#i really want Hugo to have a pretty voice

[katewetheral-atremis]

dude am I the only one

Hugo head canon

he’s a soprano, like sometimes he can hit a note so high that you can’t tell it’s him, but he talks like an alto

AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO SEES IT

like in songs like

second-hand suit from the great gatspy

Glinda in popular from wicked (on stage, not Ariana)

Veronica at the end of Beautiful from heathers

also I think he would have a super stylised voice, like have the Camila Cabello thingy at the beginning of the words of a song

maybe that’s just me

[leclercss]

Tainted Love, Part 2 (Charles Leclerc)

Part 1

Masterlist

plot: in an attempt to fix your marriage, you've reluctantly agreed into being in an open relationship with your husband. so far, it's only been your husband that has taken advantage of your recent arrangement until one night out you meet a man who makes you begin to question your marriage.

pairings: charles leclerc x fem!reader

warnings: (+18) mentions of smut, cheating and some swearing

authors note: thank you guys for the kind words on the first chapter. i'm hoping to make to make this around 7-10 parts depending on how my creativity is feeling. hope you enjoy the second part x

word count: 4.7k

Your Uber has arrived at the address that Charles sent you and the feeling is starting to become very real. The idea of spending the night with any man other than Lewis is taking up 40% of your thoughts. The remaining 60% of your thoughts are thinking about how it will feel for Charles to kiss you again and to feel his touch on your body once more.

"Thanks so much for the lift and so sorry for the change of address," you tell the Uber driver. You climb out of the car and make a mental note to yourself to leave him a tip for his troubles.

As you make your way towards the door of the building, your thoughts go back to Charles. Are you being ridiculous for coming here? Was he really that into you? Was it desperate for you to change your mind and text him after you'd previously turned him down? And who was the "we" that he mentioned? Was it just some sort of after party that he was having? Or did he want to spend time with only you?

You're beginning to spiral.

You take a deep breath before punching in the number to his flat and wait for him to answer.

"Hey, door's open. Take the lift to the eighth floor".

It's Charles. You take a deep breath as he buzzes you in and you head towards the lift. Punching in floor number 8, a shiver runs down your spine as the building suddenly feels freezing for a late June in evening in London.

You tell yourself not to get cold feet now. You wanted this. You made some grumpy Uber driver take you to another area of London for this. Your body wanted this.

You hear some music playing on the other side as you stand in front of Charles’ apartment door accompanied by some French being thrown around. You couldn't make out the entire conversation. You had learnt French growing up but it'd been a while since you used it. And you weren't used to a Monegasque accent. But you think you can make out something about "the married one". They were talking about you.

You hear one of the voices getting closer to the front door and a second or two later the door is opened. You look at the person standing in front of you. Your heart skips a beat for a moment as you realise he's even more attractive than he was in the club.

"Hi Charles," you say softly. You try to smile but you're pretty sure the nerves you're experiencing are plastered across your face.

"Hi, [Y/N]," he replies. He smiles back at you. "I'm glad you came.” He steps to the side to let you in his apartment. "Come in".

As you enter, the music and the French conversations you had heard earlier get louder. Was he having some sort of afters?

"I live with a couple of my friends. We just came back here for a few drinks," it's like he’s read your mind. "Come on, join us for a few drinks". You feel his hand on the small of your back and a shiver runs through your spine once more at his slightest touch.

He leads you into the living room and you're greeted with a couple of faces you vaguely remember from the club. "You remember Hugo and Ricciardo from earlier right?"

They both wave at you. "Erm, yeah. Course," you lie out of politeness.

"I don't usually live here," the lighter haired one tells you. You've no idea which one he is. You think he's the one that made a comment about your husband being a lucky man when Stephanie told the group you were married. "But I thought I'd crash in Joris' room since he went back to your friend's place," he continues.

Whitney. You'd be interrogating her in the morning for details.

You feel Charles' hand move sightly further down your back. "Come on, I'll get you a drink in the kitchen," he says as he leans down towards your ear. The hand that was on your lower back takes your hand in his. You look up, smiling at him softly.

He leads you into the kitchen were he lets go of your hand to have a look in the fridge for something to drink. "So we've mostly got beer. Not sure if you're into that?" Charles calls out as he rummages through the fridge. "Oh! Actually, we've got wine. Do you like wine?" He peers at you over his shoulder and you nod.

Despite all of the alcohol you've consumed tonight, being in Charles' presence again and the thrill of turning up at his apartment has sobered you up. You feel like you need a drink to calm your nerves.

"Wine is perfect".

Your eyes follow him as he goes to the cupboard to get you a glass before pouring you a generous measure. You take the opportunity to check him out. He was just above average height. A couple of inches taller than you. He was slender but you noticed the muscle definition beneath his shirt. He definitely looked after himself. Your eyes finally landed on his fingers which were dotted with a number of different rings. You missed those fingers on your body.

"It's rude to stare you know," Charles chuckles as he snaps you out of your daze. You hadn't realised he had made his way over to you, holding two glasses of wine. He places a glass into your hand, your fingers touching.

"Thank you".

You clink your glasses together before uttering a "Cheers/Santé". You take a quick sip of your drink as your eyes meet Charles' over the top of your glass. Once you've taken a sip, you place the glass down on the counter. Charles does the same before he takes a step closer to you. He reaches towards your shoulders to remove your handbag and places it on the counter behind you. He takes another step closer to you, his face a few centimetres away from yours. His breath lightly hitting your face.

"So, what made you change your mind?" he asks you, he's waiting to see how you react. You take another sip of your wine before you decide to answer his question, earning a chuckle from Charles.

"I decided that my night wasn't done," you reply as your eyes meet again. "We didn't get to finish our dance from earlier," a reference to your earlier text to Charles.

He grins at your response. "And you couldn't finish dancing at home?" You know he's referring to your husband. He doesn't have to say it for you to understand.

You tilt your head to the side slightly before responding, "I've danced at home before. Wanted to try something new."

"And am I that something new?"

The tension in the kitchen is building as Charles' face is closer to yours than before. "I'd like to think so," you utter. You haven't broken eye contact for a while now. And it's only a matter of seconds before you feel Charles' hands on you again. He moves a strand of hair away from your face before softly tucking it behind your ear. His hand then lowers to your cheek while the other finds its way to your side, just below your breast.

"Well I'm glad you're open to trying," his voice is so smooth it melts in your ears like butter. He's confident, like he's played this game before. "I'd definitely like to show you a few things".

The tingle that you felt in your underwear from before has returned. This time accompanied with some dampness. You notice Charles is still looking at you, as if he's waiting for you to make the first move this time.

The two sips of wine have helped boost your courage, God bless alcohol, and you lean in. Your lips meet and this time there's no hesitation as you move your lips against his. You arms find their way around his neck and you take no time in pushing your tongue into his mouth softly.

The kiss is passionate and the longer it goes on the closer your bodies become. He lightly pushes you against the counter top as the hand that's below your breast now lowers towards the bottom of your dress before he pushes it beneath the hem. His other hand now finds itself lightly wrapped around your neck. The dampness is continuing to grow in your underwear. Fuck, it's definitely been a while since you've felt this horny if you're starting to get this wet so quickly.

That feeling of horniness doesn't slow down as the hand that Charles has slipped under the hem of your dress makes its way further up towards your panties. He doesn't even need to ask you to open your legs, your body voluntarily does it for him.

Your hand fits its way to the back of his head and you grip onto his hair lightly as you feel his hand move across to your underwear. Your tongues still deep in one another's mouths until you let out a soft moan as you feel Charles' finger run over the outside of your panties, applying a little pressure as his fingers runs over your slit.

You can feel him smile triumphantly as he's still kissing you. "Someone's a little excited". His voice is laced with smugness. If it was anyone else it would be a turn off but with Charles it seems to spur you on even more.

He breaks the kiss as he moves his lips along along your jaw line. Your head tilts backwards as another moan escapes your lips. He moves his lips to just below your ear where he nibbles on your skin before making his way up to your ear.

"Were you thinking about me on the way here?" he asks but you're too into the feeling of him touching you down below that you don't answer. "I asked you a question". His voice is more commanding this time, causing you to open your eyes. He's already staring at you, waiting for you to respond.

You nod at him. Fuck, you hadn't felt this submissive to a guy since earlier in your relationship with Lewis. It's been so long since a guy had fucked you senseless that you didn't know how to respond.

"Were you thinking about what it would be like for me to touch you?" He's enjoying this, you're putty in his his hands and he's enjoying every second of it. You don't know how but you're even wetter than before.

But you don't want him to have all of the fun, so you reach out for the bulge that's growing in his pants and give it a squeeze. This time it's his mouth that the moan escapes from.

"I wanted to know what this felt like," you purr into his ear and you're pretty sure you feel him become harder in your hand.

"Where do you want to feel it?" He's trying to regain some sort of control and so he slips two fingers past your panties and into your folds as he begins to rub your clit.

You bit your lip as he try not to moan again but it's becoming harder not to. "In my hands and my mouth," your lip trembles as you answer his question. You're surprising yourself with how much you're enjoying this. For it being the first time you would sleep with someone other than your husband in over six years, you're pretty good at it. But it's the next four words that leave your mouth that surprise you the most, "and in my pussy".

You're not sure if the noice that leaves your mouth is a hiss or a moan as you feel Charles plunge the two fingers that have been rubbing your clit into your pussy. "Shit, Charles!" you gasp as you grip onto his shirt to stop your legs from going from beneath you. You can't look away from his eyes as he start to build some momentum with his fingers.

"Just like that?" he teases you. "You want me to touch you right here?” His thumb now finds its way to your clit. You manage a nod as you find yourself clawing at his chest.

"I want to hear you say it," his voice is getting deeper as the tension is building.

"Yes," you pant. "Just like that, Charles".

The two of you are so lost in the moment. You try to maintain eye contact with him but your eyes are attempting to shut from the pleasure you're feeling. Your vagina is practically throbbing in Charles' hands.

You have forgotten that Charles had other company until one of his friends (Hugo and Ricciardo is what you've been told but this is one with darker hair) innocently walks into the kitchen to grab another drink.

"Shit! Sorry!" he cries as he looks away from the sight of Charles' fingers deep inside you in their kitchen. "Thought you guys were just getting a drink".

You feel your cheeks turn red from embarrassment as you've been caught red handed. But Charles doesn't seem too phased. He's joking with his friend, telling him to "fuck off" in French (that part of French you definitely remember).

His friend says something about getting a beer but Charles is busy so he'll just grab one for Hugo and himself. You've been too embarrassed to engage in the conversation so you've spent the time fiddling with one of the buttons on Charles' shirt.

Once his friend (so that was Ricciardo) has left the kitchen, Charles lifts your chin up so you're looking into his eyes again. "Sorry about that, looks like we got a bit caught up in the moment," you're not sure how he can sound so sweet while he still has his fingers inside of you. "Why don't we got to my room? No chance of them walking in on us there."

"Yeah, sure".

You instantly miss the feeling of Charles' fingers inside of you as he pulls them out before fixing your dress. You each grab your glasses of wine as Charles takes your hand in his and leads you towards his bedroom. Thankfully you manage to avoid bumping into his friends so you don't have to look them in the eye after one of the just saw you being fingered by their friend.

Charles opens a door which you're assuming is his bedroom. As he's about turn the light on, you hear one of his friends call his name from the living room.

"What?" he calls out.

The response you can't quite make out but Charles let's out a little huff before handing you his glass of wine. "I'll just be a minute. Let me deal with these two quickly".

You give him a reassuring smile as he places a kiss on your forehead before going back down the hall. You take the opportunity to have a little look around his room. His room is dark due to the late night but the lights from the street softly filter into his room. You can see the outline of some pictures on his wall. A vintage Ferrari car, a print of the Monaco GP. He's clearly into motor sports. You walk towards the window and look towards the view of the City and Canary Wharf in the distance.

You've been too occupied by the view and having a nosey around Charles' room that you don't hear him come in until you feel his body lightly press against you from behind. You jump a little earning a laugh from Charles.

"Sorry for scaring you, the guys should leave us alone now," he tells you as he takes his glass of wine out of your hand. He takes a sip, eyes firmly on yours before taking your free hand in his.

"Have you been enjoying the view?" he asks you. You're sure he's talking about the view outside but he's hinting towards himself as well.

"Yeah, it's not bad," you say as you lick your lips. "That Monaco GP poster is pretty impressive". You both chuckle at your light teasing.

"Yeah? Well maybe one day I'll get to take you. We can watch it from one of my friends' places back home," he tells you. He places his glass of wine on the window sill so he can cup your face in his hands. His fingers are laced in your hair and he's staring at your lips like he's ready to kiss you again.

"I'd like that," you whisper. You too placing your glass of wine on the window sill before you place a hand on Charles' cheek, the other on his chest, running your fingers across the bare skin that peaks through his top buttons which he's left undone.

You inhale before leaning in to kiss him. This time the kiss is sweet, it feels so delicate and intimate. Your touch is delicate too as you're both just enjoying the feeling of each other.

He gently pulls your bottom lip between his teeth before lightly kissing your lips. Your whole body is starting to tingle at the intimacy, something you've been missing for so long.

"I'm glad you came," his voice is barely a whisper. His hands start to roam the rest of your body. His touch is sexual but mostly intimate. He doesn't need to rip your clothes off, you're here now and he's going to take his time with pleasuring you.

"I'm glad I came too," you whisper. Your head tilting back as Charles' moves his kisses towards your jaw line, slowly down the side of your neck before making his way towards your throat.

"I want to feel your lips all over me," you tell him. You don't care if it sounds desperate because the anticipation growing inside of you is starting to become desperate.

Charles obeys your gentle order and makes his way down towards your collar bones, softly sucking and nibbling on your skin as his fingers make their way to the straps of your dress. He slowly pulls them down over your shoulders as he soothes your now bare skin with his fingers. A whimper leaves your lips.

He continues his movement downwards as he tugs at the material around your chest, lightly yanking it down to reveal your large breasts. He smiles to himself at the sight before him. "Where have you been hiding these?" he chuckles and you can't help but giggle as he starts to massage them.

He's clearly enjoying fondling your breasts but you want his lips on you again and so you place your hand on the back of his head so you can move it towards your body. He knows what you're looking for and so he takes one of your nipples into his mouth, soothing it as it starts to become swollen and sensitive in his mouth. He makes sure to pay attention to your other nipple, massaging it with his thumb.

Your fingers find its way into his hair as you lightly grab onto it. Your eyes shut and your lips are lightly parted from the pleasure.

After enjoying playing with your boobs, Charles can feel his jeans become tighter and more restricted and he's ready to up the intimacy.

"[Y/N], I want you to lie down on the bed," his voice is once again so soft and delicate. You nod as you pass him to get to the bed. You sit down on the edge before laying back, your dress still covering your lower half. You prop yourself up on your elbows so you can watch Charles as he kneels in front of you. He slowly begins to pull your dress down along with your underwear, leaving you completely naked. You feel a little vulnerable, you haven't been this exposed to another man for so long that you feel a little self conscious.

But Charles is giving you no reason to feel that way as he slides your heels off your feet before making his way back up to your legs. He places a hand behind one of your knees before throwing your leg over his shoulder, giving him better access to the area he wants the most.

His mouth is wet as he places sloppy kisses along your thighs before running a single finger between your slit. You're so wet it's almost embarrassing. Charles makes sure your eyes are connected with his before he leans in and places a long, slow lick along your slit.

"Oh fuck," you let out as you lightly grab the bed sheets.

"I've been waiting to taste you all night," you practically flinch at the hot air between your legs. "And it looks like you've been waiting for it too".

You nod, you can barely string a word together unless it's some profanity. He doesn't wait for an answer as he places another long, slow lick on your slit again. This time he doesn't stop to hear you moan. He pushes two of his fingers through your slit to open you up in a scissoring motion so he can get the access he needs before he starts licking your pussy.

"Ohh... Charles!"

As Charles' tongue continues to lap up your juices, the two fingers holding you open make their way further down as he pushes them inside you. His movement inside of you is slow at first, he wants to tease you for as long as possible. But your impatience wins as you lightly close your thighs around his head for him, signalling for him to speed up. Your pussy is practically throbbing for him.

He begins to lick and suck every part of you that he can reach with his mouth as the pace of his fingers picks up.

"Charles, fuck, just like that". You throw your head back in ecstasy, you can no longer maintain eye contact as your eyes shut so you can enjoy the sensation Charles is giving you down below. One of your hands grabs onto his hair as you basically shove his face into your vagina but he doesn't complain. It's easier access for him and he takes every opportunity to increase the amount of pleasure he's giving you.

"Do you like that, baby?" His voice is muffled against you.

"Yes! Oh god, yes!" You really sound desperate now but who could blame you? He's so good at this.

His pace is now relentless and you're not sure how much longer you can handle this before you end up squirting all over his face. The sounds leaving your mouth are now rolling into one long moan and your thighs are beginning to twitch around him.

"Fuck, if you keep it up like this I'm going to cum all over your face," you plead.

His eyes glisten as they look up at you. Satisfied with the mess he's creating in front of him. "I'd have no complaints," his voice vibrates against you once again but he's finished up with is assault on you. You're panting heavily.

As he uses his elbow to lift himself up, you notice that his lips and facial hair are drenched in your juices. He doesn't seem to mind though.

You hadn't noticed he was completely clothed still until he begins to unbutton his shirt, revealing his toned chest. You can't help yourself as you reach out and delicately run your fingers along his torso.

He stares down at you as he begins to take off his belt and jeans. He climbs back onto the bed and places his knees either side of your head as you instinctively reach out and begin to tug at the band of his boxers. Your hand wraps around his dick instantly, hard and fully erect.

Your movements are slow but with intent as you stare up at him and you're about to put him into your mouth but Charles has other ideas.

"No," he says with intent. "Tonight it's all about you". He shuffles back down the bed and places himself between your legs which are still open for him. He rubs his cock a few times before leaning over to place a wet, passionate kiss on your mouth.

You can taste your juices from before. They taste sweet and Charles is clearly enjoying his lips on yours again as he pushes his tongue into your mouth. Missing the feel of him, you join him in rubbing his shaft and continue to stroke him until he's ready.

Once he's ready to be inside of you, he leans back on his heels and rubs his throbbing cock between your folds a few times, causing you both to moan simultaneously.

"Charles, I want you inside of me," it's barely a whisper but you've spent so much of your night thinking about this moment that you can't wait any longer. He doesn't hesitate as he pushes himself inside of you. He lets out a soft moan as he feels you wrap around him.

His first few movements are slow, allowing you both to get used to each other before he starts to build up his pace. The only sounds you can hear is your skin slapping against each other along with your soft whimpers.

That soon changes as Charles' speed and rhythm picks up and he's soon fucking you with some momentum.

"Oh my god, Charles," you've said this so many times tonight but you don't care. Not when he's making you feel like this. He's fucking you harder now as if he's trying to fuck you into the bed. You grab onto any part of him that you can, clawing your nails into his back. You wrap your legs around his waist so he can be closer to you.

He brings you even closer together as he starts to kiss you again. It's sloppy and wet, the complete opposite to the intent of the movements he's making with his hips. You try to maintain the kiss but you're a moaning mess. You haven't been fucked like this in so long and it feels so good, it's almost euphoric.

"Charles, this feels so good," you cry as you hold his face in your hands. "Fuck, [Y/N], you feel so good". He's starting to sound desperate too.

He feels like he's losing his control as he can feel his core tighten with pleasure. He places his hand around your throat and continues to fuck you even harder into the mattress. You really hope his friends are still playing music in the living room as the cry you let out is animalistic.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck! I'm so close," you cry and you wrap your legs around him even tighter. Holding onto him for dear life as his rhythm starts to become sloppy, he's getting closer too.

"Ah shit, [Y/N], I'm going to cum any minute".

His hand is still around your throat as he leans down to kiss you again. He wants his mouth on yours as you cum for him. And it only takes another thirty seconds before you're moaning into his mouth and reaching your orgasm.

Charles' moans are becoming louder and more frequent as his movements become even sloppier.

"Where do you want me to cum?" he asks you, panting heavily.

"On my chest".

It only takes him another five thrusts before he's pulling out of you and stroking himself above you. Your hand finds it's way to his cock once more to help him finish and soon his cum is landing on your boobs and chest.

He makes sure he's given you all he has before he collapses onto the bed beside you. You both lay there for a minute or two, trying to catch your breath. Your legs are still trembling slightly and you miss the feeling of him.

It's like he reads your mind as he pulls your body against his. He wraps his arms around you and pulls you onto his chest so he can place a kiss on your forehead.

"That was nice, huh?" You can't help but giggle at his accent.

"Are you laughing at me?" he cries out and you find yourself laughing even harder. You place your hand on his cheek as you look down at him.

"No, it's your accent. I love it," you tell him. "And that was amazing".

You lean down and place soft kiss on his lips. You lay there for a few minutes just placing soft kisses on each other. It feels romantic and as your lips move so intimately against his, you don't realise how this night will change everything.

[cranberryjuice-posts]

Busy being yours to fall for somone new

—

GO READ PART ONE NOW‼️‼️‼️‼️

P t 1 here

Pairings - Abby Anderson x fem! Veterinarian reader

AN: I lowkey this reminds me some of Evelyn Hugo’s apology to ciela lmao 😭 (it’s not plagiarized just inspired)

Synopsis- abby can’t live without you (that’s some downbad lesbians shit)

“I don’t have sex with friends”

That’s all that ran through Abby’s mind for the next 4 months.. winter was starting to come to an end, Abby would be lying if she didn’t say she struggled some— that is trying to get over you. The cold bed, the empty apartment when manny was gone, the avoidment in your voice when she talked to you.. everything that she missed loved and more about you, that’s what she struggled to get over.

——

There were the times when you just ignored her -

Abby had walked towards the animal kennels with Alice in tow. The happy dog ran ahead of her and jumped onto your back as you were closing the pasture gates.

You smiled and bent down. “Hey sweetie” you spoke in a baby voice while scratching behind the dogs ear. Abby smiled down at you, she wanted to say something but was to worried about ruining things.

She watched as you stood up and pointed at the clipboard before turning and leaving calling Alice to follow you. Abby rubbed her eyes and sighed, she knew she fucked up but shit did you really have to act like she didn’t even exist.

——

Then the time she was caught by her friends-

“Right and I was thinking what if we watched legally blonde” Nora smiled and held up the CD. The group was currently inside Abby and mannys apartment having yet again another movie night. Yeah Nora and Owen were arguing over which movie but once again abby didn’t care. Hell she didn’t even realize when the group went quiet.

“Abs..” Nora spoke and put a hand on her knee.

“Huh?” She snapped back into the conversation.

“Legally blonde or The hot chick” Nora raised an eyebrow guestering her head towards the tv.

Manny shook his head and leaned into the conversation. “She upset over her breakup” a shared look of confused passed over the group.

“The hell Are You Talking About” Owen asked.

“Manny there is no break up—“ she started but was ultimately innerupted.

“We all could tell Abby” Mel looked over. “What ever was between you and Y/n sure as hell wasnt platonic I mean every-time we saw you two it was like we caught you two about to devour one another” Nora agreed along side manny but Owen remained confused and fustrated as he didn’t understand what they were talking about.

“Also it’s pretty weird that you and her haven’t actually hung out together along like before and rarely in together in the group since you laughed at Mona saying you two were together”

Abby groaned and covered her face with her hand. “Was it that obvious”

Mel shook her head. “Not really, I mean we noticed because were your friends but everyone else wouldn’t of suspected”

She remained quiet and sighed before dragging her hand down her face, her eyes becoming glassy something not common for the solider.

“Let’s Just Watch whatever dumbass movie Owen chose” she wiped her eyes and put her guard up once again.

——

Then lastly.. the time she dreamed about you-

Abby laid in her bed silently dreaming, the only noise being the grinding of her teeth. In her dream you were sitting in her waist.

“Abs what are you doing” you smiled as Abby started to let her hands go under your shirt and press against your stomach.

“Nothin~” she cooed and continued to tease you. Abby looked up at you with that same look she always gave that you knew you couldn’t resist.

“Stop looking at me like that” you laughed, you wore one of Abby’s shirts that while tight on her large on you. You playfully grabbed her chin and tilted your head.

“I have no idea what your talking about” Abby teased and let her hands wander before resting them on your hips. You leaned forward as if to kiss her but the kiss never met before Abby woke up in a cold sweat.

She felt some tears run down her face when she laid back and closed her eyes in defeat. Abby opened her eyes and looked up at the cieling. She reached over and touched the spot on the small mattress you had claimed as your own trying to find some sort of comfort but it was hopeless.

She knew she had no other choice than to go running back to you.

—

At the same time you laid in your empty bed you were messing with a dog tag necklace Abby had given you, the tag had her solider ID in the WLF engraved onto it. You chuckled remembering the time you had tried to give it back but Abby made you keep it since she had another.. you closed your eyes wanting to forget while trying so hard to not cry. You were the one who broke each-other up so Why the hell were you so hurt.

You knew you weren’t over her, I mean you were wearing her shirt as a nightgown still. Deep in thought, it was soon innerupted with a hard nock at your door. You raised an eyebrow at who would be here at 2am.

The door opened and you saw Abby standing in all her glory. Hair down, sweatpants and her sports bra with her muscles on full display.. a combo that use to and still does make you go weak.

“What” You yawned trying to act un-phased seeing her.

“Please can we talk—“

“Go back to your place Abigail” You stopped her and gave her a dirty look. You tried to shut your door but once again abby stopped you, you swore you hated and loved how strong she was. She walked in the apartment and closed the door.

Abby grabbed your arms and got down on her knees. Your eyes widened and you looked around embarrassed. “I. Love. You.” She sternly spoke. “Please.. let me love you right this time like I know I can” she begged and pressed your hands to her forehead. You were quiet. “I don’t care what anyone else has to say.. I don’t give a shit if the entire WLF hates me just as long as you are with me”

“You Need to go Abby I’m serious” you tried to pull your hands away. But Abby persisted she looked up.

“I know I know but please—“

“It’s late.. I’m tired.. it’s 2am and I really don’t wanna deal with your bullshit”

You turned your face away trying to show some kind of strength, You pulled your hands away and stepped back looking down waiting for Abby to leave.

She didn’t leave however.. Abby stood up and walked to you cupping your face, she rested her head against yours and after some silence she spoke. “I will never stop loving you..” that was all she said before leaving the apartment.

A week passed-

You found yourself hanging out at a watering hole in a QZ near by. Some soliders had decided to have a bond-fire, you of-course managed to be dragged by your friends.

You had your hair pulled back and you wore a simple black bikini. You knew you were hot and you also knew there were a few men’s eyes on you.

You had also seen Abby slightly, her gaze transfixed onto you. Part of you wanted to go up to her but the other part told you not to, starting shit up with her would only end up in you hurt again.

—

You walked out the water with Leah following you. You laughed with the girl enjoying spending time with your friend when you felt a harsh smack on your ass.

“Hey there cutie” John a cocky solider stood behind you grinning sadisticly. You cringed at seeing him.

“What the fuck dude” Leah scoffed and tried to move you towards her but John grabbed your arm and pulled you into him.

“John let me go” you complained trying to push him away.

“Nah sweetheart I’m happy with you right here” he grinned and leaned his head down. You tilted your head back still uncomfortable.

“We got a problem” Abby stood at The shore with her strong arms crossed. You admired her simple yet attractive outfit of a black wife beater and dark green cargo pants.

“Nah Anderson we’re just fine you can go” John spoke defensively, still holding onto you right. A few people started to crowd around wondering what would happen.

“Oh yeah?” Abby spoke sarcastically walking more towards the water til she was closer to John and you. “Cause it fucking seems your forcing my girlfriend to feel your hard on”

John rolled his eyes. “You’ve gotta be kidding” he grinned but his smile fell and his grip on you tightened. “Are you talking about that dumbass rumor Mona said some months back about you two fucking around- that was true” he scoffed.. You pushed him away and stumbled back into Abby.

She protectively wrapped an arm around your waist. “Yeah is that an issue” she started her stance getting more aggravated.

“I mean shit Abby.. i knew you looked like a fag but never expected you to actually be one” he scoffed with a sarcastic smile. “Besides we both know all Y/n needs is a man.. and I mean a real man not sone woman who thinks she tough just because she’s got some muscles”

“Really? Why don’t you come over here then and i can show you how much of a man I really am” Abby’s stance got more defensive all while her tone remained eerily calm. Some guys grabbed john and yelled at him pulling him away from Abby, they were stupid but not stupid enough to not know that someone would get hurt and it certainly wouldn’t be the woman they described as an ox.

Once they and the crowd that started to build left Abby grabbed your face- her entire demeanor changed. “Are You ok.. what else did he do did he—“

“No no” you shook your head and started to softly breath once again. You gently placed your hands ontop of hers which still had your face in her grasp and looked up at her. “Girlfriend?” You asked with a confused chuckle. “I thought.. I thought you didn’t want anyone else to know about you being…”

Abby blushed and nodded. “Y/n i told you i don’t care what anyone else thinks anymore, I want to love you proudly and openly.. I wasn’t lying that night i showed up to your place, I would give up everything for you” you pondered for a moment still deciding what to do before grabbing her face and kissing her softly yet passionately pouring all your emotion into it.

“I actually hate you” you chuckled and smiled at her gently while she grabbed your hips.

“Yeah I know” she grinned and kissed your forehead with a sigh of relief, You two were gonna be ok.. and you knew that, deep down you always knew that

Hope you enjoyed thank you for all the love on pt 1 😭💗💗💗💗

@4rt3m1ss @redwlf843 @macaroni676 @azxulaa

[duckies27]

So uh, that last episode huh?

Here's my coping fanfic, spoilers for all of campaign 2

@beeware-of-lulu @demise-seems-dead

Cold. That's all any of them could feel when the party slowly woke up. They came face to face with the Maw, face to face with the secret of Groteth. It was horrible, a secret that changed everything. However, the panic was overtaken by hands yanking them out one by one. The Lochquid was starting to burn at their skins. Thankfully, the croissant had saved their lives. Even a moment later, they would have joined Hugo's fate. Skin completely gone.

Only Ellga and Mathide were awake, but both were clearly out of their mind. Neither could speak, even when prompted in their own languages. Barney and Chip were out like lights, barely breathing. Thankfully, even with the Maw...well, uh, eating the entire land of Groteth? The world seems pretty intact. Jacque and Evena easily scooped them all up and headed to the nearest hospital. The party was settled into a shared room as they were slowly healed and recovered their HP.

Days passed before they all came back to their senses. Mathide was first, asking to see their kitty again. With JJ back on their shoulder, they seemed to relax.

"What did you see?" Evena found herself asking, eyes still locked onto her sister. The silence was painful, hearing anyone's voice would bring some tame to the storm.

"...I wish not to speak of it. I fear if I do-" a clawed hand went to their throat. "I will fall back into that state. I just recovered." A weak smile formed on their face. "Maybe one day."

Ellga was next, but she was quiet. She refused to speak, just looking on the rest of the room. Her eyes would focus on Barney, then to Evenna. It was as if she had to pick between the two families, but she didn't really. The moment she was healthy enough to walk around, she seemed to perk up more. Giving both sides plenty of hugs and playing card games with her sister. Yes, her sister. Even if they weren't related through blood, they were forever connected. No one could beat a good game of war between siblings.

Chip was right after, though it took a while for him to click back to reality. After all, he was the one who had gotten closer to death in the past. It seemed to help once his parents visited. Casual reminders of who he was, that life was worth living. He stayed bed ridden, but played with Ellga and Evenna best he could.

Barney, of course, was last. He seemed more ghostly than before, but in a good way. He smiled, he seemed healthy. For once, he seemed to be himself. Did it suck he was dead? Yeah, but he got to spend the rest of his time with his family. He had spent so long searching, and now he was there.

~ ~ ~ ~

4 months had passed. Groteth was somehow thriving. Though still separated by borders, each land has grown closer.

The Vampire was destroyed, and so were the Vanian laws. Another Count, most likely another high up official, took over the town. Led it to be what Drac wanted in the first place. A haven for vampires, a safe space for all. With the laws gone, it was easier to enter too. The Farney family, including Ellga and Evenna, moved to the outskirts of Vania. Barney remade the farm, and got to relive all that he missed while he was training. Even if that included the troubles of having 2 boys and 2 girls fighting over who got to break the wishbone and which chore was easier.

Ellga kept who she was intact, just let herself remember some of the stuff that came from before her life as a Von Brath. Not that she wanted to keep that name. So she didn't! Ellga and Evenna Farney gladly were adopted into the family. They still have to share a room, but honestly, it's comforting. Sometimes you need to hear the other person breathing or the shifting of blankets. She still has Boris and makes sure that all of her axes are nearly tucked in every night.

Chip hasn't moved on, persay, from Carol. More, learned to live on. Grief is still hard, and he still struggles, but he finds comfort in his new found family. His party, of course, but also his new fellow agents. Yup, out of retirement! Now at Sheath, he mainly works undercover gigs as his natural self. Every Sunday, he shared dinner with the Farney family, and each mission starts with the coffee and pastry of the day from Mathide. Skipper comes with him too, just to keep him on track. The voices, the wish to join Carol and just....

Those faded overtime. Wheezer recommended a really nice phycologist who helped him get on medication and into therapy. Saved his skin most of the time.

Mathide spends their time back at their bakery. Back in Attro City. Made it more of a cat cafe to get an excuse to have JJ and Jacque constant by their side. On their off time, they work to remember the past lost. Their family, friends, life. Doesn't take away, most just...adds to who they are as a whole. Honestly, business is booming now! Mainly thanks to the fresh ingredients from the Farney farm. They don't mind the time shared with Evenna, some trust was lost, but a new family was formed. Not that they would ever admit it.

All was calm and better. Life could move on smoother than before. They got their happy ending, just like we all wanted.

Fanart to follow, I promise

[cococubess]

Things I Would Ideally Want in Sofia the First: Royal Magic

(obviously this is going to be a show for pre-schoolers again, so they can’t get away with anything too dark. HOWEVER they did include some heavy topics in season 4)

(a lot of this is assuming that it takes place close to/directly after the finale)

• Cedric and Sofia father-daughter bonding time

•Sofia passes the amulet on/looses it in some capacity at the end and has to confront who she is without her powers. This would include parting with Clover, Mia, and Robin.

•Sofia and Roland talk about the fact that he indirectly (at best) killed his wife and they are most likely the only two people who know about it. Like take accountability bro

• The Protector’s acknowledging that they have basically made Sofia into a child solider

•The Magic Library episodes since those got really sparse at the end and felt really half assed

•Sofia confronts how much pressure has been on her for the past 4 years of her formative life

•Sofia and Miranda have a proper talk about the Amulet and how much Sofia had been hiding from her

•Tbh just have Sofia run away at some point, she is under so much stress and has the means to with her powers. Of course she’d come back and regret it, but acting that way wouldn’t be out of character for someone her age who is so mentally exhausted

•This one is pretty clearly going to be answered, but what exactly this Royal Magic School is. We didn’t see it at the school fair to my knowledge, so how is it found and why didn’t we know about it before?

•Sofia goes to the school by herself, rather than with James and Amber. Sofia’s already a very independent person, but I want to see James and Amber react to properly being away from each other for the first time

•It’s unclear if the schools that the royals choose to go to are sleep away schools, or another that they commute to. Either way, I’d like to see Roland and Miranda deal with empty nest syndrome while their kids are either living somewhere else or just very busy.

•Have focus on the other characters. Now that the Enchancian kids futures have been firmly stated, it would awkward to only have episodes focused on Sofia’s adventures. It’d be really rewarding to see James and Amber at their respective schools as well

•More detailed Cedric character arc. Now that Sofia is off at school and much more busy, Cedric has to work on being a good person without her influence being around to push him in the right direction as often. Give me a good one on one between him and Roland about their childhood issues

•If they could get Zach Callison back as James that would be AMAZING! Especially with how much his singing has improved, I think his and Darcy Rose Byrnes voices would sound amazing together

•SABRINA BACK AS VIVIAN imagine how much attention the show could get if they do! And because she was great as Vivian, of course!

•Miranda’s backstory. Who are her parents, how did she and Birk meet, how she adjusted to palace life. We see everything through Sofia’s perspective, so seeing Miranda dealing her same problems like grief or such a stark change of environment as an adult would be super interesting

•Tbh I don’t want to see Sofia in any romantic relationships. Like maybe it’s because of how young she is but I really can’t see her in a relationship with anyone😭😭 As much as a chunk of the fandom wants to see her get with Vivian or Hugo, I want them to just avoid the topic all together

•Do SOMETHING with Carrol of the Arrow, like they set up a whole thing of showing that the royals kind of suck and then never used the characters again

•Prisma doesn’t show up. Just mention her in passing like “Oh yeah remember Walmart Princess Ivy? Yeah lol that sucked”

•Jade just doesn’t show up <3

•Some sort of side special where Ariel Winter is fully interviewed about her time as Sofia. She seems so interesting, and was beginning the shower during Modern Family, meaning she would have been insanely busy but clearly cared enough about the show to continue. Desperately need an interviewer to ask her about her silly Disney Jr show😭😭

I have 2 years to come up with new ideas so expect more👹👹

[pink-fangirl]

Omg your oc is so cute I wanna know more about her

I WILL GLADLY TALK ABOUT HER FOR HOURS

She is a complete VAT7K OC and I imagine her nowhere near the main tts conflict. She used to be from an entirely different story but the main aspect of her personality has always been DEER IN HEADLIGHTS

She’s super quiet at first and seems super mystical which meets with an extremely curious Varian. She actually sees him leaving Corona and because she’s a stalker and colorblind and likes how blue he is, she follows him along for a while before she eventually ends up saving everyone from the water trial. They see her as she tries to run off and (even though literally all of them are kind of spooked by her) immediately invites her along with the journey purely to study her.

With that being said she has no clue in the world what creature she is. And hardly anything about social interaction and it makes her freeze up, she’s been selectively mute since before she could remember and it’s only gotten worse over time. (She doesn’t know the word for it. She just thinks it makes her even more strange than she already is.)

But a main point of her character is that unlike everybody else on the team, she isn’t ambitious in the slightest. She sometimes wonders what she is, but she couldn’t care in the slightest about trying to figure out. She takes what she’s given and that’s it, she doesn’t let herself want more than what she has which is shocking because she really does not have much at all.

And that would be sort of her character development in letting herself have feelings and not immediately invalidate them in her mind and make close friends for the first time,

Her voice is kind of the thing that’s showing this through out her development and being super otherworldly at first, but eventually becomes more relaxed and sounding more like a Disney princess voice, still high pitched but with more emotion in it. Laura Osnes is her voice claim btw. She sounds more like her cover of When She Loved Me at first and ends up sounding more like her cover of Hopelessly Devoted.

(I love drawing eyes but I suck at it)

Her dynamics all start with people being scared of her except Olivia so she ends up becoming close to Hugo first, tbh though he mainly just takes pity on her because of a conversation they had.

Like they run across a Hugo wanted poster (there’s only like a couple of them but Hugo thinks he’s tough shit) and he’s all like:

“Haha sorry you had to figure out this way deer ;))) can’t try and stop me though ;)”

And Saria is staring hard at the poster like she’s investigating it: “…”

“… What? You already knew this I was kidding-”

“I’m sorry…. I never really.. learned how to read. What are the words underneath your face?”

Anyway he feels too bad about it and ends up trying to teach her how to read. She starts to pick up on it EVENTUALLY but it still takes a bit. Also she is such a stalker and she figures out Hugo is working for Donella QUICK. She doesn’t want him to be mad at her or anything though so she doesn’t expose him.

As said earlier, Varian tries to study her FAST. It makes her super uncomfortable but she isn’t at that point in self-confidence where she tells him that, but they eventually end up sharing stories and become close. It’s like they have polar opposite minds from each other but they just fit together so well <33 I think it’s pretty cute but whatever.

Yong probably gets over his fear of her quickest of anyone and he feels really validated in the way that she clearly sees him as an equal to her, if not above her. She listens while he yaps about random things he thinks nobody else would care to hear. They have NOTHING IN COMMON but that’s what drags them to be besties.

I think her and Nuru are probably the least closest because (reasonably) Nuru’s pretty freaked out by her, but they’d have their own little separate episode of a girls day out (including Olivia ofc) and Nuru realizes that she’s kind of in the same boat as her, cause I imagine even though Nuru has her doubts about everyone else at first and feels sort of above them, she has an intense loyalty to her people and just wants to help them even if she has to give every bit of herself to do it. Just like Saria.

Anyway with her and Varigo, I switch on them based on my mood.

Most of the time they’re polyamorous with more main focus on Varigo cause she doesn’t know jack shit about human emotions so not really that interesting pining going on there. But Varian and Hugo are like 10 times more confused over themselves and guilty abt their feelings. Also instead of trying to mash their names together I call them poly freckles.

Or sometimes she’s just a silly little friend to them that also ends up staying in Corona but mostly because she just has nowhere else to go and the two of them would feel bad banishing her back into the woods. She watches them argue and bully each other and thinks “Yeah… That’s love.. They love each other… :)))”

She is just such a strange creature to me and I love her. She’s so stupid and it’s so funny to imagine her surrounded by these scientific geniuses but unlike them she is actually physically strong and can pick common items up so they need her.

I could keep going off about her but that’s it for now. Plz send an ask if you want more because I WILL GIVE MORE!!!

[magicmindless]

hello yes... i would like to order some headcanons... carlo flavour please :]

A HC List but it’s just Carlo Romano

Portallinis pretty boy

-Speaking of which, everyone Romano has a title to them they’re famously known for. As for Carlo, his title is “Portallinis sweetheart”

-Despite fame, Carlo is a very humble person. He lives up to his reputation of being the sweetheart of the quartet, though he has pretty low self-esteem

-He’s a pretty decent singer. His voice is very smooth and soft like a cinnamon bun, albeit a more limited range than Bruna. Because of this he prefers not to sing for the official quartet albums or singles despite how much fans beg him to

-However, he does plan on someday making a solo album in the future. He still wants to be part of the band, but it’d be neat for him to create music which he can truly call his own

-Though Gino is his cousin, he sees him like a big brother. Gino used to give him piggy-back rides as a kid and even taught him the basics of string instruments. He always credits Gino for his skills whenever he can

-He’s best friends with Deano (currently teehee) and has been friends with him since childhood. He even used to sneak away from band practices just to see him

-When his mom died, Deano attempted to write Carlo a poem trying to cheer him up. Deano insists the poem is kind of ass but Carlo still keeps it on a pinboard in his room to this day

-In return, when Deanos mentor, Maximo Del Mare passed away Carlo wrote a song for Deano to try and ease his grieving

-He can’t whistle. Not matter how much Deano has tried to teach him he can’t get the hang of whistling, which balances out the fact Deano can’t sing

-In my hc Koilee was the one who got the Scooperia first. Carlo got a job there as a delivery boy during his hiatus from the band because he was feeling uninspired and bored with being in the band

-He really isn’t picky with what music he likes. He can like just about anything

-Unsurprisingly, being famous has a lot of downsides, which he’s expressed on Hugo’s podcast where they both got to discuss their struggles within their music careers (not knowing if people wanna genuinely be friends or if they want clout, burnout, etc.)

-Deals with imposter syndrome. He got mortified when Hugo told him on his podcast that between the 2, even without the the rest of his family Carlo was much more famous than Hugo was, even joking that the views on his podcast would probably skyrocket just by having Carlo in it. It’s not that he was wrong, but it made Carlo wonder if he truly deserved his fame, because he could name more than a few music artists, including Hugo, who were much more talented than him and didn’t even have half of his fame (…wait that’s actually a good fanfic idea someone should write that *cough cough* @sosoribro you know what to do *COUGH COUGH*/nf)

-He identifies as biromatic asexual, and it makes him uncomfortable whenever people try to speculate what his sexuality could be (it’s not usually the fans, they’re pretty nice, but particular journalists who try and speculate via his interactions with other celebrities)

-Has only dated once in his life, and it was a girl back in high school. They didn’t end on good terms

-He always carries snacks with him in a backpack, and always likes sharing them whenever he can. He just thinks food tastes better shared with others

-Has pet rats and loves them all dearly, but is also ironically a cat magnet. One of his and Deano’s favorite things to do as kids was to pet the stray cats they ran into

-Incredibly stylish. He doesn’t buy designer clothes (most of his clothes come from thrift stores or local clothing stores I imagine), nor does he always dress up in whatever’s trending, but he does sometimes study how men dress in fashion magazines

-He was a bit hesitant towards Olga at first, seeing her as just his dad merely replacing their mom, but he grew to like her with time

-Learned how to knit from Olga, and the first thing he did was his new skill was make a scarf for Deano

[onboardsorasora]

I can mostly confidently say, that I found my peace with this being Daniels last race, because he has so many things going on for him. Also fuck toxic work places.

BUT with that said, I cannot imagine RB fucking up that badly with the sponsors and the marketing value.

Like people say he is there for PR, Daniel Ricciards LAST RACE could be THE PR event. They could milk it to the gods. Merchandise, fan events, sponsors getting photo/pr opportunities, people watching to see his last race and support him. Like the opportunities lost are insane. Also HUGO just published a big campaign and there is still the Visa Cash App crying guy. And America is basically Ricciardos second home race. Like not letting him race one last time in Austin and Vegas is just stupid.

Adding to that, implying it's Daniels last race could potentially avoid a penalty and is a valid argument for getting fastest lap.

Another thing, Horner "saving" Ricciardo is like his one good quality and I think his public persona would take severe damage if that's really the case.

Like all the "old' journalists saying, they always knew. How? Because how can they know, if the people directly involved don't even know.

So even though I found my peace, I would be so surprised if that's really it.

EXACTLYYYY

Because quite literally, its all down to money and marketing. And Daniel Joseph Ricciardo is a marketing gold mine.

LITERALLY. To quote a post I did years ago F1's popularity soared because of Daniel. Yes Schumy was pretty much a household name, yes Lewis has been known in pop culture for forever. All of these other drivers who've crossed over have done things for the sport but they were all niche. Theres a lot of people who only know Lewis' name because they saw him at the Met Gala, theres a bunch of people who only know Schumy because he was The Stig on Top Gear.

DTS never would have happened without Daniel signing on first. Fact. The producers have said this. Daniel Ricciardo is the first voice and then face you are introduced to in S1E1.

As you so so eloquently said, Daniel's retirement will be a literal event in itself. That every track is gonna want to profit off of. You think the AUS GP wouldn't want to deck Albert Park in Daniel's face and smile one last time??? You think COTA won't try to get this man to drive in in that longhorn convertible?

Let us be for fucking real for one second. If ONLY for the marketing value and money of it all, this cannot be it. Not when RBR worked so hard to cultivate that prodigal son narrative and their Daniel Ricciardo Rehab Program. for them to dash it all away like this?? with some butter finger style clumsiness?

I don't know whats going to happen but marketing wise, PR wise, business wise? that can't have been 'it'.

full disclosure, I haven't made peace with shit. so if that was his last race then expect like the angstiest fics ive ever written. And thats a threat. (I've been holding off on delving into a 'something in the orange' vibe fic for months now)

[strangerstilinski]

SELENOPHILES OF BEACON HILLS | Teen Wolf Rewrite

Stiles Stilinksi/Original Female Character

chapter thirteen

fic summary; after an already traumatic evening involving the unfortunate discovery of a gruesome scene, amber is convinced to hike through the woods with her two best friends in search of the other half of a dead body. but it's not as if she could ever say no.. not when stiles looked at her like that.

chapter word count; 15,581

chapter warnings; underage drinking, very mild sexual content

chapter notes; between forced confessions, terrible tasting alcohol, and appearances from both peter hale and the argents, winter formal turns out to be quite the event. chaos ensues.

masterlist

c h a p t e r   t h i r t e e n (finale)

code breaker

When they pulled into the school parking lot on Friday night, Ben gestured for Amber to stay put as he got out of the car and jogged around to the passenger side to open the door for her.

"Thanks, but you really don't have to be quite so chivalrous." She laughed.

Ben shrugged with a grin, "Can't have you thinking I'm a bad date."

"I already know you're not a bad date. I'm the bad date, remember?" She reminded him as they linked arms and walked to the front of the lot.

"I thought you were a pretty good date right up until that little slip at the end," He looked down at her with a friendly smile, "It was a pretty big slip, but y'know.. For the other ninety-five percent of the date you were great."

She was laughing as they approached the school building. Jackson and Allison were standing just outside of Jackson's Porsche in the parking lot and Amber watched as the boy lifted a flask to his lips to take a long pull.

"Save some for the rest of us, Wittemore." She joked with a quiet laugh.

Jackson held the small metal container out toward her as he swallowed with a wince, "You want some?" He asked, voice husky from the liquor.

Her free hand twitched at her side. She looked up at Ben hesitantly and her date shrugged at her, releasing her arm with a small nudge.

"If you want some, I'm not gonna judge you." Ben told her softly.

Amber licked her lips and hesitated for another fraction of a second before accepting the flask. She lifted the small opening to her lips and poured some of the liquid into her mouth, swallowing with gag when the taste lingered on her tongue.

"God. What is that?" She asked in disgust as she handed it back over.

"It's bourbon." Jackson told her judgmentally, "Expensive bourbon."

She nodded, "Oh, yeah. You can tell. It- It's really good bourbon."

"You're welcome to have some more," Jackson grinned, holding it back out, "I mean, since you like it so much. I've got more in the car."

"Oh." She faltered, looking around her at Ben and Allison's amused gazes, "Yeah, totally. Thanks."

She took the flask from his grip again and gulped nervously in anticipation. She frowned and took a deep breath before tilting her head back and pouring what was left of the container into her mouth. There was slightly more than she'd been expecting from the weight of it and her mouth was full when she swallowed, fighting against another gag and coughing instead. As she did, she reached out to grab onto the sleeve of Ben's suit jacket and handed Jackson back the tiny metal flask blindly.

Jackson was laughing at her as Amber coughed once more and she heard Lydia's voice chime in from behind them as she recovered.

"Jackson." Lydia greeted, "You look handsome."

"Obviously," Jackson shook his head, tucking the flask back into the pocket on the inside of his jacket, "It's Hugo Boss."

With that, he pulled Allison's hand to loop around his arm and guided her toward the school.

Amber turned to face the new arrivals, dropping her hand from where it had been agressively squeezing Ben's arm. She eyed the pale pink satin of Lydia's dress before she allowed her gaze to flick over to Stiles.

She hadn't seen him in a full suit since his own mom's funeral in elementary school. Back then, the suit he'd worn had been slightly too large and he'd been red in the face from crying.

Now, when Amber looked at him, she floundered for a moment at how handsome he looked. His black suit jacket fit him nicely, and the white button down he had on underneath was crisp and tucked neatly into his dress pants. She swallowed distractedly as her mind drifted with the desire to grab him by his tie to pull him in for a kiss.

Only a few quiet seconds had passed and Amber shook her head to recover as she realized Lydia was speaking again.

"-I will not fall prey to society's desire to turn girls into emotional, insecure neurotics who pull up their dresses at the first flattering remark." Lydia told herself sternly.

"Lydia. You look gorgeous." Amber told her honestly. She leaned closer in the dark of the parking lot to study the red of her lipstick, "That lip color goes really nicely with your dress, too. Your lips really pop and- You look incredible, okay?"

Lydia was fighting a smile, "Really?"

"Really." Amber laughed.

Lydia sniffed and looked Amber over in scrutiny, "Gross. Did Jackson give you bourbon?"

"He might've given me a bit." She admitted with a quiet giggle, already beginning to feel the light buzz thrumming in her brain. She turned her attention toward Stiles with a grin, "Stiles, you look really-" She hesitated for a second, "Really handsome."

Stiles seemed surprised by her comment, "Oh, I. You too." He told her.

Amber laughed quietly and Lydia's elbow jammed into Stiles' side. He jerked in realization as he processed what he'd said.

"I mean- Not- You look really nice too, but not handsome. I meant beautiful. You- You look really beautiful." He amended.

Amber cheeks flushed, stomach flipping from his stuttered words of praise, and there was a small moment of silence between the four of them before Stiles spoke up again.

"And uh, Ben looks great too," He added awkwardly, "Can't leave him out, I mean, look at this guy." He reached out to punch Ben in the shoulder and the other boy blinked at Stiles incredulously as he continued, "So sharp. Uh, should we head inside? I think we should head inside."

His hand came up to rest on Lydia's shoulder and he steered her toward the school building without another word.

Amber simply watched him go for a second before Ben's hand came up to rest between her shoulder blades over the curls in her hair and he nudged her to follow behind them.

"Pull yourself together, Callisto." Ben laughed quietly, "You were practically drooling."

"I was not." She pouted, prying her eyes away from the back of Stiles' head to look up at the tall boy beside her.

"I know he's cute but you are never gonna make it through the night if you keep torturing yourself." He told her.

He squeezed her shoulder as he pulled their tickets out of his jacket pocket with his free hand and gave them to the chaperone at the door.

The minute that they made their way inside, Ben dragged Amber over toward the refreshments table and forced a small bottle of water into her hands.

"I don't trust the punch and since you've had alcohol, you should hydrate sooner rather than later." He told her quietly, looking out at the room around them.

She accepted the water and took a drink.

"Did you want to dance yet?" She asked, the music thrumming nicely with the tipsy buzz in her brain, "I think I wanna dance."

Ben laughed, urging her to take another long sip from her water before he led her into the crowd of students on the dancefloor.

She swayed in her heels along with the upbeat music and Ben reached out one hand to grip onto hers in case she lost her balance. She held onto it gratefully and bounced on her toes as the beat picked up, a few of their classmates bumping into her periodically as she moved.

They danced for twenty minutes before Ben's phone began to ring distantly from inside his jacket pocket.

"Is that you?" Amber asked when she noticed the sound, reaching into his suit jacket to dig around for the device as it continued to chime.

Ben frowned and reached around her fingers to pull out his phone. He read the name on the screen and his frown deepened.

"Sorry, give me a sec. I'll be right back." He assured her before jogging out into the hallway.

As Amber watched him go, she happened to catch sight of Scott hunched down behind an open set of bleachers at the side of the gymnasium and she took off in Scott's direction, only wobbling slightly in her heels as she went. When she came up behind him, she leaned closely into his space.

"Hi!" Amber said beside his ear.

Scott flinched and jumped back, turning to face her with a look of surprise.

"Dude! Aren't you supposed to have like, super-senses?" She laughed joyfully, "How did you not know I was standing right here?"

"I was focussed on Allison." Scott defended, calming down and looking his best friend over slowly, "You look nice."

"You look very nice too." She grinned and reached out to fiddle with the collar of his suit jacket, "Did you see Stiles? You both look so handsome-" She flattened his lapel back down beneath her fingers and pouted with an influx of emotion, "My two boys-"

Scott leaned into her space and unsubtly sniffed at her, "Are you drunk?" He asked with a frown.

"No. I'm lightly buzzed," She corrected with a shake of her head, reaching up to adjust his crooked tie around his neck with delicate fingers, "There's a difference."

Scott looked over her shoulder and his eyes widened for a moment before he shook his head and frowned in confusion. Amber spun around, still gripping onto his tie, to look at whatever he was focussed on but all she saw was a crowded room.

"What is it?" She asked.

"I-I thought I saw Peter."

"Well, did you see him?" She asked quickly, gaze snapping back over to her friend.

Scott shook his head again, "I'm not sure. He disappeared."

"Well, he's not a ghost, Scott." She told him, "You're probably just nervous. I mean, you snuck in, you don't want to get caught, I hope you're still thinking about how to find Derek, Allison's here with someone else-"

Scott shot her a dirty look and she shrugged her shoulders in mock surrender.

"Hey, don't give me that look. Everything I said is true." She defended.

"Hey, there you are-" Ben's voice sounded from behind them, "I couldn't find you."

"I'm gonna-" Scott said, pulling his tie from between her fingers and pointing his finger behind himself before taking off.

Amber turned to Ben with a grin, "So, what's up? Who called?"

He sunk in on himself sadly and frowned at her, "I, uh. I have to go. Home."

"What?" She asked incredulously, "Why? We just got here-"

"I'm really sorry." Ben apologized, "My parents are out of town and they hired a sitter for tonight but she just called and said she's like, vomiting. So, I have to-"

"Hey, no." She cut in quickly, reaching up to grab his bicep, "It's okay. Go watch your sisters. I understand."

"I'm really sorry." He repeated, "Like so unbelievably sorry. I know that Stiles-"

"Ben. Stop." She said gently, "I'll be fine, okay? I'll catch a ride with Stiles, or even Jackson if I have to. Don't worry. Go home, seriously."

He frowned at her and pulled her into a quick hug. Amber startled for a moment before wrapping her arms around him to return the embrace. After a few seconds, Ben pulled away and stepped backwards slowly.

"I'm sorry again." He frowned.

"I forgive you, again." She laughed quietly.

She watched him turn to go and her face didn't pull into a frown until he could no longer see her. Amber sighed sadly and gnawed on her lip, looking around the crowded room. She spotted Jackson and Danny spiking their drinks from a familiar flask unsubtly and she pursed her lips in thought before heading in their direction.

Jackson raised his eyebrows when he noticed her, "Callisto. What do you want?"

"Wanted to know if I can have more of your illicit refreshments." She told him, nodding at Danny in greeting before returning her attention to Jackson.

He looked at her skeptically, "Where's your date?"

"My date had to leave due to a vomiting babysitter." She told him, "And now I'm dateless and I'd really like it if my buzz was a little stronger."

Jackson shrugged at her explanation and poured out another small dose from the flask before handing over his spiked cup of punch, "All yours." He told her, "Try not to get too messy, will you? It's tacky."

She repeated his words back to him in a weak imitation of his irritating voice and rolled her eyes. She raised her cup in a salute of thanks before turning and heading off to find a table where she could sit down.

She spotted Lydia and Stiles sitting at an otherwise empty table and hesitated for only a moment before going over. Stiles had shed his jacket at some point and was slouching unhappily in his chair next to Lydia, who didn't look any more amused. Amber sighed and plopped down into the chair beside the redhead.

"Where's Ben?" Lydia asked, picking at her nail polish and looking bored.

Amber lifted her cup to her mouth and took a dejected sip. Lydia's eyebrows raised expectantly when she didn't immediately get a response and Amber swallowed with a frown before answering.

"Family emergency." She told her.

"W- Hold on. Davis left?" Stiles asked, sitting up straighter in his seat and looking at her in disbelief.

"Mhm." She responded, leaning back in her chair.

She peered down at her own breasts for a moment and tugged at the fabric of her dress where it must have gotten slightly askew from all of the dancing and moving around. She readjusted it before taking another tiny sip of the repulsive drink in her hand.

"Okay, I will not continue to be subjected to this." Lydia announced in annoyance.

Amber's attention snapped over to look at her two friends. Stiles' face had a light flush rising on his cheeks and Lydia was pointing between him and Amber as she shot them both an irritated look.

"You two are ridiculous." Lydia told them, "Sitting here and watching you both sulk is actually infuriating."

"What did I do?" Amber asked, taken aback.

"You?" Lydia repeated incredulously, "You made me go to this stupid dance with the guy you're practically in love with, even though I had a wonderfully stupid and incredibly hot guy from the football team all lined up-"

"Lydia. What the hell?" Amber finally cut her off with wide eyes, heart pounding and refusing to look over at Stiles, "What are you-"

"No." Lydia said, holding up a finger like she was scolding a small child, "No. You want to be here with Stiles. He wants to be here with you. This is stupid."

Amber frowned, "Lyds-"

Lydia sighed loudly and turned in her seat to face the boy beside her, "Do you want to kiss Amber? Right here, right now?" She asked him seriously.

Amber's heart pounded in her chest and her eyes finally darted over to Stiles. He was looking between them with a dark flush on his cheeks, mouth hanging open as he floundered.

"I, uh. Wha-" Stiles articulated slowly.

Lydia's glare intensified, "So help me god. If you don't answer the question in the next two seconds-"

"Yeah, I- Yeah." Stiles interrupted, swallowing nervously and glancing at Amber across the table.

She could barely hear anything over the heavy pounding of the blood pumping in her ears. Her right hand tightened around the plastic of her cup.

Lydia was smiling as she turned to Amber, reaching out to delicately place her fingers over where Amber's free hand was resting on her own thigh.

"Amber," Lydia started almost condescendingly, speaking slowly as if she were dealing with a two year old, "Do you want to kiss Stiles?"

"I, yeah. I do. I like, really, really do." She said quietly, eyes wide.

Lydia patted Amber's hand and stood from the table.

"Great. My work here is done. Have a good night, you two." She told them before turning away, "It's like second grade all over again." Lydia muttered as she strutted off.

Amber didn't move for a moment, her brain fuzzy with adrenaline and a hint of alcohol.

"You wanna kiss me?" She repeated in question after a few seconds passed.

"Is that.. An actual question or an invitation?" Stiles asked, avoiding eye contact and fiddling with a napkin on top of the table.

"Whichever." She told him.

His gaze snapped back to hers and they both paused again for a few seconds.

"Okay. I, d'you- Hallway?" Stiles asked dumbly.

She nodded with wide eyes, "Hallway." She agreed.

When she stood from her seat, she swayed slightly from a combination of the fog in her brain and her high heels. Stiles came to stand beside her and grabbed her hand, tugging her away in the direction of the doors quickly.

They stepped into the hallway and her heart continued to pound in her chest, only now it was with excitement. Stiles didn't stop pulling her along once they broke through the doors. He continued to tug her down the hall and around a corner until the music from the gym was only a dull thumping of bass in the distance.

"Stiles-" She called out quietly, pulling at his hand.

He came to a stop and turned around to look at her with wide eyes, "Yeah?"

Stiles' chest was rising and falling heavily. His face was flushed bright red underneath the speckles of moles dotting cheeks. His hand was damp with sweat where it was gripping tightly onto hers. Amber desperately wanted to kiss him.

So she did.

She tugged forcefully on his hand and when Stiles stumbled forward, she took a step closer. She reached up to cup his face and guided him to tilt his head down until their mouths slotted together softly. He huffed out a small breath in surprise and before she could relish in the feeling of his lips on hers, he was pulling back just a fraction of an inch, his eyes flicking slowly between hers in contemplation.

"Have you had more alcohol since the last time I saw you?" He questioned quietly against her mouth.

She nodded with a quiet sound of affirmation, leaning up onto her toes to bring their lips back together but Stiles brushed her hand away from his face and raised one of his own to grip her shoulder so he could push her down until her heels touched back onto the floor and he pulled back to look at her again.

"I feel like we shouldn't- I'm- If you're drunk-" He stuttered out.

"Stiles." She interrupted softly, squeezing his hand in hers.

"Yeah?" He asked quickly.

"I promise I'm not drunk. And I'm gonna need you to kiss me again." She whispered, "Now."

"Are you sure?" He questioned, fingers tightening around her shoulder for a fraction of a second.

Amber nodded, "Really, really sure." She repeated.

Stiles hauled her back in quickly, his fingers sliding into her hair and releasing her hand from his own to grab at her waist. He tugged her closer and she sighed contentedly into his mouth as their lips slotted together more comfortably.

His mouth on hers felt right. The kiss soft and firm and so fucking perfect she was instantly convinced that her lips had to have been made for his. Her stomach was alive with butterflies and her heart was determined to beat it’s way out from beneath her ribcage and she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to exist now without his mouth on hers.

She reached out to his fancy dress shirt and fisted her hands into the fabric on either side of his hips while they kissed, pulling him along for a few steps until he was caging her back against the wall in the hallway. The stone was cold as it touched her bare back and she gasped in surprise at the chill of it pressing against her skin. When her mouth dropped open, Stiles tilted his head just so and his tongue slipped into the opening to brush against hers.

At the first touch of his tongue, her mind grew hazy and she tugged harshly at the fabric of his shirt. The action pulled Stiles firmly against her and he let out a soft, needy noise into her mouth when his groin pressed against her hip.

She separated their lips to take an unsteady breath and Stiles rested his forehead against hers as they both panted quietly.

"Sorry." He murmured in apology.

He let the hand he had in her hair slowly trail down until it rested lightly at the curve where her neck met her shoulder, his thumb brushing up and down softly over her collarbone. He shifted back until their lower halves were no longer pressed together and she found herself genuinely mourning the loss of contact.

She frowned in the small distance between their faces and reached up to place her right hand at the back of his neck, guiding their mouths back together and tugging him back against her with her grip on his waist. When Stiles released another small sound against her lips at the contact, she angled her head and kissed him deeper.

When he rolled his hips unconsciously against her a minute later, her fingers tightened around the back of his neck. She sighed quietly at the feeling of him and there was an aching heat building between her thighs as she focussed on the point where his obvious arousal was slowly hardening against her.

The hand he had on her hip slid slowly until it was resting over the arch of her back where her spine curved to meet her ass and Amber tightened her fingers around the soft fabric of his dress shirt when he pulled her closer.

His hand at the base of her neck readjusted until his thumb could press lightly into her chin and he guided her to tip her head to the side. His lips skimmed across her face slowly and he pressed tender kisses along her cheek. He continued to tilt her head with his thumb sliding along her jaw until could lower his mouth to kiss lightly at her neck. She gasped out a quiet breathy noise and automatically lifted up onto her toes to push against his mouth more firmly as his lips kissed softly at her throat.

"Stiles-" She said breathlessly. It came out too airy, like an unconscious expression of pleasure rather than a signal. She gasped when he sucked lightly at the sensitive skin under her jaw and took a shaky breath before trying again more firmly, "Stiles."

She moved her hand from the back of his neck to his jaw and pushed his face away from her slightly. He leaned his head back and looked down at her with dazed eyes.

"We should probably-" Her chest was rising and falling quickly and she rubbed her thumb softly along his jaw as she tried to calm her breathing, "Should definitely slow down."

He dropped his forehead down against hers again and heaved a deep sigh before pulling back to look at her, "Yeah. Yeah, you're right-"

"Sorry." She apologized quietly, watching his face closely in the dimmed light of the hallway.

"Hey, no, don't apologize. Not for that." Stiles told her seriously. He readjusted his grip on her jaw and pressed his fingers into her cheek to pull her in for another chaste kiss before taking a few steps back, "God. I seriously need like- Two minutes where your mouth isn't only an inch away."

Amber watched him in amusement while he frowned and reached down to uncomfortably adjust himself in his dress pants. She lifted a hand up to her own face to cover the small smile pulling at her lips.

He caught her gaze and shot her a small glare in jest, "Oh, you find this funny?" He asked her with an incredulous grin, gesturing to his pants.

"No," She shook her head with a serious expression, "No, not funny at all."

He narrowed his eyes playfully at her once more, "Alright, you." He stepped forward to press a final conciliatory kiss to her lips, "Go back in and I'll be there in a minute."

She frowned but took a small step back in the direction of the gymnasium.

"I'm just gonna go to the bathroom real quick." He explained in response to her silent question.

"Oh, you're going to the bathroom, are you?" She asked, grinning at the insinuation.

"W- I'm not- This is embarrassing enough, okay? I just- I'll see you in a minute." Stiles shook his head with a flush on his cheeks.

She laughed and held her hands up in surrender as she backed away, "Sorry, I'm going. I'm going."

She took one final survey of how debauched and truly obscene he looked before she turned on her heels and headed back toward the gym with a giddy smile on her lips. Her gaze drifted across the crowded room once she stepped through the doors again and she picked up her pace when she caught sight of Lydia sitting back at their table, nursing a cup of punch.

Once she was within arms reach, she grabbed Lydia's hand from the tabletop and pulled the girl up out of her chair. The moment her friend was on her feet, Amber's arms were wrapped around her in a tight hug.

"I love you so much right now, I could kiss you." Amber told her quickly.

Lydia stepped back to look at her friend with a barely there smile of amusement, "It looks like you've gotten plenty of kissing done already." She pointed out, reaching up to fix the mess Stiles had made of the hair on the right side of Amber's head, "Was there anything more than kissing?" Lydia questioned casually.

"Just kissing." Amber told her, "Really hot, glorious, incredible kissing."

"Oh, I can see just how hot and glorious it was." Lydia grinned devilishly, pressing her fingers into a tender spot that Amber couldn't see on her underside of her jaw bone.

"God. Do I have a hickey?" She asked quickly, reaching up to press her fingers over the spot Lydia had touched, "Please tell me I don-"

"It's not a hickey." Lydia promised, "Calm down. It's just a little pink."

She sighed in relief and dropped her hand, looking over at the spot where Lydia had taken up residence while they'd been gone with a frown.

"Have you danced at all?" Amber asked.

Lydia shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest, "No, and I don't plan to."

"Oh, come on, Lyds," She goaded, grabbing the redhead's hands in hers to uncross her arms and tugging her in the direction of the dance floor, "Please dance with me?"

Lydia pouted dramatically and rolled her eyes but followed behind Amber without protest.

The song that was playing through the gymnasium was a slow one, so when they stepped out onto the dancefloor Amber put her hands around Lydia's waist and grinned as she guided the redhead to sway with her. Lydia brought her arms up around the back of Amber's neck and moved slowly along with the beat, meeting her friend's gaze and smiling back at her with a small roll of her eyes.

They danced closely to the familiar song for a few minutes before a loud voice erupted across the gym.

"McCall! I see you!" Coach Finstock's voice yelled out over the music. "Come here, buddy! McCall!"

Amber turned her head to see the teacher pushing his way slowly through the crowd of teens. Scott's eyes widened from the other side of the gym and he ducked down as he moved through the dancing bodies in the opposite direction. Amber watched as her best friend snuck around the spot where she and Lydia were dancing and came to a stop in front of Danny and his date beside them.

"Danny. Danny, dance with me." Scott said frantically.

Coach Finstock was still yelling as he pushed through to get to the other side of the dancefloor and Scott looked between their teacher and Danny nervously.

"What?" Danny blinked in confusion.

"Dance with me." Scott repeated with wide eyes.

Danny looked between Scott and his date slowly, "No."

Coach had nearly reached them and Amber watched the situation in amusement.

"Please!" Scott begged, "Right now!"

Scott's hands scrambled to untangle Danny from his date and he shoved himself between them. Danny shrugged at his date with a frown as Scott pulled his arms up onto his waist and brought his own arms up to wrap around Danny's shoulders.

"McCall!" Coach said loudly as he stepped up to the couple, "You're not supposed to-" He paused in confusion as he looked between the two boys, "What the hell are you do- What the hell are you doing?"

"Yes, Coach?" Scott asked with a look of wide-eyed innocence, tightening his arms around his dance partner's neck as he pulled Danny closer.

The music had quieted between songs and Coach's raised voice had been loud in the sudden silence. A majority of the gymnasium was turned to see who Coach was yelling at and they all frowned at the sight of the two boys dancing in front of him.

Coach seemed to catch on to the train of thought of the people around him and he backtracked at the perceived homophobia.

"Okay.. Oh, ho, ho- Ha! Hold on," He started, addressing the room at large, "You.. I was just saying that he's not supposed to- I mean, I wasn't saying that he shouldn't- You guys don't think.." He took a small step back from Scott and Danny with a nervous smile, "I-I was- Just dance, everybody! Just dance! Dance! It's a party!"

After shooting a final look of warning toward Scott, Coach disappeared into the crowd again.

Amber snorted softly and readjusted her hands over the silky material at the bottom of Lydia's spine. She watched Scott release Danny with a pat on the shoulder, stepping back and shot the other boy a thumbs-up.

"Thanks, dude! I owe you!" Scott called out before taking off.

A new song started up after a minute and Amber peered at the people around them as they danced. She spotted Scott and Allison now wrapped up in one another's arms closely. After another minute, Lydia slipped her arms from around Amber's neck and took a small step back.

"What's wrong?" Amber asked with a frown as her own hands fell to her sides, "You okay?"

"Just.. I need to take a little break." Lydia told her with a sad smile.

Amber nodded in understanding, "Is that code for going to talk to Jackson?"

Lydia looked momentarily taken aback by her friend's attentiveness before nodding slowly with a small pout on her lips and Amber reached out to squeeze Lydia's hand with a reassuring smile.

"I get it. Go ahead, Lyds." She said encouragingly.

She watched Lydia go and when the redhead was through the doors and out of sight, Amber shuffled on her feet awkwardly for a moment in uncertainty. A slow song was still playing and she was just debating heading over to snag another bottle of water when someone grabbed her hand to gently pull her back a step.

She teetered in her heels and spun around to see Stiles standing right behind her, tugging her against him. When her gaze went to his face, Stiles brought a hand up to cup her cheek and he ducked down to give her a soft kiss that had her stomach fluttering wildly.

"Hi." He said gently as he pulled back.

He was quick to wrap his arms around her waist and she followed his lead by curling her own arms tightly around the back of his neck, holding on to her own elbows as they began to sway to the music with their chests pressed together.

"I distinctly remember you saying something about needing time away from my mouth." She laughed quietly, licking her lips unconsciously to taste the lingering essence of him again following the chaste kiss.

"I had my two minutes away," He spoke softly into her ear, "Now I'm thinking I should actually figure out a way to have you within kissing distance at all times."

She snorted a quiet laugh into his shoulder, "You're ridiculous."

She tightened her arms around his neck and leaned against him to prop her chin up over his shoulder as they moved slowly in time with the music. They made it through another entire song before Amber sighed quietly, loosening her grip around his shoulders and taking a small step back from him.

"Okay. Now I need to use the bathroom." She laughed quietly.

"Must be all that bourbon." Stiles told her with a small smile of amusement.

"Oh, cut it out." She wiped the grin off his face by pressing her lips against his in a quick kiss, "Stop picking on me and let me go because I actually do need to pee. Really badly."

Stiles dropped an arm around her shoulder and guided her through the crowd of dancing bodies, releasing her at the edge of the room and giving her a gentle push out the doors and into the hallway.

She used the bathroom outside the gymnasium quickly, wiping a small bead of water that she'd somehow missed when drying her hands onto the velvet of her dress as she was exiting the girl's room. When she looked up again, she spotted Jackson walking back inside the building with a terrified look on his face.

"Jackson? What's wrong? Did you talk to Lydia?" She asked quickly as she approached him.

"I-I was out behind the school-" He started slowly, voice shaking as he looked at the girl in front of him.

"Jackson, is Lydia okay?" She redirected quickly, her heart rate picking up in her chest.

He shook his head and her stomach dropped before he spoke, "Not Lydia. I-I. Allison's dad-"

"What about Allison's dad? What did you say to him, Jackson?" She demanded, stepping closer so that they were almost pressed together in the dark hallway.

"I-I told him- He promised he wouldn't-" Jackson continued to stammer, "But I told him- I told him Scott-"

She shoved Jackson back against the wall behind him aggressively, her hands shaking, "What have you done?" Her voice cracked with anxiety and the sheer volume of her yelling, "Do you have any idea-"

"Hey- Hey! What's going on?" Stiles' voice came from behind her. Amber had been reaching out to grab at Jackson's suit but Stiles' arms wrapped around her and pulled her a step back, "What happened? What did Jackson-"

"He told Allison's dad about Scott! Her dad is here and he-" Amber said angrily, before ice seemed to fill her body in fear, "Oh, god. Where's Scott?"

She turned to Stiles with wide eyes and he looked just as nervous.

"Jackson, what did you do?" Stiles asked rhetorically, shooting a glare at the boy over Amber's shoulder.

"Lydia's still outside looking for Jackson," She realized suddenly, words coming out between anxious gasps, "And the hunters are- What do we-"

Stiles put his hands over her shoulders and gave her a squeeze, "We'll split up and we'll look for them both, okay? Everything's gonna be okay."

She took a shaky breath and turned to shove Jackson against the wall one final time before she was running outside.

"Lydia!" She called out as soon as she stepped out of the school and into the cold night air. She continued to call out for her friend as she rounded the building and crossed over into the side parking lot near the lacrosse field, "Lydia?"

She heard Lydia's voice calling out for Jackson in the distance and Amber reached down to rip her uncomfortable strappy heels from her feet, taking off in a run across the cold grass. The floodlights around the field began to click on loudly, illuminating the lacrosse pitch in a slow circle until she could see where Lydia was standing at the center of the field.

Amber slowed as she took her first step between the bleachers while a dark figure stepped out on the other side of the field in Lydia's eyeline. Amber lifted her arm over her face in an attempt to block some of the bright light from above as she tried to distinguish the shadow with squinted eyes.

"Jackson?" Lydia questioned the mystery person at the other side of the field in a quieter voice.

"Lydia, no. Wait-" Amber said, only a few feet behind her friend now.

"Amber! Lydia!" Stiles' voice screamed frantically from the end of the pitch, "Run!"

Amber's gaze snapped between Stiles and the dark figure in front of them as it took another few steps toward them. The floodlights over the field illuminated Peter Hale's face and Amber reached out to pull at Lydia's wrist as her heart thumped violently in her chest.

"Lydia, you need to run. You need to run now, please-" Amber begged, tugging a confused Lydia backwards in an attempt to get the redhead hidden behind her.

Peter tilted his head, his eyes slowly shifting to a bright glowing red as he came to stand in front of them. He growled as he shoved Amber to the ground, his face beginning to shift deeper, fangs dropping down from his mouth. The brunette fell to the grass hard and watched on in horror from only a few feet away as the werewolf bit down, sharp teeth sinking into Lydia's waist.

"No!" Amber screamed, already crawling toward them as she watched the dark red of Lydia's blood start to seep out to stain the pale pink satin of her dress.

Peter leaned back but continued to hover protectively over the redhead's unmoving body, forcing Amber to freeze with her hands only a few inches away from her friend. Stiles finally reached them and dropped to his knees at Lydia's other side, both he and Amber watching Peter in fear as a trail of blood dripped from his mouth.

"Don't kill her." Amber begged, hands shaking with the need to reach out for her friend, "Please."

"Of course not." Peter agreed quickly, eyes flicking over to Stiles, "If he tells me how to find Derek."

"W- What?" Stiles stuttered in surprise.

"Tell me. How to find Derek." Peter repeated slowly, tracing a claw down the side of Lydia's unconscious face teasingly.

"He doesn't know!" Amber cried immediately, "We don't-"

"Yeah, I- I don't know that." Stiles reiterated between shaky breaths, "How would I know that?"

"Because you're the clever one, aren't you?" Peter smiled condescendingly at him, "And because deception has a particularly acrid scent, Stiles."

Amber's gaze cut to Stiles with wide eyes and she spoke in a shaky voice, "Stiles, what's he talking about?"

He shook his head, "I-I don't know!"

"Tell me the truth, Stiles." Peter growled angrily.

The werewolf moved with a sudden quickness that the teens could barely comprehend and before they knew what was happening, Amber was upright on her knees, her back pressed flush against Peter's chest as he knelt behind her, the fingers of his right hand wrapped around Amber's throat tight enough that she could feel his sharp nails digging into the flesh of her neck painfully.

"Tell me the truth. Or I will rip her apart." Peter continued.

She squeaked quietly in fear and shifted on her knees, reaching up to grab onto Peter's arm desperately, her eyes filling with tears as she met Stiles' own terrified gaze.

"Look- Look, I don't know, okay? I sw-" Stiles faltered when Peter's fingers gripped tighter at her throat and she let out a whine, "I swear to god I have no idea!" He yelled anxiously.

Amber felt the claws press deeper into the skin of her neck and she whimpered again quietly as she pulled at the sleeve of the werewolf's jacket. The moment the tip of one of his claws punctured her skin, she felt the sharp sting of it and gasped in pain.

"Tell me!" Peter repeated, voice loud and demanding beside Amber's ear.

"Okay, okay! Look-" Stiles relented, "I-I think he knew-"

"Knew what?" Peter asked quickly, refusing to loosen his grip on the girl in front of him.

"Derek. I think he- I think he knew he was gonna be taken-" Stiles explained shakily.

Amber looked at him in confusion through the tears in her eyes.

"By the Argents." Peter clarified.

"Yeah." Stiles squeaked.

Peter jostled Amber in his arms as he straightened his back, "And?"

"When they were shot. He and Scott-" Stiles spoke nervously, eyes bouncing back and forth between Peter and Amber, "I think he took Scott's phone."

"What?" Amber squeaked before whimpering quietly when Peter shook her slightly in a demand for silence.

"Why?" Peter asked Stiles.

Stiles looked at Amber regretfully as he spoke, "Because they all have GPS now. So if he still has it on him, and it's still on-" He explained, "You can find him."

Peter's grip around Amber's neck and body loosened all at once and he pushed her forward as he got to his feet behind her. She caught herself in the grass on her hands and Stiles rushed over to her side, his hands coming up to brush gently over her arms and her waist and her face, touching softly over everything he could as he checked that she was okay.

Her hands were still shaking as she brushed Stiles off to crawl forward and lean over Lydia. Amber pushed an errant lock of her strawberry blonde hair off of her face with trembling fingers before her gaze dropped to the dark stain still spreading across the fabric of Lydia's dress. She trailed her hand lightly over the spot and her stomach turned as her cold fingers came back coated with the warmth of her friend's blood.

"Lydia?" Amber asked quietly, voice choked with tears. "Oh, god."

Peter had produced a handkerchief from one of his jacket pockets and he was delicately wiping the two girl's blood away from his face and fingertips. When he was finished, he tucked the stained cloth away again and turned his attention to the teens still on the ground in front of him.

"Alright. Let's go." He told them simply, as if they were dilly-dallying and making him late for a meeting.

"No." Amber protested quickly, tearing her eyes away  from her bloodied fingers to look at the werewolf standing above her, "We're not leaving her here."

"I don't need you." Peter dismissed, "But Stiles is coming with me."

Her chest tightened in worry at the thought of Stiles going off alone with Peter Hale, "No. No, he-"

"I'm not- I'm not going anywhere-" Stiles protested with a shake of his head, pained gaze darting over to Amber as she took in shaky breaths.

"You can call your friend," Peter acquiesced, "Tell Jackson to come out to the field. That's all you get."

Stiles continued to look at Amber with wide eyes, his shoulders still trembling with nerves and adrenaline.

"Call Jackson." Amber told him quietly, nodding her head in what she hoped looked reassuring rather than showing the terror that she was truly feeling.

Stiles frowned and his lips quivered around a shaky breath, looking like he desperately wanted to say something, but after a moment, he closed his eyes and got to his feet, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

While he called Jackson, Amber's gaze dropped back down to Lydia and she exhaled a trembling breath of fog into the air. She brushed her friend's hair back from her face again gently and her heart clenched at the small streak of blood that her fingertips left behind over the pale skin of Lydia's cheekbone.

Amber flinched when Stiles dropped back down to his knees beside her, his hands gripping her cold arms as he studied her worriedly.

"Jackson'll be here in a minute." He said quietly.

She nodded and bit down on her lip, jaw trembling and causing her teeth to chatter over the flesh in a combination of fear and chill from the cold. She felt her eyes prickle with heat again at the reminder that Stiles would be leaving with Peter and she desperately tried to take in every tiny mole dotted along cheeks, her gaze scanning his face intently.

"Stiles." Peter's voice cut in, making them both flinch, "Now."

Stiles teetered back and forth for a moment, seeming to hesitate before he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Amber's lips with a hand at the back of her head. The kiss was chaste, but he still held his mouth firmly against hers, lingering a second longer than was strictly necessary with a werewolf impatiently hovering behind them.

"Teenagers exhaust me." Peter declared in annoyance.

Amber reached up to push at Stiles' shoulder and the two separated reluctantly, "Go." She told him.

He nodded with a frown and got to his feet again. Peter held an arm out in a gesture toward the parking lot and he and Stiles walked away, disappearing from her line of sight to where the Jeep was parked around the side of the building.

It was only another minute before Jackson made it out onto the field, his legs carrying him quickly and his eyes drawn to where Lydia was laying on the ground, his face dropping in horror at his ex girlfriend's bloodied body.

"What happened?" He asked worriedly.

"The Alpha happened," Amber told him quickly, "Just call 911."

"You haven't called 911 yet?" Jackson asked in disbelief.

Amber waved a hand in gesture to the tight fabric of her dress, "This thing doesn't exactly have any pockets for my phone." She snapped. "Just do it."

Jackson glared at her before his eyes dropped back to Lydia in worry and he was nodding and pulling his phone out to call for help.

Amber leaned down to press a soft kiss to Lydia's forehead and swallowed past a lump in her throat. As she heard Jackson's phone call coming to an end, she climbed to her feet reluctantly.

"I swear to god if you let anything else happen to her-" She told him threateningly.

"What do you mean?" He asked quickly, watching her move past him, "Where're you going?"

She spun sharply to look at him again, eyes alight with anger, "I have to go find Scott," She bit out accusingly, "Because someone told a bunch of werewolf hunters who he is and now he's in danger too and he has no idea! I am not letting any more of my friends get hurt tonight."

Jackson's face twitched with an indiscernible emotion, "Be careful." He told her with a surprising gentleness.

She nodded gratefully, casting one last look at Lydia and taking a trembling breath before she turned and ran. The grass was cold against her bare feet as she took off in the direction of the parking lot at the back of the school building. It was the one of the only places she hadn't searched before she'd found Lydia and she knew it was the best place to start looking for her best friend.

"Scott!" She called out, her voice a sharp whisper in the dimly lit lot. She stepped into the treeline and peered into the dark forest for any sign of him, "Scott!"

Someone suddenly rammed into her from the side and a hand reached up to cover her mouth as they pulled her back a few steps into the woods. Amber made a small noise of protest at the familiar position and clawed at the arm across her chest frantically.

"Shh! Amber! Amber it's just me-" Scott's voice spoke quietly into her ear, dropping his hand from her mouth and loosening his grip around her shoulders to allow her to spin around to face him.

She punched him in the shoulder with as much force as she could manage, "Don't ever grab me like that again! I thought-" She hissed quietly, before remembering exactly why she'd been looking for him in the first place, "Oh, god! Allison's dad! He's here and he knows that you-"

"I know," Scott told her quickly, "I already ran into them. And Allison saw the whole thing, so now she knows too."

"Scott," She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his shoulders in a tight hug. Scott's arms came up to encircle her back and she felt him take a shaky breath in and out over her hair, "Tonight is- I-I'm so sorry. And- and Peter-"

Scott took a step back and cut off her words quickly, "We need to get Derek." He took a whiff of the air between them, nose scrunching in thought as he sniffed before his gaze dropped down to her neck, "Are you bleeding?"

She reached up a hand to wipe at the right side of her neck where the claw on Peter's thumb had lightly pierced through the skin.

"I'm fine." She assured him, immediately trying to refocus the conversation, "How are the two of us going to find Derek?"

Scott grabbed onto her hand to began to pull her deeper into the woods. They hadn't made it more than a few steps when Amber winced in pain as a twig snapped sharply beneath her bare feet.

"A wolf howls to signal its location to the rest of the pack, right?" Scott repeated the words she and Stiles had told him over a month before, before Scott truly even believed that he was a werewolf.

"Oh my god." She whispered in realization as they continued to trek through the woods.

"I'm gonna call out to him and hope he howls back." Scott finished.

"So why don't you do it, then?" She questioned in confusion, teeth chattering as they began to hike up an incline, "I mean, where are we going?"

"Need to get somewhere that the sound'll carry better.." His steps slowed slightly and turned to face her in the dark, "You're.. Not wearing shoes." He stated.

"Well, I was wearing heels," She explained in confusion at his assessment, shivering slightly harder now that they were no longer moving, "Wh-"

"Crap. Why didn't you-" Scott shook his head and stripped his suit jacket off quickly before handing it to her, "Dude, why didn't you say something sooner?"

She stuffed her arms into his jacket without question and huffed out a shaky breath at the sudden warmth, "Me being cold is the least of our problems right now." She squinted at him in the dark in confusion as Scott squatted down and began untying his shoes rapidly, "What are you doing?" She questioned.

He pulled off his dress shoes and socks before sliding his feet back into his fancy shoes barefoot and re-tying them. His fingers worked at the laces quickly and when he was done, he handed her his discarded black socks.

"Dude, it's gonna be a problem if you lose toes." He told her as he placed the socks into her hand.

She thanked him quickly and bent to pull them onto her bare feet. She'd barely stood upright again when Scott took ahold of her wrist and began dragging her through the trees again with fast steps.

They hiked through the woods for another ten minutes before they emerged from the treeline at the prominent lookout point over the town. Scott released her and went to stand on the rock that jutted out further than the rest, tilting his head back and taking a deep breath in preparation.

When he released a loud, rumbling growl, it was reminiscent of the call he'd made to the Alpha that pivotal night at the school. Amber's skin erupted into goosebumps at the sound despite the jacket she was now wearing over her dress and she took a quiet, shaky breath as the sound faded out and the forest around them settled into silence again.

Scott slowly stepped back to stand beside her again and they both waited with bated breath as they listened for a response. After thirty seconds or so passed, Scott seemed to deflate and he shuffled on his feet in disappointment.

"It was worth a try, right?" Amber whispered, reaching a hand out to grab Scott's, "It's okay. We'll-"

Her voice cut out as they both heard a long howl in the distance. Her grip around his hand tightened automatically and she turned to find him already looking back at her with wide eyes.

"Was that-?" She started.

He nodded slowly, "Yeah." He suddenly pulled on her hand and tugged her sharply into the woods, moving through the trees with purpose, "Come on."

She followed with a tight grip on him as he led them in the direction he'd determined the howl had come from with his enhanced hearing. They were nearly sprinting and they kept up the aggressive pace for another ten or fifteen minutes before Scott finally slowed and released her sweaty hand.

"What-?" She asked quietly, trying to slow her labored breathing, "Are we-?"

Scott shushed her and motioned for her to follow behind him as he crept through the leaves more cautiously. She nodded in understanding and took in another deep breath, trying to watch her step in the dark as she stepped over small rocks and twigs on the forest floor.

When she looked up, Amber noticed the massive dark outline of the Hale house up the slope in front of them. She followed behind Scott as her mind raced with a confused barrage of thoughts, all of them circling back around to the same starting point.

Derek was at the Hale house.

Scott paused in his steps and appeared to pull a deep breath in through his nose before grabbing Amber's shoulders and directing her to stand behind a large tree.

"The only scent I'm picking up is you." He explained quietly.

Unsure whether she should be offended or not, she watched as he stepped back again. He turned and took another determined inhale through his nose and tilted his head in concentration.

When he took a purposeful step to the right, Amber followed behind him automatically. They rounded over toward the side of the property, still skirting around the bottom of the slope, until Scott stopped again.

As she came up to stand beside him, Scott was pulling at a large metal grate, the bars blocking off a rounded cement channel that opened up into some sort of cellar beneath the hill. He gave it a hard tug and the metal creaked agonizingly loud in the quiet night air, both of them flinching at the sound. Scott stepped into the cavern before turning and helping her climb through. Once they were inside, the space opened up into a painfully familiar dark passageway and Amber swallowed nervously and followed behind Scott as he continued to use his nose to guide them through the maze of dimly lit hallways.

When she spotted a familiar doorway, she pushed a hand against Scott's back to urge him to walk faster. He peered into the doorway cautiously before allowing them both to step into the room.

"Why would you bring her back here?" Derek demanded immediately upon seeing them.

Amber ignored him and ran over to the familiar control panel on the table along the wall. She rushed to turn the knob down, putting a stop to the flow of electricity that had been making Derek so weak.

"What do you mean back?" Scott asked in confusion.

As soon as she'd managed to cut the power, she darted forward to stand beside where Scott was already working to undo a shackle around one of Derek's wrists.

"Uh, hi. 'Her' is right here and can hear you just fine." She said to Derek, ignoring Scott's question entirely, "And, quite frankly? I'm not sure you're in a position where you should be getting picky about who's a part of your rescue party."

She was reaching her hands up to assist Scott and their hands fumbled, fingers brushing as they pulled at the metal latch.

"Did he mean 'back' as in 'you've been here before'?" Scott asked worriedly, not willing to let the subject drop as easily as she'd hoped and turning his head to look at the girl beside him.

"You didn't tell him?" Derek asked incredulously, frowning as they both continued to pull and tug at the buckle around his right wrist.

"Tell me what?" Scott asked.

When neither Derek nor Amber immediately responded to him, Scott nudged his best friend with his elbow.

"Amber." Scott prodded again as they finally got the latch on Derek's cuff undone, "Dude. What is he talking about?"

She was saved from having to answer when both Derek and Scott's attention suddenly snapped toward the doorway. Scott shoved her underneath the table in a poor attempt at hiding her while he himself moved to a dark corner of the room to the side of door.

A man who Amber had never seen before stalked through the doorway with an evil grin, his eyes thankfully focussed on Derek and Derek alone.

"Ready to have some more fun?" The man asked, lifting a hand to examine the back of his bruising fist, "To be honest, my knuckles are kind of hurting. So, I brought some help-" He pulled out a bat that he'd been holding behind his back with his other hand and tightened his grip on it menacingly, "But I need to warn you, I played in college."

The man swung the bat but Derek's newly unrestrained hand reached out quickly to grab ahold of it before it could make contact with his torso in the way the man had intended.

"I brought some help too." Derek told him darkly, raising his eyebrows and nodding behind the man to where Scott was stepping out of the shadows.

Scott grabbed the man from behind and ripped him away from Derek, throwing him across the room aggressively as Amber crawled out from underneath the table. She winced when he hit the wall with a loud thud, eyes drifting over to where he laid unmoving following the impact, and she swallowed, wondering whether he was unconscious or dead.

She shook her head to dislodge the thoughts and made her way over to Derek. He was pulling a piece of dried, bloody gauze from his abdomen from where the hunters had caused him some sort of physical abuse that he'd already managed to heal from.

She squatted down quickly to begin working at one of the cuffs around Derek's ankles. Her fingers trembled nervously as she worked to undo the difficult latch.

"Scott, help me with this." She called out over her shoulder after a moment.

"No." Scott replied determinedly.

Both Derek and Amber's attention snapped over to where Scott was slowly approaching from on the other side of the room.

"What?" Both Derek and Amber questioned in disbelief.

"Not until he tells me how to stop Peter." Scott explained.

Amber looked up at her best friend incredulously, "Scott, you're joking. This is kind of time sensitive."

"You really want to talk about this right now?" Derek reiterated.

"He's going after Allison and her family," Scott told them, "He's going to kill them."

"Maybe saving the murdery family of werewolf hunters shouldn't be our main priority right now?" Amber suggested in a frantic shout, turning her attention back to the large metal clasp in her fingers.

Scott ignored his best friend entirely, "Tell me how to stop him." He told Derek calmly.

"You can't!" Derek snapped, "Alright? Now, I don't know when Kate's coming back so just help Amber get me out of this now!" He yelled, pulling at his still-cuffed wrist, "Get me out right now!"

She let out a shaky breath when the manacle on Derek's left ankle fell open and she shuffled on her feet slightly to immediately begin working on the other one as Scott spoke behind her.

"Promise you'll help me."

"You wanna risk my life for your girlfriend? Your best friend's life?" Derek questioned angrily, "For a stupid little teenage crush that means absolutely nothing? You're not in love, Scott!" Derek yelled, "You're sixteen years old! You're a child!"

Her heart clenched at the desperation in Derek's voice and she winced as her finger caught on a jagged piece of the metal, slicing into the side of her middle finger painfully. She took a shaking breath and tightened her mouth as she continued to pull at the tight latch.

"Maybe you're right," Scott told Derek, "But I know something you don't. Peter said he didn't know what he was doing when he killed your sister, right?" Scott questioned.

She heard the rustling of paper behind her as she tugged at the metal in her hands with numb fingers.

"Well, he lied." Scott continued, "Remember this?"

Her attention snapped up for a second as Scott handed Derek a piece of paper over her head.

"You said this brought your sister to Beacon Hills, right?" Scott questioned the older werewolf.

"What is it?" Amber asked them from where she was still kneeling on the cold floor.

"Where did you get this?" Derek asked Scott.

"My boss told me three months ago someone came into the clinic asking for a copy of this picture. D'you wanna know who it was?" Scott questioned, "Peter's nurse."

The latch in Amber's hand finally came free painfully between her fingers as she gasped in surprise at Scott's words and she fell back onto the ground on her butt. Her gaze snapped up again to look between the boys in disbelief while she scrambled to get up off of the cold floor in her tiny dress.

"They brought your sister here so that Peter could kill her and become the Alpha. That's why you're going to help me." Scott spoke again.

Amber got to her feet quickly and began working at the final cuff around Derek's left wrist, rising up onto her tiptoes in the socks on her feet to get a better angle to pull at the difficult metal latch but Derek pushed her fingers away with his free hand. She looked at him in confusion while Scott continued to speak behind her.

"Just say you'll help me and I'll unlock your other-"

Derek pulled aggressively at his remaining restraint and the metal snapped and fell to the ground at Amber's feet. She looked at Derek with wide eyes as he rubbed at his sore wrist and glared at Scott over her shoulder.

"I'll help you." Derek told him.

After being forced to run across town on foot due to Peter Hale rendering his car keys completely useless by bending them with his bare hands, Stiles sprinted through the hospital’s emergency doors and straight into an elevator. Chest heaving, he aggressively and repeatedly pressed the button to take him up to the next floor, bouncing on his toes agitatedly as the metal box crept upward slowly.

When the elevator dinged loudly, Stiles slipped back out through the doors before they'd even slid fully open, dripping with sweat and breathing heavily as he frantically scanned the hospital waiting area. Before he had time to focus on anything in particular, his dad stood in front of him and blocked off his line of sight. The Sheriff placed his hands on his son's shoulders, guiding him backwards half a step, and focussing on him with a serious look.

"You know what?" His dad started, pulling Stiles' gaze up to his angry expression and pointing an accusing finger at the boy as he continued, "It's good that we're in a hospital, because I'm gonna kill you."

"I-I'm sorry," Stiles panted, still catching his breath as he began to explain, "I lost the keys to my Jeep. I had to run all the way here-"

"Stiles!" His dad interrupted in a raised voice, "I don't care!"

Stiles faltered for a moment with a frown, peering over his dad's shoulder and looking through a window to where Lydia was laying in a hospital bed, still unconscious. Mrs. Martin sat beside the bed, petting her daughter's hair back from her face lovingly with a grief-stricken expression.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Stiles asked softly.

"They don't know." His dad told him, lowering his voice to speak more quietly, "Partially because they don't know what happened. She lost a lot of blood. But there's something else going on with her."

"What d'you mean?" Stiles asked worriedly. He knew how sick Amber must be feeling, agonizing over her friend, and he ached in sympathy for her while also harboring his own worry for Lydia.

"The doctors say it's like she's having an allergic reaction. Her body keeps going into shock." His dad explained in a quiet whisper.

Stiles' gaze dropped to the floor as he thought about what Peter had told him about the possibility of Lydia's body rejecting the bite and killing her. His stomach tightened with anxiety as he swallowed.

"She was your date. Did you see anything?" The Sheriff asked his son, "I mean, do you have any idea who or what attacked her?"

"No. No, I have no idea." He lied anxiously after a moment.

"What about Amber?" His dad followed up, "Or Scott?"

That drew Stiles' attention sharply up to his father's expectant face.

"What d'you mean?" Stiles asked immediately, "What about them?"

"Did either of them see anything?" His dad questioned obviously.

Stiles' heart dropped and his brain went slightly fuzzy with panic, "What d'you- Are they not here?"

"What are you talking about?" His dad questioned in disbelief, "I've been calling them on their cell phones. I haven't gotten a response from either of 'em."

Stiles let out a breath in anguish and his eyes drifted over to Jackson over his dad's shoulder. Jackson looked back at him with a shrug of genuine naivety, I don't know, the boy mouthed at Stiles silently in response.

"Yeah.. You're not gonna get one." Stiles finally told his dad in realization that neither Amber or Scott were currently in possession of their cell phones.

His stomach tied itself in knots, anxiety twisting in his gut.

Stupid, reckless, beautiful, selfless-

Amber. Who must have run off to Scott's aid the second that Stiles had left her.

Stiles was getting a stress headache already as he worried about everything that could've happened since he'd last seen her on the lacrosse field.

His dad led him away, into an unoccupied office typically used to privately discuss sensitive matters with the families of patients in the hospital. The Sheriff drilled Stiles again with the same questions, getting a more official statement of what Stiles knew about what had happened to his date.

Ten minutes later, his dad finally guided him back out into the hallway with a hand gripping tightly at his son's shoulder, "Stiles, listen," His father started, "Just- Go wait with your friends, alright?"

"Dad, look. You know all of this has something to do with Derek." Stiles told his dad desperately, finally cracking.

"Wh-" His dad paused in the middle of the hallway and turned to face him, "I thought you three said that you barely knew him?"

Stiles shrugged with a grimace, "Alright. Well, we might know him a little better than that."

The Sheriff looked up and down the hallway quickly before grabbing the back of Stiles' neck and guiding him into a corner of the hall with a firm grip, "You do realize I'm elected to this job. Right?" The man whispered aggressively.

"And if I help you figure out this case, you'll be re-elected," Stiles pointed out, "Am I right?" He turned to fully face his father with a sigh, "Dad, come on."

His dad's gaze drifted down the hallway toward Lydia's hospital room with a frown, "That girl in there has nothing to do with a six-year old arson case."

"Wh- When did you decide it was definitely arson?" Stiles asked in disbelief.

His dad gave him a sharp look for the volume of his voice while discussing a case before responding, "When we got a key witness," Stiles' mouth dropped open but he was cut off before he could speak, "And no. I'm not telling you who it is. But yeah. Yeah, we know it's arson. And it was possibly organized by a young woman."

"What young woman?" Stiles questioned immediately.

"If I knew that, she'd be in jail." His dad told him blankly.

Stiles' face pinched in frustration, "Was she young then or is she young now?"

"Wh-" The Sheriff's phone began to ring from his pocket, "She's probably late twenties." He told him, pulling out his phone and reading the name on the screen quickly, "Oh. I gotta grab this call."

"You don't know her name?" Stiles asked frantically.

"No, I don't." His dad defended quickly, "Wh- What is this twenty questions? All we know is that she had a very distinctive.. A uh, what do you call it? A pendant."

"What the hell is a pendant!" Stiles snapped as his dad peered down at his phone again.

His dad turned his attention back to him quickly, "Stiles, do you go to school?" He asked, raising his voice to match the volume of his son's, "A pendant! A pendant. It's a- It's a necklace. Now can I answer the phone?"

"Yes." Stiles told him with a sigh.

His dad took the call and started off down the hall, leaving Stiles standing in the middle of the corridor in a ball of anxiety. He reached up to rub at his short hair furiously in agitation, taking a deep breath as he spun around.

When the puzzle pieces finally slotted together in his brain regrettably slowly, his expression dropped further.

"Oh." He said in realization.

Allison's pendant. Allison's aunt. Who had helped take down Derek and then had proceeded to kidnap Amber.. And hide the both of them underneath the Hale House.. Where Peter Hale was currently going to get Derek.

He couldn't believe that it had taken him so long to put everything together.

He took off down the hallway in a fast paced walk and when he passed Jackson, the other boy chased after him frantically.

"Where are you going?" Jackson asked as he raced down the hallway beside Stiles.

"To find Amber and Scott." Stiles told him quickly.

"You don't have a car." Jackson said cynically.

"I'm aware of that," Stiles snapped, "Thank you."

"Hey, I'll drive." Jackson said, reaching out and pulling Stiles to a stop with a hand around his wrist.

Stiles ripped his arm out of Jackson's grip, "Look. Just because you feel guilty all of a sudden, doesn't make it okay. Alright? Half of this is still your fault."

Jackson paused for only a second, "Look, I have a car. And you don't. Do you want my help or not?"

"Alright," Stiles sighed before his brain supplied him with an idea, "Did you bring the Porsche?"

"Yeah." Jackson confirmed immediately, pulling his keys out of the pocket of his dress pants.

"Good," Stiles replied, ripping the keys from the other boy's fingers and already moving to walk down the hallway again, "I'll drive."

Stiles' steps stopped just as soon as they'd started at the sight of the person standing in the middle of the corridor, his feet carrying him a step back automatically and causing him to bump shoulders with Jackson.

"Boys." Mr. Argent greeted them, two lackeys hovering intimidatingly behind him for extra muscle, "I was wondering if you could tell me where Scott McCall is."

"Scott McCall?" Stiles repeated dumbly, "Um. Haven't seen him since the dance. Jackson, you?" He nudged the boy beside him and silently urged him to say the same.

There was a long beat of silence.

"Uh-" Jackson started slowly, "Um, I-" He released a shaky breath and turned his head toward Stiles worriedly.

"Oh, for the love of god." Stiles muttered anxiously, watching as the two men behind Mr. Argent stepped forward.

Each of the large men grabbed a teenage boy and dragged them down the hallway before throwing them violently through a set of double doors and into a small exam room for administering x-rays. Stiles and Jackson both collided with the edge of a metal table painfully and quickly worked to right themselves before turning to face the group of men behind them.

Mr. Argent was flipping the latch at the top of the door into a locked position as he spoke, "Let's try this again," He said, turning to face the boys, "Where is Scott McCall?"

When neither one of them immediately answered, Mr. Argent grabbed Stiles with his hands fisted in the collar of his shirt and slammed the boy back against a metal cabinet along the wall. Stiles winced at the a sharp pain than shot up his spine and looked down at the man in front of him.

"Let me ask you a question, Stiles." Mr. Argent started, "Have you ever seen a rabid dog?"

Stiles swallowed and squirmed against the grip the man had on his shirt, "No.. I could put it on my to-do list if you let me go."

"Well I have!" Chris Argent shouted in the boy's face, "And the only thing I can compare it to is seeing a friend of mine turn on a full moon. Do you wanna know what happened?"

"Not really." Stiles answered quickly, unable to hold back a sarcastic remark, "No offense to your story-telling skills."

Mr. Argent ignored his sass, "He tried to kill me." He told the room at large, "And I was forced to put a bullet in his head. The whole while that he lay there, dying, he was still trying to claw his way towards me. Still, trying to kill me. Like it was the most important thing he could do with his last breath.. Can you imagine that?" He asked pointedly.

"No." Stiles lied easily, despite the way his mind flashed to Scott pulling at his handcuffed wrist, screaming and growling in rage as he tried to get to Amber and himself. Another sarcastic remark falling from his lips in an attempt to mask his discomfort, "And it sounds like you need to be a little bit more selective-"

Mr. Argent released Stiles' shirt to slam his hands jarringly against the metal cabinet on either side of the boy's body threateningly, "Did Scott try to kill you and Amber on the full moon?" The man yelled, "Did you both have to lock him up?"

Stiles' gaze drifted to Jackson for the first time. The other boy was looking at them with a terrified expression, as if it had never once crossed his mind that Scott had been telling the truth when he'd said becoming a werewolf was dangerous.

"Yeah," Stiles caved quietly as he maintained eye contact with Jackson, "We did. We chained him to a radiator.." His eyes snapped back to Allison's dad sharply, "Why? Would you prefer I locked him in the basement and burned the whole house down around him?" He asked venomously.

At that, Mr. Argent finally took a slow step back from him with a disbelieving laugh, "I hate to dispel a popular rumor, Stiles, but we never did that." Chris said slowly.

"Oh, right," He said sarcastically, "Derek said you guys had a 'code'. I guess no one ever breaks it."

"Never." Mr. Argent defended quickly, looking back at the men behind him.

"What if someone does?" Stiles pressed.

This brought Chris Argent's attention back around to him. He looked at Stiles in suspicion, "Someone like who?"

"Your sister." Stiles told him, anger twisting in the pit of his stomach, making him feel nearly sick as his mind supplied him with the image of Amber on the floor of her kitchen, tears streaming down her beautiful face, covered in dirt and her own blood.

Kate Argent had done that to her.

Kate Argent was a monster.

And with the way that Chris slowly turned his head to look at Stiles, as if the boy had somehow managed to shed light on something that had been in front of him this whole time — something he was only now realizing he'd been so obviously blind to — It seemed as if now, Chris Argent believed that she was a monster too.

As they climbed back out to the leaf-covered forest floor, Derek reluctantly leaned a small amount of his weight onto Amber's shoulder, still feeling weak from seven days of captivity.

"Hey," Derek said quietly, slowing his steps as he gripped her opposite shoulder. He panted heavily and tipped his head to the side to rest over the top of hers for a brief second as he breathed, "Hold on, hold on," He waited until Scott stopped and turned to face them before continuing, "Hold on. Something doesn't feel right."

"What d'you mean?" Amber asked quietly, tightening her fingers around the older boy's back and watching him look out into the darkness around them nervously.

"I don't know.." Derek shook his head in the dark, "It's- It's kinda like it was-"

"No." Scott interrupted quickly, "Don't say 'too easy'. People say 'too easy' and bad things always happen." He looked between Derek and his best friend slowly before speaking again, "What, you think finding you was easy? Getting away from Allison's dad? Pulling Amber four miles through the woods barefoot?"

Amber reached up to hold onto the hand Derek had resting on her shoulder, "None of it's been easy, Derek."

"Fine. You're right." He sighed.

The words had barely slipped past his lips before they heard a quiet whistle of something soaring through the air. Derek jolted backwards a step and released his grip on Amber, stumbling worryingly.

"Derek?" Amber took a single step to check on him and his hand came up to shove her away. She was still regaining her footing as she watched Derek fall to his back on the ground. There was another soft twish of something flying through the air and she watched in panic as an arrow planted itself into Derek's thigh.

"Scott, your eyes!" Derek yelled suddenly, looking back at them.

"Scott!" Amber called out worriedly as she spun around, unsure what exactly was about to happen but knowing that it wouldn't be good.

Another arrow sailed only a few inches from her face and hit the tree behind her with a familiar explosion of light. She flinched back and ran up the hill to search for her best friend in the dark, following the sounds of his pained breathing.

"Scott." She squatted down, pulling at his arms to help him up.

Derek released two sharp, wounded noises behind her but Amber was focussed on pulling Scott's dead weight up onto his feet as he continued to groan and squint his aching eyes. She had only just managed to stand upright and get her friend's arm around her shoulders when Derek came up behind them and gave them both a push to get moving.

"Go!" Derek demanded, "Let's go!"

They moved up toward the burned house and the trek slowly got easier as Scott was able to hold more and more of his own weight with each step. Derek's hand brushed over her backside when he fell to the ground behind them and she turned her head to look back at him worriedly even as she continued another step forward with Scott.

"Go!" Derek yelled sharply when he noticed her hesitation.

She spun around fully to look back for whatever threat was emerging from the treeline while Scott continued to rub frantically at his eyes with the hand he didn't have wrapped around her shoulder. She tightened her arm protectively around her best friend and guided them a step backwards, heart pounding in her chest with fear.

"Allison, I can explain." Scott said suddenly as someone finally stepped through the trees and into the small clearing in front of the house.

"Stop lying." Allison snapped emotionally, tightening her grip on the large archery bow in her hands, "For once. Stop lying."

The look of pure hatred swimming in Allison's eyes was haunting and it had Amber continuing to carry Scott away as the other girl approached them with quick steps.

"Allison-" Amber started, but she was cut off when Scott spoke frantically again.

"I was gonna tell you the truth at formal," Scott promised, "I was gonna tell you everything. Because everything that I said, everything that I did-"

"Was to protect me?" Allison finished mockingly.

"Yes!" Scott responded quickly .

"I don't believe you." Allison told him.

"You don't have to," Amber pleaded weakly, "But what you're doing.. It isn't- Allison, look at yourself! You've lost your freaking mind-"

"God. Enough-" Kate emerged from the treeline and came toward them with quick steps, "Now, shoot him before I have to shoot him myself."

Amber wobbled slightly in her next step as she stared at the woman in fear. Amber's hold around Scott's waist tightened protectively and she felt his own grip on her shoulder tense at the woman's words.

Allison spun to look at her aunt in disbelief, "I thought you said we were just going to catch them?"

"We did that," Kate rolled her eyes, "Now we're gonna kill them."

There was a loud gunshot and Amber flinched, watching in horror as Derek dropped down onto the ground from a bullet to his chest. Kate lowered her weapon again with a smile.

"See? Not that hard." She told her niece easily. After a moment of silence, she tilted her head judgmentally at the girl as she came up to stand beside her with a sigh, "Oh, no. I know that look. That's the 'you're gonna have to do it yourself' look."

The woman turned her attention toward Scott and Amber and raised her gun again. She aimed at Scott, holding the weapon less than a foot away from the boy's face.

"Kate! Kate, what're you doing?" Allison asked nervously, taking a step toward them as she realized the severity of the situation.

Kate shoved her niece to the ground behind her as Scott dropped his arm from around Amber's shoulders. He moved to stand in front of her protectively but Amber dragged him back and refused to let go.

"Don't shoot him." Amber begged, eyes welling with tears.

"Werewolves really aren't good company to keep. If you want a puppy so bad, you should try starting with something a little easier-" Kate looked at Amber with a mocking grin, "Like a golden retriever. Maybe a lab." She turned her gaze to Scott and pouted jokingly, "I love those brown puppy-dog eyes."

"Kate!" Chris Argent's voice called out from the distance as he too emerged from the woods, "I know what you did."

Kate paused, her gun lowering a fraction but still remaining firmly trained on Scott.

"Put the gun down." Chris demanded.

"I did what I was told to do." Kate defended quietly in response to her brother's earlier statement.

Allison's dad shook his head, "No one asked you to murder innocent people. There were children in that house-" He nodded his head toward the burnt ruins of the home beside them, "Ones who were human. Look what you're doing now. You're holding a gun at two sixteen-year old children. No proof that either one of them have spilled any human blood." Chris said desperately, "We go by the code. Nous chassons ceux qui nous chassent."

"We hunt those who hunt us?" Amber whispered quietly in translation.

Kate shot her brother an annoyed glare before she turned to focus on Amber and Scott again. Amber's heart stuttered in her chest as she watched the woman's finger twitch imperceptibly over the trigger on the gun.

Chris Argent pulled out his own gun where he stood a few yards away and raised it slowly, the weapon trained on at Kate, "Put the gun down-" He repeated.

When the weapon aimed at Scott didn't lower, there was another loud gunshot. Amber flinched at the echoing sound again as small chunks of bark flew from the tree trunk just behind Kate's shoulder.

"-Before I put you down." Mr. Argent finished threateningly.

Kate slowly lowered the gun and both Scott and Amber immediately took in shaky breaths of relief. They didn't get more than a second to recover before the front door to the Hale house was creaking open ominously. Amber took a cautious step back, bumping into Scott's shoulder as she did so, her eyes glued to the dark doorway.

"Allison. Get back." Mr. Argent ordered his daughter sharply.

Scott finally succeeded in positioning himself in front of his best friend and his arms went out to cage Amber behind himself protectively as they continued to take slow steps back and away from the house.

"What is it?" Amber asked Scott quietly.

"It's the Alpha." He responded without turning around.

A dark figure darted out of the house in a blur and Peter raced around in the treeline, never pausing in one place long enough for any of them to really catch sight of him. They all spun around nervously. Amber eyed dark forest around them with shaking hands as she stood at Scott's back.

Chris Argent's feet were suddenly taken out from underneath him and he slammed down to the ground hard.

Only a few short seconds later, Allison was knocked onto her back as well, dropping her bow into the leaves as she fell.

Amber was reaching a shaking hand out slowly, intending to grip onto the fabric of Scott's shirt, when something rammed into the both of them painfully from the side. Both teens tumbled to the ground and Amber rolled a few feet away with the sheer force of the hit.

When she came to a stop in the dirt and leaves, she scrambled to get up onto her knees. The small rocks and twigs beneath her dug into the bare skin of her legs as she braced herself on her hands and knees, Scott's oversized suit jacket hanging low enough over her hands to protect her palms where they pressed into the ground beneath her.

"Come on!" Kate yelled out tauntingly to the Alpha.

The dark moving figure stopped suddenly behind Kate in his human form and took her wrist in his hand. Kate pulled the trigger on her gun, missing her target and shooting a bullet off into the forest behind him.

Peter glared at the woman angrily and he held her wrist with a presumably tight grip, bashing it with his other hand until there was a sharp snap of bone breaking. When Kate screamed out and dropped the weapon to the ground, Peter grabbed her by the throat in a frighteningly similar way to how he'd held onto Amber earlier that night.

Amber watched from the ground with wide eyes as Peter tossed Kate up onto the porch a few yards away where she landed with a loud thud. He moved in another quick blur of motion, dragging Kate through the dark doorway and into the house with him.

"No!" Allison protested, getting to her feet and running into the house after them.

"Allison, wait-" Amber tried, but the other girl was already through the door.

Scott got to his feet quickly and followed after Allison and Amber watched him go while she pulled herself up, shuffling in her socks as she contemplated her options. She looked nervously between the dark house, Mr. Argent's unmoving body, and the treeline.

After a moment of hesitation, she took off toward the treeline. She wandered around in search of Derek but saw nothing, no bloodied corpse or dying werewolf anywhere to be found, and after a few minutes, her heart settled in relief at the knowledge that he was most likely alive.

"Dad!" Allison called out from behind her, skidding to a stop in the leaves and kneeling down beside her father.

Amber took a few slow steps toward them, heart nervously thumping in her chest with a new distrust for the entire Argent family. Despite that, when she looked down at Mr. Argent laying on the ground in front of his daughter, Amber felt a pang of sympathetic grief.

She dropped to her knees beside Allison slowly, "Is- Is he-"

"He's alive." Allison said quickly, gripping onto her father's hand tightly, "I-I think he hit his head when he went down, but he's alive."

"That- That's good." Amber replied, reaching out after a moment's pause to pat her hand consolingly over Allison's arm. The girl's attention snapped over to Amber all at once with tears in her eyes.

"Amber, I-" Allison choked on a quiet sob, "I'm so sorry."

She patted Allison's arm softly again and gnawed on her lower lip indecisively, knowing that she didn't forgive Allison for all that she'd done, Amber simply nodded.

Suddenly, a window from the house beside them shattered loudly, glass flying through the air as someone was thrown from the house. Both Amber and Allison's attention snapped up and Amber closed her eyes for a brief second in resignation at the sight of Scott scrambling to right himself on his hands and knees as Peter dove outside in his terrifying fully shifted form.

The Alpha charged forward and Amber fearfully watched as he and Scott fought evenly matched for a moment. Peter grabbed a hold of the boy by the collar of his shirt and let out a loud, animalistic growl. Scott reared back and kicked his feet out against The Alpha's dark hairy chest and they both flew a few feet back from one another from the force of his kick. The fully shifted Peter growled once again in outrage and got back to his feet, immediately turning his gaze on Scott.

Headlights suddenly curved up the driveway through the thick covering of trees around the final turn and the car skidded to a stop in the gravel, the doors flying open and the horn honking loudly in a surefire way to gain everyone's attention.

Jackson and Stiles tumbled from the parked Porsche and Amber had only a moment to panic about their presence at the scene of the danger before Stiles was pitching his arm forward and throwing a glass bottle across the clearing.

The bottle flew through the air and straight into Peter's outstretched hand, the liquid-filled container identical to the Molotov cocktails Lydia had prepared back at the school in the chemistry classroom. The animalistic version of the werewolf growled angrily in Stiles' direction as he caught the container and examined it.

"Oh, damn.." Stiles exclaimed quietly as the Alpha growled again.

"Allison!" Scott yelled toward the two girls.

Amber and Allison's attention both snapped to the boy who was still on his hands and knees on the ground. Scott reached forward toward Allison's abandoned bow and threw it in their direction. Allison grabbed it quickly while Amber snatched an arrow from the quiver laying beside Mr. Argent's unconscious body, handing it over to the other girl just as she righted the bow in her hands to take aim.

When Amber looked back up, the Alpha was turning to face the two girls and pitching his own arm back to throw the container in his hands in their direction.

Allison wasted no time in shooting an arrow toward the Alpha before he got the chance to throw the liquid fire-bomb in his clawed hand. The well-aimed arrow hit it's target dead center, shattering the glass beaker in Peter's hand in a small fiery explosion.

He roared angrily as his left arm was overtaken with flames, shaking his arm in an attempt to get rid of the roaring fire burning over his skin.

A second batch of chemicals shattered over the werewolf's body when Jackson threw a second flask at the Alpha's chest. Peter's wolfed-out form roared in both agony and fury as the flames overtook his whole body, the smell of his burning flesh and fur spreading through the air. Amber couldn't hold back a gag at the nauseating scent when it reached her nose. After a few seconds of his outraged growls, the Alpha turned his attention back toward the two girls who had taken some part in the pain he was now experiencing. Despite the flames on his skin, Peter took a menacing step toward where Allison and Amber were still knelt on the ground, frozen in fear.

Upon the Alpha's first step in their direction, Scott yelled in outrage and ran at the burning wolf, kicking the other werewolf hard and sending Peter stumbling back several steps before dropping to his knees as the flames flickered out slowly.

No longer able to hold his shift, Peter sagged as he reverted to his human form, his pale skin covered head to toe in a combination of spots that were marred red and others that had been singed so deeply that they'd blackened with char, his human flesh so badly burned in some places that there was no skin left at all.

Amber didn't want to feel anything for him, but she couldn't help the microscopic pang of pity she felt when she realized he'd had to experience the feeling of burning alive twice. He was dark, and twisted, and definitely insane, but she wasn't sure that anyone deserved such a painful death even once.

They all continued to watch as Peter made a small noise of pain and collapsed onto his back on the ground.

Allison tugged Amber's arm as she rose to stand, pulling the girl up to her feet and when Allison took a small step to approach Scott, Amber's own gaze snapped to the place where Stiles was still standing in front of the car, his wide eyes glued to Peter's unmoving body.

Not even fully aware of the movement of her socked feet against the ground, Amber took off in a run. She closed the couple hundred feet separating her from Stiles and her body smacked into his with enough force that he was sent stumbling back half a step. Her arms wrapped around Stiles' neck and she lifted up on her toes as she gripped onto him desperately. His hands slipped beneath Scott's jacket to return the embrace, his arms curling tightly around her back.

"You were supposed to stay with Lydia." He scolded softly into her hair.

"I know," She said quietly, reaching up to the hold the back of his head in her hair as her body trembled with excess adrenaline, "'M sorry. But I couldn't let Scott-"

"I know." Stiles interrupted softly.

She loosened her grip just enough that she could lean back in the circle of his arms to look at him, her eyes flicking over his face slowly. Before she could make a move to kiss him, Stiles was leaning in to cover her mouth with his in a gentle press of lips.

"Wait!"

Amber took a startled step back at the sound of Scott's panicked shout, pulling out of Stiles' embrace and lacing her fingers with his in a tight grip as they both turned to watch Scott run across the clearing in front of the house.

Derek was standing over Peter's unmoving body and turned his head a fraction at Scott's voice before he lowered into a squat and returned his gaze down at his uncle.

"You said the cure comes from the one that bit you," Scott said frantically, reaching an arm out toward the other werewolf, "Derek, if you do this, I'm dead." He pleaded, "Her father, her family- What am I supposed to do?"

There was a long beat of silence wherein Derek's attention was focused on the burned werewolf beneath him. Amber's fingers tightened around Stiles' hand nervously while Derek raised an arm over his head in preparation.

"Wait!" Scott yelled again, "No, no! Don't-!"

But Derek's clawed hand swiped down aggressively, slashing Peter's throat as Amber flinched with a gasp. Watching Derek kill someone left a queasy feeling in her gut and her hands shook as she watched him slowly rise to stand again, blood dripping from his clawed fingers. Her haunted gaze was pulled away from the the thick red drops falling from Derek's nails when Stiles reached out to cradle the back of her head and guided her face gently into the crook of his neck.

Her fingers tightened where she was still gripping Stiles' hand and she let out a shaky breath against the collar of his dress shirt when she heard Derek's voice behind them.

"I'm the Alpha now."

[totallyradicalmucky]

This is me giving you permission to talk about your SuperChargers AU!! Literally just anything about it!! I love seeing people’s different takes on what a Kaos redemption arc would look like. I still get so sad when I think about how Kaos just goes back to being evil in Imaginators. Like man c’mon. We could’ve had it all.

The power you’ve given me..unreal. But I think about a Kaos redemption arc pretty often since multiple people on here have talked about Kaos’s childhood and stuff like that.

Which is why I think in this Superchargers AU, instead of fighting Kaos before the darkness. You’d fight his mom.

I didn’t bring it up in this. But I wanted to talk about how maybe after Kaos’s button scene with the darkness. Kaos is still not entirely faithful to him, which means that the Darkness can’t get entirely in his head. To get everything he wants from him, for the absolute destruction of Skylands. Without that, Kaos is practically useless, not truely a devoted Kaos Clan member. Unlike his mother. Who at this point I believe the darkness could use as a manipulative way to get Kaos to do things for him and a threat, but only now sees her as a way to progress in his own plans.

The Darkness brings Kaossandra out of her prison, her devotion to the dark is far stronger than the absolute lack of affection she’d ever felt for her family. Taking away Kaos’s head-thing, they leave him with only the most weakest of magical powers on some random isle for him to hopefully die. You (The skylander) find him awkwardly standing there in his torn emperor robes, beaten up, and swearing to the ancients he hasn’t cried.

He doesn’t really have any other options other than to go with you, but he isn’t seen anywhere. Opting to stay inside the airship for a long while. Paranoid about the looming chance of the world ending at any minute, and the fact that it’s all his fault, missing Glumshanks. Flynn mentions him now and again, talking about how he’s feeling and not really eating. Cali doesn’t trust him, blaming him for their problems but she can’t help but feel a little bad. Hugo continues to assist with the next mission, fearing Kaos’s presence, but is curious about the lack of his usual ‘mark of darkness’.

Over the long run, which I mean Kaos being dragged along every trip and having to help Flynn and Cali unload and reload the airship with things. He warms up just a bit, standing in the overworld. Never-not next to one of the two, as the citizens still distrust him. (And he’s not good at being normally social on his own, not a fan of small talk) He’s still strange and egotistical, but less- evil. Kaos finds it strange that he can still preform magic without the mark of darkness, frustratingly weaker than before-but still magic. He often “steals” spell books from the archive, much to Hugo’s minor inconvenience. Since he always announces when he’s taking one.

I don’t really know how the ending would go specifically. But I know that Kaos would be furious, fed up with the endless manipulation from both his mother and The Darkness. Using familiar voices and faces to try and get him back on their side, he just can’t take it. Trapping his own mother inside the rift engine, the Darkness laughs believing that it’s tricked itself into being free forever.

[que epic fight sequence for Kaos and the Skylander that I’m too lazy to describe]

Being knocked out of the darkness’s rift thing from the very end of superchargers- the Skylander is fine. Having the portal master’s power to help them. But Kaos is scarred. Once again landing on the isle below, his arms and back, inky black with…whatever it is. As if to silently let him know that the darkness would be coming back. He doesn’t rlly care though, just staring at his hands. Taking in every decision he’s made this far, he almost regrets it, thinking about his mother. Until the voices of Cali and the others finally snap him out of it, with Flynn’s coat being draped over him. He didn’t even notice how destroyed he had become. Damn. Wait…does this mean he has to relearn magic again?

[br1ghtestlight]

ranking all bob's burgers holiday episodes except in different categories to be fair to the holidays i don't care about <3

VALENTINES DAY

v for valentine-detta (AMAZING episode so funny and the introduction of nat who is iconic!!! also adorable subplot w/ bob and gene. not even really about romance)

can't buy me math (SOOO FUNNY tina and darryl have the best dynamic their fake dating was so stupid. don't even remember what bob and linda did in this episode tbh but im sure it was cute)

bob actually (super cute episode!!! jimmy jr and tina are so nerdy/adorable and i love rudy and louise's kiss. bob and linda were cute too <3 don't really care abt gene's subplot with the cafeteria lady but its not bad or anything and i prefer it to him having an actual romance subplot)

my fuzzy valentine (i actually forgot this episode existed bcuz i don't rewatch early seasons very often but its cute!!!! it has the kids wearing raincoats and jumping in puddles so it automatically gets an A+ from me)

the gene and courtney show (I FORGOT THIS WAS A VALENTINES DAY EPISODE LMAO its actually very sweet and genuine?? i think gene and courtney work better as friends but their relationship was very cute and gene's song for courtney was an actual 10/10. your hearts not broken its only growing 😭😭💕)

romancing the beef (this episode is okay!!! fun to rewatch and i love gene and louise's hijinks when serving the customers and their slow dance song Also the origin of the iconic arm hair line from linda and teddy. this is also the lastest appearance of hugo when will he return home from the war <\3)

ferry on my wayward bob and linda (a late addition because for some reason this episode isnt listed as a valentines day episode on the wiki??? idk i enjoyed bob and linda they were cute :) and i loved jen's stupid boyfriend and his stupid voice that subplot was. soo)

bed, bob and beyond (this episode being last makes it seem like i don't like it very much BUT ACTUALLY I THINK ITS A SUPER INTERESTING EPISODE I DONT REALLY GET THE HATE bob and linda having an actual argument is something we rarely see and it was interesting to see how the kids responded to it and also everything with the broken bed makes me laugh for some reason. we love dirty laundry and broken beds in this household)

HALLOWEEN EPISODES

the apple gore-chard but not scary (no real reason this episode is my favorite i just dont care abt most of the halloween episodes and this episode is VERY silly and fun. loved bob and louise going on a field trip together and gene/tina/louise's absolutely ridiculous costume like What is their problem)

the pumpkinening (a gayle episode where she's actually pretty okay and not the antagonist wow?? also i love having a peak into her and linda's high school years and their pumpkin smashing. very fun episode honestly my favorite to rewatch ALSO GAYLE AND LINDA SAY I LOVE YOU TO EACH OTHER AND GAYLE SAYS OF COURSE SHE CARES ABOUT LINDA AND WANTS HER TO BE HAPPY THEYRE SISTERS <33)

tina and the real ghost (FULLY unhinged episode but very funny i love louise lying about the ghost and tina's extremely fake ghost boyfriend. bob immediately knowing that louise was lying bcuz she is her Fathers Daughter. also jimmy jr and zeke were great in this episode love their philosophical debate about life after death)

the hauntening (GREAT episode i love the family working together to scare louise!!! truly a worthy successor to what an (april) fool believes but everytime i rewatch it all i can think about is how louise has been obviously scared SO MANY TIMES in episodes before this so her saying she's never been scared before is just straight up lying. like she faced Death she had a gun to her head cmon now.... but also it kinda makes sense that a nine year old would lie about that it feels very in character. cute episode)

heartbreak hotel-oween (this is such a weird episode i feel like everybody forgets it exists?? teddy linda and bob's subplot is a little gross but the story about the woman and her dead boyfriend who she tries to summon every halloween like GIRL WHAT???? idk its such a weird sad pathetic episode im kind of obsessed with it. how did they even come up w/ that one and why was it a 70s halloween party. many questions)

teen-a-witch (WE GOT MR AMBROSE IN THIS EPISODE HELL YEAH‼️‼️ other than that not very memorable but louise and gene's relationship w/ tina in this episode was very sweet they're great siblings But also they did use her magic to cheat on their homework and get free tater tots at school.....)

nightmare on ocean avenue street (not a bad episode i just forget it exists sometimes LOL but teddy's extremely gay subplot with the handyman was hilarious and the kids were cute too. easy episode to rewatch around halloween without it being too freaky)

the wolf of wharf street (THIS EPISODE IS SO??? love teddy's sexy nurse costume and kinda's cher costume?? gene is my favorite fruity boy. there are some good jokes but otherwise not an episode i think abt too often)

full bars (gun to my head i couldnt tell you a SINGLE thing about this episode i haven't ever rewatched it so it feels almost unfair putting it on this list bcuz i don't remember much?? they went to king's head island and bob accidentally killed teddy's pet rodent or smth. probably not a bad episode and i believe this was the first introduction of king's head island which eventually gave us sasha and ducan so of course i can't hate it)

pig trouble in little tina (this episode is so WEIRD like not bad and i think the hayride is kinda cute but the dead pig corpse.... god that fucking corpse haunts me)

fort night (dont like millie in this episode AT ALL and don't like how they almost die and nobody gives a fuck. don't like bob and linda in this episode who don't care that their kids never came home for their costume and get passive aggressive about it when they were KIDNAPPED???? don't like millie in general and this was her first appearance. but i think their box fort was pretty cute and i would like to see it again, plus all the neighborhood kids hanging out together was fun)

MOTHERS DAY EPISODES

amelia (IT TECHNICALLY COUNTS OKAY IT WAS AIRED AS A MOTHERS DAY EPISODE anyway maybe one of my favorite episodes of the entire series so heartfelt and beautiful. louise's presentation + exploration of cultural misogyny + the ending song make this episode an absolute killer and an amazing season finale)

sauce side story (it was a tough call between this and mo mommy mo problems but i LOVED learning more about linda's family history and gayle was so great in this episode. still obsessed with gayle pretending to be their mom its so funny this episode is so good)

mo mommy mo problems (cute episode!!! for some reason i really appreciate the detail of the snack bar inside the ferry in this episode and the seating area bcuz i have taken MANY many ferries and boats in my life and i rarely see that aspect of island culture represented in media?? very unhinged ending with the squirrel blood SHE PEELS THEM LIKE FRUIT ROLL UPS but overall a sweet episode every character is so likeable and fun!!!! also just a hilarious episode tbh)

mom, lies and videotape (fun episode!! not really too much to say about it bcuz it was another three stories type episode but the kids were very cute and i loved gene's REAL performance where he was out of synch for literally every line of that song. god bless America. also louise's fictional play was very fun you can tell how much they all love and respect linda <3)

tell me dumb good thing (not a bad episode but the main storyline was pretty boring so i dont think about it too often. LOVED bob's subplot with the fucking internet cucumber however this might be one of my favorite subplots in the entire show they gave him such a big win. he loved that cucumber so much AND THE CUCUMBER GUY LET HIM INTO THE BASEMENT??? TEDDY TOO???? it makes me cry its so wholesome and sweet. also appreciate the clever way that they connect bob and linda's storylines in the end)

THANKSGIVING EPISODES

dawn of the peck (this episode is actually tied w/ stuck in the kitchen with you BUT i decided to put it in first place bcuz i think i maybe enjoy rewatching it like 0.5% more. every line of this episode is comedic gold like easily one of the funniest episode of the show if not the actual funniest it should have a higher rating than it does on IMDB. i dont care how high its rated it should be higher!!!! also rudy my beloved)

stuck in the kitchen with you (i dont expect this episode to be ANYBODY ELSES favorite but for me its such a wholesome and fun episode to rewatch and pretty funny too. bob and louise's relationship is great. the parade the kids throw with zeke's help is so funny. linda's subplot with sargent bosco is HILARIOUS and bob telling louise "i was being too much of a cook and not enough of a dad" is something i think he could stand to say more often in thanksgiving episodes. but also he's autistic and i understand)

i bob your pardon (very fun heist episode?? louise running out to protect the turkey from the ACTUAL WOLVES and bob saying that he'll save the next turkey from wolves gets me everytime. this episode is honestly just fun and silly its a great time)

turkey in a can (maybe this episode should be higher?? its SO FUNNY and also confirms bisexual bob is real. wholesome ending and i love that bob invited teddy and mort over for thanksgiving dinner along with gayle <3 they're his family)

thanks-hoarding (teddy focused episode :) loved finding out more about his family and relationship with them and learning a bit more about his mental interior and how he copes with stress and childhood trauma. very fun episode to rewatch)

putts-giving (ACTUALLY I REALLY ENJOYED THIS EPISODE louise and tina's relationship is always interesting to explore esp as tina grows older and matures/leaves her siblings behind. loved the mini golf setting and i would like to see it again someday but i think they got a lifetime ban.... from the mini golf course......)

an indecent thanksgiving proposal (absolutely unhinged episode?? any episode w/ fischoeder is great and i love drunk bob mourning his turkey friend even if his jealousy of the kids and linda kinda makes me sad <\3 HE LOVES BEING LINDAS WIFE HE LOVES BEING THE KIDS DAD OKAY HE DOESNT WANT IT TO BE ANYBODY ELSE and linda saying at the end of the episode that she doesn't want to be anybody else's wife not even for pretend is very sweet)

gayle makin' bob sled (this episode is very interesting and i love gayle's relationship with bob in it. also linda and the kids trying to cook thanksgiving dinner without him is SO FUNNY like gene and louise especially oh my god. "maybe its a good thing if your family annoys you sometimes because.... it means you have one" 😭😭)

the quirk-ducers (this episode is CRAZY but also very funny. louise spraying dead animals guts and blood all over the play's audience was deeply unhinged as was them publically performing tina's erotic friend fiction as a play to their families and teachers. amazing song which im assuming gene wrote)

now we're not cooking with gas (bob was just SLIGHTLY too crazy in this episode and i feel bad that he couldn't cook his special turkey :( but the kids getting the giant log from the park and almost killing somebody always gets me like?? WE ALMOST DIED AND MAYBE KILLED OTHER PEOPLE BUT THATS NOT IMPORTANT WE GOT THE LOG bob needs more wins in thanksgiving episodes i think)

diarrhea of a poppy kid (this episode is really sweet tbh!!! louise and tina comforting gene when he's sick by telling him stories and him being holed up in the bathroom playing with makeup and writing a thanksgiving song which was of course very catchy. him and bob were also adorable in this episode and i love bob saying that he loves to cook for gene!!!! <3 they're both so supportive very cute episodes but the stories they tell are not very memoriable tbh)

CHRISTMAS EPISODES

the plight before christmas (this is such an obvious choice but it really is an amazing episode there's a reason its the highest rated episode of the show!!!! its so incredibly sweet and loving with really solid pacing and jokes throughout the episode and gene's musical ability saving the day without being turned into a joke. obviously tina and louise's relationship in this episode too. and i see my sister with something that looks like gingerbread on her glasses 😭😭💕 louise's poem GETS me every single time. also weirdly helpful birds eye view of seymour's bay at the end

father of the bob (INTRODUCTION OF BIG BOB!!!! honestly this episode is just very cute and interesting love analyzing the dynamic between bob and his dad.... it almost seems like big bob likes linda more than he likes bob. cute ending and i always like learning more abt bob's family so this episode is a 10/10 from me)

yachty or nice (THIS EPISODE WAS SOOO CUTE jimmy pesto and bob actually having a bonding moment and the kids subplot with teddy 😭😭💕💕💔 love that they call him their uncle father santa teddy and that he knew in the end they would do the right thing bcuz they're good kids so he saved a special toy for them. he loves those kids so much. jimmy pesto redemption arc could be real if we believe)

the bleakening (this episode was very fun!!! AMAZING songs and i really enjoyed the ending with the gay christmas party and everybody dancing together. some very funny jokes in there too and i just love the creepy vibes of the kids sneaking out of the house and tina being smart enough to bring the emergency phone along w/ them. genuinely a great two parter episode)

god rest ye merry gentle mannequins (THIS EPISODE IS SO???? still dont know what was going on with the crazy mannequin guy but i honestly think its sweet that lily's brother let him live there for free for so many years even when he didnt really need to. also i believe the first time bob's mom is mentioned in the series??? idk this episode is really fun and i love all the different holiday displays they do)

have yourself a maily linda christmas (nothing too interesting to say abt this episode its just silly and fun!!! linda episode!!!! also something about tina and bob trying to entertain the grandparents and keep the peace while everybody else is gone is SO funny theyre the worst at talking to people. the ending with louise gene and tina was adorable too)

nice-capades (honestly its been a minute since i rewatched this episode but from what i remember it was very sweet and silly. LOVE how many random adults were willing to drop everything to help these kids put on an ice shaking performance for santa. also louise being worried that she isn't a good person. gene giving rudy the last taco just because he Cares about him and wanted them to be happy. this episode was cute and they really are such good kids)

better off sled (I ALWAYS FORGET THIS WAS A CHRISTMAS EPISODE because the main plot doesn't have anything to do with christmas it feels like the die hard debate of bob's burgers holiday episodes.... either way bob and linda knitting scarves for the kids was cute and i liked the snowball fight subplot. very sweet and simple episode)

the last gingerbread house on the left (fun episode?? there are some funny jokes and i liked seeing linda and teddy go singing together w/ the kids while bob is tormented and experiences the horrors of gingerbread houses. lily mention!!! noticing that christmas episodes tend to be the episodes where bob's family gets brought up the most i wonder why that is???? absolutely unhinged gingerbread house competition btw but they should let felix join them :(

christmas in the car (i remember this episode being SO STRESSFUL like he tried to kill that family Good god. teddy was very funny in thjs episode and i did enjoy it otherwise)

gene's christmas break (i feel bad putting this episode in last place bcuz I LOVE GENE but it wasn't that interesting an episode tbh 😭 i did like getting to see younger gene even with his terrible autotuned chipmunk voice and seeing how he uses music to relate to his family. we need another gene-focused christmas episode at some point they flew too close to the sun here)

ONE-TIME-ONLY HOLIDAY EPISODES

what an (april) fool believes (AMAZING EPISODE proably one of my favorite episodes of the entire show tbh. bob and fischoeder are so funny + homoerotic and gene not wanting to scare or upset anybody by pranking them is so cute <3 my baby)

eggs for days (the one and only easter episode!!! honestly this episode is really fun overall just a great time. love bob and linda being Extremely Hungover and the rotting egg and the raccoons.... they need to bring back easter episodes tbh there could be something there)

flat-top o' the morning to ya (this episode is so weird bcuz in order to make it a saint patrick's day episode the description and promo has NO MENTION of the main plot of this episode and only focuses on teddy and linda's subplot for some reason?? which makes it extremely hard to find the main plot of this episode if you dont remember the subplot despite it being Literally the focus. but other than that honestly i think its very funny and bob's story with the kids is sooo..... me when i accidentally rope my kids into committing Grand Theft Auto w/ me. sad that bob never got his discounted plates that man deeply needs a win)

[saveugoodmadam]

You should tell me about your tangled oc because I'm making a tangled oc and they can be friends uwu

GDUSUDISJSUAI I WILL INDEED HAPPILY TELL YOU!!! (in return for information on your oc)

Florian Leseratte is first introduced as the castle librarian's apprentice, although because the librarian is quite old he pretty much functions as the overall librarian despite being around Varian's age.

During the first half-ish of series one his arc is sort of him coming out of his shell, he acts as a reassurance to Cass, a point of information to Rapunzel and a helper to Varian. During the events of Queen for a Day, he mostly stays with Varian but gets scared and flees when Varian gets all emo.

Also during series one there's a prophecy teased about a secret prince (Rapunzel will still become queen though bc I can do what I want, idc about primogeniture)

I have talked about it like once before but it goes:

Closer than you think he may/The son of Frederick lies/Discovered by the golden tears/That leak from both his eyes

It's set up to tease Varian as the secret prince but at the end of The Alchemist Returns we see Florian crying alone in the library, with a single shot of a golden tear. This is then majorly revealed during Secret of the Sun Drop when he starts crying due to fear.

Series two for him is coming to terms with what happened, and there's a lot of exposition. We find out that after what happened to Rapunzel, Frederick feared the worst and basically handed off Florian to the servants and told Arianna that their baby had been taken seriously ill and passed when she was asleep.

There's also a point midway through the series when the librarian passes away and Florian has to choose whether he becomes a proper prince like his father wants or the head librarian. (He chooses the library ofc.)

He visits Varian in prison at some point in the first few episodes, and they have a super cute duet through the bars of Varian's cell, before he helps Varian escape prison.

In series three his arc is overcoming his fear of making mistakes, especially in the fact that he blames himself the most for Cass' corruption. He is super happy to have Varian back though and is a massive help in the kingdom forgiving him. This series is very much them becoming quite couple-y together and gets a lot of use out of how they fuel each other's talents.

Florian absolutely tags along for Vat7k, there's probably a shot of him with heart eyes after hearing the word 'library' and he's immediately sold on the quest. His role in the group is mediator- he gets on with pretty much everyone, although Hugo kinda hates him for how close he is to Varian.

His arc is mainly focused on how he's joining the quest because he's desperate to get away from Corona, and he realises at the end of it that actually he was running away from his title of Prince. Through Nuru and other royals they meet he finally realises that there is no one way to be a royal and at the climax he uses his title and ties to the kingdom's old magic to amplify the work done by Hugo and Varian. (Valorigo forever btw!!!)

If I had to pick a voice claim, I think Ryan Kopel would fit super well, especially as Florian has a lot of really good songs, his big 'I Am' song being "My Duty", sung during series two. He also has his and Varian's duet- "Something Breaks" and a few songs in Vat7k like "Can We Get Along For Once?" and "Mightier Than".

He's a little taller than Hugo and has shoulder-length wavy brown hair which Varian sometimes plaits when he needs to think. He's got lots of freckles and glasses and grey eyes. (yeah he's maaaaybe based off me. a little bit. a lot.) He wears mostly yellows and usually has a cardigan with him in a casual setting, otherwise a knitted waistcoat. Hugo's nickname for him is "Bookworm" or "Grandma" and Varian's is "Flor" or "Princey".

Fun fact: once I was really sleep deprived and half asleep in my German class and I looked down at the textbook and the name Florian was there (this is after I'd chosen the name) and I was immediately wide awake and also freaked out.

Also other fun fact: His surname is a way of saying bookworm in Germany. Technically his surname is "of Corona" after series one but eh he doesn't gaf and neither would the fans.

[jamietarttownsmyheart]

please i need colinjamie headcanons or prompts i’ve been deprived of them for too long

i am. so so sorry for how late this is. and how uncoordinated the rest of this will probably end up being, but, just, ima unleash random colinjamie thoughts on u and hope it makes sense lol and that you enjoy them, but since idk how long it'll end up ima put everything under the cut

random hcs

colinjamie have definitely watched the owl house at some point. maybe this is fresh in my head since the final episode just came out a few days ago, but i definitely see colinjamie watching the owl house together. two options:

maybe colin was chilling with his niece (i want colin to have a niece or a nephew so bad, he gives uncle vibes and also i want jamie to interact with the kid at some point too) and she was watching it and he got invested. and then jamie got invested via colin. OR. henry was visiting the stadium on spring break and mentioned the owl house to jamie, who was curious, watched and episode, and then got invested. flash forward to colinjamie fwb era and colin dropping by one day and finding jamie losing his shit over the episode hollow mind. jamie needs to lose his shit with someone and colin is the poor soul who came over for a hook up but ended up having to watch two seasons of a disney cartoon.

that being said, i also think that jamie, if he ever watched avatar the last airbender as a kid, only ever watched until mid season 2. life got more complicated and he was more concerned with playing well than "lazy" things like cartoons. he never got to zuko standing up to his dad. he'll get there someday, it's gonna be great

colinjamie have a unique sense of style that they somehow make work, it drives so many people mad

colin had a crush on lightning mcqueen when he was a kid. (11 years old? idk how old colin is, so im putting him at 28 in s3, making him 11 when cars came out) he thinks about this childhood crush and figures its pretty telling that he's got a speedy car and a cocky but talented boyfriend

jamie is dyslexic, and when he realized audiobooks existed, he was thrilled. still, his favorite way to experience books is to have colin read them out to him.

that being said, his favorite way to enjoy drake is to have colin rapping along

colin takes jamie along to theater performances, musicals, and the ballet.

jamie found the "whose the worm now" moment so hot. he can't let colin find out

random prompt

prompt #1

so this might be because i just re read the seven husbands of evelyn hugo, daisy jones and the six, and carrie soto is back, as well as binging all of the daisy jones and the six show, and have been listening to taylor swift all month, but i am craving something specific?

like, i am so here for an au with actor or pop star jamie (have y'all heard phil dunster's voice?) and richmond player colin hughes. its giving posh spice and david beckham.

just the different flavors of it all. if we have it in modern times, as in, the time ted lasso is set in the show, we can do so much. (we can also have a colin who is not actually a fan of his bf's music. it's not that he hates it, it's just not his style. jamie knows this, and writes songs about colin anyways. colin loves listening to these songs regardless of them not being his style.)

then of course there is the other option--i am so bad at timelines and math, so dont come for me when this is all wrong, but i, on my 7 husband of eh kick, was like omg?? give me hollywood star jamie tartt and football player colin hughes who are "roommates."

prompt #2

im a sucker for vampires and vampire hunters. i think it can go either way for them in terms of whose the vampire and whose the vampire hunters.

prompt #3

a canon divergence au where colinjamie were dating s1. jamie and keeley were dating prior to his loan to richmond and stayed friends after their breakup. he really did love her, but still hadn't learned to be accountable yet. keeley still comes around to the club bc she's jamie's best friend and wants to test the playing field with roy.

[devilofthehounds]

God Eater 3 Character Novel | Beginning of a Vow: Chapter 4

[image id: A novel cover. Hugo Pennywort from God Eater 3 is leaning against the bars of a prison cell. He is holding up his hand and looking at one of his armlets as if reminiscing. On the other side of the bars is a faded image of a young Hugo looking off into the distance. The text, when translated into English, reads “God Eater 3 Character Novel | Chapter 1: Hugo Edition | Beginning of a Vow”. /end id]

This is a fan translation. Original text here.

Masterpost 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

On their first mission, they disobeyed all orders, rushed head-on into a horde of nearly a hundred Aragami, then returned alive in triumph, having completely contained the Aragami.

Luca and I accomplished something that would astound any God Eater. Before we knew it, the guards had started calling us the "Mad Dogs".

I wasn't sure if I'd ever forgive the guards, but it was also true that they had saved my life, and that I had no choice but to rely on them to survive.

I would continue to use them until, one day, I regained my freedom.

That was my tentative conclusion.

Influenced by our example, more and more of the other kids in the prison refused to give in to the guards. Before we knew it, a strong sense of solidarity and an atmosphere full of laughter were born in the prison.

Several months passed following that first battle...

We were training one day. During a break, someone approached me and Luca.

"Yo, Hugo, Luca! Hero coming through, make some room!"

He plopped himself down between me and Luca, tousling his shaggy blonde hair.

"...Hey, Din. Punch a guard and get thrown in the detention cell again?"

Din Pennywort—an AGE from a different block who was a little older than the rest of us.

He was known for being a maverick, always getting into fights with the guards.

"Heroes are supposed to send the bad guys flying, right, Luca?"

"...It was to protect your friends, right? I think that's pretty cool."

"Ahahaha! I knew you'd get it!"

Din smiled heartily as he put his arms around our shoulders. Training was one of the few times when AGEs were unrestrained.

"What do you want, Din? We don't have anything to talk to you about."

"Easy there, I'm not looking for trouble. Just hear me out, little Hugo."

"Yeah, right!"

I shook off Din's hand as he pinched my cheek teasingly. Then—

"Come on, Din, slow down! Hugo, Luca, mind letting me explain?"

A smaller boy came running after Din, his long black hair swaying as he ran.

Oulu Pennywort—Din's shadow. The two were always joined at the hip.

Despite his unreliable atmosphere, he seemed to be a skilled fighter, teaming up with Din to defeat Aragami plenty of times.

In contrast to Din, Oulu wore a timid but wry smile as he approached us.

"I'm just going to ask you straight up, alright? ...How would you feel about joining up with us and starting a rebellion?"

I couldn't believe my ears.

It was surreal to hear someone as mild-mannered as Oulu say something like that with a smile on his face.

"What?! A rebellion...?!"

"Shhh! Shhh! We don't have a lot of time, so just listen."

Oulu kept his voice low as he listened for the guards monitoring our training.

"During a mission recently, we found some small radio units."

"There's a trio of brothers in our block, and the youngest one is a whiz with machines. He's really young, but he was able to fix them just like that."

"The guards haven't found out yet. This way, we can secretly intercept their transmissions, as well as communicate with AGEs in other blocks."

I felt my heart pound slightly.

If it were true, it would be possible to strategize amongst only the AGEs of the Port.

"One of them is hidden in our block. We'll discreetly give you another one so we can communicate in secret and gather materials for negotiations."

"Negotiations? With who?"

"We heard that there are some people looking to open up a new route around here soon. Once it's safe, people from other Ports might start passing through on a regular basis."

"If we get the chance, we might be able to contact those people and sell them confidential information, or even our own talents. If they find out we're being treated badly, they might be able to help us."

I couldn't help but look over at Luca.

There was a possibility. At the very least, it seemed like a realistic plan with a realistic chance of success.

"We're still working out the kinks, but in order to pull this off, we'll need a force bull-headed enough to go toe to toe with the guards."

"That's why we decided to first consult the prison's rising stars: the Mad Dogs! What do you think? You on board?"

Din and Oulu were smiling happily, like children playing a prank.

It was an expression I hadn't seen in the prison in a long time. There was a certain hope in their eyes.

"...Sounds exciting. Sure, I'm on board. How about you, Luca?"

"Yeah. I want to help, too."

"Alrighty, let's get started! Hugo, I'll get right to it—Hrrah!"

The next moment, I was sent tumbling by Din's headbutt.

"Ow, that hurt! What the heck, Din...?!"

Oulu hurriedly intervened.

"Wait, Din, let me explain first! Sorry, the radio's hidden in the detention cell. We couldn't bring it to training, so it's the only way to get it to AGEs in other blocks..."

"That's the gist of it. I'm going in with you, so don't hesitate to hit me back, Hugo!"

"Tch, so that's what's going on... Alright, then. I'm gonna send you flying!"

The training area began to buzz with excitement as a loud fight broke out.

"H-Hey, you can just pretend! L-Luca, say something!"

"Hugo, get a running start, then hit him."

"Why are you encouraging them?!"

Soon after that, Din and I were quickly seized by the guards and thrown in the detention cell as planned.

"Tch... I'll remember that, Din..."

"Heheh, even if you don't, I'll remember that dopey look on your face when I first hit you."

With that, Din laughed and threw himself back on the hard bed.

Sighing as Din casually pointed under the bed, I laid down on the cold floor.

Sure enough, there was a small, black box down there.

This could lead us into the future.

A place where you could do what you want, how you want... with your own will.

A rebellion conducted by children. For the first time in a while, I started to feel excited.

I closed my eyes and waited until nightfall, when the guards would be gone. Time passed.

"...Hey, whatever happened with all that talk about selling one of our AGEs?"

"Ah, right. There's a Port that comes knocking whenever they hear about a Grade-A AGE. A wealthy Port called Baran."

"That sounds good. If we sell his partner, maybe the Mad Dog will quiet down a bit."

I felt a sudden stir in my chest as I heard the exchange coming from outside.

Din sat up, too, and looked at me for a moment. We rushed to the bars together.

"Hey... Hey! What were you saying just now?!"

"Hm? ...Geez, you're in detention again?"

The guards turned around, smiling menacingly.

"I feel kind of bad for you. If you hadn't been such a stupid dog and got yourself put in there, you and your little friend could've spent one last night together."

I felt a chill go down my spine.

"No... No way... You're lying..."

As the guards walked away cackling, the hatred I once felt flared up again.

Luca was going to be sold? For the convenience of selfish guards? To make a quick buck?

It was too sudden. It didn't feel real.

But I knew this empty feeling was a sign of despair.

"Hey, wait... I said wait, damn you! You... You're going to take everything from me again?!"

I yelled frantically towards the outside of the detention cell.

But to the incoming guards, it probably only sounded like the baying of a wounded dog.

Din clicked his tongue and kicked the bed in anger.

"Those guys are just nasty... This is bad. If we rebel and he gets sold, it'll break everyone's hearts. If that happens, then our plan... Dammit!"

I sat shoulder to shoulder with Din, staring into nothing as my thoughts started moving faster and faster in my head.

Not again—I didn't want to lose another friend.

He was the hope I'd finally found in the darkness.

I didn't care what it was; I grasped for anything—anything—that could turn this situation around.

I clenched my fists so tight that my fingernails dug into my palms.

Suddenly, an alarm rang out through the Port.

"...What?! There's a Vajra on the route?!"

Raising their voices, the guards all ran at once.

"Vajra..."

Taking advantage of the commotion, Din took out the radio and connected to Oulu, who was waiting on the other end.

"Hey, Oulu, can you hear me? What's going on?!"

"It's really bad. A large Aragami—a Vajra—showed up where they're planning to put the new supply route! It's been blocked off, and the guards are in an uproar because the whole plan might fall through."

It seemed the route that was supposed to be profitable had now become unusable.

Amid the rapidly changing situation, my mind quietly connected possibilities one by one.

Profit. Route. Value. Large Aragami. And AGE—

"Tch, the guards are coming back... I've gotta cut you off, Oulu."

A pair of guards walked by while discussing countermeasures against the large Aragami.

I turned to them and called out.

"Hey, that Vajra... We just need to get rid of that Aragami, right?"

The guards stopped and looked at me blankly.

"Once that Aragami's gone, you'll be able to open the route and make a profit, right? Your money... I'll earn it."

It was a gamble, but it was the only way to make the most of the situation.

"I'll defeat it. Whatever Aragami come, I'll defeat them all. In exchange... there won't be any more talk about selling Luca!"

"Idiot... Don't make it sound so easy, brat! It's a Vajra. All you'll do is die a dog's death."

At that moment, Din stepped forward next to me.

"Then shut up and eat the loss, asshole. Hugo and I will take that Vajra down. Maybe sending a couple of dumb kids will get the job done, right? Take the bet."

"Din, you..."

"Two of your strongest AGEs take down a large Aragami! And you get a new route to boot! It'd be way more profitable than going to the trouble of selling one lousy Grade A!"

Din and I seemed to be on the same page.

The tension grew as the guards remained silent.

There was almost no chance of success. But if you didn't do anything, you wouldn't get anything. You wouldn't protect anything.

That was a truth deeply engraved in our hearts as AGEs.

In the suffocating atmosphere, suddenly—

"...Hugo, are you going to fight?"

Somehow, Luca wandered up and approached me.

"Luca?! What are you doing here?!"

"...Since you and Din are here in the detention cell, I figured it'd be easier to talk if I joined you, so I took a swing at one of the guards."

Beside Luca, a guard stood abjectly, holding the back of their head.

Next to me, Din doubled over with laughter. I faced Luca across the bars.

Had he already heard? That he was going to be sold?

Luca would probably try to stop me, say there was no need to do something so reckless for his sake.

But even if he said something like that, I—

"Hugo. Are we... going to be separated?"

I gripped the iron bars and squeezed tightly, steadying my voice as I answered.

"...If we're not strong enough, we might be..."

"Alright. Then, let's fight."

Luca smiled gently at me like he always did, to the point where I started to wonder if he really understood the position he was in.

"If it's just you, I'm sure you'll be reckless again. So, I'll be reckless with you. That works, right?"

He usually had a habit of being absent-minded, but once he started talking, he would never give in.

That was why. His words... they always gave me courage, even when the anxiety in my heart threatened to crush me.

Din, who seemed to be wholeheartedly enjoying himself, lined up next to us. Together, we turned to the guards, our eyes hungry like dogs.

"We'll win, even if it kills us! So put us to use!"

Translator's Note

[sophie-hatter-jenkins]

Chapter Update - Into The Hinnyverse

A collection of drabbles, microfics and one-shots written for the Ginny Lovers Discord server 5-Year Ginnversary Bingo game.

Chapter 2 - The Dress

Lily Potter does NOT want to wear a dress. Can Harry persuade her?

Read it now on AO3, or below the cut

“Do you remember,” said Ginny, with an exasperated sigh, as she hurried into their bedroom, “when I said that I wanted to raise our daughter to be strong and independent?”

Harry kept one eye on the mirror in front of him as he attempted to make the knot in his tie look slightly less like it had been tied by a small child, and watched as her reflection flopped down onto the end of the bed. 

“I do.” Merlin, he hated dressing up like this. His collar already felt uncomfortably tight, and he wondered how long he’d need to wear it before he could get away with unbuttoning it.

“Well, I take it all back.”

Harry suppressed a snigger. “She can’t help it if she takes after her mum.”

Ginny’s eyes flashed with irritation. “Not helpful, Harry.”

Harry swiftly rearranged his features into a more sympathetic expression. “What’s she done?”

Ginny pulled a face. “Lily has decided that she won’t wear the dress.” 

“Ah.” 

“And of course, that wouldn’t normally wouldn’t be a problem, but…”

“…You know how much it means to your mum,” finished Harry.

“Yeah. We have to leave in fifteen minutes, and she’s still wearing her pyjamas. Honestly, I don’t know what else to say to her. I had to leave the room, otherwise there was going to be an argument and we really don’t have time for that.”

“Okay.” Harry shrugged into his jacket and ran his fingers through his hair in a vague attempt to flatten it that he was well aware was doomed to failure. “The boys are pretty much ready, if you can wrangle them into their shoes and socks, I’ll go and talk to Lily.”

“Deal.” Harry’s eyes met his wife’s in the mirror, and he watched as she moved to his side, slipping her arms around his waist and lifting her chin to kiss his cheek. “Did I ever tell you how amazing you are?”

“You might have mentioned it once or twice. And you’re not so bad yourself.”

The expression on Ginny’s face sent Harry back to a time, before they’d become parents, when that same expression on his wife’s face would have been enough to ensure they had been very, very late arriving wherever it was they were meant to be going. Now, though, they had actual responsibilities, so demonstrating his appreciation for his wife was going to have to wait.

Instead, he dropped a brief kiss onto her lips, disentangled himself and headed across the landing to Lily’s room. The dress that was causing so much trouble was hanging on the front of the wardrobe, while his daughter was sitting on her bed, cross legged and arms folded. Her brown eyes flashed with so much righteous fury, she looked more like a mini-Ginny than ever.

“Hi, Pumpkin,” he greeted her. “We have to leave for the Burrow in a few minutes. Can you please put your dress on, like Mum asked you to?”

“No,” said Lily, bluntly. She hugged her arms even tighter into her body.

“Well, you can’t go in your pyjamas, can you?” Harry told her, using his most patient and reasonable ‘Dad’ voice.

“Why not?” asked Lily, mutinously

Harry laughed. “Lily, it’s Grandad’s special birthday party. We all need to look nice.”

Lily pouted. “I know that! But give me one good reason why I should wear a dress!”

Harry sat down on the bed next to her. “Nanna asked us to dress smartly.”

“I don’t see why that means I have to wear a dress.”

“Mum’s wearing a dress,” pointed out Harry. “She looks really pretty.”

“But Al and James don’t have to,” protested Lily. “And you’re not either! I don’t like wearing dresses! They get in the way when me and Hugo want to climb trees, or practice on our brooms! My purple trousers with the flowers on are smart! I could wear those instead! Dresses are stupid.”

Harry sighed, and took his daughter’s hands in his own. “Lily, normally I wouldn’t care, and nor would Mum. But Nanna Weasley made you this dress especially. All your cousins have one too. It’s a bit like Christmas jumpers. I need you to wear it, just once, just for today. 

“But it isn’t all my cousins! It’s just the girls! Why can’t I dress smartly like Al and James and you instead? It’s much more comfortable!”

Harry sighed. “Honestly, Lily, wearing a suit really isn’t as great as you think. The collars are tight, the jackets are hot and formal trousers aren’t exactly ideal for climbing trees or riding brooms either.”

Lily looked at him like he was an utter idiot. “So why do you wear them?”

Harry was silent for a moment. “You know, Lily - you’re absolutely right. But I do need you to put on your dress. How about I do you a deal?”

When he explained what he had in mind, Lily’s smile grew wider and wider. Harry had a horrible feeling he was going to regret this course of action, but desperate times call for desperate measures. He crossed his fingers, and hoped it would work out for the best. 

Less than half an hour later, the party was in full swing. Lily, fully decked out in the hated dress, had already disappeared off into the garden with her brothers and cousins. Back in the house, Harry found himself very much the centre of attention. As usual, he absolutely wasn’t thrilled about this, but, he had to admit, in this case it was entirely justified. 

“Honestly, mate,” spluttered Ron, when he managed to stop laughing. "You couldn’t have shaved your legs? This is a special occasion, you know.”

“Yeah,” added George, waving his plate, laden with a selection of food from the buffet, in the general direction of Harry’s lower half. “The state of your knees is putting me off my pumpkin vol-au-vents.”

“Hey!” protested Ginny, slinging her arms around Harry’s waist. “My husband has fabulous legs. And now everyone knows it.”

“Well, I for one am extremely proud of you, Harry,” Hermione told him. “I think it’s wonderful to see you challenging gender stereotypes in clothing choices in such a… forthright way.” Harry had to hand it to her - she almost managed to say it with an entirely straight face, but made the strategic error of looking at Ron, then dissolved into giggles, taking her husband with her.

“Go on, Harry - give us a twirl,” asked Bill. 

Deciding to embrace the situation in good spirit, Harry obliged. He turned on the spot, showing off the copy of Lily’s dress that he’d transfigured from his suit, earning himself a wolf whistle from Charlie in the process. 

“Okay, everyone,” he announced. “Make the most of it! The deal I made with Lily was I’d wear the dress for exactly one hour and thirty-seven minutes. I’m changing it back into my suit in…” Harry checked his watch. “...ninety-four minutes.”

Hermione looked at him curiously. “One hour and thirty-seven minutes? That seems very specific, Harry.”

“Lily drives a hard bargain,” Harry explained, ruefully, as his father-in-law ambled over, drink in hand. “She bartered me up from fifteen minutes.”

Arthur grinned as he looked Harry up and down. “You know, I’ve always thought dresses look like they’d be quite comfortable.”

Harry laughed. “Actually, it isn’t too bad. A bit draughty though.”

“Ah, the things we do for our kids, eh?” Then his expression changed, shifted to something softer, more nostalgic. “Lily is so like her mother, isn’t she?” 

“She really is,” agreed Harry.

Arthur nodded. “Trust me, Harry. I know exactly what it’s like to be wrapped around the finger of a little ginger spitfire. I love my boys, but there’s just something different about having a daughter. I’d have worn a million dresses for Ginny if I’d needed to, and far more besides.”

Harry let his gaze fall out of the window. In the distance, he caught just a glimpse of Lily, as she dashed between the trees in the orchard. He adored all of his children, each one no more and no less than the others, but he knew exactly what Arthur meant. One hour and thirty-seven minutes in a dress was absolutely the least of what he’d do for his little girl.

“Yeah. Me too.”

[tollundmen]

les mis stage show thoughts (as promised) (it’s long) (and unedited)

Lost the playbill so I can’t credit the actors by name but Valjean and Eponine both had incredible voices

Before Valjean goes into Digne, he passes by Petit Gervais and steals the coin. Nice little easter egg that I could annoy my sister by pointing out

I’d forgotten how overtly Christian the musical is. Like, Jesus references everywhere. I guess this element is present in the book and all adaptations, but I think the musical lacks depth and complexity in its religious metaphors since it effectively cuts out the social commentary. Not begrudging the musical of this—I think in order to make an entertaining musical you’re going to cut out Hugo’s polemics—but still an observation. 

What Have They Done To My Girl Fantine

^^This is one of two major complaints I have with the musical. Obviously, Hugo’s writing is riddled with strange misogyny, both unique to him and typical of his time. However, I’d argue he does try to portray his women sympathetically. Despite the ultimate message of lower-class women as victims of upper-class male society, the book’s Fantine does have agency. She is desperately trying to life a live free from the patriarchal realities of her day. The musical robs her of this agency. I may be misremembering, but I don’t believe the foreman wants to fuck her in the book, and I don’t think that builds resentment between her and her coworkers. You could maybe argue that this relationship between her and the foreman takes the narrative place of her relationship with Thomolyes, but I don’t think that’s a strong argument. I dislike how involved and kind she is with Valjean. I think it’s crucial to his relationship with Cosette that Fantine is effectively a stranger to him. I also dislike how she leads Valjean to heaven at the end of the musical. Again, I think it weakens her character because she becomes a supporting character to Valjean. But I digress.

Also I still think it’s weird to reverse Fantine’s descent into prostitution and the Fauchelevant cart incident. Not that problematic, just weird.

Who Am I is a great song though. Like watching it happen onstage is just fantastic. I adore a scene where you can see the characters running through time and space. It’s one of those scenes that can only happen in musicals, I think. Just super cool.

I wish it was insinuated in the musical that Javert’s appearance killed Fantine. But the choreography with Javert and Valjean during The Confrontation is sick as fuck. During this production, they did stuff with a chain.

I forget how valverty the musical is

The woman behind me kept laughing really loud at the Thenardiers. I forgot where the homophobic line is so I was distracted during those parts instead and forgot to laugh.

Mdme Thenardier is an interesting character because her writing is like sooooo misogynistic, dude. Not the musical’s fault here, though.

Little Cosette was cute.

Political background of the musical is not really explained at all. The audience is just expected to know about the June Rebellion and General Lamarque. Didn’t realize this until my mom asked me about it afterward (unfortunately I’ve developed a reputation for knowing things like this… not sure how). But now that I think about it, Les Amis and the barricade does seem super random. I think this has to do with nearly completely cutting out the whole class struggle part of Hugo’s Les Mis—or at least skimming over it or making it comedic. Pretty hard to cut it out completely. Honestly, I think the playbills should just come with a brief overview of French political turmoil at that time & that could solve a lot of issues. 

Actor who played Grantaire was a good actor (maybe I was just highly attuned to him, though). All of his movement seemed to circle around Enjolras. He played the part of the cynic really well. I’ve read some other people’s reviews of the current US Tour that have said they’d heard Grantaire picked up inspiration from fic, and I could definitely see it here. Not just the whole Enjolras thing, but because he took a lot of care of Gavroche during the whole show. Maybe that’s an established stage Grantaire role, but I still enjoyed observing it. 

But Maybe I Just Love Gavroche

However, What Have They Done To My Girl Eponine

^^This is my second major complaint with the musical. Reread everything I said for Fantine. The musical completely replaces her class struggle plot line with a romantic struggle plot line with some class difference undertones. Idk. I wish her relationship with Marius was explored differently, is all. She becomes an underutilized supporting character for Marius. 

However, On My Own goes hard. I already mentioned that her actor just had a fantastic voice. She was incredibly talented, and I really wish I still had that playbill.

Where the fuck does Marius comes from? I didn’t realize that in the musical this is not explained at all anywhere. He’s just some random dude until he and Cosette have this lavish upper-class wedding. Kinda funny.

I also think it’s funny how politically involved musical Marius is. He’s not a loser at all! Poor guy. He’s noble and stuff. What a chore.

Drink With Me fucks incredibly (except the second part where Marius gets all sad and stuff). Grantaire put his everything into his lines—delivered with such vitriol toward Enjolras, but I have to give credit to Enjolras’s actor for displaying such complicated emotions toward Grantaire in their little stage time together. You could tell he cared for Grantaire deeply. They have several moments where they pressed heads together, shared long, meaningful looks, etc. Nice to see. 

Bring Him Home was delivered so so well, but I can’t help but laugh a lil. His ass does not see him as the son he never had. 

Woman behind me was WEEPING when Gavroche died.

The lighting during the barricade was absolutely incredible. 

Grantaire was the last to die, and he did so in the same position as Enjolras had a few moments ago. The also pointed/saluted each other a lot. Again, nice easter eggs for those of us who Know. also he never touched a gun during the whole show. I think he’s handed one once but quickly passes it off. nice touch.

The staging during the sewers part was super cool. There was a projection on the back wall of the stage that moved and really created the illusion that Valjean and Marius are trudging through this long tunnel.

The rest of the musical I didn’t have much to say. I already said my piece on Fantine/Valjean. 

To love another person is to see the face of God does kinda kill me right in my heart though (good way) (almost joined the woman behind me in tears)