#i love that their plan was to just split up & walk around aimlessly. these guys are just here for a good time not a long time

[batbabydaily]

detective comics #49: clayface walks again

[radiance1]

Hey ya'll! Another au I thought up lol.

So this is gonna be another Half King au with immortal Danny and Vlad lol.

Danny got the Crown of Fire, which changed to more icey blue cool flames than green and Vlad got the Ring of Rage.

ANYWHO.

Danny and Vlad split the zone into two part (not literally), with Danny ruling over one half and Vlad the other. Because they have equal power, they can also make decisions regarding the others territory but they have an agreement to not mess with each other's shit unless its actually important.

Then Vlad gets summoned to a different dimension for whatever who summoned him wanted, to which he then decides to stay because what the summoner wanted would take a few years.

To which he then decided to take a vacation and tell no one about it.

So Danny, after a couple hundred years of Vlad's mysterious disappearance. He's told by Clockwork that now he has to go find him, to which Danny asked why since he didn't need to go looking hundreds of years earlier.

To which Clockwork smiles, points him in the direction, and tells him to go looking.

Danny grumbles, but he goes.

But for whatever reason he himself cannot enter the portal, he doesn't know why, but something is blocking him from entering.

The ghosts are a different matter.

So, using the far back knowledge from when he stilled visited earth, he came up with a plan to bypass whatever is blocking him and walk the planet on the other side.

What better than a cult?

So he sends a few ghosts through to discreetly plant some 'tomes' about the Ghost King, specifically the one who wears the crown, and now he just has to wait.

Meanwhile, Vlad:

Honestly, he's been enjoying his vacation a whole lot, he left the world he was originally summoned too after he was done and kinda floated aimlessly around in space before coming upon earth and decided why not.

So now here he is 450 years later, firmly cemented in the business world with a company with 450 years of rich history past down to each heir of the family who, funnily enough, were each named a variation of Vlad.

Vladmir, Vladicus, Vladalia, etc.

Obviously just him in different looks but eh no one knows.

Anywho, now he's attending a Gala held by one Lex Luthor and honestly, he was just pretty bored.

He doesn't need to really attend, and he has his money bet on Luthor not wanting him to attend, but he does get a kick outta annoying the hell out of that baldie any day of the week.

Meanwhile Danny, a few months earlier:

So his planned worked, because of course it would. TV tropes always work.

There he was, clothed in his kingly garments, his crown made sure to be the very cool and powerful looking version of his ice flames and his face stony and cold.

He did all of this expecting that he had to set a powerful image for the cultists so they would actually listen to him properly and not question him when he got to the other side.

Only to be met with a ridiculous sight.

What he thinks were the cultists getting their asses handed to them by.... very brightly dressed individuals in spandex and...

Is that a British guy smoking while flinging about magic?

Now, he doesn't judge, especially when he's already lived for more than a hundred years.

But what the absolute ever loving fruitloop.

He may or not may not have stood there with his arms crossed under his chest, his cold expression turned deadpan while he watched the people he was going to give an introduction to get their asses beat for a good few minutes.

A pity, he worked on that introduction in case he ever got summoned too.

When what were obviously superheroes finished up and turned to greet him, he maaaaay have floated up to have the height advantage on them.

Look, its not his fault he has the body of a teenager and honestly they should really shorten themselves down and stop being so tall already.

So he asked them if they've seen another ghost king, you know. Blue skin, red eyes, vampiric teeth?

By the reaction he would have to say no.

He already knows that Vlad is somewhere on this planet so he just, leaves, and goes to find him.

It was only until a few days later did he think that it might've helped if he gave a name instead of Fruitloop.

Meanwhile at the gala in present time:

Vlad was having a grand old time, as always Luthor really knew what food and which drinks would be best for his parties and honestly, that's just a bonus.

What he's really here for is the subtle reactions Lex Luthor gives him when he's trying to hold himself together.

It's always fun when that happens.

He met with Brucie Wayne (who he surprisingly never met yet.), had a good laugh, maybe made a new friend. Said hi to that reporter that's at Luthor's events like half the time- Clark Kent if he remembered correctly.

Met a woman named Diana Prince, had a good conversation with her, and mingled with a few other people.

He also saw a British guy that smoked like no tomorrow, not that he judged. May or may not have sneaked him some another pack.

Isn't he just so nice today?

So there he was, enjoying his time as he usually did. Until he felt the familiar cold presence that he hasn't felt for a good while.

Damn. Guess that means his vacation is up now.

Got some pretty strong whiskey, poured himself a glass, idly drank it and waited for the show to begin.

And just as he thought, there Phantom appeared, floating over everyone as he looked down on them as if they were barely worth his attention.

They then locked eyes.

"Found you." Danny said, ignoring the confused people underneath him. To which Vlad gulped down his drink in one go, poured himself another glass, took a sip and smiled.

"Hello to you too, little badger."

[if-mirrormine]

Sending my apologies now

I humbly submit a hastily written prequel to your yandere!Grayson drabble. I cannot stop rolling around the question in my head of how he could potentially go from ‘overprotective/lightly obsessed’ to ‘I’m gonna kill anyone who looks at you’

(I’m sorry if it’s a faux pas to send this, and I’d like to reiterate how much I do love Grayson’s actual personality)

The first time it happened, Grayson would swear up and down to himself that it was an accident.

He wasn’t looking to hurt the guy, he just wanted to scare him off a bit. After all, if this guy wasn’t able to defend himself, then how could he possibly hope to defend MC if push came to shove?

And that’s all it was really. Just a shove. A poorly timed, miscalculated shove.

He definitely didn’t plan it. When MC was gushing over their first date since things had settled down, they weren’t exactly telling Grayson the important details like ‘where does this guy live’ or ‘how easy would he go down in a fight’. Grayson had just been walking aimlessly that night without any direction, when he crossed paths with a drunken someone who looked identical to the photo MC had shown him earlier that day.

So, when he saw the man turn down a dimly lit street, his body seemed to move of its own accord. Before he even realised what he was doing, his hands were pushing against the guy’s back.

In the split second of his hands returning to him and the guy toppling forward, Grayson was squaring up for his next move. He’d anticipated a light brawl – what he hadn’t anticipated was the man’s foot catching on a loose tile on the footpath, sending him head-first towards the pavement.

He couldn’t have anticipated it. But he also didn’t try to stop it.

Sometimes, the victim of an accident gets a lucky break; sometimes, you fall head-first onto cement and walk away with a scrape and a light concussion. From the amount of blood pooling around this guy’s head? Lucky definitely wasn’t the word for him.

Grayson couldn’t help but think that all the luck was on his side. A drunken man, collapsed over a clearly visible trip hazard? The story painted itself. He didn’t even need to call it in, really. If he thought about it, he could pretend like this never happened if he simply…turned around and walked home.

So he did.

The guilt hit him as soon as he got back to the apartment, but seeing MC napping on the couch changed his tune pretty quickly. All things considered, this was actually a blessing in disguise. Now MC would only have to deal with the aftermath of a near-stranger’s tragic death, rather than the inevitable pain that would come from a partner that just wasn’t good enough for them.

[soobasaur]

spent all my love on you

lee!felix x gender!neutral reader

warnings: since laser tag is in this fic theres mentions of shooting and guns, which is referring to the game where they shoot other players in order to gain points, nothing violent

a/n: hey look a felix au finally in your pov! i told you i’d do it hehe,, and if you remember when i accidentally posted this then no you don’t (⊃｡•́‿•̀｡)⊃ i’ll finish ur requests i swear ಠ_ಠ anyways enjoy!

« masterlist prev work »

for the longest time, your lifelong friend jisung had been bugging you to go to this arcade with him

you eventually said yes since you physically couldn’t say no to his puppy eyes and he took you there one weekend

he was practically bouncing the entire way, babbling about all the people you’d meet

turns out he came here every weekend to play laser tag with a couple of friends he made here

this was news to you, but you let jisung lead you to a pool table in the back where six boys were..attempting to play pool?

after several games of game pigeon pool you were an expert !! or at least more then what these guys were doing

the one with long hair was holding the billiard the wrong way (╥_╥)

you could hear the cheerful laughs coming from them as jisung tugged you beside him

“guys, this is y/n, the friend i mentioned! y/n these are the dumbasses i started hanging out with-,”

“if anything, you’re the dumbass!” the one holding the billiard upside down reprimanded, dropping the stick and making his way towards you both “i’m hyunjin, nice to meet you!”

“hi hyunjin—,”

“move out of the way! hi i’m jeongin!” a new boy appeared, shoving hyunjin away as he held his hand out

“oh, hello!”

one by one all the boys came up to introduce themseleves to you, well six of them at least, didn’t jisung say there were seven of them?

“where the hell is felix?” jisung asked, looking towards who you now knew as minho “is he doing the thing again?”

minho solemnly nodded before gesturing to the claw machine a couple feet away from them, and there stood a blond haired boy with his back faced to them as he aggressively tried to win what looked like a stuffed animal

jisung shook his head before gesturing for you to follow him

“is this a normal occurrence?” you asked as you both made your way to the boy

“yeah, last month is was the dance revolution game and this week it’s the claw machine-felix!”

said boy let go of the claw to turn and smile widely at the both of them “sungie! do you have a token i can use to try again? pleaseeee?”

jisung rolled his eyes as he tossed the boy a token before pointing to you

“this is y/n, they’re playing with us now.”

“oh,” felix turned his head to you, giving you a once over before winking “nice to meet you,” before rolling the token in “let me make my first impression winning a stuffed toy!”

“you’ve been at this forever, which one do you want?” jisung asked, waking closer to press his head against the glass

felix solemnly pointed to the chick plushie tucked into the corner, and you admit it was cute so you could see why he was trying so hard

“want me to try?” you asked, stepping closer as you looked over the machine

“go for it!” he smiled, moving out of your way to press himself against the glass next to jisung

you clicked start and took a hold of the joystick

you squinted your eyes and found the same plushie a bit closer, hidden behind another one and aimed for that instead

you heard gasps coming from where the two boys were standing as the claw grabbed the two plushies and dropped them into the box

and since you had some extra seconds left you managed to grab one more

“there you go!” you pulled out the plushies and handed felix the chick one and gave jisung the squirrel one, keeping the llama one for yourself

“wow we all match now!” jisung cheered

“thank you!” felix said, his eyes shining with glee as he looked at you, and you were this close to getting all the plushies out so he could always look this happy

“no problem-,”

“HEY LOSERS OUR GAME IS STARTING HURRY UP!” you heard minho interrupt, as he and the other boys disappeared behind some doors

you guys ran behind him, tucking the plushies away for later

there was another group of people with you and since the teams were randomized, your group got split up after getting the gear on

“prepare to lose!” hyunjin teased, sticking his tongue out at you, chan, seungmin, and jeongin (who were on the same team as you)

“shut up!” jeongin glared, holding up his laser gun and pretending to shoot the other

jisung joined in and started to play shoot you, while you feigned getting shot

before you could play shoot him back the lights went off and the gate opened, letting you guys inside as the game was about to start

you and your team each split up, making plans to shoot at least one member

your ignore the way your stomach fluttered at the thought of felix chasing after you but quickly shook those out of the way, you had to stay focused !

once the bell rang you were off, you hid behind the walls as you shot a couple of the other team’s players

you spotted a familiar pair of shoes and quickly went to go shoot jisung, who gave you a pout as you ran off giggling

you watched your score steadily go up as you got more and more people, and the adrenaline was getting to you, you were motivated to win this thing 〴⋋_⋌〵

you had only been shot a couple of times so you weren’t too worried about getting caught,

you were currently hiding in the corner where no one had found you yet as you shot anyone who ran past

you were just about to shoot a player on the opposing team when you felt a prescence behind you

quickly turning around you were met with felix giving you a sly grin as he backed you into the wall

“your cornered now y/n,” he whispered, pulling out the gun as he aimed it at your vest, “game over for you.”

you ignored the fast beating of your heart as he made his way closer, his free hand coming to make trace its way down your jaw

“you look really pretty under these lights,” he muttered, quirking an eyebrow up and he angled his face a bit closer “lucky i get to see you like this.”

you were too nervous to squeak out a thank you as felix closed the gap between the two of you, but just before he could come any closer you heard the familiar beep on your vest

you look down to see you’ve been shot and felix shooting you a sly grin, the little shit

“distracted by my charm?” he teased, his lips right beside your ear, “am i that handsome?”

you rolled your eyes as he backed away

“i’d love to stay but your vest is charging up so i’m gonna blast, bye sweetheart,” he blew you a kiss before running off

you huffed as you waiting for your vest to reset, following after the blonde boy as you did so

no way you were gonna let him get the last shot between the two of you

and maybe you wanted to be that close again to him...

after ducking behind a couple of pillars you finally spotted him crouching behind a wall as he shot one of your teammates

you let yourself grin in victory as you made your way behind him, making sure you weren’t seen, then aiming your gun at the back of his vest

you shot him and watched in glee as his vest gave out a beep and saw him look around for the culprit before spotting you giggling behind him

“you!” he smiled, geting up from his hiding place on the ground and wagging his gun at you

“you didn’t expect to get away with that, did you?” you laughed, backing away as he made his way closer to you and holding out your gun, “i’ll get you again!”

“cool down time is a minute,” he grinned, letting you back yourself up into the wall, “what do you wanna do with that one minute?”

you let your eyes wander off toward his lips,,but you swear it was cus he was talking!

not cus he looked extremely kissable

perhaps you stared too long cus he took notice and cupped your jaw

“mhm, ten seconds is enough,”

“enough for what—?”

you were shut up with his lips capturing yours, leading you for a bit before pulling back

“sorry babe but my time is up,” he winked before shooting you in the vest and running off

took you a few moment to realize what happened before you were chasing after him

“FELIX YOU MF”

when the game ended you and felix were tied to your immense surprise, while jisung was currently boasting about his first place

now that you were out of the dim lit laser tag room you could see felix in better light,

and god damn

you could see the swear glistening on his face from all the running and his unkempt hair from the humid room

you weren’t too sure if this was a one time thing or he actually wanted to try something with you

you were crossing your fingers it was the latter

you got ur answer soon enough when you felt a tap on your shoulder and an awkward felix made his appearance

it was endearing to see his confident side and nervous one all in one day

“do you maybe wanna, grab lunch after tomorrow? just me and you?”

you played along to being oblivious before you replied,

“lee felix...are you asking me out?”

his cheeks flushed a deeper shade of pink before nodding at you

you gave him a smile before saying yes, the rest was history

bonus headcanons:

apparently jisung had a bet on which one of his friends you would end up dating, ro your surprised he had guessed it would be felix

ಠ_ಠ sometimes you forgot how well jisung knew you

you also found out he didn’t come every week just for laser tag, he also wanted to get close to a specific boy named changbin ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

which was endless teasing material for you

after the lunch date the next day, you both stopped by the arcade again and this time he managed to win you a little prize

since you both had just met one another a good majority of your dates were just you two chatting as you walked aimlessly, getting to know one another

and after about one month he invited you over to his place to cook dinner for you, which is where you shared your next kiss <3

thank you for reading ⁂

[dracosaurusrex]

Bookworms (Part 3)

Summary: A predicament in the Slytherin common room is the perfect ingredient for confession.

Word count: 3.9k

Genre: Fluff; enemies-to-friends-to-lovers

TW: Bullying

A/N: This chapter picks up from the moment Draco leaves the common room and starts off with his friends’ perspective. PS. I don’t hate Astoria I promise! It’s only for the story. Anyways...I hope you like it! I have this tendency to overthink a lot, so I’m going to shut my trap before I regret anything LOL

Everyone occupying the common room that night watched in awe as Draco stormed out of the dungeons. His outlash didn’t settle well with his group of friends. Moreover, it shocked Astoria to hear the sound of your name roll off from his lips. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so bothered before. Have you?” Pansy asked. Daphne shook her head.

“Generally speaking, I’ve never seen him get that defensive over anybody.” 

“Did you notice the way his eyes looked?” The group recalled the frustration that dripped from his voice and the fire that blazed within his blue orbs.

“I didn’t know there was anything going on between them. It’s not the first time we spoke about her when he was around.” Pansy, Daphne, and Theo all murmured their agreements. Meanwhile, Astoria sat still boiling in jealousy as the conversation lingered on. She had everything--the blood, the looks, the money, the name. She could practically have the Malfoy family wrapped around her finger. What did Y/N have that she didn’t? Suddenly, the sound of Blaise’s voice broke her out of her thoughts.

“Do you think he likes her?” With this, Astoria balls her fists and rams it onto the table in frustration, putting everyone in shock once again. 

“Draco? Liking that filthy bookworm!? You’ve got to be joking Blaise! That poor excuse for a Slytherin probably slipped some amortentia in his drink!” Astoria projected her thoughts fearlessly before storming out of the room. 

“Daphne, I think you should go check on her.” Blaise suggested. She nodded.

“I will, but she needs time alone to calm down.” Silence lingers in the air before Blaise interjects once again.

“In all seriousness though, do you think Draco has feelings for Y/N?” He asks again.

“With that expression on his face, it’s hard to believe that he doesn’t. Y/N must’ve done something important to have him wrapped around her finger like that.” Pansy says.

“I don’t even think she realizes she has him wrapped around her finger. She hasn’t done anything out of the ordinary. You know her--always got her nose stuck in a book.” Daphne’s statement stirs a thought within Pansy’s mind. A wicked smile appears on her face, grabbing the attention of the others.

“Pansy, please. That smile is frightening.” Theo lifts his hand to block his view of her. She throws him a scowl.

“Hear me out. Why don’t find out then? Draco just walked out right? What are the chances that he’s with her?”

Blaise chimed in, “I think I saw Y/N leave a few minutes before he did. Do you think he followed her?” Pansy’s face lit up.

“Good sleuthing Blaise! They don’t call us Slytherin for nothing!” The girl raises herself from her seat.

“Plus, I’m over Snape’s assignment. It’s time to unwind for the night,” She looks at her friends at the table, “You joining?” Daphne and Theo get up without hesitation, while Blaise throws them a judgemental expression.

“Come on Blaise. I got a plan, and you play an important role.” She skips to where he is sat and pulls on his arm. The boy lets out a groan.

“Why can’t we let him be?” He lets out.

“Because, we love some good character development! Now get your arse up Zabini! We got more sleuthing to do!” Blaise packs his things begrudgingly before joining the group as they walk out of the common room. They sought out the Great Hall first, seeing that there were still a few students grabbing dinner. However, when they fail to see either you or Draco, they leave and try out the courtyard. Much to their disappointment, they had the same results. They even tried going to Snape’s room, thinking that you might’ve gone to talk to him about the assignment. Still no luck.

Blaise releases a grunt out of frustration, as the group continues to walk around aimlessly. 

“Have you thought, just possibly, that they’d be in the bloody library!?” He scolds them as he presses his fingers to his temples. The dull pain that was surging from the sides of his head puts him in a pissier mood. 

“This is why we need you, Blaise.” Theo gave a firm pat on Blaise’s back, followed by pats from both Daphne and Pansy. The boy sighs exasperatingly before trailing behind them.

By the time they arrive at the library, the group splits in order to cover more ground. Blaise, having enough of their antics, decides to aimlessly walk through the shelves for his own peace of mind. He enjoys it for a while, until he hears the voice of a particular platinum blonde. He stops for a moment, mentally celebrating his victory, and turns to find the location of the source. Peering through the shelves, he takes sight of Draco smiling with a book in hand.

“You seem to have forgotten my height in comparison to yours.” He hears him say. He glances at the beaming expression in the boy’s eyes. Suddenly, Pansy, Daphne, and Theo appear beside him.

In a hushed whisper Daphne speaks out, “What are you looking- oh!” Her exclamation draws the attention of the other two as Blaise raises a finger to his lips to shush them. The group obeys, and watches the scene unfold quietly.

“Give it here you git. I found it first.” Pansy and Daphne squeal at the sight of you jumping for the book.

“Draco, Draco, Draco--this boy knows what he’s doing.” Theo snickers under his breath. Their eyes widen at the scene that follows next.

“Draco!” They observe as you push off from his shoulders, successfully retrieving the book from him. What surprised them was the way Draco pulled you close to keep you from falling. Moreover, how the both of you stayed in that position for several minutes before stepping away.

Pansy mutters, “I feel like I just interrupted something.” She turns her head to see Daphne biting her knuckle in an attempt to refrain from squealing even more.

“I’m sorry Astoria.” Pansy nudges Daphne’s side before snickering herself. The group retreats back to the common room, leaving you and Draco alone. However, once they arrived, they were met with red-eyed Astoria, who began to question their whereabouts.

“I leave the room for five minutes only to find that you guys were gone when I come back. Where have you been?” The two girls kept silent and looked at the younger with pitiful eyes. She hated being pitied.

“Stop looking at me like that, and spill!” Her voice increased in volume as she demanded for answers. Blaise steps to the front and holds her shoulders.

“Astoria, you need to calm yourself down first. Breath.” The girl looks up at the boy, his voice calming her senses.

“Are you calm?” He asks. She responds with a silent nod, uncertain about what she was about to find out. Blaise led her to the couch, followed by the other three. He looked into her eyes with hands planted on her shoulders.

“We saw Draco with Y/N earlier. He looked really happy.” The prideful girl felt her heart drop at the sound of the news. Certainly that can’t mean anything right? Surely she had a chance...right? She kept silent as thoughts roamed in her mind for several minutes. However, her internal ramblings were interrupted by the sound of the dungeons opening. The group turned their heads towards the entrance revealing a pleased-looking Draco. He was seen carrying several rolls of parchment under one arm and his bag held in the opposing hand. Accompanying him from behind was you. There was a smile plastered on your face as you looked towards the boy. He returned the smile as well as the rolls that the group concluded to belong to you. Out of disappointment and frustration, Astoria violently shrugs Blaise’s hands off her shoulders and stands from her seat.

“Y/L/N!” She yells. The sudden outburst catches you off guard. You stop in your steps as you see her approaching you with an angry look on her face.

“May I hel-”

“You bet you can,” Astoria’s hands come into contact with your shoulders, throwing your balance off slightly. You give her a shocked expression, but before you can say anything she cuts you off.

“Keep that nose of yours buried in your books where it belongs. You think you have a chance with Draco? Make me laugh!” You feel your heart crack slightly at the sound of her words. Not knowing what to expect, you keep your feet planted and stand your ground.

“Look at you! Disheveled,” She pokes at your hair.

“Nerdy!” She gestures towards the rolls of parchment in your arms.

“Poor!” Your eyes widened at her derogatory statement. 

“Your only redeeming quality is the fact that you’re a pureblood. Albeit a lowly one at that!” Draco and his friend group look at the scene progress with shock-filled eyes. Never in their lives would they have thought that Astoria would say such harsh words. By the time she was done with her rant, the younger Greengrass was huffing, her eyebrows furrowed, and shoulders tense. 

You wanted to cry. You bit your quivering lip in response to her hurtful words. How dare she? Within those couple seconds she had jabbed at everything you worked hard for--all out of the need to feel superior. The image of your mother crossed your mind. You recalled her secret tears, her efforts to shield you away from the hardships you faced. You recalled how hard she worked to provide your every need, furthermore how hard she worked to open the book shop--not only for a means of living, but for your peace of mind as well. Suddenly, a pit of anger blossomed from your gut. With your lips still quivering you scoff, breaking the silence that lingered since her outlash. It catches the attention of the others surrounding you.

You placed your belongings on the floor, before looking her straight in the eyes.

“Does it make you feel better when you attempt to make me feel insecure?” You take a step forward.

“You ask if I think I have a chance with Draco?” You mock her words, while scanning her figure from top to bottom.

“Last time I checked, Greengrass, my life didn’t revolve around him!” Your voice began to grow in hostility.

“Every single thing that you look down upon are the very reasons why I’m in Slytherin in the first place!” Your voice seethed with venom. In fact, the very statement elicited shivers down everyone’s spine. There was a familiar fire that burned in your eyes--one that Draco had grown too fond of. He rooted himself to his spot, watching you in awe.

“Your words hurt, they do. Do you think I wanted to be born poor? Do you think I’m nerdy because I want to be fucking nerdy!?” At that moment, Astoria knew she struck a note--a strong one at that. Her confidence began to shrink as you stepped closer.

“Bash on my appearance all you want, Greengrass, but if you dare try to degrade me for things you know nothing of - all for the sake of your damn crush,” You stood right in front of her now, eyes piercing through hers. With a tone full of resolution you continue your statement, “Then I suggest you stay out of my way. Your jealousy is a waste of my time.” You bump her shoulder harshly before turning back to collect your belongings and make your way to your dorm. Before you proceed, you look back at Draco to see that he’s looking at you with much concern.

“I’ll be fine.” You mouthed, before continuing your way. 

Astoria was left standing there with shock of your retaliation. The feeling of regret pools in her stomach as she feels a hand on her shoulder. It’s Daphne’s. Her sister gives a strained smile as she pulls her away. The older sibling turns to Draco with an apologetic smile plastered on her face.

“You should check on Y/N. We’ll take care of Astoria.” The boy breaks from his daze and nods before dashing through the halls. Once he arrives in front of your door he presses his ear against it. Silent sobs can be heard from the other side. He softly knocks.

“Y/N? It’s Draco.” He hears her cease her cries. After a couple of moments, the door opens revealing your puffy-eyed self. You couldn’t bear to look up at him, so you keep your gaze stuck to the floor. The sight of you looking emotionally weak breaks Draco’s heart. You were always the one to hold a strong stance. A frown finds its way to his lips as he presses your head to his chest. He walks into your room and locks the door behind him all while keeping you within his embrace.

“That was so humiliating.” You croak out as tears stream down your cheeks. Your hands clench the fabric of his uniform as your face remains buried into his chest. The boy finds himself at a loss for words. As he thinks of ways to make you feel better, he suddenly remembers the way you had cleaned him up when you found him so helpless. 

“Let me take care of you?” He whispered softly into your ear. There was much sincerity and concern laced in his voice. In a short span of time, you had managed to make him feel safe, accepted, and welcomed to a sense of warmth that he has never received before. It felt safe for him to feel vulnerable around you. Seeing the way you handled the situation tonight, he felt the compelling need to do the same.

The sobs that you choked out ceased slightly as you nod in response. At the sight of this, he reaches for your hand, interlacing his fingers with yours as he leads you to the bathroom. You seat yourself on the stool situated in front of the sink, head faced down. Draco takes a fresh face towel and wets it. 

“Look at me.” You hesitantly lift your face meeting his concerned gaze. He reaches out and caresses your cheek to wipe the tear that strayed from your eyes.  He then proceeds to wipe your face. You close your eyes to relish the cool dampness of the cloth, letting out breathy sighs in relief. Your heart beats faster at the thought of you being on the receiving end of Draco’s care. At the end of the task, the boy caresses your face through the towel. You look up into his eyes with a frown.

Noticing that your hair was still up, Draco pulled the elastic and grabbed the brush that laid on top of the counter. 

“Turn around.” You follow as he says and meet both your reflections in the mirror. You stared at him, taking in the details of his facial features. He put on a focused expression as he began brushing your hair. His touch was soft and delicate, not wanting to run through tangles forcibly and put you at a risk for discomfort. The soft tugs at your roots felt soothing, inducing your eyes to droop. Draco notices and chuckles softly.

“Don’t you dare sleep on me again, Y/N.” Your eyes immediately fly open.

“It feels good.” You admit quietly. You meet his gaze through the reflection and let out a small smile.

The tugging feeling on his heartstrings prompts him to lean down an whisper in your ear, “Y/N, you’re beautiful I hope you know.” His words cause a surge of heat to rise throughout your body and you can’t help but smile wider. Draco turns the stool, so you’re facing him once again.

“I also like that you’re intelligent--in more ways than one might I add.” He says as he tucked a strand of your hair behind your ear. You chuckled. 

Out of impulse, Draco leans down once more, pressing a kiss to your forehead. Despite your erratic heart beats, you respond to his gesture by wrapping your arms around his torso, pulling yourself into him. He copies your actions while running his fingers through your hair. Everything feels like bliss. 

“I hope you don’t actually believe what she says.” He says as you both remain in the same position.

“About what?”

“That you don’t have a chance with me.” 

“I can see why she’d say that...especially with you and your fami-” He interrupts your sentence. 

“Y/N, I like you,” Your eyes widened.

“I like you regardless of my family or your status.” You pulled away to look at him. You can see him cleaning up, and putting things back in their original places. He kept a neutral expression, but when his gaze passes yours, he raises his eyebrows as he usually does before breaking into a small smile. Just before you catch yourself swooning, he pulls on your wrist.

“You don’t need to give me an answer right now. I just wanted to let you know. Let’s get you dressed.” The boy makes you sit on the edge of your bed while you direct his way through your closet. He pulls out a pair of black sweats and a black jumper and hands it to you.

“Go ahead. I’ll turn around.” You proceed to changing into the clothes that he gave to you. Once you finished you sat yourself on the bed once again, and called out to him. He took a seat by your side. There was an oddly comfortable atmosphere between the both of you. You turn to him to see a serious expression painted on his facial features. The boy looks straight ahead with his hands clasped on his lap. You reach out to grab one and hold it. 

“What’s on your mind?” You ask weakly. He stares at your hand in his. His lack of words causes you to speak up.

“I’m sorry. I get touchy when I’m at my lows. My mother would hold my hand like this.” He remains silent, only gripping your hand in response.

“Don’t apologize. I said I’d look out for you as you have for me.” He turned to look at you and sighed. The sight of your tired expression induces a tight feeling in his chest. The way you stood your ground, the way you defended yourself, the way you held everything in until you were alone--all these things made him contemplate on his actions before he had met you. He’d vividly recall the moments he’d pick on others to feel that sense of superiority that Astoria had tried to feel. He remembered the way he had celebrated in the eyes of his victim’s defeat. But, when he saw you in the line of fire, the feeling of foolishness and regret filled him. 

“Are you tired?” He asked.

You nodded your head in response, getting comfortable with the feel of his hand wrapped around yours. 

“I can go. You should get your rest.” Before he stood to get up, you gripped his hand harder. You craved for the peace he provided. 

“Stay. Please.” His eyes soften at your plea.

“I’ll be back then.” You nod in response while Draco momentarily leaves the room. You sit within the silence as your mind combs over the events that occurred that night. Never in your life did you have to worry about the way someone thought of you--let alone your financial status at home. You had always been one to be independent with your mother as inspiration to make it through. You didn’t mind isolating yourself in your study, because at the end of the week you’d be able to go back home and unwind--something not many students get to do. The feeling of suddenly being placed under scrutiny felt uncomfortable, unfamiliar, and uncertain. 

You break out of your thoughts at the sound of your door opening. Draco peers from the outside before entering and resumes his spot next to you. He was dressed in an outfit similar to yours, except his sweatpants were grey. 

“You got something running around that mind of yours. What is it?” He says.

“Is it that obvious?”

“I mean tonight was already chaotic as it is. You’re not typically placed in the spotlight like that, and you standing up to Astoria took a lot of energy from you. I wouldn’t blame you if you had any lingering thoughts.” He said calmly. He laid out his palm on the surface of your bed sheets.

“It’s there for you to hold if you want it.” He mutters. You look at him with eyes glossed over. You didn’t need to say much, nevertheless he somehow knew what to do. You reached out and grabbed it, allowing yourself to sit much closer to him.

Suddenly, a curious thought flew over the boy’s head, “Does your mother usually read to you in moments like this?” It caught you off guard, but in a good way.

“You’re a smart one aren’t you?” You say teasingly.  He smirks slightly.

“You know, I don’t fall far behind you in ranking.” He turned his head to look straight into your eyes. Time seemed to stop as you stared into his softened blue hues, tuning out the situation that occurred. Hearts palpitated, minds raced, but one glance towards your lips from him was all it took for you to slowly reach up and caress his cheek. The shortening of the distance made Draco’s breath hitch as he came to full realization of what’s going on. 

In response to your actions, he leans in closing the distance between you both. The sensation of fireworks erupted in your chest as you felt his lips slightly brush yours. The kiss was soft and short, but all the more reassuring. It evoked feelings of acceptance, appreciation, promises, and safety that both had felt for one another. It conveyed the unspoken love that neither one of you acknowledged, but had already felt in the little time you spent together. Needless to say, the worries that previously occupied you dissipated at the feel of his lips.

Your heart was racing as you pulled away. Your eyes, which have been closed, open to find him looking into yours once again. Without much hesitation, Draco leaned in for another kiss--this time grabbing your shoulders and pushing you down gently, so that your back was pressed against the bed. Lips moved in sync slowly as he carefully laid his body against your own. His fingers brush your hair away from your face before dancing over your waist. You wrap your arms around his neck to feel him closer. He broke away only to plant kisses all over your face--your eyelids, cheeks, temples, nose. All followed by more lingering ones pressed against your jaw, which soon trailed down your neck. You couldn’t resist him.

“Draco,” The boy melted at the sound of his name. He lifted himself from your neck to look at you. Your eyes were filled with adoration while a smile graced your lips.

“I think now is a good enough time as ever to let you know I like you too.” You both chuckled into the night.

“I didn’t think it would be obvious.” He sarcastically says, before leaning back down once again to kiss you one last time. He laid beside you with his arm draped over your waist, pulling you closer to his body, flushed against his chest. The warm sensation that you felt before was overwhelming now. 

“Thank you for being here and for staying.” You say softly. You feel his fingers brush through your hair. Sleep beginning to overtake you both.

“Anytime.”

A/N: Thank you for making it this far! I apologize for the long wait, but I hope this was suffices :D I hope you have a wonderful day!

Just a couple tags <3:

@fadesbrina @redheaded-hobbit @ccabian @rottenhexrt @beiahadid @ceeellewrites @xoxohollands @mxlfoy-recs @thatguppienamedbae @swiftlymoniquesblog @karamelssunflowers @phxntxmx @mushi98 @hahee154hq​

[geordiewrites]

Exile | George Weasley

Summary: Y/N catches sight of her ex-boyfriend, George Weasley, at his older brother’s wedding after exactly one year apart. Based on Exile by Taylor Swift and Bon Iver :).

A/N: This isn’t directly linked to the song, but its certainly inspired by it as it’s about two ex-lovers seeing each other again at Bill and Fleur’s wedding and how they feel when they see each other again and shit like that. It’s very angsty, since I’m unable to write anything else hehe, and I do enjoy a good angsty story! Hope you all had a great Hanukah and Christmas, or any other events you celebrate too in December and fading into the new year. Also my requests are now open, go wild xox.

Warnings: angst and a hell of a lot of it, swearing, drinking. Let me know if I’ve missed any!

-

Y/N’s hands gripped a pristine glass of mulberry red wine so hard it seemed as though it would smash. Her Y/H/C shone in the dim candlelight of the marquee she was awkwardly standing in the corner of, fervently wishing she had politely declined the invitation to Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour’s wedding that she had received a few months prior. It seemed like a good idea at the time, just to be in the same room as all the people she had let down twelve months before and simply survive the palpable tension. But now she was there, Y/N couldn’t think of anything worse.

She could see where George was, dancing with some blonde girl from Hogwarts that Y/N didn’t care enough to remember the name of. Just seeing his arm slung lazily around the girl’s waist was enough to make sticky bile rise up in her throat.

Exactly one year had passed since Y/N had abruptly ended her whirlwind engagement with George Weasley, the younger brother of Bill, who’s wedding it was. Granted the ceremony was beautiful, with a huge marquee tent in a meadow of autumn flowers on a poignant, warm afternoon, but Y/N couldn’t feel anything but uncomfortable and out of place around her ex-boyfriend’s dotting family. It had been a messy breakup, with Y/N running away to France in fear of the brewing war and leaving George behind with it.

She had lived in Paris for eleven months, stewing over the pain of losing George by her own sword. But she couldn’t go back. Being both muggleborn and associated with a pureblood, even if he was a Weasley, was dangerous to say the least. So many years were spent with Y/N constantly getting put down for her purity, even in the supposed sanctuary of Hogwarts. She had never said anything to George. He wouldn’t have understood anyway. And so, she agreed to marry him. Agreed to wear the diamond ring he could barely afford, and agreed to a life she didn’t want. One she had never wanted.

It didn’t occur to her that she was too scared to go through with it until her clandestine bag was packed for France, and the words ‘I can’t marry you’ tumbled from her lips.

Draining the rest of the dark wine until her glass was completely empty as a distraction, Y/N barely noticed a tall, redheaded man move to stand next to her with a crooked smile close to George’s own.

“So, how have you been?” The man said, making Y/N snap to attention in surprise before having to force herself not to smile. She wanted to, but Fred Weasley wasn’t somebody she entirely expected to try and talk to her after what went down between herself and his twin brother.

“Fine, you?” Y/N replied hotly after a moment of hesitation, pouring another large glass of wine. Her voice was clipped as if she didn’t want to be talking to him, and her eyes were careful not to meet his.

“Better than ever. It’s nice to see you, Y/N.” Fred mused with a brutal honesty that made her want to spit out her drink. “Truly, I’ve missed you.”

“Not usually something a guy says to his twin brother’s ex.” Y/N chuckled in return. “Especially me, for that matter. Out of curiosity, did he ever tell you what actually happened?” She continued worriedly. Breaking up with George was the hardest thing she had ever done, the hardest thing she would ever have to do, and it was the messiest, most gut-wrenching breakup either of them would face. The details of it... she just dually hoped Fred didn’t know them. Really she hoped nobody but herself and George did.

“Of course he did.” Fred said, but he’s lying. Y/N knows he’s lying from the way he scratched his nose: it’s his tell, but she goes along with it anyway.

“Oh really?”

“Obviously, why wouldn’t he?”

“Well...” Y/N trailed off, making Fred both curious and suspicious.

“Alright I lied. He hasn’t said a word, just told us you two split up and the engagement was off. What didn’t he tell me about, Y/N?”

-

“Why are you doing this? We’ve set a date, Y/N, October fifteenth next year. Please, just don’t leave me.” George begged, years streaming down his face as his hands clutched Y/N’s shoulders, as if he was desperately clinging to something that was already gone. “We can work through this, we can.”

Shaking off his hands, Y/N moved away from him with a deep cold spreading through her icy veins. “I don’t want to. I don’t want to marry you, I don’t want to be here anymore.”

“What are you saying?” George asked simply. It was almost rhetorical in the complicated tangle of feelings that Y/N couldn’t decipher herself could never be expressed in speech.

“I’m saying I’m leaving. Leaving you, leaving this goddamn country where people want to fucking kill me for something I can’t control.” Y/N cried, but there are no tears from her. Her eyes are dry, as is her throat and her skin feels parched, drained of all moisture and blood and richness. “I’m going to France.”

“France? Y/N, just calm down. You can’t go to France.”

“Why the hell not?”

“Because I love you. And you can’t leave me, Y/N, please.” George continued, not meaning to be possessive but it just came out that way. Y/N used to like it, but now it just feels like a gilded cage. Have the marriage but don’t be free. Have the husband but don’t be safe. Have the life while others are slaughtered, and you might be next. She was done with it all.

“Funnily enough that isn’t your decision. I’m going to France, I’m going away from this war, from Dumbledore and the Order constantly expecting me to just be okay with everything, when I’m not.” Y/N ranted, waiting a few seconds to see if he would continue. When he didn’t, she carried on yelling, wanting him to know why she was leaving for good. “I’m not okay that they want me to just fight aimlessly all the goddamn time. I’m not okay that you think I’m some goddess when I’m so fucking terrified. I’m not okay that nobody sees that people are about to die, and I’m the most likely out of all of us to do exactly that-“

“Don’t say that. We will get through this war.” George replied, but Y/N was already at the door with her suitcase handle clutched in her colourless hand.

“No, we won’t. I’m sorry, but I’m so done. I can’t take it and I’m leaving-“

“You’re running away.” George said in a tone that made Y/N clutch at the roots of her hair.

“Of course I am. Don’t be pathetic, George, of course I’m running away from my inevitable death.”

“You won’t-“

“No, I won’t. I’m not going to die aged 20 because I’m not going to let them have the opportunity.” There was a beat before Y/N finally spoke the last words George would hear from her for the next year. “Goodbye George, all the best.”

All the best, George thought bitterly as she slammed the door, ready to rush to the airport. All the fucking best.

-

Fred watched as Y/N flinched, her shoulders tensing for a brief second before she airily smiled, an action even he could see was very clearly forced. Noticing she wasn’t going to answer his question, Fred asked yet another. “Where have you been for the last twelve months?”

“Paris.” Y/N chuckled darkly, feeling her heart clench as George kissed the blonde woman on the forehead. Her soft smile faded and an involuntarily frown settled on her delicate features. “In France.”

“I know where bloody Paris is, just wasn’t expecting that. Why Paris exactly?” Fred pressed, and Y/N had consumed just the perfect amount of mulled wine to be in the talkative, tipsy stage of inebriated. Perhaps getting piss drunk hadn’t been the best plan.

“There’s not a war in Paris.” She answered honestly, feeling the urge to laugh as Fred’s face flickered between shock and disappointment, almost identically to how George’s had one year previous.

“You ran away.”

“Yep.” She said, idly popping the ‘p’ and smudging her crimson lipstick slightly.

“But you’re back.”

“Also yes. I decided not to be a coward for any longer.” Y/N giggled tipsily, placing a chaste hand on his arm to steady herself, but to the untrained eye it appeared she was flirting with him. While Fred knew this wasn’t the case, another ginger across the room didn’t know as such, and felt a pang of all too familiar pain as his eyes landed on his ex-fiancé. “Alright Freddie, I feel a bit hot. I’m just gonna head outside for a minute or two.”

Fred barely had time to nod before Y/N swanned out of the room, her deep red dress clinging to her sensuous curves as she walked. She certainly stood out against a crowd of bland, Weasley-like fabrics from their family, and combined with her Y/H/C, Y/N was very easy to spot in the wedding. George watched as she left the tent to go stand just outside the entrance, strands of her hair fluttering around sharp cheekbones just visible past the marquee. With a quick apology to his blonde girlfriend, George rushed out after her.

Seeing Y/N again after exactly one year was similar to getting hit by a bus. It was exhilarating and melancholy and a whole other myriad of emotions that George was too mentally immature to comprehend. He didn’t even realise he was standing outside, just beside her before he was there. She looked almost exactly the same, except for the smudged red berry lipstick across her cheek. Y/N noticed he was there and stared adamantly at the ground, not knowing exactly why he was there or what he wanted.

“You’re here.” George said, his tone making it a statement far more than a question. Y/N nodded silently, not finding the courage to look at him for fear she would just spontaneously start sobbing. She hadn’t during their breakup, or even after during the mourning period, but right now she felt tears threatening to spill. “Why are you here exactly?”

“It’s a wedding.” She said, again more of a menial, random statement than an answer to his question.

“Yes, I realised that.” George snapped irritably. “The shop is doing brilliantly considering everything going on. And I have a girlfriend. She’s called Angelina, a Quidditch player-“

Unable to take it anymore, an elastic string pulled taunt in Y/N’s heart tore clean in two. “Why the fuck are you telling me this?”

“Wanted you to know.” George said after a significant beat.

“To hurt me.” Y/N muttered venomously, her eyes squeezing shut for a brief second. “Well congrats.”

“Didn’t know you had enough feelings to be hurt.” George cruelly replied. He knew it was beyond harsh, that it was pathetic considering how long it had been, but seeing Y/N looking quite to radiant had brought up a number of old feelings from their breakup right back.

“You know I came here to try and be in the room with these people again. You, your family. Turns out, I can’t.” Y/N said, tears beginning to fall from her eyes, lips tightened into a thin line. “It’s impossible to be near you.”

“It’s good to see you.” George mumbled, so quietly she wasn’t even sure that he had said it out loud. “I mean it.”

“That’s a change of tone.” She laughed, and even that simple sound was enough to make George smile, however much he wanted to be mad at her. “I thought you would hate me.”

“I do.” He smirked, making her laugh again in a way only he could. In a way both of them had dearly missed. “I really do, but I also missed you. Missed your laugh, your smile, your stupid shoes. I never understood why you needed more than one pair of shoes.”

“For the sake of fashion.” She said.

“You haven’t changed a bit.” He whispered, a saccharine mist clouding his hazel eyes as she brought herself to look at him for the first time, and not at the floor. He was older, not in looks but there was a tinge more wisdom held in solemn eyes. Even though he was smiling, he just looked sad. “You’re still beautiful to me. Even though I hate you.”

“I hate you too.” Y/N said, but her tone is soft and almost loving in it’s insinuation. Her heart swelled as she realised he had called her beautiful. “But you can’t call me beautiful when you have a gorgeous girlfriend waiting for you inside.”

“I do, and she’s wonderful.” George said. But there it was again, that sadness that only Y/N could possibly ever notice. Even then, nobody knew him as well as she did. Not even his new girlfriend. “But she’s not you.”

“Nobody ever will be.” Y/N laughed arrogantly, but it was utterly truthful at the same time. Nobody would ever be who Y/N was to George during their relationship, but even she wasn’t that person anymore. She was still Y/N, but a different version. The one he had fallen in love with was gone, and in her place was Angelina.

“Why’d you leave Paris?” George asked.

“I didn’t want to be scared anymore.”

“You were always braver than you gave yourself credit for, Y/N.” George complimented, making her face flush with a rosy glow. Her eyes were hazy with alcohol and a want for something she had forfeited so stupidly. Her lips were in a slight pout, and she gave him a look he had only seen a few rare times before. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I want you to kiss me. Will you? For old times sake?” Y/N asked, her face just a few brave centimetres from his. George wouldn’t have to do much to close the gap between them, and the urge to feel her lips against his for a final time was too overwhelming, like chugging red wine. Forbidden, something he wasn’t supposed to ever do but it was so duplicitously tempting and devilishly irresistible.

George was kissing her before he knew what was happening, adrenaline coursing through his veins. A warmth spread throughout Y/N’s entire body, fuelled by passion and sadness. His hands found her waist, sending involuntary tingles up her spine and back down again to her coccyx, the fabric of her dress riding up slightly so when he moved her hand lower, it just grazed her thigh. The kiss was treacherous, but as addictive as any drug that George had ever heard of. He couldn’t imagine anything both worse and better.

But it wasn’t a kiss of cheating in intention or action really, it was a kiss of goodbye. A kiss of hello to an old soulmate as he departed their chapter in his life, and finally let go of Y/N. A kiss of want and of love eventually disappearing forever. A kiss of teenage infatuation, of snogging in abandoned classrooms and first times in the Room Of Requirement, young and in love. A kiss of unspoken words and emotions, of ‘I want you but I hate you’ and ‘I love you but I left you’. A kiss of finally portraying unspeakable emotions that neither could understand. Perhaps they never would.

When their lips parted, George walked off without speaking. He just quickly made sure her lipstick wasn’t anywhere on his skin and walked seamlessly back into the party, sweeping Angelina off her feet as he once did with Y/N. As he now finally didn’t wish he was doing with Y/N. That chapter was closed, that storybook finally completely written and the ink had run dry. Angelina was who he wanted now, who he had now and who he loved now.

Y/N was a memory of George’s first love, while George was the memory of the biggest mistake Y/N would ever make. He was a reminder of who she lost, but also of who she could find again with someone else. Someone she was ready to marry, and ready to get through the war with. She hadn’t found them yet, but someday she would. She was sure of it.

At least for now, George wasn’t a part of her thoughts. He wasn’t a part of her dreamless sleeps or of her worst nightmares. He simply existed, and that was the best she could’ve asked for by even attending the wedding in the first place. George was a part of her life that was over now.

And Y/N was so ready for the next chapter, however messy and painful it could be. She was finally ready.

[amandawritez]

Mistake

Pairing: JJ Maybank x reader

Word count: 2806

Warnings: fighting (kind of), cursing, mentions of abuse. This is angsty as hell I apologize in advance but there is fluff at the end if you squint

Summary: When JJ starts spiraling and putting his friends in danger you have to give him an ultimatum 

Your hands were shaking as JJ pulled up to Barry’s house, and everyone sat in confusion as JJ got out of the van and began to storm inside. You could hear their voices as they spoke but you were so shook up over what just happened that everything being said was going straight over your head. 

“Someone should probably go talk to him.” you heard Kie say and everyone’s heads turned to face you but you continued to stare blankly at the floor of the van unable to move, you felt like your body was glued to the seat. 

“Yeah, I got it.” John B stated once he realized that you weren't getting up. 

It was silent in the van and the only noise to be heard was the shuffling inside from JJ ransacking the house and John B attempting to calm him down. After a few minutes you shakily stood up and began to walk towards the house, figuring John B wasn’t really going to able to calm JJ down, usually when JJ spiraled like this you were the only one he would listen to. Just the sound of your voice could snap him out of his fit. 

You stood on the porch thinking for a moment until JJ stepped outside and saw you. He froze for a second and you looked at the bag in his hand. 

“JJ what's that.” your voice was so little that you thought maybe he hadn’t heard you. 

“It’s revenge, they mess with us and we get even.” He stated calmly. He began to walk past you but you stepped infront of him blocking his path causing him to huff in annoyance knowing you were going to try and talk him out of it. 

“JJ you can’t just steal from a drug dealer this isn’t a joke, he's dangerous and now you're putting everyone else in danger too, not just yourself.” you said. 

“(Y/n) he stole the gold from us, he pointed a fucking gun at you and we’re just supposed to let him get away with it? Aren’t you tired of being walked on?” he asked now looking you dead in the eyes. 

“JJ that's not the point, the point is you can’t keep doing shit like this. You’re spiraling and you’re gonna get other people hurt.” you began to get angrier raising your voice slightly. JJ just rolled his eyes and stepped around you walking off the porch and completely ignoring your rant. 

“Alright, so we’re looking at five grand each for reparations for putting us through that bullshit.” He said as he stepped into the yard. John B walked outside and down the steps but you continued to stand on the porch feet glued to the ground and arms crossed staring straight ahead. You listened as the group all at once began to questions JJ’s actions, telling him this isn’t a good idea and you could tell he was getting angrier as everyone reprimanded him. You heard some commotion and turned around to see JJ shoving John B against the van. 

You joined the others in the yard and watched as JJ stepped into the van and sit down as if waiting for the others to join him so they could leave. Once he realized no one was going with him if he was going to steal the money he huffed and stepped out of the van. You listened as the group told JJ that they were tired of his reckless shit and that he needed to stop. When JJ announced that he was just going to go by himself if no one wanted the money your eyes began to well up with tears, threatening to spill at any moment. 

When he started walking away Pope began to go after him but John B stopped him and Sarah said to just let him go, but you didn’t want to just let him go you knew he needed a wake up call. 

“JJ.” you spoke quietly but you knew he heard you because he stopped walking but continued to stare forward refusing to turn around and look at you. “If you take that money we’re done.” You spoke a bit louder now making sure he heard you and hoping he would turn around and change his mind. 

But he didn’t. Instead he stared forward for a moment and then said one word, “Fine.” He didn’t bother turning around because he knew looking at you would break him so instead he continued marching forward leaving everyone behind. As silent tears rolled down your face Sarah Pulled you into a hug and Kie joined her a moment later. 

--------

Later that night you sat alone in your room staring aimlessly at the ceiling thinking about the events of the day. After JJ left John B dropped everyone off at their homes, Kie offered to stay with you since she knew you were upset but you insisted on wanting to be alone. You showered and ate silently, you felt dull you couldn’t believe that JJ would do that, that he would just give up on your relationship at the drop of a pin. Your attempts to not cry failed as you pulled your legs up to your chest and decided to just let the tears flow as you dropped your head down and rested your forehead on the tops of your knees. You were broken from your thoughts as you heard a light knock on your door, you quickly wiped your tears and figured it was just your younger sister asking to borrow clothes or something. “Come in.” you said and your voice cracked slightly. The door opened and it was Pope and Kie asking to come in, you nodded and they stepped in the room quietly shutting the door behind them. 

Kie sat next to you and Pope on the end of your bed. “Are you okay?” Pope asked and Kie glared at him, her face asking why the fuck he would say that. 

“I’m fine, I’m good.” You said quietly and gave a weak smile in an attempt to make it believable but they both knew you were lying. Kie pulled you into a hug and rubbed the top of your head causing your eyes to water again so you pulled away not wanting to cry. 

“So, what's up.” you asked plainly and Pope and Kie exchanged looks as if wondering if they should tell you something. 

“We were uh gonna go see JJ, see if we could talk some sense into him and make sure he’s okay after earlier but we wanted to check on you first ya know make sure you were okay too, and see if maybe you would come talk to him too? If not its okay we totally get it I mean you guys got into it pretty bad today, er sorry I shouldn't have said that, I mean I know you guys broke up and all but um-” Kie lightly slapped Popes arm and looked at him with wide eyes. 

“Pope are you dumb you can’t say shit like that she's still sad.” You laughed lightly at the interaction, Pope wasn’t the best with words when someone was upset. 

“I’m right here, and I’m fine guys really. JJ made his decision and if he was willing to throw away our whole relationship that easily then it wasn’t meant to be.” your voice got quiet at the end, you knew you didn't mean what you were saying but you had to at least try. Kie shook her head and said 

“No (y/n) you know that's not true, JJ loves you so much you know he was just upset he made a mistake I’m sure he's a wreck right now trying to figure out how to fix things, you know he loves you.” and Pope nodded in agreement. You wanted to argue but you knew she was right, but you just weren’t ready to see him yet. 

“I don’t know, I just don’t think I’m ready to go over there and forgive him yet plus I tried to talk sense into him earlier and we all saw how that went.” Kie looked at you sadly and Pope looked like he was practically begging you to come because he knew they wouldn't be able to help JJ like you could. 

You thought about it for a moment and decided that maybe you should go talk to JJ, the longer you waited could make things worse. “Fine, I’ll go.” Kie jumped off the bed  and clasped her hands together excitedly, Pope stood up too ready to go, “But,” you said and Kie dropped her hands and her face fell from its smile. “You guys have to go in first, go talk to him and is he's still acting like he was earlier then I’m not going in, I don't need to get hurt all over again because JJ is still being a dick. If you think he's fine and he will want to talk to me then I’ll come in after.” You said and Kie groaned but nodded and said that was understandable. 

As the truck pulled up you were beyond nervous, your hands began to shake again and your breathing started gettin heavier. “Hey, its gonna be fine,” Kie stated placing her hand on your knee reassuringly “I promise we’re gonna get in there and JJ is gonna be back to his usual self, I’m sure he realized he's made a mistake.” Pope and Kie got our of the truck talking about the plan to get the gold out of the well when all of the sudden the sound of a generator whirring to life was heard and the entire backyard suddenly lit up. You looked at Pope and Kie wondering if maybe they had knew about this and it was set up but they looked just as confused as you did. They said that they were gonna go check it out and that one of them would come back to get you after they talked to JJ.

You sat alone on the tailgate of the truck wondering what was taking so long, maybe JJ was doing something stupid again. You scoffed and rolled your eyes imagining what JJ could have done now, and your curiosity got the best of you so you decided to just go find out for yourself, you were tired of waiting. As you walked in the backyard you could see lights hung up everywhere and as you rounded the corner to see what was going on you froze in your tracks. The sight infant of you was enough to make your jaw drop slightly and your legs feel like jelly underneath you, it felt like someone had punched you in the chest. JJ stood in the middle of a hot tub, Champagne glasses floating around the water and a champagne bottle in his hand. But it wasn’t the hot tub or the lights or even the generator that shocked you, it was JJ, more like what happened to JJ. His chest and face were littered with Dark purple bruises, bigger ones on his stomach, and his lip was split open. Who could have done this to him.

“JJ.” you finally spoke up, all three of their heads turned to you, Pope and Kie’s worrisome expressions and JJ’s drunken smile. 

“(Y/n) im so glad you could make it, come on get in it feels great! Oh get this, I named her the Cat’s ass how funny is that.” JJ laughed at himself and waved his hand in a come here motion. 

“JJ w-what happened to you, who did this to you.” you asked, your voice cracked and you knew you were going to cry for the hundredth time today. You slowly stepped forward and began walking up to the hot tub. “JJ..” you said lightly you looked his bruises again, one silent tear fell down your face. 

“No stop being emotional, it’s fine okay-” his voice began cracking and you could tell he was about to cry so you walked up and stepped over the ledge to get in, not caring about your shoes or clothes because right now they didn’t matter, JJ was the most important thing. You wrapped your arms around JJ as he began to break down, and you petted his head lightly as he sobbed “I can't take him anymore.” He cried and pulled your body tightly into his as if he let go you might disappear into thin air. you rubbed his back and felt Kie and Pope stepping into the hot tub too and wrapping their arms around both of you. You whispered in JJ’s ear attempting to calm him down and slowly his sobs became less heavy and his breathing began to even out, he knew he was safe here with his real family. 

You all pulled away after a few minutes and you took the champagne bottle out of JJ’s hand and set it on the edge of the hot tub, slipping your hand into his you began to pull him out of the hot tub “Come on bub, lets get you inside and cleaned up we can take a shower and I'll cook you something.” you said and he nodded slightly following you out. Pope and Kie got out too and knew that it was best to let you handle this, Kie saying she would call you later. 

After taking JJ inside you suggested that he showered and you’d cook some Mac and cheese for him, he silently nodded, too scared to talk worried that his voice may betray him and cause him to cry again. After his shower you two ate in silence, you had no idea what to say you just knew you needed to be there for him. You finally spoke up when he was finished eating, “JJ, can I clean you up? I-I have some stuff I can put on your cut and bruises that will help them to heal better.” You stood next to him and held out your hand which he gladly took and let you lead him to the bathroom.

He sat on the counter while you got out the cream for him and tended to his bruises. You were so gentle with him terrified that if you touched him the wrong way he might just break, as if he was made glass. You weren’t sure if he was going to speak at all until he finally broke the silence, “I'm sorry” he said and you looked up at him confused 

“Why are you apologizing you did nothing wrong.” 

“I’m sorry for earlier at Barry’s I was being reckless and I hurt you, I’m so sorry I walked away i-it was mistake.” he stumbled over his words, scared that he may cry more. You finished up cleaning him and stood up so you were face to face with him now. 

“JJ it’s okay I understand I’m sorry I even gave you an ultimatum, it was selfish and horrible.” 

“No you did the right thing, you don't want to be with a guy like me, I don’t deserve you. I’m reckless and immature and I’m such a piece of shit.. my dad was right.” He began to cry and you placed your hands on the side of his face lifting it so he had to look at you. 

“JJ , no baby you're not a piece of shit you're the best thing that’s every happened to me, nothing your dad ever says about you is true, you are kind and passionate, and I love you, okay, we all love you JJ please don’t ever think you are any of those things your dad said.” You wrapped your arms around him and carefully pulled him into a hug not wanting to hurt him and he held onto you tightly crying into your shoulder. 

He finally pulled away and wiped his eyes, “So you’re not breaking up with me.” He asked quietly, terrified that you might say yes. 

“No baby I’m not breaking up with you I would never do that, okay I love you so much and I’m so sorry for saying that earlier.” he was so glad to hear that  and he put his hands on the side of your face and pulled you in for a soft kiss, being careful not to hurt his lip. You pulled away and wrapped your arms around his waist and placed your head on his chest listening to his heart beat, he wrapped his arms around your shoulders and rested his chin in your head. And you guys sat like that for a while, while JJ thought about how much he loved you and he knew that you were the best thing that had ever happened to him too.

--------

A/N: someone get the tissues I am EMO rn. I’m so sorry that was so long and honestly angsty as hell :( but I hope you liked it my inbox is open so send me shiz :) 

[heyheydidjaknow]

I would’ve posted this earlier but, alas, I passed out early. This is a longer one, but tumblr got its act together so I can post it all in one part. You guys know where the other chapters are, and if you don’t, they’re at the end of the chapter. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go eat straight Nutella.

Chapter 10

“I’m thinking about getting some gloves.”

He looks over at you as he laces up his skates. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” you nod, smiling slightly to yourself as you look your hands over, trying to imagine what they would look like. “Like, badass, fingerless gloves.”

He smiles. “Dude, those would look metal as fuck.”

“Totally, right?” Your smile widens. “With studs and shit.”

He gets to his feet, hopping onto the ice. “Hell yeah.” He drops a puck to assault as you go back to your backed-up coursework the best you can—your handwriting has gone to hell, but you are working with what you have.

You flinch at the crack of his stick, the cross of the T ending up underneath the letter somehow. A cheer from Casey tells you the rubber cylinder’s fate.

‘I swear I learned this.' You squint at the basic algebra, the pencil, crudely held in your fist, hovering over the packet. ‘Why can’t I do this?’

“How’s your pile coming along?” Another crack.

“It’s comin’.” You run your fingers through your hair. “Just… trynna remember how to do ne—… subtraction.” ‘Not debate. Negating is debate.’

He laughs. Another crack. “Man, that thing really fucked you over, huh?”

“Thoroughly.” You decide against continuing to torture yourself, having been at it for the past five hours—most of it in the library before Casey invited you to watch him practice some more— and set the large stack of homework back in your bag. “Are you actually making the shots?”

“Casey Jones doesn’t miss shots.” Another crack.

“Pardon me, oh almighty king of the ice.” You stand on your good leg, grabbing the side of the wall to watch as he went back to collect his pucks.

You two have managed to bond over a mutual respect/love of heavy metal and hockey and, seeing as you are staying out of the Hamatos’ hair for a while—not upon request, but out of courtesy—you have managed to spend a lot more time with him than you may have otherwise. Your school has not assigned Biology any big projects yet, so, until you are assigned it, you do not have anything other than your health to stress about.

“Pardon accepted.” You watch his form as he performs another slap shot.

“You…” you trail off, trying to remember what you were going to say.

“What?”

You shrug. “Dunno.” You lean your head on your arms. “I’ll remember eventually.”

He drops the second puck. “Got any plans after this?”

You sigh. “Nope. Probably gonna head home and try not to cut my fingers making dinner again.”

He takes another shot. “Then let’s go out after this. You and me.”

You smile. “What, don’t have any plans either?”

“Nah.” He drops the third. “Dad doesn’t care if I’m home late anyway.”

“True, true.” You have decided against prying into his home life; it is not your place and does not concern you in the slightest. “Where do you wanna go?”

“Wanna catch a movie? Heard there was this new pizza place just a couple blocks down if you wanna try to sneak it in.”

You snicker. “In the box and all?”

“Yes.” He grins mischievously and hits this one off the walls. Some way, somehow, it still makes it into the goal. “I bet your sweatshirt is big enough to stick the box under.”

You stick your tongue out at him. “Not in the mood for burns on top of scars, Jones,” you reprimand him teasingly. “That just ain't it.”

“Then you can wear mine under that one and—”

“Your sweat-soaked hoodie you’ve been practicing in all day?” You cringe at the thought. “Over my dead body.”

“I mean…” he licks his teeth, smile widening, “it’s not exactly like you’re in the best—”

You laugh. “So not cool!”

He puts his hands up in defense, gliding over. “I mean, am I wrong, though?”

“That is completely besides the point, you ass.” You balance on your foot, crossing your arms. “Damn. Making fun of the girl with the broken leg.”

He leans against the wall. “Man, you were dying before the crash.”

You roll your eyes. “Alright, whatever, Jones.” You lean against your hand. “How’s Johanna,” you sing.

He presses his hand against your face, pushing you away. “Annie is doing fine.”

You grin, steadying yourself on the wall. “Do you feel her, Johanna?”

“I’m gonna tell her you call her that if you don’t quit it.”

“Do you think that walls can hide her? Even when you’re at her window?”

He pushed his arm all the way out. You hop back.

“Her name isn’t even Johanna.”

“But she is Johanna,” you whine in protest, not bothering to hide your mirth. “She has the hair, the voice, the disposition. She’s an ingénue and you know it.” You have been teasing him about this for a while now: the girl in question—Annabelle Halshaw, a year below you two—had caught his eye when he had heard through the grapevine that she was the lead singer in some indie band. When he had shown you a picture and told you the story, you insisted on calling her Johanna for her golden hair and soft, sweet singing voice he had proudly had you listen to.

“She’s not.”

You roll your eyes, sitting back down as you grab your bag. “Lie to yourself all you want,” you goad, “but deep down, you know in your heart that the truth,” you put a finger up, “is apparent.”

He hops off the ice, sitting next to you as he unlaces his skates. “Whatever.” He smirks. “How’s The Don?”

You avert your gaze. “I haven’t seen ‘im.”

“Boo.” He tied the laces together. “Some girlfriend you are,” he ribs.

You go red. “Not my boyfriend. Not even friends with benefits.”

“Yeah, sure.” He sets the skates into his bag. “That’s why you already know his family.”

“That—”

“And why you’ve had him over to your place.”

“If you don’t cool your tits, I’m telling Lucy you’re crushing on her friend.”

“Don’t you dare!”

“What,” you simper, “think I won’t?”

He grabs his bag. “If you do, I’ll show her that video.”

You laugh, following him out of the rink. “You’re the worst.” You note how strange it is that he spent so little time on the ice as you two walk out, but you do not say anything about it.

“Hey, you’re the one throwing threats around.”

“Yeah,” you argue, “but my threat is clearly better.”

He rolls his eyes, pushing you again.

You two keep chatting on the way to the theatre about anything and everything, from new bands to upcoming games to the newest blockbuster horror movies. You are not personally on the hockey team, but, as his friend, it is your duty to care. Besides, you figure, it gives you something to look forward to.

The movie is fine. You convince him against sneaking an entire pizza in, you split a bucket of popcorn, and you give him shit for getting freaked out by the disembowelment scene. It is payback for him teasing you about crying during the last movie you two went to a couple of days ago.

You two stand at the streetlight.

“Dude, it’s like eight,” he groans. “It’s not even late.”

“True,” you agree. “Counterpoint: I still have another week’s worth of work to do by Friday on top of the homework I’ll have to do anyway, so unless you wanna help—”

“Forget I asked.” He pulls his hood up against the autumn wind. “Need me to walk you back?”

“Nah.” You shrug. “If someone mugs me, they’ll give me an excuse to not do my homework.”

“Murdered?

“I’m already halfway there.”

He grins. “See ya tomorrow, Y/N.”

“See ya, Jones.” You wave as he runs off.

The walk home is quiet and considerably easier than it was a couple of weeks ago. Seeing as you now get queasy whenever you get into a car, you have been limited to taking the subway and walking, which, among other things, has contributed positively to your physical strength. You know that you should probably at least try to take the bus or a cab around town to build your tolerance up, but the last time you tried, you had almost tripped and fallen from how shaky your legs were getting out. Oddly enough, you note as you go through the door, you do not have a considerably larger fear of heights than you did before, or of fire, but cars were tripping you up, even though you were the one that crashed it. You feel thankful that, at least, you do not think your fear is crippling. At least, you reason, you can still get into the car.

You lock the door behind you, debating whether you feel like adding to the collection of cuts you now possess— they are self-inflicted, but not intentionally so; you stubbornly refuse to acknowledge the fact that you physically cannot use your hands to cut things. You decide against it tonight, tossing your bag on the bed as you sprawl across it, admittedly exhausted. You allow yourself a couple of seconds with your eyes closed before you pull yourself up with a groan and get back to work.

A part of you wishes that you had the physical energy to stay out longer. You are always trying to find excuses not to sleep, and although the mountain of homework and readjusting your timelines for things you missed is certainly one way to keep yourself preoccupied, it is not exactly what you would consider fun. Then again, reliving your greatest traumas while you sleep is not exactly fun either.

You catch yourself peeling at the newly applied bandages on your fingers, fingernails catching under the crudely applied adhesives. Applying bandages properly requires more dexterity and patience than you currently possess, and you are hardly going to ask someone else for help with something as stupid as that. You have lasted this long without needing too much help. People can live by themselves. You will live, probably. Well? Not your concern.

‘I should eat something.’ Your eyes strain to focus on the piece of paper in front of you, your mind wandering aimlessly as you try to impress the actual importance of finishing this upon yourself, but you find that is an insurmountable feat.

You drop your bag off the side of the bed, reaching down and pulling your shoe off, leaning back into your pillows, the weight of the day practically immobilizing you. Fumbling hands switch the lamp off, bathing your room in momentary, blissful darkness before the gravity of your decision sets in.

“Alright, me,” you breathe to yourself. “What’s it gonna be today? My folks? Bradford? What’s his face? Hell,” you chuckle, “why not all three? I’m sadistic enough, I’m sure.”

You close your eyes. “Give me your worse,” you challenge as you slip into unconsciousness.

--

Two weeks.

He had kept his distance for about two weeks. It was not as if he did not care or was not morbidly curious what the crash had done to you—his glances through the curtains did not tell him much-- but, after some debate, he had figured you needed time to recuperate before you would want his company. Two weeks, he figured, would be enough time for you to get back on your feet or, at least, for you to start wanting company.

His excuse to see you had come in the form of his brother’s newfound prideful boasting. Feigning insult was as good an excuse as any to go see you; after all, he just so happened to be in the neighborhood anyway, and it was normal to pop in to see someone if you were already just a couple blocks down, right? Sneaking away was easy enough—they would not mind his absence—and he, after much prep work, knew exactly how and why he was going to say the things he would to get in your good favor. The plan, he knows, would have gone swimmingly.

His plans seem asinine when he hears you crying.

His brothers do not cry much. He does not, either; it was a habit that they had all thoroughly bullied themselves out of when they were much younger and, if they still did, he knew nothing of it. His master did not encourage this, per se, but talked, then, frequently about the importance of maintaining a more stoic disposition and not allowing emotions to cripple you in battle. Practically, Donatello was satisfied with that explanation, having not properly cried for more than a year now. To hear the sound again, especially coming from you, was novel.

Novel, too, is how you are crying. The sound is less of actual sobbing and more of you being strangled, quiet gasps for air escaping your lips as you shake on the bed, curled in on yourself and clutching at your chest as if whatever pain you are experiencing is centered and can be relieved by something between your collarbones. His eyes, for the first time, trace the lines on your skin, your sleeves riding up your arms to reveal them to him, tears racing down and along the gash in your face. Everything about the scene, from the soft gasping of panic to your position to the heavy scarring, is completely foreign to him, rivaled only by one or two particularly hard nights when he and his brother were much younger.

He slides in through the window, leaning onto the bed. His fingers flick your lamp back on as he grabs your shivering shoulder tightly, shaking you awake as he mumbles words of encouragement. He is not sure if his help will be appreciated, if snapping you out of it was even what he is supposed to do in this situation, but now is not the time to think of that. You are in pain. He can offer you this kindness. “Wake up,” he pleads, not thinking of how this would look until your eyes snap open to look at him.

Immediately, the reality of the situation sets in, and he scrambles off the bed. ‘Why did I think that would be a good idea?’ Panic. ‘You just walked into her room like a fucking creep. See, now she’s going to—’

“Sorry.”

He blinks, looking up at you from his place on the floor. “Huh?”

You clear your throat, wiping the tears from your eye with your sleeve quickly as you bring your knees to your chest, voice hoarse. “Sorry,” you repeat. “That you… I’m not sure what I’m apologizing for, but I know I should be apologizing.”

He is completely dumbfounded.

Your eyes glance to the open window. “I should probably start closing and locking my window, right?” You rub the back of your neck, voice clearing the longer you talk. “It didn’t occur to me since I’m so high up, but if you guys can get in, The Foot can too, right?”

‘Why is she apologizing?’

You push the hair out of your face. ‘You need something, right? I—uh—need to stop saying ‘right’ so much.” You shake your head to clear it. “’ Sup?”

He hears himself mumble some bullshit out about being in the neighborhood.

You sigh. “Sorry.” You close your eyes. “I’m usually up later; I’ve been so tired lately.”

‘Is she serious right now?’ He is completely lost. ‘She was just crying her eyes out in her sleep and now she’s apologizing? Did I miss something?’ You are smiling now, eyes still bloodshot, as if the whole thing is a figment of his imagination, still shivering where you sit.

He rises to his feet, kneeling in front of you on the bed. “What was it about?”

You blink, seemingly confused. “Huh?”

“Your nightmare,” he clarifies. “You were crying. What was it about?”

You avert eye contact. “Nothing too crazy,” you shrug. “Just about the crash. Nothing too exciting.” If possible, he thinks the bags under your eyes are worse than the last time you saw him.

He takes your hands loosely, turning them palms up to look, for the first time, at the patchwork quilt that is now your skin. “What happened in it?” He runs his thumb along the lines, keeping his voice low; he remembers how that used to help when Mikey used to have fits when they were younger. Leonardo and Raphael were never good at that; they took better to being more violently snapped out of their moods, but, then again, they never had this kind of breakdown; theirs were always more driven by loathing, self or otherwise.

You pause, still not looking him in the face as your muscles relax. He remembers, vividly, how he had done something similar when you two had first met, how much better, health-wise, you looked. ‘How long has it been since then? Three months? A little less?’

You take a deep breath. “Just… family shit,” you mumble, eyelids drooping as you trace his frame loosely. “Fire.”

Your gaze is piercing as you finally look at him properly. He feels something catch in his throat as you bow your head.

“It’s my fault, you know.” Your voice is so soft, barely a whisper. “That they’re dead, I mean.”

The air is a suffocating blanket that smothers you both.

“I never told you, did I?” Your focus does not shift as it might have a bit ago. It is locked solely and intensely on him, taking in every detail of his expression. “How I died? How they died? Why I died?”

Hesitantly, he shakes his head. He thinks it best to just be quiet and let you talk. He does not think he has ever heard anyone speak in quite the same tones, ever looked at him quite the same way you are.

You take another breath. “I wanted to try my hand at baking.” You force your eyes to stay focused on his. “I was—still am—not good about sleep. I always slept bad, and never at the right times. I used to take pills for it, to try to get myself back on track.”

He sees where this is going.

“I thought I could still stay up as late as I was used to.” You glance to the side, stealing yourself a second before focusing back on the boy in front of you. “I sat down in my room, turned on a movie. I set a timer. I fell asleep.” You swallow, hands shaking in his. “I can’t smell well, either. I must not have smelled the burning.” Your lips curl in a bitter smile. “Sure as fuck felt it, though, when I woke up.”

He lets you finish.

You try to blink the tears out of your eyes. “They were asleep,” Your voice rises ever so slightly. “I fell asleep at two something. I woke up when they started yelling.” You purse your lips, face reddening in shame as your nostrils flair. “They were trying to get someone out of bed when the roof caved in above them. My door got blocked.”

You feel yourself smile.

“So,” you strain not to cry, “that, Donatello, is why I’m here and why I’m dead, and why I really do deserve to burn again.” You laugh. “Hell, my body count is rivaling some serial killers, so that’s… that’s certainly something.”

He lets go of your hands, face blank.

You lean forward, placing your hands on your knees. “I don’t blame you,” You wipe a wayward tear out of your eyes, trying to swallow the frog in your throat. “Fuck, man, I’d think less of me, too, if it were me.” You nod towards the window. “I get it if you want to leave, but I thought you might want to know why—”

He stops you mid-sentence, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you to him.

Your arms lay slack at your sides as you try to process what is happening.

He does not say a word.

You break.

You burry your face into him, tears welling in your eyes as you let out a strangled sob. You hold onto him tightly as you struggle to breathe, body shaking as you wrap your own arms around him the best you can. The sound roars in your ears like thunder, the deafening quiet of the apartment punctuated only by your own cries. He gently holds you there, resting his head on top of yours. Each sound you make sounds as though you are physically being choked by your guilt, and his chest feels as though it is being crushed by an invisible hand as he listens to your pain.

Neither of you knows how long you stay like that.

He considers telling you a story from a long time ago, about some training he and his brothers had back then, but thought better of it; he does not want to upset you any more than you already are, and being in good company with someone like him may not be exactly what you need right now. Granted, he does not know what you do need, but he knows listening to him talk about bashing brains would not help your sensibilities any.

Instead, he stays quiet.

You pull away after a while, wiping your face off again as you mumble out an apology.

“Don’t apologize.” He clears his throat. “It’s good to cry; it releases endorphins.”

You smile at that. “Well,” you giggle tearfully, “if it releases endorphins.”

He smiles back, face flushing. You look good, he thinks, even with your face all red. He knows that, scientifically, there is probably a reason, but he cannot think of it right now.

He stands up. “I’ll get—”

You grab his hand tightly.

He looks back at you.

“Can I ask a favor?”

He blinks. “Of course,” he agrees easily. “Anything.”

You glance off. “Promise not to take it weird?”

He feels his heart rate increase. “Y-yeah,” he nods.

He feels you pull him gently back on the bed. “Can you stay here tonight?”

His eyes widen as they flicker between the mattress and you. “What,” he clarifies breathlessly, “like sleep with you?”

You nod.

“In the same bed?”

You hesitate, nod again.

He clears his throat, face heating again. “Like, actually?”

“If it wasn’t actually, I wouldn’t ask, would I?” You grip his hand tightly. “I just really don’t want to be alone tonight.”

‘Oh.’ He mentally kicks himself. ‘She’s scared. Don’t make her uncomfortable.’

“It’s alright if you don’t—”

He is extremely quick to reassure you that he is more than happy—‘Bad choice of wording.’—to stay tonight until you fall asleep, but that he would not stay the whole night as to not worry his brothers.

You nod in agreement. “That’s fine.” You rub the back of your neck. “Not sure I would be good company when I wake up, anyway; I still have class.”

“Oh, right.” He nods in understanding, pushing himself further onto the bed. “Which side…?”

You shrug. “Which way do you face?”

“I usually lie on my stomach.”

“Then it doesn’t matter.” You slide your sweatshirt over your head after a bit of squirming around, tossing it onto the couch.

His face is now scarlet. “Okay then,” he mumbles, laying down on the side away from the window. ‘Is she going to—no, stop that.’

You look over at him, face down on the mattress. You can almost feel the heat coming off him. “Are you alright there, buddy?”

He nods.

You shrug, laying down under the blanket and curling into him, facing the window. “Mind getting the light?”

He reaches over, clicking it off.

You sigh in content, turning to face him, teetering on the edge of the mattress. “I’m not venomous,” you inform him teasingly. “I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: of the two of us, you should not be the one who’s a nervous wreck.”

“You dunno that.” His voice is muffled by the bed.

“You’re the strong one,” you argue.

“So?” He turns his head to look at you. “I’m the guy laying in the—I’m just gonna stop that sentence.”

“It’s only bad if it isn’t consensual.” You smile reassuringly. “I invited you to lay with me, right? So, unless I make you uneasy, then we’re all good.”

He breaks eye contact. “So,” he clarifies, “you don’t mind if I move closer to you?”

You shake your head.

He hesitantly slides himself further onto the bed. “Can I move closer than this?”

“You’ve already seen me bawl my eyes out. You’re doing me a service. Move as close or as far as you want.”

He moves to press his side against you. “Is this fine?”

You nod. “Look, how about this?” You rest your arm under your head. “If you do something I’m uncomfortable with, the safe word is pina colada.”

‘We already have a safe word?’ He was not sure if he is on cloud nine or just terrified of you.

You are very confused why he looks so warm. “Do you need me to turn the AC on?”

He shakes his head. “I’m good,” he assures you tightly. Slowly, he reached an arm out and over your waist, pulling you closer. You do not seem to resist in any way, wrapping your good leg around one of his to pull him closer.

‘Conscious touching.’ He glances down at you, trying to act cool. ‘Conscious, intentional touching. She smells so nice and she feels—okay, this is not going to work if you keep being a perv.’

“Thanks,” you mumble, humming softly. “I appreciate this more than you know.”

Cloud nine. Definitely on cloud nine.

“Every time.”

You giggle.

He blinks. “What?”

“Every time,” you note, already nodding off. “Like in that book.”

‘Which one?’ “They wrote it down for a reason, right?” The longer he spends like this, the smoother he feels.

“Totally.” You smile, closing your eyes. “Just know that this goes both ways, alright? If you ever need help like this, you know who to call.”

This is new. ‘Help like this? What, like crying?’ His eyebrows furrow as he tries to understand what you mean. ‘Or he means if I ever need company in my—what did I just say?’

You pick up on his confusion. “Emotional help, I mean.” Your fingers trace the indentations in his shell absentmindedly. “I mean, I know sometimes I didn’t want to go to my family about stuff. I dunno if you have that…” you trail off, realizing that you might be unintentionally bashing his brothers. You sincerely do not want to blow this.

“I mean,” he says after a bit, “I think I get what you’re talking about.” He sighs. “You mean stuff that they’d make fun of me for, right?”

You nod.

He feels his heart melt a little. “I’ll have to take you up on that.”

You forgot how safe he makes you feel. “Goodnight, Donnie,” you mumble sleepily.

“Goodnight, Y/N.”

You pass out not long after that. If he has to estimate a general amount of time, he will clock it in at about five minutes. He does not move, however, until about thirty minutes before sunrise, too busy listening to the sound of your breathing and memorizing how exactly your body feels next to his. As he slips out of the window, early morning air waking him back up completely, he wonders if, someday, he could stay to see you wake up next to him. Not out of necessity, but just because you both wanted to stay like that for a while more.

‘I hope so. It’s a nice dream to have, anyhow.’

Table of Contents

Chapter 9

Chapter 11

[twoidiotwriters1]

Lost time (Diego Hargreeves x Fem!Reader

A/N:  In honor of the premiere of the second season of Umbrella Academy  we have something ... I don't know, I just wanted to write and share this hahaha. I hope you like it- Val

Words: 2,765

"Why is it so difficult for you to admit that you’re still in love with him?" Allison asks with a funny smile.

"Because that, dear friend, would be lying,” I point out sitting down in front of her on the bed. She laughs.

"Oh come on Y/ N, we’re no longer thirteen, when you blushed every time someone said his name,” She scoffs and I roll my eyes.

"It was just a stupid teenage crush, Al," I sigh. "And what about you?" I argue back.

"Me what?" She says nervously.

"Where's Luther?"

"No, don't try to change the subject, you cheater–”

I laugh and shake my head.

"That song is already over, I don't feel anything for Diego, at least not like I used to.”

I lie in bed and sigh as I remember when we were 13 years old.

The boys at Umbrella Academy were very famous, all my classmates knew about them from the comics and the news, but nobody knew them in person, only me. Living close to the academy, I could hear how they laughed, played or trained.

Right on their thirteenth birthday, Allison, Klaus, Diego, and Five planned to leave the academy without their father knowing. That day I met them.

The four of them entered my parents' shop, a well-known bakery. That afternoon I was helping out at the cash register. Allison was very kind, Klaus looked adoringly at the cookie decorations on the counter, Diego stuttered when he saw me, and Five looked around him in detail.

To their bad luck, some children recognized them before I could give them their order. Without realizing it, the store was already full of guys asking for their autographs. My father had to get them out and try to control the situation, while I guided them to the back of the store. My father didn’t have the best attitude and knew he wouldn’t help them.

I knew all the streets in the neighborhood by heart, so it was easy to lose the crowd. On the way back to the academy, I got to know them better. Allison and I connected quickly, I was amused by Klaus's funny comments, Five's sarcastic attitude and I was touched by Diego's shyness, which changed when he had more confidence.

Later, I picked up his order and went to the academy to deliver it with a small note, which I hid very well.

'I hope to see you soon.’

"Girls," says Luther, entering Allison's room. I sit up in bed watching the big man's worried expression.

"What's going on?" Allison asks.

"We can't find Klaus.”

"Again?" I raise an eyebrow. Klaus was clearly not a person standing still. "Surely he’s with his dealer, or in a club.”

Luther shakes his head. "Five already looked for him everywhere and nobody has seen him.”

I sigh and get out of bed, and the three of us walk out of the big Hargreeves Mansion, across from Allison's car. Five appears next to me, scaring me a little. I can never get used to his teleportation power.

"Any clues?"

"We just have to search the streets" answers Allison.

"Look at you, worried about your little brother," I say to Five with a laugh and he rolls his eyes.

"If he's just taking drugs, I'll kill him," He replies and then gets in the car. I follow him in the back, Allison drives and Luther is co-pilot.

We searched for Klaus for several hours, but we couldn't find anything. We asked some people, but we're just wasting time, until my phone rings. A message from Vania.

‘I found Klaus, but I need your help.’

Then she sends me his location and I give it to Allison.

When we arrived at the place, the sun was already setting. We all get out of the car and see Vanya on the sidewalk.

"And well?" Five asks her.

"They saw him come in there," she says, pointing to the end of an alley behind her.

We looked out, everything was dark and you could only see a white door at the end, but everything made sense when feeling the vibration of the music.

“Great."

"How did you know it's here?"

"My contacts saw it," says another voice.

Diego comes out of the shadows looking at us with a smug smile. At that I feel a slight push to my right.

"Shut up,” I whisper to Allison, although I also say it to my heart, which is beating so harshly I fear will be heard by the others.

Diego fixes his gaze on me, but I lower my head avoiding his eyes.

"I guess I will have to kill him," adds Five.

Luther opens the great door to the club. I narrow my eyes when the colored lights hit my face, but even as I get used to the change, my eyes can't believe that so many people are gathered in this place. Finding Klaus won't be easy.

"We better split up," says Luther, looking at us. "Allison, you will come with me on the right, Five and Vanya in the center, Diego and Y/N, you on the right," before anyone could reply, Luther enters followed by Allison.

"Stay close," Diego whispers in my ear, causing a chill throughout my body, I ignore my reaction and follow him.

It’s difficult to walk among so many people and on several occasions I almost lose sight of Diego, until a huge man staggers behind me and hits my foot, causing me to trip, but before I could fall, Diego's strong arms hold me.

"You're good?" He yells at me above the music. His arm wraps around my waist and his other hand touches my cheek. I nod and pull away from his grasp feeling my cheeks burn. I hope the lights hide it. Diego smiles sideways when he notices but says nothing.

He turns to continue, but not before taking my hand tightly. Unable to avoid a smile, I intertwine our fingers and walk close to him.

For a few minutes we could only walk aimlessly, until I fixed my eyes on the bar to my left. A slim man with tattoos, a skirt and a colorful shirt is dancing on the bar.

I stop and give Diego's hand a squeeze, he turns and I point to the highly drugged Klaus. As we get closer we notice that around Klaus, a group of people are making fun of him and clapping for him to continue dancing. The boy doesn't seem to be aware of this and follows the rhythm of the music until he sees us and smiles.

With difficulty he kneels on the wood of the bar.

"Guys! You’re finally together!” He shouts, pointing at our clasped hands, I follow his gaze and when Diego and I realize what he's talking about, we all jump apart. Klaus laughs and raises his arms. "Long live love!"

"Klaus, come on, get down from there,” I say approaching. He laughs again.

"Come with me, Y/N. it's so much fun here.”

"Get down from there, brother. Before you break your neck,” Diego repeats when he sees Klaus wobble a little.

"I don't want to,” He pouts and returns to me. "Tell your boyfriend not to be bossy.” I roll my eyes.

"Hey," says another thicker voice. A huge guy -perhaps the size of Luther- approaches us. His tattooed arms tighten on his chest. "You can't take our big star," he says mockingly.

"Uh, sir… Sorry, but we have to,” I say as kindly as I can, ignoring the fear in my voice.

The man steps forward and I step back. Who wouldn’t? This guy can break me in seconds and use me as a stick.

"Wow, stop there, King Kong,” says Diego standing in front of me. "Your star has to go. He's my brother, not a stunt.”

I walk away a little, letting Diego distract the mastodon and return to Klaus.

“Klausy, darling, please come down from there.”

"But I’m having fun!”

I growl at his childish attitude, I know this may take time and Klaus will either stay the same or try to run away. I look to my right and now the big guy wants to face Diego.

“Shit," in that an idea comes to me. “Klaus!” I called out to him and he watches me as he drinks from his glass -which I didn't know he had- "I promise as soon as we get home, I'll make you waffles!" His eyes lit up. Bingo.

"The ones I love?"

“Until you can't eat anymore, but please get down from there. We have to go.”

He nods and staggers off the bar. He puts his arm around my shoulders and part of his weight falls on me.

"And what will you do about it, pretty boy?" I hear that the man, still talking with Diego.

"Oh, I'll show you," He replies, pulling a knife from his harness. With Klaus on me I drag him towards them.

"Hey, we don't have to go on with this fight!” They both stop, but they don't take their eyes off each other. "Come on, uh, huge man,” I continue nervously. "You don't want to dirty your... nice tattoos with this boy's blood!" It seems that it distracts them and now they watch me.

"What are you saying, girl?"

I push Klaus a little to cix his posture, who is still in his own world. “Please, it shows that you’re a– uh… professional, and surely you have had a hard week. You came here to have fun, not to destroy the body of a boy in disguise.”

I know my words are going to bother Diego, but now I'm only interested in leaving here with the two brothers. The guy observes Diego's outfit and laughs out loud.

"You may be right, girl.”

"Sure I am," I laugh nervously. "Just look at it, who wears a harness and leather these days?" The man laughs again and turns around, surely to mock him with his friends, but I take this as an opportunity to walk away. I see Diego, who is frowning.

“Diego," I call him and he looks at me. "Come on," I wave to him and he nods, taking Klaus's body from my shoulders.

The three of us walk towards the exit without looking back. I sigh in relief as I feel the fresh air in my face.

"That was close."

"What a fun night, we should repeat it, Diego,” says Klaus looking towards a wall. I look at Diego and he stares blankly.

“Diego?”

The presence of the others distract us. Allison hugs Klaus, Luther and Vanya scolds him and Five threatens him with death... again.

"Hey, stop yelling at me!” He pouts and turns to see me. "Can we eat Waffles now? You promised.”

It seems that this caught the attention of others and I tell them what happened - omitting Diego's humiliation. They laugh, but all like the idea of ​​waffles.

We divided ourselves between Allison's car and Diego's and we all returned to the academy. As soon as we arrive, we go to the kitchen -except Diego- who goes up to his old room.

Grace helps me make dessert and we all eat happily. The Hargreeves siblings tell stories, joke and quarrel from time to time, but I can't stop thinking about what happened at the club. When I think no one notices, I get up, put two waffles on a plate and leave the kitchen.

I climb the stairs and stop outside Diego's room. I knock on his door and wait. When I don't get an answer I decide to enter, finding the room empty. I sigh and put the plate on the nightstand, I go into the small place, but the sound of the door makes me jump.

I turn and see Diego shirtless and his hair wet. For a moment, my words get stuck in my throat.

“Can I help you?" Normally he would make fun of me, but his tone is sharp and annoyed. He walks to his closet ignoring me.

"Diego, what I said at the club–”

"You would’ve told me before, I know that," he growls without looking at me.

 My heart shrinks when listening to it, it's been a while since I heard it. I work very hard to avoid it.

"No, that's not what I meant."

He turns and confronts me with his arms crossed.

"I don't want to know, Y/N.”

"Everything I said is not true, Diego. I only said it so that the man wouldn't hurt us, it wasn't my intention to hurt you.”

He snorts and comes closer.

"You didn’t do it.”

"I like your costume,” I feel my cheeks burn. "although it’s a little strange, but…”

"But?" The anger disappears from his face. I roll my eyes.

"I said those things so the man wouldn't kill us, okay? You don't have to get upset,” I cross my arms. He laughs and I look at him confused. “What?"

"I didn't remember how easy it was to make you blush,” ​​I blush. Again.

“Classic, first you get mad at me and now you make tease, you’ve always been like this, since we were children.”

“You haven’t changed either. Always getting us out of trouble, when in reality we’re the biggest problem.” We both laugh.

"They keep me busy," I shrug. Diego goes to a wardrobe and takes out a black shirt and then puts it on. I almost pout. Almost.

"You know? When we were kids I had a huge crush on you,” He says, turning his back on me. And while he searches among his things I am having a breakdown.

"What?"

"Yes" He chuckles. "I thought you were pretty and you always supported us in our adventures, but that was a long time ago…”

What? He liked me? I can't believe Allison was right, that she's always been right.

“A-And now?" I ask approaching him.

"What?" He turns around and jumps a little at the proximity.

"Do you have feelings for me now?"

I look directly into his eyes and see a cute blush on his cheeks.

"Uh, I don’t– I don't know.”

“Where’s that confidence of yours, Diego?" I smirk and he smiles. "I had a crush on you too," I whisper.

I don't let him answer and I lean up to kiss him. Diego kisses me back almost immediately, then I feel his hands wrap around my waist to get closer to his body and I wrap mine around his neck.

“Wait…” He whispers, pulling away a little. “Why do you like me?"

I frown.

"Why not?”

“I thought that… I don't know, I thought you would want some other, one of my brothers or another boy. I just stuttered and trained with my knives, I didn't-"

"I always thought your stuttering was adorable, plus you put a lot of effort into everything you worked on, you keep doing it,” I support my hands on his chest. "Your brothers I get along very well. It's different with you.”

He leans in and puts our foreheads together.

"I'm a jerk for waiting so long," He says, making me laugh.

"We are."

I kiss him again, but this time with more intensity. Then I feel his arms on my legs, he helps me jump and I wrap my legs around his waist.

"Wow, those waffles are magical."

I jump away from Diego at hearing the voice. We both turn to the door only to find his siblings are standing in the hall, the door wide open.

"It was about time,” adds Five drinking from his cup of coffee.

Again I feel my cheeks burn.

"I knew it," says Allison.

"Alright, the show ended, get out!” says Diego and they complain.

“Be safe!" Klaus yells as he closes the door.

When we’re finally alone, Diego carries me again, we began to laugh and I hide my face in his neck, I feel his chest vibrate with laughter.

"Only they can find us like this…” I move away a little and reconnect my gaze with his.

"Maybe next time it won't be in this position," He answers, raising his eyebrows making me laugh.

Before I could answer, he walks over to the bed and throws us into it. I squeal in surprise, but laugh again feeling his weight on me, not hurting me. Diego adjusts himself by leaning his arms to the sides of my head.

"Ready to make up for lost time?"

“I’m ready.”

[skzafterdusk]

Stray Kids As Dates I’ve Been On

Unorthodox, but really this is just:

These are totally the dates each member would take you on

Chan: Why did you guys end up at Barnes & Noble? No clue, but you were here. And while you guys wandered through the sections, looking at various books, you stumbled across a book that intrigued you both:

500 Questions To Ask Someone

Luckily, there was a cafe in the store, so guys were able to order coffee, sit and go back and forth between asking questions.

Some were basic, some were very thought provoking, and it waged some lengthy conversations. You realized, as you watched Chan explain some of his most creative ideas, some of his plans for the future, that you’d never met anyone like him. To be so genuinely engrossed in what he was saying, to catch how he sent you soft smiles when you went on rants, it was a feeling you never had before. 

Even though you don’t remember which question it was, you knew to take a mental snapshot of that day, because it was one to remember.

Yes, you did end up buying the book for sentimental purposes.

Minho: (Should probably mention this now, there’s a lot of driving involved on these dates) He decides to take you to the lake. The summer is forgiving this year, and while the days can still be hot, the nights are met with cool breezes, whisping air that smells of the trees and grass that grow plentiful.

You sit on a bench after having stood near the lake, and you just talk. By this point, you’d gone on a couple dates, and still had so much to learn about each other.

Although Minho has a very forward personality, he stumbles a little when he suggests that you guys become official, exclusively dating only each other. He shakes his head quickly, almost like he is dismissing the idea, but you agree.

In the dark of the night, you can hardly make out each other’s faces that well, but even still you can see his grin and the way he looks back at you.

Changbin: Wasn’t a planned date. You guys closed the store you work at together, and you were both hungry and wired from the interactions with customers that day.

So he suggests you go to this diner. It’s one you’ve been to a couple times in the past, and Changbin has had some memorable late night meals with friends there. It was only fitting he took you to one of his favourite places, right?

The conversation you guys share is unexpectedly deep, you opening up about your relationship with your parents, him being the great listener like he always is. Given that it was your first time in this type of setting with him, you hardly thought this is what the night would bring. Sure, you’d had a crush on him before because he made you feel so comforted at work, but you had no idea that getting to talk with him -like, actually converse with him- would only make the crush turn into genuine feelings.

After the diner, neither of you wanted to go home, so you just drove. You guys ran unnecessary errands, anything to stay in each other’s company. And it was well past 2am when you finally said goodbye.

Hyunjin: The date hadn’t been planned. You just happened to be out near where he lived, and he asked if you wanted to spend some time together. 

It’s already late afternoon when you guys meet up. He suggests you guys go to a park near his home. After the day you had, it was nice to be out on such a lovely summer day, taking in the sound of insects buzzing around you.

After the park, you went to a Japanese restaurant in the downtown area. Sitting outside, you both could admire the skyscrapers just in the distance. And, afterwards, you took a stroll, the streets empty at night, so you took your time crossing. There was a memorial fountain nearby, and it looked lovely in the night.

All this random adventure just brought you back to his house, where you promptly spent the night just talking in your car.

You’re not even sure how or why you started kissing, but soon enough, the car was filled with heavy panting, the wet sound of your kisses. The center console was uncomfortable, so you ended up in the backseat. 

The only way you were able to drive home was because you had work the next morning. Yes, the Little Mermaid bandage on your neck to hide the hickey was a little ridiculous.

Jisung: There’s a college campus close to where he loves, and it’s almost like a hideaway for him. On a summer day, the campus is rather empty. Spacious lawns and intricate water fountains can be found across one cobblestone street to the next.

But his favourite place to visit? The archive room at the top floor of the library. Past the marble floors, sweeping candelabras and great oak double doors, there is a long room. The only way to illuminate the space is with its many fluorescent lights. Void of proper windows and the need for cool air, being in the archive can feel like being in another world. 

You split up, you get lost in towering shelves as does Jisung. But you find each other, given that you’re the only ones up there.

And when you do meet up, you stand close to his side. He’s skimming a book in the psychology section, and you don’t notice his gaze when you lean closer to look at the words on the page.

He puts the book back gently, turning his full attention to you. 

You feel one of his hands go to wrap around your waist, the other resting where your neck and shoulder meet. He gives a quick smile as he sees you won’t back away. Honestly, you’d been waiting for this, waiting for the moment where you could finally kiss him.

The automated voice that comes over the speaker is cold, harsh, and jarring. It makes your heart stop in your chest as you jump.

“The library will be closing in ten minutes.”

With a deep inhale, Jisung steps away.

“There’s some other places I wanted to show you,” he says, holding out his hand for you to take.

When you finally exit the library, the sun is going down in the night, but your adventures on campus do not stop until the sky is full of stars, and the horizon only shows ignited street lamps.

Felix: I never understood how people could go on dates in stores, but honestly I get it now. And Felix would definitely be the type to walk around Wal-mart with you as you picked up some essentials (toothpaste, a pack of UNO cards, etc), just talking about whatever that comes up. For example, going by the tire section and talking about how you love the smell of tires.

“They’re just rubber,” he’d say, simply.

And you would shrug. “I guess I like the smell of rubber.” And then, somehow, you get on the topic of enjoying the smell of ammonia, and he’s fighting off laughter because,

“Ammonia is in cat pee. You like the smell of cat pee?”

So, yes, you’re wandering aimlessly around Wal-mart for probably two hours when a storm comes by. Tornado and flood, to be exact.

You’re at the check-out line when Felix’s mom would call, telling him he needed to get home because it was supposed to flood really bad, and that a tornado was coming. Little do you know, it’s already absolutely pouring outside.

And you didn’t park anywhere close to the entrance.

So you both book it, a sad attempt at trying to shield yourself from the rain with your feeble hands. There’s so much water on the ground that it kicks up high as your feet pound the pavement. And once you get to your car, the both of you are soaked from head-to-toe.

He lives closer, so you drive carefully as the water is already collecting on the streets, and make it to his apartment. It’s not even a question of you coming inside since he wouldn’t dare make you drive back home in these conditions.

Hours pass by with endless conversation, laughs, giggles, light-hearted bickering. You’re both dry at this point, and he offers you guys watch Scott Pilgrim Vs The World because it was a movie you both really enjoyed.

But here’s the thing: we know Felix is a handsy person. No shame, but he needs physical touch at all times. And really, it’s not enough that you’re just sitting really close to each other on the couch. And soon, his arm is wrapped around your shoulders (smooth), and everytime he laughs, his head bumps into yours, endearingly.

So the movie is on for maybe 15 minutes before he decides to pause it, looking at you with intent. His eyes keep glancing down at your lips. Cheesy, you would think in any other situation, but your breath stutters when he finally leans in. It’s a simple peck, but it’s enough to make the room around you deafeningly silent.

Cue the makeout session that results, featuring some slight biting and mild choking. As a treat.

Then you get your ass home cause it stopped raining. (clearly a lot happened this night)

Seungmin: I don’t know where this idea is coming from, but something about him just screams, “How about you come over to my house and I cook you dinner?” as a date. He’s just that classy dude.

...you might have to help out, cause he’s not entirely sure what he’s doing.

But that’s what makes it so cool, to be in the kitchen with him, listening to some low music while you guys get in each other’s way. More than once thus he yells out in faux anger, and you laugh. Before he’s even done shouting, he’s smiling at you.

Did the dinner come out good? Well...it’s...edible. Luckily, he has a great selection of fresh fruit that makes a great sweet balance.

Jeongin: Movie and dinner sounds a little common, right? Here’s how it goes down:

Jeongin knows someone that works at the theatre. A manager (see where this is going?). 

So you guys essentially sneak into a movie for free. As much as you loved it, you spent a lot of the time curled into him as gorey scenes filled the screen. He teases you a couple times about being too weak, but he still gladly holds your hand, checking you to make sure you’re not getting too grossed out. 

Afterwards, you guys go to the sushi restaurant in the same parking lot. The place is rather empty, given that it’s late afternoon on a weekday, which is nice because you guys don’t have to talk so loud. It’s like you guys are in your own little world. 

From where you guys sit in the restaurant, you can watch as the sun sets across the parking lot. Not very romantic, but a chill date that still leaves you grinning when you get home.

Val’s Note

Hello, there! I hope you enjoyed my first post. This is something I’ve been thinking about since I got into skz, and I’m glad I could finally type it out and post.

I wanna be able to take requests for lists like these in the future, so feel to do so if you enjoyed this :) Until next time.

[fandomrewrites]

Chasing Butterflies: Twilight’s Last Gleaming

Hello all! As always constructive criticism is appreciated and I hope you enjoy the chapter. Please let me know if your have any imagine requests or want to be added to any of my taglists.

Season 1; Episode 5: Twilight’s Last Gleaming Pairings: OC x OC best friends, no love interests chosen yet Warnings: Swearing and mild violence Word Count: 2,265

Season 1 Masterlist

"E! Nova! You guys gotta get up and see this!" Harper calls as she walks into the girls tent. She moves to shake Elara awake and turns to check that Nova is up when Elara blinks her eyes open. "Come on!" She says once more leaving the tent.

Elara and Nova share a look but stand up following Elara's old cellmate out of their tent. Elara stands with just a singlet and underwear and Nova in a sports bra and pants. Upon exiting the tent they see the rest of the delinquents looking up at something in the sky.

They follow their gazes to see a pod from the ark falling to Earth. "They're coming to help us. Now we can kick some grounder ass." Jones says from the girls left.

The rest of the delinquents cheer. Nova rolls her eyes as she hears Roma mutter, "Please tell me they brought some shampoo."

"I hope they sent weapons." Nova says.

"And medical supplies and warmer clothes." Elara adds.

Nova turns on her heel, heading back inside the tent. She throws on a shirt and her jacket then starts packing a small bag. A few minutes later Elara joins her back inside, "We're going, right?" Elara asks.

"I am. And I'll bring some others. You should stay behind though." Nova replies.

"What? Why?" 

"I don't know where Clarke is right now. You need to stay here since you have medical experience."

Elara sighs, "Fine. Just be safe."

"Always am."

This comment makes Elara raise an eyebrow at the petite girl, "Please. Don't make me laugh." Nova smirks then walks past her and out of the tent. 

"Octavia! Ready?" Nova calls.

Octavia nods, "Yeah, we just have to get Bellamy." Nova follows Octavia into the tent used for setting up plans, "We should get moving. Everyone's ready."

"No one's going anywhere. Not while it's dark it isn't safe. We'll head out at first light; pass the word." Bellamy answers.

"You aren't the boss of me in case you’ve forgotten. I'm going whether you like it or not." Nova snaps at the older boy.

"Can you please listen for once in your life." Bellamy sighs.

Octavia answers before Nova can argue, "Everyone for a hundred miles saw this thing come down. What if the grounders get to it first? Bell, we should go now."

"I said we wait till sunrise." He says once more.

Octavia huffs and leaves the tent, "I'm going. I don't care if I go alone. No grounder is going to get me. And you can't make me stay." Nova says. She turns on her heel to leave but Bellamy grabs her arm, stopping her.

"Nova, I'm serious. I don't want you getting hurt."

Nova carefully looks at Bellamy, "If you keep acting like that I'm going to start thinking you care about me, Blake."

Bellamy cracks a smile, "Maybe I do, angel."

"Well you know I can fight. A grounder doesn't have a chance against me. And if you're that concerned, come with me."

"You're not going to take no for an answer, are you?"

Nova tilts her head and smirks, "What made you think that?"

Bellamy rolls his eyes and finally let's go of her arm. "So, are you coming with me?" Nova asks.

Bellamy sighs, "Sorry for this, Nova." Nova opens her mouth to ask what he means but before any words leave her mouth Bellamy hits her over her head with a heavy stick, knocking her out.

Nova slumps over, Bellamy catching her before she hits the ground. He gently lays her down and walks past her out the tent, getting ready to leave the camp without anyone else's knowledge. 

Outside of the tent Elara made herself busy talking with some of the other delinquents. After about 15 minutes Elara looks around, a concerned look plastered on her face. "Have any of you seen Nova?"

The delinquents around her shake their heads, "She probably left." Atlas says.

Elara turns her head to look at her ex-boyfriend. "Bellamy said to wait until sunrise."

"Like she would listen to him. Come on, Elara. You're her best friend. Don't you know her better than that?"

Elara rolls her eyes, "Did anyone see her leave?"

"I didn't."

"Then help me look for her. If she's not here then you're probably right."

This time Atlas rolls his eyes, but rather than arguing he turns around to start looking for Nova. Not thinking that he would actually find her, he pushes open the tent that they use to discuss plans. His eyes immediately find the petite girl.

He sticks his head out of the tent, "Elara! I found her!" He yells for the brunette. Hearing his calls she quickly runs out of the dropship and to the tent. She rushes over to Nova and gently shakes her awake.

Atlas stands over her shoulder, watching the interaction. "Nov? Nova, wake up." Elara quietly says.

Nova finally wakes up groaning and raising her hand to the side of her head. "I'm going to kill Bellamy." She grunts out.

"What? What did he do?" Elara asks.

"He fucking knocked me out. What a piece of shit."

Nova pushes herself off the ground, almost making herself lose her balance. "Be careful! You might have a concussion!"

"I'll be fine once I kill him."

"Nova Marie Kane!" Elara scolds. 

Nova looks at her shocked, "Did you just mom me?" Elara glares, "Sorry, not funny. But seriously I feel fine. Just incredibly pissed off. Can I please go find Bellamy so I can kill him now?"

Without waiting for a reply Nova pushes past Elara and Atlas. She walks outside the tent at the same time that Clarke and Finn enter the camp. "Did you guys see that? You know it's from the Ark, right? It has to be." Fox tells the two delinquents.

"Grab your stuff. Let's find out." Clarke replies.

"Bellamy said we're gonna wait until sunrise." Fox says.

"Where is he?" Clarke asks, starting to walk towards his tent.

"Don't bother. He already left. Let's go." Nova says. She angrily walks past delinquents, who are literally jumping out of her way. She exits the camp, Clarke and Finn on her heels.

"What do you mean? How do you know he already left?" Finn asks.

"Because the asshole knocked me out so I didn't leave. Whatever is in that pod he wants bad. And he has a head start."

 *_*_*_*_*_*

 Just as the sun begins to rise, the trio of delinquents arrive at the area where the pod landed. "Should we split up?" Clarke asks.

"Yeah. You go that way, Clarke." Finn says, gesturing to the left. "You can check that way." He gestures to the right.

Nova and Clarke nod, "Stay within yelling distance." Nova says, walking away from the other two.

After wandering aimlessly for a few minutes Nova turns around to head back the way she came. She makes it to the pod just in time to see a girl kissing Finn. "Well, that's one way to greet someone." Nova says.

Nova looks towards Clarke, seeing that Clarke looks rather annoyed. Her attention is brought back to Finn and the girl when Finn asks, "How did you get here?"

"You know that big scraphold? The one on K deck?" She answers.

"You built that from scrap?"

"I kind of rebuilt it." Finn laughs in response. 

"You're insane." He says with a shake of his head.

"I'd do more for you and worse. Just like you would for me." She staggers into Finn's arms. 

"Come on, sit down." Finn says. He leads her over to a rock and takes his jacket off to put around her. 

Clarke and Nova finally walk over to the couple, "You need to put pressure on her wound." Clarke says, handing Finn an ice pack.

"Thanks," The girl says.

"This is Clarke and Nova. They were on the dropship too. This is Raven." Finn introduces.

"Clarke? This was all because of your mom."

"My mom?" Clarke asks, shock evident in her voice.

"This was all her plan. We were trying to come down here together. If we waited-" She cuts herself off, "Oh my God. We couldn't wait because the council was voting whether to kill three hundred people to save air."

"When?" Clarke asks in a panic.

"Today. We have to tell them you're alive." We all move back to the pod. Raven reaches inside, "The radio's gone." She says, moving back to face the other three.

"That jackass." Nova curses. She squeezes her hand into a fist and punches the pod. She hisses in pain as the sensitive skin on her knuckles comes into contact with the metal. 

Clarke reaches over to Nova in concern but Nova pushes her away, "I'm fine. We have to head back. We need to find him."

 *_*_*_*_*_*

 Spotting Bellamy, Nova quickly runs over and punches the older boy across the face. She shoves him against a tree and pulls out her knife, holding it against his neck, "I should kill you." She hisses out, glaring.

Bellamy glares back but doesn't say anything, knowing that he deserves this. "Where the hell is it Bellamy?" Clarke asks from behind Nova.

"Where's what?" He questions, playing dumb.

"They're getting ready to kill three hundred people up there to save oxygen, and I can guarantee you it won't be council members. It'll be working people, your people."

"Where's the radio?" Finn asks.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Bellamy says once more.

"Stop playing dumb Blake." Nova says through clenched teeth.

"Blake? Bellamy Blake? They're looking everywhere for you." Raven says.

Nova turns her head to look at the girl but doesn't stop pressing her knife to his throat. "Why are they looking for him?" Clarke asks.

"Shut up." Bellamy grunts out.

"He shot Chancellor Jaha." Raven replies.

"That's why you took the wristbands. Needed everyone to think we're dead." Clarke says.

"All that whatever the hell we want? You just care about saving your own skin." Finn glares at Bellamy.

Nova scoffs and finally backs away, shaking her head. "Where the hell is the radio Bellamy?" She asks.

Bellamy rolls his eyes," Jaha deserved to die. You all know that."

"Yeah, he's not my favorite person either, but he isn't dead." Raven replies.

"What?"

"You're a lousy shot."

Clarke steps closer to Bellamy, "Bellamy, don't you see what this means? You're not a murderer. You always did what you had to do to protect your sister. That's who you are. And you can do it again by protecting three hundred of your people. Where's the radio?"

Bellamy hesitates, then sighs, "It's too late."

 *_*_*_*_*_*_*

 After regrouping at the camp and bringing more delinquents out to help look for the radio, the group stood in the river where Bellamy threw the radio.

Bellamy moves towards Elara, "It's going to take a long time for Nova to forgive me, isn't it?" He asks.

Elara looks at him, "Why does that matter to you?"

Bellamy shrugs, "I don't know. I guess it was kinda nice with her not hating me all the time. But I fucked up big time."

"Yeah, you did."

"Are you mad at me?"

"Yes. But I don't hold grudges. I know you did it to protect Octavia."

Bellamy nods, "Hey! I found it!" Jones calls bringing Elara and Bellamy's attention away from each other.

They all run over, "Can you fix it?" Clarke asks Raven.

"Maybe, but it'll take half the day just to dry out the components to see what's broken." Raven answers.

"Like I said, it's too late." Bellamy replies.

Clarke marches up to Bellamy and shoves his chest, "Do you have any idea what you did? Do you even care?"

"You asked me to help. I helped."

"Is there any other way we can let them know that we're alive?" Nova asks, stopping any arguing.

"You mean without a radio?" Finn asks.

"Yeah, I have an idea." Raven replies, smiling brightly at Nova. "You're a genius."

Nova shrugs, "I've been called a lot of things but never a genius." She then flashes one of her rare smiles, "I like it."

Elara can't help the laugh that escapes her lips. 

 *_*_*_*_*_*

 As night falls, the group of delinquents get ready to launch flares. The group quickly gets everything set up and lights the flares. The rockets blast off, the delinquents all looking up at them in awe. 

Clarke, Bellamy, Elara, and Nova stand next to each other watching the rockets light up the sky. "You think they can see it from up there?" Bellamy asks the girls.

"I don't know. I hope so." Clarke replies.

"Well, we'll find out soon enough." Nova says.

"Can you wish on this kind of shooting star?" Clarke asks. The three others turn to give her questioning looks, "Forget it."

They turn their heads back to the flares, "I wouldn't even know what to wish for. What about you?" Bellamy questions.

"I would wish for my parents to be here with me." Elara says.

Nova hums, "I would want to go back in time."

"For what?" Bellamy asks.

"So that I never went to councilman Abraham's place."

"Didn't he die from a heart attack?" Elara asks.

"Nope. He's the guy I killed."

"Didn't you say he deserved it though? Why would you want to stop yourself from killing him?"

Nova shakes her head, "That’s not what I- Forget it. It’s not important.”

[graceslavenderhaze]

haunted {connor stevens}

synopsis: connor knows your soul and you know his.

authors note:

 friends to lovers? fuck yes! forbidden love? hell yes! ‘no one gets me like you’? double hell yes! ‘we balance each other out because we’re exact opposites?’ triple yes! 

also readers outfits are high key inspired by the iconic julie molina bc she’s a style queen.

fem! reader because request asked for a female reader, usually i write gender neutral unless specified. 

 i threw another jatp easter egg bc we haven’t gotten a renewal and i am on the borderline of becoming feral. 

also this is going to be split into two parts for maximum angst and fluff purposes.

Your parents were always hard on you. Tough love was their specialty, as one would say. So they had certain expectations for you. They wanted the best for you. So there were rules to make sure you always did the best. No going out late on school nights. No slacking off in school. No disobeying.

However any adult who had ever been a teenager should’ve know that challenging authority is a coming of age tradition. You snuck out on school nights for midnight society meetings. You managed to keep good grades in school while being involved in a few clubs to look good for college applications. And for your parents sake you’d managed to be obedient almost all of high school. The ‘perfect girl next door’.

But it was all bullshit. The only person who ever managed to see through it was Connor Stevens. There never was an odder pairing to walk the halls of shadow bay high school than the two of you. He rocked the classic ‘dark and distressed’ aesthetic. He was on the wrestling team and was popular. He was a natural born risk taker and ignored everything that had a warning sign. 

You on the other hand were everything Connor wasn’t. You clashed standing next to him with the bright colors you usually wore in your daily outfits and bracelets that adorned your wrists. You were in the environmental club, art club and theatre. You weren’t popular is the same sense Connor was, sure people knew your name but you were nice to everyone so it was a given that no one forgot the girl who gave out lollipops on valentines day so no one felt left out. You strayed away from trouble and gave distance to warning signs.

You met Connor through Hanna, well sort of, she was in environmental club with you and eventually talked to the midnight society about accepting a new member, you. Everyone knew of with you ,except Connor. He swore he’d heard your name before but he couldn’t put a face to that name at all. So he’d hung around after one of your environmental club meetings with the intention of bumping into Hanna and her introducing him to you. But the day he’d hung around Hanna had a dentist appointment and not knowing anything about Connor’s plan whatsoever, he was left in the dark. 

September, sophomore year

Connors eyes skimmed over the crowd of various classmates but he failed to find his red headed friend, his lack of subtlety gave him away. You were walking with your friends Carrie and Kayla. When you noticed the lanky boy dressed in all black. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” You said to your friends as you parted ways. Once Connor noticed you he tried his best to look as if he wasn’t spying.

“Hey.” You introduced yourself playing with the strap of your backpack as your looked at your classmate who was currently leaning against a tree. He turned acting as if he hadn’t been caught by you. “Hi. I was just.. hanging around.” He said brushing several fallen leaves off of his jacket that had fallen from the light fall breeze that had started to roll in. 

You nodded, “You totally weren’t spying or anything like that right?” You crossed your arms in front of you. His face went slightly red with embarrassment before he started to stutter. “N-no. I was waiting for Hanna.” He said with composure. 

You laughed dipping your head down for a second before looking up at him again. “She had a dentist appointment today.” His face drops flat. You tilt your head. “I knew that.” He rebuttal quickly. 

“You’re Connor right?” You asked. “You’ve heard of me?” He asked with confidence. “Oh yeah, Hanna talks about her friends a lot. Luke, the mr. perfect, Gabby, the smartest girl she knows, Jai, the comic book nerd that everyone loves and Connor, the lanky stalker.” You said with a satisfied smile. 

“I’m not a stalker.” He defended himself. You nodded. “I’m Y/n and I’m not a stalker either.” You said with a wink before you walked away. Connor smiled to himself before pulling out his phone and clicking the messages app. 

October, sophomore year

You laid on your bed, clad in your costume aimlessly scrolling through your instagram feed. Your parents had given you a sun down curfew and due to daylight savings it was dark by six. Halloween was your favorite holiday and you felt like a prisoner in your own house. It wasn’t fair, you followed their rules and were in turn met with more rules and restrictions. 

You sat up sighing, you had been so excited about this night for weeks. Hearing rustling at your window you stand up and cross towards it. Startled slightly when you see Connor there in his ghost face costume. You opened your window leaning against the frame.

“What are you doing still inside its halloween!” He said with excitement, like a kid in the candy store. If anyone loved halloween more than you, Connor came neck and neck. “I’m aware it’s halloween and keep your voice down.” You said to him looking back at your bedroom door listening for your parents footsteps before turning your attention back to Connor.

“Are you grounded?” He asked with a hint of confusion in his voice as to why you would be grounded. You didn’t answer, which only egged him on. “What’d you do?” He scoffed almost not believing you had it in you to do anything bad. You cross your arms sitting back against the windowsill. He noticed your mood change.

“Hey, you can tell me what’s wrong you know.” He said gently, no longer mocking or teasing. He laid his hand on top of yours his thumb stroking back and forth. “I didn’t do anything. I do everything they ask of me and it’s never good enough. They gave me a sun down curfew.” You said to him making sure your volume stayed low in fear of alerting your parents you weren’t alone. 

Connors eyebrows furrowed, “The sun went down at six. Seth has a later curfew than you.” He joked as he let out a laugh but once he noticed that you weren’t amused he stopped. “Sorry.” You let out a frustrated groan, “ I get perfect grades, I act like the perfect daughter that they want at my own expense, I sacrifice my own personality for them and its never enough.” You said looking out at the sky that had a full moon. 

Connor sat there in the full moonlight. Your colorful bracelets were discarded, your smile that always was on your face was gone, your eyes were slightly teary eyed, and looking slightly past you saw your room. your doors had artwork and posters on the back but the rest of the room was calm. 

“I think you’re enough. I know you’re enough.” He said in almost a whisper but even if he said it any louder no one else would hear other than the stars and the moon. Your attention turned back to him. “You’re just saying that.” You said looking down at your lap. He placed a finger under your chin and lifted your head back up so your gaze was back on him. 

“No i’m not. I’ll say it everyday until you start to believe it if i have to.” He said looking in your eyes. “I really want to kiss you. Is that okay?” Your voice was so quiet that if Connor wasn’t so close he probably wouldn’t have heard it. He smiled, “Yeah, that’s okay.” You leaned in and closed the gap between the two of you. Through all of this Connors hand was still enveloped over yours. Breaking apart with huge smiles you both giggled. 

“C’mon, we have halloween plans and your parents are asleep on the couch downstairs.” He said standing up and outstretching his hand to you. You hesitated, you’d never snuck out before. “You trust me right?” He said. “Duh.” You said. 

Turning around you grabbed a jacket then, went into your desk drawer grabbing your array of colorful bracelets and hastily putting them on. Turning around Connor still had a hand outstretched for you as you slipped your shoes on. Climbing through your window and regrettably, looking down. 

“Have you never snuck out before?” Connor said concerned about the way you were looking at the ground. You turned your head and shook it. He nodded. “I got you.” He grabbed your hands and lead you along the incline of the roof. Turning around so he could climb down. “It’s okay.” He said before climbing down leaving you up alone. You swallowed hard, was it too late to go back inside? 

“Okay, swing your legs over the ledge.” He said in a hushed tone. You hesitated for a second before slowly moving over the ledge. “There you go!” Eventually you got your legs steadily over the ledge. “Okay so place your right foot right there and then turn around and place your left foot parallel.” Your fear filled eyes met Connors. “I’m right here.” At a turtle speed you started to shift down the shaft. Slipping once or twice and white knuckle gripping the side of the shaft. 

“Are you okay?” You swallowed. “Is it easier getting up than down?” You asked. “Much.” He said bluntly coming closer to make sure you’d be okay if you slipped.  “Thank fuck.” You nervously laughed. “Okay now just go down one at a time.” He said standing at the bottom ready to catch you when you got to the bottom. 

“There’s no more.” You said after your foot slipped. “Yeah now you jump.” He said. “You said nothing about jumping.” You argued. “You’re a foot and a half off the ground, i’ll catch you. I promise.” He said. You turned looking down. “Do i just let go?” You said hesitantly, part of you wishes you stayed in your bedroom. But part of you is glad you didn’t. 

“Yeah. I’m gonna put my hands on your waist, is that okay?” He asked looking up at you. “Whatever gets me on the ground faster.” You said as you felt his hands fall onto your waist. After a few moments you loosened your grip on the shaft and then completely let go putting all your trust into Connor. 

Falling into his chest and your feet plant onto the ground your eyes stay shut as a reflex. Once you were still you opened them, turning around you looked at Connor who had a hard time reading your face. You started laughing. “I just snuck out. With a boy. That i kissed! My heart is racing!” You said taking Connors hand and placing it against your chest. He smiled looking at you. 

present day

“You are blowing things out of proportion.” You said to your mother as you were practically prison marched into your house. She scoffed at you. “Oh i’m blowing things out of proportion! What have we talked about and instilled into you your whole life?” She said rhetorically, she didn’t want an answer but you had one granted she wouldn’t like it. Your dad stood by the door silently as if you’d make a run for it. 

“To do everything and anything to be perfect regardless of who you have to destroy even if you destroy yourself!” You exclaimed crossing your arms. If your parents wanted to play manipulation games you could too, after all you were their daughter. 

“We break our backs to give you amazing opportunities and this is how you repay us? Lying and going behind our backs? Like an ungrateful brat!” Your father finally spoke up. You were never ungrateful for those opportunities, you just wanted to be a normal kid and when you were with your friends you felt like one. 

“I never said i was ungrateful! I just want to be a normal teenager, hang out with my friends and be myself! You guys have made me disregard all mentions of who i am for the sake of this nuclear family image that you so desperately want to achieve.” You said spilling out years of emotions. You hadn’t known how long they’d been in there. Bubbling over and just poisoning your happiness. 

“You just want to hang out with that trashy shawn hunter wannabe!” Your mother exclaimed about Connor. Low blow to an already low battle. “This has nothing to do with Connor and he’s actually a really great person! The only person who seems to care about the real me.” You exclaimed. Your parents were slack jawed. 

“You are to never hang out with that boy again, do you understand us?” Your father said coldly. You were taken aback. Your heart had sunken to your stomach. “We forbid it.” Your mother added on. “You forbid it?” You scoffed. 

“Do you understand?” Your father asked again. You crossed your fingers behind your back. “Crystal clear.” As you turned to go upstairs to your bedroom tears of anger and frustration filled your eyes. Opening your bedroom door and closing it shut. You looked at your window, you were already in trouble. What’s a little more? Shooting Connor a text you then climbed out your window. Connor was right, it did get easier the more you did it. 

After a sneaking around to his house being quick to avoid anyone who you knew would tell your parents about seeing you, you made it there in the average fifteen minutes it usually took to get to his house. “You look like you need a hug.” He immediately after opening the door pulling you into his awaiting arms. You wrapped your arms around his torso. You pulled away and he gently grabbed your chin a sad look washed over his face. “You’ve been crying.” His tone wasn’t questioning it was more of a matter of a factual. 

Your silence only proved what he thought. “Please just talk to me, i hate seeing you upset.” You exhaled a breath you didn’t know you’d even inhaled. He grabbed your hand and lead you to his couch for you both to sit down. He threaded his fingers and yours together, a habit both of you developed during the time you’d started dating. 

“My parents found out about everything and now they’re forbidding me from seeing you.” You said with a bitter tone in your voice, through the whole year you’d managed to keep everything up. Your grades, your attendance in the clubs, and anything else that tied to your limbs pulling you like the puppet your parents treated you as. “Did you sneak out to see me?” He said with a smirk.

“Possibly.” You said quickly biting down a smile causing him to lean in and steal a quick kiss. 

“Wow i’ve really corrupted you.” He whispered, up close you noticed the eyebags from the lack of sleep, his room had light shining that was brighter than usual, and a quick look into the kitchen when you first walked in showed freshly brewed coffee. “Are you okay?” You asked. You could tell the gears in his head were turning at half speed. 

“I’m always okay when you’re around.” He said slyly. You didn’t wanna pry but he looked exhausted. “Did you sleep last night? Like at all?” You said softly. He looked down. “Con, what’s going on.” He thought for a moment about telling you but he couldn’t. He’d be putting you in direct danger, offering you straight to the shadowman. So he did what he did best to protect those he cared best about, he pushed away. 

“Why do you care?” He said swallowing harshly, protecting you was breaking his own heart in the process in a way he thinks might not be fixable. You were taken aback. “”Because i love you, i have since halloween.” The pieces that broke? Yeah they just shattered into more pieces, those pieces all loved you fully. 

“Your parents are right, i’m not good for you.” He had to hold his own tears back before continuing. “You shouldn’t be here.” You had tears welling up in your eyes for the second time that evening. Both your broken hearts were breaking and you had no idea where this was coming from. 

“I don’t want to lose you, i don’t want to lose this.” There had been numerous times during your relationship where you and Connor swore that you were soulmates. There was no word for explaining it, it was just this immense feeling that was mutual and overtaking. Like a wave that constantly crashed over you both every time you saw the other smile. 

“Someday, i hope you’ll forgive me.” He said with his own tears going down his face, and you nodded. Nothing lasts forever. No matter how much you want it to. You stood up and his heartbroken eyes followed you as if you were the sun constantly orbiting. You went for the door. 

“Wait!” His voice beckoned, you turned. His arm outstretched holding out a jacket for you. “Here, take my coat.” You had no fight inside of you. You took it. 

“I’m not your girlfriend anymore you don’t have to.” He cut you off. “It’s an old one from sophomore year, i have a new one. Plus its freezing outside and we both know you look better in that than i do.” He rambled before stopping himself. You nodded and slipped the jacket onto yourself which loosely hung off your figure. He gave you a tight smile. You noticed from the zippers that it was the one he was wearing when you first met and kissed. That was salt in a fresh wound. 

You both stood there, he couldn’t turn back now and you couldn’t know what would happen in the coming week. Neither of you wanted to say goodbye. So you didn’t, you went to the door without saying anything else to him. Then, he just stood there watching. When the door closed he inhaled. 

His lights flickered and he realized he was running out of time. He had to get the cottage and do the ritual before it was too late for him. But he was already out of time. 

[sunnypogue]

post grad - part one (jj maybank x oc)

pairing: jj maybank x original character

synopsis: she’s your modern day college graduate: good at school, bad at the whole after-school thing. recent grad margo jean walker was told her whole life she was destined for greatness - straight a’s, top of her class, full ride to columbia - until she graduated. now, she’s hiding out in her grandmother’s outer banks estate, attempting to figure out what her “life plan after college” is supposed to look like. on her journey to self-realization, she finds herself enveloped in the life of jj maybank - a high school dropout, bumming with his childhood friends in a beat up shack on the coast. two people, one town, zero plan.

warnings: drinking/cursing - probably an eternal warning with my writing.

a/n: straight up haven’t written a thing in fandom in like, five years. jj maybank (a perfect character) has singlehandedly dragged me out of my fic writing slump - that’s one inspirational motherfucker.

part one brought to you by that one opening scene where jj was mowing a lawn shirtless. cinematic gold.

anyways, this is a classic “gifted girl is told she’s gifted her whole life and then she gets out of school and realizes she has no idea what the fuck she’s doing so she runs from her problems” meets her antithesis + his pals. there will definitely be some stronger warnings down the line, if you catch my drift. 

I’m also 1000% team “JJ’s name is short for John because it was too confusing having two John’s around so they compromised with JJ and John B” thanks.

pogues + kooks featured are all 21+. it’s called post grad for a reason, folks.

enjoy xx.

_______________________________________________

post grad

--

        “Margo, if you lay out any longer, you’ll freckle up. Your nose is completely covered!”

         Margo hummed, wriggling her body enough to face in the general direction of her grandmother’s voice. She blindly stuck a hand out from her chaise chair, slapping aimlessly until she felt the familiar bill of her worn baseball cap, before dropping it onto her face.

         “Is that better, Mimi?” Her voice, rough from disuse, was muffled from behind the cap.

         “Slightly. It would be nicer if it wasn’t that damn Yankees hat.”

         Margo grinned, hearing the exasperated amusement in her grandmother’s voice. Although a long time resident on the coast of North Carolina, her Mimi still carried a torch for her hometown Boston teams, often recounting fond memories of nosebleed seats at Fenway, or listening to Bruins games on the radio. She claimed one of the reasons she remained on the Outer Banks is that she couldn’t bear to show her face back in Boston, knowing her granddaughter was a Yankees fan.

         Margo couldn’t help but poke fun at her any chance she got.

         “Sorry Mimi. Would you rather I freckle?”

         Mimi peered over the rims of her cat-eye sunglasses, observing from a safe, shaded perch. “You know, neither of these things would be a problem if your mother hadn’t married your father. You’d be freckle-free and a Sox fan, without a doubt.”

         Margo ripped her cap off, squinting towards her grandmother. “My heart would always find their way back to the Yanks. And I think my freckles give me character!”

         Mimi pushed her sunglasses back up, glancing back down at the dog eared book in her lap. “You got the attitude from your father too.”

         Margo grinned, white teeth splitting across her warm face. “Now that’s a bald faced lie, Mimi. You know exactly who I got the attitude from.”

         A loud laugh burst from the older woman, setting her forgotten book to the side. “Yes, unfortunately I do. I was hoping I could pawn another one of your traits off to your father’s side, but I suppose I have no one else but myself to blame for your…,” She paused, looking for the proper words, “…quick wit.” She drawled, her muddled Boston accent blending with the Carolina.

         It was Margo’s turn to laugh, a similar burst to her grandmother. She swung her legs off the chaise chair, before standing and padding over to her grandmother’s shaded spot.

         “I think I got my affinity for gin & tonics from your side too.” Margo quipped, grabbing Mimi’s empty cup. “Refill?”

         Mimi sighed, glancing at the glass tumbler in her granddaughter’s hand. “I suppose. Lighter on the gin this time though, dear. You about knocked me out with that last one.”

         Margo laughed, turning towards the screen door that lead inside, “I got my heavy hand from you, too!”

         She could feel her grandmother’s eyes roll from behind her.

         Margo made her way to the wet bar, a familiar and friendly sight in her grandmother’s home. She quickly went through the motions of making two gin & tonics, mixing Hendricks with Fevertree, before topping with two limes – the only true way to enjoy a G&T. As she moved to retreat back to her sunny spot on the chaise, her stomach grumbled, reminding her it was time to eat something, or her heavy hand might knock her out too.

         She pivoted towards the kitchen, setting the tumblers down on the island before venturing into the walk-in pantry to grab a snack. As she exited the pantry, her peripherals caught something moving in her front yard, relatively unusual for a Saturday afternoon. She turned to face the floor to ceiling windows in the foyer, hands clutching an unopened back of pretzel sticks, before squinting to make out the figure on her Mimi’s front lawn.

         Outside her grandmother’s home, was a man, mowing the space rather methodically. He was tall and tan, and Margo could almost describe his shirtless upper half as glistening, like a bad paperback romance. The arm of his silver aviators were clenched between his teeth, as he pushed the mower through the thick grass, muscles flexing.

         The sound of crushed plastic startled Margo from her gaze. She swiped her forearm across her face almost instinctively, confirming she wasn’t actually salivating from watching the mystery landscaper at work. Tossing the now-crushed pretzel sticks to the counter, she quickly grabbed the melting drinks, and hustled outside to her grandmother.

         “Took you long enough, Margo Jean. I thought college would have made you more efficient in your cocktail-“

         “Mimi.” Margo interrupted, clutching a drink in each fist. “Mimi, who – who IS that outside your house?”

         “What?” Mimi startled, sitting up in her seat. “What do you mean who’s outside my house?”

         Margo sat next to her grandmother, passing her a drink. “The guy mowing your lawn – who is he? I’ve never seen him before.”

         Margo watched as her grandmother sighed, settling back into her seat. “Oh, you mean John.” Her grandmother raised the cup to her lips, taking a long sip.

         “What do you mean, John?!” Margo squawked. “I’ve been living here for a month and I’ve never, ever seen him before!”

         Mimi peered over her sunglasses again, looking at her flustered granddaughter. “Darling, are you alright? You look flushed. Maybe you should stay out of the sun.”

         “I’m fine, Mimi. It just surprised me, that’s all. I wasn’t expecting to see a random man in our front lawn.”

         Mimi hummed. “Honey, he’s harmless. He’s been helping me out for a couple years now – a local boy, from town. He’s usually here on Thursdays, while you’re at work.”

         “Oh.” Margo took a long sip of her drink, relaxing a bit. While she was partially worked up by how upsettingly attractive the landscaper was, she had to admit she was a bit frightened by the sight of a random man on her grandmother’s property. It had been just her and Mimi at the estate for the past month, and a new face was a bit shocking.

         “You know, I think he’s about your age. Sweet boy, always offering to help around the place after your grandfather passed.”

         Margo placed a comforting hand on Mimi’s arm, sensing the distress in her voice at the mention of her deceased husband. Mimi patted Margo’s hand briefly, before standing and clapping twice.

         “Come! Come on, this is a great opportunity.” Mimi flitted into the house.

         Margo scrambled to her feet. “What do you mean, a great opportunity?”

         “A great opportunity to meet some people your age. I know it hasn’t been easy, but John is just the nicest boy, and I think it’ll be good to have a familiar face other than mine on the island.”

         “No! Mimi, I don’t need more familiar faces.” Margo ran to catch her grandmothers’ thin arm, slowing her progression towards the front door. “Please, I know plenty of people here. I have you, and Jennifer, and Mr. Picard. That’s all I really need, for now.”

         Mimi pulled a face. “Sweetheart, I love you dearly, but that was a pathetic showing right there. You’re going to cite your boss and the neighborhood gate guard as your friends?”

         Margo matched her Mimi’s face, scrunching her nose. “Look, I never said they were close friends. But I know people! I know people. I don’t need more people.”

         “Nonsense. Now, come on, let me introduce you. Oh, don’t give me that face, Margo Jean, you won’t be betrothed to the guy after a simple introduction.” Mimi firmly grasped Margo’s hand, tugging her towards the front door. “Now, be nice. Don’t give him any of that New York attitude you love to display towards everyone in this town.”

         “Mimi, I thought we agreed my attitude came directly from you. Don’t blame my – hey!” Margo stumbled through the now-open front door, coming to a graceless stop on the first porch step.

         The mower came to a stop, with the still-shirtless operator turning towards the front door.

         “Mrs. S! Anything I can help you with?” The landscaper yelled from the far edge of the lawn.

         “Oh, no John, thank you! Do you mind coming over here for a second?” Mimi gripped Margo’s shoulders tightly, as she felt her granddaughter jerk away.

         “Jesus, Mimi, you didn’t even let me cover up.” Margo hissed, her eyes trained forward on the male ambling his way up the long path to the front door.

         “Oh stop, you two are practically matching with your outfits right now.” Mimi glanced at her granddaughter’s light blue swimsuit, before looking at John’s outfit, consisting of black shorts and a pair of ratty boots. “Even playing field.”

         Margo huffed, crossing her arms across her stomach. “This is not how I wanted to be –“

         “What’s up Mrs. S?” John asked, stopping at the bottom of the steps. His silver aviators were hooked into the waistband of his shorts. “Everything alright?”

         “Oh yes John, everything is fine. I just wanted to introduce you to my granddaughter.” Mimi squeezed Margo’s shoulders. “She’s in from New York and staying with me for a while.”

         John laughed, his sharp teeth settling into an attractive grin as he glanced at Margo. “And how the hell did you end up with a granddaughter from New York? She not going to let me put up the Sox flag for you this year?”

         Mimi snorted. “Margo’s a good girl, she would never deprive her grandmother of such a thing. We try to forgive her for her New Yorker-tendencies – she didn’t stand a chance with her father’s early indoctrination.”

         “You know, I am right here. Mind if I speak for myself?” Margo huffed.

         Mimi squeezed Margo’s shoulders again, continuing her conversation, “Anyways, John, this is Margo Jean. Margo Jean,” Mimi paused, gesturing to the boy. “This is John.”

         Margo stepped forward, shaking her shoulders out of her grandmother’s death grip before sticking her hand out. “Hi, John. Margo Jean Walker.”

         He grinned, grabbing her hand in his, joining the two for an uncomfortably sweaty handshake. “Margo Jean Walker. That’s a lot of name for one girl.”

         Margo released her grip, looking down her nose towards him. “Well you don’t have to call me all three. Margo works just fine.”

         His grin intensified, as he matched her stare. “Margo Jean Walker.” He repeated. “Alright. I’m JJ. No one around here calls me John. Well, except Mrs. S.”

         “It’s a nice name, John, I don’t see why all of you kids have to go by names that aren’t your given names. It makes things confusing for old biddies like myself.” Mimi looked at the pair in distain. “Margo’s always been Margo – the consistency is nice.”

         “Margo Jean Walker.” JJ hummed, eyes dancing over the girl. “Consistent New Yorker.”

         Margo and Mimi let out their matching laughs simultaneously. “Yeah, that’s it.” Margo giggled. “Consistent New Yorker.” She popped her hands on her hips, offering the boy a toothy smile, her eyes squinting. “Well, it was nice to meet you, JJ-not-John. Thanks for helping Mimi out. Saves me from having to figure out…that.” She gestured towards the idle mower.

         He followed her eyes, glancing back at the machine he left at the top of the lawn, mentally snorting at the thought of the bikini-clad girl pushing the mower across a half-acre of grass. “Yeah, it’s probably for the best that – oh.” He turned back as he spoke, just catching a glimpse of her cheeky bikini bottoms and long hair, as she slipped inside.

         Mimi tutted, waving a dismissive hand in the direction of her granddaughter. “Don’t mind her, she’s just bent-out-of-shape because of the move. She’ll warm up more, eventually.”

         JJ sighed, sliding his sunglasses back on. “No problem, Mrs. S. Need anything else done around here? Just about finished with your lawn.”

         Mimi patted her frosted blonde hair, quickly glancing over the state of her lawn. “Looks great, hon. Nothing else today, but I’m thinking of expanding my garden in the backyard.” She took a long sip of her drink, before continuing. “Are you available to take on a project this summer?”

         JJ faltered, thinking about the time constraints a project would have on his summer. He had to consider things – his friends, his surfing, his three other jobs. “Uh, well –“

         “I’d rather you take the job, John,” Mimi started. “I don’t particularly want strangers around my house, especially if my granddaughter’s going to be frying herself poolside all summer,” Mimi scoffed. “Her poor skin.”

         JJ paused, considering the pros of working in the company of Mrs. S’s leggy, bikini-clad granddaughter all summer. “I mean, that sounds –“

         The older woman shoved her cat-eye sunglasses into her hair, taking three steps down her porch to be eye level with the blonde, who remained stationary at the bottom of the stairs.

         “I’ll pay you double.”

         A tan hand flew out, forearm adorned with tattered bracelets, freckles and the occasional scar. “You’ve got it, Mrs. S.”

         Mimi smiled, primly shaking the boy’s hand. “Great. You’ll start next week, Saturday morning?”

         JJ suppressed a groan, trying not to think about the morning boat ride he’d undoubtably be missing out on. “Sure, sounds great. How long do you think it’ll –“

         “A couple weekends, maybe. I won’t hoard you the whole summer, John. God knows the other ladies in the neighborhood would riot.” Mimi grinned, patting his cheek. ���And they already don’t like me very much, so let’s try to keep them on my good side, alright?”

         JJ exhaled, relieved he wasn’t signing his summer away. “Absolutely, Mrs. S, although I can’t think of a single reason why someone wouldn’t like you.” He finished, offering a shit-eating grin towards the older woman.

         She barked out a laugh, flapping a hand around as she turned to open the front door and grab her purse. She pulled a handful of bills out of her envelope wallet, pressing them into his palm. “Here, you kiss-ass. For today and a cash-advance for selling your soul to me for a couple weekends.” She grinned as his blue-eyes widened, staring at the money. “Now get out of here, enjoy the rest of your day.”

         JJ’s feet faltered, as he started walking towards the lawn mower, his head still looking back at the front door. “Th-thanks, Mrs. S! Yeah, I’ll see you next weekend. Thank you! Thanks!”

         Mimi smiled, wiggling her fingers at the boy as he rushed to put the mower away. “See you Saturday, John.”

[stories-sometimes]

I’ve Made A Huge Mistake {1/?}

Peter Parker x Reader, Quentin Beck x Reader 

Summary: Peter just wanted to enjoy his trip to Europe, maybe even confess his feelings to his best friend. But along came a mysterious new hero to ruin all of those plans. Peter and his class are aged up and in college.

Warnings: Violence in later chapters, manipulation, age gap

Word Count: 2087

Series Masterlist

Main Masterlist

~~~ 

The blip had been stressful, college had been stressful, overall it was pretty safe to say Peter’s life was ridiculously stressful at the moment. He was hoping this trip to Europe would help him blow off some steam. And who knows, maybe it will be the perfect time to tell his best friend that he was madly in love with her. So there he was, standing in an airport with Ned, waiting for her to show up. Finally she did, looking effortlessly perfect. She’d always been pretty, and he’d probably always been in love with her, but now she was on a whole other level. And somewhere along the transition between schools she found an affinity for short skirts, which Peter (along with the majority of the male (and some female) population on campus) firmly believed was purely to torture him. 

“Hey, you look great,” Peter said, feeling a strong sense of pride as he watched her face turn a couple shades of red darker. “You excited?”

“Yeah, I really need this break.” She responded.

“Same, wanna just be a normal person for once.”

“So no Spiderman?” Peter shook his head. “What are your guy’s plan then?”

“Single bachelors in Europe.” Ned answered, Peter watched her carefully, trying to figure out if her face did drop a little or if it was just his imagination.

“Well that’s his plan.” Peter mumbled.

“What’s your plan then?”

“I don’t know, just gonna see what happens.”

“Alright, I should probably go check in on MJ.” She said as she walked away. Peter watched her, admiring the way her legs looked in that skirt. 

“Single bachelors in Europe.” Ned tried to remind him.

“Yeah, that’s your plan.” Peter answered absentmindedly. The plane journey was reasonably uneventful, minus her falling asleep on Peter’s shoulder and him trying to make sure his brain didn’t short circuit. And somehow Ned managed to start dating Betty, neither her nor Peter could figure that one out.

They finally reached Venice, and even though their hotel was a little shoddy, the city itself was more beautiful than any of them could have imagined. The three friends all split up, Ned went off with Betty, she went off with MJ and Peter was walking around the city on his own, aimlessly wandering around the old streets. One small jewellery store ended up catching his eye. It was down a small alley, a good walk away from the Grand Canal. There was a delicate silver necklace with a detailed, glass daisy charm.

It reminded him of when they were kids. How she thought they were the prettiest flowers and how he would search round parks and the occasional crack in a sidewalk for them. He’d bring them to May, who would help him tie a bow around them. Then the next day he’d give them to her at school, feeling the greatest satisfaction a kid could possibly experience when he saw her face light up. It would be the perfect gift to go along a lifelong love confession. 

Peter entered the store. Lucky for him the necklace was within his budget. He carefully placed the package in his pocket, planning out how to tell her how he felt in his head. He strolled out of the store, an extra little pep in his step.

“Boh.” Mj said, popping up behind Peter, closely followed by her.

“What?”

“Boh. It’s the perfect word in the world. Italians created it, and I just discovered it.” MJ explained.

“She’s very proud of that.” She said, smiling at MJ’s unusual excitement.

“What does it mean?”

“That’s the thing, it can mean a million things. It can mean ‘I don’t know’, ‘get out of my face’, ‘I don’t know and get out of my face’. It’s the best thing Italy ever created, except for maybe espresso.”

“Oh, so you’ve been drinking espresso.”

“How did you possibly guess that.” She jokes making Peter laugh. MJ sticks her finger up in response to her two friends. A man came up to the three of them before MJ shooed him off with a simple boh.

“Boh is my new superpower. It’s like the anti aloha. I was born to say this word. So, what’s in the bag?”

“Um, boh.” Peter responded.

“Nice.” MJ smiled before walking away after she spotted Brad, leaving Peter and her alone.

“You think they’ll get together?” She asked Peter, watching MJ and Brad interact.

“No!” Peter said surprisingly abruptly, “why, did she say something to you?”

“She likes him, thinks he’s really nice. But she’s not ready for a relationship at the moment, the world’s too messy for that right now.”

“Tell me about it.”

“What do you think?”

“I don’t want them getting together. Don’t think they’re right for each other.” Peter said.

“Oh.” She said, feeling her heart drop a little. Why did he care so much about MJ’s love life?

“So you two have a nice time?” Peter smiled.

“Yeah, the city’s insanely pretty and I also got to find out how much pigeons like MJ.” She replied, trying to lighten the mood and ignore the jealousy bubbling in her chest.

“Wait … what?”

“Yeah, I’ve got pictures.”

“You have got to show me.” There was multiple photos of an awkward-looking MJ covered in a stupid amount of pigeons. In front of them a hoard of crabs scurried out of the water. 

“Whoa,” she said, moving her phone away to watch the animals. “What the hell?” All the water around them began to flow towards the middle of the river. Seconds later the water exploded above the river. People quickly began to panic, running away from the water. Ned and Betty slammed into her and Peter, scrabbling out of their gondola. The water soon formed a giant-like monster.

“What is that?” Ned asked, panicked as he scrambled out of the boat.

“I don’t know, I don’t know.” Peter shouted back, “You just need to get them out of here.” He gestured to Betty and MJ. Ned nodded, guiding the two girls far away from Peter. 

“Do you have your suit?” She asked him. He shook his head. “Why not?”

“I’m on vacation.” She glared at him. “You need to get out of here, don’t worry about me just get to safety.” He said, holding onto her shoulders protectively. She nodded.

“Take this.” She said, pulling out a masquerade mask from her bag before kissing his cheek and running off. He blushed before regaining his composure and placing the mask on his face. The monster smashed through the surrounding buildings sending rubble raining down on the fleeing civilians. Streets flooded with water as parts of the monster flew out to attack. Peter put on his web shooters and shot out at the monster. The web went straight through it. You fucking idiot, he thought to himself. He spotted a bridge, vaulting over poles sticking up in the river to get to the higher ground. Before he could prepare himself for a fight he was hit by a blast of water. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a masked figure fly down, shooting green beams at the water. The figure was dressed in green and golden armour with a fishbowl-like mask. Peter watched the mysterious guy fight the monster, the water thrashed out, hurling the man into the water. Peter panicked, climbing up the side of a building to get a better view of the situation. The man somehow remained reasonably unharmed and flew back up to carry on the fight.

“Hey!” Peter shouted, getting the attention of the man, “Let me help, I’m really strong and I’m … sticky.”

“I need to draw it away from the canal.” The man shouted, flying towards the city centre, luring the monster away from its source of power. As the man flew away Peter swung up to a bell tower that was about to fall - potentially about to crush a number of civilians, including a cluster of his classmates. He shot his webs to more stable buildings, using all his strength to prevent its collapse, ignoring the pain as the bell slammed into his head. He manages to pull the tower back into place, shooting a series of webs to keep the tower up. He stood up to watch the man formed green mist around the monster, repeatedly hitting the monster with it. The monster weakened, losing water and power. The man flew up to closer to the tower Peter was on. Green triangles sent beams out at the monster until it was about to be defeated. Right before the monster fell Peter spotted her standing on a bridge behind the monster.

“My friend’s on that bridge.” Peter shouted, the man looked from Peter to her, frozen in fear, cemented to her spot on the bridge. The man sent one final blast out at the monster and as it fell towards the bridge, the man flew out towards it. The remaining water crushed the bridge below it, leaving her screaming as she began to fall down into the water. Peter felt the world crumbling down around him, he’d lost too many people, he couldn’t risk adding her to the list. He began to swing out towards her, but before he could reach her he saw the man dive into the water, soon emerging with her in his arms. Peter relaxed instantly, dropping down a safe distance away from his friends. He watched as the man held tightly onto her as he placed her down on the ground. The college students all cheered for the man as he saved their friend.

“You alright?” The man asked her, continuing to hold her as she coughed up the water. He had one hand on her waist and the other placed high up on her leg, dangerously close to the end of her skirt.

“Yeah, I can’t thank you enough. I thought that was going to be the end.” She said, smiling admiringly up at him. Her hands also remained holding onto him as though if she let go she’d be back in the water.

“I couldn’t let you die on my watch.” He said, his hand leaving her waist to push the wet hair out of her face. She blushed, looking down at his other hand. Only then did he seem to realise how high up her leg his hand was. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“No, it’s fine, I don’t mind.” She replied, the same grateful tone in her voice. She pulled down her skirt slightly as he helped her up.

“Here, take this, it’ll warm you up a little.” He said, removing his cape and wrapping it around her shaking shoulders.

“You sure you don’t need it?”

“I’ve got a spare one, you need it more than I do.” He pulled the cape tighter around her, he placed a hand on her cheek which she instantly leaned into, “stay safe.” He said before finally flying away, waving to the cheering crowds around him. Peter had watched the two’s interaction from afar, a strong feeling of guilt consuming him that he wasn’t there to help him. He had vowed the day she found out he was Spiderman that he would always be there to protect her, save her from any harm that may come her way. And if it wasn’t for this mysterious saviour, she could have easily been dead. Peter tried to push these feelings aside. His classmates now all surrounded her, checking she was alright, asking about the man, failing to hide their envy of the small interaction. Peter walked slowly back to the group, checking that the necklace was still intact. Thank God it was.

“Peter!” She shouted, running over to him and wrapping her arms and the cape around him. “Thank God you’re alright, I was so worried. How are you?” She buried her head in his neck.

“Hey, hey, this isn’t about me. You almost drowned, I should be asking you that. I promised to protect you and I didn’t. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t you dare apologise.” She said, lightly smacking him on the chest. “You had other things to deal with.”

“I just can’t lose you as well.” Peter hung his head.

“You’re not going to, I promise.” She smiled at him, he looked up at her through his lashes. Her heart swelled and she almost hated him for how adorable he looked right now. “Who was that guy?”

“I have no fucking clue.”

[radiorenjun]

Lavender Antics.

→ Pairing: Han Jisung X Reader

→ Summary: Shooting in a drama with him was your absolute nightmare. Working with your enemy and pretending that you were love interests has been the most frustrating experience of your life. Though, after saying your farewells, the scent of lavender never leaves.

→ Genre:enemies to lovers au, idol au, romance, angst, slowburn.

→ Warnings: Very hurtful words. Antics. Mentions of insecurity. Alcohol, Swearing, Making out. Suggestive?

→ Word Count:

→ Chapters: 1, 2, 3

You tucked your phone in your pocket as you entered the dance studio to be greeted by your group members stretching and warming up. "Hey y/n!" they greeted in unison, making you smile at how their cheerful aura greeted your exhausted figure. "Hi," you replied shortly, dropping your dufflebag near theirs on the floor.

"How was filming?" Jaehwa asked, letting out a groan when Haneul pushed her back down as she did a split. "The usuals: Jeongin being a crackhead, the director shoving it into our faces that we're going to Tokyo, that donkey being insufferable. Same as always," you chuckle, joining them as you stretched your arms.

"Oh yeah! I forgot you're leaving for Tokyo soon. When are you going again?" Cheonsa exclaimed, massaging her ankles. "Honestly, first Cheonsa was on hiatus. Now you're on hiatus just for some drama film?" Jaehwa chuckled. You rolled your eyes at Kiyeon before answering Cheonsa's question, "Im leaving in two days. I'll be out of your hair for a whole month so enjoy it while you can," you joked.

"Believe me, I know I will." Kiyeon responded, taking a sip of her caffeine. "Oh hush, you'll miss me when I leave." you snickered as you hit her shoulder playfully. "Since you're leaving your dearest best friends behind for some dick, you better treat us to something tomorrow." Cheonsa exclaimed.

"I want steak!" she added with a bright smile. You lifted your fist as if you were gonna punch her, sucking your lip into your mouth as you growled out. "Why you lil-" Jaehwa sat up from her split and patted your thigh, "don't kill anyone just yet, y/n. You still have alot to live for. Plus I don't wanna be the one getting you out of prison," she sighed.

"Cheonsa's not wrong though. You should treat us to something before you leave," Haneul nodded in agreement, making Cheonsa let out a victory cheer at her statement. "I agree. Last time, y'all completely ditched me in that restaurant leaving me to pay that tremendous bill when you all said we were gonna split it!" Kiyeon grumbled.

"It was all planned, by the way." you smirked with a chuckle. "It was Cheonsa's idea for a prank, too." Jaehwa smiled with a nod. Kiyeon glared at our leader who was giving her an innocent peace sign. "Man, I'm really gonna miss you guys when I'm in Tokyo." you sighed, laying your cheek on your palm as your elbow stood on your thighs.

"Of course you will, you can't live without us." Kiyeon chuckled, giving a soft punch to your shoulder. "And Im leaving," you pretended to stand up as the girls chuckled at your reaction. You giggled as you retreated to your former position. "Man, who am I going to talk to in Tokyo when you idiots aren't there?" you whined.

"Yang Jeongin? Or that makeup artist, she looks really nice when I came to visit you on set." Haneul suggested. "Stop acting as if it's the end of the world, you fucking drama queens. Video chatting and texting exists, too, you know." Jaehwa patted your back. You smiled softly at your friends.

"Wait, you're saying that y/n isn't going to die? Damn, I made a whole song and funeral and everything." Cheonsa said in a sardonic tone, causing the whole group to laugh. "You wish. You're stuck with me, get used to it." you wrapped your arm around her shoulder and pulled her to a side hug.

"I really hope our contract ends soon." Cheonsa uttered jokingly. "Very funny," you rolled your eyes with a smile on your face. "By the way, have you heard that Chen-sunbaenim is getting married?" Haneul gossiped in a dramatically posh-popular girl tone. "Oh my god, what? Ugh, I can't believe some girl took away my sunbae," you mocked her tone.

"Isn't Sehun your bias, though?" Kiyeon laughed. You nodded with a laugh, dropping the whole fancy act, "though, it wasn't a surprise, really. I mean, whenever I walk by there's always this girl he keeps hanging out with, I'm guessing that's her." you informed.

"Can't believe we're gossiping bout our seniors." Jaehwa shook her head with a chuckle. "What? It's already made public, it's basically the trending topic of the hour. I hope I get invited though, I wanna see my childhood idol get married. God, we're becoming old, girls!" Cheonsa whined, flapping her hands aimlessly.

"You're becoming old, that is. I'm still younger than you," you teased. "Oh hush, just because I have a boyfriend doesn't mean I'm getting old for fucks sake. You're probably gonna date that Jisung guy in the future, just wait and see." she tutted with a point of her finger. You pretended to gag, laying a palm on your chest as you stuck your tongue out in disgust. "No thank you," you croaked dramatically.

"I rather date, Shrek, himself than that stubborn cheesecake stealing donkey." you clenched your jaw angrily. "You know, he's not that bad. From what I see in interviews, he looks like a really nice guy to hang out with," Kiyeon shrugged, taking her coffee cup to her lips.

"That is, if he doesn't hate you for no absolute reason!" you exclaimed, flailing your hands up dramatically. "Well, it seems like you hate him too so you're both in the wrong." she smirked. "I do hate him, if that wasn't clear. But he started it first! If he wasn't such a dick then maybe I would've considered him a friend!" you huffed.

"You're being over dramatic. What did he do that was so bad to make you hate him anyways?" Jaehwa rolled her eyes with a heavy sigh. You paused, recalling the unpleasant memory, "I don't wanna talk about that." you mumbled, looking at your hands.

"Jesus Fucking Christ," Kiyeon grumbled. "Shouldn't we practice?" she asked. "We should, but we really need a break so let's just slack off for a while and get back to practise in a couple of minutes." Haneul suggested. Cheonsa was about to retort when her phone rang, her face lit up at the sight.

"The bf is calling, do what you want. But when I get back, be prepared to be trained hard vocally and physically." she chuckled, walking out of the room with her phone vibrating like crazy in hand. As the door swung shut, there was a peaceful yet awkward moment of silence. "So what now?" you asked.

"Have you packed yet?" Haneul asked, ignoring your question. You scratched your head at the thought, "kinda, but most of my clothes that I already packed are just sweaters and shorts." you shrugged. "I'll help you pack once we get back to the dorm, you always under pack and borrow my clothes or shop for really tacky ones in supermarket stores." Jaehwa laughed.

"Oh hush, I just like wearing comfy clothes!" you chuckled. "Unfortunately for you, comfy clothes isn't an option for this comeback." she grinned with a snap, causing you to roll your eyes at her statement. "Shut up," you groaned.

The door opened slightly, attracting your attention as Cheonsa's head poked through. "Hey girls, I'm about to go to the other dance studios real quick, alright?" she informed with an excited smile before exiting the room once again, grabbing her waterbottle in the process without letting any of us respond to her.

"Appointing her as our leader was the number one worst mistakes of our careers," you announced aloud, causing the girls to laugh and nod in agreement. "Couldn't agree more, y/n. Couldnt agree more," Jaehwa laughed.

A few seconds later, the door opened once again and Cheonsa's head poked into the room. "By the way, you're really gonna treat us to food right?" she grinned with a hopeful and teasing glint in her expression. You chuckled, waving your hand to dismiss her as she laughed and exit the door.

"Guys, is that really necessary?" you chuckled, looking at your members after you checked if your passport and ticket was there. Your members had thoughtfully decided to drop you off at the airport, while wearing unessecary disguises such as a Mona Lisa costume, a moustached detective, Dwayne Johnson's face duct taped to a clown mask and Oli London's face carved from cardboard.

"Yes it is. It's important for us to not be recognized by the public and drop our little y/n off to school." Kiyeon responded, shamelessly fidgeting with her detective hat. "If you guys are gonna walk out looking like that, not only y'all are gonna get recognized by the people, you'll also embarrass me and cause more drama online!" you laughed, crossing your arms as you entered the airport gate.

"Hush, I'm parking the car. You don't want me to make this long and miss your flight do you?" Cheonsa gave you the stink eye through the rearview mirror, gazing at your through her long wig. "Honestly, y'all are gonna be accused as weirdos and get escorted out." you pursed your lips as the car stopped.

"What's so wrong bout wanting to drop off our member?" Jaehwa asked, nudging your shoulder as she shifted her Oli London mask back on to cover her face. "Thank you for the ride," you rolled your eyes and stepped out of the vehicle, quickly grabbing your suitcases and running off before your members could spot you.

As you ran, you lifted your phone to call your manager, informing him where you are. "I'm in the station already, where are you?" you asked, looking around as it was almost 10 minutes til boarding time. "You what?" you gaped at your managers response.

"Hey ugly!" a familiar voice yelled through the crowded room. You winced at the sound of the voice and chuckled nervously at your manager, "you couldn't just come here yourself?" you exclaimed nervously. "Right, you have to check on the other staff." you nodded before rubbing the space inbetween your eyes, ignoring the voice yelling your name behind you that was getting louder and louder.

"Hey ugly!" Jisung exclaimed, showing his pearly white teeth as he layed a hand on your shoulder. You glared at him, giving him the stink eye at the nickname which caused him to chuckle. He has been calling you thathighly insultive nickname since that scene you had to do with you being pushed to a puddle of mud, smearing your face in it.

Playing the role of the bullied popular girl has never been so tough when Jisung became your real life bully. "Hello donkey," you spat as your manager spoke his last words bout checking the VIP tickets and hanging up without giving you a second to reason with him.

"Im here to pick you up!" he chuckled, his heart shaped lips forming a bright smile that never left his face. You shuddered before gripping the handle of your suitcase tightly, "I am very much aware, thank you very much." you answered with a shaky breath.

"Let me help you with your suitcase," his hand reached to grab one or your suitcase which you slapped away due to your suspicion. "I don't trust you enough with my suitcase, who knows you might leave it here when we board." You said with a raise of your eyebrow.

He frowned at your words, his lips forming a scowl before he rolled his eyes. "I was just trying to be nice, sheesh, don't need to be a bitch about it." he shot back, pulling the straps of his backpack to his shoulder before leading you forward to where the rest of the cast were sitting.

You felt his hand hit your back gently, you flinched at the contact looking back at him as you cursed in response. "What the fuck was that for?" you exclaimed, looking back at Jisung. Jisung just looked at you with an unbothered expression, "Chill out, Ms.Y/n. I'm being nice here, there was a bug on your back and I took care of it for you," he rolled his eyes.

"You're welcome." He smirked, crossing his arms as you glared at him suspiciously before sitting down with a nod. You continued to speak with your co-worker, Yeoreum, who was playing the role of your bully. Despite her role, she's an absolute sweetheart.

"I see you and Jisung are bickering, once again." Yeoreum smirked, offering you a lollipop which you happily accepted. "Im not surprised anymore, it's become a daily routine now." you sighed, sipping your lemon tea. "Your members didn't come to say goodbye?" she asked, "I wanted to see them before we leave."

"Trust me, they did. They dropped me off and dressed up as if tonight's Halloween or something. But to be honest, if I didn't leave them alone I would've been bombarded with more paparazzis than I was three minutes ago," you chuckled, showing her a picture of them with their ridiculous costumes on your phone.

She burst out laughing, grabbing your phone in her hands. "When we arrived at the hotel, we're definitely video chatting them to see if they still have those ridiculous outfits on, right?" she smirked. "I don't know... Im probably gonna feel to tired to even open my eyes," you joked, earning a strong push from her.

"Y/n!" she whined, shaking your figure vigorously. Jeongin groaned, feeling interrupted from his game. "Director-nim! Yeoreum is bullying me!" you laughed, whining playfully. "Would you guys shut up, you're distracting us from our game!" Jisung complained as he tried to focus what's happening on the screen of the Nintendo Switch before him.

"Shut up, donkey." you chuckled as you lined up for the VIP section of the plane. You heard Jisung snickering behind you, only to be smacked by a disappointed Jeongin who was shaking his head in disapproval. "Honestly, why are you like this?" he mumbled.

"Shut up," Jisung laughed, nudging his friend as you continued to walk towards your seat, subtly giving him a look filled with suspicion. "What's wrong with him?" you muttered to yourself, sucking your lollipop as you sat down next to one of the staff who was already fast asleep.

You plucked in your earphones and fidget in your seat to get into a comfortable position, you turned on your favorite playlist and relaxed in your seat, drifting off to sleep in a matter of minutes.

You stretched as you exited the plane and entered the airport, reuniting with the rest of the cast. Jisung was giggling behind you despite his tired eyes boring into yours. You raised your brow, "what are you laughing bout?" you asked with a croaky voice.

"It's 2 in the morning, what could you possibly be laughing bout?" you repeated in a cranky tone. He giggled before shaking his head at you, continuing to grab his suitcases. You huffed at the peculiar boy giggling away infront of you, rubbing your eyes to try and wake yourself up a lil bit more til you arrive at the hotel.

"Hey y/n. Is that sign on your back always there?" Yeoreum asked, dragging her suitcase behind her, pointing at your back. Your eyes widened as your arms quickly reach to venture your back, feeling a piece of paper taped to the fabric of your hoodie.

You gripped it and pulled it away from your hoodie, taking a closer look at the slightly crumpled paper. "What the fuck?" you whispered under your breathe almost inaudibly. Written in bold letters was a big 'KICK ME' in an oh-too familiar handwriting.

You growled, crumpling the piece of paper and tossing it into a garbage bin. "Han Jisung, I am going to slaughter you!" you exclaimed, running up to him who surprisingly ran for his life. Due to your lack of sleep, you were a little slower than him so you gave up.

You spotted him hiding behind his manager, his head poking out. He looked at you with eyes wide awake, grinning like the cheeky bastard he is, you raised a fist at him. He stuck his tongue out playfully at your small threat. You raised a middle finger at him in response.

"Alright then, once the bus to the hotel arrives, sleep as much as you can. We're going to start filming late this noon til midnight, so get all the rest you can." the director announce with a yawn, going through the files and looking at his wrist watch.

The whole staff groaned including you who was checking your phone, notifying your parents and members bout your safety. "I take it back, I'm gonna be sleeping like a pig for the next ten hours" you groaned at your costar. "Geez, weak." Jisung chuckled before yawning into his mouth.

"Im sorry, Mr donkey. I didn't order a glass of your opinion," you rolled your eyes at him. As the bus came to a stop infront of you, you yawned taking the first step with Jisung half asleep beside you. You chuckled to yourself at the sight of the older boy yawning and rubbing his sleepy eyes.

This was going to be a long month.

[thetriggeredhappy]

Scout's been having a rough week because everyone seems to be too busy for him, even though the team is on vacation. At first he's bored, but as the days continue, he finds himself angry. But soon he just feels awful lonely, desperately craving the attention/affection he's been lacking. Finally he goes to Demo and Sniper, who are working on an important project. They tell him they're busy for the time being, but are suddenly alarmed when he breaks down sobbing. They do their best to soothe him.

friendship fic is best fic end of story. (fic below the cut, no warnings)

“Hey Hardhat, think we could—“

“Now’s not a good time, Scooter. You run along now.”

“Yo, Snipes, you busy?”

“Yeah, actually. Got things to do. Sorry, mate.”

“Mumbles, what’s up?”

“Mmm-phm. Bmm!”

“Demo, what are you up to, man?”

“Defusing a bomb, lad, best you go on and leg it. Probably to the other end of the base. And maybe find some headphones.”

“Hey Soldier—“

“Not now, Cadet! I am currently engaged in a battle—of wills. Private Munches once again has fleas and they are very contagious. It is in your best interest to retreat now!”

“Hey Heavy—“

“Heavy is welding. Leetle Scout should leave.”

“Hey Doc—?”

“Nein. No, I don’t need to know what you were going to ask. I do not care.”

“Spy—?”

“Clearly you’re desperate if you’re trying to talk to me to find something to do.”

Scout puffed out a breath of air, slumping. “Look, I dunno either, okay? We get the first real break for the first time in like two months and all the guys still sit around acting like they have better shit to do.”

“Have you considered that they’ve also been looking forward to a break and have things they have been saving for that break?” Spy asked, not even looking up from his newspaper.

“I mean, maybe. But c’mon, it’s ridiculous! I’m not asking to like, go do a whole thing all day, I just wanna hang out a little bit!”

“A shame that I am busy,” Spy said, sighing in faux disappointment.

“With what?”

“Anything else.” He waved Scout off. “Go on. Get a hobby or something, something besides pestering all of the rest of us like some kind of annoying dog.”

Scout sulked, leaving and heading back to his own room.

The rest of their first day off, Scout ended up mostly messing around in his room. He flicked through some comics, got bored, flicked through some other comics, got bored, paced around for a while listening to a record before he lost interest in that too and wound up trying to take a nap. About five minutes after he laid down he realized that was gonna be a no-go, and he ended up so frustrated that he cleaned his whole room, right down to vacuuming under his bed. He was up until about two in the morning cleaning and putting stuff away before he realized what time it was and tried to lay down to go to sleep.

He finished cleaning after he went and grabbed breakfast for himself—kitchen entirely empty—and then was left standing in his room, looking around aimlessly for anything else to do. He rearranged his whole little bookshelf, sorting his comics by franchise then by hero then by issue.

He got lunch early. Kitchen empty. Halls quiet, only the sounds of machinery in the distance to tell him there was anyone else around.

By the time he finished eating, he was pretty much desperate for something to do, so he did rounds again to ask the team if anyone needed help with anything. He got a pretty harsh dressing-down from Engie about interrupting him when he was focusing hard on work, very important things. Soldier rambled and ranted at him for about twenty minutes, at which point Scout realized Soldier was barely even talking to him, and was mostly just talking to himself. He tried to track down Spy for an hour to try and ask to borrow his car so he could go into town and find literally anything to do, but the guy wasn’t anywhere to be seen, and he eventually gave up. He got desperate enough for something to do that he even went over to the infirmary, and was pretty sure he would be roped into some dumb experiment or something, but it turned out that Medic was stitching something into Heavy, so even that was a no-go.

So he just went back into his room again.

It had been kinda nice at first, having a place all to himself. As a kid he could count on his fingers how many times he was left alone in any capacity, and then as a teen he found peace and quiet to be pretty scarce. But then his brothers all graduated, and started moving out one by one, and he was left there pretty much alone, just him and Ma. And even then he was constantly surrounded by people, the walls thin in their apartment.

But then he moved out west for the job, and suddenly it was really freakishly quiet. And it kind of blew his mind at first, the quiet. He appreciated it. Especially considering most of the time all he had to do was go in the common room to find someone to talk to. He realized, with his pool of people he could potentially talk to so limited, that he was kind of a clingy person, needed to talk to people a lot.

He got lonely quick.

He remembered after he graduated, splitting up laundry into a once-a-week thing instead of a once-every-two-weeks thing just for the sake of having more time around other people, even if he wasn’t talking to them. Ma kinda got in his case sometimes for how much he would go get food somewhere besides at home, but he kinda had to, kinda needed to talk to someone else on the daily or else he started going stir-crazy. Started feeling bad and gross, started in with having all kinds of dumb ideas running through his head.

Mostly ideas like, maybe the team wasn’t that busy and they just made excuses and tried to seem busy because they didn’t like him. Ideas like, well he already knew that they didn’t like him, he was a lot younger than most of them and a hell of a lot stupider and they called him loud and annoying pretty much on the daily. Ideas like, none of them ever really talked to him besides during battle, and maybe they were just trying to be polite when they did talk to him, and when was the last time anyone asked how he was doing? Ideas like, maybe they really did just hate him. Ideas like, maybe a lot of people hated him. Ideas like, if literally everyone he talked to on a regular basis—all eight people—didn’t like him enough to hang out with him for a little while when they got their first break in forever...

Ideas like, did he really not have any friends? Ideas like, wasn’t that pretty pathetic? Ideas like, well, if he didn’t have any friends, if nobody liked him, did that maybe mean that he deserved it?

Scout stayed up staring out off into space and occasionally getting up and pacing around until about two in the morning.

-

Scout was up early the next day, and paced for just about the hour and a half in anticipation for his usual call home—once a week unless he said he wouldn’t be able to the week prior—before giving up on waiting and just calling early.

It got picked up in the middle of the fourth ring, and by then, Scout had already tangled the phone cord in his fidgeting.

“Hello?” came an immediately familiar voice, and he relaxed.

“Hey, Ma,” he greeted.

“J-Bear!” she practically gasped. “Honey, you’re two hours early. Why are you callin’, shouldn’t you be at work?”

“We’re on a break while some maintenence stuff is happening,” Scout explained, starting to untangle the cord. “And, y’know. I’m wicked bored.”

“All caught up on chores, then?” Ma asked, already the warning note in her voice that meant he might be in for a little bit of deserved nagging.

“Yeah, actually. Cleaned my room finally, all good on laundry, organized some stuff, all that,” he replied. “I was gonna do groceries, but my usual ride places is, uh... ghosting on me a little.”

“Well, are you getting enough to eat?” Ma asked next, sounding worried.

“Oh, no, yeah, I am,” he said quickly. “I’m just, y’know. I gotta eat like, canned beans and stuff like that for a while.”

“As long as you’re eating,” Ma said firmly.

And Scout went to say something else, to start going on about how he was so annoyed with his teammates, see, because they were all being total assholes, right? And then Ma would say something to him, and he’d feel better, because every time he told Ma about something that was going wrong he always walked away feeling better.

But Ma started talking again.

“Honey, I’m really sorry,” she started in, and it was clear that she meant it, and Scout’s heart dropped. “But I can’t really talk for long. I had plans today, and I’m already running late.”

He couldn’t speak for a moment due to the fact that his heart had suddenly jumped into his throat. “But Ma,” he said, brows furrowing, “what about the phone call?”

A short sigh. “I’m a little glad you called early, actually, that means I can ask you—would it be alright if we didn’t have our chat this week? It’s just that your older brother is finally stopping back in town for a little while—“

“Ma, which one?” he asked with a laugh, managing to fit some humor into his voice even as he forced it not to wobble.

“Oldest, sweetie. Anyways, I’m headed out to go meet him for lunch actually, and then we’re gonna come back to the house and chat and all, your niece is real excited to meet the cat, and I’d feel terrible if I left to go talk on the phone for an hour when I have guests over—“

“Yeah, Ma,” Scout said, bracing himself to lie through his teeth to his mother. “It’s totally fine. No worries. We’ll just talk next week, it’s no big deal.”

“You’re a lifesaver, sweetheart,” Ma said, and meant it, and Scout winced. “I love you, we’ll talk next week for sure, okay?”

“Yeah. Okay. Love you too,” he said. And he listened for the sound of the phone being put down, and he sighed, breath shaky on the exhale. He only put the phone down when it started to beep at him, and then continued to fiddle with the cord for a long while.

-

“The problem is that to send a bullet that far and that straight, the force needed is fairly strong. If you tried to fire this round out of a proper rifle, it might just explode in the barrel, mate,” Sniper explained, turning over the bullet in his fingers.

“So we fire one to test it,” Demo shrugged.

“Not out of my gun we won’t,” Sniper replied, raising an eyebrow. “If you’re aiming to send explosives long distances, best to just stick to rockets or canons or the like. Biggest boom you’d get shooting an explosive round like this anywhere over a hundred meters or so would just be a firecracker. It would just be distracting.”

“Distracting. Now there’s an idea,” Demo nodded, starting to scribble something down on the paper in front of him. “Now here’s a concept, lad; smoke rounds.”

Sniper considered that for a few seconds, tapping his own pencil against the side of the table. “As in proper smoke like a flare, or as in just some sort of, er, blocked visibility?”

“Either,” Demo shrugged.

“Again, anything too flammable would go off in the gun. Maybe some sort of,” he said, gestured loosely for a moment. “Maybe just a round full of some sort of fine powder that would go up when the casing shatters against a wall? Hell of a heavy round I think, probably need a special gun for it. What sort of powder like that wouldn’t be flammable?”

“Well, technically speaking, everything is flammable, if we want to get down to what the word flammable means,” Demo replied, pausing in his own writing. “But there’s a few things that might work. A good powder for that might even just be potassium bicarbonate, that’s easy enough to come by.”

“Why’s that?” Sniper asked.

“Well, most commonly it’s used in fire extinguishers,” Demo shrugged. “I imagine that could really do a number on someone else’s guns or machinery, as well. And I wouldn’t need to put in a budget request to our boss over it, I could just snag the spare canister we keep in the kitchen.”

“Tavish, how often do I tell you you’re a bloody genius?” Sniper asked, watching Demo scribble down some formulas with practiced ease.

“On the weekly, must be,” Demo replied.

“Might end up going over the regular amount during this project, because you’re an absolute bloody genius.”

“Thankin’ you kindly, lad,” Demo said, flashed him a grin.

A knock at the door to Demo’s work space. Sniper got up first, moving to open it.

“Oh. Hey, Snipes,” Scout said, looking surprised to see Sniper answering the door.

“G’day,” Sniper greeted, a little confused. He stepped aside to let Scout in, slightly befuddled.

“Hey, Demo,” Scout greeted, saw the spread of different papers and bullets across the table. “Uh, you guys workin’ on somethin’ in here? You busy?”

“Very,” Demo agreed, stretching his arms up over his head, back aching from being hunched over paper for a bit too long. “You need somethin’?”

“I, I mean, nah. Not really. Just wanted to see if you—uh, either of you guys—were free is all,” Scout shrugged, putting his hands into his pockets.

“We’re working on a project,” Sniper replied, moving to go take his own seat again.

“Trying to figure out the mechanics of a new kind of sniping round,” Demo elaborated. “We’ve just moved on to the part that’s all math and chemistry and physics and the like.”

“Yeah?” Scout asked, a little fidgety, a little awkward.

“Yeah,” Demo nodded. Picked up his pencil again. “Gonna be awfully boring, I imagine.”

“Especially since you don’t really have the head for this sort of thing,” Sniper said, a little jokingly, glancing up at Scout. “Might ask to use you for target practice with it later though, if you’re still bored around then.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Mundy,” Demo chided, then grinned. “Lad’s far too skinny. Even a marksman like you’d never be able to hit him, aye?”

Sniper laughed, and Demo laughed. And then they looked over at Scout, and Scout wasn’t laughing. He was just stood there, shifting nervously. Not the same kind of nervous as he got when he’d poked and prodded at Heavy a little too long and finally just got hefted up and put somewhere high up that he’d take a while to get down from, or the same kind of nervous as when Spy pulled his knife out and started flipping it open and closed during an argument, because both of those had an amount of “do it, I dare you” in them, an amount of “bet you won’t” in them.

But this time, Scout just looked tense. A little too wide-eyed, a little too avoiding-eye-contact. His chest rose and fell in a breath that looked far too deliberate and therefore awkward.

They both stopped laughing, just looking at him. “Lad, something the matter?” Demo asked, expression falling.

“Yeah, you awright, mate?” Sniper asked, turning in his chair to regard Scout.

Scout removed his hands from his pockets, fiddling for a few seconds. Then he looked up at Demo, then at Sniper, then at Demo again. He opened his mouth to say something.

He burst into tears.

Sniper startled, and Demo’s eye widened. They looked at each other, Demo largely with concern and Sniper with open alarm as Scout hunched forward, burying his face in his hands and crying openly.

A brief nonverbal argument took place, then Sniper was standing, moving over.

“Scout, mate,” he started gently, awkwardly, and after a second put a cautious hand on Scout’s shoulder. “Scout, what happened? What’s wrong?”

Scout moved to cling to Sniper’s shirt, tears redoubling, and Sniper stiffened, freezing up, eyes going a little wide. He shot a look at Demo that could not have more clearly read as “help me”.

Demo quickly rose, moving over. He put a hand on Scout’s shoulder to test the waters, and when Scout didn’t react poorly, he pulled the shorter man off of Sniper and into a hug. Scout crumpled into it immediately. Sniper settled for standing just to one side, patting Scout on the back once or twice.

“I’m sorry,” was the first thing Scout managed, and Demo shook his head, hugging all the tighter.

“Nothin’ to be sorry for, lad. It’s alright. What’s got you so blue?” he asked, tone calm and level.

“Just—just, a lot, okay?” Scout managed, and Demo nodded, tucking Scout’s head under his chin after a second. “It’s just, everyone’s all busy doin’ important shit, and I’m just—just sitting around, and I wanna help, but everyone keeps telling me I’m bugging them and bein’ a fuckin’ nuisance, but I’m really bored and it’s really lonely out here and I—I miss Boston and I miss my family and I’m fuckin’ tired of eating whatever garbage we keep stocked in the kitchen but I can’t go into town because Spy’s being a dick and I can’t fuckin’ find him to borrow his keys, and I’m just...” He burrowed in closer to Demo, taking a shaky breath. “And now I’m bothering you guys while you’re working on something that actually matters.”

“You’re not,” Demo said right away, squeezing him tighter for a moment. “No expiration date on maths, aye?”

“And you’re not a bother,” Sniper added, tone dripping sincerity. He paused for a second. “It’s alright. I’m not going to be upset with you for talking to me.”

“Snipes, you and I both know I’m fuckin’ annoying,” Scout all but snapped, only lacking venom because he didn’t seem to have the energy for it.

“No,” Sniper replied, and exhaled. “You don’t annoy me. I like having you around. You... and Demo s’well I think,” he added, looking over at the Scotsman before glancing back away again. “You’re the best mates I’ve ever bloody had, awright?”

“Can’t imagine there was much competition for that, ya feckin’ hermit,” Demo said dryly, arching an eyebrow.

“Stuff it, Tavish,” Sniper scoffed, flushing, pulling his hat off and shoving it into Demo’s face, making him laugh. “Bugger off, ruining the moment. Absolute piker.”

“I’m still sorry,” Scout said, quieter now, and Demo and Sniper stopped their shenanigans for a moment to listen. “I just feel bad. I’m being a total baby, getting lonely when nobody talks to me for like, two days.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” Demo shrugged. “Just means we need to watch out for you better, aye?”

Scout made a noncommittal noise. Sniper and Demo looked at each other, then Sniper spoke.

“We really are working on something, but... you can hang about in here if you’d like,” he suggested lightly. “Might get boring and all, but it’s nothing classified.”

“Just tinkering,” Demo agreed. “Would that help at all?”

Scout nodded, sniffled. “Okay.” He paused for a few moments before he finally pulled away from Demo, wiping his eyes with the his forearm self-consciously, unable to maintain eye contact. “I appreciate it, guys. Really. You guys are the best.”

“No worries,” Sniper said, and gave him a parting pat on the back before he went to pull up the spare chair, situating it between he and Demo’s chairs before sitting back down. Scout took a seat, pulled his legs up onto it to sit cross-legged, and looked down at the papers.

“What were we saying, potassium bicarbonate?” Demo prompted, taking his own seat.

“Right. Might need to talk to Heavy about using his welding materials, but we’d need a real finnicky piece of tech to make the thing without making a bloody mess,” Sniper said.

“And it can’t be from a standard press, we’d want to go for extra precision on a bullet that’ll be going through a sniper rifle,” Demo agreed. “Might need to talk to the Engineer, ask for an hour or two in his shop to borrow his metal casting nonsense.”

“Maybe. Does that, er, potassium carbon whatsit, does it melt down?”

Scout just sat and fiddled with the bullets on the table while they talked, and eventually snagged a piece of paper that wasn’t being used and started to doodle idly. And Demo and Sniper could both tell pretty soon that his mood had improved significantly, shoulders squaring and head being held higher even as he hunched over his piece of paper. And for the rest of their break, Scout took to sitting with either Demo or Sniper while they worked on various things, and at the end of their break, on the last day before they headed back to work, Sniper borrowed Engie’s keys to his truck and the three of them went out to get the greasiest fast food they could find.

And Scout felt better. Really, honestly, better.