#i hope someone steals her fucking pitbull

[gallavictorious]

Mickey Milkovich is Dead (and also a magpie)

You ever think about Mickey as a magpie? No? Well, if you wanna, read on –

Say Mickey gets hit by a car and dies somewhere between 1x03 and 1x07 (NO DO NOT WORRY THIS IS NOT SAD AT ALL I PROMISE). Say he comes before this deity / spirit / what-have-you who declares that Mickey has been a bit not good in life and is about to be sent something unpleasant but he’s so very young and also they can see that he has the potential for goodness so he’s going to get a chance to learn to…learn to love? Care for others? Embrace his true nature? Something like that. Anyway, as a test, his soul is being put into the body of a magpie for the duration of one month and during that time he is required to take care of and protect the person who was supposed to be his one true great love, Ian Gallagher. If he gets Ian to care about him in turn, he'll go to a nice afterlife place. (Yes, this is all very Beauty and the Beast. Deal with it.)

Cue Mickey spluttering about not being fucking gay and even if he was he wouldn't go for that scrawny redhead, also newsflash spirit person, Gallagher is dating my fucking sister, and how the fuck's a magpie supposed to protect anyone anyway, why not make him a pitbull or a fucking tiger, etc, etc. The spirit person obviously doesn't pay any heed to Mickey's outraged rant and hey presto! It is a bird!

Magpie Mickey's first instinct would probably be to fly the hell away from everything, but he's just a little bit curious about why the hell that idiot spirit would claim that Ian Gallagher is supposed to be his one true love. Okay, sure, the kid is pretty cute, he guesses, Mickey's always got a thing for red hair and freckles, but he's always seem like a bit of a pushover, soft, so what gives? (Also, if the guy's into dudes, why the hell has he taken up with Mandy? Mickey's not gonna let some closeted homo hurt his sister. Yeah – that's it. He's out to protect Mandy, that's all.)

Aaand you can imagine how it goes, as Mickey starts following Ian around and keeping an eye on him to figure out what the appeal's supposed to be. He soon finds himself getting a little bit intrigued, 'cause it seems Gallagher is actually kind of funny and smart and not anywhere near as soft as Mickey first thought? Also, yep, he's very, very gay, but it seems Mandy knows all about it so maybe Mickey doesn't need to pick his eyes out over it...

One day Mickey spots Ian being followed by some local lowlife, seemingly picking Ian out as an easy mark, and when the villain moves in to put a knife to Ian's neck Mickey's immediately in his face, talons out and beak at the ready. (Why? 'Cause Mandy would be sad if something happened to her fake boyfriend, obviously. What with their mum running off and then Mickey dying, she's got enough to be sad about already.) Mickey scares the would-be robber off, but maybe he catches the knife to a wing and is a little bit hurt and Ian has to nurse his unlikely saviour back to health? Brings him home and researches how to care for a wild animal – and it's weird but the bird doesn't seem all that wild, he's skittish but kind of docile and Ian knows he's just imagining things but it's like the magpie can actually understand every word he's saying?

Mickey finds himself reacting VERY strangely to Ian holding him so gently and then telling him he's being so good, he's doing so well, just a sec and Ian will be all done.

And then... they're friends. Ian now has a bird companion that kind of of just hangs around? Fiona won't have it in the house but Ian, with Debbie's help, makes him a cozy nest outside and bribes Carl into leaving the magpie alone rather than catching it for one of his experiments and brings Mick scraps and yeah, being a magpie fucking sucks but it doesn't all suck, maybe.

Ian tells Mickey all sorts of things, things he's never tell another person. Confides in him, complains about being in Lip's shadow, talks about his dreams and ambitions. Mickey thinks he should find it annoying, the way Ian won't shut up, but to his surprise he doesn't mind? He likes listening to Ian's voice. No one's ever wanted to tell Mickey things before. No ones's ever looked at him like they're happy to see him.

Mickey starts following Ian to school and to work, and when he sees Ian with Kash he is not pleased (because it's fucking disgusting, Ian getting with that old dude, not because he's fucking jealous or anything). Maybe starts doing shit to disturb them whenever they're making out, like attacking the door or, if he makes it into the shop, picking stuff up with his beak and tossing it around, ripping into the chip bags, shitting all over the register (or all over Kash). Ian's upset, but he's not that upset. “You're a fucking asshole,” he tells Mickey that evening, once Mickey's (not at all guiltily, but maybe a little worried that Ian will be pissed) makes it back to the Gallagher back porch.

Mickey's not sure why Ian calling him an asshole in that exasperated, fond tone of voice feels so right.

When Ian worried over the family being low on cash Mickey takes to brazenly swooping down and stealing bills right out of people's hand just as they've drawn them from an ATM. (That's actually really fucking funny, and Mickey keeps doing it just for shits and giggles until animal control is alerted and he almost gets caught.)

And then one day Mickey hears an unfortunately familiar voice calling his name from a great distance, Mikhailo, because the month is up and it's time to go, Mikhailo, and no, what the hell, he doesn't want to go, fuck heaven, he wants to stay with Ian, but he is fading, fading –

BOOM! He wakes up in a hospital bed because SURPRISE he isn't dead after all, just slipped into a coma after the car accident, but now he's awake, and it was all just a dream! (Yes, you bet your sweet ass I went with that cliche. Would you rather have Mickey be truly dead? Uh-huh. Didn't think so.)

Once he gets out of the hospital and back to his normal, shitty life, Mickey – for no particular reason, fuck you very much – decides to give school another shot, so he shows up for class and during lunch break he doesn't seek out some weakass kid to steal lunch money from, but just so happens to find himself in the vincinty of one Ian Gallagher.

Gallagher is watching him warily and when Mickey asks for a cigarette – asks, rather than punching Ian in the face and taking the packet out of his pocket – he looks downright startled. But he pulls out a smoke and hands it to Mickey and then they stand there in silence and this is awkward as fuck and Mickey is cursing himself, what the hell is he doing, it was just a dream, he doesn't actually know Gallagher, so why –

He notices that Ian is turning his head this way and that, as if he's looking for something.

”You expecting someone?” Mickey asks gruffly, for something to say.

”No, it's just, there's this bird that's kinda been following me around, but I haven't seen it since last night and... ” Ian trails off, shaking his head a little sheepishly as if realizing that what he's saying sounds insane. ”Never mind.”

Mickey doesn't say anything, but as he drags the cigarette smoke down into his lungs, he can feel his heart beat just a little bit faster, with sudden hunger and hope.

”You, uh, wanna do some shooting practise together after school?” he dares. ”Know a good spot.”

And Gallagher looks startled as fuck again – confused and maybe a little bit worried, like he thinks it's some kind of trap – but after a moment, he shrugs. ”Sure.”

(Oh, and since I am extremely against any notion of eternal damnation and the like, that spirit was never some guardian of the afterlife. If you want to imagine that it wasn't all a dream, imagine that she was some mischivious South Side spirit who'd gotten a little bit fascinated by Mickey and pulled some magic to give him a glimpse of a better life and a kick up his gay ass while he was in a coma. Well done, that spirit.)

[cottoncandyjester]

Yan oc squad when jealous

Okay so I'm currently working on backstory posts for all the boys as well as kinkmas stuff so til those come out enjoy random quick headcanons about the boys or any request people want to give about..well anything

Theodore

He hates getting jealous

It's a bad feeling

When he sees you smiling and laughing cause of someone else a dark feeling fills him

He can't help but think of horrible thoughts like you finding someone else

These feelings control him and cause him to do foolish things or things he would seem as idiotic

If you're talking to someone he will quickly come to you and hold you simply staring

He is far too much of a gentleman to make a scene

He shouldn't be so jealous but as he watched you giggle with an old a friend during what was supposed to be a coffee date, he gripped his cup as he felt like some sort of third wheel. Everytime he would try to interrupt you he was cut off by your friend and their obnoxious talking

Soon fed up with it he stood up now grabbing your arm feeling you tense lightly, he simply flashed a sweet smile now holding your hand

"I'm sorry to interrupt this conversation but we really must go, right sweetie?"

Before you could speak the male was pulling you out the cafe and towards the car, his grip on you firm as his sweet smile turned to a friend now glancing over at you

"don't talk to that person ever again, she is bad for you okay?"

"I'm an adult I ca-"

Theodore pulled you roughly infront if him his eyes wild with rage but he simmered down now smiling as he reached out and placed a hand on your cheek

"what did we talk about hmm? You make bad judgements, you're too sweet and kind and everyone will take advantage of that..so trust me when i say they are bad okay?"

You gulped and gave a small nod, you did trust him since he always knew best but he still scared you. You had no choice but to agree and as the two of you went home you could feel the tense jealously coming off him..he truly wanted you to himself

Hikaru

Is a very very jealous person

He had a photoshoot in korea and of course he had to take you along for the ride

It was a lovely vacation

During the shoot his photographer would ask you questions

His photographer seemed to like you

And hikaru did not like that

Of course hikaru kept his cool but after a while he got fed up

He sent you back to the hotel so he can deal with this

After getting very violent he comes back blood soaked and takes his anger out on you

Hikaru has been gone for hours but you figured nothing of it, maybe photoshoots take a long long time. You sat on the hotel bed scrolling through your phone before you heard a click and the door opened

You rushed to greet your boyfriend only to see him covered in blood now using a cloth to wipe his face, his eyes still dangerous and wild. When his blue eyes landed on you a chill went down your spine before he reached out and gripped your wrist

"it's your damn fault y'know? Its cause people think your so fucking attractive. I'm all dirty cause of you, damn pig."

As hikaru now squeezed your wrist panic set in as you tried to pry him off of you and maybe calm him down before he get any more angrier

"b-babe I didn't know this would happen and plus, you know I love only you"

Your stumbling and stuttering only seemed to make him more pissed as he now yanked you to the bed before pushing you down now throwing his coat off and eyeing you with utter disgust

"then fucking prove it, prove that my piggy only loves me and maybe I won't be so mean anymore kay?"

Prince

Instantly gets into a fight

Just no questions asked gets into a fight

You two were just walking around the park with his dog, queen

Prince let you alone for a single minute just to grab some food

Did not take long for some Chad to get to chatting with you

Queen was not happy

And when prince came back he was not happy either

So he got into a fight

You scolded him while you were patching him up

"prince.."

"yeah my beautiful and amazing love who I adore everyday?"

You shot the male a glare as he lit a cigarette before taking a smoke, he clearly did not like upsetting you and was definitely stressed

"as much as I love your protectiveness, getting into fights isn't a good thing"

"I can't let someone steal ya away from me baby, just won't allow it"

You shake your head as you put the last band-aid on before feeling something crawl into your lap, you stare at the Pitbull who laid her head in your lap

"-and you! You were supposed to protect her queen! At least bite the son of a bitch or something!"

You couldn't help but laugh at the male's antics, you didnt really see much of the fight since prince told you to wait in the car but you figured the guy was fine

Prince on the other hand simply smiled as he though about how he took care of the situation, queen was such a good dog though he hoped that eating that bastard wouldn't make her sick.

Yuki

Also gets into a fight

You both were at a cat cafe enjoying your time

Yuki fell asleep..no surprise there

You knew he was tired so you let him nap while you played with the cats and ate more yummy snacks

Yuki did say you can order as much as you want and anything you want..

When a worker came to the table and saw yuki sleeping he decided to shoot his shot

Did not take long for your green haired boyfriend to wake up after hearing awkward laughing coming from you

One violent fight later and you two were home while you patched yuki up

He only responds in pouty grumbles and grunts cause you scolded him

Gives you the cold shoulder

But he can't stay mad at you

"yuki, stop being a baby"

"...."

"yuki, look at me"

With still no response you groaned lowly now sliding into the male's lap and seeing him tense up lightly but he simply turned his head away from you with a scowl as he tried not to give in, he was angry that you weren't taking his side on this

Someone tried to steal you away and he protected you! Yet you scold him and tell him not to do it again?! He doesn't get it at all

"yuki narukami you look at me!"

He jolted at the use of his full name and he looked at you with a shocked expression before you squished his face together causing him to get even more confused

"you were going to kill him if you kept punching him, that's why i was mad. Thank you for protecting me though I love you and it's sweet"

Yuki paused before simply wrapping his arms around you giving a low grunt now nuzzling his face in your neck as a dark Expression pooled his eyes.

So, protecting you is fine but he has to make sure he can't kill infront of you? Good to know. As yuki held you in his arms he couldn't help but smile

You were so interesting to him.

.

Axis

It's always the baby types you have to watch out for

You both were at a new amusement park that opened up a few weeks ago

You two were having fun

But after two big drinks axis had to pee while you both were waiting in line for a ride

He told you to hold the spot

You were of course worried your blind boyfriend is going to find a boyfriend on a crowded area but he reassured you that he will be fine

You let him go and It didn't take long for someone to come up to you and try flirt

When axis came back

He tried to play tough guy

But being 5'4" has its downfalls..

Axis was getting tunnel vision, they were laughing at him..he claimed to be your boyfriend and they called him a kid, how can he protect you if he can't even protect himself..how?!

"leave him alone! He's my boyfriend so just go away!"

You had to step in, it was embarrassing. Axis felt you grip his hand tightly now feeling nothing but anger and jealously bubble within him even as the situation diffused he thought about it

Did..you take him seriously?

"[y/n], am I hot?"

The question made you jolt and you looked at him with a choked laugh. You laugh only made him more upset but he tried to remain calm

"am I hot? Yknow like sexy and everything like that?"

"ax, you're adorable! So cute! I mean you were pouting when those jerks were talking to me and it was just so cute!"

Cute...? Cute..?!

He snapped and hugged you close, his face mask had a zipper and you never did know what the purpose of that was but next thing you knew you felt a sharp pain on your neck along with something trickling down your shoulder

You winced in pain now trying to pull the male off but with no progress, when he did pull back he had blood all around his mouth

"treat me more seriously, you're mine. I won't let anyone else take you, come on let's go home..I'm not done marking you up"

A sense of fear hit you and you never felt this before, axis has always been your adorable boyfriend but this..was new.

Axis Definitely show you just how much he owned you when you two got home and it was something you definitely never forgot.

[holylulusworld]

The queen of Lebanon - Part 2 – The boy trying to make his father proud

Summary: Your father died years ago, all men in the business believed you are too weak to take over his Empire – they were wrong. Anyone trying to get into your hair will feel your wrath. What happens when a cocky mobster tries not only to steal your empire but your heart too?

Pairing: Young!Dean x Young!Reader, OFC’s, young Sam Winchester, Jimmy Novak, Mobster!Dean Winchester, Benny Lafitte

Warnings: angst, ‘the family business’, characters death (mentioned), a hint of making-out (only kissing)

A/N: Only the backstory of the reader and Dean in this chapter to get into the story. This is Dean’s side of the backstory this time. The story gets into motion with chapter three.

The queen of Lebanon Masterlist

18 years ago, … a few weeks before your birthday…

Watching you play ‘family’ with Jimmy Novak again Dean squares his jaw. He hates he must watch you from afar, not invited to play your husband.

“You should ask them if you can be the husband this time.” Sam points at you holding a doll in your arms. “Y/N is nice, maybe she agrees.”

“I don’t want to play her husband…” Dean angrily clenches his fists, glancing at you pecking Jimmy’s cheek.

“Do you want to play Jimmy’s husband?” Giggling Sam looks up at his brother not missing the longing look in Dean’s eyes.

“Shut up, bitch…” Grunting Dean looks at Jimmy playing with his new car. One look at his father’s bodyguard adn the man knows he shall get the car from your friend.

Sam is watching Rufus taking the toy from Jimmy’s hands, he can see the boy fights so hard to not cry about the loss. Jimmy is a smart boy, knowing Dean’s father holds power over the whole of Lebanon so he gives Rufus his toy, sniffling silently.

Close to tell his big brother what he did was wrong Sam gasps as you walk toward Dean with murder in your eyes. Arms stiff, fists clutched to your sides you go at Dean like a Pitbull.

“Dean Winchester! Do you have no shame in you?” Screaming on top of your lungs you grab Dean’s hand and his heart beats faster.

Getting the car from Dean’s hands, you slap his cheek harshly. “You have enough toys and money. That’s the only toy Jimmy got in a long time. Shame on you, Dean.”

Wide-eyed, Dean gasps as you run back to your friend’s side, handing him the car. Jimmy sniffles, hugging you tightly as Dean looks away, ashamed about his behavior.

“That was not nice, Dean. Y/N is always nice to everyone. If you want to play with her, ask her. Don’t hurt poor Jimmy.” Sam is disappointed in his big brother. “I’ll rather play with Jimmy…”

Watching his brother run toward you and Jimmy, his big brother sighs heavily. Playing the bad guy didn’t make you look at him, only brought out anger.

----

Nervously standing next to his father Dean looks at you following your father outside.

Dean loves the dress you are wearing. His heart beats faster as you smile at him but then he realizes your smile is for Sammy, not him.

Forcing a cocky grin on his lips Dean walk toward you, smirking.  “Hey, dork. I’m here for the party.” 

While Sam stays by your side to hand you a gift and wish you a happy birthday Dean runs into the house to tame his wildly beating heart. You look stunning today and he doesn’t know why he can’t take his eyes off you.

Dean’s eyes are glued to you when you enter the house with his brother, smiling as Sam talks to you like a friend should do.

“Do you want to steal my birthday gifts too?” You mock and Dean feels a pang in his heart, but he fakes a smirk, hiding you hurt him with your words.

“I take what I want, dork…” Dean grunts, smirking as you kick his shin and he got your attention.

While you scold him about money, the way he treated Jimmy and other things Dean barely listens. He only looks at you point a finger at him, nostrils flaring, and he wants nothing more than having your attention for the rest of his life.

“Bitch!” Dean blurs out as he thinks that’s the only reaction to your harsh words but then he sees you flinch away and wants to apologize but as so often he doesn’t find the right words. 

Sam is taking your side, defending your words while Dean can’t believe he hurt you. Close to tears, you sit onto the floor, sobbing. His features soften and he watches you looking at a picture of your family.

Tears slip down your cheeks as you tell Sam about your brother and the accident taking your mom and Michael away from you. Dean swallows hard, knowing how it feels to lose a mother. He doesn’t’ want to imagine losing his little brother.

“He looks tough…” Sam swoons and Dean must watch you press the picture to your chest, telling Dean and his brother how strong your brother was. Jealousy wells up inside of Dean, hating you depended on your brother.

Dean wants to be the one to protect you, he wants to play your husband, and he wants to hold your hand as Jimmy did weeks ago.

Not knowing how to turn your attention back toward him Dean exclaims he will be taller than your brother and you start to bicker with him once again.

He needs to hold back a smirk as you tell him Michael was way taller than Dean. Dean retorts he will be taller than your brother one day and your heart beats faster as he gets closer with every word.

While fighting with Dean you don’t see Sam leaving the room or remember you were sad not moments ago. Your anger rises, so you call Dean a ‘jerk’ and he talks back.

You want to throw another insult at Dean but then his lips are on yours and you gasp as he makes an odd noise against you. Heart beating a mile in a minute Dean smirks as you squeal, telling him he tastes like chewing gum.

Nothing is important any longer but the fact you were Dean’s first kiss. Proudly puffing his chest, he looks at your lips once again as Jody and Sam storm into the room.

That night Dean barely sleeps, he touches his lips now and then, remembering how you tasted or the way your hair felt between his fingers.

“I’ll play your husband next time…”

----

Twelve years ago, …

Dean tried to get your attention once again by lying he wants to go out with your best friend. Jo is your friend so you would never help a jerk as Dean to get into her pants. He’s a Casanova, always promising a girl to be her boyfriend only to have another one the next day.

While you fight with Dean he smirks, licking his lips as he enjoys being close to you after weeks of not seeing you at all. Dean silently groans, hoping you will not see through his lie.

Watching you yell at him Dean doesn’t listen to your words, ‘idiot’ is the only word he hears before you slap his cheek.

Now he has a reason to touch you, so he pins you to the wall behind you, intimidating you with his size. Gasping you watch him place one large palm next to your head, smirking while he tells you he’s taller as Michael by now.

“Size doesn’t matter, jerk. Michael was a kind guy, didn’t have to scare someone smaller with his size.”  You retort and Dean narrows his eyes before he claims your lips. Cradling your face he slips his tongue into your mouth, moaning as he can taste your lip gloss.

“Dean…”

Straighten his back he enjoys your state. Kiss swollen lips, eyes glassy you pant against him. Dean knows you would never admit you liked the kiss, so he walks away, telling you are not that bad at kissing for a little girl.

As always you talk back and find yourself pinned to the couch and Dean’s lips back on yours. This time he takes his time, savoring the moment as his growing bulge presses against your thigh.

One hand wanders to the back of your neck, pressing you closer to him as you fist his shirt, opening your legs for Dean. “I still hate you, jerk…” Whimpering you let Dean move between your legs, to feel the length of his body press against yours.

“You don’t hate me, Baby Girl…” Dean husks and you wonder if his voice was always that low. “I know you don’t…”

His hands in your hair, lips moving against yours Dean melts against your trembling body, knowing he will never be able to resist you.

“Dean…”

“I…dad wants me to marry Lisa Braeden…” Your body goes stiff and you press your hands weakly against Dean’s chest, not knowing why tears start to well up your eyes. You hate Dean after all…

----

Six years ago, …

“Shit, are we sure about that?” Dean looks at his closest friend, cursing as Jimmy confirms someone attacked your family. “What about Jody?”

One shake of Jimmy’s head let Dean fall back into the armchair. “He should have asked us for help instead of making a deal with Crowley. I thought Y/N’s dad is smarter…”

“Was…” Benny curses. “Does she already know?”

“According to Cole her father called her. Telling Y/N to stay away and not to come home for holidays as planned.” Jimmy dares not to meet Dean’s eyes, knowing how he still feels about you. “I think Bobby didn’t want to get involved with you because of Y/N…”

“That was years ago for fuck's sake.” Dean starts pacing, looking at the white stripe at his finger. “I never wanted to break her heart, didn’t even know I could. Dad ordered I have to marry Lisa, I followed as always.” Listening to his boss Benny can hear the bitterness in Dean’s voice.

“Boss, in our business is no place for love or emotions. We should take over Bobby’s empire and try to sell his stuff to give Y/N enough money to finish her study.” Benny’s words make Jimmy cringe.

“Bobby is not even cold, and you want to take over his empire, Benny? That’s low even for a mobster. Let Y/N bury her parents and we can talk to her about giving us her father’s part of Lebanon. She’s still my friend. I’ll pick her up from the airport and bring her to a hotel.” Jimmy offers his help, knowing Benny doesn’t have enough compassion for a foreign woman.

“Sounds like a plan, Jim.” Dean’s voice sounds more confident now, knowing you will be in the same town as he after not seeing you for years. “I want to meet her before the burial. We will talk about taking over her empire after helping her with everything else.”

“Yes, boss.” Benny chuckles as Jimmy looks like he wants to throw up at the thought you must bury all you had left of your family. 

Benny silently closes the door and Jimmy meets Dean’s eyes.

“Don’t make this harder for her, Dean. You made your decision years ago. John would’ve let you get away with not marrying Lisa, you know that. Pity you were too chicken to admit your feelings…”

Dean jumps up to grab Jimmy’s jacket, slamming him into the wall.

“There were never feelings on my side. We were stupid teens back then, fooling around. If you ever tell anyone I loved Y/N you are dead meat…”

Dropping his friend to the floor Dean turns his back on Jimmy, not wanting to remember the hurting in your eyes…

Jimmy smirks as he walks toward the door. “I never said anything about love, Dean…”

in reblog

[callsigndreadfrost]

🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊

Y'think thats enough pens? Either way I don't expect you to do somethin for aaaaaaaaaall of em lol

Gsudkblbzysuv hun, this is so beautifully chaotic!

🖋 Ginger's a vampire but both of her dads (Lee Grimm and Glenn Grimm) are werewolves (Mist Walkers). Both are trans men.

🖋 Jelani uses male, neutral or female pronouns. Has no preference to which ones someone should use.

🖋 Trevor knows ASL. His little brother was deaf and in his memory he learned ASL.

🖋 Angelus sorta, kinda had a daughter. Ok tl;dr back in the late 1800s he ran into this little girl that was living in the street and tried to steal some money off him but she got caught. He gave her everything he had on him and then she ran off and he lost track of her. Much later he found her again but this time she was a bit older, like 11 years old. They recognized each other and they both went to get a bite to eat and she told him she ran away from home because her parents were abusive. Obviously coming from a similar background he heavily sympathized but he didn't know the first thing about kids but he still took her in. She grew up, married and had kids of her own and those kids grew up and eventually his adopted daughter (her name was Alice) grew old and died of old age. He kept in contact with his sort of grandkids obviously but as his great grandkids grew older and had families and kids of their own Angelus distanced himself. How the fuck are ya gonna explain your sort of adoptivr great grandfather looks like a 20 year old twink? He's kept an eye out on them as a "friend of the family".

🖋 AJ introduced Angelus, Mahmud, Tre and Madison to his favorite hobby: parkour. The five of them regularly get together to free run in places they think would be both challenging and fun.

🖋 Madison introduced Mahmud, AJ, Tre and Xiomara to spelunking and scuba diving as a hobby.

🖋 Sanaa loves and collects windchimes. So Ingvarr modified an alarm clock to make any chime she puts on it chime whenever she sets the alarm. So instead of some jarring alarm she wakes up to a windchime.

🖋 Angelus has an abnormally high tolerance for pain to the point where he won't react to most injuries. This was due to years of having to learn to control his cries of pain because the more he cried out the harder he'd get beaten.

🖋 Trevor holds the world record for longest confirmed sniper kill. Can't be found in any public record but it's in Oracle records and that's good enough for him.

🖋 Jelani (Loke and Jela's grandad, not J lol) and Subira made a spell called "Bright Light". Basically a faint little orb of light that when cast makes anyone near it calm down. It works for regular nervousness, anxiety, panic attacks, anger and so on. It's one of those beginner type spells that barely requires any energy and it can either hover over the caster's palm or it can be "attached" to an object.

🖋 Sunniva (she was Ingvarr's first wife and the woman who gave birth to Loke) is still alive. After she became pregnant she heavily regretted it so that's why as soon as Loke was born she ran away without telling anyone anything. Loke was always told that she disappeared but honestly speaking he never knew her so he has no attachment to her. To him Sanaa is HIS mother and only her.

🖋 Latoya was what you would consider a sickly kid. Someone in another country sneezed and she got sick. Her colds and flus lasted longer than usual and she was a super skinny little girl. When puberty hit she took up sports and when she was 18 she started lifting weights, blew up in terms of muscle tone and got laser eye surgery. Now she's like Rambo in his prime but pretty.

🖋 Abigail is constantly coloring her hair different colors but her favorite is any hue of green since that's her favorite color. She'll also help and color anyone else's if they ask her for help.

🖋 Ginger and Abigail got married on October 13th. Yes, the wedding had a Victorian goth theme to it. Even though they couldn't eat it the cake was red velvet with black frosting and everything. It almost looked like a funeral 'cause everyone was wearing black. I hope to doodle Ginger and Abby in their wedding dresses someday.

🖋 Haakon had a habit of collecting leaves from different countries he visited and kept them safe. Ingvarr and Jørgen both keep journals with leaves of different countries they've visited. They write down the tree the leaf came from, country where they got it from and date.

🖋 Anette can't drive until she's 21. When she was 14 she took Jelani's car, drove her and a bunch of her friends super late at night in winter (from what I've read driving in Norway during winter is horrible), crashed into another car after she lost control, totalled both Jelani's car and the other car and severely injured some of her friends and the other driver. The funny/not funny part is Jela was planning on giving her that car when she got her license but she totalled it. It was BMW by the way. Fuckin' teenager driving around in a 2 year old Beemer lol.

🖋 Speaking of cars. Grete (Anette's mother and Loke and Jelani's aunt) is horribly afraid of driving. She can't get behind the wheel of a car without freaking out. Anette crashing made the fear 10x worse. She can be in a car as long as she isn't driving and the car isn't going too fast.

🖋 During a visit Anette convinced both her parents and Jelani to let her stay with him during the summer. She also convinced both Leah and Xolani to stay over as well. So for a whole ass summer Jelani had three teenagers staying over as a kind of sleep over vacation. It actually turned out fun in the end, the kids had fun and Anette and her rebellious attitude kinda softened.

🖋 Anette, Xolani and Leah have one defining thing in common. None of them know what to do with the rest of their lives. Thing is Leah is very nervous about it, Xolani is kind of aloof about it and Anette is kinda of frustrated about it. Anette is frustrated which leads her to act out and cause trouble. Xolani just looks like they don't care but they do. Leah is super nervous about it. Another thing they got in common is the three of them tend to look up to Loke and Jelani 'cause they feel both understand them better than their parents do.

🖋 Ginger is kinda very obsessed with portals. She's fascinated by them but also respects them as they are incredibly dangerous and unpredictable. She is basically the only person in the world that managed to control portals even if it's for a short amount of time.

🖋 Shaine got really into explosives when she was just a kid. After an accident with a dozen cherry bombs she was left partially deaf, now has to wear a hearing aid and is the explosives expert.

🖋 Before joining Oracle Katya financed her transition by making fake IDs and passports. She also doxxed corrupt government officials and ransomed vital information she got off them.

🖋 Loke is allergic to bird dandruff but would love to have a pet pigeon. At least he can have dogs which is his other favorite animal. His favorite dog is the pitbull.

🖋 Until he got together with Jelani all of Angelus's previous relationships were short and ended in kind of disaster because he constantly compared them all to Jelani and to him they didn't measure up. He ultimately said no to relationships around the 1930s and just fucked around. Obviously until he got shit faced once and confessed to Jelani he was in love with him and the rest is history.

🖋 Tre is one of the super rare seers that can see and feel visions. He's so sensitive that merely standing in an area with a lot of energy could affect him.

🖋 In Oracle there is a head of the organization and two leaders. Current head is Aleksey with Jelani and Angelus as leaders. There's always three as kind of a callback let's call it to when Oracle was started. Aleksey and two close friends started it so from then on there's always 3 leads. When Aleksey steps down Jelani will be head, Ginger will be the second lead and Angelus is the third lead, however he plans on making Trevor the third lead. The reason is because Angelus is fully aware of what he can and can't do and he knows damn well that he isn't lead of an organization material. When he steps down he'd be the Trickster team leader, that he can handle, and since Trevor left a vacant spot Loke would take that spot.

🖋 There is a place called Kironia. It's theorized to be a sort of epicenter for portal activities. Angelus and Ginger have been tasked with keeping an eye on it but it's shrouded in so much mystery most people don't think it's real.

🖋 Despite the fact that Trevor personally knows a Maker and a goddess (Jade, Latoya's girlfriend) he's still an athiest.

🖋 Trevor didn't have a name growing up, he chose the name Trevor because it sounded pleasant. He took his surname, Ravencroft, from a woman he'd heard of from other Oracle agents. He eventually got to meet Morgana Ravencroft, she thought it was flattering he took her name.

🖋 Speaking of Morgana Ravencroft, Angelus was first introduced to the concept of magic because of her. He went with Trevor to help him with some supplies and after being completely hypnotized by some illusions she gave him a book on the basics and helped him get started.

🖋 Loke stopped aging and it's something of a weird occurrence that is brought up every so often. When he was 28 years old he and Jelani (who was 15 at the time) were delivering some supplies to another village. They ran into bandits and as usual Loke was trying to protect Jelani and in doing so he was fatally wounded. Of course Jelani freaked the fuck out and his "fail safe" kicked in. Jela doesn't remember but Loke does, he saw Jelani change form and after dealing with the bandits he turned his attention to Loke and stopped him from dying. He was rusty as fuck so he put a little more oomph behind it and a tiny portion of his energy slipped into Loke. Neither of them know but Loke is basically kinda frozen in time when it comes to aging. So because of this Loke can't die unless Jelani dies.

🖋 Loke has a black feather that's warm to the touch and small embers can be seen floating out of it. He's never mentioned it to anyone and keeps it close to him. The feather came from Jelani when he changed form to fight off the bandits. After he blacked out and changed back Loke found the feather on the ground. He knew where it came from that's why he kept it. He's never told Jelani about that day because he doesn't know what it means and he thinks telling him would only serve to confuse him further.

🖋 Continuing with Loke, he's your average run of the mill berserker. That means he cannot use magic while in berserker mode or even with his weapons. The only ones that can do that are arcanist berserkers (the Nyota tribe). Sanaa is an arcanist berserker, she can use magic while in berserker mode. However, through years of practice Sanaa managed to teach Loke one spell that her people are really fond of. Falling Stars is a spell that has the user charge a single arrow. The arrow is shot upwards and as soon as it reaches high enough it splits into hundreds of arrows that rain down on the target. Loke started practicing when he was 8 years old and by the age of 30 he managed to pull it off making him the first berserker to use magic.

🖋 Jelani and Leah are two of the extremely rare and fortunate people that have gone through a portal and have returned. Whether their return was sheer luck or the fact that he's a Maker is something I'll elaborate on later.

🖋 Haakon knew Jelani wasn't a berserker. Haakon himself had a feeling that his grandson was something far more, if that makes sense. The day Jela was born Haakon had a dream but instead of fear he just felt an insurmountable amount of wonder. He's only ever told his wife, Eli, who in turn believed him. Both always made sure Jela didn't feel out of place and Haakon frequently encouraged him.

[myownprivatekeanu]

baby, being with you makes the flame burn good | john wick/reader

Prompt: @continental-baby said: the reader works at John's house and then in the middle of the night some bad guys appear to kill him? give us a protective John! can be a drabble or imagine what you want baby 😘

*rubs me hands together* protective john is Best john hands down YESSS. first john wick fic i hope yall like this oneshot !!! i tried me best ;u;” title+lyrics are from i don’t smoke by mitski.

requests are open! pls feel free to send me any other prompts yall got ^u^

Word count: 1.5k

Warnings: pretty much what u expect from john. some violence, some cussing. sfw.

I don't smoke except for when I'm missing you To remember your mouth, how it tasted true And I don't smoke Except for after I've held you, baby Being with you Makes the flame burn good ...

The night outside was heavy and still; when you stood before the large windows of the glass house, it felt as if the dark could simply reach through and eat you whole. Your fear of the dark felt childish, but the house was quiet as if it were uninhabited. You couldn’t help but think it was eerie.

Work tonight was uneventful. The only signs of life were the faint echoes of footsteps, someone shuffling between rooms, or the far off thrum of an old record playing. A shiver ran its fingertip down the length of your spine, but you shake off the feeling and continue to your duties.

For the past couple of months, two or three nights out of your weeks were spent working as housekeeping in John Wick’s large, empty glass house. You were pressed for money, and his pay and tips were more than generous enough. John Wick was tall and imposing when you first met concerning your new job, disarmingly handsome too, but you quickly came to realize he was quite polite, a bit gentle, a bit sheepish. He never told you what his job was, and so you naively assumed he worked as some kind of travelling businessman. What he asked was not much, just checking up and tidying the house while he was gone on trips, sometimes checking on his friendly pitbull and changing his food out.

Tonight was one of those nights where John was home, having only arrived that morning from a trip. Even late into the night, he was still sporting the same sharp suit as when he arrived, and you took note of a fresh cut marring his upper cheekbone. Only once had he left the seclusion of his office. As you swept the floors, you watched him stride into the kitchen and pull out a bottle of dark bourbon from its cabinet. John turned and met your gaze from across the kitchen counter, and you felt like a deer in the headlights, hands wrung tight around the broom handle. He gave you a smile, soft but tired, smile lines wrinkling the corners of his eyes; a rare occurrence. Your cheeks flushed, heart thumping hard in your chest. 

“Thank you for your help,” His voice was low and soft, smooth enough to swim in. You stayed in place as John circled around the counter, a warm hand gentle on your lower back as he reached past you for a crystal glass on a shelf. Now his voice was much closer, a shade deeper. You’re faintly reminded of a wolf slowly closing in on a rabbit, able to devour you if he so desired. His presence was warm, the faint tang of blood and a waft of cologne roll off of him in waves. You could drown in it.

“Please, y/n, help yourself to anything you’d like.”

A beat passes, and he’s back down the hall, quiet as a ghost and footsteps all but silent. You wait until the door of his office closes, and hastily rub at the flush on your cheeks, unbelievably flustered at how easily he can have you under his thumb. Pull yourself together, you’re almost done for the night.

-

You don’t hear it at first over the rush of water from the kitchen sink. Your tasks for the night were done, surfaces dusted, floors swept and cleaned, windows impeccably wiped. A movement from the yard windows makes you look up, but thinking it’s your imagination, you continue to scrub the dust and dirt off your hands. 

The crash of glass startles you, a flurry of footsteps rushing through what sounds like the other end of the house. You hear multiple voices, speaking to each other but none in English. Something foreign - Russian, maybe? A sharp yell echoes from the hall, and you rush to duck and hide, panic making your head spin. “Oh shit, oh shit…”

The noise of the chaos rolls closer and closer, and you poke your head around the corner to look down the main hall, your pulse rushing loud in your ears. The only light that pours in is the moonlight from outside, glinting off the broken glass spread out over wooden floors. Gunshots break the silence, making you yelp, and you watch in horror as two men dressed in black drop to the floor at the end. In the moonlight, their blood is black, spilled ink, sinking into the floorboards. Your shaking hands clamp over your mouth, trying desperately to be quiet. From his office steps out John, and you watch him stretch his shoulders, the muscles of his back rolling like thunder under his dress shirt. Back turned to you, large hands check the ammo with one smooth motion. He moves through his house, silent as the reaper himself, and you move to call out to him.

Before you can speak, a rough hand grabs your arm and pulls you back to the ground. Your head hits the floor, vision swimming dangerously, throbbing angry red. More yells and grunts in a language you don’t understand. You scream and thrash to move away, but the man pulls you sharply by the hair and drags you across the floor to the living room. The pain in your head is harsh, but you spot John running towards you now, a fury washed over his face and a panic in his eyes. 

“Get your fucking hands off of her.”

You’re thrown on the living room floor, momentarily forgotten by the intruders as they try to fight against John.

When you would think of John, you thought of him as a gentle giant. Large hands, broad shoulders, soft brown eyes and dark hair you itched to run your hands through. Sometimes in striking, beautifully tailored dark suits, other times in t-shirts and jeans, with a comfortable leather jacket thrown over. Easy on the eyes, always polite and kind to you. As you watch him now from the floor, vision fading in and out, its an incredible sight to behold. Incredible and terrifying. 

He takes down men with ease, dexterous and disciplined - the snap of bones, gunshots that make men drop, all make your head pound, but you cannot take your eyes off him. A particularly fast one tackles John to the ground, and you momentarily panic, before watching John spin the man around to pin him with a leg, hands moving up quickly to take a shot as another lunges at him. It’s over in minutes, the last one finished off with a shot to the head, and your eyes slide closed as quiet footsteps make their way towards you.

That same warm hand from before slides over your cheek now, a gentle caress, wiping at stray tears. “You’re okay now, I’m so sorry baby. It’s safe now. I’m here.” A kiss to your forehead where a bruise begins to bloom, and you feel his other hand set down the gun to instead help you sit up. You look up at him, his face lined with worry, with pure fucking sorrow and regret at what they did to you. His hand slides under your back, and though you wince, you let John pull you into a strong hug. His arms are muscled but hold you tender, like a doll about to crack. You wrap your hands around his shoulders, hands gripping his dress shirt now damp with blood, and you can’t help but tuck your head into the crook of his neck. The smell of blood, sweat and cologne is intoxicating. 

He moves slow, picking you up bridal style against his chest, as if you weighed nothing. You feel the scruff of his beard against your cheek, a bit ticklish, but his voice in your ear makes you shiver. “Don’t look, sweetheart, just stay like that.” And you obey, exhausted from fear and pain, only stealing glances as John carries you through the hall to his bedroom. The hallways were smeared with blood and glass, a chilling breeze rolled in through the broken windows. Bodies littered here and there, a stepping stone path to follow until he knocks the door open with a foot. He closes the door with the same motion, sparing you the grisly sight outside, and sits down on his bed spread out with soft grey comforters. 

“You saved me,” you choke out, seated securely in his lap. He wouldn’t let you go, and you didn’t mind at all. John felt safe, secure. He raised a hand to rub at his face tiredly, and from that motion it was as if he wiped away the fury and concentration from earlier. He was more vulnerable now, worrying about you and holding you tight. You pull back a bit to look at his face, the cut on his cheek opened again now joined by other scrapes, your hand gently grazing a cut on his jaw. He pulls you into a searing kiss, hand on your waist tightening, possessive. When he pulls away, his voice is back in your ear, a deep growl that makes your head spin.

“I’ve got you now, baby. Nobody else will ever hurt you, I’ll keep you safe.”

[blackmissfrizzle]

A Tale of Two Soldiers- Part 2

Title: A Tale of Two Soldiers- Part 2

Pairing: Bucky x black!reader, Erik x black!reader

Summary: Erik attends the readers birthday party.

Word Count: 5150

Warnings: SMUT (18+), cussing, Erik being Erik

Read Part 1 here.

A/N: This is my first MCU fic and Erik fic. Please don’t hate me if its trash lol! There will definitely be multiple parts.  This is set after Black Panther but before Infinity War. Please reblog if you really like it!

A/N: Sorry this is so long, but I had so many ideas for this part and I didn’t want to break it up in mini-parts.

Your birthday party was in full swing. The dj was playing a mix of 80s to current music, the food smelled delicious, and you were surrounded by family and friends. The only thing that was missing were your friends on the run: Steve, Nat, Sam, and Bucky.

Your outfit was a simple, black maxi dress with black wedges, and a gold hoop earrings, which unfortunately matched Erik’s which was, a black t-shirt with black adidas joggers and his gold canine grill, which caused your family to believe you were a couple as soon as you stepped out.

“Girl, you sure he ain’t your man,” your oldest sister, Jemilah wondered as she pointed her cup to Erik while he was talking to your brothers and brothers-in-laws.

“Yes heifer! I’m sure that he’s not my man. Why you asking that stupid ass question?”

Casey, the second youngest interjected, “Because he hasn’t taken his eyes off of you since the party started.”

“Well, you need to tell him that, because the way he looking at you telling me he in love and he gon be breaking your back tonight,” Jemilah claimed.

You just told your sisters that Erik was just watching out for you, because he knew you could get a little buck wild when you drank and he didn’t want you to act a fool in front of your family. Soon, they dropped the topic to start gossiping about some of the party goers and you were thankful the attention was off of you for a while. However, your respite was short live, because your mom was strutting towards you with a man who gave you Morris Chestnut vibes with his physique and beautiful skin.

“Y/N, dear, this is Malcom. Malcom, this is my daughter, Y/N, the birthday girl.”

You shook Malcom’s hand, which was smooth unlike Erik’s or Bucky’s. While you two exchanged pleasantries, your mom listed off Malcom’s credentials like she was reading his resume. You tuned her out while seeking a way out at her blatant attempt of matchmaking, when you suddenly felt a familiar warmth behind.

“Hey princess, one of your sisters said they needed your help with something.”

You gave Erik a silent thank you and told your mom and Malcom you catch them later. Somehow your mother caught you taking a break from everyone in the kitchen. “You know, you didn’t have to have your little friend help you escape. I’m just trying to help.”

Exasperated with the same conversation with your mother you sighed, “Help with what mama? I’m not ready to settle down, especially not with some lame lawyer.”

Your mother walked up to you and grabbed your arms, “Baby, Malcom is not lame. He’s a Morehouse man, does plenty of community service for kids of color, and he worked for Obama. The Barack Obama,” she stressed. “And you ain’t getting any younger.” Of course, your mama would be the only one to consider 26 old. “I don’t understand you, Y/N. Why you must be the only one out of 6 kids to rebel against everything. You chose to go to Howard instead of Spelman like your sisters did and if you were a boy you wouldn’t go to Morehouse like your brothers, then you had the nerve to join the Marines, and when you got discharged you did something even crazier, you let my crazy ass brother and his ridiculous friend Tony Stark talk you into joining the Avengers.”

Pulling away from her, you begged your mom, “Can we not argue about this today? I just want to enjoy my friends and family and celebrate my birthday. Is that too much to ask for?”

“Is it too much for me to ask for you to be happy and safe,” your mom threw right back. After a moment of silence, surprisingly, your mom agreed to drop it but promise you two would talk more about it tomorrow.

As you made your way back outside, you joined your siblings on the dance floor and began doing the bunny hop with them. Once that ended, the dj began playing Get It Ready by DJ Jubliee and you knew you were about the cut the fuck up. You felt Erik’s familiar presence behind you and once you heard ‘walk it like a dog’ you were grinding all up Erik like y’all weren’t at a family function. When the song was over you heard your dad clear his throat to break the lust filled gazes you and Erik were giving each other.

“Sorry, daddy,” you mumbled to your dad and ran off to join your sisters and Nakia, Okyoe, and Shuri at the tables. When you joined them, you heard Jemilah mutter to the others, “Mmmhmm, ain’t my man my ass.”

“Oh, he’s not. Y/N has another suitor back home,” Shuri happily confessed.

“Traitor,” you whispered in the princess’s ear.

Casey started whipping her head around as she was in search for someone, “Why he ain’t here then?”

“James does not feel well,” Okyoe admitted while she gave you a secret wink. Thank God, she lied for you, because even though you’ve done undercover ops for some unknown reason you can’t lie to your sisters that well.

“Describe him,” Jemilah ordered.

Thinking of Bucky automatically had you in a dream-like state, “Tall. Broad shoulders. Body of a Greek God. Oh, and his eyes. They’re this deep blue—”

“BLUE?” your sisters shouted.

“You really trying to give mama a heart attack. This man white?” Casey chuckled and you shook your head yes. You knew their outburst came from the fact that your mama had this goal of all her children have a black love relationship like her and your father. It wasn’t bad that she promoted black love, you really appreciated it, but she was harsh on y’all if you tried dating someone outside your race, she and Erik had that in common. You remembered when Casey brought back her white boyfriend during Christmas break one year and your mama was so hard on the poor boy, he didn’t make it to Christmas Eve dinner.

“He is. And I obviously don’t care what she thinks, so lets drop it ok,” you demanded and thankfully the women obliged.

You and the other women discussed the Wakanda Outreach program, when Casey swore, “Aww fuck! Here comes ‘Cousin Faith’.” Now you really didn’t have a Cousin Faith, her real name was Stephanie, but you and your sisters called her Cousin Faith because she was always trying to steal one of y’alls man, even after your sisters got married.

“Y/N, how the fuck you bag a prince,” Stephanie whined.

Clearly confused you looked at her crazy, “Girl, what are you talking about? I’m not dating any prince.”

“Not yet anyway. That dread-headed nigga, Erik. He was talking to your mama and daddy about how he sees a future with you, and said his last name is ummmmm… shit….it’s something foreign.”

“Udaku,” Shuri interjected.

“Yes that’s it,” Stephanie exclaimed. “And your mama walking around saying you marrying a prince and you’re gonna be princess of a country of black people. Girl she even kicked that lame nigga, Malcom out the party. Talking about she don’t want him to mess up your chances with Erik.”

Your sisters just stared at you with slacked jaws and wide eyes at this revelation. You only told them that Erik was an American close with the Wakandan royalty and worked for the Wakanda Outreach Program out in Oakland. Jemilah was the first to say something, “Whew chile. You better get ready for that wedding, because you know mama ain’t gon let up now she knows he’s a prince.” You just rolled your eyes at her and went in search for the soon to be dead prince of Wakanda.

Erik must have known you were looking for him, because when you put your sight on him he ran the opposite direction and went inside the house. The nigga was fast because he was nowhere to be found.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y. where is Mr. Stevens,” you called out to the AI.

“In the downstairs bathroom by the kitchen. I have unlocked the door for you.”

You shouted out a thanks to the AI and proceeded to find Erik rolling a blunt in the bathroom. Wasting no time, you decked that nigga in his pitbull ass face. “Oh shit, princess! That hurt. What the fuck is your problem?”

Pointing a finger at the handsome but infuriating man, you responded, “What’s my problem? My problem is you telling my mama that you a whole damn prince!”

Erik rubbed his chin and smirked at you, “So what you’re saying is, you’re mad at me for telling the truth about being a prince, but you ain’t mad that I told your parents I have plans for making you my wife.”

Oh shit, you forgot about the part. Damn, now this nigga really thought he had a chance, but somewhere inside of you knew that the prospect of being Erik’s wife sounded ideal, but you couldn’t let him know. “That’s beside the point Erik. You knew my mama thinks of herself as a so-called matchmaker and you just add fuel to her fire. She’s not gonna stop until I become Mrs. Y/N Udaku.”

Erik couldn’t stop cheesing when he heard your name in front of last name, it gave him a sense of pride that he hope would become true someday. “Baby girl, I’m sorry,” He lifted your chin so you could make eye contact with him, “But after you were throwing that ass, your parents pulled me aside and started asking a bunch of questions about you and I.” At this moment in time Erik looked nervous and unsure of himself when he rubbed the back of his neck. “And, shit princess, I couldn’t lie to them. I wanted my intentions to be clear to them and I threw in my last name so your mama could stop pushing that wack ass Morris Chestnut wannabe up on you.”

With Erik’s declaration out in the open you couldn’t really be mad at him anymore. Rubbing at your temples, you said “I guess I understand. But you don’t understand that my mama is about to work my nerves even more this weekend.”

Erik got that devilish glint in his eye when he was up to no good and presented you with the blunt. You were automatically shaking your head no, because you didn’t smoke, and Erik knew that. “Erik, I can’t smoke that. I never smoke it right and I’ll be wasting the blunt.”

“Nah, its your birthday and I caused you some trouble at your party, so imma get you high,” Erik was practically pushing the blunt in your face. You jumped on the sink counter and took the blunt to your mouth so Erik could light it up. Your first couple of inhales had you coughing, but you finally got the hang of it and it was becoming smooth.

Sensing that you were comfortable with smoking, Erik was pushing the hem of your dress up and kneeling on the ground. “Boy what are you doing,” you questioned him with half hooded eyes.

Again Erik had that damn devilish glint, “Imma help you relax even further baby, so you won’t even be aggravated by your mama.” You just let out a sigh of content and was about to hit the blunt, when you felt Erik’s tongue on your pussy. First, he was making small, slow licks and began to pick up the pace until you felt an orgasm overcome you. “Please…please,” you begged.

“Please, what,” Erik mumbled.

“Please don’t stop,” you slurred out.

And when you didn’t think it was possible began flicking your clit even faster and inserted two curled fingers inside of you. It didn’t take long for you to gush all over Erik’s mouth and fingers. You were in a world of euphoria thanks to the blunt and Erik, that you ordered Erik, “Take your dick out.”

It took him a little while for the words to register in his brain, but once they did he was pulling down his pants and boxer briefs, “Shit, you ain’t gotta tell me twice.” Erik grabbed a condom and rolled it onto his hard length. Once, he was sheathed, you grabbed Erik by his dick and guided him inside of you. When he was completely inside, you both let out a sight of content, and then he began thrusting into with wild abandonment. You both knew this little fuck session couldn’t last long, because people at the party would notice you two were missing, so Erik made quick work and had you both cumming within two minutes.

After being thoroughly fucked by Erik, you two return to the party, him to the tables and you to the food to make y’all some plates. You just sat in Erik’s lap when you put his plate in front him when your eldest brother, Thomas, interrupted y’all from eating, “Damn, nigga! What the hell you do to my baby sister?”

Both you and Erik looked at each other confused. “What do you mean by that,” Erik questioned.

“Little miss thing over here,” Thomas said while pointing at you, “has said she will never make a man’s plate, because his arms and legs works just as well as hers and she be too damn hungry to make two plates.”

Erik looked at you adoringly while you just wanted to go under a rock and die. Thankfully, Casey slapped Thomas in the back his head, stating he needed to keep his damn mouth closed. Erik just gave you a small kiss on the cheek and a quiet thank you, and then y’all resumed eating without any more embarrassing moments for you.

It was about half hour later and it was time for you to open your presents. T’Challa, Shuri, Nakia, and Okoye designed your gift. T’Challa presented you with a long skinny box that was wrapped in onyx wrapping paper. You made quick work of the wrapping paper and opened the box, which revealed a sword, your preferred weapon.

“Its completely made of vibranium. I used training footage of your fighting technique and designed the sword to compliment you. Even if someone else got ahold of it, it wouldn’t be as deadly as it is with you. Its almost like Thor’s hammer,” Shuri explained.

“Whoa, that’s badass,” your twin nephews exclaimed in unison.

“Watch y’all mouths,” your mom reprimanded the boys while you gave a thanks to Shuri, Nakia, T’Challa, and Okyoe.

“Its our turn now,” Tony announced while he Pepper approach you. You watched your mom roll her eyes as Tony presented you with a manila envelope, not even trying to hold his disdain for him.

“Before you open that, I just want to tell you something Rhodey Jr.,” Tony held up his hands and stopped you from opening your gift. “I’m proud to say its been a pleasure from watching you grow up from that annoying little brat that Rhodey would bring here during the summers to a badass, intelligent young woman. And Pepper and I want to thank you for helping with everything, so you deserve this brat.”

You were on the verge of tears, but you knew Tony didn’t do crying so you just hugged him instead. “Whoa kid, you haven’t even open it yet,” Tony exclaimed as he patted you on your back. At that you went back to the envelope to discover a document. For a while you just sat there in silence as you read over the document a couple of times just to make sure your eyes weren’t deceiving you.

Getting tired of your silence, your Uncle Ray demanded, “Girl tell us what it says!”

Breaking out of your trance, you mumbled, “They gave me a 20% share of Stark Industries.” Instantly you went up to Tony and Pepper and pleaded with them to take it back, even with it just being 20% they just made you a billionaire. “Guys you can’t give this to me. This is too much. What about your future kids? They deserve this more than me. You gotta take it back,” you ranted.

“Y/N, no one deserves this more than you do. You work about as much as Tony and me on Stark Industries business, so 20% is nothing,” Pepper explained to you.

You knew that you wouldn’t win the argument, so you gave the couple another thank you and sat down for your final gift. Erik approached you and set down a gift bag in front of your face. “Happy birthday, princess.”

When you reached into the bag you pulled out three tickets, three Beyoncé concert tickets to be exact.

“Beyoncé?!?!?!?” you exclaimed.

“Yeah umm, I got ‘em for you and your sisters,” Erik responded shyly. “They’re meet and greets also. But I got the whole day plan for y’all: massages, mani and pedis, hair appointments, and a shopping spree.” Your jaw dropped more when Erik listed what he had planned for us that day. You couldn’t understand how someone so aggravating, annoying, and selfish could be so thoughtful and selfless at the same time.

“Do you need a wife, girlfriend, side ho, concubine or something? Because damn nigga, that’s one hell of a birthday present,” Casey blurted out, causing her husband to tell her to shut up and sit her ass down, and Jemilah to punch her in her shoulder.

Erik chuckled and waved his hand, “Na ma, I’m good. Besides I only got eyes for one Y/L/N,” Erik stated while looking you dead in the eyes. All the women at the table practically sighed in amazement at Erik’s confession. Pointing at the gift bag, Erik mentioned there was another present in the bag. This time you brought out a small velvet box and fear overcame you. You heard your mom whisper to your dad hoping it was a ring and you were hoping for the complete opposite. Noticing the apprehension on your face, Erik calmed you down, “Chill out, its not a ring. I’m not proposing yet.”

Your mama nudged your dad in his ribs, “You hear that Charles? He’s not proposing yet.” And your dad just responded with a grunt, still not giving his full approval yet. “I like you more and more with each passing moment young man,” your mom called out to Erik.

Relief overcame you and that’s when you opened the box, revealing a necklace with a black and gold jaguar pendant inscribed with a Wakandan text.

“Warrior princess,” Erik said pulling you out of your trance.

“Huh?”

“It says warrior princess. You can kick anybody’s ass, so you’re a warrior, and you’re my princess, so you’re a warrior princess,” Erik explained.

“Girl, if you don’t marry him, imma beat your ass personally and then take him for myself,” your Aunt Charlene blurted out.

You couldn’t help but laugh at your outspoken aunt’s words, but you also knew she would keep her promise, which made you briefly think of a future with Erik. Not wanting to dwell on those thoughts too long, you gave him a kiss, thank him for your gifts, and whispered in his ear that you would properly thank him in the bedroom later on that night, which resulted in him growling in your ear and rubbing on your ass in front of your whole family.

After you finished receiving the rest of your gifts, your Uncle James pulled you to the side. “Here, this came a couple of days ago and I didn’t want you to open in front of everyone,” James declared as he handed you a package.

You knew it couldn’t be a gift from your uncle, because he already gave you his earlier. Inside of the package was a sketchbook, which confused you because you couldn’t draw for shit, but once you open it you knew exactly who sent the book. It was from Steve. He sent you a book full of drawings of you with him, Sam, Nat, or Wanda. There was a picture of you struggling doing your hair during wash day and Sam just laughing at you, another one of you and Nat flat on your asses because y’all managed to take each other down at the same time, one of you having a heart attack while Wanda lifted you in the sky with her powers, and one of you and Steve watching tv during one of your many movie nights. As you made your way through the drawings, a note fell out:

Sorry kid, we couldn’t make your birthday. Sam’s a little sad that we can’t go to the strip club, that you made me promise I would go to on your birthday. However, I’m thankful. I still don’t think I’m quite ready for that. It sucks that we’re not there but trust me we’re doing fine, which brings me to my point. Although, its very much appreciated STOP SENDING MONEY. I don’t want you to get caught, that’s the whole reason we kept you out of the fight in the first place. Don’t worry we’ll see each other soon. Happy birthday, Y/N! Love, S.R.

P.S.- Sam speaking here, I’m not little mad, I’m BIG mad that we’re not at the strip club! Don’t listen to the big guy, keep sending that money. Do you know what type of motels we’ve been staying in? Its not good for my delicate skin. Just kidding, I guess, stay safe kid and happy birthday!

Before you knew it, tears were falling onto the note. “Thanks for giving this to me Uncle James,” you mumbled in between sniffles.

Pulling you into a hug, your Uncle responded, “No problem.” You were making your way out his embrace when he pulled you back, “One more thing. Be careful with that Killmonger.”

You were about to ask your uncle how did he know about Erik’s military codename, but you remembered that he was a colonel and had access to the most sensitive information. Hugging him tighter you told Uncle James, “I will.”

You went up to your room to put away your gifts and clean your face when you got a notification from your kimoyo beads. Suddenly, Bucky’s face appeared before and he immediately took in your red and puffy eyes, “What’s wrong, doll?”

You waved him off, “Nothing. Steve sent me a birthday present, so the waterworks came.”

“That punk. I’ll make sure to beat him up the next time I see him. How’s the party?”

“Its great! Tony and Pepper gave me a 20% share of the company, Shuri—” you absentmindedly went out your room, not thinking about anyone seeing you talking to Bucky, then BOOM, you ran into your sisters in the hallway.

“Bitch, is that the Winter Soldier!?!?” Casey all but screeched. You immediately pulled them inside your room, so no one could see or hear them. “Y/N he’s fine! So, this was the James you were talking about. What kind of conditioner he use, because his hair is on point,” Casey rambled.

“I gotta handle this Buck. Talk to you later?”

Bucky saw your problem and quickly reassured you, “Yeah no problem, doll. Happy birthday and talk to you later.”

“Doll???” Both of your sisters questioned playfully.

Frustrated that they caught you talking to an international fugitive, you asked your sisters, “What the hell y’all doing up here?”

“We were coming up to say goodbye to our baby sister. What the hell you doing talking to an international fugitive,” Jemilah threw right back.

It was Casey turned to speak, “Didn’t he kidnap your ass once and kill T’Challa’s daddy?”

“Yes, to the first question, but he was brainwashed and no to the second, someone used his face as a mask and framed him,” you informed your sisters. Giving them both your puppy dog eyes, you pleaded to them, “Promise y’all won’t say anything. Even to your husbands.”

Jemilah and Casey came and sat on the bed with you and each grabbed one of your hands. “Y/N you know we won’t. If you say he didn’t do those things, then he didn’t do it. We trust you. Now you better hope mama don’t find out he’s the reason you’re not with Erik, because she would flip her shit,” Casey confided in you. Thankful for your sisters you hugged them and returned downstairs to say goodbye to the rest of the guests.

When you returned back to your room, you found Erik without his shirt laying on the bed and scrolling through his phone. Deciding to skip a shower for now you got out of your outfit, just leaving you with your bra and panties on and joined Erik on the bed. “You know, you didn’t have to give me all those presents for my birthday. I would’ve been fine with one or the other,” you whispered to Erik.

“No, baby girl. You deserve that and so much more. I just wanna show you how much I appreciate you.”

“Honestly E, I don’t know what I did to deserve this,” you said as you traced his scars.

“Are you for real,” Erik asked incredulously as he rolled your body underneath him. “Princess, you saved my life up on that mountain. I owe you my life.”

The battle was getting tiring and you didn’t know if it would ever end, even with the help of the Jabri tribe. One second, you’re knocking out one member of the Border tribe, and then the next you see all of the Border tribe on their knees surrendering to the Dora. And what a sight to see, all of those men kneeling before women. However, you didn’t get to enjoy it for too long, as T’Challa called you over the comms. “Y/N, I need you to meet me on the mountain. Erik’s hurt.”

Dropping everything you had and running towards the mountain, you replied, “I’m on my way.” On your way towards the cousins you thought about how your stay in Wakanda wasn’t suppose to be about fighting a war against your ex-fling. When you came here it was for keeping an eye out onBucky and not wanting to return to America after the way Tony and Steve fell out because of the Accords, but here you are running towards a man, who you had a brief fling but intense connection with, who was also dead set on killing his cousin, because of the sins of his father.

“Bury me in the ocean, with my ancestors that jumped from the ships, because they knew death was better than bondage,” you heard Erik declare. You made it up to the panther mountain just in the nick of time, because Erik was pulling out the spear, but thankfully you stop him. “What the hell are you doing, Y/N,” Erik grunted.

“Saving your dumbass. What do you think?”

Erik chuckled and even near death’s door he was beautiful, “I see you still got jokes. I hope you know I ain’t getting lock’d up, so let go princess.”

“No.”

“No?” Erik echoed.

“Did I stutter nigga? No.”

T’Challa interrupted yours and Erik’s banter, “Y/N, I said help him, not antagonize him.”

Turning towards the rightful king, “Chill, I got this,” you assured him. Turning your attention to the would-be usurper, you instructed Erik, “You’re not dying today, I won’t let you.”  “All the shit you’ve done was payback for you and your dad, right,” you questioned.

At that Erik just shook his head, so you continued on. “But didn’t he just want you to come to Wakanda and experience its wonders?” Again there was another head nod from Erik. “So, why would you want to die? Yeah, you might have to spend a little bit of time locked up, but it won’t be forever. Your cousin understands your pain. You were abandoned as a child with no one in your corner, let T be in your corner now. Let Shuri be in your corner, let Queen Ramonda be in your corner, let me be in your corner!”

By now, both you and Erik had tears falling down. It was a rare moment where both of you were vulnerable and both of you were crying for the boy in Oakland who lost his innocence. You were confident enough that Erik wouldn’t remove the spear, so you let it go and cupped his face instead. “What King T’Chaka did to your father was wrong, but T’Challa is not his father, just like you’re not N’Jobu. He’s T’Challa and you’re N’Jadka, y’all can be better than your fathers ever were.”

“Ok, princess, you got me. Besides I still need to take your country bumpkin ass to Oakland,” Erik joked with you.

“Thank Bas,” T’Challa murmured off to the side.

“Nigga, how many times I gotta tell you I’m from Houston and that’s a major city, not some podunk ass town. Anyways you can’t convince me Cali is better than Texas. Y’all may have Tupac but we got Beyonce and Whataburger is better than In-n-Out,” you argued back with Erik, grateful that he decided to live.

“Whatever, I’ll prove you wrong. But are either one of you niggas gon help me or y’all just gon talk me to death,” Erik questioned. Both you and T’Challa shared a look before y’all rolled your eyes at Erik’s antics and helped him up. You both knew keeping Erik alive was the right thing to do, but you also knew he would sometimes make you regret the decision.

“E, babe, I just talked to you, you responded back as you absentmindedly traced his scars.

“Well, that talk convinced me to live. Now thanks to you, I have a family, I have a home, I have a noble purpose, I get to watch those Wakandan sunsets my dad always talked about. Baby girl, I owe you everything. I’ll be with you always, even if you decide to get with tin man, even though it would be a mistake, because I’m the better choice.” You playfully slapped Erik across his chest, which he thought was an invitation for play fighting.

A couple of minutes later, you ended up on your back again, and one of Erik’s legs in between yours. He cupped your chin, “I’m serious princess. I’ll never stop being thankful,” Erik confessed. For a while the pair of you stared in each other’s eyes until you reached up to kiss him. Then, Erik made quick work of getting rid of his and yours remaining clothes. Once you were both naked, he entered inside of you and for the first time ever, you and Erik made love and not fuck. While he was giving you slow deep strokes, and whispering sweet nothings and praising you in your ear, you fully admitted to yourself that you were falling in love with Erik and being Y/N Udaku-Stevens wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

TAGLIST: @blacknthemix @cosmicmelaninflower @blackdepressoexpresso @meishaabae @pastelastronomy24 @blackreaders-assemble @sonofnjobu @canumoveurseatup-no @chaneajoyyy @purple-apricots @black-mcu-imagines @thelateliterary @marvelmaree @princessstevens

[toomanystoriessolittletime]

Safe Haven

Summary: When John found Violet unconcious in the streets he hadn’t had the heart to just leave her. So he did the only thing he could think of. He took her with him. 12 years later Violet was a succesful lawyer and John almost dead after Winston shot him on the roof of the continental. Letting her take dog in while he got taken away from the bowery king people, Violet did the only thing she could think off. She disappears. Hoping John would survive and find her.

Pairing: John Wick / OFC

Wordcount: 1.463

Warnings: mentions of guns, blood, mentions of physical violence

A/N: I have no idea how long his is going to get, when i’m finished. I have at least 3 chapters finished at this moment

When Violet heard of the High Table for the first time, she thought it came straight out of a novel. A council run by the worst of worse people that only operated by their own rules without ever getting caught. No way something like this would work. Turns out it did.

12 years later, she now had her own Law firm right next to the Continental Hotel, which was basically the safe haven for anyone who worked in the world of the high table. No business (that mostly meant killing) was allowed on the grounds of the hotel without consequences. To her knowledge that never happened before. At least until John Wick killed Santino D’Antonio 2 weeks ago.

The dumbest fucking thing he could have done.

Violet had known John for 12 years now. Some would say would say she owed him, she would say, they were friends. Even if he refused to acknowledge that. He didn’t need friends, was what he always said.

He had found her on the street. After her husband had killed her baby daughter and practically threw her away on the street, like she was trash. It was pure luck he had been there that night. Just after finishing his latest contract, he had planned to walk straight to the Hotel to have a drink, when he had seen her unconscious in a dark entrance close to the hotel. Only wearing a thin white shirt, which had blood all over it. Her face swollen and bruised. He couldn’t walk away from that.

John had taken Violet to the Continental that night. He had paid for her room and made sure that the doctor took care of her, before he left her. Turned out he went straight for her husband that night. She never saw that fucker again.

From that day on, she was part of the criminal underground. She made a lot of money, taking care of the legal issues of some of the deadliest people in the country. And in return was protected by said people.

She had lunch with Winston, the manager of the hotel, once a week. If you could have friends, people you trusted, it would have been him. And John of course.

Violet saw him from time to time. They had dinner on a regular basis during the years. He had a weird sense of humour and even laughed at least two times during the 12 years (at least when Violet had been present).

He was, still is, an attractive man. She would be lying if she denied that. Secretly she would admit to herself that she was in love with him. She never acted on those feelings though. And after years and years went by, she buried her feelings and moved an.

She had helped him, when he had bought a beautiful house, just outside of New York. He wasn’t shy to admit, that he had no idea of the legal stuff, that went on with purchasing a house. And she had been happy to help.

It wasn’t that long after that, that John met Helen and fell head over heels for her. He even left his past behind for her. To start something new. Violet had been incredibly jealous at first.

Which probably was a normal reaction until she met Helen by coincidence. Neither John nor Violet had planned for that meeting. Violet had been at John’s, it was his birthday after all, when Helen came over. She didn’t know it was his birthday and had rebuked him for not telling her. That was the first (and sadly last) time Violet had seen John blushing. John Wick. Blushing.

She had been impressed by the woman, who had managed to steal John away from the world of assassins. Without having a single clue about it. Helen held power over one of the most feared assassins on the planet. And she didn’t know about it.

She hadn’t seen John until only a couple of weeks ago, when he came back to the Continental after quitting 5 years ago. Violet was on her way out of the Hotel, after dinner with Santino of all people, when she saw him. He didn’t acknowledge the surprised looks he got, when he entered the hotel.

His eyes landed on hers and she saw so much pain and anger, that she had to take a deep breath.

“John.” She neared him slowly.

“Violet.”

“What happened?” She asked.

“Later. I need to see the manager first.”

She had later found out that Iosef Tarasov had stolen Johns Car and killed the dog Helen gifted John, after she died. That kid had only ever made trouble.

Violet hadn’t seen John after he went for his revenge, got sucked back in by Santino and became excocummunicado for killing him.

But she saw him now. On the roof of the Continental, talking to Winston and a women, she had never seen before. She had heard the gunshots in the late evening the day before, when she wanted to get home, but decided it would be safer to stay at the office. Violet had no idea what was going on at the Continental but she wouldn’t risk dying because a cross bullet.

She was sipping on her third coffee this morning when she noticed John walking across the roof. His head pointed in her direction, as if he was searching for her. Strained she tried to make sense of what was going on when she saw Winston pointing the gun at John, shooting him numerous times, before John fell down from the roof. Her mug shattered on the floor.

Without thinking she ran out of her office, taking the stairs down. He couldn’t be dead. She never even thought it was possible for him to die. He had survived everything he went through. He couldn’t be dead. He was the bogeyman god damn it.

She exited the building and ran down the street to the alley were he fell. When she went around the corner, she could see a body in the middle of the street. She hadn’t noticed she was crying until she knelt down beside John to look at his face. Her vision was blurry and she tried to take deep breaths.

Pulse. Does he have a pulse. You have to check if he has a pulse.

She checked or a pulse and almost sobbed when she felt it. He was still alive. Head shaking she tried to think of the next steps.

I can’t call an ambulance. I can’t ask for help at the hotel. Jesus, I’m going to kill Winston myself. What do I do? I can’t move him, he might have spinal damage.

She didn’t see the 2 men approaching her first. She was trying to find a way to get John out of here.

“You’re the lawyer. Violet Turner?” She jumped when the first one spoke. He looked like he was homeless. Only the golden watch he was wearing didn’t fit the picture. The bowery king people.

She pushed herself up to stand.

“Yes.”

“You know John?” The other one asked.

“Yes.”

“You know what happened?”

“I saw Winston shoot him from my office.”

Both of them nodded at this information. A movement from behind them distracted her. A dog came running for them. John’s dog. She had seen him mostly with Charon but she knew it was his. The grey Pitbull stopped in front of John and started whining after he sniffed him.

A groan came from John and he started coughing.

“Okay we’re going to take it from here.” Violet had already forgotten about the two men.

“What do you mean you’re going to take it from here?” Violet asked them blinking.

“We have doctors. They can help him, if he agrees to the Kings terms.”

“Terms…” She muttered. But what other choice do you have.

“Dog…” John muttered. Violet kneeled down again, trying to see John’s now opened eyes.

“Only you could survive being shot and falling down a building you damn idiot.” Violet whispered as she leant down. John coughed again.

“Take dog. I’ll find you.” He muttered again, his eyes closing.

“You heard the man. We need to get moving, before someone else finds him.” One of the men spoke again.

Violet only nodded, standing to take the dog gently by his collar. The two men picked John up from the ground and carried him down the street.

“You should leave before they come looking for him.” One of them shouted before they disappeared down a subway station.

Violet looked down at the dog and sighed.

“Come on. Back to the office. I need to make a few calls.” She said and started to walk back, the dog following on her feet.  

[glowrioustrash]

Breaking The Law

Summary: Parole Office Kat Williams had seen Dean Ambrose’s mugshot from his file. She was expecting the scrappy, shaggy kid in the photo, not the man who walked into her office.

Pairing: Dean Ambrose x OC

Word Count: 3000+

Warnings: RATED M FOR AVERT YOUR EYES CHILDREN THIS AIN’T NOTHIN BUT SMUT

Author’s Note: This is a piece of what was originally a bigger fic - a very dark fic tbh - but I’ve been struggling with it since Dean’s return. I decided I could cut this out, post it as a PWP for everyone’s enjoyment, and if I ever get around to writing more, just posting it as a second part. (Tag list is back down to like no one, because once again I wasted so much fucking time between posting shit that most of y’all were either lost in the purge or changed your names. Sorry.)

Tagging: @softarthurmorgan / @kakakatey / @thirstiswet / @calwitch / @dirrrtydeeds

Kat grabbed the file for her next appointment, a new parolee she was being assigned. The folder was fairly thin, which typically meant an easy job… or a first time offender at the beginning of a long path through the system. She read the name on the tab, “Ambrose, Dean,” and opened the folder.

The man’s mugshot was paperclipped to the first page, his piercing blue eyes striking her immediately, even in the washed out, overexposed photo. The glare on his features was not uncommon in the many mugshots she’d seen, but he made it look more like a brood. It made her think of classic movie stars when they’d hit that pout that made the women swoon. His shaggy hair, she couldn’t tell if it was brown or blonde from the photo alone, was matted to his forehead. He looked mostly clean shaven, although with the poor quality of the photo she couldn’t tell if he had a bit of stubble or if it was just an odd shadow or printing mistake.

She moved the photo out of the way, quickly reading through his file. Ambrose was 32 years old, only a few years older than herself. He was charged with stealing a firearm and had pled guilty, earning a 5 year sentence but was being released early. Reading through the file, Ambrose had kept to himself in prison and stayed out of trouble. There were only a handful of reported incidents from his time in jail, all of which had guards vouching that he acted defensively.

It seemed promising, really.

Dean had served his time in Ohio but had applied to serve parole in Iowa. The paperwork showed he had someone to live with and a job lined up. The planning, paired with his good behaviour, led to an easy approval. This also meant that she hadn’t met him prior to his release as she had most of her parolees.

He had been pleasant enough on the phone when he made his appointment, his voice gruff and his answers monosyllabic when possible. He called within the 24 hours necessary of arriving, ready with his file number. Overall, her impression so far was that he was a nice man who got caught up in something bad.

Her phone chirped at her from the corner of her desk, the familiar tone signalling an interoffice paging.

“Williams.” She answered.

“Your 2:30 is here. Mr. Ambrose.” Nicole, the receptionist, responded.

“Great, send him in.” Kat told her. She heard the click on the other end and hung up her phone. Seconds later, a steady, strong knock sounded from her door.

“Come in.” She called, standing in anticipation of meeting her new parolee. She straightened her blouse as the door opened.

The man who entered was nearly unrecognizable from the mugshot if not for those amazing blue eyes. If the young man in the mugshot could be compared to a scruffy but lovable mutt, the man currently standing in her office was a prize pitbull. He’d clearly spent his free time while locked up in the gym. His neck alone had nearly doubled in size and the crisp t-shirt he was wearing looked ready to pull apart at the seams. She found herself wondering what the rest of him looked like before he went in, only having the lone mugshot showing him from the shoulders up. His hair was shorn and his beard was grown in, but groomed.

“Officer Williams?” He asked, standing in the doorway.

“Yes. Come in, Mr. Ambrose.” She instructed. Dean crossed the small office quickly, only taking a few steps with his long legs. His file had listed him as 6’4, but his mass made it seem much more intimidating.

She gulped subtly as she offered her hand to shake. Dean adjusted the papers he was holding into his opposite arm before taking her hand in his own. His hand was warm and his grip was firm.

“Please, call me Dean.” He told her as he released her hand.

“Alright Dean.” She nodded, sitting down. “Why don’t you have a seat and we can get started.”

Dean sat, setting the papers on her desk. “So, your file was transferred to me from Ohio where you served your time, correct?”

“Yes, ma’am.” He confirmed.

“And what brought you to Iowa?” She asked, watching him closely for any signs he might be lying.

“Good friend of mine offered me a place to live and helped me set up a job.” He explained, turning to the papers he’d brought in, leafing through. “He filled out the required paperwork here.”

Kat took the papers he offered, looking through them. The forms were typical, that Mr. Rollins understood that he was living with a Parolee, that he understood the rules that were expected of the parolee’s living situation, and that even if Mr. Rollins brought the prohibited items into the home, Dean would suffer the consequences.

“Great, these all look in order.” Kat nodded. “You say he set you up with your job as well?”

“Yes. He owns a gym and he’s hired me as a trainer.” He explained, handing over the proof of employment.

“You’re very prepared, Dean. I appreciate that.” Kat muttered as she scanned the documents.

“I’m just lookin’ for this to be as smooth as possible.” He told her.

She stapled the papers together, tucking them into Dean’s file.

“Now it says here your prior officer in Ohio, uh…” She paused as she looked for the officer’s name.

“Officer Regal.” He supplied.

“Ah yes, here we are. Officer Regal. It says he went through the expectations, but just to make sure nothing slipped through the cracks, I’m going to go over it again. Eases my mind.” She explained with a smile.

“Of course.” He nodded.

Kat went over the conditions of Dean’s parole, which were fairly typical. Curfew, travel restrictions, things Dean was prohibited to do or own. She went over how to report change in address or job. It was the same spiel she’d given her whole career, with only a few variations from crime to crime.

“Any questions?” She concluded.

“No, ma’am.” He shook his head.

She slid a copy of her business card across her desk towards him. “There’s how to get a hold of me if you need anything or have a question. If you get into any legal trouble I will find out, but both of our lives will be easier if you call me first.”

“Understood, but that shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Well, I hope not. Even still, I tell that to everyone.” She told him with a polite smile.

Kat woke up with a soft groan at being pulled out of a peaceful slumber. The two arms wrapped around her, one below and one over her waist, both tightened, pulling her backwards into the strong chest. She smiled at the motion but didn’t open her eyes yet. She loved waking up in his arms. She never felt more safe than when she was wrapped up in Dean.

“G’mornin’.” He grumbled into her ear, nuzzling her neck. Her smile widened as she squirmed against him, his beard tickling her.

“Morning.” She mumbled back. “I was dreaming ‘bout you.”

“Mmm,” Dean hummed, the sound vibrating through his chest. “What about?” He asked suggestively as he ran his hand down her torso until he reached the sliver of skin between her sleep shirt and panties, stroking the bare skin.

“Day we met.” She answered, ignoring his implication.

“Real version or,” Dean pressed his hips against her, fingers dancing along the waistband of the panties she wore. “Our version?”

She scoffed and batted at his hand. “Real version.” Even though she was playing hard to get - as if he didn’t already have her - she couldn’t deny the heat that grew in her belly at Dean’s question. The two had role-played their own version of that first meeting many times, sometimes with Kat as the hard ass, domineering parole officer who threatened to write him up unless he did exactly as she said and sometimes with Dean as the asshole, “won’t take no for an answer” criminal, but all with the same satisfying outcome for both.

“Bummer.” Dean hummed against her skin, making her giggle. “I like ours better.”

“What time is it?” She asked, still not wanting to open her eyes.

“Who cares?” Dean whispered, his breath tickling her ear as he pushed his luck a bit more, slipping his fingers into her waistband.

“Dean,” she whined, wiggling in a lame attempt to escape him. The low growl from Dean let her know the wiggle did nothing but spur him on. “I’ve got appointments this morning.”

“Fuck ‘em.” He hissed, fingers slipping lower. “We got ‘til the alarm.”

“Dean.” She whined again, this time a begging, keening whine as she rolled her hips back into his growing erection. She knew he was right, they had time.

“That’s more like it, doll.” She could hear the smug grin in his voice, let alone feel it against her skin. He kissed her neck and shoulder as he slipped his fingers between her lips, easily finding her clit.

She gasped, gripping his forearm as he rubbed lazy circles on her bundle of nerves. “You’re such a stereotype.” She scolded him, her voice no longer rough with sleep but breathy with arousal.

“Hmm? What stereotype is that?” He hummed, keeping his leisurely pace as she rolled her hips against his hand. Their closeness meant that she was also grinding against his cock as she searched for more pressure.

“Horny convict.” She muttered with a grin.

“I could stop.” He sang, his tone warning.

“Don’t stop.” She urged, gripping his arm tighter.

Dean laughed, satisfied that he already had her so desperate. “Such a spoiled princess. Eyes aren’t even open yet and you’re making demands.”

Kat looked over her shoulder, turning her head towards him and slowly opened her eyes, blinking against the early morning light spilling through the curtains. Dean looked down at her, her eyelids heavy with sleep, pupils blown with desire, lips parted as she panted for breath. He could hardly believe how lucky he was to wake up next to a masterpiece like her.

“There she is.” He praised, leaning down to kiss her. The kiss was as lazy as his fingers, tongue probing into her mouth slowly. She curled her tongue against his, whimpering into his mouth.

Dean’s fingers roamed lower prompting Kat to lift her leg, bending it at the knee to give him better access. Dean moaned appreciatively, unsurprised to find she was already wet and ready for him to easily slip his middle finger nice and deep into her.

She whined at the intrusion, her hips stilling as she squeezed his arm. She kissed him with more urgency as he moved his finger in and out, feeling her walls flutter around him. A few pumps and he added a second finger.

“God, Dean.” She whimpered, pulling away from his lips to catch her breath.

“One of us is here, I don’t know about the other guy.” He teased as he curled his fingers inside her, searching for the spot that would drive her crazy. He knew he’d found it as her breath hitched, hips bucking.

“That’s it, kitten.” He purred, unable to resist the urge to grind against her. “You like that?”

“Uh-huh.” She breathed shakily, nodding. She released his arm, moving to grip his hip instead. He could feel her nails digging into his skin even through his boxers, making him growl.

His thumb found her clit again, rubbing back and forth over the nub until she was reduced to a shaking mess of whimpers and stuttered breaths in his arms.

Her shaking hand reached between them, gripping his hard cock. She tried to stroke him, the angle working against her as she tried to twist her arm to the right angle to touch him.

“Is that what you want?” He asked, nipping her ear. “You want me to bury my hard cock deep inside you?”

“Yessss-” She hissed, nodding emphatically. She gave up trying to stroke him, clawing instead at his boxers. She managed to barely slide them down his hips even as he lifted himself off the bed. She huffed in frustration as they caught on his erection.

“My fingers aren’t enough? Need my thick cock instead?” He continued teasing.

“Pl-ease.” She moaned, breath hitching.

Dean chuckled, reluctantly pulling his hand away from her heat to help pull his boxers down to his thighs. Kat whined at the loss but took the opportunity to shimmy her panties off. She started to turn towards him but Dean stilled her with a strong hand on her hip.

“No, just like this.” He murmured, pressing up against her back again. The arm below her held her tight to his chest as he lifted her leg over his hip, stroking at her inner thigh once it was in position.

“Dean, please.” She begged, pushing her ass against him.

“Shhh, ‘m right here.” He pacified as he lined himself up. Their matching moans echoed through the room as he entered her slick heat. He moved his hand to her hip, holding her steady as he began to thrust, a slow, steady rhythm that matched the pace of the morning.

Kat gripped at his hand, rolling her body in time with the movement of his hips. Dean buried his face into her neck, inhaling deeply and letting the scent of her sweat-slicked skin surround him.

“Don’t stop.” She begged, moving his hand up to her chest, under her shirt. He took the note, groping at her breast.

“Never.” He panted, sealing his promise with a bite to her collar bone. Kat cried out, toes curling as she felt that coil in her stomach begin tightening. Her hand left his to bury itself between her legs, rubbing at her clit in tandem with his thrusts.

“Fuck, you’re so sexy.” He growled, looking down her body and seeing her pleasuring herself. The sight made his stomach flip. He deftly rolled her nipples between his fingers, pinching it the way he knew would drive her crazy. He knew, with all the different stimulations, that she wouldn't last much longer.

“Shit…” She whimpered under her breath, the first sign to Dean that she was creeping up on her orgasm. She began a mantra of whispered curses with his name mixed in as she sped towards that knife’s edge.

“That’s it kitten.” He encouraged, leaning down to kiss and lick at her neck. He nibbled softly at her skin, tasting the salt of her sweat.

“H-harder.” She begged and stuttered, body shaking under him. She sped up her own motions, rubbing her clit faster as she felt herself about come undone. She moaned loudly as Dean’s hips started snapping forward more forcefully, the lazy pace being abandoned as they chased their pleasure. The sound of their bodies slapping together echoed through the bedroom.

“So tight.” He groaned, squeezing his eyes shut as he willed himself to hold out until she came. If he could just hold out a bit longer- he could already feel her pulsing around him.

“I… I’m…” She tried to warn, her breath catching each time he thrust deep and hard into her. She couldn’t manage the words, her body starting to seize up.

“Let it go.” He growled through gritted teeth, thrusting erratically. “‘M right there.”

Kat threw her head back, squeezing her eyes shut tightly as her orgasm wracked through her whole body down to her toes. She screamed Dean’s name, shuddering in his arms as her walls convulsed around him. Dean groaned loudly in her ear as the pulsing tipped him over the edge, spilling deep inside of her.

Too soon, the intense pleasure made way to the ecstatic post-haze, both of them panting to catch their breath from their exertion.

“I love you.” He breathed, pressing a kiss to the bite mark that had formed on her collar.

“Love you, too.” She replied, tapping him on the hip with a shaky hand. He pulled out of her, both of them groaning softly - Dean at the loss of her warmth, Kat as he moved against her over sensitive nerves. Her toes curled as she felt his seed spilling out of her, dripping down her thigh.

She rolled over, burying her head against his broad, defined chest. Dean hugged her tightly, knowing she liked to be held close after sex, no matter how or where it happened. Hard, fast, rough and punishing or slow, lazy lovemaking. Bed, shower, counter, the car. She liked to be squeezed to him. She clung to him as she came down from her high, breathing in his musk.

They laid like that as the sun rose higher in the sky, more and more light sneaking into the room through the curtains. Kat was nearly asleep when the alarm on her phone chimed.

“Them’s the breaks, Kat.” Dean told her, patting her twice on the ass before reaching for her phone to silence the alarm.

She groaned and reluctantly pulled away from him, rolling away to collect herself for a few deep breaths. Dean watched her, taking in her chest heaving with each breath. He let his eyes trail down her profile. Her tummy sneaking out under her shirt they’d never gotten around to taking off, her bare hip, her long legs.

“Get up, kitten. You need to shower before work.” He told her. As much as he’d like to know she was still covered in his cum as she dealt with all her parolees, almost like staking his claim, he couldn’t imagine it would be very comfortable for her.

She groaned as she sat up, stretching. “And what about you?” She asked, looking at him over her shoulder.

“Mrs. Souriol is on vacation this week.” He reminded her, sitting up in bed. “No one to train until 10:30.”

“Lucky asshole.” She grumbled, forcing herself to stand. She inhaled sharply at the persistent ache in her core, a satisfied grin painted her face as she dragged her feet towards her ensuite.

Dean watched her go with his own smug smile. He recognized that look and was proud to have brought it out of her. Once he heard the shower start, he slipped his boxers back on to start on breakfast for both of them.

[hereticpriest]

Suit and Tie Chapter 1

Warnings: Knifeplay, NSFW

John sighed as his phone vibrated in his pocket, morse code of ‘I L Y’. He smiled faintly, amused and exasperated by his girlfriend’s fucking with his phone. She had changed his ringtone about four times in the past two weeks, and his background was changed pretty much every time he saw her. He liked that about Natalia, though. She was always leaving him reminders of her love, even if she didn’t say it. Post-it notes with reminders to take care of himself, food prepared for him left in his fridge so he wouldn’t forget to eat, books left in his office that he might be able to restore and sell for a good amount of money. Like him, Natalia was very good at showing her love in non-verbal ways.

Everything is terrible and the world is ending. And by that, I mean my brother is getting married and instead of being a normal person and having a wedding months from now spending tens of thousands of dollars, he’s having a family & friends week long vacation at my parent’s cottage. Wedding is the last day, just a ceremony. The rest of the week is ‘bonding’ so I will apologize in advance. I’ll email you the invitation. He has demanded I bring you along, and I hope you’ll agree to come. If you come with me, I promise to blow you every night we’re stuck there as a thank you for not ditching me.

John snorted when he finished reading Natalia’s text, sending her a quick ‘Of course I will come’ text with a heart. He read the invitation that that she had sent, marking the dates off in his calendar and putting down his phone so that he could finish working on the book he was currently trying to fix. Natalia was coming over that night after she closed the bookstore, so he wanted to be done this project by then.

Four hours later, just after six pm, there was a firm knock on the door before it opened tentatively.

“John, sweetheart?” Natalia called, toeing off her shoes and padding into the kitchen.

“In the office, kitten. I’m packaging up a book for a client.” John replied.

“I brought dinner and a present for you.” Natalia placed the tray she was carrying on the kitchen counter, then got a couple of plates and cutlery out.

“I’ll be out in just a second. Can you let Dog in? He’s in the backyard laying in the sun.”

Natalia laughed, opening the back door and running over to bounce around with the blue pittie that stole her heart. They had a little dance party on the lawn together, though the dog soon knocked Natalia on her ass so that he could lick her face. John came out of his office to see his girlfriend squirming beneath his dog, laughing so loudly that she had to be going hoarse. He laughed, strolling over and grabbing the pitbull around the chest, pulling him into his lap for cuddles.

“Hey boy, are you making out with my girlfriend?” John asked, pressing a kiss to Dog’s muzzle.

“Hey, dog thief.” Natalia crawled over, petting the dog while leaning in to steal a hungry kiss from her boyfriend. He returned it just as eagerly, moaning softly into it when Nat slid her hands up under his Henley to rake her nails over his chest.

“I made fried chicken, homemade fries, salad, and mac and cheese. I made extra so you could have leftovers tomorrow if you want.” Natalia hummed, “It is definitely not healthy, and the salad is not going to help with the huge amount of fat in the rest of the food, but it is going to taste amazing.”

John groaned audibly, leaning in to steal another firm kiss.

“You are the best.” John hummed, pulling her into his lap when the dog got out of his lap to have some zoomies. Natalia giggled, tugging the neck of her sweater down to show off the strappy black ‘bra’ she was wearing. John groaned, throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her into the house.

She was able to force John to eat dinner before any extracurricular activities, but only because she threatened to give her food to someone else if he wanted sex more than her cooking. Once their dinner was done, John carried her up to his office, dropping her on his desk.

“You know what we talked about? Trying new things?” he murmured, nibbling her ear and trailing bites down her neck.

“Mmm, yeah, that’s why I’m wearing this. I figured you might wanna try.” Natalia arched against him, digging her nails into his back.

“Do you trust me?”

“Of course.”

“You like it when I hurt you, right? You want more of that?” John asked, tentative and very unlike him. Natalia smiled, pressing kisses to his jaw and pulling him closer to her.

“Yes, John. I want you to hurt me. If you ever did anything I didn’t want you to do, I would tell you.” Nat promised, moving to unbutton his shirt and gasping when he grasped her hair and yanked her head back.

“Let me finish, kitten. I want to take a knife to your pretty skin, show who you belong to. Other girls get a ring, but you get something more permanent.” John hissed in her ear, holding her hair so tightly that she couldn’t move her head at all. The blissed-out look in her eyes said it all.

“Yes, sir.” Natalia replied, body going loose, all of the tension melting out of her like it always did when he took control. The chair at his desk is discarded quickly, giving him room to spread her out on his workspace like another book to restore. Nat’s eyes follow his movements, heavy-lidded and love-drunk. John chooses a more intricate blade from the locked safe in his office closet, one that is sharp enough to make the kind of cuts he wants while inflicting only the amount of pain he was looking to inflict. No more, no less.

The buttons on Natalia’s shirt don’t put up a fight, popping with only the slightest bit of pressure of the blade. Normally she would complain when he ripped her clothes off, but the idea of being marked up by him had clearly thrown her for a loop. She was already edging into subspace and he hadn’t hurt her beyond pulling her hair.

“You’re perfect.” John praised her, slicing her skirt from the bottom up, dragging the tip of the blade from the waistband of her skirt up to the strappy lingerie she wore. A thin red line followed his trail, and Nat’s eyelashes fluttered, a low moan escaping her kiss-swollen lips. He flicked his tongue over the tip of the blade carefully, then tapped her chin.

“Open your pretty mouth, kitten.” John commanded, sliding the blade flat side down between her lips when she did. Ever obedient, she stuck her tongue out a little bit, like she knew what he wanted, and she lapped at the blade like it was his cock. John watched, transfixed, as his girlfriend gave the blade little kitten licks, then moved forwards to slide it deeper into her mouth. She looked up at him, her eyes so blue they looked unnatural, as she moved until the tip of the blade was a hair away from touching skin, holding there for him.

John sighed, pulling the blade from her mouth and replacing it with his fingers, pressing past her limits just to hear her gag and to watch the tears form in her eyes. He dragged the blade down, slicing open the clasp of her bra, moving it aside to hang off her arms, then circling her nipple with the blade. She gagged again, and her chest moved, causing the blade to nearly slice her skin. He growled a warning, moving the edge of the blade below her pebbled nipple.

“If you move again, you’re going to cut yourself.” He murmured, so low she could barely hear it, and she let out a quiet, apologetic whine. He waited patiently, fucking her mouth with his fingers until he was sure she had total control and wasn’t going to move again, before finally pulling free. The blade slid down her skin, slicing open one strap of her panties, and then the other. The blade slipped between her legs, flat side down between her cunt and her panties, slicing them open. He smirked, showing her the blade, covered in drops of her wetness.

“You’re being very good for me, kitten. You always are, aren’t you? Look at you. Your eyes are so blue when you’re like this.” John praised, gently rubbing the hilt of the blade against her cunt, making firmer circles around her clit. Nat moaned in response, lashes fluttering again, mouth dropping open.

“Yes, sir. Always good for you.” She panted, letting out a shaky whine when he slid two fingers into her slick wetness. John flipped the blade in his hand, not even looking, and Nat moaned again at the sight. This is why she trusted him. She knew he knew that blade like the back of his hand, and that he would never hurt her beyond what she could handle. John licked her wetness from the handle, then made a small cut along her hip.

“Baby, time for a second, okay?”

“Mmm, kay, wassit?” Natalia asked, blinking to clear her mind.

“I want to do something, but I need consent first. I want to carve my initials into you. Will you let me do that? You can say no, and I won’t be hurt or offended.” John promised, holding her gaze and making sure she was fully present and paying attention.

“Fuck, I love that you want things like that. I love that you ask like that.” Natalia groaned softly, stealing a kiss in this brief moment, “Yes, I want you to do it. Please.”

John nodded, kissing her back slowly, lulling her back into things with a forceful hand and the bite of the blade on her throat while he fucked his fingers into her. He had her whining in minutes, trying as best as she could to stay still to avoid cutting her neck.

“Are you close, kitten? You’re doing so good for me.” John purred, watching Nat shiver, smiling when she squeaked ‘Please let me cum’. She was perfect. How did he get lucky enough to find her?

“You can cum, princess. You’re so pretty when you beg.”

Natalia shattered around his fingers after a precise press of his thumb to her clit while making a ‘come here’ motion with his fingers. While she was still riding high on that bliss, he delicately ran the blade over her skin, carving JW into her mons pubis. She was crying by the time he finished, but she said green every time he checked in, so he finished them off. He was quick to put the blade aside, gathering her into his arms and pressing kisses to her face and hair.

“You did so well, kitten. You were so good. I’m so proud of you.” John murmured, making sure she was stable before examining the cuts. They were deep enough to scar, but shallow enough not to need stitches. They were really only bleeding so much because all of the blood in her body had rushed to her cunt with her arousal, so he was able to take his time in tending to them. He was able to enjoy the bright red against her white skin, the way it ran in thin rivulets.

“John…” Natalia looked up at him with wet eyes so blue he wanted to drown in them.

“Yes?”

“Can you use the fancy skin glue stuff so it’ll heal faster? And can we go to bed for a bit?”

“That’s the plan, princess.” John hummed, cleaning the cuts while kissing away the tear tracks on her cheeks. He sealed her cuts, put her in his shirt, and then bundled her up in his arms so that he could carry her to his room. Once inside, he used a wet washcloth to wipe away the sweat on her body and the wetness between her thighs, then pulled her onto his chest. If he was being honest, the wedding invitation had gotten to his head a little, and he was happy he had been able to work through it with her. Perhaps not the healthiest coping mechanism, but it worked for them.

“Love you, John.” Natalia whispered against his neck, curling up half atop him.

Maybe it was okay that they didn’t have the healthiest coping mechanisms. At least they had eachother.

“I love you too, Natalia.”

[edourado]

Complete

Here lies another beggining of the  year indulgent thing. 

I have written fix-it fics and AU’s before, but none, I think, as sticky-sweet as this one. But it is also a lil smutty. So be warned. 

The first fic of 2019 had to be bright, given what Netflix and Disney are hell bent on doing to us all. 

Here it is. I hope you like it. Please let me know. The writer needs affection/validation. 

Much love. Happy 2019 to all of us. 

(Also #SaveDaredevil while we’re at it)

Frank caused a commotion the first time he visited her at her office.

She had not been expecting him at all. He was supposed to be in Florida with his kids, a Disney World event for Lisa’s 9th birthday. His flight was not scheduled to arrive until eight that night.

But then there he was, at 11 in the morning.

“Hey”, he called from her door, that voice full of gravel that still made her skin shiver, almost a year into their relationship.

“Oh”, she let out, looking up from her computer, surprised to see him. “Hi!”

Frank has this thing about him, that no matter what he put on, he looked good. It can be a bit infuriating, actually, especially on those days that she couldn’t decide what to wear or what to do with her hair. Frank just threw on a hoodie and some jeans and those boots he would wear to bed if he could, and he was ready.

Walking into her office, he made his way to her and she realized her strategy of not thinking about him during the week he spent away had worked. She had focused on everything but Frank Castle and everything she had to do so as not to think about him and, consequently, miss him too much, but now that he was here, placing the white roses that he always presented her with behind her pencil case, she felt the tightness in her chest that told that she had missed missed missed him but now was so glad that he was here.

Oh, she just knew this office was about to implode because of him.

He bent over her desk to place a kiss on her lips, and she angled her face up, but as soon as he backed away, she got up to close the door and shut the blinds, ignoring the protests of her nosy coworkers.

“I thought you were supposed to fly back tonight.”

“Yeah”, he started while she shook her head at Arlene through the window, who was making faces and mouthing “oh my God??” at her. “Leave it to those kids to not follow the plan.”

Turning to him, Karen smiled and moved to better greet him after a week of texts and quick calls to say good night.

“What happened?” She asked after a proper kiss and a tight hug, pulling him towards the couch, moving to sit sideways on his lap.

“We got a dog.”

She was on her way to kiss him again, but stopped and moved back to look at his face.

“You got a- the dog you were planning on getting Frankie?”

“Nope, not that one. Well, now, I guess, yeah.”

He had been planning on getting a dog for his son for his birthday, two months from now, in order to maybe teach some responsibility to the young boy that, unlike his sister, that took to their father and developed her organization skills from an early age, was truly content on being the spoiled youngest sibling, leaving a messy trail wherever he went.

“I took them to dinner last night”, he started to explain, one arm behind her, hand on her hip, the other caressing her thigh over her jeans.

Karen has never been happier to have a private office.

“We went to this sea food place-”

“You got a dog at a seafood place?”

“Almost. We get there and I’m looking for a parking spot when these two little maniacs yell ‘SHELTER!’ and hop off the car.”

Karen smiled, knowing exactly what he meant. They had picked this up a while ago, under the impression that, as long as the car was moving very slowly and they loudly announced why they were exiting the vehicle and where they were going, it was ok to simply unbuckle and leave.

“So I park the damn car, and when I get there they go ‘daddy daddy please!’, thrusting this puppy on my face.”

“What breed?”

Here, he sighed.

“A pitbull.”

“Oh, these kids are good.”

Frank loves pitbulls. Everyone that knows him knows this. He had forfeited the privilege of having one when he married Maria, who is very allergic to dogs, leaving the one he already had to live with his parents. Old Max had died soon after Frankie was born, and Frank has been puppy orphaned since then.

“Yeah”, he says, softly, as he always does when talking about his children, picking on a seam of her jeans. “I made it a little difficult, though, made them promise all kinds of things about taking care of it, going for walks and shit, but Lisa hit me with the birthday bribe thing, and Frankie said he never wanted anything more in his entire life, even if he had met the dog three minutes ago.”

With hands on his face, Karen bent to take her kiss, and the familiar warmth of him made her want to go home.

“So now you have a dog.”

“Now I have a dog. Its technically the kids’ dog, but he’s gonna live with me full time, so yeah.”

Weaving her arms around his neck, she pulled him for a hug, aware that someone was going to knock, any second now.

“I’m happy for you”, she said, feeling his arms tighten around her. “And I’m also glad you’re home a whole nine hours earlier.”

She had been right. Right when he was weaving his fingers inside her hair, opening his mouth to her kiss, someone knocked on the door, and she got up from his lap.

“Yeah, come in.”

Simone and Andre, of course. Everybody had been asking about Frank, wanting to meet him, but these two have been the worst.

“Hi-i, excuse us”, Simone sing-sang, walking in as Frank slowly got up from the couch. “We just wanted to know if you’re gonna join us for lunch. Hi, I’m Simone.”

Frank moved to shake her hand, and Andre stood there sizing him up.

“Frank Castle.”

“Ah, the famous Frank. I wish I could say we’ve heard all about you, but this one has built a mystery”, Andre said, taking his turn in shaking his hand. “She doesn’t say anything, no matter how much we beg.”

Karen would have sent them away, but it was a little fun to watch Frank squirm under her coworkers’ scrutiny.

He smiled his polite smile, and touched a hand on the small of her back.

“I’m afraid I came to steal her away for lunch.”

They tried to convince him they could all have lunch together, but he explained that he had just touched down in New York, his suitcase was still in the car, he had his kids waiting for them back home.

After a lot of probing, a lot of insistence, Alex and Sam joining them in the office, she managed to shoo everybody away and, finally, pull him by the hand to the elevators.

“I feel like The Bachelor or something”, he whispered to her while they waited, mouth to her ear, and she put one arm around his torso.

“They’re a bunch of reporters, and I have been retaining information about you for almost a year. You’re lucky they’re not dissecting you over my desk.”

The door pinged and opened, and they stepped into the empty elevator. Frank kissed her discreetly, a sweet hand on her face while they descended to the lobby for his car.

“Sorry for showing up unannounced”, he said against her cheek. “I thought I’d surprise you.”

“It’s ok. I’ll have to hold a press conference in the break room when I come back, but it’s worth it.”

He smiled against her face, placing a lingering kiss on her temple just as the doors opened to the lobby.

She asked about the trip on the way to his apartment, a hand on his hair while he drove, and he told her about long lines and kiddie rides, but how it was worth it, just to see the kids so happy. How they had to smuggle the puppy to the hotel, and Lisa forfeited a day in Sea World so they could go back home early and how they almost cried along when the puppy whined in the plane, the loud noises hurting his little ears.

When he parked in his usual spot, Karen tugged on his sleeve before he even started gathering his stuff to get out of the car.

Unbuckling, she leaned to kiss him and, after quickly bunching up her skirt to her hips, moved out of her seat and maneuvered herself on top of him, laughing out an “ouch!” when she banged her head on the car ceiling in the process.

He was smiling when she moved to kiss him, hands eager on her, going from her face to her hair, down her neck, over to her back and down her hips until he was gripping her ass firmly, kissing her slow and deep, making her sigh against his lips.

“I missed you”, she whispered when he dove to kiss and nibble on her neck, arms around his shoulders, feeling warm and tingly from his kisses.

“Fuck”, he sighed against her skin, looking up again to catch another kiss. “I missed you more.”

Frank had his hands full of her and everything was already spinning when she took her hands from his face, lowering them down his chest.

“The kids are gonna sleep over?”

“Yeah”, he said against her neck while she pushed his shirt out of her way.

“Well then”, she said, closing her eyes when he pressed a chunk of her skin between his teeth, a reaction to her fingers unbuckling his belt. “We’ll have to make do.”

It’s not that they never had sex with the kids in the house. He shared custody with Maria, 50/50, and they’ve been going out 10 months, now, of course they had to make sure the door was locked and try to be as quiet as possible.

But he was just coming back from a week away, if they went upstairs right away, she would have to wait until bedtime to get her fill of him.

So the car it was.

“Hold on, hold on”, he breathed, one arm around her, leaning off the seat to start the car again, setting the air conditioner on high.

Frank came back to her with renewed gusto, and she kinda liked the rough fabric of his jeans scratching her bare thighs.

It had to be quick. No time or space to draw out anything. Plus, his windows were tinted and the garage was underground, but this was still a public space.

She groaned into his mouth when he slipped inside her, bracing a hand on the ceiling right above her head, rolling her hips on his, the vents of his (very impractical) Mustang blasting cold air on her back.

He had ripped the buttons out of one of her shirts, once, on a drunk encounter where he knocked on her door after drinking with his buddies, and as exciting as it had been at the time, she had warned him not to do it again, she couldn’t exactly afford this habit of his. So now he was always careful, going button by button every time.

This time, he stopped just after three, when her bra was exposed enough, and pushed the lacy fabric aside to attach his mouth over her breasts, hugging her to him, making her moan at what the movement did, he was just so good at this.

Oh, his hands. Frank knew just how to handle her, his fingers applying just the right amount of pressure. A little bit over comfortable, not enough to hurt, just enough to make her shiver, guiding her over him, pressing and kneading, and they have to hurry, the kids are waiting upstairs, one of his neighbors could walk in any minute, there might be a security camera or two registering as his car bounced.

“Now, Kare’, come on”, he growled in her ear after just a few minutes, dipping his hand between them and bucking his hips up towards her, and she pressed her lips together to keep the scream in, moaning loud against his face, the air conditioner too loud to let anyone outside the car hear her.

Frank let go just after her, face pressed against her neck, and she hugged him to her, moving her hips to and fro slowly as they both came down, sweating a little bit in spite of the cold air coming out of the vents.

“One fucking week”, he said, all mellow, head resting against the seat, a hand on her face, and she kissed him slowly. “Away from you. I never wanna do that again.”

They took a few more minutes to put themselves together and look around before exiting the car.

Upstairs, opening the door, they found the Castle kids on the living room floor, playing with their new puppy.

“Hi, you guys!” She greeted, and both Lisa and Frank got up from the floor, excitedly talking over each other, showing her the dog, trying to tell her all about the trip to Florida in less than a minute.

“Ok, ok, hey, calm down”, Frank said, closing the door behind them. “Take a breath.”

The plan had been for them to go out, and they would drop her off at work after they ate, but she ended up sitting on the floor with the children, playing with the new family member, trying to come up with a name for him, so Frank ordered in.

“He looked straight at us when we came in”,  Lisa was telling her, sitting by her side playing with the puppy while Frankie sat, technically, on the floor, but with his back against her chest, her legs crossed around his small frame while he played on her phone. “The lady told us he was born less than a week ago. We were the very first to come in and see them.”

“He has three sisters”, Frankie piped in, not looking up from the phone. “I wanted to bring them all home.”

“Yeah, in your dreams, buddy”, Frank said from the couch.

“But daddy, you love dogs”, he argued, calm as cucumber. “You would love all of them.”

“I think it’s good that you only got him”, Karen said, pushing the boy’s hair away from his forehead. “One dog is already such a big responsibility, can you imagine four?”

“I agree”, went Lisa, rubbing the puppy’s belly. “We would be totally overwhelmed.”

Nine years old and such big words.

“Right. Totally overbelted”, echoed her brother, sort of.

“By the way”, Frank said from his spot on the couch. “What’s this guy’s name?”

They thought about names for a few minutes, laughing while she and Frank suggested names like Tiberius or Leandrenous.

“Frank Jr Jr!” Suggested an excited boy.

“That’s too many Franks in one house”, argued his sister, shaking her head solemnly.

The food arrived and they jumped to set the table, babbling away about Disney World and how they couldn’t wait to be old enough for the “big rides” while Frank opened the door and payed the delivery guy.

They sat down at the table to eat and, while Frank served rice to Lisa, Karen spotted a stain on his neck, right below his left ear.

Lipstick. Hers, from the car.

Dropping her fork, she reached out to clean it, or, at the very least, smudge it away before the kids saw it. He looked at her, a question in his eyes, and she moved her hand to show him the soft pink tinge in her fingers.

She had to breathe deep not to laugh at the smug expression on his face.

“No chicken for me, daddy”, Lisa said. “I’m a vegetarian.”

He fixed her with a look.

“Since when?”

“Since today. I just saw on TV how they make burgers and chicken nuggets, so I’m not gonna eat meat anymore.”

“You could have mentioned that before I ordered chicken and steak, maybe?”

“Sorry. I’ll have rice and fries. And I guess I can have some cauliflower.”

They ate and the puppy whined, begging for food while Frankie listed all the disadvantages of being a vegetarian and Lisa listed the benefits.

“They eat dogs in China. Did you know that?”

“No they don’t!”

“They do, too! And in India, cows are sacred. So us having burgers is just as weird for them. You wouldn’t eat a dog, would you? So why should I eat a cow?”

There was a moment of quiet, while Frankie thought about it and Lisa tried not to make a face at the steamed vegetables she was munching on.

“What else do they eat in China?”

.:.

After teaming up to load the dishwasher, they all got into their shoes again, to go out and drive Karen back to work. They needed to also stop at a pet store, to buy the newest member of the family some proper food.

“You’re sleeping over, right?” Lisa asked from the back seat when Frank pulled over in front of the Bulletin, the dog on her lap.

“Yep”, she confirmed, twisted around to look at the girl.

“Good. We still need to tell you about the rest of the trip.”

“And I need to show you my new comic books”, Frankie - now also a vegetarian - added.

“I want to hear and see it all”, she smiled at them. “Bye, you guys.”

Moving back, she looked at Frank, who leaned in to collect a kiss.

“We can come pick you up.”

“No need. I have a Skype interview, don’t know how long it’ll take. I’ll get a cab, or something.”

“Ok.  But call me if you want me. I’ll come running.”

She took the kiss, and whispered just for him.

“I always want you.”

.:.

As she expected, the office was holding its collective breath waiting for her return. She had barely walked out of the elevator when Simone got up and started to follow her.

“You sneaky bitch”, she said, pinching her arm and Karen smiled. “You were hiding that all along?”

“I wasn’t hiding anything. Or anyone.”

“Karen”, said Sam, catching up to them. “That is your boyfriend? Jesus Christ, he’s so yummy.”

She didn’t say anything to that because, well, yes, he is.

She didn’t mean to keep Frank a secret. He wasn’t, really. But things had started very uncertain, with them.

He was married, when they first met. Just starting on his divorce process, and he was not in a very good place then. Neither was she, really, what with the break up with Matt and Wilson Fisk waging war on her over the exposè she wrote on him, Nelson & Murdock handling the case, it was a mess.

But then they met again, and she wrote a story on him, they teamed up to bring some corrupt CIA officials down, he became a source, she became his one woman database, he saved her life, and suddenly-

Suddenly they were in love. Crazy, stupid, inexplicable love, theirs was a completely new thing, for her.

Karen had boyfriends before, she had been in love before, but what she felt for Frank and what he felt for her was beyond her own comprehension. She’s a respected journalist, and she doesn’t have the words to describe it.

She’s his and he’s hers. That’s it.

But she never had envisioned herself falling so hard for a man as complicated as Frank Castle. A man whose divorce papers were still warm from the printer, the ink from the judge’s signature still fresh. A man whose job she couldn’t even understand right, so covert everything was. A man with two children (and a pretty spectacular ex wife, if she’s being honest. It was pretty much impossible not to fall in love with Maria Castle) and more redacted record files than she thought was healthy.

Still. There she was, ten months after the first time he kissed her, unable to imagine her life without him, anymore.

But if she was anything, it was a pessimist. Her own life and history too punctuated with heartbreak for her to be anything other than that.

So she kept him a mystery. Not telling her coworkers she was dating, at first, and then evading questions about him when it became obvious that she was indeed seeing someone.

Plus, it felt good, to keep him all to herself.

During that time, she had also developed the purest form of love for little Lisa and Frank Jr.. She met them after a few months of dating, and the kids took to her with ease, embracing Daddy’s new girlfriend with a warmth that, honestly, choked her up a little bit.

She loved Lisa and her curious mind, sharp wit and enormous heart.

She loved Frankie and his tenacity, his sweetness and his bravery.

And, Lord above, she loved Frank. All of him, even the parts that made her want to yank her hair out in frustration, sometimes.

They were, both of them, more than a little bit broken when they first met. The way they put each other back together made them stronger everyday.

“Come on”, Alex was saying as she put her hair up for her interview. “Dish.”

“There’s nothing to dish”, she lied. “Now shoo. I have a call with Tony Stark, if you don’t mind.”

They only left after she promised happy hour next Monday, so they could question her about her relationship over tequilas and margaritas.

And, while she waited for the call to connect, she conceded: that didn’t sound so bad.

.:.

Dinner was somewhat tricky.

Lisa was standing her ground with this whole vegetarian thing, and the last thing Frank wanted was to curb any of her impulses - especially when they were rooted in something valid -, even if they didn’t last long, so he had no choice but to adapt.

When she got there, they were, Frank and Lisa, in the kitchen, trying to make a cheese and broccoli soup.

“Tomorrow”, Frank started while he supervised the kids brushing their teeth after dinner, already dressed for bed. “We’re gonna go to the vet, get that little guy all the vaccines he needs to be healthy.”

“Can we go to the park after?” Frankie asked, standing on a little stool step to make him reach the sink, foam spilling out of his mouth.

“Depends on what the vet says.”

“We should get him a trainer”, Lisa said after rinsing, drying her face. “Like the one Kim Kardashian got. You know, to house train him.”

“I doubt I can afford Kim Kardashian’s dog whisperer.”

They said goodnight while Karen rubbed moisturizer on her face and Frank walked to tuck each of them into their own beds, maybe read with them a little bit. The dog - who still didn’t have a name - was going to sleep in Frankie’s room tonight (he had won the coin toss).

She was already in bed, browsing her phone when he walked in, turning the lights off and closing the door behind him, carefully turning the key.

Karen locked the screen and reached to put the phone on the nightstand, smiling when Frank reached the mattress and got a hold of both her ankles, yanking her to him, she giggled and bit on her lower lip, watching as he quickly shed his shirt and threw it behind him.

He bent to place kisses and nibbles on her belly, moving her own shirt out of his way, until he was pushing it over her head and lying down on top of her, his kisses slower than the ones they shared earlier in the car, but not any less intense.

Karen likes the weight of him on top of her. Likes to raise her legs and wrap them around his torso, feel the muscles of his back with her hands, tug on the longer strands of his hair. And she loves everything he does to her, he never disappoints.

But she felt him a little different this time. While his right hand holding her hips up for him was nothing new, the left one on her jaw, angling her face up so he can kiss and lick and nibble on her neck, lower, a tiny bit more intense than usual, was.

(Not unpleasant, by any means, but new.)

“Fuckin’ craved you all week”, he says against her navel, hands busy busy busy on her, and Karen feels violent shivers running all over her. “Missed the taste of your skin.”

This is what her coworkers meant when they said “dish”. They wanted the details of how Frank performs in bed, how his body feels on top of her, how thoroughly he fucks her and how expertly he eats her out, but that is something she was determined to keeping for herself.

She didn’t want to share how he makes her arch her back off the bed when he dips his head between her legs, or how he makes her shiver with the way he works his mouth on her, how she trembles while trying to be quiet, biting on her lip and seeking leverage on his hair.

Karen was not even a little bit eager to describe how he makes her come on his tongue, her skin erupting in goosebumps when he slides up to whisper how much he loves the taste of her, or how he is so good in reading her body that he knows just how to touch her to have her shivering for him all over again, or how perfectly he fits between her legs, how perfectly he fits inside her, her perfectly he moves within her.

This is just theirs.

But, maybe, depending on her mood, she can imply the way he rolls them around and perches her on top of him, and how very good she is at riding while his eyes inspect her, hungry and loving.

Maybe, just maybe, if the drinks are good and the mood is right, she might even tell them how hard he takes her from behind, and she has to scream into a pillow to avoid waking the kids, but even then he doesn’t stop, how he can go for so long she ends up dizzy.

Karen would never soberly admit how she begs for him, how he commands and she obeys, because this is the best she’s ever had, or how he tells her that he loves her so so so much while fucking her silly.

Her nosy and curious coworkers sure would like to know about the shower they shared after that, because they worked up quite a sweat, and maybe Sam, the hopeless romantic, would sigh if she told him that the way Frank looks at her makes her heart spread warmth all over her.

But she thought that it was private, just like the fact that her favorite position is when he’s fully lying on top of her and she is all tangled around him, or that is how the start and end most of their encounters, except when they’re too eager to make it to the bed.

Maybe she’ll tell them. We’ll see.

.:.

Frank is usually the first to wake up, so he’s the one that starts breakfast. Eggs and waffles with honey and jam, fruits, fresh juice for the kids and coffee for himself and the woman who stole his heart. A decent breakfast for a Saturday morning.

This morning, though, he had company. While he cracked eggs on top of melted butter, a tiny little puppy wobbled his way to the kitchen, no doubt following the smell.

After the table was set, Frank picked the dog up, feeding him a little treat, and walked back to the bedroom, to pick wake the rest of the house up.

And honestly. This boy is almost seven years old, now. Maybe it was about time he stopped climbing into his parents’ beds? He would have to talk to Maria about that.

Not that he didn’t like that his son felt safe and comfortable enough around Karen to sneak into bed with her and pass back out while Frank was in the kitchen, sleeping starfish style in the middle of the mattress, one of his feet on top of her stomach, his little chest rising and falling as he breathed.

(Good thing Karen insisted on changing the sheets last night after their enthusiastic reunion. Even tired as she was, she had the presence of mind to predict his kid’s behavior.)

“Go on”, he whispered to the dog, placing him on the bed, watching as he walked towards Frankie’s face to sniff and inspect.

Frank walked to the window and cracked the curtains open, letting a little sun in before lying back down on his side of the bed, moving the kid so he could fit.

“Morning”, Karen greeted, stretching, eyes still closed, moving her face towards his for a kiss. “Something smells good.”

“I made breakfast”, he said softly as the dog sniffed Frankie’s face and the boy turned away, groaning and rolling until he was lying on his stomach. “Hey there, buddy. When’d you get here?”

Soon, Lisa padded out of her bedroom and joined them, hair a mess, also woken up by her nose.

They walked to the table and Frank carried his youngest like a sack of potatoes over his shoulder, placing him on the chair and laughing at his sleepy face while he blinked awake, staring at the plate in front of him.

Deep sleeper, Frank Jr.. Barely ever cried when he was a baby. Slept through the night from the beginning. Unlike Lisa, whose lungs capacity had humbled her parents and their neighbors alike.

Finally sitting down on his own chair after making sure everybody’s plate was full, Frank watched his daughter make plans with Karen about next year’s birthday, when she would be old enough for some of the bigger rides at Disney.

He thought he lost his family when he got divorced. Had night terrors about becoming one of those estranged fathers, alone and unloved for the rest of his life.

Instead, he never even had time to miss his kids. He just got a new dog, and there was a ring burning a hole inside the safe in his office.

All there was missing was a “yes”.

[archivedxroaming-agent]

Glad You Came

Dedicated to @minxchester and @my-malleable-muse! TW for mentions of suicidal thoughts in the beginning.

(*)

At sixteen, Taylor decided her life was over.

She had the thought one day after running away for what felt like the hundredth time in a row, except this time she actually managed to leave the damn state instead of squatting in an abandoned house or two. Riding the bus to New York, her forehead pressed against the window as she watched the world whizz past, she found herself already constructing a plan. After all, it wasn’t like anyone would notice or miss her. Just another nameless teenager in the foster care system, slipped through the cracks like most of the rest. She had tried so hard to be loved, only to be rejected so often, and she was tired of begging people to give her some kind of attention.

At least in New York she could be given a burial somewhere semi nice, no doubt in a plot of cemetery for all the ones who weren’t named. Or maybe she could donate her organs, do at least one thing worthwhile. After all, what good was she if she were alive?

When she made it to the city, the day was bright and sunny and warm. People were bustling in the streets as always, the traffic as heavy as she first thought it would be, and various stray animals went about the markets searching for scraps. One them, a large dog that looked like a pitbull mix breed, locked eyes with her when she bought herself a pretzel, those big eyes hopeful. She scraped off the salt as best as she could and she shared the treat with the hound, before it licked her hand in thanks and wandered off for more food.

Walking the sidewalk, she was just another face in the crowd. No one special, no one noticeable, no one to be missed.

She reached a part of the city that was a bit sparse of people, “the other side of the tracks”, if you will, when it first happened. First, she had to side step when a man came barreling down the street, avoiding being knocked into in his hurry, and she felt a flash of annoyance. Then, barely two minutes later, she ran face first into someone, causing her nose to throb in pain as she yelped, stepping back. “Fuck!”

The kid -- and he was a kid, couldn’t be any older than she was -- immediately bounced back, looking frazzled. “Oh god, I’m so sorry!” he said quickly, reaching out as if to hold her arm, only to stop when she whipped her hand up to stop him. “I didn’t see you!”

No one does, Taylor thought to herself, glaring at the blond with watery eyes as she gingerly touched her nose. Not broken, good, and it probably wouldn’t bruise, but it still hurt, and that just made her more annoyed than she was to begin with. “Maybe you should be more aware of your surroundings.”

“I’m sorry!” he said again, glancing down the street as if he wanted to keep running but something kept him where he was. “I-I was chasing after a pickpocket, but you’re right, I should have watched where I was going.”

Taylor raised an eyebrow. “A pickpocket? Why are you chasing after a thief? How old are you?”

He gave a small huff, almost offended by her question. “I’m fifteen.”

“That’s not a good age to be chasing pickpockets.”

“Don’t judge me, he stole a poor old lady’s purse.” He made a face. “I hate criminals.”

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Maybe you should call the cops instead, let them handle it.”

“I’m actually working with the cops, thanks. Me and my brother, we’re helping to stop a pickpocket ring.” He looked around again then, frustration building in his features. “But I lost one of the guys. Fuck, Frank is gonna get mad at me.”

Deciding that this was getting to be like a roundabout, Taylor shrugged, beginning to walk away. “Okay, well, good luck with that.”

“...Wait!” The boy reached out then, touching her should to stop. “Maybe you can help?”

“Why the fuck would I help you?” she demanded.

He smiled a little, flashing a silver retainer across his teeth. “Call it a hunch. I like your gusto, and they might already recognize me. They won’t recognize you though.”

“Should I feel flattered by that?”

“Oh totally, it’s a great thing in detective work! Makes it easier to slip in unnoticed, get the info you need, that kind of stuff. I think I know where the hide out is, I just need someone who the gang won’t recognize to check it out for me. Pretty please?”

She eyed him for a long moment, this fresh faced kid who showed signs of coming from a wonderful home, and wondered why the hell someone his age would be chasing after criminals. Who did he think he was, some kind of Sherlock Holmes?

“What would I get out of it?” she asked finally.

“How about the good feeling of having helped stop a bunch of bad guys from harassing people in the subways for their money?”

“How about a hot dog?”

The boy laughed. “Deal! What’s your name?”

“...Taylor. Taylor Borelli. Yours?”

“Joe Hardy, at your service. Come on, let’s go this way!”

(*)

Working with Joe, and later his brother Frank, awakened something in Taylor that she had felt once before when she was just a child, and had never thought she could feel again: hope. Hope that maybe...she could do something good with her life. Something that didn’t involve dying.

The pickpocket ring turned out bigger than she first assumed, imagining maybe five men who had nothing better to do than steal money that wasn’t theirs. Instead, it was a huge group with one major ringleader that the Hardy brothers wanted to bring down. After being chased down by a car in an alley, held at gunpoint on one of the bridges heading towards Brooklyn, and almost thrown into a vat of boiling water in a warehouse, the case ended when Taylor used a board of wood to knock out the greasy haired ringleader as the Hardys kept him distracted. Then the police were called, as Frank showed Taylor how to use a plastic pair of handcuffs on the guy to make sure he couldn’t escape when he regained consciousness.

She thought that would be the end of it, giving her statements to the police, watching as the ring was lead into the backs of cruisers, as the chief congratulated the brothers as their father, Fenton, arrived on the scene. That she would be given a thank you and then sent on her way, no longer needed, no longer remembered.

But when Fenton came to meet her, there was something in those grey eyes as they studied her. A smile came over his face as he shook her hand and talked to her, asking how she liked working with his sons on the case, if she liked being a detective for the last day and a half. And surprisingly, Taylor found that she enjoyed it very much. Searching for clues, battling bad guys, it had been so exhilarating, and she kind of regretted having to leave. After all, how was she going to do it again by herself?

“I’ll let you in on a secret, Taylor,” Fenton said, giving her a little wink. “I’m a private investigator myself. My boys have been doing well in their training, but it has made me aware of exceptional kids like yourself. Teenagers who hold a lot of potential to make the world a better place.”

“That’s...cool, I guess,” she replied.

“I’m going to start an agency, just for teen detectives, like Frank and Joe. Like you. The final puzzle pieces are falling into place, and, if you’d like, I’d be honored to recruit you to be an agent.” He smiled. “Kind of like a James Bond deal. You’ll be properly trained in anything you need to know. Weapons, hand to hand combat, gadgets, disguises...”

It actually sounded pretty rad, but Taylor felt like there would be strings attached. “What’s the catch?” she asked warily.

“The catch,” Fenton said, “would be you coming home with me and the boys back to Bayport. They’ve told me that you don’t have a permanent living residence. You could stay with us until you’re old enough to live on your own, if you’d like, so that I can oversee your training to make sure you don’t get hurt.”

She blinked, startled, before looking over to where Frank and Joe were standing a few feet away behind their father. They both grinned, giving her a double thumb’s up each in encouragement, and she felt...like her body was growing warm. Like her heart was swelling as she realized that the brothers had bonded with her in the last couple of days. 

They noticed her. They wanted her to come along.

No one had ever wanted her before...

“I-I don’t know what to say,” she stammered, her face feeling a bit hot.

“I would be glad to bring you back to Bayport,” Fenton said sincerely. “My wife would love another girl in the house, and my sister always has a soft spot for feeding people.”

For a second, her throat felt like it was closing on her, and it made it a bit difficult to swallow but she managed. After a minute of regaining her self control, Taylor exhaled quietly. “If...if you’re sure... I guess I wouldn’t mind being somewhere new.”

“Bit of a traveler, eh? Don’t worry, the agency will help you see new sights too.” Fenton smiled warmly. “Welcome aboard.”

(*)

How different her life became in the span of three years. Instead of dragging along a trashbag full of her clothes, Taylor had a room of her very own, with a dresser and a mirror and actual new clothes. She had a home, and people who genuinely cared about her, who treated her like family.

She had a blast being an agent for American Teens Against Crime. Maybe she wasn’t the best sometimes with remembering faces. Maybe she got too frustrated when the answers were too far away for her to see. Maybe she went overboard sometimes and inflicted a bit too much pain on criminals than she ought to. But Frank and Joe became her family, and damn anyone who tried to hurt them. Damn anyone who wanted to try and touch her boys. And damn anyone who would try to threaten Laura or Trudy, the first motherly figures she had in her life who treated her with love. She would die for this family, if it came down to it.

Thankfully, it never did, and her life had gotten so much better. Not just with the whole agent thing, but in school, and in life in general. She and Frank graduated Bayport High together, and Joe was on his way to graduating too. Then the three of them would head off to college together, to further their education, to continue making the world better bit by bit.

For now, though, she was watching the brothers playing a video game in the living room. Joe was really into it, tongue poking between his teeth in concentration, while Frank lounged, looking almost bored, their eyes glued to the screen where the newest zombie apocalypse game was playing.

Wandering over to the back of the couch, Taylor reached out to give Joe a hug, kissing his cheek, before doing the same for Frank, effectively capturing their attention. “What was that for?” Joe asked.

“No reason,” Taylor said. “Just love you guys.”

Frank smiled, grey eyes warm. “We love you too.”

She smiled back. “I don’t know where I’d be without you boys.”

“Probably kicking more ass in a secret fight club,” Joe cracked, returning his attention to his game. “But I much prefer having you with us. Life is so much more fun with you in it.”

“Definitely,” Frank agreed. “We’re glad you’re here.”

She smiled. “Yeah. I’m glad I’m here too.”

[bachelorbro-blog1]

Season 13, Episode 1 (The One Where Blake K Doesn't Get a Rose)

Welcome back, Bachelor Nation! I’m super excited about this season of the Bachelorette (mostly because Rachel is not Nick Viall and will never be Nick Viall). You all know how I feel about Rachel (and that I knew she’d be the next Bachelorette since the first episode of last season), so I won’t wax poetic about her. Instead, I’ll just start this recap. Let’s go!

The episode opens with Chris Harrison talking about how much we all love Rachel. Duh. Obviously. Let’s move on. 

Rachel does some street dancing, plays basketball alone, “goes to court” (by which I mean she performs in an instructional video about what lawyers do as directed by someone who doesn't know any lawyers), flashes back to meeting gross Nick (complete with beignet eating and limo crying), takes a plane with her DOG WHOSE NAME IS COPPER (!!!), poses for some pictures, chats with some grandmas, and finally drives up to the mansion. 

Time to meet some guys! 

Pretty Boy Pitbull Kenny King is a wrestler. He is very sweaty and panty for a solid chunk of his intro video and has a very tall ten year old daughter. (Is Rachel ready to get engaged to a man who has a ten year old child and possibly be that child’s step mother?). He makes a pun about rings.

Jack Stone is a lawyer (like Rachel), is 31 (like Rachel), and is from Dallas (like Rachel). He talks about the passing of his mother while staring out at some water and then plays with a dog. 

Alex would like to let you all know that is not a meat head. He likes books and coding and learning and Rubiks Cubes. Ok? Those are things meat heads don't like! Only nerds like those things!

Mohit is a start-up guy. He loves dancing with his family in his living room. 

Alright. Here he fucking is. Whaboom -- a manboy named Lucas who frequently wears shirts that have cartoon versions of his own face on them. This guy is going to be either my most favorite or my least favorite.

Blake E (omega Blake) is a sports nutritionist and certified lunatic. He works out on the beach and talks about how amazing his penis is (by which he means it’s slightly below average). Fuck this guy.

Next up is Diggy, who loves clothes and has 575 pairs of shoes (or 1150 individual shoes). Diggy, you see, is a fashionista. He also has a dog, but we don't get to know how many pairs of shoes the dog owns. 

Josiah makes me cry. Top 5, easily. E A S I L Y . His older brother killed himself when he was younger and Josiah had to cut him down from the tree that he hung himself on. Josiah has an amazing story and is either this season’s winner or next season's Bachelor. 

A meeting of the minds commences. Among Rachel’s panel of advisors is Astrid (who I forgot about), Whitney (who everyone forgot about), nanny-having Corinne, dolphin lady Alexis, Raven (the true winner of Nick Viall’s season of The Bachelor), beautiful princess Kristina, and Jasmine G. (the one who choked Nick -- big fan). Everyone loves Eric, Raven believes that DeMario is amazing (but Whitney thinks he’s THERE FOR THE WRONG REASONS™️), and some ill-advised voice likes Dean (the one who made the “I’m ready to go black and I’m never going back” comment). 

Time for the men to come out of the limo. Finally.

First out of the limo is Peter. He is wearing a nice jacket and doesn't say anything awful. Congratulations, Peter!

Next is Josiah, this season’s winner. He makes a lawyer joke. Smells like a wedding to me!

Out comes chiropractor Bryan. He speaks Spanish and looks like a much more attractive version of my neighbor. 

Kenny calls her “Pretty Rachel” and then dances with her. I am overcome with grief. 

Rob doesn't get much of an introduction, but who cares?

There is also a man named Iggy. Diggy and Iggy. Fine.

Bryce, the transphobic firefighter, lifts Rachel off of her feet. Get out, Bryce.

Next out of the limo is Steve Urkel, followed by Stefan Urquelle. His real name is Will. As in when Will this end?

Here comes Diggy, who loves The Devil Wears Prada. He makes a pun based off of his name. 

Kyle shows Rachel his buns. Who is Kyle?

Blake K (alpha Blake) talks about his grandparents who recently celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary. Big fan of Blake K. Huge.

Brady shows up with a sledge hammer. He is immediately terrifying. He “breaks the ice” at which point I feel he should be lead away from Rachel with his hands behind his back. He is also possibly wearing lavender lipstick. 

Dean, who made that cringe-worthy comment when he first met Rachel, is shaking and grinning. Rachel lies about loving the comment. This is your season, Rachel. You do not have to lie to anyone.

Here comes Eric, my first round draft pick. Now I find him boring. 

DeMario, who brought plane tickets to Vegas to his first encounter with Rachel, looks forward to more “first moments” with her. His confidence is overwhelming. 

Gross Blake E arrives with a marching band. Do less, Blake E. I implore you. (Side note: Blake E’s hair is straight up disgusting).

Let’s make misogynistic comments about Rachel! A smart and funny woman? How is that possible? No woman has ever been smart AND funny! There must be some sort of catch! Several men’s heads explode. 

Fred, who knew Rachel in elementary school, brings a yearbook. Rachel remembers his bad behavior. I sincerely hope he becomes this season’s Liz the Doula. (Miss you, Liz!)

Jonathan, the tickle monster, makes me scream into a pillow. If anyone ever tried to tickle me upon meeting me I would actually knock them out. Not appropriate, creepy Jonathan. 

Lee, whose guitar lets me know it’s alright to hate him, wastes no time in introducing himself as a monster. He is a self-proclaimed singer/songwriter, and a me-proclaimed douchebag.

Alex the Mensa genius brings a vacuum because why not?

Milton, who literally admitted that he wanted to be discovered by a talent agent, takes a selfie with Rachel. Bye!

Adam brings a mannequin named Adam Jr. Adam Jr. (AJ) will more than likely compete on Bachelor in Paradise because Rachel hates him. AJ is left in the corner where he conspires against all of the other men in the house whilst Jonathan tickles people. 

Matt is a penguin. Can’t wait until Alexis decks him on Paradise. 

Grant arrives in an ambulance. 

Anthony is wearing a beige suit. Different!

Jamey is unsavory upon first sight and unsavory upon further inspection.

Jack Stone has a great (crocodile) smile. Maybe he uses it to bite people. 

Mohit makes some kind of comment about her having the upper hand. Is he a dom? A misogynist? Both? Neither? Where are his dancing family members?

A man whose legal name is Jedidiah quotes a Bible verse about crying. He is not wearing a full suit. 

Michael brings a brownie. I pick him.

The men wonder who will go crazy. Here’s Whaboom. He is contractually obligated to show up when someone says “crazy,” “maniac,” “Whaboom,” or “testicles.” He turns bright red while yelling and carries a megaphone. Can't wait until he’s full drunk.

All 31 men (and 1 mannequin) are now in the mansion. Time for Rachel to like actually kind of meet them, but not really because chances are they’ll speak with her for like 10 minutes each and continuously steal her from each other. 

Josiah tells Rachel his story, but she's only kind of buying what he's selling. It’s ok. They just need time to fall in love.

Dean and Rachel build a sand castle together. Dean, the youngest man in the mansion, thinks this is cute. Rachel is his babysitter.

Rob brought a baseball card with Rachel on it. 

Anthony would like to understand Rachel.

Eric and Rachel dance again, but the spark is gone. 

Someone gave AJ a glass of champagne. He is a child! He cannot drink! 

Matt the Penguin asks if Rachel prefers Michael Jackson or Prince while AJ (who, like a clown, is hilarious and terrifying) (mostly terrifying) professes his love for Rachel in French.

Rachel remembered Fred the moment she saw him. He’s the top 5 guy who makes her feel comfortable, connected to her past, but he won't win. 

Bryan steals Rachel. He is mature and handsome and surely top 5 material. His confidence, unlike DeMario’s, is endearing because it’s over-the-top in a funny way. You can tell he doesn't really believe all of these things about himself. (I hope). Rachel and Bryan kiss. She didn’t want to kiss anyone tonight, but says that she enjoyed him. 

The first impression rose is brought out. Everyone starts sweating (and drinking). Let’s be honest. Bryan is getting the rose. No one else spent that kind of time with Rachel. And, as a first impression rose winner herself, she knows who’s real and who’s fake. 

DeMario talks a lot, according to Josiah. Rachel is impressed by his confidence. 

Jamey mentioned that his suit cost $2,000. He is Gob Bluth and I was right to hate him.

Men swarm Rachel. She is starting to get nervous. Cancel the season! Send everyone home! Let Rachel have fun in the mansion by herself. 

Mohit is drunk and can't seem to find the right way to steal Rachel. 

Rachel tells Peter that she doesn’t like chocolate while Whaboom narrates through a megaphone. 

Blake E hates Whaboom so I officially love Whaboom. I would very much like to see Whaboom deck Blake E. I would very much like to see anyone (especially Rachel) deck Blake E.

None of these men seem to realize that they can only have a few minutes with Rachel. There are 31 of you and her time is more valuable than all of yours combined. Get with the picture. 

I also just realized that Alex brought a vacuum because when we first met Rachel during Nick’s season she danced with a vacuum. Fine.

“Cash me outside, how bow dah?” asks Josiah. Oh, Josiah. I was rooting for you. 

Kenny brings up his daughter -- his favorite person in the whole world. Maybe I was wrong to judge him. He’s a good father. 

The first impression rose goes to Bryan because duh. Mohit gasps. He is the DGAP.

it’s finally time for the first rose ceremony!

Roses go to: 

- Normal Peter

- Will Urkel

- Smiley Jack Stone

- Slimy Jamey

- Forgettable Iggy

- Dance Machine Eric

- Confident DeMario

- Jonathan the Creep

- Transphobic Bryce

- Alex the Mega Genius

- Kenny the Wrestling Dad

- Baby Dean

- Matt the Penguin

- Anthony (and his eyebrows)

- Brady the Lip Gloss Aficionado

- Josiah the Future Winner 

- Hatable Lee

- Fashion-forward Diggy

- Fred from Camp

- Adam (but not Adam Jr, which is rude)

- Blake E who is more than likely sticky 

and last, but certainly not least

- Whaboom (because this is reality television)

Roses do not go to:

- Bland Rob

- Drunk Mohit

- Forgettable Kyle 

- Blake K (who actually voluntarily left to see his grandfather in the ICU -- i.e. the true winner of this season)

- Grant, who was not on this episode

- Bible-quoting Jedidiah

- Milton, who will never get the chance to be famous now (FIRST CRY OF THE SEASON)

and

- Brownie-bringing Michael

Alright, the season has begun. Who will win? Who will lose? Who will beat the crap out of Blake E? Here’s to finding out!

[clairefail]

Leap into the unknown

Chloe woke to the sun piercing her eyeballs through her shitty, broken blinds. She was bleary and hungover, and slow to rise. Despite her bedroom looking over busy Dekalb Avenue in Brooklyn, the street was quiet. At 10:00 on a Tuesday most of her neighbors would be at work. As she came to she groaned and turned over, looking at all of her possessions crammed into this tiny room. To the right was a small closet crammed so thickly with party clothes there wasn't any room for even one more hanger. Beside the closet was a dark walnut vintage sewing desk. A perky Singer sewing machine was perched on top of it, although Chloe barely knew how to use it.

It helped contribute to her self proclaimed image as a DIY, anti-capitalist, self-righteous activist, however inaccurate it may have been. At one time, Chloe did believe in these ideals, and on some level still did. However, as her period of unemployment dragged on, she found herself wanting more stuff. It didn't matter what stuff, just anything to make up for the months of spending as little as possible. She was lucky to live with 3 roommates; it made the rent on her room only $560, an absolute steal.

She was actually amazed she was able to scrape by on her unemployment check. When she had been laid off 8 months ago she had been certain she would get a new job right away. She always had in all her years of working before. Things were desperate sometimes. Her phone got shut off more than once but she always figure it out. It’s not like she had ever been late on her rent. She was scared of screwing up that much and having nowhere to go. She had no safety net, no savings, no mom and dad who could help out. It made her careful to never fall too far, no matter what she had to do to scrape by. Eating little and staying in wasn’t much of a hardship, honestly. At least she was as thin as she’d been in years. That was something.

The months of unemployment had made her feel like she didn’t have anything worth offering. Having a desirable body felt like a commodity she could trade on for now while her finances were waning. At the very least it always seemed to make her on-again, off-again girlfriend, Samantha keep her around often enough to get a few nights out and some meals every week. The constant rejection from Samantha was hard, but she always seemed to answer when Samantha called. It was something to do at least. She lived in Staten Island and was from Missouri, making her exotic to Chloe’s sensibilities.

She didn’t know many people from the Midwest, but Samantha seemed like a good representation of them. She was a bit chubby, and didn’t really believe in recycling, or vegetables. Her blonde hair was kept in a dated soft butch swoop, but she used a hair straightener and wore makeup daily. To Chloe it was as foreign as she was to Samantha, and somehow the differences kept sparking interest between them. They didn’t have much in common, actually. Chloe’s previous work had been at a science museum, working the box office. Samantha marketed Camel cigarettes to pharmacies. Chloe barely knew of the bible, Samantha had been quite religious until recently. Maybe the only thing that kept bringing them back together was loneliness.

Samantha hadn’t lived here for very long and didn’t know many people. Her only friend was Arthur, a tall, prematurely balding, outspoken gay man. He worked at a pharmacy, which is how he had met Samantha. As two obnoxiously extroverted people, they had quickly struck up a friendship based on being outlandish. Chloe had gone to college with Arthur, which is how Chloe and Samantha had met.

Chloe’s alcohol fueled birthday party had been a few months ago and Chloe, determined to make new conquests, had charmed her way into Samantha’s bed. When Chloe woke up the following morning in Staten Island, Samantha had told her to stay the whole day.

“Don’t you have work today?” Chloe asked. “Well...yeah, but. Well, I work from home mostly.” Samantha responded. “What is it you do exactly? Something with cigarettes?” Chloe pushed harder, trying figure out how someone could get away without working all day. “It’s outside sales. I drive to the stores and set up the displays. Once a month my boss comes with me and checks out what I’ve been doing. I always get really nervous, because I’m afraid I’ll get caught. I don’t go that much, and then I rush to catch up when I know a visit is coming soon.”, Samantha finally admitted. “Wow, that sounds pretty easy! So we can just do whatever we want today?” Chloe wondered out loud. “Pretty much!” said Samantha.

Their days had continued in that vein for months, although there wasn’t a purpose to them. They would bum around, smoking cigarettes and watching TV. They never had food, so when one of them got hungry enough, they would run down to the bodega under Samantha’s apartment and buy Kraft Mac and Cheese in a box. At a dollar, it was pretty affordable, but it tasted like orange styrofoam. It wasn’t as good as they had remembered. Every time Chloe bought some she felt depressed, wondering how she had ended up in a run down dump in Staten Island with a girl who she often didn’t like very much.

She yearned to get out and start over. Three years ago she had moved back to New York after a short stint in San Francisco, to be with her girlfriend at the time. The relationship hadn’t worked out, and she always worried that she’d made a mistake. She probably would have been making a zillion dollars a year at a startup if she’d just hung in a little longer. It was another depressing thought to add to the laundry list of what kept her up at night, or in this case, got her out of bed.

She knew she really shouldn’t be sleeping in. She needed to get up and start looking for a job again. She had to get out of this room, this apartment, this city. Something had to change. She sat down at her desk and pulled up her favorite Craigslist job search - “box office - SFO” on her laptop. Most of the jobs were barely better than minimum wage. They certainly weren’t good enough to move 3,000 miles for. She kept searching, hoping against hope that one day something with a living wage would come up. Samantha actually wanted to move to California as well. United in their hatred of the grey coldness of New York, they both dreamed of moving West. Like their forefathers, it seemed like a kinder, gentler world awaited, just a short cross country trip away. When Chloe had lived in San Francisco, although life hadn’t exactly been easier, it had certainly been more exciting. Everything was so new, so different, the most mundane activities were full of wonder. She had to get back there to make something of herself. “Go West, young [wo]man”, her brain practically shouted at her.

The page loaded and she quickly scanned the results, expecting the same. This time, there was a brand new listing, titled “Box Office Magic”. She clicked on it and realized at once that she had found the perfect job for her new imaginary life. A ticketing startup was looking for an Account Manager. The job listing was in the heart of downtown San Francisco, on Market Street, and she easily met the qualifications. Without even pausing for her customary coffee, she set to revising cover letter. She prepared a long sermon on the future of box office ticketing, surprising herself at her apparent passion on such a mundane topic. Finally, all her cocktail party conversation that had made people feign excuses to walk away was being put to use. She explained how her generation no longer bought tickets in person, but only online, and that in person box offices weren’t sustainable any longer. Although that seems fairly obvious now, in 2010 this was a radical idea in slow-to-change industry filled with the technologically illiterate.

Hours ticked away while Chloe wrote and re-wrote the cover letter, revised her resume, and researched the company and staff in order to further tailor her application to their needs. Finally, she was ready to send it, if nothing else, to get the pain of the dream off of her back. After spending all day on the company, she actually had her heart set on it at this point. With a whoosh from her email client, she sent it off, with a silent prayer that this would be the one to turn into something.

Finally having sent it off, she immediately started thinking about mistakes she had made. [Maybe expand on this? Why would you feel worthless?] Once she felt sufficiently worthless, she was ready to shower and go out to meet Samantha. Chloe carefully prepared her body, hoping to con Samantha into a date on her dime. At least it would take her mind off of the job. It was an arduous commute to Staten Island from Brooklyn, taking the better part of two hours, if her train was even running. Half the time it was cancelled at night for “track work”. It was already 4:00. It was already getting dark and she had a subway, ferry, and bus ride ahead of her just to get back into Samantha’s good graces. She had better get going.

Chloe left her apartment, walking briskly to give off the all-important “don’t fuck with me” vibe so important to New York City survival. She lived next to a boarding house which featuring roommates who settles disagreements with bullets and pitbulls who looked for throats to rip out, so she was always anxious to walk by quickly. Thankfully the subway was just a couple blocks away and she quickly made it there. Her MetroCard even had a few bucks on it, just enough to get Samantha’s apartment. She could probably make her drive her back to Brooklyn, if things went her way. She’d have to lay off about Samantha’s profligate use of pot to avoid conflict. It bothered Chloe, how incapable Samantha was of having any sober moments in her day.

Chloe’s train arrived - a new one. Those were always much more comfortable to ride, with their baby blue clean seats, computerized schedules and graffiti free windows. They were great to get a good view while crossing the Brooklyn Bridge. Chloe anxiously looked at her phone on the last few minutes the train was above ground, praying Samantha hadn’t sent a message to cancel. She hadn’t. She released a sigh of relief and put in her standard issue iPod headphones to listen to some Ani DiFranco. That always calmed her down. Set up in commuting mode, she sat down to relax and zone out for the rest of the ride.

About 45 minutes later, she emerged in Downtown Manhattan and began her walk to the ferry station. Judging by the crowds lingering, she had plenty of time until the next ferry. The twilight softened the lines of the bank’s skyscrapers. Combined with the Hudson River’s cooling air, the night seemed almost magical. Beginning to hope again, Chloe sat down to check her email. In case of bad news, she first pulled out a Camel crush cigarette. Samantha had demoed their special menthol bead, which turned a regular cigarette into a menthol. That way she could share a pack with Samantha even though Chloe smoked menthols and Samantha regular cigarettes.

Taking a drag of her cigarette, she pulled out her cell phone and opened her email. Her heart immediately fluttered as she realized she had a response from the startup. Holy shit. They were asking for an interview for tomorrow. She was gobsmacked. Not only had they thought enough to give her an interview, they had written her back an hour after sending her application! This was a sure sign of their interest. She knew she would nail the interview and change her life.

[evroillak-blog]

new year screams (so far)

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: jonas lowered his circle sunglasses onto the bridge of his nose as they walked up to chris' door. "okay wait, before we go in, we need some sort of mating call. you know, in case one of us ends up needing to get scooped up or something. what should it be? like a caw caw, or?" he asked, scrunching his eyebrows. "something that i can remember even when i get shitfaced, that's the only thing that matters." he chuckles, looking at his three friends. "ringing in the new year, it's about to get wild."

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: william was slowly sipping on a beer bottle as he tried to pay attention to what his female classmate? (at least that’s what he guessed) was saying. “oh really? that’s very interesting, i’ve never expected them to be such cold blooded animals,” he smiled lightly at the brunette and she gave a rather obnoxious laugh despite it being not that funny. his eyes swept to the entrance as he spotted jonas leading his friend group through the door — noora entering last. his eyes stayed on her as he drank and looked back to the brunette to ask her to repeat her question.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: sana was cooped in a washroom, reapplying roxy's lipstick that she lent her the first time they met, raising her eyebrows as she looked at herself in the mirror. sporting a silver glitzy dress, sana turned around as the door knob spun, "i'm in here, hello -- roxy! there you are." she sighed, throwing her arm over her as she moved them towards the full length mirror. "we look /so/ fucking good tonight, i love us." she laughs, smirking as she grabbed roxy's hand and made her do a slow spin. sana claps with a chuckle. "are you drinking tonight?" she asks, tilting her head.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: isak practically bumped into noora as jonas halted the lot of them. “i figured we’d go in blind and abandon ship out the window if things get a little much, but now i think you’re probably right. we need a signal.” raising his head up, he narrowed his eyes at his friend. “caw caw?” isak asked in a bewildered tone, “jonas, has 2016 taught you nothing?” he shook his head, obviously teasing. “i’m thinking we go with a modern classic —“ he paused for effect before shouting in a pitbull voice, “fireball!”

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: noora raised her eyebrows as she turned to isak, "there's no abandoning ship." she laughs, shaking her head, "i think if we did caw caw, we wouldn't ever be invited to another party again." noora scrunched her eyebrows at isak's suggestion, chuckling at his dramatics. shaking her head, noora hooked arms with eva, "let's hope this'll be a good new years eve, yeah?" she smiled at her group of friends, nodding as jonas opens the front door. walking into the apartment, noora looked around at the number of people that managed to squeeze into the complex. pulling her dress that eva lent her down slightly, noora looked at the new years decorations and chuckled, "which one do you think picked out the decorations?"

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: trying the door handle, roxy was surprised to find it open and even more surprised to see sana inside. “shit— oh thank god it’s you. i’ve walked in on too many poor souls,” shaking her head, her eyes went to the full length mirror. the reflection showed roxy in a black slip dress and her signature glitter make-up around her eyes. she smiled at sana’s beauty in the reflection and laughed as she spun. “oh, you bet. i’m so ready to send off this year that i don’t want to remember the last hours of it. which reminds me,” roxy pulled out a dark bottle of brandy from her bag and smirked at sana, “look what i stole!”

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: sana laughs, "don't worry, i'm not naked right now." she smirks, tilting her head at her gorgeous friend. "beautiful! the same goes to me, so it looks like we're on the same page." sh esmirks, her eyes falling onto the bottle of brandy. "you didn't!" she gasps, letting out a laugh, "listen, just for future purposes so someone doesn't end up calling the cops on you, just call me and i'll buy you some, i'll 'hook' it up." she winks, chuckling at the thought. "okay, i think we're ready to head back out and spill some new years memories." she smirks, grabbing the bottle from roxy and unscrewing the cap before handing it back to her, "first drink from the stolen drink." she cheers, jumping up and down.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: eva rolled her eyes at the boys, “if /anything’s/ going down, i’ll be yelling timber, thank you very much.” she hooked arms with noora and nodded, “i think we deserve it. especially noora who, need i remind you, is the reason we got this invite in the first place. so c’mon, there’s no time to lose— we’re getting her wasted!” eva laughed, and proceeded inside. “this is clearly the work of chris,” she squinted at some of the decorations before shrugging, “he’s been more excited about tonight than jonas and isak combined.” she chuckled before starting again. “so. i say we start with shots,” she raised an eyebrow to jonas, “any objections?”

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: jonas chuckled, shaking his head, "okay, lumber jack." he smirked, rolling his eyes playfully. he gasped in a feign offence, "i actually got a pre invite before noora got the invite. you're very welcome." he dramatically bowed, letting out a laugh. jonas looked around at the sight of william and smirked, waving his hand for him to come over. "there's the man himself." he raved, turning back around and shrugging, "the decorations are mediocre then." shaking his head at the name of chris. jonas raised an eyebrow at eva and narrowed his eyes, "no objections. i'm one step ahead of you actually." he said, handing his friends each a shot glass.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: roxy raises her eyebrows, “hey, i didn’t get caught this time. besides, it’s more of an investment towards our good time!” she laughs before shaking her head, “but i’ll remember that for next time.” roxy gave a nod of agreement to sana’s words and took back the opened bottle. “let’s have a toast,” she raised the bottle, “to this year being absolute hell!” roxy let out a sharp laugh before tilting her head back to drink. wincing at the familiar burn of her throat, she handed it back to sana, “okay now we’re ready. just promise me one thing? don’t let me ring in the new year until i’m properly tipsy.”

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: isak squinted at eva, “way to steal my pitbull reference.” his eyebrows went up in surprise at jonas, “you got a /pre/ invite? what does that even mean?” shaking his head, he looked over his shoulder to see who jonas was waving over. spinning back around, he threw an arm over noora, “right, shots it is.” he passed a glass along to noora and took one himself. william had been nodding at the brunette’s words for well over a minute. if not for the alcohol in his system he would’ve dozed off by now. his attention had been on the group and finally, his eyes met jonas who had the decency to wave him over. “i’m sorry, i’m afraid i must go. have you met chris yet?” he placed a hand on the girl’s back to guide her to his friend. “chris— this is, um,” the brunette extended a hand to chris, introducing herself as tori. “right, well, i’ll leave you to it then.” sending a short goodbye wave, william made his way over to the first years. “evening,” he looked over at each of them with a smile, his eyes lingering on noora and her short dress. “glad to see you all could make it.”

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: sana laughs, "yet. careful, darling, is chris being that much of a bad influence on you?" she teased, a small smirk resting on her lips. "a toast to the new year. a better year." she said, cheering as roxy drank from the bottle. grabbing the bottle, sana took her turn to take a shot from the bottle before handing it back to roxy with her nose scrunched. "oh darling, that won't even be a possibility to have you ring without being fucking drunk. c'mon, the world needs to see how hot you look right now." she laughs, opening the door.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: noora scrunched eyebrows, "yeah, what /do/ you mean?" she asks, tilting her head with a chuckle. raising her eyebrows as isak threw his arm around her, noora eyed the shot glass and shook her head, "you can have mine if you're so keen on the shots." she laughs, watching isak down the drink. glancing at eva, noora rolled her eyes, "fine." she sighed, taking a small sip and scrunching her nose before taking the rest of the shot. shutting one eye, noora allowed the drink to go down her system as she stacked her cup onto isak's. instantly turning her head at the sound of william's voice, noora smiled at him as she nodded, "evening." she greeted, still under isak's arm. "it's hard to say no when you're practically hauled over here." she chuckled.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: roxy lifted her brows slightly at the mention of chris and let out a small laugh, “he has no influence on me.” not a bad one, anyways. the need to get drunk came from something else — someone else. roxy’s lips pulled into a smirk as she watched sana down the drink. “if that’s the case, then after you, considering we need to make a bangin’ re-entrance,” she gestured to the door. taking another swig from the bottle, she followed her back out into the party. “are we committing to a location or constantly wandering?” roxy asked, scanning the crowd for any familiar faces.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: eva clapped her hands as jonas produced the drinks, and took a hold of her shot glass carefully. “okay, one, two, three, bottom’s up!” she cheered as she craned her head back to down the shot. “disgusting,” she shook her hands to get rid of the taste before placing her glass back down, “let’s do more.” a smile stretched across her features as she looked to jonas. “c’mon, noora, down the hatch!” eva cheered again as the blonde chugged it down. “as much as i love one-drink noora, i would love it even more if two-drink noora came to play.” she said and greeted william. eva narrowed her eyes at isak as he kept his arm around noora’s shoulders. “what she means to say is, thank you for the invite,” she corrected with a smile. william raised his eyebrows at noora before turning to eva with a laugh. “i’m sure it’s a mission to get noora to do anything,” he gestured to the shot glass she was holding, “how’d you manage that, i’d love to know.” he mused, turning to jonas. “are you doing another round? i’d love to join if you don’t mind."

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: chris scrunched his eyebrows as william interrupted his conversation with another girl. raising his drink to his lips, he nodded as tori made her introduction, "chris." he smirked, his eyes then moving towards the bathroom door opening. his lips slightly part at the sight of roxy as he cleared his throat, looking back at the two girls in front of him. "if you'll excuse me, ladies, enjoy the rest of your night." he winked, downing whatever was left of his drink and tossing it in the can before walking over to sana and roxy. "there's no need to commit on a night like this. the new year's supposed to represent /all/ the possibilities, no?" he smirked, "i hope you guys didn't get too scared and flee to the washroom or something." he chuckled, raising his eyebrows as his eyes wandered on roxy's black dress. "you know, i know what would look good with your outfit." he hummed, raising his chin sightly.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: jonas shrugged, "i'll keep my secrets on these elite invites." he laughs, obviously joking. as eva counted down, jonas downed the shot and screamed in a cheer, "woo! yeah, baby!" he shook his head and his load of hair with a laugh. "more it is." he agreed, pouring everyone another drink. noora scrunched her eyebrows, "this is disgusting," she laughs as she grabs the glass from jonas. "well," jonas begins, "how you get noora to drink is--" noora shot him a look, "no. you're not telling william this." she rolls her eyes with a half smirk, ducking herself from isak's arm and looking at him with a grin, "cheers?" she raises her glass to isak before turning to william as jonas hands him a shot. jonas cheers, "maybe we should toast to william? for actually being a cool guy." he laughs, boasting about his new friend. noora raises her eyebrows and chuckles, shaking her head.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: roxy’s attention was stolen away from the crowd as chris made their way towards them. her eyes quickly scanned him over before greeting him with a small smirk, “chris. always an opportunist.” she shook her head, “bathrooms are interesting places but i assure you the last thing we would do is flee.” roxy looks to sana with a half smirk before handing the bottle back to her. she turns back to chris with a curious expression. “oh? and what’s that?”

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: isak frowns slightly as william joins them, collecting the empty glass from noora and placing it back. “this is new years eve,” he chimes in. eva laughs at the exchange between jonas and noora and cups a hand next to her mouth to speak away from nora and towards william, “we’ll tell you later.” william raises his eyebrows at all of them talking over each and simply shakes his head in a laugh. “nevermind the method, i’m just glad it’s happening,” he nodded taking a hold of his shot glass. he was about to argue before isak beat him to it, “nah, c’mon. let’s toast to.. /friends/. they’re what’s most important, no?” isak lifted his chin slightly as he raised his glass and glanced from noora to william. “wow, i actually don’t disagree with isak. this new year may surprise us all,” eva shook her head. william looked over at isak and smiled softly, “to friends then. cheers.” a chorus of glasses clinking sounded as they took their shots.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: sana raises her eyebrows as chris heads over, folding her arms, "stop stealing my girls, chris." she smirks, rolling her eyes. chris chuckles, "i'm not stealing. it's roxy's decision who she hangs around." he laughs with a smirk. "how can i forget? the bathroom is where the magic happens." he says with a chuckle. sana drinks a little bit of the brandy before handing it back to roxy to finish. chris raises his chin, "you'll have to come with me to find out." he smirks, "it's hidden away somewhere, but it'll help with your evident drinking problem." he winked as he teased roxy. "i'll /assure/ you that i won't pull anything unless you pull something first." chris smirks, letting out a laugh.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: noora scrunches her eyebrows as eva places her hand over her mouth, shaking her head at her friends betrayal. pushing her hand away, noora chuckles and rolls her eyes, "you're all bullies." she says, letting out a laugh. jonas chuckles and shakes his head, "okay, to friends. to old friends, to new friends, and to just being together for new years." jonas professes, his eyes landing on eva's as he smiled softly at her. noora tilts her head at isak and chuckles, "okay, to friends." she grins, taking the shot with her friends and instantly scrunching her nose before jonas screams again. "honestly, i'm down for a round there." he rubs his hands together, feeling the adrenaline race through him.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: roxy smiles in amusement at their exchange. “something like that,” she shakes her head before taking the bottle back. roxy raises an eyebrow at his explanation, “that sounds awfully specific. are you trying to lure me into attending an aa meeting?” she narrowed her eyes, but a small smirk pulled at her lips. looking him over once more, she exhaled and turned to sana. “unfortunately, curiosity’s my greatest flaw. i’ll find you again in a bit?” her hand went to squeeze sana’s, “i’ll come back bearing gifts. in the meantime, knock ‘em dead.” roxy smirked at her and before turning back towards chris. “this better be worth it,” she raised her eyebrows as she gestured for him to lead the way.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: chris raised his eyebrows as he chuckled, "perhaps, but doesn't that just sound like a jolly good time though? me, you, an aa meeting? nothing gets me off more than the sound of that." he laughs, a smirk slowly growing on his lips as roxy turns to sana. sana sighs, shaking her head, "you owe me, kid." she raises a finger as he narrows her eyes at the boy. laughing as she kisses roxy's cheeks, sana skips off to somewhere else. chris raises an eyebrow, "or what? is that a threat i hear, roxy?" he smirks, throwing his arm over her shoulder as he leads her to the kitchen. "if anything's going to make you even better looking, it's this." he introduces, spinning on his heel to reveal a beer hat in his hands. "huh? huh?" he smirks, laughing. "it's convenient, fits perfectly on the head, won't clash too much with the glitter on your eyes, and, it's a real head turner." chris laughs, smiling a roxy. "i'm glad you came."

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: isak raises his eyebrows and leans down to noora’s ear, “hey, my lips are sealed.” sending her a small smile, he took a hold of their new drinks. “amen!” eva cheered before downing her shot. william scrunched his eyebrows slightly at the taste before setting the glass down with a smirk. he looked over at noora to send her a small grin. “you’re really on a roll here, aren’t you?” he laughed at jonas. “who’s down for another round?” eva asks as she raises both her hands, “i fucking love new years.” she shook her head with a smile. isak tapped a finger against his shot glass, feeling a wave of uneasiness course through him. he had william on his right and noora to his left and felt like he shouldn’t move. eva, on the other hand, keeps sending noora a look that urged her to step around isak and towards william.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: noora turns to look at isak and smiles, "you're the only real one here." she jokes slightly, grinning at her friend. raising her eyebrows at jonas' suggestion, noora laughs, "jonas, i think i would like to actually remember this night." she chuckles, looking at william with a small smile. noora glances at eva and shakes her head, rolling her eyes at her friend with a grin. at the sight of the small circle in the distance, sana runs over and hugs isak from behind, "you came!" she laughs, raising her eyebrow at william, "look at you, finding the crowd here." sana teased, placing her hands on isak's shoulders before giving him a tight hug. joining the circle, sana nods at everyone, "hello, hello, my little angels. are we doing shots? because i can definitely do a shot right now." sana grins, grabbing one of the shot glasses. jonas raises his eyebrow at isak with a big smirk left on his lips. "okay, last round before noora passes out." he teases, sending a wink to the blonde. noora chuckled, slowly feeling the alcohol kick in, being the light weight that she is. as everyone took their shot, noora finishes and puts her drink down and laughs, "okay, i'm done." shaking her head as she felt her heart beat a lot quicker than usual.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: roxy rolls her eyes at chris, “i might need a whole ‘nother bottle to sit through that.” she chuckles before saying goodbye to sana. roxy smirks lightly, “mhm. and i’m sure i don’t have to tell you just what kind of threat sana is.” she lets him guide her to the kitchen and tilts her head as she waits for the reveal. “jesus,” her lips part at the sight of the ugly beer hat in his hands. “did you pay actual money for this, chris?” she marvels at the thing before letting out a laugh. “as much as i value your fashion advice,” roxy raises her brows, “i think it better suits you. go ahead, try it on.” roxy smirks as she leans back against the counter and raises her brandy bottle to take a sip. “of course. why wouldn’t i?” she tilts her head to look at him, “i’m all up for a good time.”

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: chris chuckles and grabs a fresh bottle and raises it, "there's plenty of more from where this came from." he smirks lightly, tilting his head. "a sana threat is something that no one should mess with." he laughs, shaking his head. "so i see you two have become quite close. i should be worried, huh?" he smirks, shaking his head as he chuckles. "what?" he questions innocently with a grin on his lips. "it was calling for me, i had to get it." he laughs, "william didn't accept it as his christmas gift though." he chuckles, rolling his eyes. "please, i would look fucking sexy in anything." he says, putting the hat on and raising an eyebrow with a smirk. "a babe, no?" he laughs, taking the hat off and leaning on the counter opposite from her. "a good time is all i want." he smirks, raising the bottle to his lips as he drank.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: isak returns noora’s smile but it doesn’t reach his eyes. though he wasn’t selling her out like their other friends, he was keeping something much bigger from her. he glances at william again and bites the inside of his cheek to get rid of the feeling of guilt. william raises his chin slightly at noora’s statement and nods, “that’s true. i would also, like to remember tonight.” eva’s eyes widen as she looks from william to noora and she tries to hide her smirk. isa’s startled at the sudden impact of another body but he instantly smiles as he realizes it’s sana. “of course i came,” he tilts his head slightly to try and meet her eyes before bringing her hands up to give her arms a small squeeze. william raises his eyebrows at the sight of sana and isak but nods her a hello. “and now obviously you’re here to leech off my success at finding the best crowd,” william smirks slightly. eva’s lips part in shock as she looks to noora with an expression that reads ‘are you seeing this too?!’ shaking her head, she turns back to jonas and grins. “what are we on? third? fourth-drink noora? i feel spoiled,” she laughs and helps hands around shots. the group downs their drinks and eva grips jonas’ shoulder as she winces, “okay, fuck, that one got me.” isak turns to sana after he finishes, “are you enjoying the party?” william chuckles lightly at noora’s expression and tilts his head. “are you good?” he asks her with a light smile before gesturing with his head to follow him away from the crowd.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: noora looks away, purposely avoiding eye contact with eva and turning her head to prevent herself from blushing at william. jonas raises an eyebrow at noora and chuckles, "noora you're turning red." noora scrunches her eyebrows and pushes jonas, "you're literally an ass." jonas laughs in response, raising his hands in defence. sana waves william off, "would you like a congratulations?" she chuckles, rolling her eyes. as jonas downs the drink, his hand automatically snakes around eva's waist in familiarity, shaking his head as he winces at the after taste. "fuck. okay, i think we're four down." he shakes his head, feeling the burn in his throat really kicking in. sana turns to isak and tilts her head, "i am, i am. are /you/ enjoying the party?" she asks with a smirk, wiggling her eyebrows at him. sana tugs lightly at his collared shirt, "either way, you look handsome." she chuckles. noora's eyes finds william as she chuckles, shaking her head, "i need water." she admits, looking at eva and jonas, "jonas, don't let eva get hurt." she laughs before following turning to william, "water?" she raises her chin to look at him, scrunching her nose as she swayed lightly. sana raises an eyebrow at the two as she chuckles, shaking her head.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: roxy’s eyes spark at the sight of a new bottle and her lips pull up in a smirk, “maybe i’ll stick around then.” she chuckles and nods in agreement when he describes a sana threat. “we have,” she hums for a moment, “you should be.” roxy glances at him and laughs. “couldn’t leave the store without it, huh?” she shakes her head, “i can’t imagine why.” roxy chuckles before raising her eyebrows as her eyes follow the hat up on his head. “oh my,” she places a hand on her chest dramatically, “you’re truly a hot mess.” roxy shakes her head before laughing. “cheers to that,” she raises her bottle and chugs the remainder of the alcohol. her throat burns but she doesn’t care. she just let her eyes rest on chris as her mind slowly started to swim.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: "oh? not for me but for the drinks, hm? i see how it is." he smirks, shaking his head. "she's a good one, so keep her around. plus, that means you'd get to spend more time with me." he laughs, a small smirk left on his lips. "it was almost love at first sight when i saw it." chris chuckles, looking at the hat and shaking his head. "i'm a hot mess, sure, but at least i'm still hot." he smirks, taking another chug at his beer. his eyebrows raise as she chugs the alcohol, watching her as she barely reacts. his lips quip up to a smirk as he walks over to her. stopping barely an inch from roxy, chris leans over to grab a new bottle that was resting behind her. leaning back, chris scans her face before he raises his chin and offers her the new drink. "for you." he said, not daring to move.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: eva widens her eyes at jonas’ and notices william’s growing smirk before chiming in, “well of course she’s turning red. she’s setting a new noora record on drinks.” she shrugs lightly as she attempts to save the situation and looks to noora. william tilts his head to sana and shakes his head, “no. but i’m afraid i might ditch drinking with you all together. these guys know how to party,” he grinned as he nodded at jonas. isak narrows his eyes slightly, remembering the bet existed not only for william but for sana as well. despite the alcohol, eva felt very aware of jonas’ hand around her waist but she did nothing to remove it. “four? bets i’ll start dancing by the next one,” she laughed as she took his sunglasses and placed them on her instead. isak frowns at eva’s behaviour and looks at jonas briefly before returning his gaze to sana. “good. yeah, yeah, /now/ i think i am,” he leans closer to her to speak, “and you look incredible.” he says with a small smirk. isak’s too distracted to notice that noora and william are heading away from the group until they’ve already left.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: william finds noora’s eyes and nods, “water.” he puts his hands in his pockets as he waits for noora to join him before starting to walk. “can i just say, i’m oddly impressed that you took down four shots?” he tilts his head at her with a grin. “you’re really showing your true colours tonight, hm?” he raises his chin slightly before letting out a laugh. william picks up a new water bottle and opens it before handing it to noora. “you look beautiful, noora.”

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: jonas chuckles, "sorry, sorry, noora drinking is just such a new sight, i'm practically baffled." he laughed, shaking his head. sana raises an eyebrow, "who says they would rather drink with you than me? trust me guys, i'm a better time than this one." she laughs, bumping hips with william. sana laughs and turns back to isak, "why thank you, kind sir." she grabs his hand and twirls as she chuckles. jonas raises his eyebrows at the sight, his lips parting at his best friend and the girl he likes. his attention if grabbed by eva as she takes his sunglasses off, laughing as she puts it on herself. "you look cute in my sunglasses." he grins, shaking his head at the sight of her. "i don't think we would need to bet on anything as you're clearly tipsy enough to do so already." he leans in, taking the sunglasses off her eyes and places them on her head to see her eyes.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: noora catches up beside william as she laughs and shakes her head, "i hope they stay down." she scrunches her nose at the thought of the after math in the morning. "this isn't happening again for another fourty years." noora laughs, stopping in front of him as she takes the water from him. "who's showing their true colours is jonas. i don't know what you did but you clearly have him hooked," she chuckles, tilting her head at him. taking a sip, noora looks at him and laughs, "i look like eva, that's what i look like." she laughs, shaking her head at her dress. noora felt her intoxication slowly creepy up on her as she raising her head to look at william, "you.. don't look so bad yourself though." she scrunches her eyebrows, shaking her head, "that came out sounding really stupid, i'm sorry." she laughs, leaning on the counter to catch her balance.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: “mhm, that’s exactly it,” roxy tries to contain her teasing smile as she nods at his statement. “i will,” she tilts her head and then raises her eyebrows, “oh? are you a package deal? no returns and all that?” she smirks and shakes her head. “i hope you have a happy future together then.” roxy rolls her eyes lightly and smiles in amusement, “fine, i’ll give you that. still hot.” there’s no denying her physical attraction to him. her eyes wander over his features as he walks over. she raises her chin slightly as he stops right in front of her and doesn’t move as he leans over to grab the bottle of beer. roxy’s eyes flicker down to the bottle and then to his lips, “thanks.” she takes the bottle and brings it up to take a sip, her eyes lifting up to his.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: chris chuckles, "i am, sana is the add on, william is the optional promo code." he laughs, shaking his head. "oh thank you, i'll invite you to the wedding. maybe we can play out one of those you show up last minute and convince me to leave them for you." he teases, tilting his head with a smirk. chris chuckles, his smirk growing as she agreed with him. he pauses for a moment to really scan her face, glancing between her green eyes and rosy lips, before taking a small step back, "pleasure." he nods, lifting the bottle to his lips as his eyes stayed on hers.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: “she’s full of surprises that one,” eva smiled as she lost noora and william to the crowd. she turned to sana and laughed, “i believe you. you seem like you know how to properly party. not one to wander off too soon to get ‘water’.” isak laughs and nods in agreement, “it’s true. sana’s great drinking company.” he smiled as she spun around his hand, gently resting a hand on her waist when she stops. “what i’m trying to figure out is whether or not you’re the type to make new years resolutions,” he tilted his head with a small smirk. eva raised an eyebrow at isak and sana and whispered to jonas, “i low-key thought isak had a crush on noora.” she shrugs lightly before smiling at jonas’ compliment. “yeah, you think so?” eva brought up a hand to strike a pose before laughing. humming she felt the buzz of the alcohol begin to take effect, “you’re right. i might bust out into a number at any given moment,” she gasped for effect before leaning back with the help of his arm around her waist.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: william tilts his head to the side to look at her, “i hope so too,” he scrunches his eyebrows at the thought of his first real drinking experience, “you let me know if you start feeling uneasy, yeah?” william laughed at her forty year statement, “well, i am glad i am alive to see this in person.” he grinned at her. “he’s quite fun, isn’t he?” he shook his head. “me?” will lifted his eyebrows in shock, “i have done absolutely nothing.” he tried to hide his smirk. william looks at noora and shakes his head slightly. “no, you look like you,” he pins a stray hair behind her ear. “maybe a little differently dressed but still you.” william smiles as his eyes scan hers. he had pre-gamed with chris so he was already floating on the alcohol wave but his tolerance was still pretty high. “well, thank you. i do try,” he chuckled at her hesitation and then caught her elbow in his palm to stop her from swaying but at the same time keep her close.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: sana grins at eva, nodding her head, "the same goes to you, love. i don't think i've ever met someone almost as enthusiastic as me." she chuckles, raising her head. jonas laughs in response, "eva's a little free spirit." he raises his eyebrows, grinning at the brunette. sana smirks, "if anyone wants to come over for champagne at three in the morning, my doors are open." she laughs, tilting her head at isak. "of course i make new years resolutions. i've gotta impress myself every year with high standards to set for me." she smirks, raising her chin, "guess what they are." she chuckles, tapping her hands on his chest. jonas raises an eyebrow again at their intimate intereaction, turning to eva as she spoke, "i knew this was happening, but i just can't feel like i might cry at the sight of it." he chuckled, shaking his head before turning his attention back solely on eva. "of course." he grinned, slowly dipping her as she leaned back. "it'd be quite the sight to witness such a thing."

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: roxy scrunched her eyebrows, “sana is not an add on.” she shook her head and chuckled, “she’s more of an exclusive, premium edition.” roxy lifted her chin at his wedding fantasy, “mm, perhaps. it would make for one interesting wedding, wouldn’t it? check affair off the bucket list and all.” she mused with a small smirk. roxy takes a moment’s pause after she drinks. the past couple of days and the effect of the alcohol giving way to a much bigger flirt than usual. “you really do look charming tonight,” her eyes swept his before a faint smile appeared on her lips, “very.. how do you put it? /vakker/.”

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: noora shakes her head, "when am i not feeling uneasy?" she chuckles softly, scrunching her nose. "you'd be alive for the next one, don't you think? it's just fourty years." she rambles, "plus, i don't think it's fair that i took four, might i add quite strong, shots and i'm already feeling flustered while you're still fine. we're not on common grounds." she says, scrunching her eyebrows at him as she felt herself slur slightly at the end. "oh you've done everything, don't deny it." noora shakes her head and chuckles. noora scans his face as he pins the strand of her hair back, a small smile resting on her lips as she relaxed with his touch. noora stood closer to him to sway back and forth less. although heaps of people were surrounding them, noora's attention was only focused on william as she leaned in slightly. scrunching her eyebrows, noora looked over as a girl tapped william's shoulder. it wasn't someone noora knew well, but she recognized tori from one of her classes. noora takes a small step back as she lets out a soft chuckle.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: chris chuckles, "you're right. but don't tell sana i said that or i will have a shaved eyebrow in the morning." he laughs, shaking his head. "i'm all for the thrill, so if there's anything interesting, i'm in." he smirks, chuckling as she approves of his joking idea. chris tilts his head, a small grin resting on his liips as their eyes met, "another compliment? am i dreaming?" he chuckles, his eyebrows shooting up at her attempt at norwegian. chris laughs, forgetting about the time he told her about the false meaning behind the word. "cool?" he tilts his head, wondering if she figured out the real meaning. "takk. thank you." he smirks, nodding his head. "i don't think you need me to tell you that you're beautiful."

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: eva grins at sana and jonas in turn, waving her hand, “oh you guys are too sweet, honestly you’re making me blush.” she gushed with a laugh before raising an eyebrow at isak. “isak, have you nothing to add to this compliment train?” isak narrowed his eyes, “uh.. pass.” he shrugged lightly, still not entirely approving of how close jonas and eva were at the moment. eva stuck out her tongue at him before excitedly cheering at sana’s offer, “oh yes! i’m taking you up on that offer so don’t be alarmed when i show up at your doorstep.” isak shook his head, “be careful who invite over to your house.” he scanned her face and hummed in thought for a moment, “catch evidence of an alien?” he joked with a small smile, “give me a hint.” eva looked over at isak and sana and shook her head. “really? well, maybe this is exactly what he needs so i hope it works out.” she shrugs and laughs as he dips her back. “maybe i’ll save a dance,” she said once she straightened back up, “just for you.”

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: william scrunches his eyebrows at her words, “what do you mean by that?” he glanced her over, “do you feel uneasy around me?” he asked, softly. “so that means we’ll still know each other in forty years,” william hummed, a smile growing on his lips. “in my defence i joined your shot-taking party a little late.” he laughed and shook his head. william was of course feeling the blurred state of intoxication but he was more used to it than she was. “besides, i’m not done drinking just yet. midnight’s still to come,” anticipation flashed in his eyes. william knew he wanted to kiss noora when the countdown came and he wondered if she felt the same. “i’ve done nothing, i swear,” he laughed and held his hands up in defence. william held onto her, trying to keep her standing straight as he smiled softly at her. he wanted her to feel safe around him, not uneasy. william scrunches his eyebrows as he feels a tap on his shoulder and looks behind him at tori. “what is it?” he tried to keep his voice from sounding irritated as the brunette attempted to make conversation once again. “tori— tori. i’m a little busy right now. we’ll chat some more afterwards okay? i’ll find you later,” he nodded trying to sound sincere.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: sana grins, shaking her head as she chuckled, at isak, "oh don't be silly, eva looks like she wouldn't hurt a fly." she says, smiling at the girl. "plus i haven't really gotten the chance to get to know the girl power in this group. roxy's an absolute darling, so why don't you three come over one day? champagne, pajamas, all the things." she says as she winks at eva. sana tilts her head at isak as she hums "close." she laughs, placing her hands on his shoulders as she begins to dance a little, "i don't actually have any. i was hoping you'd secretly tell me things i'd need to work on." she laughs ,shaking her head, "i don't believe in new years resolutions. if you're going to change something, change it now and then." she shrugs, raising her chin.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: noora shakes her head, placing her hands on william's chest to steady herself. "i think you make everyone uneasy because of how good looking you are." she admits, rolling her eyes slightly. "but it's not a bad uneasy. you just make me feel like my heart beats faster than it should, so /stop/ it." she slurs slightly, looking at him with scrunched eyebrows before letting out a chuckle. noora steps slightly closer as the sound of the music was got louder, "you.. should stay with me for new years. if jonas doesn't kiss eva, i think he'd want to kiss you." she jokes, raising her chin as she smirked at him. turning her attention to tori, noora chuckled at the irritation in william's voice. her eyes then met the other girl's, who was giving noora a glare in return for laughing. noora straightens her back as she smiles apologetically, "hi tori." she nods as tori greets her in return, attempting to drive the conversation back to william. noora bites down on her lower lip as tori eventually leaves, looking at william whilst trying to hide her grin. "are you busy? with who?" noora looks around dramatically, letting out a laugh, shaking her head.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: jonas chuckles as he lifts eva back up, "maybe? i'm hoping you'll save one just for me or sure." he laughs, pulling her closer towards him. jonas tilts his head, pinning strands of eva's hair back as he scanned her face. "god, you're so beautiful." he confesses, the corners of his lips raising to a small smile before giving her a little spin. even though he knew that he shouldn't think this way, jonas wanted eva to be his new years kiss. he wanted a lot of things, but if he got to have his kiss with her, jonas would be happy.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: “i’m not sure i’m entirely convinced to keep your secret. i mean a one-eyebrow’d chris? that’d be something for the ages,” roxy tilts her head with a small grin. “we can hitch a ride all the way to italy,” she smirked, “to rome with love and all that.” roxy lifted the bottle back to her lips to silence her laughter. the alcohol was finally starting to kick in. “yeah. cool,” she repeated, putting emphasis on the word cool. she lifted her head up at the ceiling and closed her eyes briefly. everyone kept telling her she was beautiful but she felt all rust and bones. “tell me something interesting instead,” she looked back to him with a glint in her eyes.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: isak shakes his head muttering, “she’s the devil,” under his breath. eva’s lifts her eyebrows in surprise at the other’s offer but nods enthusiastically, “that sounds like plan. a little detox from the boys could do us some good.” she says with a small smirk before laughing. isak’s other hand finds sana’s waist as she begins to sway slowly. “definitely alien related though, right?” he squints before letting out a chuckle. isak raises his eyebrows, “you want me to tell you what you need to work on? i don’t think i know you well enough to do that.” isak tilts his head, “so you believe new years and time is a social construct then? interesting.” a small smile plays at his lips, “okay. i’ll give you one new resolution: tell me something about you. that i don’t already know.”

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: william’s hands easily rest against noora’s waist, keeping her in place as she tries to steady herself. “is that so?” he muses with a growing smirk on his lips. one of his hands went up to cup the side of her face, “i’ll tell you a secret.” william leaned closer to her and scanned her eyes, “you make my heart race a little more than it should too. so if anyone should stop it, it’d have to be you.” smiling, he leaned back slightly to scan her face. “really? i mean jonas is a lovely guy, i’m kind of thinking about it,” he joked with an easy laugh before pining a stray hair behind her ear, “i won’t leave you.” william cleared his throat as he caught the sight of tori glaring at noora, “is that all?” tori looks slightly hurt at this rejection but with the drunken state william was in, it was hard to be polite towards unwanted attention. turning around, he smirks at noora. “just this girl. a little taller than five feet, blonde hair, beautiful eyes,” he bites his bottom lip as his eyes scan noora, “reeks of trouble.” william smirked as he took both her hands to pull her back close to him.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: “mm, i’m currently undecided,” eva teased with a small smirk. “just.. stick around and maybe it’ll happen,” she muses softly as she lets him comb through her hair. her lips part slightly at his compliment and she can’t help but smile as he spins her. “my mother told me to be wary of you,” she hums as she faces him again. after their christmas dinner, she had spent all night talking to her mom about jonas and her feelings. her mom loved jonas and had always wanted eva with him. “she says you’re absolutely impossible to let go of.”

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: "are you telling me that if i were to have one eyebrow, you would no longer be attracted to me, roxy?" he tilts his head while he asks her, a small smirk creeping onto his lips. "hey, i'd be down." he shrugs, knowing the fact that they could easily drop everything and leave tomorrow morning. "italy, rome, are you secretly a romantic?" he teases, letting out a chuckle, "we can go wherever you want." he says, scanning her face. "cool." he repeats with a small nod as his eyes flicker from hers. chris hummed as he raised his chin, his face scanning hers as his fuzzy mind was piling with things he could say to her. he could have continued to compliment her but he wanted to have a real conversation with her, even amongst their drunken state. of course he wanted to kiss her at this very moment and at several moments prior to this, but roxy struck a different cord to chris. if she'd make the move, he'd gladly follow. "i dance," he shrugs, "if you find dancing attractive." he smirks, giving her a little wink.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: "definitely." sana smirks,, raising her head as she looks at isak. "time is a weird philosophical concept in general. would the numerical representation of time exist if it weren't for humans? probably not. we're always racing against this constant thing, something we're always losing and never gaining. yet, we depend on it in and say things like we'll procrastinate our goals when we can just work on them now. so yeah, there's a little insight of what i think about resolutions." she shrugs, her hands resting on isak as she spoke. "hm," sana tapped her plumped lips as she thought, "i have three tattoos." she raises her head, letting go of isak as she pushed her hair to the side. "one behind my ear." she turns her head to reveal a small rose behind her ear. she turned back towards isak as she lifted her hand, "one in between these two fingers," she raised her ring finger to show a crescent, "and one on my hip." she raises her chin, a small smirk resting on her hips as she looks at him, "maybe you'll get to see that one day." she teases, her eyes resting on his.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: noora stilled as william cupped her face, a small smile faintly resting on her lips as he leaned closer to her. "i guess we'll just have to deal with it then." she says, nuzzling her face slightly into his soft hands. "i'm sure it'd be a dream. for him." she chuckles, humming as she looks at him. when 'i won't leave you' left william's lips, noora scanned his face in an attempt to figure out if his words were genuine or not. her attention then turned back to tori's, her eyes flickering between the two and their interaction. noora felt bad, an inevitable instinct that she always felt when she thought things were her fault, but her intoxicated state glanced over the thought. noora laughs, shaking her head as he described her, "oh, i'm trouble?" she chuckles, as she leaned into him again. her face inches closer to his before noora let out a soft laugh, "i think you're trouble."

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: "i'll stick around." jonas nods with a small smirk. he chuckled as he caught the contagious smile on her face, a smile growing on his lips in return. jonas tilts his head and raises his eyebrows, "did she?" he laughs, resting his hands on her waist. jonas raises his chin as she spoke, shaking his head as he smiled sadly, "i don't know if that's true. or if it will be true forever. because you're the epitome of the perfect girl." he sighs, scrunching his eyebrows, "so it's more like /you're/ impossible to let go of, eva." he says, scanning her face.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: “no, quite the opposite. i think it even has the potential to make you even more attractive. fuck that double eyebrow standard, right?” roxy joked with a quick tilt of her head. she let out a bitter laugh at the word romantic and took another swig from the beer. “wherever i want?” her eyebrows raised in slight suspicion, “chris, i never get what i want.” roxy’s smile was empty as she looked to him. “i want to go nowhere and everywhere,” she hummed, leaning a hand back on the counter, “you see? it’s just not possible.” she shakes her head slowly and raises the bottle for another sip. roxy was well aware she was spewing out nonsense but it didn’t matter. in an odd way, it was the truth and it had been grazing the surface for so long it had no choice but to spill out eventually — notably, when she was drunk. “you dance?” her eyes flickered to him, moving across his body. “that’s cool,” roxy smirked meeting his eyes again. “do i get to see some of your moves or is that a secret you’ll never share?”

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: isak leaned his head back to get a better look at her while she spoke. she always talked very fast, all in a rush, as if she was thinking too fast but it was still a marvellous conversation. surprisingly, he managed to catch every word and hold onto it longer than the last, even in this drunken state. “interesting perspective,” he chuckled, his eyes still gazing at hers. “i think resolutions bring a false set of hope,” isak started even though she didn’t ask for his opinion, “hope that things will change for the better. i think it’s sort of like a coping mechanism, new year fresh start. i can’t decide where i stand with them.” he mimicked her shrug and looked to her as she let go of him. his eyes followed her fingers as they gestured to eat tattoo. “wicked,” he chuckled his mind slightly blurring at all of her movements. isak’s eyebrows raised at her last comment. “are you giving me false hope, sana?” his lips curved up in a small smile as he scanned her face.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: "more attractive? is that even possible?" chris smirked, tilting his head. he raised his eyebrows at her comment, a flash of a frown coming and going before he shook his head, "well that was before me." he chuckled, raising his chin in confidence, taking a step closer to her, "we can go nowhere. we can go everywhere." he said, hovering over her as he scanned her face. "it is possible. you're just restricting yourself on your past, roxy." he said, even though he knew it was a bold move. he didn't know her past and he acknowledged that, but whatever it was that was holding her back, he wanted her to let go. chris chuckled as he looked at her with a smirk on his face, "i do." he nodded, tilting his head as she checked him out. "i wouldn't say never. i mean, you did bail on my offer for skiing, so i'm afraid i'm a little self conscious that you'll bail on any other offers i have from now on." he muses, raising his chin, "some say i'm good with my body. i think you'll see eventually." he smirked, cocking his head to the side.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: william’s lips quipped up in a smile at her answer, “i guess so.” his thumb strokes her cheek and runs down towards her lips. scanning her face, he pauses for a moment before letting his hand drop back down to her waist. “oh, for me too i’m sure. he visited my dreams just the other night,” he joked with a small smirk. of course it wasn’t jonas who visited his dreams but rather noora herself. william breathed out in relief when tori finally vanished back into the crowd, shaking his head at the whole interaction. “i never mentioned i was talking about you,” his eyebrows lifted teasingly as he let out a hum. william’s arms wrapped around her, securing her safely against his chest as he scanned her face. “you’re probably wrong about that,” he shook his head with a smirk, “i’m anything but trouble. perfectly civil, i assure you.”

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: “good,” eva smiled back at him, wrapping her hands around his neck, “there’s been a lot of change around here, huh?” she gestured towards sana and isak and then tried to search the crowd for noora and william. “need something to hold onto,” she shakes her head slightly as she turns back to him. “jonas. we both know that i’m far from perfect,” eva let out a laugh and brought a hand up to gently stroke his cheek. “you’ve always been so good to me,” she sighs softly as she scans his face, “and i think there’s a part of me that feels like i don’t deserve that.” eva had made her fair share of mistakes, slept with the wrong people and yet jonas always found the good in her.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: sana laughed, "did you get a single thing i just said?" she tilted her head, her hand reaching his cheek. her eyes narrowed on his face as he spoke about his perspective, "well, you don't have to stand anywhere with them. they're optional. people should find their own way of hope and not something that's false." she nodded, raising her chin. chuckling, sana smirked, "i'm not settling on anything, love. i'm just stating a mere possible fact." she chuckles, slowly stepping backwards while grabbing onto his hand, "but what i do think we should do is dance."

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: noora scanned william's face as he brushed her lips with his thumb, her lips parting slightly in response. "really? what was this dream about?" she tilted her head, raising her eyebrows as she chuckled. noora's eyes followed tori as she left, scrunching her eyebrows slightly as she pouted at her friends. as they all turned their heads to look at noora, noora made a small step to the side so william could cover them in their view. noora feigned offence, using her light weight to push him playfully, "mean." she rolled her eyes, a small smirk resting on her lips. raising her chin to look up at william, noora raised an eyebrow in question, "so you're squeezing me to believe you or just in case if i end up running when i find out you're lying?" she asks him with a smirk.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: jonas hummed as eva's hands wrapped around his neck. glancing around, jonas chuckled softly with a small nod, "first year university. i feel like a lot of things are always going to change. we're all kind of just figuring it all out." he said as he scanned her face with a small smile. jonas tilted his head, "no, you think you're not perfect. i think you're perfect." he said with a small shrug, scrunching his eyebrows slightly. he listened to her speak, sadness flashing as his expression as she repeated the same words from their breakup. he pressed his lips together as he looked at her in silence before, "it's not had to be good to you when i'm in love." he admitted, his hands reaching up to cup the side of her face, "whether you think you deserve it or not, it's simply something that you can't decide because," he sighs, "even if you go back to chris tomorrow morning, i'd still want to be with you." he confesses, scanning her face.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: “sure it is,” roxy tilts her head, “aim for the stars— break the hot-meter scale entirely.” she lets out a laugh before her eyes flicker up to meet his. her eyebrows draw together slightly at his words, the rest of the party slowly fading into white noise. ‘that was before me’ echoed in her head as he closed the distance between them. she wanted to believe him, and in someway she did. roxy lifted her free hand and gently placed it on his cheek. scanning his eyes she let her hand travel down to rest on chest. “don’t make promises you can’t keep,” she said softly. truth was he scared her. roxy was scared because he made her feel and that meant he had the power to hurt her. “i don’t want to get hurt, chris. i can’t handle that,” she shook her head, dropping her eyes and sipping on her drink to burn away her confession. roxy smiled faintly at the mention of skiing and she lifted her head back to meet his eyes, “i did come to your misery party on christmas, though. that counts for something, right?”

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: isak raised his eyebrows defensively, “yeah, of course. i follow you, i can keep up.” he laughed and quieted once she placed a hand on his cheek. even if she had let him down gently, it didn’t mean his feelings towards her vanished. “yeah, i agree with that,” he nodded, his eyes flicking up to hers, “i’ll just keep trying to find that way of hope then.” isak’s lips curved up at her statement, nodding in understanding. “facts are better than fiction,” he added before scrunching his eyebrows together as she grabbed his hand. “i have to warn you. i’m a /terrible/ dancer,” he grinned slightly before looking at her and pulling her towards the dance crowd.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: willam stared into her eyes as he hummed, “jonas and i are having a picnic, on the beach. it’s not a sunny day but we don’t mind. i shoo away the birds that try to eat our food and we are at peace with the sound of the waves.” he lifted his chin slightly. replace jonas with noora’s name and it was the dream he had. it was something he had said when they first met. his arms wrapped around hers as she pushed him, will laughing in amusement. “mm, i’ll take that to the grave. you may just never know,” he smirked as he craned his neck down to lean his forehead on hers. “besides, i don’t think you mind. maybe you just ‘like’ me,” he mused with a groin as he was repeating what she had said to his father.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: chris' hand automatically raised to place on top of hers, tilting his head to scan her face. he let out a soft chuckle, "we can go anywhere, roxy." he repeated again, narrowing his eyes on her. he reached for her face, pinning a strand of her hair back and interlocking her fingers with the other. he raised his eyebrows at her next words, "who knows, maybe you'll end up being the one to hurt me." he says softly, brushing her hand iwth his thumb. chris grinned, "that counts for a lot of things." he chuckles, "you're a rare one that's actually stepped inside my house." he tilted his head with a small smile. he wrapped his arms around her then, chris looked at roxy, "vakker doesn't mean cool."

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: "okay, then keep up with us," she began, tilting her head as she looked at him, "i have a soccer game next week and you should come. and actually come." she laughs, shaking her head, "you can be my little good luck charm." she says, smirking. "what do you say, drunk isak?" she raises an eyebrow as the corners of her lips curve up. "no one's a terrible dancer. just feel yourself move and let the music come to you!" she laughs, as she begins to dance with him.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: noora gives william a look, shaking her head as she bites down on her lower lip to prevent herself from grinning. she rests her hands on his chest again as she looks up at him, "and then in an alternate universe, there's me. instead of jonas." she smirks, her hand slowly finding its way to the back of his neck. noora hums quietly as their foreheads touch, "i should mind. and i try to mind."she says, scanning his face. lettign out a laugh, noora scrunches her nose, "did i say that? i'm pretty sure i was just trying to convince your father." she raises her eyebrows, her finger slowly running through his hair, "you may never know." noora says, glancing at his lips.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: eva looked down and shook her head, “i suppose it’s for the best. change, i mean. it lets us grow as people, right? still a scary concept, though.” she looked back up at him with scrunched eyebrows. eva faintly smiled at his perfect comment. she knew she wasn’t but when it came from him she believed she could be — at least a good person. eva stilled at his confession, lips parting in slight shock. she scanned his face, a familiar feeling returning. “jonas..” she started but let her voice trail off. eva always went back to chris whenever her mind wouldn’t shut up about jonas. she felt selfish for still thinking about him, even when she was the one to end things. staring at his lips she tried again, “jonas, i.. i still love you,” she frowned slightly at her words knowing she didn’t have the right to say them, “i’m still /in/ love with you.”

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: jonas sadly smiles as his fingers softly guides her face back to him, "there's a lot of scary things that happen and that will happen. and growth is important, yeah, but maybe it's also growth when you realize that you need to hold onto some things in order to grow." he looks at her, scrunching his eyebrows, "or maybe that's not true, but although change is good, not having a change is needed too sometimes." he says, interlocking their hands. his eyes instantly soften as his name leaves her lips, "eva," jonas says softly as he scans her face. people cheer as the countdown begins, but his attention still stays completely fixated on eva. jonas cups her face, shaking his head as she confessed, feeling every emotion mixed into one. "eva, i'm in love with you." he says before he crashes his lips passionately with hers.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: “even to get fries and a milkshake from mcdonald’s at 3 am?” roxy asked, lifting her eyes to him, searching his face for the green light. something that would say: ‘go ahead, it’s okay.’ he had said she could leave her past behind and maybe, she could. “i doubt that i could hurt you,” her body shivered slightly as he brushed her hand, still wary of his touch, “if i do, you have full permission to hate me.” roxy chuckled lightly. “i guess i should consider myself lucky,” she scrunched her eyebrows. she closed her eyes as he wrapped his arms around her, feeling her body slowly relax in his hold. roxy leaned closer to him to brush her lips softly along his jaw as she said, “i know.” she leaned back slightly to find his eyes again.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: isak tilts his head at her offer as a slow smile forms at his lips, “yeah. yeah, i won’t miss it.” he scrunched his eyebrows slightly. even in this intoxicated state he wouldn’t forget her invitation. his smile grew wider at the mention of a lucky charm, and he couldn’t hold in his laugh. “let’s hope you don’t need a lot of luck as i’m sure i’m not the best one for the job,” he shook his head but locked eyes with her. “what’s your number? so i don’t miss you.” isak rolled his eyes slightly at her enthusiasm, swiping a drink from a nearby table only to down it and throw it back. “alright, if you want dancing then i’ll give you dancing,” he smirked as he began to move to the beat.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: chris chuckled, cupping her face in his hands, "depends, are you a strawberry or chocolate milkshape type of girl? dare i even mention vanilla?" he smirks, his thumb brushing her cheek. chris scanned her face, "i want to know you, roxy. like i said the first day we met, but i just can't help but want to get to know you. even if it is the you from here on out and not your past." he reassured, tilting his head as he ran his hands along her arms as she was wrapped in them. chris raised his eyebrows as her lips brushed against his jaw, a small smirk forming on his lips as their eyes meet when she leans back. chris leans in but stops just an inch from her lips as he said, "take a leap with me, rox."

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: william stares at her for a moment in silence, forgetting they were even at a party. “maybe not just an alternative universe,” he says softly, “maybe in real life instead.” his arms pull her even closer as he feels her hand reaching behind his neck. “mind what exactly?” he hums out in question. “you did try hard to convince my father,” he scrunches his eyebrows but slips an easy smirk on his lips, “i guess i’ll have to live, cursed to wonder about it forever.” will chuckled and scanned her face before raising his hands to cup her face, “you should know, though. it’s no wonder that i like you, noora sætre.”

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: eva lifts her eyes back to his as he guides her face, scrunching her eyebrows at his words. “no, i think that is true. i think we or more notably /i/ get so wrapped up in the idea of change that i try to change everything at once,” she scanned his face, sighing lightly, “you’ve always been my anchor, jonas.” she smiled softly at him. ever since she met him, he has always kept her grounded. eva hears the slow rise of voices as they join in the countdown and with each number she grows closer to jonas. locking her lips with him they kiss as the clock strikes midnight, the party roaring with cheers. it’s the new year and something in the way they kiss whispers ‘welcome home’.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: noora tilted her head as he stared at her, raising her eyebrows as she chuckled softly, "it's still a little too cold to have a picnic on the beach right now, william." she says, her hand playing with his hair. noora shrugs lightly, "that you're you and i'm me." she raises her chin lightly, closing one eye as she felt herself feel wavy, "i hope you realize that you're mister popular over here," she says, pointing in the direction to tori, "and i'm over here plain ol' noora who isn't too keen on parties." sh escrunches her nose with a small grin. "the convincing was for your sake for lying." she tilts her head and teases. raising her head as william cups her face, noora scans william's face. her lips part as the crowd begins the countdown, but her eyes stay fixed on his, "okay." she simple says, in response but also as if she was giving him permission.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: sana chuckles, "i think you being there will be a good one anyway." she smirks, tilting her head. "okay, give me your phone, i'll put it in." she chuckles, inserting her number into his phone before she lifts the phone with her hand. sana cups isak's face with one hand as she turns his face to kiss the side of his cheek before snapping a photo. letting go, sana grins as she makes it her icon photo on his phone. handing it back she raises her chin, "here you go." she smirks, "don't give it to anyone though. it's a tad exclusive," she jokes with a wink.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: roxy didn’t hesitate before answering, “chocolate, of course. as if there’s anything that compares.” she rolled her eyes lightly and let out a laugh. her eyes searched his as he repeated his words from before. roxy was sure he wouldn’t like her past self, not that she was willing to share, but perhaps her new, present self was all she needed to be. her eyes flicker down to his lips, her heart pounding in her ears. the countdown starts and she only waits until it hits 8 before pressing her lips to his. roxy’s hands grab at his hair as she pulls him down toward her and closes any distance between them only to pull back just as the clock strikes midnight. she smiles, a /real/ smile as she says, “first thing you should know about me is that i’m bad at following rules.”

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: roxy didn’t hesitate before answering, “chocolate, of course. as if there’s anything that compares.” she rolled her eyes lightly and let out a laugh. her eyes searched his as he repeated his words from before. roxy was sure he wouldn’t like her past self, not that she was willing to share, but perhaps her new, present self was all she needed to be. her eyes flicker down to his lips, her heart pounding in her ears. the countdown starts and she only waits until it hits 8 before pressing her lips to his. roxy’s hands grab at his hair as she pulls him down toward her and closes any distance between them only to pull back just as the clock strikes midnight. she smiles, a /real/ smile as she says, “first thing you should know about me is that i’m bad at following rules.”

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: chris smirks, "i was worried you'd end up saying banana or something." he laughs, rolling his eyes playfully. chris raised his eyebrows in surprise as he is pulled down by roxy as their lips crash together. chris flutters his eyebrows shut as they kiss, his hands instantly cupping her face again to seal their lips until she pulls away. chris looks at roxy with a big smirk on her face, interrupting her mid sentence while everyone cheers as he pulls her in for another kiss. his hands rests on her waist until he feels a tap on his shoulder. groaning, chris pulls away, staring a roxy to scan her face as his hand reaches up to cup her face again before turning around, "what?" he spat, to reveal one of his boys. chris' hand interlocked with roxy's as the other male spoke. shaking his head, "xavier and nicholas?" he asks, scrunching his eyebrows together.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: william’s lips curved up in a small smile when she mentioned the weather, “then it’s something we’ll have to look forward to, no?” he hummed, tapping her nose with his finger gently. “does my popularity bother you?” he chuckled as he raised his eyebrows up in question. william scanned her face and shook his head, “you’re wrong about that. you’re the opposite of plain, noora.” his eyes searched hers with a soft expression. a bright smile appeared on his lips as he heard the countdown start. he shifted his position and tilted her chin up with both his hands. “happy new year, noora,” he said as the countdown neared the end and he tilted his head down to mesh his lips with hers. william kissed her slowly, allowing himself to fully take her in before pulling her closer to him as he kept their lips locked together. pulling back slightly, he rested his forehead on hers for a moment, “you have no idea how long i’ve wanted to do that.”

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: isak fumbles for his phone and hands it to her. his eyebrows raise in surprise as she snaps a quick photo and he laughs as she sets it as her icon. “thanks,” he takes it back with a small smirk. “you sure know how to make a boy feel special.” isak smiles lightly while scanning her face. he spins around to grab a bottle of champagne someone had left unattended as the countdown begins, “you ready?” he grins as he counts down and pops open the bottle. “happy fucking new year!” isak cheers as he lifts the bottle above sana’s mouth and pours some champagne.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: noora nods, scrunching her nose as he taps it with his finger, "i'll make chocolate covered strawberries." she raises her chin and grins. noora shakes her head and chuckles softly, "no, it doesn't. i'm just stating what i know." noora's eyes flickers from his, feeling the pace of her heart beat quicker than usual as everyone around them starting getting closer to the end. noora scanned william's face before she smiled softly as he kissed her. she wrapped her arms around his neck as she slightly lowered him to her height. whilst their foreheads touched, noora shook her head before her hands rested on both sides of his face and tippy toed to kiss him again. pulling away, noora presses her lips together as she feels her cheeks flesh, "happy new year, william."

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: meanwhile, xavier alongside nic and the rest of the gang take the stairs two at a time up towards the apartment. they come crashing in but as the roar and excitement of the new year is loud their entrance is only heard by some people. xavier’s jaw is set and his glare cold as he begins to walk further into the flat, eyes scanning the party for any of william’s and chris’ men. a blur of brown curls and fizzing champagne catches his attention and he freezes as he sees sana with some boy he doesn’t know. at that moment some pour soul bumps into him and he pushes the guy back hard, “get the fuck off.”

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: sana chuckles, "because you are special, isak." she smirks as she looks at him. sana nods, clapping her hands as she jumps up and down, joining in on the countdown. "i'm fucking ready!" she screams as she cheers, "happy new year!" she shouts, giggling as isak pours champagne into her mouth. raising her hands to wrap around the bottle, she chows down the champagne until she pushes it away. throwing her arm over isak, she hands him the bottle, "cheers, isak." she grins, looking around and chuckling at everyone having a good time around them. turning her head, sana instantly scrunched her eyebrows at the sight of xavier. at first, she wasn't sure if it was really him or if she was just so drunk that she was imagining him. her eyes then move around to identify the group that was with him, making sana instantly straighten her back. as the stranger falls back, sana lets go of isak and begins to stomp towards the gang, cursing under her breath, "no." she helps up the smaller passerby but he runs off instead. sana turns around and her eyes meet xavier's, making her freeze in her step. sana shakes her head, "you're not supposed to be here. what are you doing here?" it was a mixture of their last unclosed conversation and the immense amount of alcohol that she had consumed that made her presses her hands on xavier to push him back, "go. i know what you're doing here, and go. not here, not /today/, xav!" she looked at him before looking around at the number of people who are oblivious to what she knew may happen if they stayed any longer.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: “banana? what kind of girl do you take me for?” roxy raises her eyebrows, tilting her head to the side. she scans his face when they’re apart and wraps her arms behind his neck as they kiss again. the crowd of people is ear-shattering loud but she tunes them out as they kiss, focusing solely on chris and forgetting about the rest of the world. roxy opens her eyes to find someone standing behind chris and she scrunches her eyebrows as she slides her hands down and presses her lips together as they speak. she wears a faint smile until she hears the name nicholas leave chris’ lips. roxy’s heart immediately jumps and her mind comes to a standstill. no, she tried to convince herself, it couldn’t be the same nic. it just couldn’t. placing her free hand on his shoulder, she leaned over to face him, “what’s wrong?”

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: william’s lips curve up in a smile at her offer, “perfect.” he tilts his head as he combs his hand through her blonde locks. the rest of the party fell away with every second of their kiss and william let out a soft chuckle once they pulled back. “you are so beautiful, noora,” he hummed as he looked down at her before she sealed another kiss on his lips. william smiled at her statement, feeling elated from having finally kissed her. a small crowd gasp made him lift up his head. he scrunched his eyebrows as he tried to identify the source and on the other side of the room he could see a cluster of people. william squinted as he tried to focus on any of the figures and caught the outline of xavier. william froze, his hands dropping from noora as he glared, counting out xavier’s men. “fuck’s sake,” he muttered under his breath.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: "well i don't know, perhaps you're full of surprises." chris chuckles, shaking his head. as they kissed again, chris' lips curved up to a grin as this was something he's wanted to do with how kissable her lips seemed. once chris turned around, he frowned at the news he had received about the other gang. he clenched his jaw as he looked around the room for a sighting of william. his attention instantly went back to roxy when her hand went on his shoulder, tilgin his head to look at her before turning his body towards her. he scrunched his eyebrows as he still looked around, "these punks got in somehow." he shook his head, looking back at roxy. chris scanned her face before he started pulling her towards the other room, "it might get messy in here really quickly."

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: noora's fingers pushed away his long bangs, chuckling as they fell back forward for looking down on her due to her height. her fingers danced along his jawline and then brushed against his lips as if she were exploring the crevice of his face. she tilted her head as he turned away, scrunching her eyebrows slightly as the sound of the crowd slowly caught her attention. her eyes wandered around the room as she looked around at people scattering. "william?"

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: “so are you, you know,” isak tilts his head before joining in on the countdown. he laughs as she pushes the bottle away, bringing it up to his lips to take a large swig. his arm rests gently around her waist as he cheers along with the rest of the crowd, celebrating the new year. isak startles as she leaves and quickly departs in the other direction. he scrunches his eyebrows as his eyes follow her to a tall male. isak catches a passing whisper about an ex-boyfriend and stands still as he tries to piece things together, his mind spinning along with the rest of the room. xavier straightens his back as sana helps the other person up, meeting her eyes once she turns around. “came for the new years party, isn’t it obvious?” his tone deadpanned and he took a small step back as she pushed him, his hands going up to stop hers from pushing him again. his face tightened as she yelled at him to leave. “i’m not here for you,” xavier muttered, dropping her hands, “i don’t care if you don’t want me here, i need to have a chat with one of your boys.” he raised his chin slightly as his eyes scanned the crowds in search for either of the males.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: sana raises her eyebrows at xavier's comment, shaking her head as she pulls her hands away from him, "no." nicholas raises an eyebrow as he lets out a pathetic chuckle, "no? who are you, a little follow dog?" sana turns her attention to nicholas with a scowl, "what the fuck did you just say?" she says, making her way towards nicholas. nic lets out a laugh as he rolls his eyes, "just get us your boys or we'll simply go find them ourselves." sana glares at him, "get the fuck out." nic cocks his head to the side as he glances at xavier and then at his boys, "someone get this one out of here." he directs one of his gang members as they make their way towards sana.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: roxy tried to still her spinning mind as she looked at chris, scanning his face to try and get a read on the situation. “who are you talking about?” she asked slowly, scrunching her eyebrows. nicholas had said he had managed to pick trouble around here, but she refused to believe it was him. roxy startled as he pulled her in the other direction but let him guide her. her eyes wandered the crowd to survey the scene. “why? chris — what’s going on?”

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: william relaxed under noora’s touch, keeping his eyes on hers as they explored his face. his mind was automatically on at the sight of the other gang and he quickly tenses back up. “noora, stay here.” his hands go up to cup her face as he scans her eyes before letting them drop by his side. william started forward, taking a look over his shoulder, “just please stay here.” directing his path towards the other gang, he noticed a dark brunette he immediately recognized as he got closer. “don’t touch her,” he raised his voice, glare deadpan as he came up to sana’s side. xavier had let nic and sana exchange words without interfering, he simply stood back with a tight jaw. upon william’s arrival he narrowed his eyes, glancing between him and the hand he place on sana’s back. “give me one good reason i shouldn’t kick you the fuck out right now,” william glanced between nicholas and xavier as he stepped forward slightly, letting his shoulder come in front of sana. “i think you know how we feel about /snitches/,” xavier spoke with bitter animosity, “and we have reason to believe there may be one amongst you. if not more.”

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: chris scrunched his eyebrows as he guided her through the crowd, "it's these group of guys, roxy." he turns around to look at her, his eyes scanning her face. "you don't want to get hurt, right? then i won't let you get hurt and you'll have to stay here, okay?" he tilted his head, his eyebrows furrowed. "there's these group of guys that fuck with wiliam and i and our group, and they're just not good people. they're not people to be trusted." his hands pinned a strand of her hair back again before he looked over her shoulder and spotted jonas. walking towards them, chris pulls jonas by the shirt, "stick together." he demands jonas, narrowing his eyes on him before letting go of roxy's hand, glancing at her before he made his way to the scene.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: noora scrunched her eyebrows as he cupped her face, shaking her head, "what's happening? why?" she asks, her eyes darting around his face until he lets go. noora parts her mouth to say something but he was already well on his way towards the huddled group. her eyes jumped around the room in search for someone she knew until her eyes landed on eva. her hands reached out to eva as she furrowed her eyebrows together, "eva." she called for her.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: roxy listens to his explanation and scrunches her eyebrows in confusion, her mind trying to work out what this meant. she looks him in the eyes as he continues before nodding slowly, “okay. okay, i’ll stay here.” roxy assured him despite her frantic heart. “chris,” she tugged on his hand before he could let go, “be careful.” letting his hand drop, she wrapped her arms slightly around herself and watched him go. she turns to look at jonas and manages a weak, “hey” and hollow smile before running a hand through her hair to try and calm herself. it couldn’t be nic, it couldn’t be nic, her mind repeated as she picked at her nails.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: eva’s sipping on champagne, going around the party to wish those she knew a happy new year when she hears a familiar voice call her. “noora! there you are, god i’ve been looking everywhere for you,” she wraps one hand around noora and pulls her in for a tight hug. “happy new year babe! this year’s gonna be great, i can already feel it,” she laughs, a bright smile on her face as she pulls back and takes a look at noora with a slightly concerned expression, “what happened? where’s william?”

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: sana scrunched her eyebrows as she felt william's hand placed on her back, not even have heard his voice until then. she raised her chin as william stepped in front of her, her eyes staying on xavier as he spoke. "reason?" nicholas rolled his eyes at william's presence, shaking his head as sana spoke, "yes, reason, sweetheart. reason." he let out a bitter chuckle as chris appeared then. "the fuck are you guys here for? do you not have anything better to do with your sad lives?" nicholas raised his chin, glaring at william, "you or one of your fucking dolls got one of our men spending new years behind bars."

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: jonas raises an eyebrow at chris, fixing his shirt as he shook his head at the boy walking away. he tilted his head as he stood in front of roxy, "happy new year, roxy." he smiled, opening his arms for a hug. jonas pulls her in for a warm hug, squeezing her as he let out a chuckle, "what's wrong?" he asked with a small grin.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: noora sighs as eva pulls her in for a hug, feeling safe in her best friend's arms. she wanted to ask her about her new years countdown and inform her about herself and william, but she couldn't help but continue looking over towards the direction that william headed off to. "i don't know, he went that way. i think someone or some people barged in to the party."

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: william kept his stance right by sana and briefly glanced at chris when he appeared on his other side. will glared right back at nicholas as he explained. “i still don’t see how that’s any of our problem,” he said deadly calm. xavier rolled his eyes and stepped forward to the boys, “are you really this dense?” he shook his head as he pointed from chris to will, “one of your men babbled to the police and our guy vic is in jail. on new years. it’s only fair that we’re here to figure who the fuck snitched. so i suggest you talk before everyone gets involved.” william raised his chin slowly, his shoulder had moved further to cover sana as xavier came closer. “get. lost.”

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: roxy nodded, “you too.” she hesitates for moment as he wraps her in a hug before closing her eyes and lifting her arms to squeeze back. “nothing..” she starts, shaking her head and pulling back. lifting her eyes to meet jonas’ welcoming ones she scrunched her eyebrows. “i think something bad is gonna happen.”

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: eva gives noora a tight squeeze before pulling back and fixing the blonde’s hair. she turned her head to try and see what noora was looking at and scrunched her eyebrows as she explained. “barged into the party?” eva raised her eyebrows as she turned back to face her. “well let’s go find out,” she shakes her head, “he can’t just leave you standing here with no explanation.”

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: chris narrowed his eyes on nicholas as he patronized them, clenching his jaw and his fist at once. sana scrunched her eyebrows as xavier spoke, her eyes then glancing at william and chris as this was evident that she didn't know a lot of things. nicholas raised an eyebrow, "what, are we playing a game of a stare off right now? listen, quit being fucking babies and just give us a name. simple enough." chris took a step forward, "get out of my fucking house before i make you." nicholas took a step forward too, which made sana automatically take a step around william and towards them, "everyone gets involved?" she repeats, her eyes glancing between nicholas and xavier, "wow, look at you guys, coming in and being all buff. so /i/ suggest you guys to turn around before you regret every decision that you guys had for making threats."

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: jonas scrunches his eyebrows, "what do you mean? do you want to leave? why do you think something bad is going to happen?" he asks, his eyes now filled with worry. he scanned her face before shaking her head, "what did chris do?"

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: noora shook her head, "i don't know, eva. he just.. there was a shift in tone." noora says, her words fumbling together in surprise. she nods as she follows eva, grabbing onto her arm as they dove through the sea of people towards the noise. noora pulled onto eva's arms, "there's a circle over there. i don't think it's a good idea to get too close though."

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: william let out a bitter chuckle at nicholas, “you stroll in here, uninvited, with no evidence that one of our boys spilled the beans on something /your/ guy clearly did if he’s being held accountable, and expect us to co-operate oh-so-nicely?” he narrowed his eyes and let chris and nic spew until sana surprised him by walking around him. “sana, stay out of this,” william hissed, stepping forward to pull her back by her shoulders. xavier locked eyes with sana and raised his eyebrows, “or what? you’ll get one of your bodyguards to escort us out, right?” his eyes followed as william pried sana back. a bitter laugh came from xavier as he shook his head, “you still don’t know what the hell these two get up to, do you? i’ll happily fill you on the ‘fun’ times but why take my word, right? so /i/ suggest you don’t meddle into something you no nothing about.” at that moment, william finally snapped and swung hard at xavier’s jaw.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: “i don’t know, i just have this really bad feeling..” roxy shook her head and scrunched her eyebrows at the mention of chris. “no, it’s not chris. he’s done nothing wrong—“ her voice was drowned out by a rise in commotion from somewhere in the room and she instinctively gripped onto jonas’ arm, dreading to know the source of the sound.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: nicholas squinted his eyes at william, "he didn't do shit, and he wouldn't have been there if it weren't for one of you assholes." he clenches his jaw, narrowing his eyes on the three. "we came here to get an answer. so fucking fess up." he narrowed his eyes with a threatening demeanor. sana pulle her arm away from william's grasp, narrowing her eyes at xavier as she stepped towards the other gang again, "wouldn't need to if you didn't /barge/ your way in." sana stumbled back as william came forward, her eyes still fixated on xavier as she furrowed her eyebrows together, "it's my place to get involved if you're here. enough with the belittling for fuck's sakes!" she shouts, but then her eyes widen as william swings at xavier. "william!" nicholas glares at william and swings his fist into william's face, ducking as chris barges towards him.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: eva scrunches her eyebrows as she scans her face, “okay. we’ll figure out why, don’t worry. i’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation.” she nodded and guided them through the crowd. eva turned her head to disagree, “i still can’t see william.” she frowned stepping a bit closer until the boy had come into her line of sight right as he punched another male in the jaw. “fucking christ,” she jumped back in surprise, her arms wrapping around noora. “oh my god,” eva stood in shock before realizing she needed to get noora away from the scene. "noora, we should leave."

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: jonas scanned roxy's face again, scrunching his eyebrows at her vagueness. "okay, then we'll trust your intuition." he nodded before his head whipping towards the direction of the crowd. his eyes searched through the circle as he spotted chris in the middle of the fight. "fuck." jonas looked back at roxy as she grabbed his arm, scrunching his eyebrows.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: william rolled his eyes, “again. empty claims. what do you have to prove he didn’t do it? what do you have to prove that one of us sold him out?” he stood his ground, glaring right back at nicholas. “i have no answer for you because your question is simply irrational.” william’s jaw tightened as he tried to remain calm. “that’s the only way to deal with these animals,” xavier retorted gesturing to chris and will. his eyes left them for a moment to focus on sana as he scrunched his eyebrows at her words. that’s why he didn’t see william’s fist coming straight for him. “you fucking shit,” he muttered as he held a hand up to touch his jaw before slamming his shoulder into a moving chris to push him back. william curses out in pain and shoves nicholas off before pushing him again.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: noora scrunches her eyebrows as she looks through the crowd, "i can't either." she says quietly, her eyes scanning through the clutter of bodies. she raises her eyebrows as eva jumps back, wrapping her arms around her too. noora's heart dropped as she looked at eva's reaction, feeling the pace of her heartbeats quickening. noora needed to see what happened or what is happening for herself. taking a step forward, noora's eyes finds william amongst the circle. her jaw instnatly fell open as she saw the fight disrupt, slowly stumbling back at the sight.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: nicholas's eyebrow perked up, "because one of your guys were at the scene. one of you /fellas/ dropped something of yours." he cocked his head to the side, narrowing his eyes at william. chris let out a bitter laugh, "animals? says the one that needs some fucking taming for constantly having nothing better to do than to always crash our parties. very considerate for everyone around here who's just tryin gto have a good fucking new years, dude." chris jolts back as xavier pushes him back, using his knee to kick him off. "stop! you're all being fucking irrational and you're going to end up hurting one of the --" she says before she felt one of xavier's guys accidentally push her to the ground with his back as he was stepping backwards.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: roxy stood still, clutching onto jonas as the room began to blur with commotion before it parted to reveal a group of guys starting to fight. amongst them she saw chris and watched in horror as he got involved. behind him, she saw a sliver of what she had already suspected to be true. nicholas. roxy turned her head fast away from the violent scene. “i need some air,” she uttered but knew the exit was blocked by the group of males. “i need some air,” she repeated as she made a beeline for the washroom.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: jonas watched as william and chris got into the fight, his eyebrows scrunching at the brawl happening in front of them. his attention went back to roxy, "okay." he nodded, placing his hand lightly on her back as he followed her to the washroom whilst grabbing an unopen water bottle that was sat on a counter. he shook his head at the thought of the fight happening in the middle of the room, "roxy, are you alright?" he asked, bending down to her level.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: eva looked to noora, scanning her face to try and read her mind. “noora, we need to go,” she urged, trying to pull on her arm once more. the fight was erupting and bodies were being flung left and right. some getting closer to them. “we shouldn’t have..” eva muttered to herself, shaking her head as she cursed herself for convincing noora to come closer. “c’mon — let’s go,” eva took a hold of noora’s shoulders as she guided them back further away from the scene and fight. “god, who ever are those guys?” she asked aloud before glancing to noora. “are you okay?” she asked softly. meanwhile, as this fight ensued isak had fallen back into a bedroom and took a couple hits of god knows what. he had somehow gotten pushed away from sana but the words ‘ex-boyfriend’ was riding in his head. stepping out after his mind slowly melted away, he was surprised to see eva and noora. “well, well, look who it is,” he slurred, throwing an arm over each of them. “isak, not now.” eva snapped at him. “why? did someone yell fireball?” he chuckled a bit deliriousely before turning to noora. “why the frown?” he asked with a raise of his eyebrows. “it’s william,” eva quickly blurted out. at this, isak scrunched his eyebrows together and tilted his head at noora. “oh fuck. did he do the bet thing tonight? on new years? what a fucking prick!”

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: noora stood still, feeling like her heart was being ripped out at the sight of william amongst the violence. trouble repeated in her mind from their conversation earlier. she felt as if her legs had stopped moving, her entire body had forgotten how to work as she flinched at the sight of a fist swinging at a face. as eva grabbed onto noora's shoulders and away from the scene, noora parting her lips and looked at the ground. noora didn't say anything, not hearing eva's question. as they entered the bedroom, noora sat on the bed with a frown on her face, wincing as isak threw an arm over her shoulder. her eyes instantly shot up at isak's question. "what?" she turns to isak and scrunches her eyebrows together, "what are you talking about?" noora asked, hoping to get more information on how a bet between the two gangs could have been linked to the fight. her eyes searched isak's face, "what, isak?"

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: william slightly scrunched his eyebrows, glancing to chris briefly to see if this was news to him just as it was to william. “bullshit,” he called, returning his glare back to nicholas. xavier glowered at chris, “you should’ve thought of that before snitching on one of our men. he’s not having such a great new years in a jail cell, i can assure you that much.” xavier winces in pain before taking a swing at his face. he tries to catch his breath and he stares, frozen, as sana falls down. william notices the same and immediately shoves off nicholas before crouching to sana and lifting her to a sitting position. he cups her face as he scans her for any injuries. “I’m gonna fucking kill them.” william hisses and makes sure she’s sitting upright before turning to nicholas and xavier. he shoves nic before slamming xavier to the wall. “you did this. you always end up hurting her, don’t you see? you’re a fucking waste.” his voice rose as he slammed him again this time bringing his fists to xavier’s stomach and chest multiple times.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: roxy glued her eyes to the door that lead to the bathroom, not dare peeking back at the fight no matter the crowd’s uproars. she quickly propped open the window and took a sharp breath. nicholas was her past and the past chris had convinced her she could leave behind. it was practically two worlds colliding. she slides down to sit on the tile floor, turning to face jonas. “i’m,” she doesn’t finish because she’s tired of lying. roxy shakes her head, “no. not really.”

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: chris scrunched his eyebrows at nicholas' theory, clenching his jaw as each word came out of his mouth. he turned to xavier, "cry me a fucking river that he got caught, that's not our problem because none of our guys give a shit about what you guys do if it doesn't involve us." sana scrunches her eyebrows as her eyes are sealed shut, feeling a throbbing pain on the back of her head. she groans, whilst chris throws another punch at nicholas then running over to crouch down next to sana. sitting up slightly with the support of chris' arm, sana rests her head on his shoulder as her hand reaches for her pounding head. she lets out a sigh as she hears the sound of william beating xavier, "will, that's enough." she says, her eyebrows furrowing together as her eyes slowly flutter open, "william. /stop/." she demands, her eyes narrowing on the two.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: chris scrunched his eyebrows at nicholas' theory, clenching his jaw as each word came out of his mouth. he turned to xavier, "cry me a fucking river that he got caught, that's not our problem because none of our guys give a shit about what you guys do if it doesn't involve us." sana scrunches her eyebrows as her eyes are sealed shut, feeling a throbbing pain on the back of her head. she groans, whilst chris throws another punch at nicholas then running over to crouch down next to sana. sitting up slightly with the support of chris' arm, sana rests her head on his shoulder as her hand reaches for her pounding head. she lets out a sigh as she hears the sound of william beating xavier, "will, that's enough." she says, her eyebrows furrowing together as her eyes slowly flutter open, "william. /stop/." she demands, her eyes narrowing on the two.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: jonas locks the door behind him just in case if anyone barged in unwanted. he hands her the water bottle as he sits down beside her. he nods at her response, placing his hand on her leg in comfort, "hey," he turns to look at her, "whatever's going on out there doesn't /have/ to affect you, you know. it'll only affect you if you choose to let it affect you." he tries to reassure her, a small smile resting on his lips. "and you don't have to be okay, that's completely fine. we can stay here for as long as you want." he nodded, looking at roxy.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: eva searched noora’s face, wondering what was going through her mind right now. “what?” she repeats noora’s question as she scrunches her eyebrows at isak. isak lifts his eyebrows in surprise, “what?” eva pinched isak’s arm, “spill what you know and spill it now.” isak wincing at the pain shook his head. “it’s a bet formed by sana and william. chris says they play the game a lot. basically find someone, cozy up to them and show them off to the other. some weird and twisted show and tell just to try and one up each other. supposedly try to get the other’s approval but chris says they just use them to make the other jealous. told you they were too close to be just friends,” he shrugs his mind still totally fucked, speaking without a sliver of a filter. eva stares wide eyed at isak before glancing to noora, “what. the. fuck?” isak scrunches his eyebrows together, “was that not what you were talking about?”

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: noora scrunched her eyebrows as she waited for isak to tell her what he knew. her eyebrows raised as he mentions sana and chris, "what's the game?" she asks, slowly questioning whether or not this was in reference to the gang. noora's lips parted as she felt her entire body go numb. as isak explained the bet between the friends, noora felt sick to her stomach. she felt her eyes turn glossy as she was trying her hardest to fight back tears. everything felt overwhelming as all this new information was overlapping one another, feeling as if she was drowning in this supposed world. she wanted to scream at isak but she couldn't. perhaps it was because she knew he was high, but it was also because she was worried she'd choke from bursting into tears. feeling her tears begin to build up, noora instantly got up and left the room when he finished talking. she knew she shouldn't have gone back out there, but she needed to get out. she couldn't be in a room filled with so many people she didn't know, she couldn't handle any of this right now. noora darted towards the crowd once again, making her way through as she wiped the tears out of her eyes. once she neared the circle, noora didn't dare to look at anyone there as she dodged past xavier and nicholas, opened the front door and stormed out.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: william scrunched his eyebrows at chris but said nothing. xavier shot chris a glare, “oh i’d beg to differ. and this time it seems like it did involve you guys so i suppose you better start giving a shit.” xavier stands still as william and chris check on sana in turn. before he can do anything, he’s slammed against the wall as william continues to beat him up. xavier wants to fight back — hit will for leaving sana unattended but his words slice through him just like his fists. deep down he knows it’s his fault and in his mind he’s cursing himself for it a million times over. william slams him one more time before stepping back, breathing quickly. “get the fuck out. right now. and don’t you ever show up here again.” xavier pinches his nose in pain and straightens up to call nicholas. “c’mon,” he winces as he gestures for the other guys in their gang to exit.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: roxy mumbles a quick, “thanks” as she takes a sip from the water bottle. she was already pretty sober but the water helped cool her mind. her eyes flicked from his hand to his eyes. “but it does,” she scrunches her eyebrows, “it does affect me. i don’t know how to not let it affect me.” roxy presses her lips together. “do you ever feel like no matter how hard you try to drown something, a feeling or someone, it just keeps coming back? and you don’t know how to feel because on one hand it’s what you wished for but on the other it turns out to be nothing that you wanted?” she meets his eyes again, “it’s just suffocating. to be weighed down by the past. i thought i could let it go but..” her voice trails off as she shakes her head.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: nicholas pushed off one of chris and will's guys as xavier calls him. his eyebrows scrunch as he pulls his collar back, glancing at sana and chris as he purses his lips. sana's eyes droop as she looks at xavier, hr eyebrows scrunching slightly. chris turns her head as he inspects her condition, "sana, focus on yourself for once. he's not worth it." sana flutters her eyes shut, waving her hand at chris, "i'll be fine, chris." nic begins to leave with the guys, raising his eyebrows as noora storms out first.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: eva’s eyes stayed on noora as she tried to read her expression. this was heartbreaking and she knew it. “noora..” she started an apology out of respect but noora had quickly ran out of the room. “noora, wait!” eva called out, scrambling after her but she lost her to the crowd as soon as she exited the bedroom. “fuck’s sake!” she turned around to see isak standing behind her, “you idiot! why didn’t you say something sooner? why did you have to bring this up now?” isak scrunched his eyebrows, “i thought that was why she was upset.” eva shook her head, “if you weren’t so high you would’ve noticed the entire place has turned into a boxing ring and william and a bunch of guys were fighting.” isak frowns, “there’s been a fight?” he asks stepping out further into the room and looking across the sea of bodies. he staggers across the floor, everything blurring in and out of focus until he sees sana. “sana!” he comes running, almost stumbles as he bends down. “what happened?” he places his hands softly against her back as he questions chris but doesn’t let his eyes leave hers. “did your ex do this to you?”

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: jonas scrunches his eyebrows as she speaks, "no, i feel that all the time. but it depends, does this feeling you're having, it's pain right? because the difference is that mine isn't so much pain. but if it's suffering, you have to get rid of them from your life. it's too toxic to hold onto." he knew she was being vague so he couldn't get a good grasp on what it was and what to say. "but you're not alone with this. you don't have to be alone with this. because trust me, i've done it, and it gets lonely." he says, looking at her with a sad smile.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: sana scrunches her eyebrows as she feels another figure next to her. slowly opening her eyes as she turned slightly to look at isak. chris scrunched his eyebrows, "it's f--" he tried to tell isak to leave them but sana interrupts him, "hey, you." she suddenly felt a little better with isak being there, her eyes scanning his face as she noted his red eyes. sana sighs and turns to chris, "can you get me water please?" he gives her a look, glancing at isak until he agrees and leaves the two alone. sana tries to sit up but grunts quietly, "where in god's name did you hear about this ex?" she lets herself chuckle softly as she looks at isak, scrunching her eyebrows

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: xavier grunts as he tries to relieve the pain in his muscles. everything felt on fire and will had done a big number on him. he places a hand on his men as they start to file out, glancing back at sana to make sure she’s okay. before he’s able to leave however, a blonde runs past and william has enough time to see it’s noora. “noora—“ he calls out and squeezes his eyes shut, his fists clenched. she had seen him, he was sure. he opened his eyes just to glare as xavier and nic finally left and looked down at his bloody fists. he had let aggression take over again. will glanced back at the party - or what was left - and cursed under his breath. he saw isak attending to sana but felt sick that she had gotten caught in the middle of it all. closing his eyes again, he banged one fist against the wall and let his head droop as it throbbed with pain and guilt.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: xavier had taken his time on the stairs, barely managing without nic there to help. once they were out in the fresh night air, he shook his head, “i’m fine.” making it down a couple of more steps, he spotted the blonde he saw rush out earlier sitting on one of the bottom steps. “i’ll be a minute,” he said to nicholas as he nodded for him to go ahead and sat down next to noora. glancing at her, he could tell she had been crying. he fished out his cigarette tin in silence and placed one between his lips. he took another one and offered it to noora.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: nicholas scunched his eyebrows at every grunt xavier made as he went down the stairs. he held onto xavier, helping him with each step. as they made it to the bottom, nicholas raised his eyebrow, glancing at noora before nodding once, "alright." he agreed, heading off first without him. noora was hunched over on the steps, her eyes puffy from the amount of crying she had managed to spill out in the short amount of time. she hated it, hated feeling so weak and for actually believing everything that had happened with william. she hated that she fell for him too. noora stared at the ground as she had been sitting there alone, her mind boggling with too many things at once. her high from the alcohol had disappeared and plummeted to an ultimate low. noora didn't move as xavier sat next to her, pressing her lips together to prevent herself from crying anymore. she looks over at xavier, her eyes landing on the cigarette. she thought about it for a second, wanting to unfeel everything, but she decided against it whilst shaking her head. "why were you guys fighting?" she asked, turning her head to look at xavier, waiting for a response. she knew she shouldn't be talking to him, not if he was fighting with william and chris. but she was tired and she didn't want to care.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: roxy looked at jonas as he spoke, wondering if he was referring to his feelings towards eva. she may not say much but she is very observant, especially when it comes to her roommates. her eyebrows drew together as she tried to pinpoint her feelings, “i don’t really know how to describe it. it’s sort of a mix of emotions,” roxy’s eyes focused on picking at the end of her dress, not really sure why she was saying this aloud. “sometimes it still feels like… love.” her voice came out hushed. “and love, well, that’s the worst kind of pain, isn’t it?” she let out a weak chuckle. roxy realized she was admitting to something she had promised to leave behind. but something about jonas comforted her, and made her want to be honest. she makes eye contact with him and faintly smiles before shifting her body closer so she can lean her head on his shoulder, “great start to the new year, huh?”

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: isak breathes out a small “hey” in return as he adjusts his support on her back. his eyes lift up momentarily to watch chris leave before returning to rest on hers. “don’t get up,” he shakes his head as he wraps an arm around her shoulders, “standing’s overrated.” isak says with a small smile as he sits down to lean against the wall beside her. the ground beneath him was still spinning so he didn’t mind. “just some bird,” he shook his head before drawing his eyebrows together at her, scanning for any bruises. “is it bad to hope you just tripped on a party popper?” he frowned slightly, worried about the real reason behind her current state. isak only got one good look at her supposed ex and he already knew he was bad news.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: jonas nods, "i guess it all depends on you. is this love worth it? because if it is, perhaps all this pain will just bring you guys together even more, but if it's not, then sometimes you just have to embrace the love and let it go. but i get that, love can be painful. and hell, we do so much for it." he sighs, raising his eyebrows, "no one can tell you how to feel, roxy. you just do, but i think you'll figure it out soon." he nods, resting his head lightly ontop of hers before letting out a soft chuckle, "at least your pretty stars are holding on." he glances at her and smiles.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: xavier had made this walk of shame many times before — body screaming at him as he tried to make it work normally. later he would heal wounds with liquor until he finally passed out and slept for fourteen hours straight. nodding goodbye to nic, he made himself as comfortable as he could on the concrete steps. raising an eyebrow at her question, he took that as a no to his cigarette and put it back in the box. he stayed silent as he lit his cigarette and took a long inhale. “we’re always fighting,” he squints his eyes. at one point he considered william and chris to be some of his closest friends. now it seems like the whole concept was dreamt. “william or chris or one of their friends screwed one of my friends over. they love doing that- fucking things over. and i don’t stay quiet when someone screw over one of my friends.” xavier blows out smoke before turning his head at her, studying her expression. “i’m gonna go out on the limb here and assume you know them?” he raises his eyebrow in question before brining his free hand to rub the bottom of his jaw.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: sana raises her eyebrows at isak and lets out a soft chuckle, leaning back onto the wall. her eyebrows scrunched as william punched his wall, glancing over at the similar hole on a separate wall. "what good is that going to do?" she raises an eyebrow, feeling her sass even though she was injured. sana turns to isak and lets out a chuckle, "just some bird?" she repeated, lifting one of her hands to cup isak's cheeks, "i'm fine, isak." she scans his face before letting go, scrunching her eyebrows as she hides the pain, "yeah, it was a party popper." she letes out a laugh

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: roxy nodded lightly at his words, jonas made a lot of good points. and she wanted to try something new, she wanted to let go. it was the new year, a fresh start like she wanted and maybe she deserved to give something else a chance. embrace love and let it go like jonas had suggested. “yeah. yeah i hope so too.” she nodded in reply and is surprised that he brings up the glitter around her eyes. “they always do,” roxy smiles lightly, reminded of the nights spent with her dad gazing at the starry night sky, “i think they help me hold on more than i help them.”

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: noora scrunched her eyebrows, watching the smoke as xavier spoke. hearing about the rivalry between xavier and william's individual groups made noora frown, looking away as she shook her head. noora pressed her lips together as xavier expressed his loyalty to his friends. turning her head to look at the dark haired boy, noora's eyes instantly furrowed together. at this point, she didn't know what to believe or who to trust. her eyes scanned all of the bruises along wherever the imprints were visual, knowing that majority of these wounds were done by william. noora shook he head,"no," she looks away then, feeling her eyes swell again, "i don't think i do if i'm being honest." she admitted, realizing how little she knew about william and not even knowing if anything that he had done or said was the truth. "i feel like i know him and then i feel like i don't."

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: william rests his forehead against the cool wall, trying to rid himself of the heat coursing through him. turning to look over his shoulder, he made eye contact with sana and pushed himself off the wall to walk over to her. “i didn’t mean for you to get involved,” he shook his head, looking down at her and then to isak. “you should rest. you can crash on my bed,” he offered with a gesture of his head to his apartment across the hall. isak looked at william with narrowed eyes. “so it was because of the fight,” he turns to sana with a frown. he brushes through her hair softly, wishing she hadn’t been caught in the middle of some dumb fight. isak shakes his head at the bird comment, “i would’ve wanted to hear it from you but it’s not my place to ask, i guess.”

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: roxy scrunches her eyebrows as she looks at william, "that's not your place to say. the thing is, william, i'm not a kid, you don't need to hide things from me." she lifts her hand for him to grab to sit down with her. "you do realize that it's you and chris and no matter what, i am involved either way." sana looks at isak and tries to smile softly, "to answer your question, it wasn't because of xavier." she says with her eyebrows slightly scrunched. sana sighs, "there's not much to really tell, isak." she says, looking at him.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: jonas smiles as he looks at roxy, wanting to make her feel better from her night, "the stars are aligned to have your back." he chuckles, "ice cream does that for me too. i mean, sometimes alcohol, but ice cream as well. we should probably get some for our place. just twelve tubs of ice cream for days like this." he laughs light heartedly.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: xavier keeps the cigarette pressed between his lips as he turns to her with a raised brow. “no?” he asks, taking the smoke back into his hands, wincing at the slight pain of the cigarette against his split lip. xavier knew there were bruises already forming and he would have to make up another excuse for his bandmates. he hummed at her words, nodding slowly. “i’m guessing you’re talking about william. i thought i knew him once too,” he glanced at her and lifted his shoulders in a shrug, “look where that got me.” he cut off his bitter chuckle with another drag from his cigarette. though it had been xavier’s fault they were on bad turmoil, he couldn’t resist talking down on william after all the physical abuse xavier’s been through. “i see the appeal. i mean, he seems like a good guy at first, right? but then he’s always been manipulative so i’ve come to realize that’s probably an act. he’s possessive too, over things that are not his.”

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: noora raised her eyebrows at the sound of xavier wincing, looking at him as she scrunches her eyebrows together, "he did all this to you?" she asked softly, pressing her lips together at how beaten up he looked. noora frowned, feeling every bit of sadness building up inside of her. she hated that she was feeling this way, having her emotions so dependent on a guy. "manipulative?" she asked quietly, not sure if she wanted to hear more about the ins and outs of what made william him. she knew that she didn't have to trust xavier either, but at this point, she was too exhausted to care. "what has he done that makes him manipulative? like, he comes out to be a really nice guy who's.. good with his words. but i don't know what was true and what isn't."

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: william shook his head, “yes it is. look, sana, this whole gang business is between me and them, it’s not that i purposefully hide things from you. it’s just better not knowing,” he slumps down next to her, eyes glancing at isak. “i know. but you can be involved from the sidelines, because this..” his fingers gently touched her cheek, “i couldn’t live with myself if you got hurt again.” isak places his hands into his lap, not sure if he was suppose to be intruding on this conversation. “xavier,” he repeated looking up at sana and wondering who he was and what he had done. “forget xavier,” william chimed in, shaking his head.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: sana rolled her eyes then, "no, it's not. you can't just take everything on yourself, william! don't you see that keeping this shit away from me does more harm than good?" she scrunches her eyebrows as he touches her cheek, shaking her head, "what hurts me is seeing your fists bloody and your face a shade of purple."' sana purses her lips, her conversation with xavier at the store was replaying in her mind. "if it's not me, it's someone else getting hurt because this whole fucking gang thing will involve other people as well, believe it or not. both of you guys are being so ignorant for the fact that these things are going to hurt others to so why can't you guys just fucking grow up?" she was angry, but her heart was in the right place. she hated seeing william like this, in the state that he was currently in. she scanned his face and she couldn't help but feel sad. frowning, she said, "so being involved from the sidelines won't do any better." she says before turning towards isak, catching a glimpse of his reaction and feeling bad that he had to witness all of this as he tried to string together his words. sana raised her eyebrows as william interrupted him, feeling her jaw clench slightly. "it's a long story," she said, her face turned to isak with a sad smile. her head was still throbbing, but she didn't want either of them to be concerned. sana knew she stepped too far this time, but she couldn't imagine what would have happened if the fight were to have advanced.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: xavier lifted an eyebrow at the sound of noora’s concern. “he’d argue i did this to myself,” a bitter chuckle rang as he took another drag of his cigarette. it was true that he had shown up to the party invited and had edged william further but xavier didn’t know he would explode the way he did. he breathed out as if the mere thought of will was exhausting. turning to noora and judging her expression, xav guessed she was involved with him one way or another. “that’s the problem, you know? good with words, good at manipulating,” he narrowed his eyes as he thought back to the night soren, william’s girl at the time, sought him out for comfort. “he’s selfish..” xavier started, recalling what soren had cried about, “only has his best interests at heart and no one else’s. spoiled rotten, too. his father always handed him things on a silver platter. and he’s extremely possessive to the point where it becomes a toxic relationship.” he shook his head as he met eyes with noora, “add those things together and you get a pretty shitty person.”

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: noora scrunched her eyebrows, hating seeing people get hurt and injured. hell, her heart always broke whenever she saw animals limping or attacked. "no one should get hurt." she frowned, turning to xavier as he spoke so poorly about william. she didn't want to believe him even despite finding out the new news, but her heart felt like it was being crushed in a million pieces when thinking about how so many things aligned. as their eyes met, noora was worried that xavier could see through how devastated she was by hearing all of this. "what about you?" she asked, raising her eyebrows, "i mean, you can easily lie and say that you're the complete opposite from all those things, but are you really? what makes you any better?" she asks, genuinely curious about his response. noora pressed her lips together, feeling heavy all at once as she looked down at the ground, "i think i was just a bet. something that he had with sana." she shook her head, fluttering her eyes shut to disallow any tears from falling, "i should have known though. there wasn't any way that it could have been true otherwise." she admitted, feeling her self deprecation take over her.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: “this shit doesn’t concern you,” william hissed back, more angry with his ties to the gang activity than anything else. he pressed his head back against the cool wall, closing his eyes for a brief moment before immediately opening them as she began to spit her words in anger. “we don’t want anyone else involved — more often times than not we handle things discreetly. no one gets hurts except us, that we can agree on.” will shook his head, “we fucked up this time, i know. but don’t you see? that’s why i don’t want you anywhere near this because there could be consequences,” he met her eyes with a sad and exhausted expression. fighting with xavier and nic was one thing but fighting with sana was another. it drained him completely. isak sat there quietly as all of this was going on, wondering if he should take a cue to leave but he didn’t trust william enough to leave sana alone with him. william looked from isak to sana and exhaled, “sana, there’s no other way for me to deal with xavier and i’m sorry you don’t like it but that’s just the way it is.” he clenched and unclenched his knuckles wondering at what point in his life had he inherited his father’s temper. “i should find noora,” he scrunched his eyebrows, his mind going to the girl who had made him feel calm and the image of her running out of the flat in a storm. he needed to apologize and he needed to make sure she was alright. “uh, don’t think that’s such a good idea,” isak chimed in with a squint of his eyes. “i don’t think she wants to see you right now like.. this, especially. you should probably give her a little space,” he pressed his lips together. william stared down at his scratched hands, busted knuckles and felt a cold travel down his bones.

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: sana scoffs, "right, just like how nearly burning a house down for one of xavier's bandmates isn't harming someone out of your gang?" she looks at him, scrunching her eyebrows. instantly after the words left her lips, she knew the possibilities of his response. sana shook her head as their eyes meet, her hand reaching up to cup william's face, "william, look at yourself. aren't you tired of all of this? how long do you really think this cycle will continue for?" her eyes scanned his face before she sighed, "you really think noora would benefit from any of this?" sana lets go then, "so i have no say in this." she rolls her eyes, "stop being a fucking hypocrite, william. it's not just the way it is and you know it. you're just simply choosing the route that you want to take even though you /know/ that this isn't the only way of dealing with it. no one fucking likes it, you don't like it, so stop kidding yourself by justifying this whole shit storm." she shakes her head, clenching her jaw as she raised her hands to her temples as her head was now pounding. "so what now?" she asks, looking at william and glancing at isak.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: xavier’s eyebrows quipped up at her statement, looking over to her and her previously tear-stained cheeks. “try telling yourself that,” he replied, “no one should get hurt but we do. physically, emotionally, we get hurt constantly. c’est la vie.” he shrugged lightly. the words of carrie fisher echoed in his mind, ‘turn your broken heart and turn it into art’. he had done so many times, often expressing his feelings through his music. xavier let out a short chuckle before blowing out a stream of smoke. “sugar, i didn’t sit down here so you could get to know me,” his lips pulled into a faint smirk as he tilted his head, “believe whatever you want. unlike william, i think people are entitled to form their own opinions.” he hummed and rested his elbows on each leg. eyes narrow at the mention of a bet, his jaw tightening at the mention of sana. “that’s another thing. his relationship with sana is a goddamn mess,” he shook his head before turning over to scan the petite blonde’s face. “no one can predict anything,” he stated before softening his voice, “and for what it’s worth, he’s an asshole for upsetting a pretty girl like you.”

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: noora scrunched her eyebrows at xavier's comment, pausing as she recalled the number of times she's been through pain, "should. i said should." she repeats quietly, her hand automatically reaching to play with her necklace. noora's eyes followed the smoke that disappeared into thin air. for a second the cloud of grey was there, and the next second it was gone. she tilted her head up to look at him as he smirked, raising her eyebrows at his response. "then why'd you sit down? it certainly wasn't because you simply wanted a smoke break." she asked, raising her chin slightly. 'unlike william' rang as an echo once those two words left xavier's mouth. "we're merely social constructs, constantly being influenced by other people. it's in our nature to mould our opinions all the time." she shrugs, her eyes falling back onto the ground. "yeah, i figured they were complicated." noora sighed, scrunching her eyebrows at what she's gotten herself into. she turned her head then as soon as the tone in xavier's voice softened, looking at him as he spoke. she let out a soft bitter chuckle, shaking her head, "it shouldn't matter if i'm pretty or not. i don't think i am but that defeats everything because people shouldn't be validated from other people's asshole radar or not. anyone's an asshole for being an asshole. not for upsetting a pretty girl." she argues, scrunching her eyebrows. "so.. don't be an asshole in general. it's worth while to be good." she said as she looked at him with a sad smile.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: william narrows his eyes as he quickly spins to face her, “where’d you hear that from?” he asks in a low voice, trying to remain calm. it had been a stupid prank pulled by one of their members, but william had come along with them. at that moment none of the consequences had occurred to him. looking back, he knew they could’ve seriously injured someone. he tried to shift his face away from her hand but averted his eyes instead. “i’m fine,” will reassured and his jaw tightened at the mention of noora. she was right, he was tired of fighting, especially with her. william let her speak without interrupting, meeting her eyes just to take in the animosity of her words. “is that all?” his voice was devoid of emotion. all the things she said were true and he knew it so he wasn’t going to argue with her about it. that said, he wasn’t necessarily going to do anything she said. william stares across the room but doesn’t seem to be looking anything, “happy new year, i guess.” isak watches this whole argument and gives sana’s hand a squeeze to show his support.

eva / will / rox / isak / xav: xavier heard her whisper ‘should’ to herself but didn’t correct her. he tapped his hand holding the cigarette against the step before bringing it up once more. “why? i don’t know,” he inhaled the smoke in thought, “i just did. i guess i thought i had a reason to.” xavier didn’t exactly know what reason compelled him to take a seat next to noora. maybe it was the fact he hated seeing people sad. he had an urge to comfort, even if he didn’t know how. comforting someone turned out to be his demise when he was in a relationship with sana. “sure, it’s healthy to be influenced. hell, it’s bad if others don’t influence your opinion. but they should only /influence/ not /shape/ them. you know what i mean?” he turned to look at her, “value other people’s opinions, but value yours most of all. it’s your opinion, after all.” xavier lifted his eyebrow at her reaction to sana and william’s relationship, wondering if she felt the same pain he did when he pictured them together. xavier can’t help but let out a small chuckle at her argument. “don’t be an asshole in general. i’m taking that advice to the grave,” his lips curved up in a smirk. “if i have any advice for you is don’t sell yourself short.” xavier turned to meet her eyes, “make your own judgements. trust your opinion. realize that you /are/ beautiful and don’t cry over some dickhead.”

noora/sana/chris/jonas/nic: sana scrunches her eyebrows slightly, "word gets around, william." she says, clenching her jaw. she shakes her head at his unconvincing reassurance, tired of seeing the outcome of the boys every time. it was always the same, as nothing ever gets resolved. sana raises an eyebrow and rolls her eyes, "i guess so." she says, defeated. sana purses her lips but doesn't move away with the touch of isak's hand.