#i spent like an hour and a half on this hel p

[captainsophiestark]

Nosy Best Friends

Tristan Flynn x Reader

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Based on this request from Anon! It was very fun to write and it gave me a second, related idea that I'm planning to post Monday, so thanks for sending it in! Hope you like it!

Fandom: Crescent City

Summary: Flynn's been disappearing a lot to spend time with his human girlfriend, and his friends have decided to finally figure out where he's been going.

Word Count: 2,219

Category: Fluff, Humor, maybe a tiny bit of Angst? But not really

A/N: This fic also has a prequel called Presentation Problems and a sequel called The Best Night Ever, but can also be read on its own!

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

Ruhn's POV

"Where the Hel are you going?"

Flynn barely stopped at the sound of my voice, half-turning back with an irritated look. I gave him the same one right back.

"I'm going out. Why do you care?"

"You've been disappearing doing Urd knows what for weeks. Come on, Flynn, what's going on?"

Flynn just rolled his eyes. "Nothing, mom. Just relax and mind your own business."

He turned on his heel and walked out the door without looking back. I watched him go, then turned to Dec on the couch.

"Something's going on with him."

"Yeah. Think it's time we do something about it?"

"Definitely."

****************

Y/N's POV

I sighed, rubbing my eyes as I tried to reread what I'd written for the thousandth time. I'd been holed up in my apartment for almost forty-eight hours straight working on a paper for grad school, and I'd started to go a little crazy.

The only reason I hadn't gone crazy about twenty hours ago was my boyfriend, Tristan Flynn. He'd been keeping me company, providing a stream of encouragement and my favorite snacks and helping me take a break when I really needed it, even if I wouldn't admit it. He'd left a couple hours ago to go do something he needed to do, and I'd come very close to hurling my laptop at the wall in his absence.

We'd first met in a similar situation, when I'd hurled my notebook across what I'd thought was an empty classroom. Flynn had been looking for somebody the Aux had followed to campus, and only his fae reflexes had kept him from taking my notebook to his head. If I hadn't been stressed out of my mind already, I would've been worried about having accidentally attacked a member of the fae Aux, especially as a human, but I'd hit my limit that day, so instead I'd shouted at him for interrupting my studying.

Luckily for both of us, once he'd recovered from his shock, he'd seemed to be into that. He'd tried to get me to leave for safety reasons, and I'd refused, so he'd stayed. We ended up hitting it off the bat, and the rest was history.

We'd been together for a few months now, and despite every warning I'd ever heard against dating a member of the Vanir, it was quite honestly the best relationship I'd ever been in. We hadn't told anyone else in our lives yet, mostly because we didn't want our little bubble of happiness being burst, but I had a hard time believing anything could ruin what we'd found together.

The few seconds I'd spent losing myself in memories had been nice, but the glaring light of my laptop screen didn't let me escape for long. I sighed heavily, trying to decide whether it was worth it to power through. I didn't entirely have a choice, unless I wanted to drop out of grad school, but maybe I could find something to do as a small break.

Somebody must have been listening to my silent pleas, because a moment later my phone rang. I smiled when Flynn's face popped up, a terrible picture of him that I'd taken when he wasn't ready. He always switched it back to a shirtless one he'd taken himself when he got the opportunity, and it had become a little silent war between us.

"You have amazing timing," I sighed as soon as I picked up. I could hear his smile through the other end of the phone.

"I always do. Come downstairs."

"...You know I shouldn't. This paper-"

"Is something you've been holed up in that apartment working on for way too long. You're driving yourself insane, and last I checked, you can't turn in anything if you smash your laptop to pieces against the wall. Besides, humans need sunlight. And fresh air."

"An expert on that, are you?"

"I sure am," his voice purred over the phone and I rolled my eyes, but I also felt heat rising on my cheeks. "Just come down here, and I'll show you how much of an expert I am."

I let out a long breath through my nose. Flynn was right. Sitting in this apartment driving myself insane wasn't helping anything. And besides, I really wanted to go spend time with him.

"Alright. I'm on my way."

"Good. I'll see you in a second."

****************

Ruhn's POV

"What in Hel is he doing here?" I hissed to Dec, trying to keep my voice down. We'd tailed Flynn to some apartment complex not far from the college we'd chased some monster down at not long ago.

"I don't know..." said Dec. "Maybe he's got a lead on something for the case? Or a new case, related to all that shit we dealt with last time?"

"You think Flynn's spending his time off work doing more work?"

I shot Dec a look, and he snorted.

"Okay, you're right. It's probably not that."

We turned back to watch Flynn, who had a full bouquet of flowers in his hands. He'd put on the nicest clothes he owned, and if I didn't know better, I would've thought-

"Oh! Tristan, holy shit!"

Dec and I stared wide-eyed as a human female came out of the apartment building, absolutely beaming at Flynn. She ran to him and jumped in his arms, hugging him tight, as he picked her up and spun her around. He kissed her, and when they pulled apart they stayed close, forehead to forehead, just staring at each other lovingly, something I'd never seen Flynn do with a female. I glanced at Dec to find him looking just as shocked as me, and when I turned back to find Flynn practically floating looking at the girl in front of him, I couldn't help my surprised shout.

"WHAT THE FUCK?"

****************

Y/N's POV

Tristan and I whirled around in sync at the sound of a loud shout from across the street. I found two fae males staring at us, looking absolutely outraged, and I started to get a little worried until my boyfriend shouted back.

"What the FUCK are you two doing here?"

"I take it you know them?" I asked, turning to Flynn and keeping my voice low. He shook his head, but the irritation in his eyes faded the second he looked at me.

'Yeah, sweetheart, I do. They're my roommates and my friends from the Aux. And they're absolute idiots."

I turned to find the idiots in question storming across the street and towards us, shouting at cars that almost hit them in the process. Unconsciously, I took a half step towards Flynn, and he immediately wrapped one arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him.

Not a moment too soon. His friends finally made it across traffic to come to a stop in front of us, and my jaw literally almost hit the floor when I realized one of them was the Crown Prince of the Valbaran Fae.

"What the Hel are you doing?" demanded the prince before turning to me. "And who is this?"

"I'm his girlfriend," I snapped, not quite able to stop myself. Both newcomers stared at me in wide-eyed shock, then whirled on their friend.

"Your what?"

"My girlfriend," Flynn said, an edge of steel in his voice that I'd only heard once or twice, usually in relation to Aux business.

The fae before us shared an absolutely shocked look, then whirled back around to look at Flynn.

"Why the Hel didn't you tell us?"

"Is that where you've been sneaking off to every day for the last few months?"

"What the fuck, Flynn?"

They shouted their questions at Flynn in sync, then without waiting for my boyfriend to get ahold of himself enough to answer, the one I didn't recognize turned to me with an apologetic smile.

"I'm Declan," he said, holding out a hand for me to shake. I stared at it for a minute, then slowly took it. "It's nice to meet you."

"...Nice to meet you, too."

"Ruhn. Also nice to meet you," said the prince with a chin nod of a hello in my direction. Then, he turned back to Flynn. "You know everybody's gonna lose it when they realize you've been keeping a steady girlfriend a secret from us, right?"

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Bunch of Aux members, a spy, and Bryce, it's your own fault for not figuring it out sooner. You should be better at your jobs than this."

Ruhn and Declan's mouths dropped open, and I laughed. I could see them getting ready for a comeback, so I stepped even closer to Flynn and fixed the other two fae with a bright smile.

"It's been nice to get to meet some of Tristan's friends, and I'm sure I'll see you both again soon. But right now, I was promised a break from my term paper by my wonderful boyfriend, and I don't intend to let anything get in the way of that."

"I'd listen if I were you," said Flynn, a massive smile on his face as he looked at me with the most lovesick expression I'd ever seen. It made my heart melt. "We met because she almost clocked me in the head with a notebook for interrupting her study session."

"Well technically I threw the notebook before you came in. And then I yelled at you for interrupting."

"Are you trying to say you wouldn't have thrown the notebook at my head anyway if it'd still been in your hands?"

"...No, I probably would've."

"I know. And I love it." He grinned, leaning in for a heated kiss. It still took my breath away, kissing him, even though it'd been a few months now, and he pulled away far too soon for my liking. "What do you say we get the Hel out of here for your distraction?"

"I say Hel yeah, let's go."

He gave me one last quick peck, then pulled back with a wink. His arm stayed wrapped around my waist as we turned to head off to whatever surprise he had planned, not bothering to spare more than a nod at his absolutely stunned friends.

"You get the weekend, Flynn!" one of them called after us. "And then we're having a party and getting to know this female you're so head over heels for!"

"Sure!" Flynn said, calling back over my head. "As long as she decides she actually wants to meet you!"

I snorted, and when I looked at Flynn I found a beaming smile on his face as we walked down the street together. He held out the hand that wasn't around my waist, finally presenting me with the gorgeous bouquet he'd first shown up with.

"For you."

"Thanks, Tris." I took the flowers and leaned into him, and we continued in comfortable silence for a moment. Then Flynn cleared his throat.

"So, do you... uh, do you want to meet them? My friends and everybody?"

"Well, that depends a little bit... why were they so shocked? Was it because I'm human?"

"No." Flynn's response was immediate, and he stopped dead in his tracks to turn me to face him. He put both hands on my shoulders, his warm brown eyes finding mine. "I would never voluntarily spend time with people who felt or thought that way."

"Okay... then why did they seem so surprised to see you with somebody?"

He grimaced. "You... might be the first serious girlfriend I've had. Ever."

My eyebrows shot up, and my heart skipped a few beats.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I think my record before this was... seeing the same female for two weeks? Maybe?"

I couldn't help barking a laugh, and Flynn grimaced again. My heart, on the other hand, was soaring as I reached up to gently cup his cheek.

"Well, I guess I can see why your friends were so surprised then. I'd be happy to meet them. And I'm honored to be the first female you've decided to stick around for."

He grinned at me, making my heart race even faster, then slowly leaned in until our lips were just a hair's breadth away.

"I'm honored to be a fae male you're willing to date. Based on what another friend has told me, a human like you wouldn't be willing to give just any of us a chance."

I snorted. "Yeah, no kidding. But I'm glad I gave you one."

"Me too."

I gave Flynn a little smirk, then leaned in to close the rest of the distance between us. He wasted no time kissing me back, hard, and we quickly deepened the kiss. I let my one free hand wander up to tangle in his hair, and I was ready to lose myself in him right then and there, but after a few long moments he gently pulled back.

"As much as I'd like to continue this... I think you'll really like the surprise break I have planned."

I smiled, going in for one last quick kiss, then pulling all the way back.

"Alright. Let's go. As long as we can continue this after I finish my assignments?"

"If I ever say no to that, you should be concerned."

I laughed as we headed off down the street together again, hand in hand. I still had many hovering stressors, from school to finally meeting Flynn's extended friend group, but I knew I'd have him with me for all of it. I was starting to get the feeling he was in it for the long haul, and even though that brought plenty of challenges, I couldn't help being excited for it all the same.

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury @kmc1989

[peachpopfizz]

Hello may I ask if u can do Morro headcanon

*clasps hands* CAN YOU??? oh get ready for this i have sm to say

• for starters, morro wu is the name they go by!! the very first time sensei wu heard morro refer to himself with it he cried so hard

• morro is nonbinary, going mostly by they/them and he/him pronouns, but if you used she/her or anything of the like they wouldn't mind :)

• biromantic and greysexual!! can you tell im projecting yet?

moving onto my purely personal stuff:

• they play violin!! they picked it up after coming back to life. the wind responds to the song their playing. its a beautiful sight

• morro %100 needs glasses. do they get them?? no

• his gi's now associated more with the color yellow. he wanted to move away from green, and yellows pretty (and one of the few gi colors not taken already)

• cats!!! they love cats so much!!!!!! feeds all the strays. they love him

• the once green stripe in their hair is now grey, and they have a ghost scar across their left cheek, reaching all the way to their chin

• 100% was forced to read starfarer bc of jay and lloyd. he says he hates it (he ADORES it)

• they wear skirts and dresses when they feel like it!! clothes they can feel their element in? fuck yeah!!!

ok now done with the personal headcanons, onto more specific stuff :)

• in my 'morro is revived/redeemed/he just stays like we all wanted him to' au he does not move in directly with the ninja, instead living higher up in the mountains, in a small town southeast of Ninjago city. they feel at peace there, up in their element, away from most modern technology.

- both he and the ninja liked this decision more, while wu did not, but I'll get into their individual dynamics more later

-he doesnt really talk to anyone from the village, but anytime he goes to buy supplies and stuff he tries his best to give money and food to the homeless he passes. especially children.

-the children of the village therefore deem him a myth, some tell ghost stories of him, and others call him a good luck charm. morro thinks this is adorable, really, and plays into it; giving vague fortunes everytime a kid points him out.

• the ninja and wu definitely come to visit him sometimes too, and no matter how many times they do so morro's always suprised they care. the first time lloyd came to visit them on his own they were so astonished for like the next month

• whenever there's a world-threatening villain present and they need his aid, it is painstakingly obvious. they normally come to him all chill, but whenever they need help they come to him like akward in-laws.

- *sliding inside their door* "heyyy morro-"

- *exhausted sigh* "what is it now? another giant snake???"

NOW speaking of his relationship with the ninja

• this is a vv common headcanon, but morro and cole would become friends the fastest i think. oh? you were a ghost too? you like food?? quiet and prefers to not be in social situations??? hey bestie

- bonus thing: morro hasn't heard of cake because they were first an orphan/homeless, and when they were adopted by wu they were too focused on getting their body in perfect condition to eat sweets. therefore, a conversation between them has most definitely happened like this:

- "hey, morro, im craving sweets, wanna go get some cake?"

- *genuinely confused* "whats cake?"

- "..."

- "cole???"

- "oh you poor sweet summer child"

- tldr; out of kai, zane, jay, nya, and cole, morro and cole get along the best!!

• i think morro and jay would get along mostly by jay being the one who informs him of modern technology. y'know, teaching him about it. morro flipped his lid the second he learned what a microwave was.

- i also think jay brings out his inner sassy side. they have a lot of nicknames for each other.

- oh also also you know how nya can move ice if she tries hard enough? jay can just barely move wind, same goes for morro with lightning. they definitely use each others powers responsibly

- (jay almost caused a minature tornado once and morro made a week long power outage. they don't speak of those things)

- tldr; morro feels rather relaxed around jay. even if he takes a lot of their energy, its not too hard for them to get along. they would probably cause doomsday if left alone together for too long tho

• morro and zane!! or as I like to call it; therapist friend to therapist friend

- while untrusting of morro for a while, Zane was able to connect with them by seeing their walls come down

- i think morro would go to zane to vent if need be, hes a great listener. same goes vice-versa.

- both wind and ice are very reactive to their weilders emotions, so like it or not, these two have to bottle up their feelings sometimes for the safety of others

- thats why they work so well together, actually. fire, earth, lighting, and water arent as emotionally reliant. and we're getting 2 energy

- whenever zane is over and makes food morro will steal some or get thrown out the kitchen trying

- tldr; their friendship is very (heh) chill

• kai and morro!! aka 'i don't like you very much but we have the common interest of protecting lloyd to make up for past mistakes so ig ill tolerate you'

- unstable relationship!! they bicker the most, lloyd mostly being the peacekeeper

- they have their moments tho

- i think kai would've found morro in a vulnerable state once, like crying or having a panic attack or something, and he just sat next to him and held his hand

- they both refuse to acknowledge that happend, but they were nicer to each other after it

- they don't get along very well mostly to kai holding a grudge, but morro doesn't blame him. they haven't completely forgiven themselves, either

• morro and nya. dictionary definition of 'its complicated'

- can they get along and work together? yes, surprisingly so. do they WANT to? nah

- even though hes human again, morros still highkey-lowkey scared of nya. its the ptsd innit

- thats why nyas so compliant with him in the first place, bc even though she holds almost a big a grude towards them as her brother, she sees morros use

- i do think they made a small storm once though, using their powers. just out of boredom. it was beautiful

• and last but most certainly not least: disaster cousins! i cant fit these two's entire journey together in this one post, but I'll highlight the most important bits

- loyd was terrified that morro survived the drowning of the Preeminent, so he was immensely relieved that morro wasnt staying with them

- the first time they saw each other after styxx shit was so akward. they were left alone in a room together for 5 seconds and they hated it

- lloyd never wanted a verbal apology from morro, saying that the only way they could probably get forgiveness is through action

- only got close to morro after he proved himself through his actions. i mean, after helping them and Ninjago many times, lloyd couldn't say he hated them anymore

- the first time lloyd visited on his own with the intention to just, like, hang out; morro broke. mf bluescreened. thought he was hallucinating for a solid 20 minutes.

- they play video games together and read comics and the like.

- they rarely do anything like sparring tbh. whenever they're together they let their inner children come out

- lloyd: *bringing out a coloring book and crayons* "hey I know we're like in our early 20's but-"

- morro: *snatching them* "y e s"

- Morro's EXTREMELY overprotective to compensate for what hes done. lloyd doesn't stop them, he knows it makes them feel less guilt, but it does get a liiitle overbearing sometimes

- wu bawled once he learned they were getting along, the hardest he cried in a while

- tldr; these two mean SO MUCH TO ME

do i have more? oh, yes, many. am i stopping? yes, sadly. i don't want peoples Tumblr to crash once they see this post.

[mountswhore]

𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 — mason mount

summary: after an argument ensues between the two of you, you’d decided to go for a drive. only for it to end worse than expected for the both of you.

warnings: swearing, angst, mentions of a car accident, mentions of blood and cuts

notes: requests are open

“I’m not ready to lose you.” + “Wake up! Please don’t do this to me.”

“Maybe you aren’t understanding,” you sighed, tired of the argument you and Mason were currently having, “I live with you, for fuck’s sake. I see you every night and every morning, so on my only day off, I want to see my family. We visit your family all the time, what about mine?”

Mason was tugging at his hair in stress, trying his hardest to keep his cool. It started when you’d gotten home late, after a nice day out with your mum and sisters, Mason sitting on the couch in complete silence. His argument was that you barely spent time together, especially since your careers kept you busy all the time. Your argument was that you see him during the day, whereas you don’t even speak to your parents for more than a minute on the phone. You understood his argument completely, you wanted to spend time with him, but he was dismissing your argument entirely.

“I rarely get time to spend with you, so when I actually get home from training early, you’re out all day with not even a note to tell me you’d gone.” Mason whined, following you into the kitchen as you left the living room. You both hated arguments, especially shouting, it wasn’t you at all. And usually your arguments were solved with just quiet talking, and a compromise. But tonight was something else.

“I don’t get that much time off.” You stated, making yourself comfortable on the island stool. You’d hoped Mason would just drop it, or at least see where you’re coming from. “If I knew you’d be finishing early, I would have offered you to come with me. But I didn’t know, Mase. I’m tired of this now.”

“You don’t think I’m tired of this?” Mason’s voice was gradually getting louder, and you squeezed your hands together to keep calm. “I’m tired of only seeing you when you’re sleeping, or half asleep as you walk through the door. I just want you, Y/N. We don’t even have sex anymore.”

“It’s not about sex, Mason. Not to me, anyway.” He was pulling every string and managed to get on every single one of your nerves, it was almost as if he were waiting for you to snap at him.

“Don’t try and spin this, I never said it was about sex. It’s just one of the many things we used to do, and don’t do anymore.” He’d shouted at you, his tone making it out to be your fault. You were the reason you didn’t have sex anymore, you were the reason you barely see each other any more.

“You can’t even have sex leading up to a match,” you reminded him, stopping at the stairs as you pulled your shoes back on. They’d only been off for twenty minutes, your bag still on your shoulder. “God, I’ve met rocks smarter than you,” you mumbled, reaching for the door handle.

“Oh, fuck off Y/N. Why don’t you go and sleep at your family’s house if you want to see them so much?” He shouted back at you, walking to the kitchen and away from you. You’d made a habit of slamming the door after you, stomping over to your car and starting it up. Another thing you’d always done during your arguments, was wait until you were away from Mason to cry.

You’d left the driveway, tears falling from your eyes as you left Mason in your house alone. He was sat against the kitchen island in defeat, head in his hands and beginning to regret saying what he said. He didn’t want you to go to your family’s home and sleep there, he wanted you in his bed. Close to him. That’s all he wanted.

You’d taken a hand from the wheel to wipe the tears from your eyes, no doubt ruining your makeup in the process, and as another had fallen, you squeezed your eyes to push them all out. In the split second your eyes were closed, you’d heard a large horn and felt your body jolt to the side, hitting your head on your window. All you could manage to do was grab your phone and see a bunch of texts, vision blurred so you couldn’t see who they were from.

Whoever it was, you’d texted: ‘hel p.’ Before letting the darkness, that was pushing your eyelids down, consume you.

Mason had received your text and almost threw up with worry. He clenched his teeth tightly together as he threw on his shoes, running out to his car and taking the route you always took to your parents. He knew you avoided motorways whenever you could, and he finally saw your car, both sides battered completely. He could barely breathe as he leapt out of his car, leaving the door wide open and going to check on you.

Your head was rested against the cracked window, he could see small shards impaling the skin of your face. His eyes were bleeding tears at this point, yanking on the doors but they wouldn’t open. Finally, your door had been forced open by his hands and he held you tight. He could feel your breath on his arm, so he knew not to assume the worst. His tears were landing on your hair, creating a small wet patch on your hairline.

“Wake up, please don’t do this to me.” He whimpered, holding you tighter to his chest as if it were doing something, “I’m not ready to lose you.” Your body felt limp, lifeless even, it was a feeling he never wanted to feel again. His chest ached with the sobs leaving him, wanting to curl up with you in bed. With you alive and well.

Finally, after holding you close to him, he’d called an ambulance. His voice shaking as he named the road and gave them your details. If he’d just listened to you, you wouldn’t be here right now, completely knocked out and in pain. He’d taken you from the car and carried you in his arms to his own. The sirens were rapidly approaching, his tears still falling from his eyes when they took you. He didn’t want to leave you, but he’d followed the ambulance to the hospital.

For hours he waited, eyes hopeful as a doctor left your room, but they’d walked the opposite way. The last he’d heard was that you were being taken into surgery, to remove the glass shards and stitch up the wounds on your head. He was advised to go home, grab you a change of clothes and get some sleep. But he refused. He wasn’t leaving this hospital until you were out with him. He wasn’t leaving until you knew how sorry he was for what he’d done.

He wept into his hands silently in the corner of the waiting room, lifting his hood up to avoid anyone who might know who he was. He’d contacted your family, telling them you’d been in an accident and that you were awaiting surgery. Of course they’d told Mason to keep them updated, wishing him and you well. He was shaking the entirety of the time he waited for you, finally a nurse coming up to him as he’d closed his eyes for a short while. It was almost 11 now, forgetting you’d gotten home late that night.

“She’s out of surgery,” the nurse confirmed, Mason’s heart beating faster for you, “she’s being transferred to a private room, and you’ll be able to see her there. We will have to keep her overnight, and we don’t allow visitors during the night. But visiting hours open at 6 tomorrow morning. Mason just nodded, he’d do whatever to see you again.

After an hour of waiting, he was finally allowed into your room. You were still groggy but upon seeing Mason’s face, all was forgotten. Grateful was an understatement, you’d been lucky enough to see Mason again. He sat down beside you, hand slipping through the wires and into your own, squeezing it gently.

“Hello, bubs.” He whispered, afraid of his voice breaking from the tears that had started back up again. You smiled weakly at him, biting you lip to contain your smile. “How you feeling?”

“Like death, if I’m honest.”

“You still look gorgeous even after being in a car wreck.” Mason admitted, brushing the hairs away from your eyes. The tiny cuts and stitches were dotted around your face, but your eyes still gleamed hopefully. Like they did when you first met.

You couldn’t hold it in anymore, “I’m sorry.” You cried, trying to turn away from Mason but it hurt to do so. Your whole body ached from being slammed into so hard.

“There’s not a thing to be sorry for, bubs.” Mason assured you, the pads of his thumbs wiping your tears away, “forget about the argument. Spend as much time as you want with your family, I don’t care. I’m just glad to still have you.”

“I should spend more time with you,” you mumbled into his hand, kissing his palm softly, “I’m sorry for not being around much. We need to make time for each other.” Mason just nodded, so full of joy to have you back with him.

[bb-babyy]

Spring Break of '86 (1)

Eddie Munson x Reader

Warning(s): Mature; swearing; violence;

Summary: Instead of enjoying a lavish spring break with your college friends, you were off running around Hawkins dodging the police with Eddie Munson, your ex.

Word Count: 2.0k

++++

The last thing you wanted to do during spring break was return to the hell hole known as Hawkins, Indiana. Not only was the damn town cursed, but the people were somehow even worse than the mysterious events in it. If it wasn't for your mother's constant nagging about wanting you to visit, you would have most definitely gone home with your roommate and partied until your liver jumped out of your throat from the abuse it would have had to withstand.

You took a large gulp from your cherry-flavored slushie while waiting for your brother and sister in the school parking lot. You kicked your legs as you sat on the edge of the truck bed in your beat-up truck. God forbid having them walk or take the bus or even work a minimum wage job to afford their own vehicle like you were forced to do when you still attended high school.

Gently gnawing on the tip of your straw, you watched the many cliches of high school students run past and hightail out of the parking lot. Five minutes passed before one of the twins appeared. You raised an eyebrow, silently asking where the other one was. "Matty is with his D&D club, while I still have practice. And then I'll be sleeping over at one of my friends' houses since the boy's basketball game is tomorrow, and we want to get ready together," Mary said. 

You groaned and hopped off the back of your truck. You held out your sister's favorite strawberry slushie, but she smiled apologetically and waved it off. You shrugged and asked her to carry it anyways before picking your brother's and your beverage up before slamming the tailgate closed; since the damn thing was dingy and rusted, it would hardly close with a soft click like it was supposed to. 

"Thanks, sis. I'll let mom know you won't be home tonight," you said and began walking towards the building. Before you could part ways, you gave her an obnoxious kiss on the forehead as a thank you and grabbed the unwanted drink from her hands.

She cringed and wiped the spot your lips were before rolling her eyes and walking in the opposite direction. It was safe to say that you honestly liked your siblings more before they hit puberty and became all ugh. You didn't attempt to take another sip of your drink, knowing that you would most likely spill it or drop the others in the process. 

It didn't take long to find the classroom where the club took place, especially the one you had spent countless hours in when you still attended two years ago. You fumbled with the doorknob and pressed the drinks closer to your body as you juggled the multiple tasks. You silently praised yourself from the familiar click of the door opening before using your foot to nudge it open the rest of the way. 

You quickly glanced around the room before spotting the second half of the twin set. "Matty! What the hell, dude? I've been waiting for you outside," you said as you plopped all three drinks on the table. You quickly rubbed your arms to bring back the departed heat from where the drinks were pressing into your skin. 

You paid little attention to the gaggle of nerds as they peered up at you from where they sat. Matty stood up, alarmed by your sudden appearance, and quickly stuffed many of his books and papers littered on the table into his backpack.

"S-sorry! I-I just wanted to go over the p-p-plan for tomorrow's c-campaign," he apologized. You grabbed his shaky hands in your own and forced him to look up at you. 

"It's okay; just give me a heads up next time if you want me to pick you up later," you said. Matty had Tourettes, and you had accidentally caused his shaky hand tic to appear when you spooked him. You dropped one of your hands from his own and brought the sugary drink up to his lips to help ease his nerves. A good brain freeze helped him reset.

You patiently waited until his hands had stopped the incisive movement before letting him go. You could feel the gaze of the rest of his club members on you, which caused you to take a glance away from your brother. You were pleasantly surprised by the familiar faces of Dustin and Mike, two out of four of the boys you had babysat since you were ten, and they were six until you left for college two years ago. 

"Dustin? Mike? What's up, guys?" you asked, walking closer to the duo on the other side of your brother. You held out your hand for Dustin, which caused a glimmer of understanding to appear in his eyes before you did your secret handshake. 

His lips curled into his loveable smile, which caused you to return one of your own. You would've done the same with Mike; however, he claimed to "forgot" how to do the one he had created with you.

"What are you doing here?" Mike asked. 

"I came to pick up my brother?" Your eyebrows furrowed from the obvious question. "N-no! Not here in the room, but in town!" he clarified. You let out a small laugh before throwing your arm around your brother's shoulders. 

"I just wanted to visit my baby siblings during spring break," you cooed and lightly pinched your brother's cheek. He shrugged your arm off of him and rolled his eyes. 

"Liar," Matty said. 

"I mean being stuck in Hawkins in an empty house all day since my baby siblings are too cool for me now or being in Miami with all my college friends and drinking until I forget what major I chose? Of course, I decided to come home!" Sarcasm dripped thickly from your lips.

"No, but for real, my mom said she would disown me or some shit if I didn't come home," you finished sitting on the edge of the table. The rest of the members grimaced in understanding how crazy your mom could get from the stories Matty had told them. 

You slid the unwanted slushie across the table towards Dustin and Mike's direction in a silent offering, which Dustin took graciously. You gave him a wink as he thanked you around the straw. 

Just as you were getting ready to leave, the door was kicked open, and a voice, loud and arrogant, rang throughout the room. You could feel your throat tighten as you took in the appearance of the person who walked in. 

It felt like time had stopped as familiar big brown doe eyes connected with your own. The words on his tongue died out as he took in the sight before him. Eddie Munson, your ex, the boy who broke your heart, was standing right in front of you. Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the sight of him. 

He looked exactly as he did a year ago; however, a few tattoos peeking under his shirt were new. 

His mouth opened and closed before he finally spoke up. "W-What are you doing here?" he asked. 

"I could ask you the same thing, Munson." Your face was wiped clean of all emotions the longer you looked at him. "W-well, you know what they say, the third time's the charm," Eddie said humorlessly as he waved his arms as if he was presenting the room before you. He had a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Your eyes widened in the realization that he meant he had been held back another year since the last time you saw him. 

You nod in understanding before addressing your bother again. "Let's get going before mom goes into cardiac arrest from us being late," you said, gesturing your head towards the direction of where Eddie stood. 

Just as you were getting ready to pass Eddie, you could see his hand reach for you, which caused you to flinch and look at him. He jerked back, and his eyes fluttered, a tell-tale sign that his eyes were beginning to fill up with tears. 

"I-It's nice to see you again," he said, lowering his arm to his side. You paused and just looked at him. You brought your straw to your lips and gave an obnoxious slurp to your empty cup before breaking eye contact and finished making your way out the door and away from Eddie.  

+++

"We should get married once we graduate," Eddie said, looking up at you as his head was nestled on your chest. Your hand froze mid-twirl on one of his perfect curls.

"W-what?"  

"I mean, why not? I can't even imagine a future without you in it. You're literally everything and more than what I could've dreamed of! I would be a complete idiot if I let you go," he said earnestly. You could feel your chest heat up from his words and how sincere his voice was as he spoke. 

You had been together since sophomore year, and now as seniors, you were more than eager to start a new chapter of your life, and knowing that Eddie wanted more than anything to have you with him for the rest of his life caused you to choke up. 

Tears began to bubble up in the corner of your eyes. You attempted to tilt your face further up from your laying position, but it was futile as they slipped right onto the pillow underneath your head. 

"Of course, I would say yes, Eddie. I can't picture a future without you either," you sobbed. His eyes softened, and he climbed up to meet you eye to eye. His eyes began to water as he planked on top of you. 

"I'll go wherever you go. Just me and you against the world, I promise," he said. You threw your arms around his neck and pulled him closer as you began to kiss him with so much passion and love you could put into a kiss. As your lips were intertwined, so were your tears as if to seal a promise that would hopefully be kept in two months. 

+++

Not even the joint between Eddie's fingers could keep his mind at ease. All he could think about was you. It was always the same memories on quiet nights like this that seemed to plague his mind. They suffocated him; they made him realize how worthless and pathetic he was. He gave up the one good thing in life and had no one to blame but himself. 

He let the smoke invade his lungs for a few beats before exhaling. The high he attempted to chase was on the brink of his mind before it faded. You were the best high he could ever achieve, as cliche and cringe as it sounds. 

The eyes that once admired him as if the stars had aligned now looked at him as if he was nothing. He could feel his heart constricting in his chest; he knew that he had fucked up royally. Seeing you today just made a wave of new, hurt emotions come crashing down on him. Deep down, he knew he didn't deserve to have this pity party, but he couldn't help it. 

Nothing had truly felt right with him since he broke up with you through his final letter. He felt as if he was holding you back. The freak who got held back while his partner achieved great things in college. 

The long-distance did work for a while, but then it got to him, with the help of his bullies, that he finally realized that he was a washed-up nobody. Why on earth would you stay with someone as stupid as him? You could have and be with anyone you wanted, so why settle for less?  

He knew it would rip both of your hearts out, but he had no choice. You deserved to be with someone other than the Freak of Hawkins.   

He reached over to the ashtray as he finally reached the butt end of his joint and snubbed it out. As he once again envisioned you laying next to him, playing with his curls, lulling the both of you to sleep as you did all those years ago.