#i don't get how rich people decide to go for a grey and white parking lot vibe NO! gimme the colors and bling bling where's the loud luxury

[born-to-lose]

Fuck your minimalism, I ❤️ decandence

[p96822]

Sam made it to Paris, France, and she looked around for the family who would care for her for one month.

She found the person holding a sign that said, exchange student of Amity Park. The person that was holding the sign was a large size man that was wearing a suit. He seemed to be the size of a gorilla.

"So you're the person that is going to take care of for the month?" Sam asked.

Before the gorilla-sized man could say anything, a woman with black hair and a red strip walked up to Sam. She wore a red turtleneck, a black vest jacket, black pants, and medium-heel shoes.

"Greeting Samatha, I'm Nathalie, and we are going to take you to the Agreste manner," Nathalie coldly introduces herself.

"Don't call me, Samatha. It's Sam. You got it!" Sam rudely said to Nathalie.

"I don't care. Let go, Samatha," Nathalie walked away to the limo while Sam just glared at her for calling her that.

As they drove in the limo, Sam noticed the large mansion. It was huge. They went to the mansion, and a man was wearing a white dress shirt under a striped grey with a red and white striped tie, red pants, and white shoes.

Sam felt a Vlad vibe from this guy went she looked at his eyes.

"You must be the student exchange student that I suppose to take care of for the month," Gabriel said.

"Yes, I'm Sam Mansion, and it's nice to meet you, Mr. Agreste," Sam is trying to sound more friendly than she is.

"I hope you enjoy my home and France, Ms. Mansion," Gabriel said

"Thank you, Mr. Agreste," Sam thanked as she followed Natalie to the room that she would be sleeping in for the month.

"She will be an interesting target for my Akuma to get Ladybug's and Cat Noir's Miraculous," Gabriel said in a low tone.

Natalie took Sam to the room that Sam will be staying in for the month. The room was big and spacious with a pool table, an air hockey table, a bathroom to the side, and a television. However, it wasn't as big as her place that held a bowling alley and a movie theatre.

Natalie left Sam to get her things in the room as she was getting her things out of her luggage.

A blond boy saw Sam and decided to help her get the things out of the luggage.

"So you must be the girl from the student exchange program," the blond said.

"Yeah, and aren't you Adrien Agreste?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, and you have to be the exchange student from Amity Park," Adrien answered.

"Yeah, my name is Sam, and it's nice to meet you, Adrien," Sam introduce herself.

"So how was the flight from Amity Park to Paris," Adrien asked the goth.

"It was alright, I guess," Sam said. "But I rather sit with people that not rich and snobbish. So, no offense," Sam made sure not to offend Adrien.

"None taken," Adrien brushed off the comment. "So why won't you want to sit with them?" Adrien asked her.

"Well, I bet that my parent wants me in those seats because they want me to make friends of their choosing and not my choice," Sam explained.

"Your parent want to control who you make friends with or tell you what to wear? It reminds me of my father," Adrien said softly.

"What was that?" Sam asked.

"Nothing," Adrien said sadly.

Sam noticed the sad expression on Adrien's face and wanted to ask him what was wrong, but Adrien left the room after finishing getting Sam's things out of her suitcase.

After talking about her family being controlling, Sam wonders what's up with him. She didn't want to drop the subject, but it was getting late, so Sam decided to head to bed. Maybe she can ask him in the morning.

"Adrien was really nice. I guess this won't be the worst, and I don't have to deal with my parents for a month," Sam said as she went to sleep.

The next day Sam and Adrien went to school in the limo. Sam wanted to ask why Adrien left after talking about her family problems, and she was about to ask before Adrien spoke up.

"So Sam, I heard that you have a superhero just like we have in Paris. So what is Danny Phantom like as a hero? Have you met him before?" Adrien asked her.

"Well, he kind of like a version of Cat Noir when it comes to joking around or taunting his opponents. He is not really popular with some adults like the Fentons and the mayor. However, Danny does care about Amity Park and will do anything to protect it as Ladybug and Cat Noir do for Paris. And he is a constant sight in Casper High," Sam explained.

"It's cool that you have a ghostly superhero watching over your town and fighting other ghosts," Adrien stated.

"Yeah, it is," Sam said with a small smile on her face.

The limo stopped as they made it to the school.

Natalie opened the limo door, and the two left on their way to class.

Sam was then shoved to the ground as a blonde girl hugged Adrien.

"Hey, Adrien-kin," the blonde greeted.

"Watch where you're going, blondie," Sam snapped.

"Who are you to tell me to watch where I'm going," the blonde snapped back.

"Me, Sam Mansion," she said.

"I don't care who you are, but you stay away from my Adrien-kins," she glared at Sam.

"Come on, Chole, be nice. This is the exchange student from Amity Park," Adrien explained to Chole.

"Adrien-kins do I have to," she asked.

Adrien nodded, and Chole sighed because she didn't want to be nice to a stranger, but she didn't want to upset Adrien.

"Hello there, exchange student," she said. "I'm Chole Bourgeois, the mayor's daughter, and the superhero Queen Bee."

"Oh, yeah, you're the one that used your powers to make train driver unable to drive the train and trying to stop it from making you look like a hero," Sam mentioned which made Chole growl.

"It was my first day as a hero, and I became better after time," Chole rebutted as she turned around and left the two with her best friend Sabrina, not far behind.

"Well, she was pleasant," Sam snarked.

"Chole is trying to do better after she became Queen Bee," Adrien said, trying to defend his childhood friend.

"Why are you defending her," Sam asked.

"Well, she is one of my only friends when I was unable to go to school because of my father," Adrien explained.

"Oh," Sam decided to drop for what she was going to say next because of Adrien's sad face.

The two left to go to class so Sam could meet the rest of Adrien's classmates and friends.

Sam meets with Adrien's friends, and they are really nice to Sam. Sam thought they would be just as or even worse as her classmates at home. All besides Chole, who didn't care for her at all.

"So, can you tell us more about Danny Phantom from your hometown?" Alya asked Sam.

"Well, Phantom truly cares about the town and protects it from a ghost," Sam said. "He's like Ladybug and Cat Noir when it comes to being serious and cracking jokes,"

"I would love to see him and Cat Noir having a pun off," Alya thought about how Cat Noir makes a lot of puns.

'I wonder if I ever meet Phantom, we could have a pun off." Adrien thought about it.

"I think Phantom is kind of cute," Rose said.

Sam slightly glare at the pink dress girl. She didn't like other girls liking Danny after the Paulina incident. Also, his dating Valarie wasn't that good either.

As the students now went to their seats to get roll call from their teacher, Sam sat next to Alya, whispering to Sam to tell her more about Danny Phantom to put it on the Lady blog.

"I'll tell you after class is over," Sam told her.

Alya smiled and nodded to Sam. Then, they listened to the lesson that Miss Bustier was teaching the students.

After class was over, Sam and Alya went to get something to eat. Sam told Alya that she doesn't eat meat. Alya thought it was weird what Sam calls herself an Ultra-recyclo-vegetarian, but each their own.

As they were going to the restaurant, Sam noticed something that got her attention.

Multiple people around the park were placing fliers all around the trees. Sam looked at the flier, and she frowned at what she was reading.

"Can't you believe this, Alya? They will cut down all these trees and make a building that would make the air better than trees here," Sam told Alya.

"That's awful!" Alya said.

"We have to do something, or they are going to cut down those poor trees," Sam told Alya.

"How are we going to do that, Sam?" Alya asked her.

"You just have to wait and see Alya," Sam said as they headed to a restaurant to get something to eat before heading back to class.

After getting their food, the two returned to the school to eat their lunch. As they were eating their lunch, Sam explained her plan to Alya.

"So you're going to ask all our classmates to rally against them cutting down the trees," Alya repeated what Sam said to her.

"Yeah, but since I don't know you guys that well, I don't know if it is going to work or not," Sam said.

"Don't worry, Sam, my classmates, and I would help you out save the trees," Alya told Sam, making the goth give a small smile. "The only one I think wouldn't help would be Chole and Lila,"

"Who's Lila?" Sam asked her.

"Lila is another student in our class that doesn't show up that much. She is also a lier from what Marinette had told me," Alya said.

Sam thought Lila was the France version of Paulina. She hoped that she doesn't meet her during her stay here.

After they finished their lunch, Alya decided to gather the rest of her classmates to tell them Sam's plan of saving the trees.

She got all the students to talk beside Chole, Sabrina, and Adrien, busy with his fencing class.

"You think that this is going to work, Sam?" Mylene asked.

"It will work, but it would take some time," Sam told her.

"I'll help you out, Sam," Rose said.

The rest of the students told Sam that they would help her save the tree and not allow a building to replace the park.

"Whoa, I was surprised that they would help me besides that time when our parents got kidnapped by those pirates," Sam said.

After school was over, Sam went with Adrien to go back home. Sam told him the plan to save the tree.

"I'll try to join you guys if I can. I have to make sure that my father is okay with it," Adrien told her.

Well, we won't see Sam and Adrien for a while because I'm going to put my focus on Danny and Marinette's new friendship/crush on each other.

Marinette is still in love with Adrien, but what Adrien said of being in love with another girl is holding her back.

Plus, we might finally have to meet two heroes of our title in person.

Also, despite its problems, I think that season 4 had one of the biggest L that Ladybug has ever taken. Let's hope that she can fix it in season 5.

I'll see you guys next time!

[silverrstarrr]

Normal girl (2)

Note: i just edit this chapter a bit and added more dialog. Someone messaged me and helped me out with a few things, thank you!

Chapter 2:

Walking side by side down the stairs, you took a sip of your coffee and place your herd of keys the side of your book bag. yume was scrolling through her phone on tik tok, drinking from her coconut Carmel ice coffee. You didn't understand why she was drinking ice coffee in mid February, it was cold. It was surprising their wasn't any snow.

Grinning like an idiot, she shaked your shoulder, positioning her phone in front of you–you both watched the tik tok. You didn't laugh at first only smiling, yume kept gesturing you to keep watching, waiting for the punchline. Finally it came up and you both started laughing, you slowly shaked your head placing your hand over your mouth.

"NOOO, nooo. That was so wrong, yall are going to hellll" you whined out.

Yume wiped the tears from her face and continued down the last step. She opened up the door and slid out, you trialing behind her. You both proceeded to walk down the street, where all the park cars were out.

"We riding in rich today girlie, jump in," she lifted up her arm that held her drink, her other reached into her purse and grabbed her car keys.

"I thought we were gonna walk there? It's only 10 minutes." You headed towards her car as she unlocked it and sat in the driver's seat. She had a 2018 dark Grey Nissan altima. You remember her having this ever since junior year, you recalled her talking about getting a newer model since this one was old. Like girl what? Old your ass, if the car still functioning there ain't no problem. White people shit, man.

"Well, it's the first day of sweet college life," she dragged out the last few words, adding a sarcastic tone. Yume tossed her bag in the backseat through the open space from the front, She dropped her drink in the little cup holder as well. Catching up with her, you open the backseat's door and chucked your bag in there–immediately closing it after. You pull the passengers door open and sat down, closing it behind you. Yume did the same–letting out a large sigh as she used her long sleeve to rub her legs, which were freezing.

"Bruh, you were just cold. Shouldn't have wore that skirt knowing it was this cold. Your mother would be disappointed," you moved your head side ways, pretending to be disappointed. You dropped your dunkin' drink in the other cup holder next to hers.

"Y/n, shut upp." Rolling her eyes jokingly, She grabbed the buckled next to her seat and puts it on. You placed your seat belt on too. Automatically, her phone connected to the car, you check over at the screen in the middle. It had the time, the degrees outside and all that other fancy things.

"Wanna play something?" she inserted the keys into the ignition and started the car.

"Yeah, I'll type it in,"

You grabbed her phone, showing the screen to her to unlock it, automatically recognizing her face– the lock screen slid up, revealing all her apps. You went to spotify and played "C U Girl" by Steve lacy.

"OKAAYYY, MS. INDIE TIK TOKER." Yume said nodding her, jamming to song. It was only going to be a 5 minute drive, or 7 if you guys couldn't find parking. She swerved to the left, leaving her parking space and pulling off. You whipped out your phone and paused your music, rapidly switching to snapchat–you heard yume's loud singing.

"I WANNA SEE YOU GUURRLL, I WANNA PLEASE YOU GIRL....GO AHEAD AND BE YOUR GIRL," This girl was jamming her out heart out, steve lacy was her favorite along with Brent faiyaz and many others.

In response, you started cackling as you hit the record button—swiftly turning over it to the driver. Her black ponytail moving as she sang and motioning her head in all different directions. Eyeing towards your direction she sees the phone and leans towards the camera flashing a smile, moving her head side to side—still singing through the lyrics. Yume returned back to the road as she lightly taps the steering, avoiding the horn of course.

Once the quick little vid was done, you added a caption,

"I swear if we crash😭😭💕"

Your thumb jolted between posting it on your private or public. You decided to post on the public story because why not? The song was over pretty quickly as the next one played.

"Who knew white people had rhythm?!" It was obviously sarcasm. You knew she was half Asian but it was fun always calling out her white side.

"Naaahh, white people don't have any rhythm. What you saw there was my miki matsubara pop out". She eases down her breaks– the traffic light turns red. Miki Matsubara? Oh yeah, it's that woman who sung "stay with me". It was a good song, you were obsessed with the chorus mostly. 

You giggled a bit at her remark, you checked your socials once again.

"If this light doesn-" Yume sentence was cut off by the light turning green. She pressed her foot on the gas and carried on with attending class.

                                  ~~~

Pulling up to the parking lot, yume leaned towards her wheel, searching for a place to park. She slowly went down each isle searching for a vacant lot she could snag. You had your drink in between your lips, you took the last sip and shook the plastic cup trying to get a little more. All you heard was ice rattling against one another, dropping the cup back in the holder. You peer out the window looking at the campus, there were a ton of kids, like a lot. Anxiety began spiking up through your veins, this really is the college life, huh? Maria University. It was a school for literally anything, it was one of the biggest universities in the country as well being highly diverse. Yume would be allll the way on the other side of campus while you're slightly in the middle.

"Uggghhh! I regret not leaving earlier, I don't see any open slots." She whined. This was her 2nd time driving around the parking lot looking for a space.

"I said we should walk but nahhh, you wanted to be lazy and take the car." You rolled your eyes as yume, exaggerating, throwing your hands in the air. But you weren't going to be late on the first day. As the generous queen you are, you aided your roomie with looking a space to park. After analyzing for a few moments, you spotted a space and immediately tapped at the window, pointing towards it. Yume car swerved to the left, sliding right into the parking. Taking her keys out the hole, she grabbed her drink and headed out.

"No leaving trash in my car, miss L/n!"

You grabbed your plastic cup and opened the passenger door.

"Yes ma'am," you opened the backseat and grabbed the two bags and closed the door. Beep yume locked her car. She was sipping her coffee but gave a bitter expression when her sweet drink was watered down because of the ice. You looked at your phone, checking the time:

                             8:38 am

                 Monday, February 18th

                                                               38m ago

Kittykiller27, prettygirlnene liked your photo

                                                               45m ago

[Andyhas]: CRONA BECK started following you and 48 others.

Your phone was blowing up from insta notifications. It was time for class and you weren't sure how long it'll even take you to find your classroom. Slinging the bag over your shoulder, you handed yume her own, which she grabbed. You both were speed walking, despite her coffee being ruined she still continued to drink it. It was for the caffeine you guessed. Reaching the sidewalks, it was time to part ways. Yume turned her face towards yours pouting.

"We're leaving each other nooww," she stuck out her bottom lip staring at you. You grabbed her arm, pulling her closer to you. Her arms slithered around your waist, resting her chin on your shoulder–giving you a warm hug. You returned the hug by grunting and holding her tightly.

She started giggling and patted your back a few times, you released your grip and she started to jog in the other direction while looking back, waving at you. You waved back hollering a "BYEEEE!" A trash can was next to you so you dumped your empty dunkin' there.

It was now time for your own adventure, to find this damn classroom. You click the play button on your phone's lock screen, "baby powder by Jenevieve began playing. (Play the song whores👩🏾‍💻)

Walking downwards to the left side of campus, you searched for a pair of doors to go inside of. At this moment, you regretted not going to orientation. That day you were busy setting up your website for your makeup line. You haven't released any products yet, but you had plentiful of ideas and themes you wanted to do. Since it was black history month, maybe you'll drop something as simple as a face cream to help clear and brighten up the skin. But you discarded that thought because you weren't anywhere near ready to start your own small business. Plus, you had bigger things to worry about.

Standing in front of double doors, you grab the handles and pulled it back, you stepped inside while students behind you did the same. You came in slowly, admiring the interior. It was hella spacy with paintings and photos hanging along the walls. Students were roaming the hallways going back and forth from classrooms. Most of the students seemed to be in some sort of costume, or they were dressed fairly well like they were models. You didn't know the directions to your designated class, so you took up the courage to ask someone. You turned to search for someone who didn't seem busy, since most people were rushing to class. Finally you laid eyes on q girl leaning against the wall, typing on her phone. She had long pink acrylic nails, her blonde hair tied into a low ponytail, which complimented her pale skin tone. She had a gold nose piercing on the right nostril.

She seemed nice enough, so you decided to approach her.

"Um excuse me, do you know where Mr. Fargo's class is at?"

The blonde girl averted her eyes from her phone, now focusing on you.

"I'm not really sure—um, I believe it's down that way." She pointed to the right of her.

"Mr. Fargo, he's teaches cosmetic right?"

"Yeah," you replied

"Then I think it should be down there." She scrunched her face in a confusing manner, meaning not to take her word for granted. But you couldn't care less, it was worth a try.

"Ight, thank you." You bid her goodbye. Oop. You accidentally switched your lingo. You were used to speaking in AAVE but you knew how to change your tone and wordplay around others who weren't African American. The girl didn't seen to notice so you just continued down the hall.

"Down... here right..? Yeah this is the way," you murmured to yourself while you strut down the hall. Then turned left as the lady told you. You were now at a hall with multiple doors. Out of all them, you forget the most important, class started in five minutes. You looked to the left as your braids swayed with your movement, then searched to the right. You walked down the hallway, stopping at the fifth door on the left. You were hesitant with grabbing the door, you didn't want to make a fool of yourself walking into the wrong room as all eyes are on you. You pulled out your phone and texted yume.

(I did a different message format just in the previous was confusing)

                 colonizer but times 2🧑🏻‍🦲

       

                        I'm so lost, this is embarrassing.

Lost? What happened

                        

                               Idk where my class is

                             & its starting in a few

You don't know where?? Bruh

Ask someone, im sure they'll help you

                              I did...but she didn't tell me

                                    which class it was😭 all.

she said was "down the hall"

BYEE LMAOO

Uhh

Just open the door you think it is😋       

                      UH- HUH🧏🏾‍♀️ YOU SETTING ME

                               UP FOR FAILURE.

     

       Imagine going into the wrong class and

                 all you see are eyes 👁👁

Girl, half of the people won't even see you again on campus👩🏻‍🏫

If you don't recognize the teacher, try to ask a student close to the door for direction

         Okay, im blaming you if I make a fool.    

                           outta myself 😟

                        Read at 8:43 am

(Play quicksand by SZA rq 👩🏾‍💻)

You decided to take your roomie's advice and pick a class, which you already did.

You dropped your phone back into your jacket pocket and swung open the door–you were prepared for the stares. The classroom was vacant, not even a teacher in sight. Just a bunch of stools and white pull down screens. You saw a few cameras standing in front of these screens. "Was this the photography class or sum?" You mumbled to yourself.

And well, eyes were on you but it wasn't a herd as you expected, just one. Sitting on one of the stools in front of the door, was pale skin boy with long brown hair. It rested at his shoulders, some of it covering his face even. He seemed around 6ft, or 6 ft 2? You couldn't really tell since he was sitting.

He had on some black jeans with a black long sleeve sweatshirt as well with a beige greenish short sleeve unbutton shirt rested on top of it– a long golden key necklace dangled from his chest. His hands were sitting between his lap, you noticed sliver rings on them.(his outfit for people who need help visualizing) The teal eyed boy was also rocking black & white air Jordan 1 retro, literally the same as you.

You screamed internally at how fine this man looked and he had shoe gang? Uggghh. Class been started and you were going to be late on your first because this OBVIOUSLY wasn't your class. You decided to break the awkward silence and speak,

"Hey, um, is this Mr. Fargos class?" You stepped more into the classroom for the brunette male to hear you.

"Wrong one, babe. His class is in a totally different building." A different building?! You wanted to die right there and then, especially after hearing him laugh after his statement. Not just the wrong class but the wrong building? Bye–you're so stupid. His eyes scanned your body, his eyes lingered a bit longer at your shoes–it seems he noticed. A smirk appeared on his lips after finishing his quick outfit interrogation–wait, did he just call you-? I-, yes he did. You tried your best to hide your smile and not react.

"O-ooo, I got it. Thanks" Eren released a small chuckled seeing your reaction, he could tell you were caught up with the little pet name.

"I'll walk you over there." He got off his stool and walked towards your direction.

"I-, nah it's good, I got it." You said in defense not wanting to bother him. He didn't respond and just passed by you, exiting the classroom. He held onto the door, looking at you.

"You coming or no?" He was so nonchalant with it everything. You smiled a bit and walked out the class alongside with him. He released his grip once you were out and started trialing behind you.

You paused for a moment because you didn't know where you were going. You turned back to look at him, he caught on and let out an "ah". He quickly got in front of you as you proceeded behind him.

"So," he said.

"What?" You replied. Why did he start a sentence and not finish it? Was he expecting you to start the conversation, weirdo. You just wanted to get to class l.

"Oo, sassy are we?" He raised a brow.

"What—? boy, say what you wanna say."

Once again, he let out a chuckle, flashing you a small. God, was his laugh attractive.

"You're into makeup and stuff?" He questioned.

"Yeah, I'm into 'makeup and stuff' " You said the last few words in the mocking tone, referring to what he called cosmology.

"That's good, at least I'll be seeing you often."

"Often? Oh, are you in that major also?" You said.

"No...Do you really not know anything?" He made you feel dumb by his response. How were you suppose to know what he meant? You clicked your teeth and started walking ahead. You pushed back the door that lead to another hallway and walked towards the end to push the second door that lead to another building.

The brunette boy watched as you left him behind in the dirt, waiting for the moment you'll turn the wrong corner—so he could tease you about it then correct you.

It wasn't too long till you reached your destination, you both stopped in front of the class's door.

"Well, see you. I hope you don't make snarky remarks to every girl you meet."

"Nah, only you princess." He had a smirk on his face, ooo! You wanted to wipe it off.

You glanced at him and his eyes were already on you, you broke eye contact and reached for the handle.

"Wait–" you whipped your heard back.

"Yeah?"

He cleared his throat

"Name's Eren," you let out a small giggle, did he really just stop you to say his name? Puhleasee. Hearing your laugh, his face brightened up and kept his eyes on you.

"Okay, Eren~. Thank you for walking me, I gotten get to class now."

You opened the door and stepped inside. Eren didn't even get a chance to ask your name. Luckily for him, your major mingled a lot with his own, he could only hope to see you again around campus.

‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿

Authors note: UGHHH, I STAYED UP ALL NIGHT FOR THIS just to pass out a few hours before school started. 🥲 I wasn't even paying attention in English and math class, but hope yall enjoyed <3.

Pt 3

[guigz1-coldwar]

"A boring party": New chapter for "The City of Angels: Under the Skin" is out!

Chapter Summary: After making her first observations at the boxing club, Bell is going to attend Adler's party in Beverly Hills where friendly faces are going to show up...

To read it on AO3, click here!

Taglist: @snowgoldwaylon , @clxudtea , @efingart, @chrystallenex

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

A suicide by hanging in a boxing club, this was looking like a banal case for me but my first guesses with Mason & Woods was kinda showing that this case is maybe going to be a little more interesting than I thought. If the city was going to host one of the best opportunities by having a female boxing fight, why one of the managers of the fighters would hang himself in his gym like this? I don't know this Joe Dunn personally and even if I wanted to interrogate the people around, this opportunity wouldn't be something to miss for him but no...he found himself at the end of a rope above the ring of his boxing club...

It would have been great to get into work directly but with the place closed down for the rest of the day & only re-opening tomorrow, my chances to make a progress was reduced to nothing for the day with now only one thing remaining to do...and it was going to be attending that party Adler invited me tonight at his house in Beverly Hills, how great. It wasn't the best thing for me to do but I can say that it could be a good opportunity to know more about Adler closer...only if the people of his group understand who I am...

I left the club five minutes after Mason & Woods, trying to find unusual things like a tray of paint disposed on the ground with no bucket around and a footprint into the little white pool near the ring, looking like a boot...must be a mistake coming the day before the incident by judging about how the paint was dry on the wooden floor...noted this on my book, something that I will ask to the boxers, they can know why is there a white paint on the floor...and also to the maid, Grey...she's the one to discover the body, she can help too.

Instead of going back directly to my office to think a bit before going to the party, I decided instead to go to one of Venice's Beach parking lot to admire the sea but also to get my mind cleared up about things, from this case but also about a lot of things in the past...the view of the sea from where I was, sitting in my car and smoking a cigarette...From sea to shining sea, that was something right here...this is the shining see...too bad that the City of Angels isn't really pure...the city can take a lot from you, wondering if a part of you doesn't want to leave...the past always coming back...

"Come on, Bell, let's kick some Nazi ass!"

"You're a good kid, help the others,"

"If this city doesn't change you, it will,"

"You have a lot to learn but I know that you will do good,"

The past...it's always coming back...fighting in Europe, getting advised into launching myself into this activity, the warning about this town...and when my mentor died...tracking down a criminal in the city sewers and getting killed by the water's pressure as I watched it happen...let's just get this in a part of my head so I can think about it when I will drink. I stayed there almost 3 hours into my car and I guessed that it was time for me to leave and go to Beverly Hills, not going to change clothes just for a party, even it's for the rich people with their suits & dress, they will have to do with a woman almost dressed like a man with a leather jacket...

When I reach the limits and went inside Beverly Hills, this was like entering a different world from the other parts of the city, as if it wasn't really part of the city like in the hills. This is where almost all of the big personalities in town were living, the others in the hills, that's why this place was different. I wouldn't be able to live in those places and honestly, a little apartment was actually better than a big house so it's a no for me.

Adler gave me his address when he left quickly on a little note and as I thought when I got his house in sight, I knew it was going to be looking very different from the other fancy houses around: there were some people around, journalists with their cameras, the rich people getting in while some men in suits were guarding the portal leading to the house, separated by a little garden with some fountains. I parked my car away on a little parking spot and went to walk towards the crowd in front of the house, managing to pass through it before arriving in front of the guards.

"Hey, you're on the list?" That was the man on the left of the gate speaking up to me, stepping on the side to get in front of me, having moved his hand at me.

"I'm the private investigator your boss hired," I announced myself under the two guards' gaze who looked at each other in confusion...probably thinking that I was joking here.

"You're serious?" The guard on the right asked me, his face about to laugh at me.

"A woman...private investigator?" The left guy said, showing signs that he was holding himself to laugh. Okay so, if those guys are continuing, the newspapers of tomorrow are going to talk about two men sent to hospital and there will be witnesses...no, I will not do that...not in front of the others.

"Idiots...Russell Adler guards?" I decided to get on the offensive on this, targeting their stupid attitude towards someone like me and it seems that my offense kinda worked well on them, looking more serious than before. "Listen, I got hired by your boss to investigate Joe Dunn's suicide, he told me to see him tonight," I reaffirmed myself, slightly pointing behind the guards towards the house.

"Hmm..." The right guy put his hand under his chin, trying to know maybe if I was telling the truth. "You have an ID?" He asked.

"Name's Bell, all you need to know," I replied to him, preferring to keep my real name unknown to them and the right guard snapped his fingers, probably realizing who I am.

"Oh yeah, the boss told us about you...hmm, sorry," The right guard apologized, finally acknowledging that I wasn't just a woman dressed as a man before moving to open the gate behind him and I was ready to go inside before the same man stopped me. "Even if you're the investigator the boss hired, we want you to stay in line," He warned me.

"I'm not at your boss' orders but don't worry, I'll make sure that the line isn't crossed," I affirmed to him with a smile before he let me go, leaving me free to enter Adler's house by passing through the gate, the guards not even bothering themselves to frisk me about my M1911 under my jacket. "Bell, welcome to Beverly Hills," I murmured to myself during my walk, at the sight of the house, seeing groups of rich people on the front, dressed very differently than me, another world to say.

The house was very big, with two stairs leading up to the porch of the house and once I got on it, I could say that I was surely getting watched by a few people around, probably wondering who was this woman not wearing a dress and they must be very confused to see me. For now, my goal was to get inside the house and reach Adler about the little progress I was able to make on the investigation and if he's a good man like he want to pretend, he should be helping me to know more about Joe Dunn...

When I entered inside after passing another duo of guards who were acting more mature than the two others at the gates, there were more people than outside, showing to me that it was a real party, probably to make the others look at Adler as an important man in town and a good man...or to make sure that his criminal actions aren't seen with the help of some money slipped during a handshake or away from the public eyes...I'm at this party for about 2 minutes and it was already boring for me to stay here, Adler not coming to check if I was here, there was no way I'm the one making the effort of joining him as I don't know where he is, not able to see him around...

"Bell?" Suddenly, as I was going to lean against a wall to look at the big stairs leading to the first floor who was guarded when I heard a familiar voice behind my back, causing me to turn around and to discover at my surprise the friendly face of the commissioner Lawrence Sims here, dressed in his usual black & grey suit.

"Sims," I muttered at him, thinking in my head why he was here, attending this party from Adler.

"Can you tell me what are you doing here?" He asked me, surely curious about my presence.

"Waiting for Adler to come to me, he hired me for a case," I responded directly without any lies, having never lied once to Sims as I don't want him to turn his back against me, he's a good cop like Woods & Mason. "Joe Dunn," I added, turning my back around to lean against the wall as I was going to do on my right side.

"Ah...Joe Dunn..." Sims mumbled, moving at my left side to look at the stairs like me. "It's not looking to be a different case, a boxing manager killing himself...no need to bury ourselves deeper in it," He thought, giving out what Mason & Woods told me earlier today about how he was viewing that case. "But I'm sure that you have different thoughts,"

"You know well, commissioner," I told him, moving to scratch the right side of my face with my left hand and a nervous laugh. "Yes, I don't think Dunn could have killed himself, assisting to an opportunity of a female boxing match...I know that you aren't going to continue but I believe it might be good to keep the case open for a while," I advised him along with giving my first impressions on the case.

"Maybe but he could have killed himself over something else," He presumed, countering my thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm going to see the boxers tomorrow at the first hour, maybe that Woods & Mason are going to help me," I said, going to move my left hand inside my jacket to grab a cigarette but maybe that this place isn't for smokers so I resigned myself to do it...could have helped me to pass the time. "What do you know about Dunn?" I questioned Sims.

"A former boxing manager in England who fought in the British army during the war, came here to open his boxing club and he got popular on the West Coast, and when you become popular..." He stopped himself to give me a look meaning that he was waiting for me to continue.

"You got friends but also enemies," I presumed and he nodded at me.

"He got enemies but not as far to kill and make it look like a suicide, everyone was respecting Dunn," He told me back...so Dunn was having enemies but for Sims, they wouldn't go as far to kill him. Even with that, there can be some people ready to do it...might need to note this down later on in my book.

"Why are you here?" I finally asked Sims, looking at him curiously.

"Well, since I'm one of the police commissioners, Adler thought it would be a good idea to invite some of us here," He revealed as his eyes were drifting to different points of the room, surely pointing out about where his fellow colleagues were around this house.

"Woods & Mason?" I thought.

"No...& even, they wouldn't come here, Woods hate it, same for Mason," He scoffed, shaking his head about them being here...yeah, I was having trouble to see Woods & Mason attending this party, they would be exactly like me. "Oh...here's the jewel of the party," Sims then said this, looking in front of him

"What?" I murmured before I got my eyes away from him to look at where he was looking...he was looking to...wow...it was a woman with a black dress going down the stairs, a red scarf around her neck and...shit, she was damn pretty, it's the first time this is happening..."Who is she?" I demanded Sims, feeling weirdly amazed by the sight of this woman...weird.

"That's Helen Park, the famous British actress & singer," He responded to me as my eyes couldn't drift away from the woman as she was going down...my heart was looking to beat faster than I thought..."Adler is her agent, he's the man who got her into Hollywood, she's a star, Bell, you're not going to the cinema?" He added as my heart beat faster when I was realizing this woman was coming in our direction...

"Sir Sims, it's a pleasure to see a man of the police force here," The woman addressed him politely as she gave him her right hand, causing him to lean forward to kiss it.

"Miss Park, it's a pleasure too," He said with a smile, sounding more relaxed in his voice than me in general now. "I really love your work on your last movie," He complimented.

"Oh, thank you, sir," She smiled at him before then, her eyes...her blue eyes turned around to fall on me and I chuckled on this, thinking that I was blushing at her sight. "And...you are, miss?"

"Uhm..." I started, confused and trying to tell something good to her without panicking. "Jess...Jessica Blackwell," I presented myself as she was moving her hand at me and like Sims, I leaned forward to kiss her and when my lips touch the back of her hand, I feel like an electric shock inside of me...a sort of...shit, undescribable, this woman is something. "I'm a friend of the commissioner,"

"Oh," She gasped, blushing at me with a smile before looking at Sims. "Your friend is very pretty, sir," She commented and...Am I literally blushing in front of Sims now? Dammit...I never got complimented like this for a while...wow...

"Thank you, miss Park," I chuckled with a little nod, this time, realizing that I'm blushing as hell here.

"I remember that Adler wanted to see you, commissioner," She told him, making me look at Sims with narrowed eyes and also still blushing at her remarks.

"Yes...my friend also needed to see him," He told her back, his hands pointing at me, causing miss Park to look at me with a face that was seeming to realize who I was now.

"Oh, I see...I'm very sorry, miss Blackwell but Adler told me that he had to attend serious business for the night with the commissioner, he told me that you had to see him but he would like to report it for tomorrow in the afternoon," She announced to me, sending another big thing to stop me advancing in that case...Adler prioritizing Sims over me...and to say he wants me to solve this case...guess that my day is kinda over now, don't want to force myself if I can't see him tonight.

"It's okay, I'll see him tomorrow then," I resigned myself to give up, now thinking of leaving a boring party to go sleep if I can't talk to Adler.

"Good, Sir Sims, if you please," She gestured at Sims to follow her but he moved his hands at his front.

"Two seconds, miss Park," He raised two fingers of his right hand before he put his hands behind my back, turning around from her. "Bell, why don't we go eating at this restaurant tomorrow noon? I'm pretty sure that some help could be good," He proposed to me and I thought directly about the case.

"Why not? Same place?" I agreed.

"Sure, I'll leave you now, pretty sure that you want to go home, this is a boring party, right?" He guessed my thoughts about this and I could only nod at this with a little smile on my face. "Good, goodnight then," He wished me this, removing his hand off my back.

"You too, commissioner," I said to him before he walks away to join miss Park as I see the two walking to the stairs and then go up, my eyes mainly focused on her instead of him...I don't know why but...she was...different...maybe that I should go back to my apartment...this lady is...pretty...interesting.

It's with a blush on my face that I decided to leave the house, disappointed that I couldn't meet with Adler about giving him what I think of the case but also curious about two things; why Sims was getting prioritized over me by Adler to get my briefing reported and second...who was this mysterious Helen Park? Maybe I should check some newspapers to know more but now, let's go home and sleep...

I was simply walking back to the gates through the main alley between the house & the portal when I start to feel something weird around, something attracting my eyes away as I could see something in a tree on the sides that couldn't belong to a tree, gaining my curiosity to check it and when I got closer to that tree, I looked up...and what I saw...

"Lazar?" I spoke up, discovering that idiot sitting on a tree branch, a little camera in his hands.

"What the..." He started to speak but hearing me caused him to lose his balance off the branch and I could only witness him fall off the tree and hit the ground...hopefully, the tree wasn't that big to get him seriously injured but he still fell off that tree on his back... "Awww...dammit!" He growled, putting his left hand behind his back, his eyes narrowing because of the pain before he moved them on me. "Bell? What the hell are you doing here?" He asked me.

"You first, what the hell are you doing in Adler's property on a tree? How did you get in?" I asked him back, wondering how this idiot managed to get inside and climb that tree like that. I knew already that it couldn't go through the main entrance because of the guards, the journalists still outside.

"Climbed over a wall from one of the houses and that tree...wanted to get pictures of that party and mainly...ah...my back," He began to reply as I decide to help him get him on his feet by giving him a hand to get up. "Yeah, heard that the famous actress, Helen Park, was going to be there,"

"She was here, she talked to me," I revealed as he was cleaning his jacket sleeves, making him look at me with wide eyes.

"Tell me, what did she say?" He demanded but now, I didn't want to be spotted here with him.

"Why don't we discuss it somewhere else?" I proposed to him, giving a quick look behind me, hopefully in a little part of the garden that wasn't guarded. "There's a restaurant called Burger Town, want a burger?" I shrugged at this, not knowing if he would like to eat something and give us a way to not get killed here.

"Sure!" He agreed on this, enthusiastic.

"Okay, so...leave this place by where you came from and join me at my car," I ordered him to do and to that, he nodded for once...just because I promised him a burger, he loves them, he would do anything for it and also if I wanted him to give me information he could gather on his side, a good way to end this long day...

"I'm sure that we can talk about this around a good burger,"

[boop-le-snoot]

masterpost ☀️ main masterlist ☀️ taglist

previously on...

Chapter 5. We have stucky, we have stevesambucky friendship, we have a new place to live and strange being a good guy because tony definitely ranted at him. Also, we're beginning the creepy part of the plot. I have decided that sam will be one of the main platonic characters in this story because I love sam.

fun fact: I used to be a creepypasta writer! Going back to my roots here, hehe.

Things had stated changing, for better or worse, much sooner than I had been prepared for - but was anyone, ever, really ready for the next big step? Certainly not me - the view that greeted me after I'd finished my shift at Jeremy's was peculiar and unexpected, so I froze, eyebrows high at the two super-soldiers parked, once again, illegally, right in front of the entrance door.

"Hi, doll," Bucky was reclined against his boyfriend comfortably, his bike standing a pace behind Steve's, who nodded companionably, a sheepish grin on his face.

"G'day," I nodded, eyeing them warily. "I think I know where this is going..."

"No, no, nothing like that," both men frantically waved their hands around, Steve coming up close to approach me slowly. "You're not in trouble. I came out here to say thanks," giving a sappy look to the grouch that was his boyfriend, Steve reached into his pocket and handed me a slip of paper. "Just, uh..."

"Those are our phone numbers. Don't hesitate to give either one of us a call if someone bothers you," Bucky took over the stammering blonde, shaking his head at the soft blush that blossomed on the good captain's face. The brunette wrapped an arm around Steve's shoulders with a shy smile of his own. "Or if you, I don't know, need someone to carry your groceries or something," he snorted. "The punk wouldn't leave it alone until we came out personally to thank you, the sap."

The laughter bubbled up from my chest as I grabbed and pocketed the paper, throughly amused and at the endearing gesture. "Sure, thanks."

"And, uh," Bucky's eyes briefly looked to the side. "We'd appreciate if you keep the status of our relationship to yourself for now. We're not, like, officially out yet."

I froze in place, mouth falling open. Surely they were aware that anybody with a functional pair of eyes could see that they were much more than 'good, lifelong friends'. "No problem, guys. Lemme know if anyone gives you shit about it though, this place," I gestured to the café behind me, "is strictly paparazzi and homophobe-free."

Steve's grin grew even more genuine. "Yeah, we heard all about it from Tony and Stephen. Said 'twas the only place they go these days."

I wasn't aware of that. "It's the paps, isn't it?" I remembered Tony's remarks.

Bucky shook his head, the metals of his prosthetic arm whirring as it recalibrated. "Not only. The public hasn't had the best reaction to a man goin' out with a man," the brunette looked away to the side, where Steve's face had fallen considerably. "And Tony's an eccentric rich man. We're jus' two soldiers. The US Army won't be too happy if we... Came out," both men were crestfallen yet determined.

I had a hunch nothing would be able to separate the two - seeing as not even seventy-odd years and brainwashing and ice couldn't keep the captain and his sarge apart, I doubted that a few government weasels could successfully do the job. Even so, it was unpleasant, to say the least, to see them deny themselves something that technically was perfectly fine in the 21st century.

I chewed on my lip, gathering my wits. "I've clocked out, I can tell you this as a friend- as a person. You don't owe the army jack shit. They do not own you, you are your own person that they experimented their German knockoff steroids on. Respectfully, fuck that shit." I firmly stated my opinion, figuring that there should have been at least someone that told Steve that he is more than his star-spangled uniform and giant metal frisbee.

The blonde scrunched his eyebrows together, fingers gripping onto his belt until the knuckles went white, the hard line of his jaw set firm.

Bucky laugh took me by surprise. "Agreed, doll. I'm too old to be hiding in back alleys and shit," he clapped on his boyfriend's shoulder. "Although I'm happy enough with just not going to prison for bein' in love with this idiot."

"Jerk," Steve's responding pout was downright adorable now that I knew the circumstances surrounding their relationship.

Which wasn't exactly surprising. As a barista, I knew my fair share about my regulars' love lives, their jobs, their kids. The tea was almost always piping hot. "Bye, boys," I smiled at them warmly, throwing a glance at the time, adjusting the strap of my bag for comfort. "Stay outta trouble!"

Steve scrambled for his bike, having noticed my pointed gesture. "Sorry, didn't mean to hold you back. There, I have a spare helmet," he gestured behind him. "I'll give you a ride."

"There's no way in Hell I'm getting on that death trap!" I shouted cheerfully, walking briskly towards my second job, hiding a laugh in the warmth of my scarf as two very offended motorcycle-loving gay fossils sped past me, making truly incredible amounts of noise. Good for them.

Odette was content to let me rummage around the bodega without showing herself more than necessary, taking her appointments and doing- well, witch stuff, I guess, only coming out to poke at the various jars for ingredients.

"Star, I have a proposition for you," right before closing time, Odette's voice filled out the store with its low drawl. "A good friend of mine owns an apartment building, not far from here actually, and one tenant recently moved out. It's a safe space for those who are different," she enunciated the last word, fixing it with a pointed stare. "She's not overly fond of total strangers coming to live there. The rent is reduced and the apartment itself is slightly bigger and more fashionable than yours..."

"Where's the catch?" I found myself interrupting her. I wouldn't lie: the reduced rent and increased size of the apartment did interest me, as well as the probability of a kinder, more involved landlord. My current one was - not the best, but such was life in the NYC.

"There are a few rules to follow, rules that might seem strange at first but they'll make sense in time. And your neighbors might be also a little... Unusual," Odette carefully studied my face for any signs of displeasure.

I sighed.

And then I sighed some more as I was signing my new lease in a few days' time, having spoken with Porter, my new landlord, and his boyfriend who had claws and fangs- after so much time spent around Odette's, I didn't even blink. The couple liked me enough to extend a secure but flexible offer and some furniture to choose from the attic where they kept the spares.

I quite liked the large, vintage couch I placed next to the wide bow windows in the living room. The floors were hardboard and well-kept, the walls a nice, homely shade of green and Porter didn't mind any new holes in them that might arise from hanging up decorations. I scheduled a thrift crawl at the next possible opportunity, happy with the "good employee" bonus Odette had given me after I sealed the deal.

My stuff was boxed up, a sleepless night and a call to a begrudging Jeremy to have a couple of days off to move; I was, thankfully, not late on my schedule and all that I had left was to rent a car to move the boxes of my things and the few pieces of furniture I had decided to keep - my haul in Porter's attic had been incredibly rewarding and my new apartment had all the basics to make it look like a warm, inviting bohemian home in a while.

My phone rang suddenly, startling interruption to the romcom I was watching as I ate my last lunch in my old apartment. "Hello?" I answered the number without looking.

"Hi, doll," Bucky's voice rang out cheerful. "A little witch told me you were moving. I thought you might need a hand?"

I blanked momentarily, the thought of enlisting two very busy super-soldiers to haul ten boxes and two endtables worth of stuff not having crossed my mind at all. "Is this the moment when you stop by my house just to unattach and put your prosthetic arm somewhere and leave?" I asked, hearing distinctive snickering - several more people were with him.

The cheer in his voice blossomed into a full belly laugh. "You're funny," he teased me. "And thanks for the idea. But no, I have a room full of men that have nothing better to do but get on my nerves. Might as well make 'em useful," his accented drawl thickened the more we spoke. Muted cheers rang out in the background.

"Uh, sure," who was I to look a gift horse in the mouth? I rattled off my address and warned them I didn't have a car, after which Bucky assured me it will be taken care of. The last remaining knick-knacks packed away, I went down to take out the trash, and returned to four people standing in front of my apartment building, all except one unrecognisable in their civilian clothes. "Hello," I waved at them, side-eyeing the tallest, grumpiest man of the bunch.

Stephen Strange was there, looking around curiously, hands in the pockets of his plain grey hoodie. I had already forgotten how normal he looked without his robes, and, frankly speaking, I preferred him like that. His title and the attire that came with it were quite intimidating.

"Hey there," a dark-skinned man who I recognised to be the Falcon, raised his hand. I had not met him yet. "I'm Sam, Sam Wilson. You must be the Star we're helping?" His quick once-over and the tilt to his lips; the ease with which he flirted had me brandishing smirks of my own. I led them all upstairs, Stephen's silence being just so loud. Sam, however, had no such reservations. "So, you're a witch, right?" Wow, subtlety was his middle name.

"Yes, I'll show you my broomstick," I deadpanned, wiggling my eyebrows at him with a grim look.

"Woah woah," Sam raised his hands as the three men behind us snickered loudly. "What happened to 'how are you? let's have dinner sometime'?"

I did my best imitation of an evil cackle as I let them through my front door. The four newcomers looked around my nearly empty apartment with muted interest before zeroing in on the pile of things in the corner: a few pieces of furniture and nearly taped boxes. Should be a walk in the park for four men.

A hand on my arm pulled me from the stupor of observing Sam, Bucky and Steve act like a well-oiled trio, bantering and teasing each other as they discussed how to best move the things.

"Look," Stephen Strange had all the appearance of a chastised puppy. "I wanted to apologize for my behaviour that day. I was out of line," the low notes in his voice made the appearance of the apology being somewhat reluctant. Tony probably put him to it after our little burger run.

Irregardless, I wasn't looking to make any enemies. "Me too, I was under stress - not that I'm using it as an excuse," to give where it's due, I nodded at the sorcerer, immediately awestruck by the easy, boyish smile that stretched on his lips.

"You are strong," he added. "If you would like to learn our ways, we would welcome you." There was a spark in his eyes, something belonging to man that respected and collected knowledge. My own respect for him grew immensely just from that one thing.

"I'll think about it," I offered amicably, however, I still leaned heavily towards a negative answer to that particular proposition. I liked my current way of life.

Strange's grin made a momentary second appearance, until Sam's voice rang loudly: "Fire in the hole, Wizard-man," causing the former to groan loudly and look at me.

"Think about your new place for a second," he spoke, briefly touching out fingertips. As soon as that was over, a golden circle with my new living room on the other side of it appeared quietly, Strange's hands immediately going back into his pockets after that. I sighed and pointed the men into it, stepping in a second after. The sorcerer wasn't far behind. "You could learn that, too, you know," he added wryly, having seen my look of mild envy directed at him.

"I think I'll be good with having the 'pissed off the sorcerer Supreme and lived' pass for now," I retorted with an eyeroll, turning around to stare him down.

He had the decency to look somewhat sheepish, at least. "I'm not like my predecessor," his words were chosen carefully. "And, to be honest, I have no clue as to why your... Boss is so hostile towards me- us," Strange looked around the room before unceremoniously beelining for the couch and plopping down on it.

"Not to be a gossip," I started, slightly intrigued. "But Odette and some lady she called ancient had mad beef," I slipped into casual language easily, trying to recall the details of Odette's, quite often jumbled, stories. "Sounded almost like territorial disputes," I shrugged. "And the apprentices Odette took on before me found themselves in all kinds of compromising situations," I chewed on my lip. "Like the Arctic."

Strange rubbed his face with a noisy groan, large hands doing nothing to mask the resignation and slight embarrassment.

I focused on the thin, red scars on his hands - they had to have been something serious, the way slight tremors betrayed the deteriorating state of the nerves in his fingers. I frowned, quickly averting my gaze before he could catch me ogling him. The fact thag Stephen kept his hands in his pockets or covered by gloves at all times didn't go over my head.

He muttered something to himself, something that sounded like he was often forced to clean up his predecessor's mess. "I see," was the only thing he'd offered me, looking slightly pitiful and apologetic.

"Well," I started, noting the last of my stuff was about to be in its rightful place, "as long as you don't toss me into the ocean, I think we can coexist peacefully."

"Tony would kill me if I'd tried," Stephen groused.

"Probably," I agreed. "Considering the fact he hit on me, for you, it would make one hell of a lover's quarrel," my hand pointed towards the kitchen as Steve and Sam carried in the boxes aptly labeled "kitchen", looking around a place to put them down.

"Tony did what now?" Stephen's tone dropped, a wry smirk decorating his lips as he eyed me through his lashes.

"Don't ask me," I raised my palms, feeling my eyes widen. "He's chaos personified and Satan only knows what he's got on his mind."

That squeezed a laugh out of the tall man, followed by a fond, sappy smile as he looked out of my large, panoramic window, probably thinking of Tony himself. There was no doubt, Stephen Strange was utterly and throughly head over heels in love with Tony Stark. Good for them, good for them.

"A-and that's it," Bucky walked in, wiping his hands on a kitchen towel I'd provided them earlier. "I took some liberties and assembled the furniture, Steve is stacking the dishes as we speak," the brunette noisily plopped down next to me, arm carelessly thrown behind me on the back of the couch.

"Oh, um," I stammered, unused to such random gestures of kindness. "Thanks a lot, you saved me a day's worth of time and a backache," I smiled, scooting over to make some room for Sam.

"No problem, not like we had anything better to do than argue which part of the Lord of the Rings is the best," Wilson rolled his eyes, elbowing Bucky none-too-gently.

Bucky elbowed back, thus starting a horsing war between the two, causing me to scoot closer to Stephen as I attempted to avoid any flailing limbs; the sorcerer and I shared an identical, perplexed sigh as to how two grown men could easily bait each other into such juvenile behaviour.

Whatever. It was kind of endearing.

Steve emerged from the kitchen dusty but smiling, having heard the commotion, and quickly herded his guys into a semblance of decent behaviour before all of three of them left, leaving me and Stephen to go back to my old apartment and give the keys to it to the guard. That was done, too, and a portal from an alley behind my old building straight into my living room had me and Strange awkwardly hovering, saying out goodbyes and waving to each other as the golden circle rapidly shrunk in size and disappeared, golden sparks scattering across my living room carpet for a short second before they fizzled out, too.

I used the brief moment of respite to find the small piece of paper containing the rules Porter had insisted I read and take seriously; figuring it might be a good idea to give them a read before beginning to unpack, I popped open a bottle of soda, holding the itemized list written in neat cursive to my face.

The further I read, the further my eyebrows rose:

"1. Keep your door locked at all times.

2. If a person knocks on your door claiming to be the mail man, do not open the door under any circumstances. You are free to ignore the knocking - it only lasts a minute or so. After the person has left, you may open the door and check for any packages.

3. If Samantha from 3B visits you and asks you to babysit, you may do so at your personal discretion. Her twins are a handful and their daily habits are not for the ones with a weak stomach, however, they mean nothin ill and will not harm you in any way.

4. Do not use the elevator between the hours of 1 and 4 AM.

5. There are no apartments under number "7". If someone claiming to be from those apartments knocks on your door and requests entry, come up with a polite excuse to decline and send me a text message. I will take care of it.

6. There is no garden on the premises of this building. If a man approaches you, claiming to be a gardener, don't interact with him and simply walk away. He will leave you alone.

7. You may meet a girl in a polka-dot dress playing in the hallways or in the stairwell. This is Lucy. Always be polite to Lucy - you won't like what will happen if you're rude to her. She does not talk but she knows limited ASL and may request to visit you. Allow her in ONLY if you have fresh meat in your fridge (beef or mutton, preferably bloody). You might want to avoid seeing her eat, however, it might be very beneficial to make friends with Lucy. She knows a lot of things.

8. If, when taking the stairs, you encounter inconsistent numeration of the floors, such as floor 2 followed by floor 5 and etc, simply walk a flight back. It will sort itself out. The building is old and sometimes it gets confused.

Important notice: these rules apply to your guests as well. Please make sure to introduce and educate them on these matters. We will help as much as we can should a situation arise but ultimately, there are fates far worse than an untimely, however swift, death.

- Porter and Lance."

A slow, creeping dread began to gnaw at my nape, curling on like a cold snake deep in chest. As if laughing at me, the warm, welcoming embrace of the green walls and the toothy, wide smiles my landlords had given me encouraged my recently found sense of adventure, all of it mixing into a cacophony of exhilaration and unease, equally steadily driving my running brain insane.

I sighed again, immediately going to the box containing my altar and the rest of the protective items. So much for peace.

Taglist: @couldntbedamned @mikariell95 @letsby @sleep-i-ness @toomanyrobins @mostly-marvel-musings @persephonehemingway @schemefrenzy @lillsxd @bluecrazedandbeautiful @slothspaghettiwrites @xoxabs88xox

[yourfeminist]

All of the asks. If you don't want to answer some that's fine, I'd be interested in all of them ☺️

Hell yeah i’m down! Thank you a lot! Have a nice day or evening! 

zinc white; how are you really feeling today? no one-word answers please!

Well I woke up today and I thought I had to work at 8AM but I didn’t need to work so that kinda sucked. But otherwise then that I’m fine! I need to do a few things today so I look forward to do that! Thanks for asking 

lemon; what’s your comfort food?

Chocolate!

hansa yellow; what’s your guilty pleasure song?

Rich Girl by Daryl Hall & John Oates!

yellow ochre; name an artist/band whom you just discovered & can’t get enough of! 

I recently discovered Billie Eilish and she’s pretty cool. But other than her I don’t remember any new album I listened to

naples yellow; where do you feel most at home?

Well my parents are divorced so ngl at my dads I feel more home because there are a lot of other people and I enjoy that. But when I’m at my moms I really love my room and that feels like home too. So I can’t decide :)

raw sienna; with whom do you feel most at home?

My (girl)friendgroup and one friend specifically that always makes me feel like home. When we are at the same party I always feel less awkward or uncomfortable ( I have social anxiety and sometimes it’s really acting up). So I’m really glad that he has that feeling. 

golden ochre; describe the relationship you have with your closest friend.

We can talk about everything but still we don’t always do. We have a great friendship and sure do love each other but we don’t say things like that to each other. We also see each other pretty often. One of my best friends💕

golden deep; what’s your favorite season?

This anwser always changes but atm It’s spring! I really enjoy the weather where you don’t have to wear a jacket just a hoodie because of the sun! Yup really love that. OH AND everything starts to grow again :)

cadmium orange; what do you like to do on your days off?

Watch youtube video’s, watch a few episodes of a show, reading and mostly relax!

orange lake; do you have anyone you can turn to when you’re sad?

yup I do but this girl right here is kinda dumb because I never talk to anyone because I have this feeling that when I do I bother other people. And I know I don’t but still I won’t do it haha. But I’m working on it! So if anyone has the same feeling feel free to come to me or ask me how I’m dealing with that.

titans; do you prefer slow mornings or relaxing evenings?

Both! But I prefer evenings a little more. Because then I see my family and friends more ( i know cliche :p)

shakhnazaryan red; are you currently binge-watching anything?

BROOKLYN NINE-NINE!!!!!!(cool cool cool cool cool no doubt no doubt) And I’m watching Teen Wolf for the second time haha

red ochre; are you more right-brained (creative) or left-brained (analytical)?

Right brained!

burnt sienna; is there a painting that brings you peace when you look at it?

Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh! 

english red; what animal do you relate to most?

A CAT!!! LOVE SLEEPING LOVE CUDDLING AND SOMETIMES I LOVE TO BE A GRUMPY FUCK

vermilion; what’s your favorite accent?

Hard one!! I really like Irish ( @bleubelle249SO YOU BETTER HAVE ONE :PPP) and Scottish! But ngl I reaaaally love Australian accents, so hot.

cadmium red; do you have a “type” when it comes to a significant other?

Nope I don’t mind tbh. But dark hair and dark eyes are plus !

scarlet; describe your current crush/es.

Dark haired, dark eyed 6′2 and his name is Noah Centineo and he doesnt even know I exist :). But other than him I don’t have a crush!

ruby; what does your ideal first date look like?

A walk at a park and maybe picknick and a fun activity and dinner later in the afternoon and for the night a movie! But tbh everything is okay, I’m not that hard to statisfy.

carmine; what does your ideal second date look like?

Anything the other person want to do! 

madder lake red; would you ever kiss someone (or accept a kiss) on a first date?

Yes I would. I would only kiss someone if they want to (CONSENT KIDS, ITS IMPORTANT) and I also would accept one if I’m comfortable. But there needs to be a connection tho. Otherwise a quick  peck on the cheeks.

rose; what’s something really positive going on in your life right now?

That I’m working on myself to become a healthier (mentally) me.  Because it took waaaaaaaaaaaaay to long.

quinacridone rose; what’s something you’re really looking forward to?

My drivers licence! 

violet rose; what does your dream house look like?

A very cozy house. Nice, warm with a library and a lot of plants and flowers! A big garden with both sun and shadow. With a few neighbours. And I would love to live at a dead end next to meadow!

violet; is there any place in particular you’d like to settle down?

Somewhere in England, USA or Australia. Maybe somewhere else in Europe, don’t know.

blue lake; what would you like to do/accomplish before you settle down?

That I finished college. I’m financial stable and that I worked hard for the things that I have. I don’t like doing things the easy way.

cobalt blue spectral; what is the most beautiful place you have ever been to?

Český Krumlov in Czech Republic

ultramarine; when was the last time you were in a good mood? do you know/remember what sparked it?

A week ago. I just felt good. Don’t have a reason for it.

blue; what’s the most recent dream you remember?

That I was dating a collegue who is also a friend. it was a really weird dream but I didnt tell anyone because my friends ship us hahahah

bright blue; what does your dream family look like? any kids or pets? how many of each?

I don’t yet if I want kids (or that my partner does) but if I would have kids I want 3 em. And both a dog and a cat!

blue cobalt; do you like your name? would you give yourself a different name if you could? Yes I like my name (Anouk) and no I will not give myself a different name because I don’t think an other name will fit me.

prussian azure; what’s your favorite scent?

Depends on my mood what it is; like a candle or perfume or deodorant. But probably vanilla, lemongrass and citrus.

azure blue; what’s your favorite type of tea, if any?

Earl grey!

turquoise blue; if you could start a garden, what would you plant?

SUNFLOWERS!!!!!!!!!!! And a few trees and nice flowers that grow each year.

cerulean blue; if you were guaranteed to have a viewership, would you start a youtube vlog?

yes probably. I secretly would love that haha

glauconite; describe your body without using any negative adjectives.

Tall, nice skin, long arms and long legs and my stomach kinda has a sixpack.

yellow green; picture yourself walking in a field. what do you see & hear in this scenario?

Probably something like this. But with more high grass. And I soflty hear the wind and a few birds chirping.

green light; are you in a comfortable place in life? if not, what do you think might make it better?

80% of my life is! What do I think might make it better? Me. But don’t know how yet.

green; name three countries you want to visit; do you have any actual plans in place to visit any of them?

1. Italy2. Australia3. New zealand

Yes! They are all three on my bucket list so I will for sure visit them!

emerald green; do you speak any languages besides english? are there any additional languages you want to learn?

Yes I speak: Dutch, Frisian and a tiny bit of German. And I really want to learn Spanish!

oxide of chromium; what’s your favorite book?

That’s way to hard for me to choose. So i am not going to give you an anwser :p

olive green; are you currently reading anything? how do you like it so far?

I am reading the Game of Thrones books. Currently reading A Clash of Kings (second one) 

mars brown; what’s a movie that always puts a smile on your face/makes you laugh?

Coco!! And all the Harry Potter movies!

burnt umber; what’s something you plan to do before the day is over to take care of yourself?

Nothing haha

umber; have you drank enough water today?

Not yet! But it’s still morning so don’t worry!

voronezhskaya black; what or who is your go-to outlet for when you need to vent? 

I don’t vent a lot. And if I do it’s not a go to person. Probably my dad or anyone else from my family or friends

sepia; name five things that always make you happy.

1. Animals2. When people are happy3. When people are smiling 4. Music!5. Kian and Jc (shout out to them, they are youtubers)

indigo; what’s the best/sweetest compliment you have ever received?

That I’m a very relaxed person to be with. My friends told me that when we had a test I’m made them less nervous. And I really like that.

payne’s gray; describe your aesthetic?

Art

black; post a selfie because you are so beautiful!

I would rather not post one but I’ll guess I will post one

There ya go!

Thanks again!