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pars-ley · 3 years ago

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Try again

Pairing: Hoseok x Female reader

Summary: When your job lands you at one of the most famous Fashion shows in Paris, the last thing you expect is to run into an ex - the current most sought after model in the industry.

Genre: Exes to lovers / Smut / Fluff

Rating: 18+ (NSFW)

Warnings: Model Hoseok / Dior Hoseok / Unprotected sex (you know the dealio, wrap it when you tap it) / Ever so slight exhibitionism / Nipple play /

Word Count: 2.3k

Beta: @birbdae thank you for looking over it twice because I’m so extra (sorry) and thank you for all your help.

Notes: This is for my secret santa project with @thebtswritersclub for @yutasgalaxy really hope you enjoy! And I also used my square “Jung Hoseok” from my summer bingo card for the @bangtanwritingbingo event.

Taglist: @mwitsmejk @vantxx95

The lights go dim and excitement blossoms like spring in your stomach as your eyes remain trained on the runway. Phone at the ready to take notes for this month's fashion article you are in charge of.

The first model comes out and cameras flash wildly, illuminating the outfit. You scribble away rapidly recounting everything to write up later.

Dior's highly anticipated fashion show, one you had been eagerly counting down the days till. Flying out to Paris was the perfect opportunity for you to mark one destination off your travel list and you have not been disappointed at all. From the architecture to the food, you are undeniably impressed and living one of your ultimate dreams.

It's time for the most awaited outfit yet, everyone was on the edge of their seat poised. You look over at your photographer, he's in position and eager, looking ready to spring.

The lighting and music changes and out walks the model all in black. That's all the detail you notice as your heart stutters and stomach flips as your eyes shift rapidly to his face.

Jung Hoseok. How did you not know he would be here?

The cameras flash even more wildly, every photographer wanting to get the best pic of the most sought after model on this runway. Your hand however hovers over your phone, unable to scribble away like you were previously, too distracted by his general presence.

Swallowing the panic you feel rising into your throat you glance at your photographer, his eyes are already on you, pity creasing his brow but a message in his eyes that says "Focus on your job and get it together."

You take a deep breath and compose yourself, making notes on the outfit and nothing more. As soon as your eyes hit the harness stretched across his broad chest however, your legs squeeze together tightly, as not only do previous nights of passion flicker behind your eyelids but the temptation for one last night with him is almost too great to bear.

As you watch him strut down the runway, face impassive and professional, your heart pulls in a thousand directions. Memories of the few years spent together cloud your mind, taking you to another lifetime when he was yours and you were his - before fame, before everything.

You pinch the bridge of your nose hard, willing yourself to focus as you type wildly away on your phone, trying to stay focused.

The show ends a short while after your blast from the past's appearance and all you can think of is getting as far away from him as fast as you can. Before all your hard work of burying your feelings in an attempt to get over him is ruined by your self restraint.

As you head for the exit, a hand lightly grabs your arm. Turning you see a pretty young woman, a badge around her neck and a kind smile on her face, handing you an envelope.

"It's from Hoseok. He asked if I could make sure you get it." She said next to your ear so you could hear over the chatter of the other attendees.

You nod and mechanically take it. She's off through the crowd before you even get a chance to say thank you.

You head to the exit in a daze, clutching the envelope like it holds the answers to life's questions. As soon as you're out in the cool evening air you take yourself off around the corner of the building away from the scattering crowds. Your fingers fumble as you frantically rip at the envelope and open the piece of paper inside, instantly recognising his elegant hand.

Many love letters he would write to you with poetic words scrawled across the page, each sentence a meaningful lyric coming alive as your eyes danced across them with a barrier of tears waiting to fall. Those words tucked away in a box hidden deep in your wardrobe for those moments you wish to relive how he once felt about you.

You read and re-read the note, double checking the words are correct.

"I saw you as you came in, I always had the ability to find you in a crowded room and apparently that hasn't changed.

I can't believe you're here. Please. Please, meet me at Guy Savoy at 7 o'clock tonight. I would love to see you and speak to you properly. I will book a table under my name. I really hope you show, you have no idea how much I've missed you."

That last line did things to your insides you weren't expecting. Your chest felt full and ready to burst open, love bleeding out of a fresh cut. Maybe you should just go back to your hotel and order room service, or go out for dinner with your photographer seeing as you were both here alone.

But you knew, even as you thought it, you knew you couldn't. You knew you had no intention of doing either.

Folding up the note and shoving it in your pocket and went in search of your colleague to tell him you wouldn't be travelling back to the hotel with him. He wished you luck, even if there was a hint of apprehension in his tone, you ignored it and took a cab to the restaurant.

Sitting there waiting, your nerves were at their peak. You had chewed the skin along your fingernails until they were sore and you had now resorted to folding your napkin to make different origami shapes. Just as you didn't think your heart could take anymore, you picked up your bag but as you were about to stand and run away, you saw him. Walking towards you, shades on and the most familiar beaming grin that had always made your stomach flip. You couldn't help the pull of your lips, mirroring the same smile he wore.

He breezed up to you and wrapped you in his muscular arms, like a whirlwind his scent intoxicated you and jumbled your mind even further.

"You are a serious sight for sore eyes." he whispers in your ear before pulling away and pushing in your chair as you sit down in a daze.

"You're around gorgeous models all day, I doubt that." you reply, attempting to hide your blush.

He removes his shades and places them on the table, before pushing his fingers roughly through his hair. "Believe me, it’s not as glamorous as people think.”

There’s an awkward silence that falls on your table, with sly, shy glances from you both.

“How’s it been? Your career I mean.” you blurt out, desperately trying to ease some tension.

He leans back in his chair and shrugs. “I can’t complain, at all. It’s going better than I could have dreamed.”

You nod, taking in how nonchalant he’s being. “I have to admit, I’ve been keeping track.”

“Of me?” he asks, shocked.

“Your career.”

“Really? I’m flattered.” his lips stretch into a toothy grin as a faint scarlet hue spreads across his cheeks.

“You should be very proud of yourself. You’ve accomplished so much, there’s no limit on how far you can go.” you find yourself saying all of this without meaning to.

He covers his face with his hands. “Ok, I appreciate this, really, coming from you this means so much, but I am more interested to hear about you.” he leans forward and places a hand on top of yours, the action causing your heart to soar. “What’s been happening with you? Are you still in the apartment?”

You nod as you take a sip of the champagne the waiter is pouring. “Yep, can’t bear to leave it, I love it there so much, a lot of memories too.” you add sneakily trying to gage his reaction.

His eyes soften. “Yes, we made a lot there.” his fingers entwine in yours, a movement far too comfortable for how long it’s been. "I miss it," he looks into your eyes so fiercely you're slightly taken aback. "I miss us."

Your heart inflates excitedly in your chest as butterflies swarm inside your stomach. But is this a good idea to rekindle an old flame, maybe there was a reason it was extinguished in the first place.

He senses your hesitation. "Are you with anyone?"

You shake your head. "No, I've dated but nothing serious. What about you?"

He laughs a bitter sound. "Same. I've not found anyone that could match up to you."

You hesitate again. "Hoseok…"

"Listen," he puts a hand up quietening you. "I know it was mostly me who instigated us breaking up in the first place but that is my biggest regret. I never should have let you go." he bites back the emotion in his words and swallows.

"But if you hadn't you wouldn't be where you are today." you add, squeezing his hand still clutching yours.

He makes a disgusted noise at the back of his throat. "I left my dream girl to follow my dreams and let me tell you, it wasn't worth it. If someone asked me to choose, it would be you. every. single. time."

He grabs your chair and slides it along closer to him. He reaches out to cup your face. "Please, let me come back."

His plea does not fall on deaf ears. Your heart knows the decision it's made but you can't form the words to speak. Your libido overtakes the moment and you grab him by the collar of his shirt and crush your lips against his. The taste of him is so familiar and yet new at the same time. Sweet like butter as your mouths melt together as one. His arm around your waist almost pulling you off your chair makes you break away and giggle. The heat in his eyes is almost overwhelming, all your thoughts are no longer in your head but in your groin. He looks so good staring at you like that, like you are the reason for living, how could you not give into him?

"Come back to my hotel?" you whisper urgently.

He nods, throws some cash down for your ordered drinks, takes your hand and pulls you out through the restaurant. You jog along to keep up with his long legged stride. He flags down a cab and you're into it and moving off swiftly while his hands find you again. They roam your body, finding their way under your shirt and to your nipples. He rolls them gently between his fingers as his lips attach themselves to your neck.

His hand glides slowly along your thigh, up your skirt and just when he's about to reach the most desired area the cab stops abruptly, letting you know you've arrived. You groan with frustration but jump out, pulling him into your hotel and leading him up to the room. Your heart pounding so loud in your ears you can't think of anything, nothing but the taste of his lips or the feel of his skin under your fingertips and god, did you want to feel more.

As soon as your door is unlocked you're on each other. Clothes can't come off fast enough and as they leave a messy path like a trail of breadcrumbs leading towards the bed.

"God, I have missed you." he says as he glances down at your body before pulling you flush against him.

There's no time for sly touches or exploring, you're both too desperate to feel each other.

Your bare, naked flesh moulds easily together as he enters you, both of your moans echo out across the room. The feeling euphoric as it's what you know and yet what you are no longer used to. He moves inside you with a persistent, desperate rhythm as his hips wind in the most perfect way, hitting that sensitive spot every time and making your toes curl in consequence.

He looks down at you, a soft, determined gaze and says breathlessly, "I love you."

His words are your undoing, as you remember the sweet nothings he used to whisper to you while you were making love before. You unravel around him, blinded by pleasure as your back arches underneath him. He's quick to follow you as you feel his warm seed spilling inside you and you watch his face twist in pleasure, his eyes never leaving yours. The moment, so intense, almost too intense you had to look away.

Both of you breathless and riding on your high, lay back on the bed staring up at the ceiling. A thousand thoughts race through your mind as you panic that you've just made a huge mistake. What if his words weren't genuine? What if he leaves...again? What will you do then? You'll have to start over, all your hard work of pushing him aside.

Almost as if he can sense your rising doubt, his fingers entwine with yours, as he turns onto his side to face you, gently twirling a strand of your hair between his digits.

He watches you closely as if searching your thoughts, your eyes so open and vulnerable - letting him right in, wanting him to silence your fears.

He strokes your face and kisses you so softly your lips melt right into him. You want this. You want him.

"Hey, I'm serious," he leans back, eyes burning into yours. "I want to come home to you. I want our life back, I want you, always."

Your panicking heart is soothed by his words and you relax and lean into his touch, your limbs softening against him.

"Please, can I have another chance?" he asks, so vulnerable and sincere any doubts are washed away in an instant.

"Let's give it a try." you reply.

He almost blinds you with his sunshine smile as he pulls you against him, his lips dancing happily with yours. And you lose yourself in him completely. You are his, utterly and completely.

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taetaespeaches · 4 years ago

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“You’re also the guy who worships the ground his girlfriend walks on.”

jungkook x reader (or oc) genre: fluff; angst (just a little) word count: 1.8K

a/n: In this drabble, Jungkook has been feeling the pressure of his job and status a bit, and he seeks comfort from his s/o. That’s really it, it’s just Holly assuring and reassuring him that he’s enough. It shows how they learned from their mistakes of not opening up in, “You think I’d leave you if you falter?” and “I hate fighting with you.”, and have grown as a couple. (Those drabbles are not necessary to read to understand this one). As always, I hope you all enjoy, and thanks for reading! :))

FINDING a lump in the form of a body in your bed was a bit of a surprise, though a pleasant one. Your boyfriend was meant to be staying at the dorm as he often did when things were hectic at work, simply because it was easier to leave from the dorm to the studio early in the morning.

Inching closer to the bed, you spotted Jungkook’s adorable sleeping face poking out from the heap of blankets, a smile spreading on your mouth as a result. He really was too cute, his mouth partially opened, his wavy hair hanging off his forehead in his eyes just slightly.

You almost left him to sleep until you saw his eyes flicker open, quickly closing them again when he met your gaze. Busted. Smirking to yourself, you immediately cooed, “Jungoo,” dragging out the o’s.

He stubbornly kept his eyes shut, sticking with his fake sleeping act. “Kookie, baby,” you sang out, Jungkook not giving in. “Jeon,” you whined. Looking around the room for a moment, you realized Jungkook had cleaned up the space a bit, simply organizing the belongings you threw around that morning in your rush to get out the door.

You smiled at his incessant tidiness, leaning over your boyfriend. “Jungkook,” you cooed again, this time squishing his cheeks with one hand. “Baby boy,” you giggled, “Did you clean my room?” You continued squeezing his pliable cheeks, moving your fingers to push his lips into a pucker. “My sweet man,” you continued, trying to get Jungkook to crack a smile.

As you played with his face, you added in kissing sounds as you forced his lips together. Jungkook let out a light groan, you giggling above him, adding another hand into your teasing, pushing on his cheeks and moving them around, contorting his face to your will. “Jungoo,” you called out again, this time Jungkook’s lips quirking up into a smirk.

However, before you could even respond to his crack in composure, his hands were wrapped around your wrists, tugging you down on top of him, making you let out a loud laugh. With you on top of his chest, he rolled over so half of his body was on top of yours, his leg slotted between yours and hook around your thigh. His face was placed on your shoulder, his breath fanning across the side of your neck.

“Quit it,” he mumbled, you giggling again.

“Never,” you whispered, Jungkook smiling.

“Where were you?” He asked in whiny tone. “It’s late.”

“I ran out to get some milk,” you poked his cheek. “You drank it all, remember?”

“Whoops,” he commented cutely.

“Why are you here?” You asked him curiously. As happy as you were to see him, you really weren’t expecting him.

“Want me to leave?” He teasingly asked, you scoffing in response.

“Shush,” you said simply, Jungkook chuckling against your body.

Letting out a sigh, he nuzzled further against your body. “I just really wanted to see you,” he admitted.

“Well of course,” you commented cockily, Jungkook lifting his head to look at you, specifically so you’d see the roll of his eyes. Pushing your hand through his fringe, you pushed the wavy locks that were getting longer and longer out of his face. “You ok?” His eyes scanned your features for a moment before sighing and laying his head back down on your arm. “What is it baby?”

Shaking his head, he paused a moment before responding. “It’s just the same stuff weighing on my mind,” he admitted, making you frown.

“Baby, it seems like this stuff has been taking up your thoughts more frequently,” you told him, Jungkook nodding.

“I’m just feeling the pressure for some reason,” he told you. Humming in understanding, you brushed your fingers through his hair. “I’m becoming so much more aware of all the expectations.” You knew exactly what he was talking about. There was an increased pressure on him to write the perfect hooks, the perfect lyrics, record the perfect vocals, the perfect adlibs, be in perfect shape, exemplify the perfect behavior, and it was overwhelming him. “I just, I’m tired,” he sighed, the air warming the skin on your neck. “I just can’t always be so-” he cut himself off.

“Golden?” You finished for him.

“Yeah.” You both sat in silence for a moment, your fingers still soothing through Jungkook’s hair, the man placing an appreciative kiss to your shoulder. “Sometimes I just feel like I’m nothing like that person on the screen,” he commented, the confession causing a throb in your chest. “It makes me wonder if people like me for me or for him.”

“What people?” You asked, starting with that question but already thinking about all the other things you wanted to tell him based on that one statement.

“I don’t even know,” he breathed out. He adjusted his body against yours a bit, wrapping his arm across your waist and pulling himself closer to you.

“Me?” You asked, already knowing it was a silly question, but that was kind of the point. His concerns and feelings were valid, and you didn’t want to negate them inconsiderately, but you wanted to point out that his feelings were partly based in fallacy.

Jungkook let out a light scoff. “No, I know you love me for me,” he assured you. “You’re obsessed with me,” he added jokingly.

“Fuck yeah I am,” you agreed with a smile, Jungkook chuckling at your blunt admission. “This dude right here, crushing me with his heavy ass muscles?” You stared, Jungkook giggling at your comment. “In big time love with him,” you finished, feeling Jungkook place a sweet kiss to yoru neck. “You better know that.”

“I do, baby,” he told you, looking up at you.

“Then who? Your members? Your family? Your fans?” You asked. “They all love you for you too.”

“Yeah, I know,” he nodded.

“Yeah?” You asked, in hopes that you were getting to the crux of his thoughts. He simply nodded against you, you looking down at him thoughtfully. “You know you’re loved and celebrated for exactly who you are, so get all doubts about that out of your head if there are any,” you told him. “Of course, there’s pressure,” you validated, “but Jungkook, how much of that is outside pressure and how much of that is coming from yourself?”

The man let out a breathy chuckle, looking up at you once again, meeting your gaze. “Stop being smart.”

Shrugging cockily, you told him, “I can’t help it,” Jungkook giggling at you.

“I just, I see myself on a stage or through a screen, and then I look at myself in the mirror and-” he breathed out. “I don’t even feel like the same person.” You stared into his gaze, picking up on the saddened expression the sparkly orbs held. “I feel this divide between the me who’s golden and the me who’s just a young guy.”

Sighing sadly, you tapped his arm before scooting down the bed, Jungkook leaning off your body a bit to let you. When you were face to face with him, your legs still intertwined, you brushed your hand along the side of his face.

“You’re both of those people, Kookie,” you told him, tears forming in your boyfriend’s eyes. A crying Jungkook never failed to break your heart, you pouting at him as you held back your own tears at the sight. “Baby,” you cooed in a whisper, Jungkook taking a deep breath.

“I want to live up to him,” he heartbreakingly admitted, breaking your eye contact to look down at your hand on his chest, bringing his own hand to wrap over it.

“But he is you,” you reminded him. “You’re the superstar with the crazy stage presence and the powerful dance moves and beautiful voice, and you’re also the young guy who plays video games for twelve hours a day if you let him,” Jungkook smiled, “and the guy who can’t cook anything but ramen without a supervisor,” you teased, Jungkook giggling, “and the man who cleans my apartment behind my back,” you told him pointedly, Jungkook giggling even more. “You’re also the guy who worships the ground his girlfriend walks on,” you jokingly boasted, Jungkook playfully rolling his eyes.

“You wish,” he teased back.

You smiled, leaning forward to kiss the tip of his nose, Jungkook crinkling it cutely. “Guk,” you whispered, his gaze meeting yours. “You’re never falling short of that person and you’re never not living up to him. He’s you,” you told him.

He nodded slowly, leaning forward to catch your lips in a sweet kiss, you smiling into the kiss. Cradling the side of his face with your hand, you pulled away just slightly, Jungkook chasing your lips, you giggling at his cute action. “You hear me?”

“Yes,” he whispered with a smiled just before rolling on top of you, hovering over your body, his arms caging you in so you couldn’t evade his lips again, pressing them to yours and deepening the kiss.

Being a woman of only so much willpower, you eagerly kissed him back, your hands settling on his slim waist.

“I love you,” he mumbled against your mouth, you smiling at the confession.

“I love you, baby,” you replied, wrapping your legs around the backs of his thighs, pulling him closer to your body, Jungkook chuckling as he fell atop you. “I’m sorry you’ve been feeling this way,” you whispered against his smiling mouth.

Jungkook pulled back to look at your face, his pretty orbs scanning your features, appreciating every single one. “You know you make everything easier,” he told you sweetly, pressing a quick kiss to your nose this time. “All I wanted to do all day was come here and see you. I needed you.”

“I’m glad you’re here,” you told him sincerely.

A mischievous smirk overtook his features and you knew he was about to make a smartass comment, ruining your cute moment in the most Jungkook way possible. “You bought more milk, right?” He asked, you pulling your eyebrows together in question.

“Yeah?”

“I’m glad I’m here too then,” he teased, you immediately smiling in amusement but smacking his ass in protest.

“Brat,” you mumbled. He smiled cheekily and then his lips were on yours again in an instant, a welcomed action as you kissed him back. As the intimate moment progressed, you tried to express with your body and every touch you laid upon him that you loved him as he was.

He was golden. But not because he was perfect. Jungkook was golden because his heart was made of it. And that radiated from the man, making everyone fall in love with him. Yet, here he was, in your room, giving you his love. And that? Well that felt pretty damn golden.

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lost-in-the-80s · 4 years ago

Text

Oops

Pairing: Izzy Stradlin x (fem) reader

Words: 1,346k

Summary: You do Izzy a favor and now he wants to thank you properly. (smut + fluff)

Requested by: @pinkpatiencecreepers

A/N: I hope you like it, honey! Huge thanks to @vinylvintage for helping me with this plot <3 Do you guys want a part 2?

Warnings: Mature content and swearing. Those fingers aren’t there just to point at the camera....

Tag list: @roger-taylors-car @ladieswttda @teasid @metalheartofgold @slashscowboyboots @ginny-rose-sixx @rumoured-whispers @bigdaddylars @mudkicker add yourself to my tag list :)

Part 2

It was early Thursday morning, Izzy had just gotten to the studio, one hour ahead of the boys, just so he could finish some lyrics in peace. Turning on the lights, he entered the room, their instruments from the previous day were still everywhere, guitars on the floor and on the couch along with lots of empty bottles of booze.

Picking up an acoustic guitar, he entered the sound booth, opening some space on the equipment table among tons of papers with what could someday become lyrics. He sat down on the chair in front of it, ready to play his guitar when he realized he had forgotten his notebook with the lyrics at home.

Cursing under his breath, he contemplated his options, walking back home to get it, or calling Y/N, his girlfriend, and asking her to bring it to him. It was her free day at work, and she had a motorcycle, so he realized calling her was a much better choice.

“Hello?” Her voice answered the phone.

“Hey baby, I need you to do something for me.”

“Iz? Sure! What do you need?”

“I forgot my notebook, the one with the lyrics, it must be in the living room.”

There was silence for a few seconds.

“Yes, it is, I can see it.”

“Can you bring it to me?”

“Of course. I’ll be there in 10 minutes.”

“Ok, thank you, babe!”

“It’s no problem, love!”

Well, ten minutes would’ve been a great time, but he knew his girlfriend, and especially knew that she was always late. And as he already expected, she just showed up 30 minutes later.

She entered the studio wearing black denim shorts and a long-sleeved black shirt, her shorts were really short, making his eyes scan her like a predator. Even though her choice of clothes wasn’t intentional, he couldn’t help but stare at her legs, he loved them.

“Hey, baby!” She opened the booth door, his notebook in hand.

“Hey.” His voice was husky. “Come on in.” He motioned with his hand.

Closing the door behind her, she stopped beside him, leaning down and pecking his lips. “It’s this one, right?” She showed him the notebook.

“Yes, it’s this one. Thank you.” He got the notebook from her hands, before placing it on the table. Turning to the side with his chair, he opened his legs, making her stand in between them, his hands finding her hips and gripping at them.

“It’s no problem, Izzy.” She smiled, her hands caressing his face as he looked up at her.

“You know how much I love it when you wear shorts.” He smirked, his hands going up and down her legs. “Come here.” He touched his lap. “Let me thank you properly.”

His words made a certain wetness start to form on her core. Biting her bottom lip, she sat on his lap, one leg in each side of his body as his hands moved to her butt cheeks, squeezing them while he leaned down to kiss her.

Their kiss was full of lust and desire. His tongue invaded her mouth, exploring every single inch of it, while her hands found his hair, tugging and running through his locks, messing it completely.

“You’re always such a good girl to me.” He said near her ear, biting her earlobe gently, making her gasp.

Starting to kiss and nip at her neck, he slid one of his hands inside her shorts, smirking. “No panties?” His voice was husky as his other hand gripped tight on her right butt cheek.

“Laundry day.” She whispered, receiving a dry chuckle from him.

Returning his lips to her neck, he slid one finger in between her folds, feeling her wetness with it and smirking even more. He found her clit, starting to apply circular motions on it, slow and steady, making her close her eyes and a low moan to leave her lips.

That’s one of the things she loved about Izzy, he was never in a rush, no matter if they were late for an appointment or not, he always took his time when the subject was to please her.

He bit her neck as he entered her with a finger, slowly moving in and out of her.

“Izzy.” She whispered near his ear, making a shiver run down his body.

He growled under his breath and he inserted another finger inside of her, smiling with delight when a moan left her lips.

His free hand found her hair tugging at her strands as he increased his speed on her clit, he knew all her weaknesses, and he was willing to explore all of them. A louder moan left her mouth as her head fell backward with his gentle but firm tugging at her scalp.

“Fuck.” She said.

Her walls started to clench around his fingers and he knew that just a few more seconds and she’d fall apart, right in front of him. He removed his head from her neck, wanting to glimpse the spectacle that was about to come, but his attention was taken away from her when he heard that word.

“Oops.” Axl’s voice filled the booth as he opened the door, a smirk on his face while he chuckled at the scene in front of him.

Izzy couldn’t care less though, his mission was Y/N, and Y//N only, but he knew that having people around wasn’t one of her fetishes, so he removed his hands from her shorts and let go of her hair, watching as she got up quickly, rubbing the back of her neck as she looked at Axl.

“Hum… Hi Axl.” She smiled weirdly.

“Hello, Y/N...” His smirk got bigger. “Izzy.”

Rolling his eyes, Izzy got up, sucking at his fingers with so much thirstiness that Y/N clenched her legs together, feeling her core get even wetter, if that was possible.

“Will you stay during the recording?” Axl asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Stay, I want your opinion on a song,” Izzy said, touching her hand.

“Okay.” She smiled before taking a place on the leather couch in the booth.

One by one the boys arrived, starting to discuss lyrics and the melody for some of the songs, and the only thing Y/N could do was to watch Izzy, the shape of his hands, and the way they played his guitar, or the way they hold the cigarette that he took to his lips so many times.

She watched him as if she was in trance, like a moth in trance with the light, she felt like the only thing she could do was to stare, and the more she stared, the wetter she got.

Izzy watched her too, fewer times, since he was working, but at every chance he got he’d look at her, and the sight of her squeezing her legs against each other or changing position constantly in favor to get some relief, made him harder than he was when she entered the place wearing those shorts.

They had finished playing, were now just discussing some lyrics and Y/N seemed to be in the same condition as she was at the beginning of the morning, silently begging with her eyes for him to do something.

Taking a cigarette to his lips, he placed his guitar on the floor, before patting his lap. “Come here, princess.”

Getting up slowly, she walked over to him, sitting on his lap again. Her shoulder was lined with his chest as an arm of his circled her waist, bringing her closer to him. Adjusting her position, Y/N smirked when she felt his boner inside his pants, she made sure to rub herself over it a couple of times before she finally stopped moving.

None of the boys thought much of it though, except for Axl, who knew exactly what they were doing, and smirked widely from the other side of the room.

“I’ll take care of you later, I promise.” Izzy whispered in her ear, making her bite her lip with excitement, eager for so-called later.

#harley writes #Izzy Stradlin #izzy stradlin fanfic #izzy stradlin imagine #izzy stradlin fic #izzy stradlin x reader #izzy stradlin smut #guns n roses #guns n roses fanfic #guns n roses fic #guns n roses imagine #guns n roses x reader #guns n roses smut #classic rock #classic rock imagine

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nctinthehouse · 3 years ago

Text

Back To You

reader x Xiaojun

based on “Back To You (English Version)” by Kun & Xiaojun

genre: strangers to lovers to ex lovers!au, fluff, angst, heartbreak

wc: 2.1k

A/N: I absolutely loved writing this and wanted to get this out for Xiaojun’s birthday but I wasn’t sure if I was able to finish it on time but to my surprise, I actually did and I’m so happy with how this turned out. Though it's mainly based on the English version, I also took some inspiration from the Chinese lyrics. Hope you guys enjoy reading this one :)

You couldn’t believe this was happening.

You just slept over your alarm! How even-??

This is what happens when you start binge watching cat videos at night damn it.

You aggressively pull the covers off you and jump out of bed, quickly rushing to the bathroom to get ready. You were lucky you got your bag and outfit ready the night before in case you had to rush out the next morning. However, there was no time to make breakfast today so you just decided to pick some up at the train station if you were lucky. Doing one last check around your apartment, you quickly put your shoes on and make your way to the train station.

You’re practically legging it to the station at this point. Thoughts running through your mind on how on earth you managed to sleep through your alarm. You always had the volume turned up all the way so it boggled you how it didn’t wake you up.

As you were frantically making your way, you quickly took a glance at your watch to see if you could still make your usual train. However, while doing so you accidentally bumped onto the back of a stranger. You grunt at the contact while the stranger jumps slightly, still managing to hold his bike steady in one hand and his phone in the other; startling him mid way through his phone call it seems like. He turns around and you immediately bow your head in apology

“oh my god i’m so sorry”

You look at him for a few moments, maybe slightly longer than you would. Looks like you got a bit distracted by his gorgeous face and it seems like he did too as he stood still for a moment until you continued to make your way to the station. The stranger turns back and chuckles slightly at your figure as you leg it to the station before going the opposite direction to you.

The next morning, thankfully you managed to wake up on time to do your usual routine instead of having to rush around your apartment like a maniac.

As you make your way to the station, a bell startles you out of your thoughts. You move to the side a bit to make way for them. You turn your head to the side and catch a glimpse of the rider, quickly realising that it was the same person you bumped into yesterday. He startles you a bit as he makes eye contact with you. Seems like he recognises you too and you both bow in unison before riding on ahead of you.

✿✿✿

For the next 2 weeks, you and the stranger continue to greet and bow to each other. Giving small smiles to each other but never striking up a conversation since either you’re rushing to the station because of an unheard alarm or both of you just seemed to want to make it to work on time. You’re hoping that the stranger is actually going to work and not a random creep stalking you.

One morning as you’re making your way to the station, you and the stranger meet again. But this time it would be different. Instead of giving small smiles to each other, you decided to strike up a conversation with this guy. You were curious about him and he’s kinda cute too so why not. But again, hopefully he’s not a creep. As soon as you saw him, you immediately let out a huge smile on your face

“hello” you say as you wave at him

From that moment on, you didn’t realise that it was the start of a new chapter in your life…

✿✿✿

Over the next several weeks as the days went by, you and the stranger would continue to converse on the way to work. Striking up conversations of anything and everything. You learn that his name is Xiaojun and that he does actually bike to work and not a creepy stalker that heads the same direction. You learn that he works just a few blocks away from the station at a pet shelter, caring for many many abandoned animals waiting to be adopted. You also learn that the reason why he chose to work there in the first place was because of his love for animals especially cats and dogs as he has 2 cats and a dog of his own along with his housemates.

As time went by you and Xiaojun grew close, sharing similar interests and your love for animals too. Hence one day, Xiaojun decided to invite you along to his workplace for a chance to volunteer at the pet shelter to help out. Something that you’ve always wanted to do but never got around to doing it.

Months went by ever since you and Xiaojun met. The first meeting between you two would come to mind every now and then. You often catch yourself thinking about him even when he’s not around. You would miss him at the most random times; you missed his presence, his hugs, his laugh, just everything you could ever imagine.

You felt things changed over time when you and Xiaojun got closer and closer. It didn’t even feel like you guys were just friends, it felt more than that. One day it came to the realisation that you were falling for him, falling really hard. Even the slightest of touches would make your stomach go crazy, in a good way though. You just couldn’t stop thinking about him.

On the other hand, you felt sad at times. You never really did have much luck in your love life so you didn't expect much to come out from this. You often thought that these feelings were just one sided. However, what you didn’t know was that Xiaojun thought exactly the same way as you did with you. You both fell for one another and it was the best feeling ever, just if only you both knew of each other’s feelings.

✿✿✿

On one summer night, Xiaojun was walking you back to your apartment after having dinner at a restaurant. You had gone to the pet shelter earlier to volunteer, something you now do every weekend along with Xiaojun.

The atmosphere felt different this time round. It was a good kind of different. You guys were just walking in silence; all you could hear was your surroundings and your thoughts. Though it was quiet, it didn’t feel awkward at all. It never did.

But suddenly you felt like something was bothering Xiaojun. You always had this weird thing of sensing other people’s feelings especially if they were upset or frustrated. For instance, there was a time when you guys were riding your bikes down the park. Xiaojun was quieter than usual but you felt like something was bothering him so you went ahead and asked if everything was ok. This was one of the reasons why Xiaojun fell for you. He loves your caring nature and he feels so loved.

You looked at him for a moment and was about to ask him if everything’s ok but before you could speak a word, you suddenly felt his hand brush against yours. His pinky finger hooked onto yours for a bit before fully taking his hand in yours. You turned the other way and tried to keep your composure but it felt like your heart was about to jump out. You were trying not to freak out. Little did you know Xiaojun kept his eyes on you the whole time, smiling to himself and thinking how cute you were. Your eyes met with his as you turned to look at him before laughing as you buried your head on his shoulder, trying to calm yourself down as you were pretty sure you were as bright as a tomato right now.

Time flew by too quickly for your liking and soon enough you guys were now at the front door of your apartment. It was quiet for a moment as it seemed like neither of you wanted to say goodnight. However, you both needed to rest up for the remainder of the night to get some sleep.

As you opened your door, you turned around and hesitated for a moment before leaning in and giving him a peck on his cheek

“goodnight” you say as you smiled at him

“goodnight” Xiaojun says as he clearly couldn’t keep the smile off his face

As soon as you closed the door, you leaned back against it and started jumping up and down in excitement. You couldn’t believe what just happened.

Throughout the next 2 years, you and Xiaojun learned more about each other. You guys stuck by each other’s side, going through the good and bad times. Lots of kisses, cuddles and firsts. New journeys and adventures. Promises of never leaving each other’s side. You treasured every single moment spent with him. It was the absolute best 2 years of your life.

However things changed. Shit happened. Nights felt colder than ever. The air felt different. Your relationship started to fall apart badly around autumn as you and Xiaojun seemed to have drifted apart. It happened so fast. You guys did have arguments every now and then; you listened to each other and resolved things but it wasn’t as big as this one. This time there was no turning back. You and Xiaojun met up one day and decided that maybe it would be for the best to end things even though both of you didn’t want to let each other go. And of course, there were a lot of tears.

Both of you were so happy, you had never felt this way before.

So what happened? Where did things go wrong?

- 4 months later -

It’s been a while since you and Xiaojun saw each other. Both of you have been through a lot since the break up. The last time you saw him was probably about 3 months ago when you saw him at the pet shelter. It was a bit awkward. Words were exchanged but no longer than a few minutes.

Though you loved going to the shelter to volunteer, you spent less and less time throughout the few months going there as work got a bit busy which meant less free time. But was it also because you didn’t want to bump into Xiaojun? As much as you missed him and wanted to just run to his apartment and embrace him, you just couldn’t. You couldn’t bear to have your heart broken even more, not when it’s still healing.

Throughout the past few months, you would think about what happened back then. You would go on walks where you and Xiaojun often went on late night dates. It felt weird because you just got so used to him being by your side. You couldn’t get him off your mind; whatever you did, it reminded you of the time when you and Xiaojun would be together, whether it be grocery shopping or on your way to work.

Never did you once think that you and Xiaojun would fall apart. You missed him so much.

And so did he. Xiaojun felt exactly the same way you did. Sometimes he thought to himself

Could we try again?

Both of you are still holding onto the love.

One evening, Xiaojun was on his way home after his shift at work. He was walking down the street where you and he first met and it made him think back to that time. He couldn’t help but smile to himself at the thought as he looked up to the clear night sky; the moon so bright and clear that it casted a night shadow on him. As he saw the lone shadow, he thought of you again and it made him miss you even more. He wanted you by his side right now.

Somehow, both of you seemed to be in sync with each other.

Little did he know that right now, you were walking down that same street he is on. And of course, you didn't know that.

You didn’t know until you came back to your senses after getting lost in your thoughts; staring at your shadow before looking up and spotting a figure just a few meters away in front. You come to a halt as you realise the figure is Xiaojun and he does the same as he sees you. Both of you were surprised to see each other and get slightly taken aback by each other's presence since you weren't expecting to bump into each other.

Compared to the last time you saw him, it wasn’t awkward at all. Things felt different.

Was it that maybe you were beginning to move on for good? Or was it because you still felt there was a chance for you guys to reconcile the love you both have been holding onto all this time; a chance to restart from the beginning?

As your eyes focused on each other, there was only one thing going through your minds

Can we try again?

A/N: Thanks for reading to the end! Originally I wasn't going to go for this kind of ending and wanted to end it on a much sadder note but I decided to go for an open ending. Can we try again and shine even brighter than before or was it for the best to let it go and let it be memories forever?

Feel free to let me know what you think and as always, I appreciate everyone for reading my fic! I look forward to writing more in the future. Be sure to wish Xiaojun a happy birthday!!! ❤

masterlist

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yelenasdog · 4 years ago

Text

something like “i know” (ben hardy x fem reader)

genre: FLUFF FINALLYY

summary: sometimes making tiktoks with ben doesn’t always turn out the way you plan, but by no means is that a negative.

words: 1.4k

warnings: age gap (not dramatic, reader is like, idk, 23 maybe?), kissing, i think that’s it but lmk!

a/n: hi! so i’ve had this idea for ages and wanted to write it so here it is! the end of it is far sappier than i planned but meh whatevs. also ty to cici and eva for helping me pick the moodbard hehe. k enjoy!

☆❂✧

Having an age gap was never something that put a large damper on their relationship. The conflicting personalities of the two balanced out quite nicely, and the similarities that drew the two of them together in the first place (apart from the aforementioned) made sure they never had a lack of interesting things to talk about that weren’t generational.

Until TikTok, that was.

Now of course, there were some other millennials on the application, but Ben just for some reason couldn’t get it.

“Yes, I know that, babe, but why do they do dances?”

“They lip sync too!”

“But what is the point?”

And that’s how the conversation would end. Every single time. So Ben would sit on the sofa, watching as she danced about in front of the small screen, occasionally playing some cruel (ok, that’s a large exaggeration, they’re somewhat mean, at best) joke on him, claiming it was a trend on TikTok? That just did not sit right with him.

He didn’t remember hearing “mean pranks” in the initial description of the app when she had described it to him all of those times.

Ben tried to tune it out, he really did. He would wear his headphones, blasting Zeppelin as loud as he could while reading scripts or a book. But somehow, those catchy little tunes always managed to worm their way into his ear, being stuck in there for days and days on end.

He would waltz around the house humming Megan Thee Stallion, the occasional Flo Milli or underground indie artist also making an appearance often.

He was pouring a cup of coffee for himself one Tuesday morning in the kitchen before going on a run, Y/n watching fondly from afar. Rain was softly rolling down the windows, barely coming to a cease. The air was chilly, and fog floated through the early morning sky, a sense of calm washing over their shared South London home.

The room was kept somewhat warm, though, from the fireplace that she had insisted the house had to have, which Ben ended up being grateful for on more than one occasion. He looked over his shoulder briefly, smiling at the sight of his beloved wrapped up in his seafoam jumper, watching him move about contently.

As he turned back to where he was working on filling the two mugs in front of him, he began to oh so quietly sing the lyrics to what sounded like a familiar tune off of the app. Watermelon Sugar, maybe?

“Ben? Baby?”

He turned, his eyes growing wide and his hands flying to his hips as he leaned against the countertop behind him.

“Mhhm, yeah, w-what’s up, babe?”

She couldn’t hold in her giggle at the sight of her boyfriend’s red face and disgruntled appearance, one of his hands now scratching casually at his gold locks.

“What’re you singin’, pretty boy?”

His blush only increased at the nickname, eliciting another laugh from his girl.

“Y’know, just somethin’ I heard on the radio the other day.”

She immediately recognized his lie, he refused to listen to the radio, only using either Bluetooth or the aux cord, his music taste too pretentious for mainstream stations. She didn’t mind, though, always finding it quite funny how much of a music snob he was.

But rather than call him out, she only nodded and smirked, standing up and bringing her phone with her over to the windowsill where she usually filmed her TikToks, pulling Ben along with her.

He sipped from his mug, eyes slanted as she scrolled through something on her phone, various sounds emitting from the speaker.

A little smile showed up on her face when she (apparently) found what she was looking for, leaving her to set the phone down, allowing a video under the sound to play on repeat.

“Sweetheart, what’s going on?” He asked, ever so cautiously, taking a step towards her. She walked towards him, engulfing him in a hug which he (yet again) cautiously reciprocated.

“I am going to teach you a TikTok dance.”

He had to do a double take.

“Come again?”

She pulled on the elastic waistband of her sweats, grabbing Ben by the arm.

“Come on, I know you wanna. And if nothing else you’ll do it to make me happy.”

He rolled his eyes, slightly irritated at her confidence and that she was so incredibly correct, he would do mostly anything to put a smile on her face.

“Yeah, you’re right.” He grumbled, moving to stand next to her.

She clapped once in excitement, joy flooding her entire body. The music started up again, but this time, she began to dance along to it.

“Ok, so just try to do what I’m doing, alright?”

“No! Not alright, can I just stand here, I think I should just stand here-“

“Ben, it's literally not that hard, 8 year olds can do it!”

“Well, I’m an extremely confused 29 year old man, thank you very much!”

And that’s basically how the next 15 minutes went until she finally gave in, allowing Ben to stand behind her, occasionally doing a little move of sorts. The two were in a fit of giggles now, struggling to keep enough composure for long enough to get even one successful video.

“Benjamin Jones! This is the last one, okay?”

He put a hand on his stomach, both of the pair attempting to catch their breath.

“Yes, yes, right okay, got it, last one.”

The little timer button counted down, the sound echoing throughout the property.

The music then started, and she could barely keep a straight face for the 15 seconds. Bored of the routine, but never of her, Ben decided he would grab her and throw her onto the sofa, as payback for all the “TikTok pranks” she would pull on him. He waited for the perfect time to strike (one where she wouldn’t hopefully be too infuriated), restlessly shifting from foot to foot.

Nearing the last few seconds, he made his move. He swooped forward, a high pitched shriek falling from her lips as he wrapped his strong arms around her waist, running and jumping onto the couch, crushing her. He rolled off quickly, and she moved to be on top of him, her hair wildly astray. She sat up, straddling his thighs with a bright smile plastered on her face.

“You little jerk.”

He only smiled boyishly in response, a lovesick gaze set in his eyes.

The song was still playing on repeat as she leaned down, positioning her hands on either side of his head in order to place her lips gently upon his.

“That’s your reward for putting up with me today, Jones.”

He scoffed, taking her by the shoulders and bringing her to his chest. She looked up from where she was now comfortably lying, meeting his homey emerald gaze, his eyes like sea glass that had washed up on white sands, waiting to be rediscovered.

“I feel as if I deserve something more for all of that.”

“Oh, do you?”

He hummed and nodded, closing his eyes. She reached up, placing another peck on his plump lips, before scurrying away to retrieve the phone. He sat up rather quickly at the sudden loss of her body weight, smiling at the sound of her laughter coming towards him.

“Ben, look, it turned out so well.” She managed to slip out before basically throwing him the phone. A grin erupted on his own face soon after, along with the hearty chuckles to match.

He made some commentary on how wonderful it was, before handing her back the device. She moved so she was once more essentially laying on top of Ben, the screen in both of their views.

After sharing a few more laughs over the video, she captioned it and posted it, throwing her phone to get lost in the couch cushions as the likes and comments began to roll in.

She looked up at him once more, and he met her gaze, as he always would, bringing a hand up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear.

It didn’t leave her cheek, resting there and lightly caressing her skin. The two were most serene then, almost appearing as two felines that had decided to nap during the morning showers, most comforted by each other and the steady sound of the droplets as they pattered.

He was whispering now, the rambunctious energy of the room fading into a much more tranquil and stolid vibe, wrapping the two up like a warm embrace.

“Y’know I really would do anything to make you happy, my love.”

She closed her eyes, taking hold of one of his hands.

He then heard her mutter something like “I know”, and all was well.

☆❂✧

it was fitting for the theme. but anyway i hope u enjoyed, pls reblog and like if u did :) go drink some water, eat some protein, and take an electronics break!

love you bunches! xx hj

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luke-patterson-owns-my-soul · 4 years ago

Text

The Interview: Part One

Title: The Interview - A Luke x Reader One Shot

Words: 3,177

Summary: Y/N gets to interview Sunset Curve when they finally go on tour near where she lives.

TW: None

Author’s notes: Ok… the interview part is kind of inspired by a glorious evening when myself and a friend got to interview our favourite band just before a gig. I was much clumsier that Y/N and made a complete fool of myself on more than one occasion, but it seemed to have worked because they loved the interview – or so they told us.

I hope you like it. I’m not 100% with it, but didn’t want to drag it out for the hell of it. This is set in the UK, so spellings may be a little different.

(credit @nikascott)

The first time you heard Now or Never, you knew there was something special about Sunset Curve. Their lyrics and the beats of their pop rock tracks made you feel amazing and you couldn’t help but dance every time you heard them.

You spent all your time online anyway, so you decided to set up a Sunset Curve fan account. You didn’t expect much to come out of it due to bein in the UK while they were based in the US. But you religiously shared photos of the guys, wrote funny articles about them after speaking to people who’d been to their shows. Shared credited photos from gigs which soon got you respect from the fans and you began to build up a following.

You managed to fit running the account single handed, fitting it in between being at university studying for your degree in media and working part time. You’re not in it for the recognition, you just want to show your appreciation for a band you love.

Your best friend, Carrie, doesn’t get it. She doesn’t understand how you can spend so much time expelling energy on four guys you’re never going to meet, but she indulges you because you also run one for her band, Dirty Candi. Your friend and the rest of her group are insanely talented, and even though they’re not a genre you tend to listen to, you support them because that’s what friends do.

It’s been a year since you’d first heard Now or Never and since you set up the account. You’ve amassed over ten thousand followers, most of whom are also in the UK, when you get your first band member follow. Bobby Wilson, the rhythm guitarist likes a post you shared about him and promptly follows you. You get constant likes from him and sometimes the odd comment. Your followers go insane but you manage to keep calm, ish.

The second follow is Alex, the drummer. This time you do go a bit crazy, because he’s adorable and you can’t help be a little in love with him.

It takes less than a day after Alex’s follow before the bassist, Reggie to follow you and send your notifications into overdrive by commenting on a ton of posts. You scream into a pillow on your bed because it’s 2 a.m. and you don’t want to wake Carrie up.

The one follow you’re waiting for doesn’t come. Luke Patterson, the lead singer and your favourite member hasn’t joined his bandmates, and while you never expected it, you’re more than a little upset by the fact.

“Honey, he’s like a Rockstar. He’s got more important things to do than follow fan accounts online.” Carrie was right, but it still stung a bit.

“I know, but…”

“Y/N, sweetie. I adore you, but you need to let it go. I don’t want you working yourself up over this, please. Why don’t we have a girlie night, just the two of us? We’ll watch cheesy films, eat junk food, and sing bad karaoke. No phones.”

“I love you, do you know that?” I told her.

“How could you not?” She flicked her pastel pink hair over her shoulder with a laugh before going to prepare snacks while I got the lounge ready for an evening of lazing around.

:: ::

Halfway through The Greatest Showman, Carrie falls asleep, so after you cover her over with a blanket, you pull your phone out of the box she hid it in and scroll through social media.

|Hey, @SunsetCurveFansUK did you see this??

Included in the message is a link to the official Sunset Curve account. You click on it and there’s a note from the band. Announcing a UK tour. You begin to hyperventilate as you try and prevent yourself from screaming out loud, but it doesn’t work and you let out a loud squeak, waking Carrie up.

“What’s wrong? Y/N, are you okay?” She sounds worried, so you shove your phone at her, unable to speak. “Oh, wow. This is cool. Start saving because I know you’re gonna want to go to every show.”

“Yes, yes I will.” Getting to your feet, you do a crazy dance around the small lounge of your apartment, making Carrie laugh. You only realise at the last minute that she’s recording you. “Don’t you dare post that online.” You warn her.

“Too late, sweetie. It’s already on my story and I tagged the band.”

“I hate you. Worst friend ever, I think I’ll advertise for a new one.” You grumble, making her laugh as you settle down on the couch to catch up on everything you’ve missed online.

:: ::

When tickets go on sale, you’re disappointed they guys are only doing four dates in the UK, but you buy yourself a ticket to all of them. Sadly, they don’t offer up any VIP tickets because they’re running contests for fans to win them for each show. Their tour manager, Trevor – who also happens to Bobby’s dad – has messaged your account asking if you’d like the opportunity to interview the band as a thank you for all the work you’d put into promoting them.

“Oh my God, Y/N. You’re gonna meet the band, your favourite band.” Carrie is grinning, happy for you as you stare at the message on your phone screen in disbelief. “Are you going to reply?”

“I… er… what is going on?” You stare over at your best friend who’s grinning widely at you. “This is a joke, right? Someone’s pulling the ultimate prank on me, aren’t they?”

“Y/N, look. For over a year, you’ve been pimping out those guys like crazy. You’ve increased their fan base here, which has made them want to tour here, and now they’re offering you this amazing opportunity. Take it and run with it, You deserve it.”

At her words, you reopen the message and reply to Trevor, saying you’d be honoured to do the interview. Then you freak out.

:: ::

The night of the first show and you’re hovering outside the venue waiting for Trevor to come and meet you once the guys finish their sound check. You can faintly hear the strains of Now or Never, and you get goosebumps. Thankful you’re nowhere near where the queue to get in is growing longer and longer, you start to pace outside the door. It suddenly opens outwards, making you jump, and Trevor’s head appears before behind it.

“Y/N?”

“Yeah, hi.” You hold out a hand for him to shake, surprising him and yourself with how composed your voice sounds. He shakes your hand and then motions for you to enter the venue.

“Great to meet you. The guys all love your account.”

“That’s amazing to hear.” You make conversation as you follow Trevor through a maze of narrow corridors.

“Are you ready?” He asks as you approach a closed door. You can’t help but hesitate, making him look back at you in worry. “Hey, are you gonna be okay?”

“Yeah, it’s all just a bit… overwhelming.”

“Look, they’re great guys, as normal as they come. There’s no need to feel nervous around them.” He smiles at you and pushes open the door, gesturing for you to enter. “Guys, this is Y/N from the UK fan account. Go easy on her, okay?” Once you’re fully inside the room, Trevor leaves and closes the door behind you.

“Hey,” Reggie speaks first as they all stand up. You shake hands and instantly feel at ease. “We all love your account, it’s very honest.” He’s clearly referring to your review of their last album where you openly said you weren’t a huge fan of a couple of the songs. It was an integrity you were determined to have on the account. You didn’t want to be seen as the type to blow smoke up their asses just because you were a fan.

“Thanks. I love running it. It keeps me busy and out of trouble, apparently.” You laugh as you pull a fold-up tripod out of your bag and set it up to record the guys for your account. “Do you mind if I film the interview?”

“Go ahead.” Alex waves his hand for you to continue. Once you’re set up, you pull out your journal with your questions written in.

“Hey, Luke. That looks like your journal.” Bobby comments, making the lead singer smile. So far, he hasn’t said much and it’s putting you on edge. Especially as he’s the only band member who hasn’t followed your account. Maybe he hates what you’ve done online. Trying to ignore the doubt, you press record on the video and start to ask the questions.

“My final two questions were submitted as part of a contest I put out to my followers. First up from Ellie is ‘if you could give the others a tattoo, what would it be and where?” As you’d hoped, the response to this question is all four of them bursting into laughter as Reggie’s face lights up.

“I pick Luke and would definitely get my face across his back.” You laugh at his enthusiasm. “Maybe if I get him drunk enough, I could at least get my name somewhere.

“Dude, there is no way I will ever have your name, any of your names, tattooed on me.” Luke grinned at them. “I’d probably get Bobby a dick, on his forehead. Just because it would be hilarious.”

You know Bobby is known as a bit of a womaniser and you’ve heard rumblings in the fandom that he’s slept with fans after shows, but you keep quiet as the guys laugh. Bobby picks a rainbow for Alex and Alex picks a cowboy hat for Reggie.

“Okay, the final question is from Sarah and her son Henry. ‘If the zombie apocalypse hit, who would be the first to die.”

“Reggie.” Three out of the four spoke in unison making the bassist pout and you laugh.

“But, we’d try our best to save him.” Alex pipes up, smiling at his friend. “We’d at least try to stick together, but if it’s a choice between me and them, I’m picking me every time.”

“That’s me finished,” you stop the recording. “Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to sit with me. I really appreciate it.”

All four guys reassure you it’s been their pleasure and that they enjoyed the interview which pleases you as it took you almost six weeks to think of questions that they hadn’t been asked hundreds of times before.

“I’ll leave you guys to get ready for the show. I need a drink.” You stand after packing everything away and move toward the door to leave.

“Hey, Y/N.” Reggie’s voice calling your name makes you turn back to face them. “We put together a little goodie bag of merch for you as a thank you for all the work you’ve done in helping promote us here in the UK.”

“Oh, you didn’t need to do that.” You’re blown away and speechless. “I do it because I enjoy it.”

“And it keeps you out of trouble?” Bobby winks at you. Unsure how to react, you smile a little, positive it looks more like a grimace. You take the overflowing bag and clutch it in your hand.

“Hey, we need a selfie.” Alex says, pulling his phone out of his pocket. You suddenly find yourself between him and Luke, Alex’s arm slung over your shoulder and Luke’s hand resting on your waist. All you can feel is the head from his hand as you look at the camera Alex is holding out in front of you. Once he’s done, you take a deep breath, inhaling the aroma of Luke before stepping away.

Another round of thank yous and you leave the room and close the door behind you. Then realise you have no idea which way to go.

“Hey, you okay?” Luke’s voice makes you jump.

“Yeah, I just can’t remember the way out.” You’re embarrassed to admit, but you have to meet up with Carrie in the queue. She’d finally agreed to come to at least one of the shows with you, but only one.

“It’s a bit of a maze, here’ I’ll show you the way.” Luke falls into step beside you, his shoulder brushing yours in the narrow space.

“Thanks, you don’t need to do that.”

“It’s no problem, I’m on a drink run for the guys anyway, and the bar’s this way.” He shrugged, his shoulder once again brushing against yours.

“Well, thanks again. And for doing the interview, I hope it wasn’t too much of a chore.”

“Nah, it was fun. I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure what it was gonna be like at first, but you had some great questions.”

Silence fell and you start to feel awkward walking through the venue with a guy you’d crushed on from afar for well over a year. Eventually, the maze of corridors opened out into an area you recognised.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you later, at the show I mean.” You feel like a complete idiot.

“Yeah, it should be a great show.” You give Luke a small wave and make your way towards the door where a member of the security gets ready to let you out.

“Y/N?” Luke calls out. You turn to look at him. “Do you want a drink?”

Stunned, you kind of freeze to the spot you’re standing in. After a moment, Luke mumbles something and turns to walk away.

“That would be great.” You call out, knowing Carrie would kill you if you said no. You return to Luke’s side and follow him into the space that would soon be filled with fans. The stage was set up with their instruments and you can’t help the shiver of excitement that goes through you.

“Are you cold?” Luke asks.

“No, I just had a chill.” Before you finish speaking, he’s pulled off the flannel shirt he’s wearing and handing it to you. “Honestly, there’s no need. I’ll be fine.”

“Y/N, take the damn shirt. It’s cold in here and you’re in a tank top.” He insists with a laugh.

“God, you’re pushy.” You snap at him playfully as you take the shirt and slide it on. It’s still warm from him wearing it and you resist the urge to bury your nose in it.

“What do you want to drink?”

“Just a beer is fine.” You pull some money out of your purse, but he waves it away as he hands over a card to the bartender.

As you take a sip of cold beer, your phone chirps with Carrie’s ringtone.

“Sorry, I have to take this.” You pull your phone out as Luke asks the bar tender to take three of the bottles to the rest of the band. “Hello?”

“Where are you? The doors are opening soon.” Carrie’s voice is almost drown out by the noise around her.

“I’m just finishing up, I’ll be out soon.”

“Was Luke as dreamy as-”

“I’ll be out as soon as I can. Bye.” You cut her off, worried Luke will hear her question and shove your phone away again. “Sorry, my friend’s in the queue. I really should get out there.”

“Oh, yeah. Sure.” You go to put your almost full bottle of beer on the bar. “Take that with you. You can’t waste good beer.” You laugh and slide the bottle into the sleeve of Luke’s shirt to hide it from the security staff as the two of you walk over to the door. “Hey, it was nice to meet you.”

“Yeah, you too.” The two of you lock eyes for a few minutes before you remember Carrie. “I… I better go. Break a leg tonight.”

Before he can answer, you’re outside with the door slamming closed behind you. You take a deep breath to try and calm your racing heart as you walk around the building to find Carrie.

:: ::

“Where did that come from?” She asks, pointing to the shirt, as soon as you join her. You look around to make sure no one’s listening. You don’t want to be overheard.

“It’s Luke’s.” You whisper, laughing as her eyes widen in shock. Even more when you pull the bottle of beer out from the sleeve and take a long drink from it.

“When we get inside, you are telling me everything. But especially how you came out of an interview with the lead singer’s clothes on.”

Before you can answer, a cheer goes up near the front of the queue as the doors open and security begin letting the fans in.

Slowly, as tickets are checked, the queue moves forward and you’re finally at the front. The security guy recognises you and gives you a smile as he lets you and Carrie inside.

The first stop is the cloakroom so you can check in your bag and the goodie bag the guys gave you after the interview. Then Carrie drags you to the bar and starts pumping you for answers.

“How did the interview go? What took so long? Why did you come out wearing Luke’s shirt and carrying a beer?”

“Woah, slow down.” You order a couple of shots for the two of you from the bartender who served Luke earlier. He waves away your money, explaining you’ve been added to the bar tab the guys have running to your surprise and Carrie’s giggles. “The interview went really well. The guys responded so well to my questions and I took a selfie with them. Oh, shit. The photo’s on Alex’s phone.”

“Oh, really?” Carrie raises an eyebrow at you.

“Do you want me to tell you or not?” You move away from the bar so no one can overhear you. When you’re certain you have some privacy, you fill her in on what happened after the interview ended.

“Holy shit, Y/N/ I think you’re in with a chance there.”

“Carrie, no. He’s a bonafide Rockstar, who lives like thousands of miles away. I’m a student from London. Don’t get carried away. He was just being friendly.”

“Oh, sure. Because all rockstars offer their shirts to fans and buy them a beer.” She looks at you, a weird look in her eye as she orders another round of drinks. Out of the corner of your eye, you see Trevor the tour manager walking toward you.

“Hey, Y/N. I was asked to give you this.” He hands you a slip of paper before melting away through the crowd toward the stage.

“What is it?” Carrie askes as you unfold it. Written in the hardest writing you’ve ever had to decipher is,

Meet me backstage after the show? Luke.

You don’t know what to think, but Carrie crows like a damn rooster, attracting attention from other fans around you.

“Just being friendly, huh?” She hip bumps you, “I’m coming with you to the other shows, I need to see this unfold with my very own eyes.

Read Part Two here

#jatp #jatp fic #luke patterson #Luke x Reader #one shot #fanfiction #orginal character #bobby #reggie #ales #carrie #Mich writes fic

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airi-p4 · 3 years ago

Text

Face up - Chapter 2

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Epilogue

Finally!!!

I wanted to finish the fic following the rest of the song from Chapter 1: ‘Face up’ by Lights (Lyrics in bold), which would have been easy and quite short, but then I had a little drama / misunderstanding idea and when I asked @ladyfreya123 she said me to go for it soooo... this turned out to be way longer than expected ^^; There’s also going to be an extra short epilogue.

Thank you @livrever for checking this for me!

AO3

_____________________________

Chapter 2

The next day Marinette did something totally out of her character: sneak out of her apartment, neglect her work, and go to the ‘Liberty’, that bar ship she went to the previous evening with her friends. She hoped to see the blue haired guitarist that picked more than her attention again. She got on the ship and moved to the bar counter, where the purple-haired waitress from the day before was arranging some bottles.

"Hi… May I ask you something?" Marinette asked, earning an affirmative nod from the tall woman. "When is Luka performing again…?"

"Sorry, nothing until next Friday" the goth waitress answered.

"Oh… Is there- Is there a way to contact him…?" she blushed.

The tall young woman let a tired sigh as if thinking 'not again' before giving her an answer. "Sorry Miss, but we don't offer this kind of service. We like to keep our staff's privacy"

"I- of course… I understand. I'll come again next Friday…" the blue eyed lady apologized, with a depressing look returning her face- a look the waitress recognized.

"Wait, you're the girl from yesterday aren't you? The one who had been feeling down"

"Ah, yes… That's right… I'm the one" Marinette awkwardly admitted.

"Hmm…" The tall woman analyzed her for a few seconds, her fingers touching her chin. "I see” she raised her eyebrow with a faint smirk. “Luka had never done anything like that before. I think you piqued his interest"

"Eh? His interest…? Re- really...? How?" She opened her eyes in surprise, her cheeks getting warmer.

"I don't know" the waitress shrugged. "Look. Luka is not here, but I'll give you something special if you buy a drink" she signaled the grey haired middle aged woman to take her place. "Wait a minute, I'll be right back"

"Ok…"

"Hi. What will it be?" The bar owner asked.

"Oh… One mango soft drink, please"

"WHAT!? A real pirate doesn't drink that! Have some rum!" The woman almost scolded her, violently pouring the drink in a glass that pushed towards the perplexed young lady.

Marinette nervously gulped as she looked speechless at the drink. Noticing how the owner's gaze was urging her to take it, Marinette felt intimidated under her stare. Luckily, the blond-haired waitress called her and she could recover her breath.

"Captain! Official Roger is asking for you"

"Argh!! Not again!" the grey-haired woman groaned.. "What's his problem now? My music is too low if I follow his 'law'. So annoying… Rose, I leave you this customer to you"

"Yes, Captain" she answered, focusing on Marinette and shoving the rum glass aside. "Hi, excuse the owner. What would you like?"

"Anything sweet, please" she sighed, grateful and relieved with a faint smile on her face.

____________________________

A few minutes later, the goth waitress returned. "Sorry for the wait" she said, her eyes attracted by the rainbow colored drink on Marinette’s long glass. "Rose, don't tell me you gave her your crazy original cocktail?" She sighed.

"Yes, Juleka! She loves it!" Rose grinned happily.

"Really…?" Her eyebrow arched in doubt. "I bet she's only faking it to not hurt your feelings… Anyway, here" She offered a DVD case to Marinette. "I don't usually do this, but we record all our performances and I'm making an exception and letting you have a copy of yesterday's live"

"Can I really have it!?" The designer's eyes glowed in hope.

"Only if you erase this terrible depressed expression from your face" she flicked Marinette's forehead with her finger. "Luka hates unhappy faces"

"Ouch!” she complained, touching his forehead before her grin became wider one second later. “Thank you so much! It means a lot to me!" She jumped, hugging the DVD case while the waitresses exchanged smiles. "See you next Friday! Oh, how much is the drink?"

"Nothing. I could never let you pay for Rose's disgusting original cocktail" Juleka teased.

"Hey! It tastes good!" Rose pouted.

"It tastes like strawberry syrup but with triple the amount of sugar." Juleka rolled her eyes.

"That's not true!" Rose complained. "Tell her, Marinette!"

"Yes, I like it. It's good"

Rose was now showing a proud smile while Juleka shrugged in defeat, one of her hands patting the blonde's shoulder.

"Rose, you're lucky a pure soul is willing to drink that sugary cocktail." Rose giggled at the tall woman's comment. "Feel free to come anytime. Uhm… Marinette, was it?"

"Ah, yes. Thank you so much. For the drink. And for the DVD. And for having me. See you soon!" She giggled while waving goodbye.

"Oh.. wanted her to taste my sparkling unicorn special drink too…" Rose pouted in a low voice.

"Oh Rose, it's ok. I'll take your sweetness later for you instead, how is that?" Juleka spoke close to her ear with a smirk.

"Yes!"

'I think I wasn’t supposed to hear that' Marinette thought, rushing out the bar with flustered cheeks and hugging the DVD.

_________________________________

It was just Wednesday and she was at the bar again. 'Why do I keep coming every single day? I know he only comes on Fridays…'

Marinette felt lonely. After awakening feelings of love again, she noticed how lonely she actually was. When did her loneliness start? Was it something that comes together with growing older? She didn't even realize how single and solitary she was before Luka's performance. She seemed fine on her own, she mostly was... but last Friday proved her wrong.

It had been hours alone at the bar, ignoring her work and phone calls and, as expected, the guitarist was nowhere to be found. The bar was not as crowded as last Friday. In fact, it wasn’t to the point that it couldn't even compare- she almost felt bad for the blond guy performing. When the clock on the wooden wall turned to 11:30 PM, she sighed in defeat. She took her wallet out of her purse to pay for her 'sparkling unicorn drink' and her mango soft drink and got ready to go home, expecting to have better luck tomorrow. She raised her hand slightly to call the waitress.

"Excuse m-"

"Hey. Didn't I mention no sad faces were allowed here?"

A familiar voice cut her from the side, close to her ear. It startled her, making her gasp, but her pupils lit up as she turned and her gaze met the blue eyes she had been eager to see for days. She couldn't help to blush at his closeness, unable to control her wide but shy smile. He smiled back at her and her reaction.

"That's better" he winked, resting his arm at the bar counter. "So you've come back, huh? Did you enjoy your time here last Friday? Are you feeling better?" Luka attentively asked.

He kept smiling at her, melting the young woman's insides. She flustered in realization. "You remember me?"

"Of course. Not many people come here looking as terrible as you did. You seem better now. I'm glad"

"Oh- Uhm- Thank you…" she lowered her head to hide her blush under her bangs.

"What brings you here? Today's performances are Electro-pop, but you don't look like you're interested in those?" He curiously asked.

Marinette looked back at the stage. "I guess you're right… I've never really liked XY…" she confessed and Luka snorted.

"Wanna know a secret? Me neither. We just keep him because his father pays us"

"We? Us?" she blinked twice.

"Ah, crap." He noticed his mistake. “I mean the owner- Anarka" he answered.

"Oh…"

"Lu, it’s fine. You can tell her" Juleka approached, and Rose nodded in agreement. Luka seemed uncertain, but that didn't stop Juleka. "You see? Luka is my older brother and the bar owner is our mother. We all live together here, except for Luka when he's out studying abroad"

"Jules…" Luka glared at his sister. "You can't give customers private information about us, you know that. Mom is going to kill us if she finds out…"

"She's not a customer, she's our friend. We can tell a friend. Especially when she's-" Juleka's words were cut by Marinette in panic, scared she would let him know about her feelings for him.

"Aaahh! It's ok! Thank you for telling me, Juleka. I'm not going to tell anyone! Not even my best friend!" she promised. The women were smiling while Luka let a deep sigh out.

"Anyway, may I join you?" Luka asked Marinette, titling his head to get a better angle of her face.

"Her name is Marinette," Rose interrupted and winked at him.

"I think he already knows by now, Rose. Especially after-"

"Shh…" Luka signaled, his index finger in front of his lips in a warning. "Don't continue Jules, or I may spill the beans about you know what…"

"My bad" Juleka apologized under Rose's confused expression and Luka's knowing look.

"So… Marinette? Fancy a drink with me?" The young man returned his attention to her, making her blush as he pronounced her name in his voice. Marinette stared at him in awe. She short-circuited. "Marinette?"

"Ah- yes! I mean- Really? Is it really ok...?" She blushed.

Luka looked back at the designer after shushing his sister and her girlfriend, who giggled at the scene. "Yes, it's fine. I want to have some drinks too and I'm sure it's going to taste better with company"

"Oh… ok… Let me remove my jacket from this seat..." She offered.

"No, not here" Luka stopped her movement by placing his hand on her jacket and getting closer to whisper close to her ear. "We're starting to get looks on us. Go outside, turn left and go upstairs. It says staff only, but you have my permission to go. Wait for me there. I'll come in a second". He moved farther and lifted her jacket. "Don't forget to put on your jacket. It's cold outside"

"Oh- Ok…" Marinette blushed while rushing out to follow his directions. She tripped on her feet when walking up the stairs, still flustered by the unexpected invitation.

After Marinette left, Luka waited for Rose and Juleka to prepare some drinks, and kept unavoidably smiling while seeing Marinette turning left once out the door. The ladies smirked at his rare expression.

"Lu. We like her. Don't mess up, ok?" Juleka stated and Rose nodded effusively. Luka rolled his eyes with a subtle blush on his cheeks until he eyed the glasses Rose had just handed him.

"Are you really planning to make Marinette drink that?" He looked at Rose's original cocktail raising an eyebrow in disgust.

"Why does everyone complain about it? It's delicious! Marinette thinks so too!" Rose pouted.

"Think about it, Rose. Luka isn't much into sweet drinks. How can he kiss the girl if you make her drink that?" Juleka teased.

"Oh… Oh, no! You're right! Let me prepare something else!" Rose excitedly exclaimed and Juleka smirked triumphantly at Luka, who rolled his eyes in response.

"First she would have to want to get kissed, you know…? And what makes you think I-" he could foresee Juleka's counterattack before it happened, so he surrendered beforehand. "Nevermind"

"Oh, she would be more than happy to kiss you, I know that much" Rose grinned, handing him the new drink while sharing a knowing smile with Juleka.

"Whatever" the musician sighed, grabbing the glasses and a pair of bottles of his favorite liquor and moving upstairs. Juleka knew her brother well enough to know he had a smile on his face even if she could only see his back.

___________________

The upper part of the boat was nicer than Marinette had expected. The decorations there were fancier than downstairs and despite it kept the pirate theme, colorful flowers surrounded the space, like a little garden in the middle of the river. It was chilly since it was late September, but the breeze felt nice on Marinette's flustered face (perfect to help her cool down).

Marinette moved to the river side to enjoy the view of Paris at night time. The city was shining bright, beautifully, she has seen it multiple times from her apartment. And despite that, the view from the ship felt more special and even prettier and magical, she couldn't seem to find light inside of her. Her monotonous life was draining her, and her lack of inspiration didn't help her either.

Why…?

She shouldn't be thinking about that. Luka had invited her! And that was clearly the first spark she felt in a long time. She should be happy! Why was it always negative thoughts that stand out the most? She knew it was wrong, but her negativity kept spiraling... She had given Luka a bad first impression and he had probably invited her just because she looked pitiful. Why would he be interested in a workaholic and depressing woman like her, anyway? Someone plain and boring, more like a heartless robot than alive most of the time. It was impossible, wasn't it? Plus, he was going to find popularity and fame soon and he may have so many beautiful fans around him, definitely a better audience than her.

She sighed again. She knew she was being crazy- acting like one of those fangirls from the previous week. Because, in the end, she knew almost nothing about him. 'I'm not special. I'm not amazing as he is'. But she still wished, hoped, for this new found love to not end like her previous one. She wished to feel alive again, like last Friday night when he was on that stage and his eyes met hers.

And her crush on him was making her feel alive again, which was exactly what she wanted. But she was afraid everything could end in a blink before it even started. And with those thoughts in mind, some tears started forming in her eyes. What if he rejected her? It was crazy to think he would accept her feelings just like that. They had just met. Geez- it was the first time they even talked! What was she even expecting? He was out of her league, she convinced herself, and the thought alone made her feel lonely again. Back to her lifeless life.

"Sorry for the wait." Luka arrived, and when her face turned to him, he noticed her tears. "Hey, what's wrong? No crying allowed here, remember?" He emphatically said, placing the drinks on the table and approaching her.

"Sorry... I don't know what's gotten into me..." she tried to stop her sobbing, with no results.

"Easy. Shhhh... A beautiful face like yours shouldn't get tainted with anything, especially not tears" he said, offering her a handkerchief she hesitantly accepted. "Listen"

Luka took a few steps away to get some space as he took his acoustic guitar from his back and started playing a familiar song. When her eyes locked on his, he started singing the lyrics she had listened to hundreds of times on the DVD Juleka gave her.

The times you don't wanna wake up

'Cause in your sleep it's never over when you give up

The sun is always gonna rise up

You need to get up, gotta keep your head up

Look at the people all around you

The way you feel is something everybody goes through

Dark out, but you still gotta light up

You need to wake up, gotta keep your face up

"Sing with me, Marinette"

"Luka…" she whimpered.

"C'mon!" He encouraged her, and she started singing with him. At first, she just babbled the chorus between sobs, but after a few repeats, her voice started making sense as she sang in unmatching rhythms. His music dragged her face to smile faintly.

Alive again.

"There you go," Luka smiled tenderly, making her blush. "Your bad times are just a phase. This bad stage is going to end. Take it easy and be yourself. You are good enough"

"Am I really, though…?" She furrowed her eyebrows.

"I have no doubts" he assured her with a bright smile that made Marinette's heart throb. But doubt and fear still remained.

"How can you say that? You don't know me. Or my life. Or my feelings! How can you say that so lightly?" She gasped at her own words, immediately regretting them. Why was she even getting angry? She was making Luka pay for her frustration and that was horrible. Before she could apologize, he interrupted her.

"Because you're sincere, Marinette. Your heart, your eyes, your gestures, your voice, your whole aura- they all tell me about you." He stared at her eyes. "Not only verbal language can communicate. I myself work better with music rather than words. And with those pieces of information together, I can tell you're going through a bad phase, lost motivation, maybe you're not even sure about where you want to go or your purpose in life, but that's normal. As the song says, everyone goes through that at some point. I did have one myself too"

"You… You did?" She asked, incredulous.

"Is it that surprising? You can ask Juleka, if you don't believe me. I'm not perfect- nobody is." He shrugged with a sympathetic smile. "But that's not the point. I can see your potential whenever I look at you. The Marinette from last Friday shone brighter than a diamond to me. I've known you were special from the first time my eyes landed on you, and, the more I see you, the more convinced I am. You're extraordinary, Marinette, and your heart song is the most beautiful I've ever heard." The young woman couldn't help but blush and show a hopeful wide smile at Luka's words. "Now, that's a beautiful smile! There's no way anyone can deny you anything to that" He smiled while staring at her eyes.

"Even you?" She involuntarily asked, and his eyes opened wide. "Ah-" her hands rushed to cover her mouth.

"I would be the first to fall for it" he laughed, but kept the second part to himself: 'if I already hadn't'

Marinette blushed even harder. Luka was even more impressive than she thought. Wasn't it too good to be real? Too incredible. Especially for someone like her.

This wasn't a crush, she realized. The spark in her heart was something more- the warmth she felt and the butterflies in her stomach… all of it made it obvious.

It was LOVE.

Was it even possible? So fast, so easily.

"It pains me to see how you don't believe in yourself and your potential," Luka continued. "Besides, Juleka and Rose like you, and let me tell you, that's already a big accomplishment."

Marinette's smile became even brighter but shy. "I like them too. Do you think they'll want to become my friends?"

"You heard them downstairs. I'm quite sure they already consider you that. Just how much time have you spent here since last Friday?" He teased, and Marinette flustered red, mumbling something incomprehensible that made Luka smile even wider before returning to the topic. "Anyway, don't put fences or walls to yourself. Life itself will already do that, there's no need for you to add more unnecessary difficulties. Try to give more credit to your positive features instead of blaming yourself for the negative ones. Flow with it"

"What if I can't? Or what if it's not a fence, but an unbreakable wall?" She asked, thinking of her neverending work routine and Audrey Bourgeois.

"Nothing is unbreakable, Marinette. You just need to believe you can do it. And if you can't go straight through it, then you can go around it, or even jump over it. Maybe get help too. There is nothing wrong in getting support when you need it. Definitely nothing to be ashamed of" Luka strummed the strings of his acoustic guitar lightly, in an unknown melody that spoke to her heart. She could relate those new tunes more than to any song she had ever heard. She closed her eyes to enjoy the notes that ran from her ears to her heart. Luka looked at her smile, pleased. "That's my favorite part of playing music, you know? Help people feel better and put smiles on their faces. And it's specially rewarding when is someone as beautiful and pure as you"

Marinette stared astonished at his fond expression. His smile was so perfect she wondered if it was even real.

"Marinette?" He called. "Let's enjoy this moment, this view, the breeze. Forget about all bad things for now. Take it easy and relax. Have a drink with me?" he suggested, pointing at the glasses on the table with a welcoming smile.

Marinette’s eyes glowed in awe. She had thought she would be fine with just a little bit of Luka, even if it was only during his performances. But now? She wanted it ALL. She wanted to feel as alive as she felt whenever he was close. She wanted her love- this electric feeling to be mutual and last forever.

With those feelings in mind, her face rose up to meet his blue eyes with conviction.

"Thank you, Luka. I won't be looking down anymore," she proclaimed, and took the glass Luka offered her. Once in her hand, Luka lifted his tall glass, encouraging her to cheer with him.

"Face up?" he smiled, satisfied as she confidently bumped her glass to his. "Face up" she replied, and drank the alcohol while staring at his eyes and returning him a shy smile under his gaze.

With their empty glasses on the table, and without even noticing, naturally, they started leaning towards each other, lost in the deepness of their eyes. Their faces were barely a few centimeters apart, his fingertips brushed her skin and her hands moved to his chest. Their lips were almost touching when two voices interrupted them.

"OMG!! Isn't that Luka!?" "OMG, yes he is!!" "LUKA!!" KYAAAH" Two fangirls called from the nearest bridge.

Marinette jumped and backed away, nervously, and Luka turned around to awkwardly wave at them from afar after giving Marinette an apologetic look.

"Lukaaa!! Let's go have some fun?" "Yeah, like old times!" "Yeah, come have fun with us"

Luka turned to Marinette in alarm, and her mouth twisted.

"Sorry, girls! I'm not interested. Go have fun on your own" he told them off, somewhat angry, and they protested.

"Shh… He's already with someone!" One of the girls said to the other. "Hey! Didn't you say you didn't do that anymore? Liar!" "Oh, c'mon! She looks boring! Come with us instead, you'll have more fun!"

Marinette's expression turned into a mix of betrayal, sadness, anger and embarrassment.

She felt like the spell he had casted on her just faded away and Luka's heart ached in guilt and frustration.

"Shut up! I told you I’m not interested! Stop insisting! Don't you know what NO means!?" Luka finally yelled, losing his usual cool. But the fangirls continued.

"Oh, we may be scaring the lady! Poor thing, thinking she can have Luka all by herself..." "Have fun with your boring catch. How disappointing…" "What a shame…" "It's his loss, girl! Let's go" "Yeah, whatever" the pair of fangirls finally walked away.

Luka exhaled deeply and nervously turned to Marinette. "Sorry, Marinette. It's not what you think. Fangirls can get very annoying..."

Marinette's eyebrow arched, both demanding and hurt. "Not what I think? You owe me no explanation..." she was more hurt than she was willing to admit, and her face was at the lowest yet.

'It was my fault for having expectations… of course it was too beautiful to be real… Why did she even think she could be special to someone like him? To have him all by herself? She didn't know him! She thought he was amazing and sweet and caring… but her first impression has been proven wrong- absolutely wrong' she thought.

"Marinette! You're misunderstanding! I don't date fans, that's my policy!"

"So you just play around with them? Is this why you invited me? Am I your toy for tonight?"

She wanted to cry. She had fallen in love with an illusion. Of course someone that perfect couldn't exist. What was she thinking? She should have learned her lesson with Adrien, but this time was even worse. It hurt. A lot. More than a heartbreak ever hurt her. Because, this time, it also took hope away with her.

"No! Of course not-! You're getting it all wrong! That's all in the past! I was young and stupid- and... I don't do that anymore." He sounded so desperate Marinette almost believed him. "I wouldn't have invited you if I didn't genuinely mean it. Believe me, please" He pleaded, but she directed a glacial glare at him.

"Right… so that's what you say to all your fangirls, huh? No wonder they all fall for you. But I guess I have nothing else to do here: I know your policy now. I won't make you break it. Goodbye"

'How stupid of me to have hope something magical or exciting could happen to me. All that time invested for nothing. Not only out of his league, but also a playboy who had taken advantage of her weak state to seduce her with pretty words and music. How pitiful she was!

She wouldn't have minded to be his even if it was only for a night until moments ago. But now, she had decided she wanted it all- mutual love. And it was obvious he didn't feel the same.

Before leaving, her eyes darted to the empty glasses of alcohol. She grabbed one of the bottles Luka brought with him and refilled her glass violently. Luka was too late to react, before she drank it in one shot.

"Marinette, wait-"

Too late. The alcohol was already making her feel dizzy. That wasn't the soft drinks she used to drink, neither water: it reeked of alcohol. Logical, since it was something strong Rose prepared for Luka, not for Marinette. And her tolerance was incredibly low (which is why she always went with soft drinks in the first place). Luka rushed to catch the young woman when she slowly fainted.

"Marinette? Hey! Wake up. Open your eyes. C'mon! Don't do this to me" he lightly shook her small body. "Come back, please. You've got it wrong" he insisted, but Marinette left a light snore that made him calm down in relief. "Why are words so complicated…?" He sighed in worry.

After confirming she was deep asleep and nothing made it seem like she would wake up anytime soon, Luka carried Marinette in a princess style downstairs in concern.

"Marinette!" Rose gasped and rushed to her friend in Luka's arms.

"What have you done, dumbass? Is she ok?" Juleka slightly hit his arm, before checking on Marientte.

"Yes… Yes. She's just sleeping. The alcohol was too much…” He lamented. “Do you know where she lives? Or any relative or friend?"

The waitresses shook their heads in negation, and exchanged a worried look. "Lu… What happened up there?"

"I guess I'm still not good with words…" he shrugged, after a long silence, letting the Marinette's body rest on his bed. Juleka and Rose exchanged a worried look watching Marinette sleeping in distress, mumbling Luka's name in her dreams.

________________________________

The next morning, Marinette woke up in an unknown room. 'Where? What? How? Why? When…?'

Music coming from the next room startled her. 'That song…?' It was a song she had never heard before, yet it felt familiar for some reason. 'Who is playing it?' stepping out of the room, she realized where she was: the Liberty.

She jolted in realization and she looked at herself in the mirror. She looked horrible, but her clothes were still the same. She sighed in relief. 'What happened?' before she could think more, her eyes met Luka's in one of the couches.

"Good morning. How are you feeling?" He asked her with a soft and apologetic smile.

"I- ugh… my head… what happened?"

"You don't remember?" He asked and she shook her head. "You passed out," he explained, signaling for her to take a seat. She complied. "You seriously startled me, Marinette. It was so sudden... And since you didn't seem to wake up, I let you sleep on my bed"

"Oh- sorry… and thank you…" she muttered, looking down, embarrassed.

"Hey. No more looking down, remember? Face up" He raised his own face in encouragement.

"Face up" she repeated, following his lead with a shy smile.

“You know? About yesterday… I want to-” Luka started, breaking the silence, but Juleka interrupted them.

"Lu, the label called you. You better say yes this time or-" Juleka noticed her friend. "Oh, sorry. I didn't know you were still here, Marinette. How are you feeling?"

"Better, thank you," Marinette answered. 'Label?' She wondered.

"Jules. Marinette's got a headache. Could you give her some medicine while I'm on the phone, please?" Luka asked Juleka and she smiled tenderly, aiding her friend to the counter.

"Here" Juleka offered her an aspirin and a glass of water, and Marinette accepted. Juleka noticed how Marinette kept staring at Luka's direction with curiosity.

"Luka had an appointment 10 minutes ago. Jagged Stone's label wants him to sign a contract with them" Juleka explained, proudly. "He has been turning them down for weeks, but this time he seemed to have decided to sign. That's why he came back one day earlier than usual, actually. Isn't my dumbass brother amazing?"

A contract… with Jagged Stone's label? Luka was going to sign it? Marinette remembered Nino's words: 'he's gonna be big in no time'. She had agreed with that affirmation… She just didn't expect it so early. So sudden. Where would their chances be if he became famous…? With all his fangirls- wait- what was that about fangirls?

She remembered.

"Fangirls" Marinette mumbled to a confused Juleka. "Why did you lie to me, Juleka? You said I was special, but Luka just thinks of me as a fan! And he doesn't date fans! Were you making fun of me?"

"What? Of course, no! Where did you get those ideas from?"

"Those fangirls from yesterday said it, and Luka confirmed"

"That dumbass…" Juleka's tongue clicked and Marinette started to cry. "Hold on, Marinette. You're misunderstanding everything. It's true Luka had a 'rebellious stage', but that's part of the past now, he's different now. If he invited you it's because he is really interested in you. I promise. He ditched the meeting with the music label so he was there when you woke up and he even-"

"How can I know you're not lying?" Marinette demanded in a yell and Juleka looked at her in shock.

"We hate lies, Marinette. We may be chaotic and a bit crazy, but we're always honest. Luka too." Juleka explained, hurt by her friend's distrust.

At that moment, Luka returned. "Sorry- I have to go now. Will you be- Marinette?" Luka cut them, and the fashion designer showed him an enraged expression and took her things and rushed out.

"Marinette, wait!" Both siblings called, but she didn’t stop. Luka ran and somehow caught her by the wrist and Marinette was finally letting go of the tears she had been holding. "Marinette…!"

"Let me go, Luka!”

"You remember the misunderstanding," Luka realized. "Let me explain, please," he begged.

"No! I don't want to hear it. Do you want to make me look even more pathetic? I'm sick of it! I'm sick of my own stupidity. Falling in love with you was a mistake!"

"Love...?" His jaw fell, leaving him puzzled with his mouth open.

"You have fun with your fangirls, you don't date fans as per your policy and you'll soon be famous internationally and forget I exist! Coming here every day was a waste of time. Goodbye, Luka. Good luck with your life" she freed herself from his weakened grip and started running away.

Luka's feet were glued to the floor in shock. Did she really say love?

"What are you doing!? Go after her, stupid!" Juleka shouted and Luka snapped out.

"Shit!" Luka ran, "Marinette!" but she was nowhere to be found. "No… Dammit!" He cursed.

When he returned to the Liberty, Juleka and Rose scolded him. "You better pray for her to be here tomorrow evening for your performance. But now go and sign that contract before they give up on you. Hurry up!" Luka nodded, took his guitar with him and started walking, deep lost in his thoughts.

____________________________

As soon as Marinette arrived at her apartment, she let herself fall on the bed and started crying uncontrollably. She received some phone calls and messages, but she didn't feel strong enough to check. She was supposed to be working at Audrey's at that hour- of course she would call. Her boss was going to kill her. But she didn't care. Instead, she played again the live performance of the previous Friday, when she felt more alive than ever. Music to accompany and silence her tears- tears of heartbreak and betrayal.

Once again, she let her negativity win. Again… And without listening to his excuses.

She felt at her lowest yet.

____________________________

And just with that, in a blink of an eye, Friday arrived.

Marinette coped with heartbreak with stress working- she had a lot to catch up after the time she had spent in the Liberty the past days, and she worked better under stress, anyway. At 6 PM a message from Alya arrived on her phone.

'Girl, we're going with Nino to Liberty again. Wanna come? Your hot guitarist will be playing tonight! We'll be waiting for you there!'

She ignored the message.

________________

Just before 11PM, the Liberty was absolutely crowded. The last performance had ended, and people could already feel the rush in anticipation for Luka's performance. But the musician wasn't feeling it as he usually did. He had been rewatching past Friday's performance in loop, focusing on Marinette exclusively. He felt terrible. An unfortunate misunderstanding due to the past he was ashamed of, had come to chase him at the worst possible moment- the moment he had finally found the person with the heart song he had always wished for.

It was past the time for Luka's performance, so Juleka knocked and entered his cabin to call for him. "It's time"

"Marinette…?" He asked and she shook her head in negation, biting her lip. He sighed deeply.

Once at the stage, he looked at the empty chair he had reserved for Marinette in the first row, and then he looked around to confirm she wasn't there, indeed. He was sad, more than he had been in a while, but the Liberty was a place to be happy and he was a professional, so he had to give it his all, like always. Only those who really knew him (or really devoted fans like Nino) would be able to notice something was wrong with him.

"Good evening, everyone! Thank you for coming. Ready for some rock & roll?"

"Yeah!!" "Woohoo!"

_____________________

Marinette checked the clock on the wall of her apartment: 11:58 PM. Despite her efforts, she couldn't take Luka and the Liberty out of her mind.

Luka's performance would be ending right now, she thought, moving forward the DVD recording to the moment he thanked the audience and fans had asked for an encore. At that moment, he had asked her and only her, if she wanted one too, and she raised her voice like she never had before. It felt great, she remembered. ALIVE. The video ended when Luka left the stage, mentioning a new song. Did he play it tonight? She wondered, but she had no way to know, because she hadn't been there and his performance had already ended...

The clock pointed past midnight when she buried her face in the pillow, tears finding their way out.

________________________

At the same time, at the bar, Alya and Nino were talking at the counter.

"Woah Alya! It was amazing! Too bad Marinette didn't come. I thought she enjoyed last week?"

"I know… She's been stress-working since yesterday, it seems. Something must have happened, but she's keeping it for herself. I wish I could help her more… She should be enjoying her youth! Falling in love and-"

Suddenly, fangirl squealing started and Alya and Nino felt a hand on their shoulders that startled them. Neither expected to find Luka when they turned.

"You two- You're Marinette's friends, aren't you? From last week-" He asked and they nodded when their voice refused to come out, shocked and processing what was happening. "I need a favor, please." Luka asked.

Alya and Nino exchanged a look and followed him to his cabin, shoving his fangirls away as they walked through the crowd.

_________________________

‘Girl. You better tell me what's going on asap, because I'm losing my mind’

Marinette stared confused at the screen as a new message arrived on her phone: a video. Marinette was a little unsure to play it seeing Luka in the preview image, but her longing feelings for him and her curiosity won over her fears.

She played it.

"Hi again, everyone. Ugh" Luka looked unexpectedly nervous. "I know it's way past the time we're allowed to 'be noisy', so I'm going to make it quick before agent Roger comes and gives the owner one of his fines." Some people laughed at the back. "I composed this song for a special lady who, sadly, isn't here today- which is why I asked these amazing people to make it reach her. Thank you, guys!" 'He called us amazing!' Nino fuzzed and Alya laughed at her boyfriend. "Anyway- I hope I make myself more clear with this song than with words. This song is for you, Marinette"

Marinette's eyes opened big and she audibly gasped. A song for her…? She knew that melody- the one he was practicing and that reached her heart. And the lyrics…

A confession of love…? Could it be…? She felt tears in her eyes, moved by the perfect harmony between the acoustic guitar's melody, the lyrics he sang with his beautiful angelic voice and the conveyed feelings through it… His feelings for her- his love and his wish for her to be confident and shine.

The song ended and he looked directly at the camera.

"Marinette, I'm sorry for our misunderstanding. I hope I made myself clear this time. Whenever you want, if you want- of course-, you know where to find me. I'll wait for you."

Marinette let out a restrained cry as she pressed the replay button.

______________________________________

Luka was at the upper part of the ship, alone, with a tall glass in front of him. He had only taken a sip, and had focused on his guitar instead, playing 'Marinette's song' tunes.

It had been hours since Marinette's friends- Alya and Nino- had sent her the video, but she didn't appear or reply to them. Being almost 4 AM, he wasn't expecting much. 'So my feelings didn't reach her, huh?' He sighed in defeat.

"Didn't you say no sad faces were allowed here? Or do you have privileges? Because that's unfair"

Luka turned his head and met Marinette's eyes, who had just seated next to him, bringing out all her courage. His face immediately lit up in relief.

"Marinette. You came" he smiled. "Did you-"

"Did you really mean it? The song… those feelings..." she asked in determination. Her heart was about to burst out in both fear and expectation.

"All of it" Luka didn't even flutter, no doubt in his voice.

"Hmm…" Marinette secretly smiled under her bangs and soon, her eyes darted to his drink. She blinked in surprise. "Rose's unicorn special drink? I would have never expected you would like it."

"I don't. I have no idea how you can drink this, actually. It's way too sweet" he stuck his tongue out in disgust and Marinette's lips curved wider.

"Then…" her hand moved to cup the rainbow colored glass. "I hope you don't mind it if…"

"Go ahead- sorry it's not very cold anymore..."

Was she doing it on purpose? Licking her lips, so teasingly after taking a sip… He was feeling all hot out of the sudden, so he rolled his sleeves up. His throat felt suddenly dry.

Still seated next to him, Marinette moved her head to rest it on his shoulder. "Could you sing again...?"

"Of course. Which part?" He strummed his guitar's strings, but she didn't answer and just hummed, as if she was telling him to guess it. "Ok, let me guess. Maybe that you're…

'An extraordinary girl. Clear like a musical note, sincere as a melody. The song that's been playing in my head since our first encounter'

He sang and she blushed, shaking her head. "Not this one? What about this then?" He continued.

'Clear all the fog around you and raise your voice to shine, like the diamond you are. A bright smile no one can deny. Don't be afraid to feel ALIVE'

She shook her head again, and he sang another part, hopefully.

'You're the one in my heart, the perfect melody to admire'

Marinette's smile widened, but she shook her head once again. It didn't pass him how she looked at him from under her lashes.

'Face up, so I can see your glowing eyes and your dazzling smile'

Always up, never behind, don't be afraid to take my hand. A new love story to write, the clock no longer in standby. Give me a second chance and I'll never say goodbye'

Redness found its way to Marinette's face, as she hummed happily. Luka smiled back at her, equally happy, but Marinette didn't have enough yet. She stood up and yelled loudly to the river: "Encore!"

Luka laughed, remembering their first meeting one week ago. "You want an encore? Any requests?" He asked, confidently.

“I want to listen to something PURE” she blushed. “Something that tells me your feelings are genuine as mine. Something that tells me that I’m special to you. Something to clear all the uncertainty I may have left…"

Luka listened to her attentively, and after giving a thought, he knew exactly what to play. He left his guitar aside and took a step closer to Marinette- very close. She was trembling but expectant when he held her hand, exhaled deeply and pressed the palm of her hand on his chest.

His heartbeat.

"This. This is new, even for me. It only happens when you're around, Marinette. And if you allow me to kiss you, I'll prove it right. Shall I?" Marinette opened her eyes wide and her face flustered again. Next, she nodded, and looked up so he could brush his lips to hers softly, carefully, treasuring the feeling the contact gave them… With her hand still on his chest, Marinette noticed how their heartbeat soon beat as one. In unison. Matching tempo, same feelings of love. And that was the best encore she could have ever received.

She was certain now: like the song said, she had cleared up all the fog and was ready to hold his hand without ever looking back.

And with that, all her fears vanished. No more redness on her face. No more stammering. No more nerves. No more negative feelings. She just felt as she always wished.

ALIVE.

More than ever.

Confidently, Marinette raised her glass and drank it whole while staring at Luka’s eyes. Luka gulped, feeling thirsty out of the sudden.

"Marinette. I think I made my feelings clear now. Will you give me an answer? Or at least say yes to a date?" Luka asked, a little impatient.

"I thought you didn't date fans…?" She teased.

"You're not a fan, Marinette. What kind of fan would miss their favorite artist's live performance on purpose? You're the one my heart chose and the most beautiful person I've ever met. You inspire me to compose a thousand songs"

"I can't be your fan, then?" She tilted her head to the side, playfully.

"You can be whatever you want, Marinette," he assured, and her smile brightened.

"Even your one and only official girlfriend?" She said, reaching for his arm.

"Please be?" He almost begged.

Marinette felt shy out of the sudden. "Yes… I really want to" She nodded and hid her blush burying her face on his shoulder.

"Marinette. Face up" Luka reminded her, happily, and she raised her head to meet his eyes directly, lost in its blueness and his loving smile. One of his hands moved to her hair, brushing her bangs to have a better look at her face, while the other held her hand steadily. Her face flustered and her fingers squeezed back at his. Slowly, they moved closer until their lips melted in a tender kiss. A slow, longer kiss followed.

"That drink sure is sweet" Luka mentioned, licking his lips and making Marinette smile. "But it's not that bad, I guess. I think I could get used to it…" he said, and Marinette giggled.

"See? I told you it was good!" A high-pitched voice yelled from the stairs, followed by a loud gasp.

"Rose!" Another voice called.

"Ah-" the blond lady covered her mouth. "Sorry, keep going! We're not looking! Or listening! We're just here- chilling- we won't interrupt! Go on!"

Luka rolled his eyes and Marinette giggled again. Soon, Juleka excused Rose and dragged her downstairs, giving the new couple some privacy.

"They were worried about you, you know? Don't get mad at them"

"I know" Marinette smiled widely. "I have to apologize to them later, especially to Juleka. What I said… I'm sorry I didn't listen to your explanations…" she lamented, looking down.

"Shhh… That's for later." Luka shushed her and tilted her face up with his hand under her chin. "Do you have more spare kisses to share or are you tired?"

"I- I do have them… a lot, actually" she blushed at his closeness. "And you?"

"For you? I don’t think I could ever get tired of them" he gave her a short kiss, before continuing. "But next time drink something else, please. You're sweet enough, I don't need the extra amount of sugar" Marinette laughed and pressed her lips to his. And he immediately kissed her back. "I love you, Marinette"

"I love you too, Luka" she embraced him closer, her face finding comfort in his arms.

And like that, they kissed until the sunrise.

#my fic #fic: face up #airip4 #airipyon #lukanette fic #endgame lukanette #Pro LukaMari

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lunar-writings-love · 4 years ago

Text

College!AU - Hongjoong (ateez)

ahaha so i’m baaaack ;; super sorry for all the inactivity babes life has been weighing down on all of us i’m sure and i needed some time! This is the next installment of the college!au ateez series, and although i had planned to have hongjoong last, y’all requested him so much i wrote him next and changed the order around!

Author’s note: Bullet fic,

Warnings: like a drop of angst if u squint ?? the word sh!t appears one time i think

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hongjoong:

he’s so cute i’m Sad

ok so Joongie is just so loved, so treasured by everyone ,, every time he enters into a room everyone just 🥺

he’ll walk into a room looking all sleepy in overalls or something and literally everyone’s parental instincts awaken from the depths of college emotional indifference and suddenly ,,

there’s world peace it’s a sight to see

so, our Hongjoongie is actually a double major!!

he’s a world lit major, and he’s minoring in gender studies so his emphasis is on analyzing feminist texts

more often than not, the best way to find hongjoong is to just go to the library on the south side of campus at odd hours at night and you’ll usually find him buried underneath a pile of books ;; (and more often than not he’ll also be sleeping because baby can’t stay awake to save his life ://)

But he really does love his major ,, and If u let him , he’ll rave hours and hours about literature; analyzing them through historical context, societal reflection, the role of women, writing style.....

....he just loves what he does and it makes everyone around him love him for it too!!

He always has extensive talks with Yeosang (an english major who took a lot of lit classes with hongjoong hint go read the yeosang!au) on american 19th century feminist writings

they started their own book club and it’s literally just them two, no other members allowed, and all they do is eat finger sandwiches and shit on misogynistic men we sTAN

HoWEVer, although hongjoong’s work in literature is impressive and respected, he’s probably better known for his second major:

music composition!

music is the love of his life ,,, no buts there’s nothing he’ll love more than his art (except maybe you aha ha ha ;)

and people knew him around campus becaaaauseeeeee ,,,,, he would usually ,,, dj at frat parties...

it wasn’t something he particularly liked, but hey money is money.

in all seriousness though, when hongjoong wasn’t reading or writing papers, he was glued to his mac producing tracks and writing lyrics

the only thing was ,,, he didn’t actually sing any of what he wrote

he never thought his own voice suited his songs, and would much rather sit on the sidelines moving along the creative direction

and although the boys usually are the ones to sing his demos,, joongie always felt like something was still ,,, missing

this is where u come in wink wonk

you’re just a lowly econ major who surprisingly !! doesn’t !! want !! to start your own fortune 500 company :DD !! wow so rare :)

anYWaYS,, you’re just doing it cuz your parents pressured you into pursuing a career with stable job opportunities and you’re kinda good at math and graphs soooo

....why not

but to be honest, you always felt trapped

you were never able to stop that feeling of impending doom when you’d open your macro-econ textbooks ,,,

or how your heart hurt when you think about the fact that your life is headed straight to an incredibly mundane future :

a desk job, an overpriced apartment that barely has enough room for you, living in constant air pollution from the city’s high carbon emissions, never finding true love, dying alone with 50 cats, taxes...you get the drift

you usually pushed those thoughts to the back of your mind, negativity isn’t productive and right now you had a world economics midterm to study for

but..

not that you’d ever admit it, your true passion had always been music

you weren’t the best composer, you knew just enough piano to get you but; but you had a set of PIPES dAmN

your friends could usually find you at the dorm’s music rooms ,, and whenever you felt stress or needed to unwind, you’d usually head over to those rooms

now ,,, these rooms are soundproof // but the trick is you actually have to close the door cuz if u don’t......

everyone can hear you

and by everyone I mean the entire floor

you were doing your usual thing at the music room one night when one of your friends came in to let you know everyone would be heading over to dinner soon,, u promised only one more song before meeting them upstairs on your dorm floor

hoWEVeR, U DIDN’T REALIZE THAT WHEN YOUR FRIEND WALKED AWAY THEY LEFT THE DOOR OPEN

and soo ,, when u started singing again //// everyone heard

and by everyone i mean ???!?

hongjoong :))

and it was love at first sight ,,, or rather

,, love at first listen??

he won’t ponder over the semantics, all Hongjoong knew was that he had been looking for a voice like yours and needed you on his tracks

this man barged into the room and begged you to lend your voice for his songs

...on his knees :00

you were in shock like what were you supposed to do?

this random man stormed in and got on his knees ,,

what was next ??

marriage ????

u didn’t really say anything for a while just kinda looked him in his eyes

but then your uwu instincts kicked in--u don’t know what it is about this dude but u just wanna like give him candy or something

and so you hesitantly asked for his name

and that’s when hongjoong realized he was an IDIOT

because not only was your voice heavenly, but of course you were cute too and he just presented himself like a complete and utter maniac and He Didn’T eVEN bOTHER To TelL You hIS NAme!

he wanted the ground to swallow him up but alas

he got off his knees and shyly stuck out his hand and told you his name

you looked at him once again ,, and surprisingly

you took his hand with a small smile on your face

you ended up totally forgetting about dinner with your friends at the dining hall

because hongjoong sat beside you on the piano bench and showed you his songs and lyrics, and you....fell in love <3

you’d never connected with anyone on this type of emotional level before and it was almost sort of overwhelming

it also kinda gave you hope too ,, because here was Hongjoong ,, someone who managed to get the best of both worlds : a music and a lit degree

and you thought that maybe ,, you could do something with music too

you guys exchanged numbers and scheduled to meet at the university’s recording studio that weekend

Hongjoong composed a track and you added your own lyrics with his help--after two weeks of mixing, mastering, producing, and recording ,,, you guys officially released a single!!

you really weren’t expecting it, but hongjoong was a bit of a social butterfly and so the song became a hit on campus

people were uploading it to their social media, sharing it with friends, playing it while they worked out, it was kinda ridiculous to you

the student paper even wrote an article about it (and later you found out that the journalist was one of hongjoong’s friend’s girlfriend ,, (hint go read the yunho!au)

And when the song reached 10,000 streams, that gave you the confidence to do what you had always wanted to do

you called your parents up on a Saturday morning to tell them you were picking up a vocal performance major

you were extremely anxious for this conversation, so Hongjoong decided to stay by your side for moral support

As both of you waited with baited breath for your parents’ response, Hongjoong was also right there just ,, holding your hand so sweetly,, and that was driving YOU INSANE

(because in these past couple of months you had gotten to know Hongjoong you had mostly definitely, absolutely, completely fallen head over heels for him)

after a long moment of silence, your parents agreed

they weren’t too happy about it, but they also weren’t as against it as you thought they’d be--the only condition was that you’d continue with econ and instead double major

it would honestly be hard considering the amount of mandatory classes and performances required of the vocal performance major, but you were too happy to care

after your goodbyes with your parents, you looked over to Hongjoong with the biggest smile on your face

and it just,, absolutely melted his heart

before he could stop himself he just wrapped his arms around you and twirled you around

and then :) he gave you the softest kiss on your cheek

of course, after it dawned on him what he had done, he instantly turned red and started chucking nervously as he stuttered his words

but for you, the newfound confidence and ADRENALINE after your successful phone call with your parents, you grabbed both sides of his face and asked him if you could kiss him

Hongjoong was wide-eyed but LIKE HELL he would pass up this up

so after muttering out a shy yes, y’all kissed awwww :))

and after that, you guys became a couple!

you’d show up to the frat parties he would DJ at and would always dance like an idiot with wooyoung in the corner of the room

and you and hongjoong would always partner up for music composition and performance projects: Hongjoong would write the tracks and you’d sing for them

you guys were honestly such a soft couple

you also picked up the habit of studying sleeping at the library with hongjoong because double majoring was hard and it required a lot of work

and it just, now became a thing for people to always find you along with Hongjoong sleeping under a pile of books

you guys kept on releasing more singles after that, and are currently working on an EP!

and honestly, you were so incredibly happy

you had the most amazing boyfriend, and you were pursuing your passion

and you felt just a little bit better knowing that your future was unclear

you no longer pictured yourself at a desk job, living out an absolutely dreadful life

instead, you finally realized the multitude of opportunities at your disposal

and with Hongjoong by your side, you just knew everything in life would work out in the end!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FEEL FREE TO REQUEST!

Love you guys! Stay safe and healthy!!

- Luna

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blackberry-gingham · 4 years ago

Note

Do you write headcannons? If you do how about one for soft teddy!beatles x reader

Yay, first request, thank you! But hm, I've never thought about headcannons, but I can try! Since this request is kinda open, I'm going to go for like, what the general relationship vibes are

George

Does anyone remember the like slam poetry club from a goofy movie?

Like I'm talking that, dark smokey room, chilling in an alley, cool cat, avant garde poet vibe

That's George

Of all the boys, he's the loner of the group

He's just got that dark and mysterious vibe, which is honestly what drew you to pursue him in the first place

You're chill in your own right tho and great at respecting his space, both of which he loves you for

The other boys are actually kinda surprised at how easily he opened up to you

You two can often be seen on the edge of the social gathering, either kissing or just vibing, away from all the noise

But what does he do when he's off in his own world, and takes time to himself?

Write music and lyrics of course!

He brings his work to you a lot, and even plays samples of his sheet music for you

"how's this sound love?" "I'm thinking it goes something like this... There, how's that?"

You're his number one fan, but he appreciates that you give genuine feedback too

He loves to write you cute little notes and sweet romantic poems

Although, he never straight hands them to you, you always just... Find them in places clearly meant for you to discover them

Your purse, your bookbag, the teeth of your hairbrush, the sleeve of your favorite record

He doesn't know this, but you hold onto every single one

Dates with George are kind of low key tbh

Like if you want to go out, that's fine! But usually you two just vibe and write lyrics, poems, and music together

He even teaches you some guitar!

To the boys, you're basically George part two lol

Meaning, they're happy to hangout and all, but typically they just respect you and your space like they do for George

You're just a mystery to them, and they're ok with that

John

The actual definition of "asshole to the world, sweetheart to his girl"

He gives you LOTS of pet names

"my bird" "love" "doll face" " she's a dime"

At first, you're kiiiiind of just his arm candy

He's just nervous to show his soft side, you know?

After all, his role in the teds is halfway between the leader and the muscle

Add that into the fact that he's secretly quite the anxious person, and you manage to let it go

But!!! Once you've been together for a while, he's fiercely protective of you in public and sweetly affectionate when he thinks no one's looking

Like when you're alone?

I'm talking head in your lap while you play with his hair, comes to you randomly and asks for hugs/cuddles, picks you up and spins you around, holds you close to slow dance even if there's no music, kind of affection

You just.... Soothe him

Like, maybe he doesn't need to be big bad John Lennon to show the world that he's strong and tough and worthy of love and affection

Now, when you're in public

He'll hold your hand if you ask and kiss you and all that, especially if he sees someone else eyeing you up

But if someone thinks they can catch him lacking and snatch you up?

WHOO BOY

Bottom line always is that you're his and he's yours, and anyone who can't respect that, or God forbid, can't respect you...

Let's just say, OOF

When it comes to dates this man is CLUELESS !!!

You basically have to do 80% of the planning, but luckily he's happy to do whatever you want!

The boys see you as a little sister of sorts, and they're all ready to stand up for you at a moment's notice!

However, that's often not necissary with John around lol

Paul

Paul is a bit like John in a way

He's loud, cocky, and rambunctious, but what sets him apart is he's charismatic enough to sell water to a drowning man and in tune enough with his emotions that he can express himself without growing frustrated or aggressive

1000000% chance that he's the one who approached you

Unfortunately for him, you're of the mindset to not associate with teddy riff raff like him and his friends

Paul's totally bewildered bc he's not use to being turned down flat like that

But that just makes him all the more eager to prove you wrong!

He's like a stray cat that takes a liking to you

Except instead of mice and birds, he brings you sweet little things like a bouquet of dandelions or some penny candy

After a while, he starts to grow on you

What if.... You were wrong about teds like Paul?

You guys get to talking and hanging out, and you even spend time with him and the boys! *Gasp*

Which is usually a trip, bc Paul looooves to show you off!

Like he's seriously your number one hype man

"there's my gorgeous girl!" "Don't you look lovely!" "Is that a new dress? It looks right capital on you!"

At first you were embarrassed by all the attention, but you soon grew to love it, especially considering how genuine he is with all his comments

Soon enough, you feel like you're on top of the world with a guy like him boosting your confidence!

Paul's dates are the most traditionally romantic of the boys

He takes you to dinner, drive in movies, accompanies you shopping, all that good stuff

As Paul's girl you're like the Queen to his King lol

Even tho John formed their little group, Paul feels the most like the leader with his silver tongue and all so you can always count on him and the other boys to have your back out there!

Ringo

Honestly the most square of all the teddy Beatles lol

That's ok tho bc as a square yourself, he's very approachable!

He's a little shy when you first meet him

It's just.... He's not cool and mysterious like George, or tough and strong like John, or even all that charming and charismatic like Paul

Sooooo... Why him?

Honestly at first you're not sure you could answer that question

But thankfully, it doesn't take you long at all to tease out his real personality, and by that point you feel like you could come up with a hundred reasons!

Of all your favorite things about him, your top three would definitely be that he's silly, fun, and the kind of boyfriend who's also your best friend!

Like really, he's always willing to lend an ear or a comforting shoulder, whatever you need!

He's like a puppy in a way, of all the boys he's most likely to be the one to go out if his way to please you and make you happy

On that note, he loves to make you laugh!

It's just the most magical sound to him and he doesn't understand at all why you hate the sound of it

"can't be worse then mine", he gawffs

Ringo isn't use to going very far from his friends, but when he meets you, he loves going on little dates together!

He's got a bad case of two left feet, but your favorite thing to do is go dancing

Your place, his place, the town square, it's always a good time to let loose and have fun!

His spontaneity takes you by surprise, honestly

You're just not use to letting go and having pure, genuine fun whenever and wherever

But with Ringo to show you the ropes, you embrace it quickly!

When you're not out cutting a rug, another hot spot for you two is the ice cream parlor

Of course you always get things to share, like a milkshake or a sundae

He always lets you choose

Surprisingly the boys don't pay you too much mind

They're happy for Ringo, and you too of course! But they mostly leave you both to your own devices

They look out for Ringo of course, but mostly Ringo is perfectly fine looking out for himself lol so they assume it'd be no different for his girl!

Which is fine by you guys, after all you're both more then happy to just tag along on the teds shenanigans and see where the road takes you!

#the beatles #beatles headcannons #beatles x reader #john lennon x reader #john lennon #paul maccartney #paul mccartney x reader #ringo starr x reader #ringo starr #george harrison x reader #george harrison #teddy!beatles #aaaaaaa so many tags!!!!

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skiecas · 3 years ago

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so glad i found you had social media so i could let you know how much i LOVE your writing for iwaoi! i had read one of your older works we shine like diamonds a while back and didn’t realize you’re the same author as skiecas, but to see the growth in your writing was also really inspiring. if you don’t mind me asking but do you have any suggestions for other writers on how to improve and to avoid portraying characters as ooc? bc i think you characterize iwaoi perfectly. also how does one learn or get better at the more teen+ scenes if you know what i mean lol i am very shy (yes even as someone in their twenties ha) and can never bring myself to write things with the slightest hint of anything more than a hs romance if you catch my drift…but any tips would be greatly appreciated!! i usually don’t read things besides gen/teen, except for a few…like your works and i think you do it really well, iwaoi’s love for each other and intensity of it is portrayed really well in your stories. pls feel free to address/share as much as you like :)

goshh, this msg meant a whole lot to me ;;o;; i had a period in 2016-2017 when i was really unhappy with everything i wrote, and i even left fandom for a bit bc it just wasn’t putting me in a good headspace (which is around the time i moved over to this blog). but now, i see some growth in my own writing as well, and i’m super happy with where my writing is now! and this might be the first time anyone besides myself has commented on it, which is so special to me!! so thank you!!❤️

i’m going to ramble a whole bunch about writing & everything you asked of me, so i’ll place it under the cut!! ^.^

let me just start by saying that as much as i’m happier with my current writing, i think writing is a craft that’s constantly evolving and always has room for improvement! i still hope to get better and better the more i write!

e.g. back when i posted ‘diamonds,’ i was SUPER happy with it! but now i have a hard time looking back on it, since my writing has changed sm ^^; so maybe i’ll feel the same way about my current fics a few years from now, haha. and i don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. nothing wrong with appreciating where you began, but loving where you are currently more, and striving to get even better.

ok!! with that said,

this might be sort of a “cliche” answer, but i personally think the best way to get better at writing is to read more!! read lots of books, read lots of fics, look closely at the things you enjoyed reading the most, pick apart writing styles, adopt the things you like. the things that i like writing also tend to be the things that i like reading, and vice versa. i also just get REALLY inspired when i read good books, or good fics, or hear good song lyrics. that’s the kind of thing that kickstarts my inspiration, so it’s no wonder my writing tends to reflect that, too!

another thing i would say is to practice lots!! WRITE more!!

this is true for writing style, but also true for “ooc-ness.”

do i think the first time i ever wrote iwaoi, that it was the most beautiful, most in-character, or the most “correct” way to write them? absolutely not! ((i probs can’t go back and looks at those fics either, urkk)).

but i kept writing them!! lots and lots! there was a point when i was writing iwaoi every single day. and over time, i began to see what i like about them, or what about them matters most to me. i asked myself questions, like, do i think oikawa is an easy crier? do i think iwa gets insecure? as much as iwa delivers words of affirmation to oikawa, do i think he would spout poetry right to his face?

((the answer to all those is no, though to different degrees. but those are discussions for another day))

e.g. to tie my two points together, i remember back in 2017, i read a couple fics in which i REALLY enjoyed the seijoh4 dynamic. i was super inspired and wanted to try writing their bantering + their easygoing relationship for myself, which is how ‘galaxies’ came about. and i had sm FUN writing that fic!! and it ended up setting the tone for how i write ALL my iwaois and seijoh4s now. it was as simple as just experimenting and practicing.

also, i straight up just ask myself, “is this smth i think teenage boys would say?” bc as much as the haikyuu boys are passionate and say some v poetic things, they’re all just dumb, teenage boys at the end of the day. and i like my characterizations to reflect that! like, i want them to feel “real” rather than just characters who just say whatever i wanted them to say, if that makes sense. reading dialogue aloud can help with that, too!

my writing process has also changed quite a bit since my earlier days in the fandom!

i stopped jumping headfirst into fics. now, i like to sit down and do at least a little planning. create scenes. bridge gaps. think about the overall themes or parallels i want present throughout the fic. i do A LOT of research now as i write, too, even if it might not be outright obvious in my fics; i like things to feel authentic, and real, even things as simple as high school schedules or what drinks you can find in a jpn vending machine, hehe.

and i go back to the source material a lot too. when i wrote ’the walk home,’ i had a 3-page spreadsheet on kuroken, and everything they like, dislike, the scenes they have together, their childhood. and i had a bunch of their manga panels open too ((rip my computer)). this helps sm with knowing charas, esp those you’re not familiar with writing.

also, if good dialogue pops into your head, WRITE IT DOWN!!! as detailed as possible!! this is my saving grace :”D

that’s kind of the basics, but you can read a more in-depth look into my process here if you’d like!

some more technical things i’ve learned or changed in my writing over the past few years:

— vary sentence structure! it’s not fun to read big blocks of writing, or long run-on sentences, at least for me. no matter how poetic they might be. long and short sentences are both equally good! sometimes the best fics are simple but still full of impact.

— a balance between dialogue and prose is important! this, i struggled with, since i was never very confident in my dialogues. but i’ve been working hard at it! i’m trying to inject more wit into my charas, at least, lol.

— i LOVE “say/said” and “replied” sm!!! i try not to be scared to use them lots, bc honestly, sometimes they’re the perfect words.

— write what you like!!!! seriously!! i think when you’re having fun writing, your fics reflect that. i have a BLAST writing seijoh4 or national team shenanigans, and i will try to include them wherever i can in my fics. and i’m v lucky that other people seem to enjoy those scenes, too :”)

lastly, as for explicit scenes,

that’s not exactly my forte either, i’m sorry ^^;

do i consider myself the casanova of explicit fics? absolutely not. i even have a hard time looking back over my own explicit scenes. that’s bc i myself am in that “practicing” phase when it comes to writing those scenes! i don’t write them often, unless i think a fic would benefit from it (which was the case with ‘chasing gold’)).

though i WILL say, it helps to have a friend whose more comfortable with explicit-rated things to look over things and ask for advice!

but i also don’t think a fic NEEDS anything nsfw to be good. really, truly. if you’re not comfortable writing it, no need to push yourself. i try sometimes when i genuinely want to, but i’ve also written 40k+ word fics in which the pair didn’t even KISS at the end, and i WOULD do it again, lolol

i wish i could be more help in this area, nonnie. but alas, i must admit to my own weakness😔

#r #i hope this helps at all!#as always. i'm terrible at giving writing advice #pls feel free to ask more q's or for elaboration if anything is unclear!

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homeformyheart · 4 years ago

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until now - m!raleigh carrera x mc (plat)

author’s note: trying my hand at a shorter piece and for platinum – there will probably be at least one follow-up to this but both will stay as one-shots.

copyright: all characters owned by pixelberry studios. songs and lyrics owned by their respective creators. series/pairing: platinum – raleigh carrera x mc (cadence dorian); mentions of jessica clark (red carpet diaries mc) rating/warnings: 13+; swearing, infidelity, angst word count: 1.7k based on/prompt: “should’ve said no” by taylor swift summary: raleigh gets too drunk and too close to a fan and the only real relationship he’s ever had falls apart.

until now

cadence could recall exactly where she was the moment r&b’s timebomb blew up the internet. she couldn’t recall with detail how she felt or how she reacted in that immediate moment but she could describe the exact shade of brown from her morning latte that stained the open page of her notebook because she stared at it for a solid five minutes after the headlines broke. she was working on a new single for her upcoming album that needed an angsty, heartbreak vibe to balance the upbeat, love-focused songs she had already written. she had a few lines written (it’s strange to think the songs we used to sing / the smiles, the flowers, everything) but had been struggling with motivation to come up with anything more – after all, she hadn’t been heartbroken in a while.

she was happy in her relationship with raleigh and where she was in her career. her first world tour had been a huge success, with raleigh joining her on tour as often as he could. after her tour was over, he insisted he didn’t want to wake up in his apartment without her and it didn’t take long before cadence moved into his penthouse. a few months later, she was able to join raleigh for the beginning of his transformation world tour, his first album since deciding he could embrace the things he enjoyed from his sunset skatepark days, making it his most personal project to date. of course, whenever the music and obligations to the studio called her back to new york, they facetimed as much as they could.

dating cadence had given raleigh some of the “good boyfriend” brownie points with the public related to loyalty and affection. it helped that cadence defended him against unfair accusations and doubled down on how well he treated her to the media and their fans. and no matter what part of his reputation was theme-of-the-week over at the tabloids – shameless flirt, heartbreaker, wild card, adrenaline junkie, to name the popular ones – raleigh never gave anyone a reason to label him as a cheater and more importantly, never gave cadence any reason not to trust him. even in his fake relationships, raleigh made sure that that part of his reputation was sterling. until now.

her phone had buzzed non-stop when the news broke – to the point where she thought she was getting phone calls that sounded like a ticking time bomb but they were mostly texts and social media notifications. the headlines filled her feed one after another – “raleigh carerra cheats on cadence dorian!” “did ralence break-up?” “was cadence too boring for raleigh?” “cadence drives raleigh into arms of another woman!” – along with hundreds of theories painted by devastated and thirsty fans alike who picked apart every public appearance, interaction, social media post, and song lyric associated with the two of them for the past six months as if they could find incriminating clues and signs of a slowly fizzling relationship like amateur sleuths. cadence had to give them props – it’s not like she wouldn’t eventually do the same once she was ready to process the relationship; in some ways, the fans gave her a head start.

how was she supposed to react to this right now? the photos and videos definitely highlighted that sabrina simmons, who cadence vaguely recognized as a media-hungry and wannabe actress from one of raleigh’s older music videos, cozying up to and grinding on raleigh at a club in london, presumably the afterparty for the closing night of his tour. cadence could also point out every tell-tale sign that raleigh was drunk out of his mind; he was relishing in the attention from sabrina and being inappropriately handsy for someone in a well-known, committed relationship. what most people didn’t know, was that cadence could forgive that – raleigh was normally flirty and handsy and alcohol always exacerbated it. what she didn’t think she could forgive was the next thing she saw – or rather heard.

if cadence felt like she was close to either having a raging smash-everything-breakable-in-raleigh’s-apartment spree or an emotional-because-her-heart-was-actually-breaking meltdown, the audio clip that hit her inbox pushed her to the teetering edge of both. the recording was barely 15 seconds long but it was damning. given the circumstances, it was probably planted or planned by sabrina who wanted to catapult herself into internet fame by taking advantage of raleigh’s reputation. her voice could be heard asking him if he wanted to come back to her hotel room. the question didn’t matter to cadence though, because raleigh’s response – “fuck yes” – was clear as day and cadence knew it would haunt her for months to come.

[jessica: just saw the videos – u ok? i’m heading home to iowa for a break from work, come stay with me, no one will find you there]

cadence quickly typed out a text reply, grateful for the close friendship she had with jessica clarke, the actress-turned-director who directed the music video for her last single. there was only one call she needed to make. if anyone was already putting things in motion, it was fiona. right on cue, she picked up and before cadence could say two words, said, “i’m so sorry cadence. i’ve already got movers on the other line and hank’s on his way.”

“thanks fiona. i’m going to stay with jessica in iowa and lay low for a bit. raleigh is not allowed to find out where i am; i will get a new phone if i need to,” cadence said, calmly starting to pull out and sort her things from raleigh’s closet so the movers would know exactly what to pack while she ironed out a few more details with fiona.

raleigh was still way too drunk when his manager barged into his hotel room and forced him into the shower. he was very drunk when his security team had to half-drag him all the way to where the private jet was waiting at the airport. he was mostly drunk throughout the eight-hour flight back to new york and progressed to staggeringly hungover by the time he was in a private car heading back to his penthouse apartment. once raleigh felt like he was only massively hungover, he pulled out his phone to text cadence. he became only mostly hungover after seeing that his texts weren’t going through. in a matter of seconds, his now slightly hungover state took a backseat to the anxiety filling his stomach as he tried calling to no avail. he frowned as he opened his news feed. the headlines alone made his eyes widen but the videos were what sobered him up the rest of the way.

a new email in his inbox from cadence caught his eye. it was an audio clip and a straightforward message: just so we’re clear, our relationship is over.

cadence was halfway to the airport when she saw the incoming call from an unknown number. she knew it was probably raleigh since she had blocked his number, but she answered the call anyway. she knew she was going to need the closure, may as well get it out of the way.

“cadence? it’s me, please don’t hang up. i’m so sorry, babe. i have no idea what happened, believe me. i woke up in my own hotel room alone, i promise,” raleigh begged, the pit in his stomach had lodged itself in his throat, threatening to turn into tears.

she chose to ignore what he just said. if she let herself pull at that thread and dig into it further to see if it was the truth, she’d never be able to end things cleanly. “tell me this – was she worth it? was she worth this?” she asked, her voice hardened as a reminder to both herself and raleigh that he couldn’t sweet talk his way out of this one.

“of course not. i was black out drunk and don’t remember anything, i swear. all of the stuff in the videos and photos, it was all just—” raleigh’s voice softened, “a moment of weakness.”

“that’s convenient since i’m pretty sure this wasn’t an isolated moment,” cadence said in a clipped tone, examining her worn nail beds. she made a mental note to ask jessica for salon recommendations in her hometown. “do you honestly expect me to believe we could ever be the same?”

“i love you, cadence. i would never cheat on you, babe – you have to believe me,” raleigh pleaded, swallowing his pride at the fact that he was begging right now.

cadence let out a dry, humorless laugh. “i don’t have to do anything, those recordings speak for themselves. you should’ve known that what you did with her would get back to me. and you know what i think? you knew what you were doing. you actually had everything you could’ve ever wanted – the fame, fortune, and creative freedom that comes with success in this industry and something real with someone who cares about the real you, not the curated, fake version of you.”

she paused to take a deep breath and blink back the tears pooling in the corner of her eyes. keep it together, cadence, she told herself. “and it scared the shit out of you, didn’t it? it got too real for you because having something real and precious as love in your life also means you could lose it too. and even the thought of that happening made you feel so vulnerable that instead of treasuring and protecting it you decided to utterly destroy the only real relationship you’ve ever had. congratulations – you’ve perfected your bad boy reputation and collected the last trophy you needed, cheater.”

her words cut right through him. “i— i’m so sorry, cadence,” raleigh whispered into the phone. “i swear, i don’t remember saying yes to her or even doing anything with her. please just, tell me what i need to do to fix this.”

the audio recording replayed on loop in cadence’s mind. after a long pause, she whispered back, “you should’ve said no.” the finality of cadence’s tone was punctuated by the beep from his phone indicating she had hung up.

raleigh stood up from the couch where he had sat while on the phone with cadence. as he walked toward the bathroom, he finally looked around his apartment and realized that all of her stuff was gone. the apartment was empty, quiet, almost sterile with its clear surface areas and shiny, clean floors. it was like she had never lived here; his closet didn’t have the hint of jasmine from the perfume on her clothes, his sink counter was devoid of her jewelry and makeup, his music room wasn’t drowning in loose sheets of paper covered in her handwriting, and worst of all, the clothes she always borrowed of his, including his oversized tour shirts and sweatpants, were folded neatly on his bed.

he reached into the back corner of his closet, the side closest to the door, where no one ever stored or looked for anything until he found his gym bag. his felt around the old shirts in the bag until his fingers wrapped around a small, velvet box. he didn’t have to open it to recall the vivid five-carat emerald-cut diamond ring he had planned on proposing to cadence with. he held the box against his forehead, hand clenched around it, before throwing it as hard as he could out the bedroom door into the living room, twisting and turning his body from a crouching to an upright position in one smooth motion. maybe he should’ve been a baseball pitcher instead. it hit the far wall with a resounding thud.

the echo reverberated throughout his living room until it was met with silence, once again reminding him that he was utterly alone. and for the first time in a very long time, he cried. raleigh carrera had never been heartbroken before. until now.

* * * * * mentions: @raleigh-edward; @dulceghernandez; @thegreentwin; @kat-tia801; @otherworldlypresents; @brycesgirl; @robintora;

#reposting for new blog #choices #pb choices #playchoices #raleigh carrera #raleigh x mc #raleigh carrera x mc #cadence dorian #raleigh x cadence #choices fanfic #choices fanfics #playchoices fanfiction #my writing #not twc #choices platinum #choices fic writers creations #raleigh carrera x cadence dorian #my choices fics

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stuonsongs · 3 years ago

Text

My Top 10 Favorite Songs of All Time - 2006 Edition

2021 Editor’s Note: I was looking through some old files and found this thing that I wrote sometime in the summer of 2006 at age 22. For all I know, it could’ve been 15 years to the day! Looking back, I’m not sure how many of these songs would still make my top 10. Don’t get me wrong, I still love all of these tunes, but I’m sure you know how it goes - You get older, you get exposed to more things, and your idea of good music expands. Anyway, I thought it might be nice to share with anyone who still uses this site. I present it in its original format without edits to my writing. I ended up writing full posts in this blog about some of these songs if you go through the archive.

Stu’s Top 10 Favorite Songs…Ever

Let’s start with some honorable mentions. These were so close, and I thought about it for so long, but they had to be left off.

Honorable Mentions

All Summer Long – The Beach Boys

All Summer Long. 1964. Capitol

This song has been described so many times as being “the perfect summer song.” When you listen to it, you can’t help but smile from the opening marimba intro, all the way through. It just screams “summer” and it hurt me to leave The Beach Boys off my top 10.

Bleed American – Jimmy Eat World

Bleed American. 2001. Grand Royal

So full of energy, so rocking, and so what would’ve been the most recent song on my list. I wanted to keep it in the top 10 just so I could have a song from the ‘00s, but it wasn’t meant to be. When the chorus kicks in, I can’t help but headbang.

Marie – Randy Newman

Good Old Boys. 1974. Reprise

Randy has said that a lot of young composers pick “Marie” as their favorite Newman song, and I can see why. The idea of a guy having to be drunk to tell his wife that he loves her is pretty funny, and throughout the whole song it’s just the beautiful melody with tons of strings, all to a tune about a guy ripping on himself as he comes home drunk to his wife.

Does He Love You? – Rilo Kiley

More Adventurous. 2004. Brute/Beaute

I guess this is newer than Bleed American, so it would’ve worked too. This is another more recent song that it killed me to leave off the list. The outro is an arrangement of the main tune with a different chord progression performed by a string quartet. Very beautiful. Also when Jenny Lewis screams “Your husband will never leave you, he will never leave you for me,” I get chills every time.

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

So here it is. After a long day’s work, I’m finally finished. It actually turned out much different than I was thinking when I first started. The number one wasn’t really even in my top five when I started, but I slowly realized I loved it so much. I also left Ben Folds (Five) off this list completely, and I don’t know, I just feel the whole catalogue of Ben is so solid, none of the songs stick out to me that much. But anyways, here it is! After the break of course…

Stu’s Top 10

10.

(Love Is Like A) Heat Wave – Martha and the Vandellas

Heat Wave. 1963. Motown.

This one beat out “Bleed American” just barely. The reason being that somehow, despite being nearly 40 years older than Bleed American, it still has so much energy that it kills. Dan Bukvich once told our Jazz Arranging class that you can boil all the oldies you hear on the radio down to three categories: 1) Great Song. 2) Great Performance. 3) Great Arrangement. This song is one of the great performances. The handclaps throughout, combined with the driving baritone sax behind everything and constant snare drum action will keep anybody with blood running through their veins dancing all night long.

Bodhisattva – Steely Dan

Countdown to Ecstasy. 1973. MCA

This song is my Freebird. It’s just a basic blues progression song at its core with some minor changes at the end of the form. The real kicker that drives this song home is the three minute guitar solo in the middle that isn’t nearly as rocking as Freebird, but it is highly proficient and takes me to places that just make me want to play the song over and over again. I have no idea what this song is about, probably Buddhism, but hey, this once again proves that lyrics rarely matter and the music itself is the core.

Zanzibar – Billy Joel

52nd Street. 1978. Columbia

This song reminds me of long car rides on vacations down the west coast with my parents growing up. They used to play a tape of 52nd Street, or at least their favorite selections, constantly on these trips. I didn’t hear this song again until early in my senior year in college and remembered why I loved it so much. The song has a heavy jazz influence, displayed in the breakdown where Jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard does a solo. The best part of this song though is at the end of the 4th line of each verse, Billy does this “Woah oh oh!” thing that just makes me want to sing every time. It was between this and “Miami 2017 (Lights Go Out On Broadway)” which is also a great song, but the “Woah oh oh!” is too much for ol’ Stu boy.

Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) – Bruce Springsteen

The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle. 1973. Columbia

Early Bruce Springsteen records have something that very few other artists can ever pull off without sounding cheesy or forced. It has this undeniable sense of urgency, like the world will fall apart and life will crumble through your fingers if this one moment in time doesn’t work out the way Bruce describes it. There are so many early Springsteen songs that just set a scene of “We have to get out of this town right now girl before it kills us, no matter what any of our parents, friends, anybody has to say.” There’s a line that kinda sums it up: “Well hold on tight, stay up all night ‘cause Rosie I’m comin’ on strong. By the time we meet the morning light, I will hold you in my arms. I know a pretty little place in southern California down San Diego way. There’s a little café where they play guitars all night and all day. You can hear ‘em in the back room strummin’, so hold tight baby ‘cause don’t you know daddy’s comin’.”

I’ve Got You Under My Skin – Frank Sinatra

Songs For Swingin’ Lovers! 1956. Capitol

This song falls into the category of great arrangement. This Cole Porter classic tune was arranged for Sinatra by Nelson Riddle. The story goes that he was still copying down parts for the players while riding in the cab to the recording studio on the day of recording. After the players ran through it once with Frank, they stood up and applauded. The Baritone sax takes control here, outlining a Db6/9 chord throughout the intro. Of course, Frank’s vocal delivery is spot on and goes up and down in all the right places for the biggest emotion impact. It’s amazing how a song with no real chorus can be so good.

A Change Is Gonna Come – Sam Cooke

Ain’t That Good News. 1964. RCA Victor

This song was not even going to be on this list, but then I ran across it while scouring my collection of music and remembered how good it was. Then I listened to it and was blown away by the level of detail that went into this arrangement. Sam’s vocals soar above the mind blowingly beautiful arrangement. The lyrics to this one actually add to the tune itself, speaking of wrongdoings in the world around him, and how social change is on its way in the form of the civil rights movement. The song flows with such ease out of Cooke that one might forget the weightiness of the content, but the song’s content is just so heavy that it’s impossible to deny it.

Whatever – Oasis

Whatever EP. 1994. Creation

This song was released as a Christmas present to the U.K. from the Gallagher brothers and company. It never appeared on any full album, only being released as a single, and amazingly, it blows away anything else they’ve ever done. Think “All You Need Is Love,” but with tons of rocking energy and a snide, nonchalant attitude. The chorus speaks, “I’m free to be whatever I, whatever I choose and I’ll sing the blues if I want. I’m free to be whatever I, whatever I like, if it’s wrong or right, it’s alright.” Not exactly poetry, and the song isn’t exactly breaking any new ground either, but the song is absolutely perfect in every way, and it was going to be my #1, but perhaps the only reason it’s not at number one is because I’ve played this song so many times that at the moment, these next three are beating it, but who knows how I’ll feel in a few months. This song also pulls the same “outro performed by a string quartet” thing as “Does He Love You?” but even better. It’s so simple, but I can’t get enough of it.

Mr. Blue Sky – Electric Light Orchestra

Out of the Blue. 1977. Jet

This is obviously the best Beatles song that the Beatles never wrote. The staccato guitar during the verse combined with the strings present in just about every ELO song combine to make a force that is undeniably catchy and musically challenging at the same time. This is really what makes ELO so good. I didn’t discover this song till probably Nov. 2005, and it was one of the best days of my life. I didn’t want to include two songs by the same artist in my top 10, but if I did, I probably would’ve added “Turn To Stone” on this list too because it is almost as awesome as this one. It’s a shame that just like Billy Joel, most critics at the time hated ELO for being overly creative musically (they called it pretentiousness). These days we have acts that really are pretentious (see Radiohead), but everyone loves them, even critics. I’m not knocking all Radiohead, just most everything post OK Computer. Sorry, got a little sidetracked there.

Only In Dreams – Weezer

Weezer. 1994. Geffen

This has been my favorite Weezer song since about a month into me picking up Weezer’s debut album back around early 2000. It has this ostinato (a repeated motif over and over again) in the bass throughout most of the whole song, never even really resolving to the Gb major chord (excluding chorus, which never really resolves) that it wants to until the end of a 3 minute contrapuntal guitar duet when everything dies out except the bass which just retards on its own until it finally plays the single Gb we’ve all been waiting for. The song on the whole up until the guitar duet is pretty tame, but once those contrapuntal guitar lines start intertwining, my ears perk up every time. I can sing both lines at separate times upon request and when the drums finally kick back in fully at the climax of the song, I let out a sigh of relief or bang on my car wheel in exultant joy, whichever is more of an option at the time.

All Is Forgiven – Jellyfish

Spilt Milk. 1993. Charisma

I always loved this song from the first time I heard it, but I didn’t realize how much I loved it until maybe April 2006. I found out about Jellyfish first semester of college in the Fall of ’02 and heard this song, and knew it was great. The constant tom-tom driven drums, the fuzzy, almost white noise distorted guitar, and the half time bass throughout. It was great. Then in April I put it on my mp3 player for the walk to school, and then I listened to it for about two weeks straight. Seriously. It runs into the next song entitled “Russian Hill” which is almost as good, but because it’s a separate song, I couldn’t include it on the list, but in my mind, they always run together and are basically one long 9 minute song. The ending just gets more and more white noise filled until you can barely take it anymore and then it just cuts off completely into the slow acoustic intro for Russian Hill. It’s perfect in every way. I think this would fall into the category of great song. And the way the song builds up right to the middle of the song and then cuts out completely except for some very VERY faint xylophone noodling, and then busts back in with some feedback directly into guitar solo. Man I love this song.

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