn’t fall as you made sure your dress didn’t catch.

“Please stay,” You whispered. He could feel you shaking.

“I’ll be waiting stage left,” He told you before kissing your cheek. “Go get them sweetheart.”

You took a deep breath and went to the microphone. You were just so nervous, never expecting to win. You did your speech to the best of your ability, even taking time to thank Michael for his help before you were played off and headed back towards the stairs. Michael offered you his arm and helped you down.

“Thank you,” You told him when you got back to the table and sat your award down in front of you. That gold statue would sit on your shelf back home with your name plate from the table right next to it. You were an Academy Award winner.

“All I did was help you up and down the stairs,” He chuckled.

“No, you kept me calm. I almost ditched the event. I couldn’t stand the stress. But you helped me.”

“Well, maybe after this, we could go get some dinner. A good winding down. And I know the best late night place in Los Angeles.” Your eyes widened. You had just been invited on a date. With Michael Keaton. Your longtime childhood crush. And all you could do was say…

“Yes. I’d love that.”

[topknot32]

Miami (5/5)

Rio/OFC

summary- the short and sweet conclusion to this Rio & Olivia mini series.

warnings- none

word count- 2.2K

Chris kept quiet the entire drive back to the house, and Olivia didn't have the courage to try and break the silence. He hardly even acknowledged her presence when she came out of the restaurant a few minutes after he left in anger. Olivia knew from conversations with Beth how sharp the edge of Chris's anger could be, but she'd never experienced it firsthand. It stung so badly when they pulled into the driveway she considered taking the cash she still had in her purse and getting a cab to a hotel.

What he was asking of her was a lot, and the fact that he refused to even consider sparing her friend in return made Olivia's own anger flare up. She had to get word to Beth, or get home before Chris could send out an order to one of his goons.

When they pulled into the driveway, Olivia jumped out of the car before Chris even had it in park. She hurried across the driveway as fast as her heels would allow, and a few seconds later she heard the sound of his quick steps on the pavement behind her. "Olivia," he said, his tone hiding none of his frustration.

She pushed through the front door and paused, listening for any sign of the boys. Laughter trickled in from the front living room, and she headed that way before Chris could catch up.

"Olivia, stop," he said as he shut the front door.

Still she ignored him. She found Sofia and the boys watching a movie on the enormous theater screen, and she tried to wipe the stress from her face.

"You're early," Sofia said.

"It's been a long day, and I'm just so tired," Olivia said, forcing a smile. "Come with me, Kai."

The toddler popped up out of a pile of blankets on the floor. "Hi, mama."

"Hi, honey, let's go. Time for bed."

He stood and ran over, wearing a new set of pajamas they'd just bought that afternoon. Olivia took his hand and turned to find Chris standing just inside the living room with his hands resting behind his back. "What are you doing, Olivia?"

Olivia picked Kai up and said nothing, walking straight passed Chris toward the stairs that would take them to the bedroom. She knew he was following her. He didn't try to hide the sound of his footsteps, and panic was building in her chest. He'd admitted his feelings for her, but if she didn't agree to stay, she was a liability. Their location, their business, all of it was at stake if she opened her mouth.

When they were out of earshot of Sofia, he spoke again. "Please don't do anything stupid."

Tears started to burn at the backs of her eyes. "Your toothbrush is in the bathroom on the counter," she said to Kai as she set him down inside the bedroom. "Go get started and I'll be in in a second."

Kai ran off, leaving her alone with Chris who shut the door behind him as he entered.

"Are you going to let us leave?" she asked, her voice trembling ever so slightly. She couldn't face him, so she stared a hole in the bathroom doorframe.

"Not tonight."

Her stomach lurched. "I won't say anything about where you are."

She heard him let out a sigh, and she turned to see him holding the bridge of his nose. "That's not my concern."

"Then why can't we go?"

"You're not running off in the middle of the night alone with a kid. You can sleep here and we'll talk about this in the morning."

He turned to leave, but she called his name before he got to the door. "My mind isn't going to change about Beth," she said, and he froze. "Please don't make me choose." She thought he might try to get the last word in, but instead he walked out.

Despite the stress. Olivia slept like the dead for several hours after climbing into the king sized bed with Kai. She'd tucked a chair she found in the hall beneath the door handle and made sure the glass patio door was locked, and since she hadn't slept much since leaving Detroit, she was out like a light as soon as her head hit the pillow. But before the sun came up, she was awake and anxious. She laid beside Kai for a long time, staring out the massive floor to ceiling windows at the ocean. Without waking the toddler, she climbed from the bed and made her way over to the sliding glass door that led out to the balcony, grabbing the satin robe she picked up from the lingerie store the day before on her way.

The smell of the salty air was refreshing, and she stood at the railing watching the waves come and go. This could all be hers if she just cut out a piece of her soul and fed it to the wolves, but Olivia didn't think she could do that. There was something between her and Chris, something she didn't want to give up, but she didn't see any other way. They'd done a lot of illegal stuff back in Detroit, and a few people ended up dead, but not because of choices she made.

"Can't sleep?"

Speaking of the devil himself. She should've known, and maybe a part of her did because she wasn't all that shocked to hear a voice in the dark.

"Can you blame me?" she asked, and turned to find him sitting in one of the patio chairs wearing a black sweatshirt with the hood pulled up. His long legs were stretched out in front of him, his hands clasped together over his stomach. She couldn't see his face. "What are you doing out here?"

"Oh, you know, a little soul searching and what not."

Olivia raised an eyebrow. If she wasn't so mad at him she might've laughed. "Any self discoveries?"

Chris chuckled, and she wished she could see his face more clearly. "I guess I'm wondering if anyone is capable of forgiveness, or if it's something you're born with."

"And what brought on that line of thinking?" she asked even though she knew.

"You did."

She took a few steps toward him. Their anger seemed to have dissipated, and for the moment her fear was at bay as well. He met her gaze as soon as she stepped into his line of sight, but he quickly looked down at his hands.

"I know I'm asking a lot of you," he said, and he sat up in the chair and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "I guess I didn't consider that exactly what it was I wanted you to give up was the reason I wanted you to stay in the first place."

"And what's that?"

"Your humanity, the fact that you're a good person, Olivia." She didn't know what to say to that, so she kept quiet. "Come here."

She considered refusing, but it felt like they were actually making progress, so she closed the distance and stood in front of him. "What if I told you that I had a change of heart?"

"About Beth?"

He stared up at her with soft eyes that made her want to cave. "Mhm."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because there's nothin' left for me there, and I know that if I made you choose, you wouldn't choose me."

That stung, and it showed on her face. "Not because I wouldn't want to."

"It's okay, babe, I wouldn't blame you."

She reached out and took his face in her hands. His eyes closed as he leaned in to her touch, and she took another step forward so she was standing between his legs. His hands slid up to rest on the satin of her robe.

"You'll leave her be, forever? Annie and Ruby, too. No changing your mind, no tricks or blackmailing."

The internal struggle was written all over him. He didn't want to concede, and the stubborn part of him that usually reared it's head right now was clawing at the surface. "If you stay," he said.

A bubble of hope formed in her chest, replacing the heat and anger with something that felt good. "I need more commitment than that." She pulled a hand from his face and held out her pinky. "Pinky promise."

Chris stared at her for a second before shaking his head and laughing. "You're serious."

"There's nothing more serious than a pinky promise."

Finally he returned the gesture, but kissed her knuckles before releasing her hand. "I promise."

Olivia smiled. It spread wide across her face, and the hopeful feeling in her chest grew even bigger. She felt like she'd just won the lottery. She could keep everyone back home safe, but at the same time she was getting him, too.

She kissed him softly before taking a few steps back. Chris stood and followed her lead, and once they were back in the bedroom, she slipped off the robe leaving her in a satin short and tank set. He tugged off his sweatshirt, exposing his naked torso, and together they climbed into bed, careful to not disturb a still sleeping Kai. Chris stretched out on his back, and Olivia curled into his side with her head on his chest.

For a while, Olivia laid there and thought about what life would look like here. The more she came up with, the more excited and nervous she became. This was a different level of crime than she'd ever participated in before, but she knew she could do it. Like Beth, the mundane life wasn't for her. She couldn't spend her days cooking and cleaning and carpooling. The last eight months of quiet normalcy had nearly bored her to tears, but that was over now.

She sat up enough to see Chris's face to find he was staring up at the ceiling. She pressed a kiss to his lips, and curled back into his side. She could t wait to get started.

TWO MONTHS LATER

Chris sat by the poolside with his phone in hand. There were dozens of emails he'd been putting off answering, but they couldn't be ignored any longer. His connections were working on the construction of a brand new warehouse about an hour outside of Miami, and they were waiting on him to sign the checks. Metaphorically of course.

The villa was busy today with a few of Mick's friends, and he'd thrown a party the night before so some of the guests still lingered. There were several women sunbathing in and around the pool, most of them he didn't recognize, but Chris didn't have the patience to engage in their sorry attempts at catching his attention.

When he opened up his inbox, pulling up the most recent one, he found it'd already been replied to. Chris furrowed his brows and read through the response and viewed the attached files. It sounded like him, and followed the encryption and code necessary to send anything over technology, but he definitely wasn't the one who sent them. He started to stand from his chair, but felt a pair of hands slip over his shoulders from behind, the palms coming to rest on his chest. The smell of her jasmine perfume told him exactly who it was.

"I see Mick's birds of paradise are keeping you entertained," Olivia whispered in his ear as she pressed a kiss to his jaw.

"Who?"

The sound of her laugh warmed his insides. "As if you haven't noticed the nearly naked women in front of you."

He turned in his chair to see her clearly to find her barefoot wearing cut off shorts and one of his t-shirts. "Mama, if I wanna see somethin' worth lookin' at, I'll come find you."

The milky skin of her neck flushed red, and he smirked. Chris held up his cellphone. "Did you respond to these?" She was the only one with the passcode.

Olivia took the phone and scrolled. "Mm, yeah, while you were playing in the pool with the boys. Mick's been teaching me."

That surprised him, but he found that he liked the way it felt. He took her wrist and dragged her down to press a kiss to her lips. "Thank you."

She waved a hand like it was nothing, but it wasn't nothing to him. "Of course."

Chris took her wrist and dragged her around so she could slide onto his lap. Having her here was already so much of an asset to him, he didn't know how he did it on his own before. She kept both boys on a tight schedule with their tutor's and schooling, but also managed the entire staff within the villa. Before he had to think about all of it constantly, every thought leading into a new task, but now he actually had time to breathe.

Chris didn't think he needed a romantic partner. And after getting shot by Beth and nearly dying, he was committed to swearing off women in general. They clouded his judgement, made him act out of character and focus on things that weren't important, but Olivia was always in his peripherals of doubt. She wasn't as forward as Beth or as outgoing as Annie. She was more reserved and observant, and somehow she'd captivated him.

He'd come to Miami full of hate and rage and scorn for the way it all fell through in Detroit, but now he had his family back. All of it. And as he sat there holding the woman he loved, he knew he'd do anything to hold onto it, and to her.

[bunniebubbleswrites]

Blood runs thicker than water

Mother Figure! Lady Lesso x Never Student! F! Reader A/N: This fic will be loosely based on the books and the movie and yes parent's weekend is a thing in this world just consult the Ever Never Handbook bc that is the reason I got this idea in the first place. Also soft Lesso!! Warnings: Never student from an Ever family, mentions of parental abuse Words: 1411

The sound of excited Nevers and Evers filled the Theater of Tales. Parents Weekend had fallen upon the school, most students excited to see their parents if they were still alive. 

Sitting on the decaying pews with your peers, you scanned the room for your mother’s signature blue dress and your fathers sage suit. You hadn’t written any letters home fearful of how your parents would react. The only Never from a long line of Ever’s. Just imagining the disappointment and hatred in your family's eyes made you flinch. 

The sound of heels made you stand from the pews, the sound of heels hitting the marble sounded much different than the staff, they sounded meaner but it was a different sound than what Lady Lesso’s heels made. 

You walked down from the pews black boots making the decaying wood creak. You shoved your hands into the pockets of your black pants. You wanted this to be over as quickly as possible. Walking over the side littered with happy Ever’s and their parents. You spotted your parents, they were kind of hard to miss. 

Your mother in her elegant blue gown, not a blemish or wrinkle on her smooth skin. Your father by her side in his sage colored suit. The perfect fairy tale couple, your mothers eyes scanned the crowd of Ever girls looking for you. You stood on one side with your peers not allowed to cross over to the other. Your father spotted you and nudged your mother, catching her attention. Her eyes fell on you and a scowl graced her lips, your father indifferent like he always had been. 

They slowly made their way over to you. To anyone else it would look just like disappointment graced her features but you knew she was fuming. 

“ (y/n), dear. No wonder you didn’t write home,” you could hear the sourness in your mothers voice. “You're a never. Where did we go wrong?” She sighed but the smile returned like she didn’t hate you like you hadn’t ruined her life. 

That’s what you were always told as a child. That’s what she would say when she yelled and screamed at you. All you wanted was for her to be proud, and here you were class captain and ‘1’ ranks all across the board. 

The two deans came out onto the stage at the front of the room and you walked back over to the pews, hands still shoved in your pockets. 

“Hello parents and guardians, I am Professor Dovey. Dean of the School for Good.” Dovey’s voice carried through the room. Her golden gown shimmering. 

Dot leaned back in your direction and looked up at you, “So (y/n) where are your parents? I thought you said they were coming.” The girl said while shoving chocolate in her face. You put your head down to look at her, hair curtaining your face, and instead of your usual smile a scowl graced your lips.

“ Oh, they’re here dot,” You said bitterly as you looked up at where the Ever’s sat. “You see the woman with the blue ball gown and the man next to her that almost looks like Professor Sader?” Dot nodded “Those are my parents. I come from a long line of Ever’s.” 

Dot looked at you and so did Hester. They thought you were joking but your face said otherwise. You turned your attention back to the two women at the front of the theater, tugging your long sleeves down to cover your hands. Almost everyone in your school had seen them, the scars but you still hid them. You didn’t need people asking questions, but you didn’t want your teachers asking questions. Especially Lady Lesso. You couldn’t help but feel like you would disappoint her too. 

The sound of people getting up and chatter filled your ears once again. Taking a deep breath.

Let's get this done and over with.

Walking past your peers to meet your parents. Once again an invisible barrier in between you. You could feel eyes on you. You assumed at least 2 of them were Dot and Hester. 

“ (y/n), dear I think me and your father are going to leave. I mean we don’t really have any reason to stay.” Your mother said as a frown graced your father’s stoic expression. You loved your dad, you really did. You don’t think you’ll ever truly understand how they ended up together but you wanted to spend time with your dad and you like the same thoughts consumed him.

“ Don’t have a reason to stay, really that's the best you got. I’ve worked my ass off trying to prove to you that I’m worthy of your love, but I will never be good enough will I?  I earned my spot as class captain, I earned all my 1st place ranks and no thanks to you. So go ahead and leave. I have friends who would actually enjoy my company today.” Your face was flushed and your breathing heavy. The last time you had talked back like this you had some nasty bruises all over your body.

The sound of skin hitting skin made everyone go silent as it echoed through the room. “Don’t you dare talk back to me young lady. I am your mother and will treat me as such.” Your mother had slapped you in front of hundreds of people. Students and parents alike. You were rendered silent, regaining your composure fairly quickly. You turned on your heel and quickly made your way out of the theater through the Nevers entrance. 

Tears rolled down your cheeks and you ran back to your dorm room. The sound of your boots hitting the floor, it was evident to anyone still in the building that you were running. Reaching your room you bust the door open and threw yourself onto your bed and just cried. You had been bottling up the emotions since day one but you just couldn’t take it anymore. You just wanted someone to hold you and tell you everything was going to be okay. 

A knock on your dorm room door startled you. Wiping your eyes and cheeks off you opened the door and there you were met with the concerned face of your dean. 

“Lady Lesso, why are you here?” Instead of a response she pushed you into the room and shut the door behind her with a swish of her finger. 

She pulled you into her arms, “Tell me, tell me what they did to you.” The minute those words left her lips you burst into tears and told her everything. You told her about how your mother would scream and yell at you and how your father would tend and bind your wounds after your mother was finished unleashing her wrath onto you. 

Once you had finished spilling your heart out to your favorite teacher, she wiped your tears and smiled at you reassuringly.

“ You know that saying ‘Blood runs thicker than water’?” Lesso asked you 

You nodded, “ My mother says it all the time to justify the things she did to me.”

“ It’s a bunch of bullshit.” You smiled at her and nodded. You both walked out of your dorm room as she escorted you back to the Theater of Tales. 

As soon as you entered the theater with Lesso behind you. You turned and thanked her and before you ran over to your friends to meet their parents you heard Lesso whisper,

“ I could never be disappointed in you kid.” You smiled back at her as Dot and Hester enveloped you in their arms and Andail joined in on the group hug as well. 

Even though your parents were nowhere to be seen, Dot’s parents welcomed you into their family as if you were their own.

Maybe this Parent’s weekend wouldn’t be so bad and you knew that you could go to Lady Lesso for any and everything. She had shown you more love than your mother ever could. You would make her proud in any way you possibly could and you knew that your friends would help you achieve that goal.

When you looked back at your dean, you saw a small smile form on her lips before it disappeared. You knew she could never be disappointed in you and Dovey saw it too, just like she could never be disappointed in her students. Maybe Evil had a shot at winning this time around.

[swampstew]

Luffy, N-45 ~ Stockings

Summary: You and your alien boyfriend are going to see a cult classic movie about queer aliens. Y'all get dressed up for the show, Luffy awakens an appetite for pop culture, you awaken an appetite for certain attire on your man.

Warnings: Spicy and suggestive, Alien Luffy with Female implied reader though no pronouns or body parts mentioned, y'all put the whore in whoreror show Word Count: 633

“Are you sure they’re aliens Y/N? They don’t look it – I do like their outfits!” Luffy chirped happily as he looked at the photos you showed him as you both got ready for your date. There was a Rocky Horror Picture screening happening at the local theater and you were so excited to engage with the crowd and bring your alien boyfriend to experience a cult classic. The fact that he was also an alien made the whole thing funnier in your opinion.

“Well you don’t look like an alien either, Luffy. I didn’t know until I saw you stretch your body! Besides this is a fiction, we’re just meant to enjoy the vibes. This has been a Halloween tradition for decades and I can’t believe that after all your years here you’ve never even heard of it!”

You had opted to dress as your favorite, tragic character: Columbia. For Luffy however, you requested he dress as the sassy antagonist of the film – Dr. Frank-N-Furter himself.

You had ordered the costumes and done both your hair and makeup. To be honest, you killed both lewks. You looked gorgeous and jubilant just like the eccentric groupie. Luffy looked other worldy. His hair was tightly curled and styled, his dramatic makeup complimented his face, and his clothes did something to your lower belly. Dressed in a tight corset, neck accented with a comically large, plastic pearl necklace, fishnets over his arms, ripped thigh-high stockings held in place by the clips attached to his leather whore shorts.

Luffy looked perfect. The pinnacle of liberation and queer pride oozing from his rubber alien body. Strutting around the room and rating himself in the mirror, praising your work as he crowed about how identical he looked to the star of the film.

Something broke in your brain. Those stockings in those strappy kitten heels. The way they emphasized his bulging calf and thigh muscles. The way the pump made his round ass look tighter.

You don’t even remember getting to the theater. You vaguely recalled the film itself, feeling unable to look at anyone or anything else but Luffy. He was having the time of his life, actively participating in the show with the bag of goodies given at the door – filled with playing cards, rubber gloves, kazoos and rattle clacker toys, toilet paper, feathers, and more. He danced to the time warp again and again, even after the show ended.

“Y/N, didn’t you enjoy the show?” Luffy asked you and for the first time you felt snapped back to reality. Looking around the nearly empty theater as everyone left to the diner next door for the annual after showtime dinner.

“I-I did. I just,” you stuttered.

“But you didn’t even watch the movie,” he frowned.

“I’ve seen it before,” you tugged his arm back, “But I haven’t seen this before.” His arm stretched in your grip as he was walking towards the exit; he looked back at you with a confused look.

“Aren’t we going to eat?”

“No.”

Luffy let out a surprised cough as you nearly slammed him against the back of the bathroom door. He bounced off the steel frame and you shifted his weight to pin him to the door, your fingers tracing over his exposed skin as you eyed him hungrily.

“I’m in the mood for something else entirely.”

Luffy gave a coy smile, “Oh! Well if that’s all—” he began to yank the shorts and stockings down when you stopped him.

“No, keep the stockings on. You look so fucking good in them,” you traced the bulge of his erection.

The theater was empty and dark. Not a soul in sight. The only sound that could be heard was a muffled roar and the clatter of beads spilling on the floor.

15 tiles to go, 31 calls made so far.

[thecitysgraveyard]

Can you do one where reader is James daughters babysitter and comes to the studio with the kid and Kirk just falls head over heels for her bc she’s so pretty and he tries to impress her and flirts with her

ooh interesting one :) hehe and thanks for requesting nonnie and I'm so sorry for the late reply <3

kirk saw you walking around, god the way your hips swayed in that dress of yours would make any man go crazy

he wanted to kiss you right then and there but james was there and well you were james's daughter after all so it wouldn't be a sage idea but it didn't make him stop dreaming about you

as soon as you came towards his direction, he started playing the guitar, playing hard riffs and solos to try to impress you

you were definitely impressed, you've never seen anyone play with such skill and you complimented him

his cheeks were a bit red and he had a big sweet smile after you had complimented him, he asked you "how was your day sweetheart?" you replied it was good with a smile

he smiled back as he says "so have any plans on Saturday?", you shook your head and said i don't

"well then you could come along with me, I'm going to the theaters to watch the new horror movie that's out now" he said and looked at you his eyes were almost fixated at you but his gaze was soft and loving

l'll come then but hopefully, the movie isn't too scary y'know? you say with a smile as you look at him, he grins and says "well if it gets too scary then I'll hold ya"

you hummed and said okay, then in return if you hold me I'll give you a kiss on the cheek, you had a mischievous smile on your face now

you knew kirk was flirting with you and now you were taking your shots with him, you knew he knew that you were reciprocating his advances, and that made him feel much better

"well then sweetheart the movies on saturday, I'll pick you up make sure to tell your dad" he winked with a small grin on his face as james came towards the both of you

kirk talked to james and asked if you could come along, of course james said yes and the plan was set

on saturday, you and kirk would go for that movie

now you're excited for saturday to come, wishing that the days would go by faster just so that Saturday could come

<3

[aliwritex]

Darling!

If you accept requests, could you do smutty-smut and fluff about reader and Edvin (established relationship)? Can I suggest late night passionate sex at their home, after reader and Edvin come back from attending to movie premiere? I would looove if you will include a bit of praising (from reader to Edvin), oral (from both sides), couple of poses while sex and maybe... Edvin cumming inside? Sorry if it is too graphic description, but I just looove your writing!

Hope you're doing great!

HUNGRY EYES e.r.

an: hope you enjoy it, honey. sorry about the wait. masterlist

warnings: p in v sex, oral (female and male receiving), cumming inside.

words: 1.3k

you were never really into the red carpet thing, it always made you nervous and uncomfortable. but tonight was Edvin’s first big movie premiere and you couldn’t be prouder of him. As you walked down the carpet you realized how hot he looked in his dark suit. His blond hair just the perfect length, his skin lightly tan from the summertime and his fingers adorned with multiple silver rings.

but the night wasn’t much fun if you were being honest, on the carpet a bunch of asskissing interviewers asked questions about your relationship, even when you tried to keep your distance, after the carpet you were caught in the middle of cast members, producers and influencers who were there for the movie. in your point of view that wasn’t exactly the perfect night. you stood by Edvin as he talked to everyone on the way to the theater, just hoping you’d get there quickly to finally sit down.

the most enjoyable part of the event was the film, you cried and laughed, not being so sure if those tears were from the story or the warm feeling of pride in your heart. you held his hand throughout the entire film, playing with the rings on his fingers as it played in front of you. his nervousness barely showing through but you could feel the small things – his accelerated heartbeat, the slightly bounce of his leg and the ocasional nail bitting.

of course that the feedback at the end of the evening was really helpful and easy on the mind. the compliments got him feeling confident, his body language changed almost abruptly, his hold on you now tight and way less stutter than before. as you were finally left alone again, on your way to the car you finally told him what you had been keeping all night.

“you look so fucking hot right now” you whispered. he chuckled and squeezed your side tighter, making you bite your lip.

as soon as you entered the back seat of the car your lips were on his neck, you were both slightly tipsy from the champagne and couldn’t care less about the driver. so you snaked a hand inside his shirt since his top buttons were already undone, you felt him shiver under your touch .

“Fuck, love” he sighed before pulling you in for a kiss by the jaw. your lips and tongues moved in sync as your hand laid on his thigh, slightly squeezing and moving closer to his zipper from time to time. his arm slid behind you, hand reaching for your ass.

you were absolutely sure that in that ten minute drive all the chauffeur could hear were sloppy kissing noises coming from the back seat, so you made sure to thank him when he dropped you off at your apartment.

“honey, come on. cant keep your hands off me even for a second? we need to get to the elevator.” you teased and he huffed, walking to the elevator.

as soon as you pressed the button Edvin pulled you closer again, your side meeting his middle as he kissed your neck. you slipped your thin heels off making him bend down to reach your neck. you reached into his jacket to get the keys and get into your place as quickly as possible. and you did.

the door was slammed back closed so harshly you were sure getting complaints, your bag, heels and his jacket were left right on the floor of the hall, his shoes kicked off somewhere on the way to the bedroom. Edvin wasted no time in unzipping your vintage Marc Bouwer and sliping it off your shoulders. he had helped you get dressed so he knew exactly what you hid under the dress. a lacy, black set of lingerie you picked out just for tonight.

“so hot, can’t do shit like this to me”

you started unbuttoning his white shirt till you reached his trousers, teasing with the band as you kissed his neck. he sighed, desperately needing you to rip them off and touch him. instead, you took his hands down your ass as you walked backwards onto the bed, finally sitting on the edge. Edvin automatically knelt down, throwing your legs over his bare shoulders, you laid back on your elbows as he kissed your stomach down to your panties. he pushed them to the side, licking a long stripe up to your clit and kissing all around you thighs. your head fell back as he wet his fingers with your arousal, taking them to your clit and circling. you let him work how he wanted, your hold on his sandy strands so strong as the agonizing feeling of pleasure took over your body.

“oh, Edvin, you’re doing so good, baby” you praised, making him look up at you, never stopping his work, he was so deeply set on satisfying you that his face was covered in a mixture of your wetness and his saliva up to his nose. “so close, please don’t stop, honey”

the feeling of agony grew in your core as your orgasm approached making you a complete mess. your legs were closing against Edvins head, your hold on his hair even stronger then before and your lace covered chest was off the mattress. you came with a drawn out moan of his name, making his pants feel tighter.

“fuck! come here, baby. oh, you’re so good for me” you whispered in a weak state, pulling him over your body as he kicked his trousers off. “come on, need you now”

your hand slid between your bodies, reaching his dick and pulling it out of his boxers and giving it a quick pump before pulling him down to sink into you. “ah, skit” he groaned lowly “så varm”

he fucked slowly up into you, body completely laid on top of yours, only moving his hips against yours. his lips kissed yours non stop as your hands traveled around the nape of his neck and his hair. he started to give out after a couple of minutes, muscles tired from the repeating movements.

“honey, honey, it’s okay, sit down” you mumbled against his lips as he rolled off your body. you crawled closer to where he sat, settling yourself between his spread legs and taking his wet cock in your hands. you licked up his shaft, stopping at the tip, slowly suckling your way down. his hands flew to your hair, pulling it into a makeshift ponytail. you let him guide your movements for a while before he stopped himself.

“won’t last much longer, need to be inside you again.”

you nodded sitting up and settling yourself on his lap, he groaned as you sank down on his length. your movements were subtle, you were more focused on how good his lips felt on your neck and his tight hold on your waist that was bringing your chests so close you could barely breathe.

“love, need more, lay down.”

reluctantly you left his lap and laid back on the bed, followed by him. Edvin turned you on your side, throwing one of your legs over his and guiding his tip to meet your hole. his thrusts started slow before he set an almost primal pace, fucking hard into you as one of his hands toyed with your clit and the other with your nipple. his mouth on your neck and yours too busy moaning to do anything else.

“ah, fuck” he hissed as you dig your nails into his arm that crossed your stomach.

“baby, so good, so close. don’t stop, please.” your praises got him even more worked up, he had held on for so long now, all he needed was your release, because he new that once he came he was gone for the night. so he kept up his thrusts and fingers till you came around him and spasms took over your body.

“let me come inside you, please. need to fill you up.” he begged and you nodded, you would’ve agreed to anything in that state of bliss. and with a couple more primal thrusts of his hips, he reached his orgasm, cumming inside you.

“don’t move yet, stay there. shit Edvin, you were so perfect, honey”