#i think this is close to how juliet dresses like

[skzdarlings]

omg that sounds so fun!!!! (Sorry if this was quick I have your post notifs on) imma jump on this early!!! can we get “do you really think you’re in a position to give orders?” W changbin? 😩😩😩

summary: you are in love with the son of your family's greatest enemy. he sneaks into your room one night after a party.

pairing: seo changbin/reader content info: petite!reader. mentions of past body insecurities. romeo-and-juliet style love affair. sneaking around. gun play that is somehow more romantic than kinky but still kinda kinky. explicit sexual content. word count: 2900 words.

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masterlist. part of the valentine’s day stories series. credit to prompts. requests are closed.

enjoy!

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You catch his eye across the room. 

There are a hundred people between you, bustling in their designer gowns and glittering in their jewels.  The hotel ballroom is an incandescent chamber of silver light.  The sun has long since set but the party plays on in its excessive splendour, never tiring of itself. 

You are tired of it.  The glamour of this lifestyle has turned more tedious than not.  At the centre of all this majesty is money, and everyone in this room prioritizes their wealth and capital above everything else.  They have fought and slandered and killed each other and they will do it all again, but they throw their galas nonetheless. Places to celebrate themselves and their so-called achievements, to flaunt their successes in self-congratulation. Everyone laughs and dances, spinning around the ballroom, sipping their champagne. 

You smile and demur, pretending you are having a good time.  You sit with your family and only interact with their trusted allies or those who would be. 

He is vehemently not included in that. 

Seo Changbin. 

He is across the room with his family, your family’s greatest enemy.  Your father and his father are titans of business and the family rivalry spans generations.  It started with your great-grandparents and you are destined to uphold it.  You will marry an appropriate man of standing, someone who will expand the empire, someone whose allyship is worthwhile in both the monetary and social strata.  You will have children and raise them to take your place, to inherit your name and all the blood and money that comes with it.  

Those same expectations are on your enemy.   You hold gazes across the sparkling sea of people.  You look away first. 

You are coerced onto the dance floor by one of your father’s chosen men.  You join that sparkling sea. It is always bizarre to brush elbows with these people, knowing very well they would not hesitate to put a bullet in your head under any other circumstance.  You catch the sight of a few discreet weapons as you are twirled around the dance floor.   Ostensibly, weapons are not allowed inside the gala as fighting is prohibited, but these people always take their precautions. 

Your dance partner spins you.  You twirl as per the dance, then stumble to a halt because Changbin is standing there.  He is dancing with someone too, has them spun out the opposite way.  You stand in the middle of the ballroom looking at each other, faces equally stoic. 

He is dressed in all black, austere and intimidating.  His black hair falls in a sweep across his forehead, just this side of too-long so it obscures his eyes if he tilts his head a certain way.  He is always so meticulously hidden in public, nothing but a walking shadow.  He is a dark reflection of his family and their grim reputation.

But his jovial laughter is in your mind, his witty quips, his jokester nature.  He is devastatingly charming and endlessly humorous. 

You would never know just looking at him.  Changbin is not the tallest man in the room but he more than compensates with his bulk and power.  Pretty much anyone would be big next to you, but you know what your hand looks like when laid against his, how all encompassing the breadth of his big arms feel when they wrap around you. 

He does not touch you.  He looks.  He smirks, like he knows your heart is racing.  Then he spins away.  Your partner pulls you back. 

The dance continues.

-

You say you are sick and leave the party early.  You are escorted back to the house with your usual security flank, sitting in the backseat of your limo with a guard on either side of you.  They wear bulletproof gear under their uniform, matching pale blue in the family’s colours, and wearing bulky glasses to shield their eyes.  They are all armed to teeth, wearing their holsters and belts.  They dwarf you almost comically.  They do not speak to you.

When you reach the house, you go straight to your bedrooms.  You have three rooms to yourself, each lonely space spilling into the next.  You dress in your closet, leaving the gown pooled in a silk mess on the floor.  You discard your jewelry and amble to your main room in a satin nightdress and robe.

You almost miss it, the sound so faint, but you swear a gentle knocking comes from your balcony doors.  They are still sealed shut.  Security did not notice anything remiss upon arrival, but there is a blind spot in the security camera on your balcony.  There are no cameras inside your room for privacy purposes.  But no one would know that unless you told them.   

And you have only told one person. 

You approach the balcony doors, wary.  You peer into the night, eyes roving the grand expanse of the brightly lit garden and swimming pool.  Wind rustles through the leaves of the trees and a security guard is finishing his round. 

You step onto your balcony slowly.  The security guard can only see you when you lean over.  He waves at you before leaving the yard, continuing the rest of his patrol elsewhere.   You watch him go. 

The world is quiet as it ever is.  You can hear the buzz of the pool lights and the tinkling of your wind chimes, little else.  You lean against your balcony railing and look over the yard.  You weigh the luxury of the estate against its cost.  Not for the first time, you ruminate on how it is absolutely not worth it. 

You sigh and turn.  Then you freeze at what, who, you find. 

You mistake him for a security guard for half a second, which nearly gives you a heart attack because they are never on your balcony.  But he is just wearing one of their uniforms.  You are not sure when he stole it, tonight or previously.  

Seo Changbin stands there in the blue uniform shirt and gun holster, winking at you behind bulky glasses.  He is pressed against the wall in the solitary blind spot, nodding his head to your balcony door.  If you open it a little wider, he can sneak in undetected. 

Like he has done a dozen times before. 

You feign nonchalance for the camera, humming to yourself as you step into your bedroom.  You push your door open all the way, positioning yourself in distracting view of the lens while he sneaks inside.   Then you follow and slam the door shut.  You both take a curtain and draw them together, meeting in the middle. 

“You shouldn’t be here,” you say.  It is not what you want to say.  You want to say, thank god you are here.  I missed you so much.  But that is an utterly foolish proclamation.  You know better.  You have always known better. 

But the son of your family’s greatest enemy is standing in your bedroom anyway.  He looks at you, at where you clutch your robe, at where you wet your lips.   He removes the glasses and tosses them aside, as if to study you more closely. 

“I shouldn’t,” he says.  You cannot tell if it is an agreement or a question. 

“No, you shouldn’t,” you say.  You take a step back, because every second in his proximity only compels you closer.  It is surer than a planet caught in a gravitational pull, threatened to be shattered by the sheer cosmic power of the star holding it in orbit.

He steps with you.  When you take another step, he follows.  Back and back and back.  He feels big in this space.  Even though your room is massive, his presence shadows your little world.  When your back hits the wall and he looms in front of you, he is all you can see.  Nothing else exists beyond him. 

“Changbin, we shouldn’t be doing this,” you say, though you know it is useless to protest your liaison with any logic, because this is a matter of the heart and not mind.  That rebellious heart of yours beats faster.  “If anyone found you here… we’d both be in so much trouble.” 

“I won’t let them hurt you,” he says.  He speaks with such easy confidence, like it is a matter of fact and not hope.  He says it so certainly that you almost believe him. 

“You can’t promise that,” you say. 

“Yah, shame on you,” he teases.  “You know I always keep my word.” 

It is true.  Though Changbin has a formidable reputation, it has little basis in actuality.  He is a man of strong moral principle.  He does not like the fighting and brawling and warring.  He does not hurt innocent people, nor does he put civilians at risk for the sake of a stupid business. 

And he has treated you with more loving respect than anyone else in your life. 

Of course you surrender to him, again and again, sighing now as you lean against the wall and release your robe.  It falls open and reveals your little nightdress.  His gaze dives down your body, igniting sparks inside you.  You were once insecure about your appearance, taking to heart your mother’s admonishments, that you were scrawny and gaunt, nothing but a burden as they struggled to find a match for you. 

It is no struggle for Changbin.  He curses even though he has seen you a dozen times.  He holds your hips, then runs his strong hands up your body so you shiver all over.  He cups the back of your head and draws you close, like he intends to kiss you.  You are ready for it, eyelids heavy and lips parting. 

With his other hand, he reaches for his chest holster.  You blink as he slowly draws the gun, as he brings it closer to you.  It feels like your whole body turns to liquid heat, heart thundering as he rests the barrel so delicately against your temple. 

“See, baby,” he says, “if they find us, they’ll blame me.  What was a little thing like you supposed to do, ah?  Fight me?” 

You are breathing harder, already so hot with anticipation.  You gasp when he tugs you closer still, the gun still tapping your temple. 

His lips are so close to yours, they almost touch.

“Poor baby,” he says.  “She’s so good to her family.  It’s not her fault Seo Changbin climbed in her window and fucked her in her little nightdress.”  He moves the gun, making your breath catch again.  The barrel touches your lips then moves down, down.  It brushes a sensitive nipple, then moves lower still.  The cool metal brushes your inner thigh under your nightdress and your knees starting shaking, a delicious heat twisting in your belly.  “Tsk, tsk,” he says.  “No panties.  Maybe it’s not my fault completely.” 

“We really shouldn’t do this,” you say, but it is still not what you want to say. I want you, I need you, so so badly.

He smiles and lifts the gun again, all the way up to your mouth where he taps your lips.

“Do you really think you’re in a position to give orders?” he asks.

It is so funny; Changbin is holding a gun to your lips but you feel more safe than dancing among those people at the party.  You trust him so completely, so irrevocably, that you do not feel truly threatened for even a moment.  There is something so liberating and joyous in allowing your body to go completely lax, in forgetting all your many grievances for the short but blissful time you have with him.  Your heart is so full you could burst. 

You kiss the tip of the gun, then smile. 

“Well,” you say.  “What are you waiting for?” 

He tosses the gun onto the bed so he can hold you with both hands when he kisses you.  You moan against his lips.  His searching hands are careful where he touches you, squeezing and loving. He cups the small curve of your breast in his palm, rubs there until electric desire shoots to every extremity.

You shrug your robe off and he wastes no time gathering you into his arms. He holds you so securely, picking you up with no effort at all.  Then you are pressed against the wall with him pressed against you. 

“Yes, yes,” you say, gasping, as he kisses down your neck.  He hikes you higher, catching you effortlessly, guiding your legs around him as he kisses down to your breasts.  He wraps his lips around a nipple through your dress, making you clench your thighs around him, which makes him giggle like the maniacal tease he is. 

“You like that,” he says, and tugs your dress down to get his mouth on you properly.  He is so good with his tongue.  You feel a little giddy, thinking to yourself that it is his true weapon.  Fast, precise, teasing you and working you until you are tugging at his head and grinding against him. 

“I need you,” you say, breathlessly, “Changbin, Changbin—”  

You seldom take your time, given the danger of the situation.  With the house empty and both your families occupied, you have time tonight to go a little slower, but you simply cannot wait.  You are both accustomed to instant satisfaction when together.  Your body feels wrong without him inside it.  You need him like a breath of air. 

“Please,” you say.

You do not have to beg much.  He fiddles with his belt and his zip, then he repositions you.  You cover your mouth to catch your squeal when he pushes inside you.  He moans into your neck to stifle his own sounds. 

“Baby, so good for me,” he murmurs, sounding intoxicated from the silky feel of you, wrapped around him so completely. 

You know the feeling.  You are incapable of forming sentences, clinging to him desperately as he fucks you steadily against the wall.  He holds you with just one arm, the other palm planted flat to the wall, near your head.  You clutch his big bicep while your other hand sinks in the hair at his nape.   You fuck until he is close, when he carries you to the bed and lays you out. 

You lean forward and take him in your mouth, sucking him down until he comes.  He bites his wrist to keep his volume down. 

You wipe your lips, smiling.  Then you sprawl back on the bed, nightdress turned to little more than a sash around your middle.  You slide it off completely.  Even though he just came, he is already looking you with hungry eyes.  He puts a knee on the bed, evidently ready to pounce.   

You pick up the gun and point it at him, quirking a playful eyebrow.  He blinks at you, surprised, then smiles as well. 

“Baby,” he says.  “That wasn’t the plan.”

“Do you really think you’re in a position to give orders?” you reply. 

It just makes him laugh.  The sound makes your heart gush with sentiment.  He looks so handsome and sweet, hair pushed back, a light sheen of sweat on his neck.  He is still mostly dressed, tucked back into his pants, but they are open and slung low, his shirt all untucked. 

He gazes at you with deep, dark eyes, nothing but affection on his face.  He plays your game and strips his shirt off, then he crawls across the bed until he is close enough for you to rest the barrel of the gun against his temple. 

“Go on,” you say, nodding. 

Truly, his tongue is the greater weapon.  The gun does not stand a chance, falling out of your hand, forgotten, as he descends between your legs.  You feather his hair through your fingers, then dig into his scalp, riding the motion of his mouth as he licks and sucks and kisses you down there.   You come with a shivering sigh, your legs shaking. 

He lifts his head and wiggles his eyebrows.  “Good?” he asks, to which you can only nod.  “Ha-ha,” he says, lightly slapping your thigh.  “Of course it was.  It’s me.”

You laugh, shaking your head and playfully rolling your eyes. 

“You are incorrigible,” you say. 

He climbs up your body and kisses you on the lips, tasting of you.  It makes you whimper, delighted. 

“I think you meant to say incredible,” he teases.  “That’s okay, I understood you anyway.” 

“I’m sure you did,” you say.  Because there is a great deal of truth in that statement.  You and him are on opposite sides of this ridiculous feud, but you are in exactly the same place.  No one understands you better than him. 

That understanding is written all over his face.  He smiles tenderly, cupping your cheek in his hand.  His next kiss is the definition of romance itself, sweet and long, enough to make you swoon. 

“How much time do you think we have?” you ask.

“Not much,” he answers, then kisses you again.  “Don’t think about it now.  It’s okay, baby.  I got you.” 

“I know,” you say.  You wrap your arms around each other and hold tight, kissing again while you can.  The truth is, neither of you is in any position to dictate your fate.  But he kisses you like that does not matter, with no past and no tomorrow on the horizon.   You take control of this moment and consider it a happy ending for as long as you can.   

[housepartyprotocol]

Romeo and Juliet - Part 1

Lando Norris X Ferarri Driver!Reader

Y/N is a powerhouse driver in F1, an icon dressed in Ferarri red. So when a driver in blue (and orange) has eyes for her, how will she react? How will the public react? With twists and turns and ships, how will this story end, let's hope not how the original story ends.

Masterlist / TipJar

ynusername

liked by landonorris, charlesleclerc, lewishamilton, and 320,654 others

ynusername Getting ready for Suzuka, saw this gorgeous woman on a magazine cover, wonder who she is?

view all 5,208 comments

user1 Hmmm, I think that's you girl

ynusername No way !!??! Look at me, woah damn

landonorris See you there!

scuderiaferarri I see a race win for us

ynusername Manifesting

lewishamilton Japan is waiting for you!

user2 Y/N! I love you

liked by ynusername

landonorris

liked by charlesleclerc, carlossainzjr, and 294,628 others

landonorris Slightly upsetting that we missed out on a podium, but Japan you've been beautiful

view all 4,987 comments

user3 Wow thank you for calling me beautiful (I'm Japanese)

user4 Girl dream harder

charlesleclerc You were so close, brilliant race though mon ami

landonorris Congrats on your 1 2 charlesleclerc Merci, wish I was the 1

user5 Almost there champ

mclaren Let's bring it hard to Miami, baby!

landonorris Dream hard, work harder

ynusername

liked by landonorris, charlesleclerc, georgerussell and 405,530 others

ynusername Suzuka. A Win. A Wonder.

view all 6,109 comments

user6 Congrats!! 2 time race winner right here!

user7 I see many future world championships!!

scuderiaferarri We are so proud, lets keep up the momentum

liked by ynusername

landonorris Congrats Y/N, you deserve it!

user8 does she ever respond to his comments user9 she doesn't even like his instagram user8 oh damn, does she not like him?

lewishamilton Well Done Y/N it was such a close race

ynusername you were amazing with your p3

charlesleclerc P1-P2 Baby

ynusername We Goooooooo Baby user10 Baby? user11 They are just friends, Charles has a girlfriend user10 okay...

landonorris

liked by charlesleclerc, oscarpiastri, carlossainzjr, and 300,243 others

landonorris Death to Lando No-Wins with a Miami P1 BABYY

view all 7,264 comments

user12 LETS GO LANDO

user13 FUTURE WORLD CHAMPION!!

mclaren Long time coming Lando, Here is to many more

landonorris To many more!

user14 Undeserved

user15 Explain? I missed it user14 Y/N was leading and dominating the race, and he attempted a stupid overtake which caused contact with Y/N. Y/N DNF'ed and Lando goes on to win with no damage or penalty user16 "Racing Incident" Unfair (Sexist ?) user14 Y/N looked so mad in her post-race interview

georgerussell Congrats on the win lad

liked by landonorris

ynusername

liked by scuderiaferarri, charlesleclerc, lewishamilton, and 349,162 others

ynusername Abrupt end to the Miami GP through no fault on our team's behalf. But at least I was correctly taken out by good company once this weekend by my dear friends.

view all 5,928 others

user17 Pop off, put them in their place! You didn't deserve that

user18 Winner in our eyes!

scuderiaferarri On to the next, eyes forward

liked by ynusername

lewishamilton Unfortunate, but there will be more races to win

ynusername many more ? liked by lewishamilton

charlesleclerc Have you checked for messages

ynusername yes, not sure I am going to respond charlesleclerc Respond, it will do you both good user19 Do you think Lando messaged her user20 Maybe. He should it was his fault

user21 She should stop complaining, its not a good look

user22 Shut up. Thank you.

f1news

liked by 1,638 users

f1news Lando Norris was spotted with a girl in a small New York cafe. People think it may be a new girlfriend, others believe it is Y/N L/N. Either way, it looked like a very intimate conversation ending with a kiss on the cheek. They left together...

view all 402 comments

user23 If it is Y/N, Lando better be apologising

user24 New WAG alert

user25 Omg if they are dating Y/N is more than a WAG. Lando would be a WAG

user26 They would be such a hot couple user27 Parents

landonorris

liked by charlesleclerc, ynusername, lewishamilton and 200,536 others

landonorris Monaco GP you beauty, I see a podium

view all 5,256 comments

mclaren Oscar and Lando are always on the podium in our mind

user28 Papaya fan unite, we will take this home

charlesleclerc I'll see you on the track

liked by ynusername

user29 Y/N is here?

user30 Did you see their date user31 Was it confirmed? user30 In our hearts

ynusername

liked by landonorris, charlesleclerc, lewishamilton and 305,362 others

ynusername Pregaming practice (don't worry @,scuderiaferarri I'm not drunk driving)

view all 3,267 comments

scuderiaferarri Happy to hear (!!)

ynusername Love ya too xx

landonorris See you out on the track, bring your A game

ynusername Don't do anything silly. Again landonorris As you wish user32 Princess bride quotes? My HEART ?!?! user33 Omg she responded to him

charlesleclerc Let's bring the Ferarri power

liked by ynusername

lewishamilton Lovely girl

user34 wha

f1news

liked by 2,013 users

f1news (Ignore my lack of podium photo I couldn't find one) But... The talented Y/N L/N topped the podium and took another win in Monaco with Lando Norris P2. The two shared a long look while up on the podium, and a tight embrace which lasted a bit longer than expected, fuelling the idea they may be something more. Rumours are flying, pity for all the Y/N x Lewis shippers

view all 438 comments

user35 Isn't he like 15 years older than her?

user36 Can't a girl have daddy issues user35 She does? user36 No, but I do, I just want to live through her

user37 I want Lando and Y/N to date and then kiss on the podium

user37 I would die happy

lewis hamilton

liked by ynusername, landonorris, georgerussell, and 632,754 others

lewishamilton Thank you, Monaco, treating myself to a little reward

view all 20,534 comments

user38 NO, LEWIS IS TAKEN?

georgerussell Good for you man!

user39 Hear me out, Ferarris in the second pic. Who drives for Ferarri and owns a Ferarri... Y/N

user40 You think they are dating? user39 Could be, she liked the post....

mercedesamgf1 Don't forget about us, your poor team

lewishamilton Never

ynusername This is cute <3

landonorris Very user41 No, I'm now believing it is Y/N user42 I'm holding out for Lando, he only responded to her comment, he didn't comment liked by landonorris

END OF PART 1

(a/n So, first part done with a little cliffhanger. Hope you all enjoyed this, and I can't wait to post part 2!, join my tag list here )

(taglist: @moonylightmoon @smw-96 )

[lowkeychenle]

Guilty As Sin? [ZCL] (M)

Description: Chenle is everything you want--everything you need. Somehow, the thought of him manages to pull you back in even after you were free. Messy kisses, late night trysts, and him tracing the word 'mine' on your thigh--barely anything, so how could you possibly be guilty as sin? (based on Guilty As Sin? by Taylor Swift)

Genre: Smut/Fluff/Angst (there are like text message screenshots in here too!)

Content Warnings: Smutty smutness, use of the word 'slut' in a couple different instances, uhhh self...help lol, explicit, rough, unprotected sex, and I think that's it for now *MDNI*

Word Count: 9k

Taglist: @niinjo @dinosaurtoothbrushwithninjasauce @sleepyvic @christinewithluv @lostinneocity @thisisnotjacinta @toursworld

Permanent Taglist: @neozon3nha @sunnybutcloudy

Pairing: Zhong Chenle x fem!Reader (features roommate!Renjun, Mark, Jaemin, aespa Karina! and other Dreamies sporadically lol i don't even remember who's in here)

A/N: sorry if this feels a bit rushed :( busy season approaches again

Juliet's Masterlist | Tell me what you think? :)

Lips brush against your neck and trail up to your ear, and you feel his smile before you hear his chuckle. His hand grips your thigh, but as he pulls back, his eyes travel along your face. His irises have gone dark, and he gulps. The room is far hotter than it should be, and as you sit next to Chenle on your couch, his fingertip traces a single word on your skin, over and over again.

MINE

MINE

MINE

MINE

“(Y/N), are you listening?” Chenle’s voice snaps you out of your thoughts, and hopefully nobody notices how your stare was stuck on the way he taps his fingers on his jeans. Your face heats up, but you try your best to hide it.

“What? Sorry, tired today.” You sit back in your chair, glancing around the room to see your roommate, Renjun, and several of your other friends sitting on the various seats around your living area.

“You don’t look tired.” Karina raises her eyebrow at you.

You glare back at her. “How do you want me to fix that?”

“Chenle was asking us if we wanted to go to a party next week,” Jisung adds. “A friend we don’t know of his is turning twenty-three.”

“Uh, sure. I’ll be right back.” You launch up, heading for the kitchen. Before you turn fully, you make eye contact with Chenle. He leans back on the couch cushion, legs crossed, and head tilted. He’s dressed so simply, sweatpants and a dark, loose-fit T-shirt, but you could ignore those things for your own sanity.

What you can’t ignore?

The quirk of his eyebrow. Did you just imagine the way he looked you up and down? Every inch of your skin feels hot, and you think of those fucking fingers on your thigh all over again.

Before you embarrass yourself any further, you quickly move towards the kitchen, throwing the door of the refrigerator open to grab a water bottle. You set it on the counter after inhaling half of it, and then brace your palms on the edge, too. Closing your eyes, you take a deep breath. You’re not sure why you can’t stop fucking thinking about it.

His hips slam into yours while his hand covers your mouth to keep you quiet. Your eyes roll back in pleasure. No matter what, you’re lost in the feeling of him inside you, the sweet stretch and how his jaw is clenched hard to keep his own noises at bay. You want to feel him everywhere, to truly lose yourself in the moment.

You wrap your legs around his waist to get him closer, and he curses a little louder than he should—

“You okay?” Chenle’s voice startles you so much, you jump and let out a loud gasp.

“Fuck, why would you sneak up on me like that?” You try to focus on this Chenle, and not the one you’d been thinking about two seconds ago. Your body is on fire, and all you can do is hope everyone leaves soon.

“I…I didn’t.” He chuckles.

As soon as his fingertips graze your arm, you stop breathing. Your gaze darts down to the contact and you gulp. “What are you doing?”

“Uh, nothing? Are you okay? What’s gotten into you today?” He retracts his touch, concern flashing across the deep brown color of his eyes.

“I think I’m getting sick or something.” You scratch your forehead. “Sorry if I’m being weird.”

The next thing you know, he’s stepping closer to you. Your back is pressed into the countertop, and he slowly lifts his hand to press the back of it to your forehead. You try to control your breathing, but it’s no use.

“Hm,” Chenle murmurs. “You feel hot. You should go lay down and get some rest.”

That alone has embarrassment traveling through you at the speed of light. What the fuck is happening right now? He’s much too close, smells too good, and his voice is making your insides flutter.

“I…” You clear your throat and pull him away by his wrist. “Yeah, I’ll go.”

You grab your water bottle and practically run away from him, not stopping to acknowledge the rest of your friends as you travel the distance to your room. Closing the door behind you, you rest your back against it and let out a shaky breath. You pat your cheeks, trying hard to force it all out of your mind.

You can’t want Chenle right now. It’s severely inconvenient.

To be honest, you’re not even sure how it got this bad. How you got to the point where being around him has you on fire, craving to take off everything you’re wearing and cool yourself down.

You crawl into your bed instead, lying flat on your back and staring up at the ceiling. Mark’s obnoxious laugh sounds from the living room, but you try to tune everyone out. You don’t realize your hand resting on your lower abdomen until Chenle comes barrelling back into your thoughts.

“You gonna be good for me?” he murmurs, kissing your shoulder and breathing you in.

“Yes,” you say.

“Good girl.” His lips press against your jawline. “Can you show me? Show me how you want me to touch you, baby.”

You curse under your breath, the heat finally becoming too much. The stickiness between your legs is humiliating with your friends really only a few feet away, but you can’t find it within yourself to care. You lift your hips and quickly remove your shorts.

“Don’t be shy now,” Chenle scolds you, grabbing your wrist and guiding it down. “How else do I learn what you like, huh?”

You slide your hand beneath your panties, biting down hard on your bottom lip as you come in contact with your clit. A whine gets stuck in your throat, and you dip just a bit lower to gather wetness from your entrance. You pant, your arousal easily coating your fingers.

“Don’t rush.” His voice fills your ears, resonating deep inside you. “Make yourself feel good. Mean it.”

As your fingers make it back to your throbbing bud, you look at him. He sits on his knees, gaze locked on your core. He seems just as impatient as you—his hips rock his cock into his fist as he watches you.

“You’re so fucking wet. Little slut wants my cock that bad?”

“Yes.” You don’t mean to let it slip out for real, but the fast, tight circles have you lost in the clouds.

“Bet I’d make that tight little cunt feel better than you could, huh?”

“Fuck me.” You’re basically pleading at this point. “Fuck, I need it so bad.”

You lift your hips up, desperate for more. Your other hand grips the pillowcase next to your head. Pleasure tingles up your spine as you give yourself some much needed relief. Whispering curses under your breath, you allow yourself to slip two fingers inside. He’s right—yours would never compare to his. So long, so precise, so able to take you places you’ve never been before.

“I’ll give it to you soon,” he whispers, strained. “I need to see you cum first. Make a mess for me so I know you’re ready for my cock.”

You have no fucking clue what it is, but Chenle always has you cumming fast. As you pump your fingers inside, you use your other hand to stimulate your clit. Butterflies flutter in your stomach.

“So fucking desperate. Bet you want me to cum inside, don’t you? Fuck you full of my cum and watch it spill out.”

Just a little more, that’s all you need. You mutter his name quietly, refraining from whining as your hips buck.

“It’s okay, baby, I know you need me.” Chenle’s lips brush yours as slowly rocks against you. Your walls stretch so perfectly around him, you think you’ll go crazy. He lets out a curse when you dig your nails into his back, wreaking havoc on his skin.

God, you swear if you close your eyes and think hard enough, you can feel it. Your stomach twists and turns, and your high approaches way faster than you’d like. You want to savor him and all he has to offer.

You call his name, your body matching his every movement. Sweat covers both of you, sticking your chests together as his tongue wrestles with yours. He pulls away to meet your gaze and stares at you through hazy, clouded eyes.

He releases his grip on your hand, and you immediately lift it from where he pinned it on the mattress to his hair. When you tangle your fingers in it, he gasps, his hips stuttering against yours. He lets out a shuddering breath as he reaches down to thumb your clit, his forehead dropping onto your neck. Your entire being vibrates from being touched by him. It doesn’t take long for you to reach your high, your walls clamping down as you quickly bite down on his shoulder to muffle yourself.

The moan that leaves his lips is high pitched, short, and mixed with a few pretty curse words, and his hips buck one more time before he spills inside you. You clench your eyes shut as the two of you take a moment to regulate yourselves.

When you open them, you’re met with your ceiling instead of a sweaty, blissed out Chenle. You sigh in disappointment, but remove your fingers and try to recuperate your oxygen. You let yourself rest for a second, and then you’re swinging your legs over the side of your bed. Even the mere thought of Chenle doing those things to you has your legs tingling, almost uncomfortable to walk on as you make your way over to your dresser.

Once you change into a clean pair of panties and slide your shorts back on, you go into the bathroom and wash your hands. You look into the mirror and gulp, letting different thoughts take over.

Your towel is wrapped tightly around you as you walk back into your room, surprised to find Chenle still scrolling on his phone in your bed. Heart caught in your chest, you blink away your shock. “You’re still here.”

“Do I seem like someone who would leave after something like that?” He quirks an eyebrow at you, letting his screen fade to black before he tosses it on the bedside table. “C’mon, now, you should know me better than that.”

“I…” You clear your throat and scratch your forehead.

“Do you want me to go?” he asks. “I don’t want you to be uncomfortable or anything. I just thought…”

“No, no,” you interrupt him. “Of course not. It’s…different, though. This is us.”

He chuckles. “Yeah, it is.”

“Okay.” You nod, almost as if convincing yourself. “We can still…be us.”

“We can,” he confirms.

You splash some water on your face to get yourself to stop thinking about him. Nothing good will ever come from it. When you’re back in your room, you check your phone. A single notification is on the screen from Chenle. Embarrassment floods through you as you type a response, unable to shake how this is the man that had your legs shaking less than ten minutes ago. Not that he had to do anything to make it that way.

You slap a hand to your forehead. Guilt replaces your embarrassment. Chenle is a sweet guy, and always looks out for you as much as he can. You shouldn’t be lying to him like this.

His typing bubble comes up and disappears several times, like he’s debating on what he should say to that. He wants to take care of you. You shouldn’t let that mean this much to you, but you can’t help it. Finally, your phone dings with his response.

Being alone with Chenle makes you more nervous than you’d care to admit. You pace until you hear the knock on your door. The rest of the apartment is silent as you quickly make your way over to let him in. Of course, tonight was the night Renjun had to leave you alone.

You take a deep breath before allowing him inside. His form takes up the doorway, the darkness cascading over his features and making him that much more defined. You step out of his way, and he walks in without hesitation. He sets the plastic bag on the counter, but doesn’t look at you even as you approach.

“You really didn’t have to.”

“I know,” he says. “I wanted to.”

“Why?”

He shrugs.

“Chenle.”

“It’s a family recipe,” he replies, pushing the bag toward you. “I won’t stay, but make sure you eat it, alright?”

“I don’t have a fever,” you insist.

“Can you stop being so stubborn?” He frowns as he turns to you, his eyebrows furrowed. “What’s going on with you lately?”

“With me?”

“Yeah. You don’t even want to be in the same room as me. Did I do something?” He shoves his hands into his pockets. “I came up to you in the kitchen earlier and you acted like I’m the scariest person alive. So, was it me? What happened to make you so uncomfortable with being alone with me?”

You let out a nervous laugh. “I don’t want to do this right now. It’s past midnight and, according to you, I’m sick.”

“Alright.” His annoyance pulls his lips tightly together. “You’re going next week, right?”

You chew the inside of your cheek and nod. “Of course.”

“Cool. I guess I’ll see you then.” He doesn’t let you say another word before he leaves, and as soon as the door closes behind him, you let out a long sigh.What the hell are you supposed to do? He brings you food when you’re sick, texts you to make sure you’re okay, and is always conveniently timed in all of it. You push that thought away. The last thing you need is more to think about.

From the car, you and Renjun can hear the music from inside the house. You look the property up and down. People are everywhere, and you suddenly feel way too overwhelmed to actually go inside.

“Before we get out,” Renjun starts. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“You and Chenle.”

“Well, that’s not a question.”

He glares at you. “So he shares his location with me, and the other night, I clicked on his contact so I could give Jaemin his number. He was at our place and I definitely watched him leave before I did.”

“Yeah, and? Chenle and I are friends.” You stare back blankly.

“Come on.” He sighs. “You were basically ready to pounce on him from across the room, and then he comes back after everyone is gone?”

“Pouncing across the room is a little crazy, Jun.” You roll your eyes. “I promise you, I didn’t do anything with Chenle that night. I wasn’t feeling well and he came back to give me soup.”

He pauses. “In the middle of the night?”

“I can literally show you the text messages. And I solemnly swear I did not fuck nor intend to fuck Chenle.” You purse your lips and give him a pointed look. “Can we go inside now?”

“If you like him, you can tell me. We’re friends, you know.”

“Like Chenle?” Your voice raises a few pitches. “Renjun, this is ridiculous. Let’s just go.”

“And you should know, he wouldn’t just leave his house in the middle of the night without a reason. So, you being a little sick must be a really big deal to him.” Renjun covers his chuckle with a fake cough. “But yeah, let’s go.”

It’s been decided. You need a drink.

As you walk through the door, your phone buzzes in your pocket.

You send a quick glance over to your roommate, only to find him already deep in conversation with Jeno. Using that as your opportunity, you head to the direction of the kitchen, hoping you’ll find it in this giant house.

Chenle’s laugh sounds over the music, and you snort as you continue your path. You walk in, and Jaemin throws back a shot of…some mysterious liquid while Chenle and Karina grimace at him. His face scrunches up and a loud groan passes by his lips as he shakes his head.

“That shit is strong.” Jaemin fakes a gag and immediately grabs a can of Sprite to use as his chaser. “Disgusting.”

Chenle sees you first and smiles, and your heart plummets into your stomach. You’re not used to feeling this way around him, not really, but after the other night, everything feels awkward. Maybe he somehow secretly knows what you did.

He beckons you over, immediately grabbing another empty cup and mixes you a drink. You pause, blinking at him. He knows what your favorite is, and you have to wonder how.

Instead of standing next to Chenle, you take Karina’s other side and accept the cup. His smile falters but he doesn’t let it show for too long. Soon enough, he’s back to making fun of Jaemin.

Jisung peeks into the room, waving the four of you down. “You guys. Truth or dare. Living room. Now.”

“For fucks sake.” You sigh, and before you follow Jisung, you grab the bottle from Chenle and dump more alcohol into your drink.

You’re gonna need it.

The good thing about playing this game with your friends is that if you don’t want to answer, you just have to take a shot. Knowing Renjun, he’ll try to do something to make you admit the truth, and you can’t let that happen.

“Okay, drink penalty is two shots per skipped question,” Donghyuck starts. “Three if you skip a dare.”

There’s a devilish gleam in Renjun’s eyes from where he sits across from you, and all you know is you’re in for a whole new world of mental torture.

“I’ll start.” Renjun raises his hand.

“Cool.” Donghyuck replies. “Have at it.”

“Chenle,” Renjun says, making his selection quickly. “Truth or dare?”

“Me first?” Chenle inhales through his teeth. “I don’t trust you. Truth.”

“When’s the last time you got laid?”

Chenle visibly recoils, scratching the top of his head. “Wow, that’s crazy. I don’t know, a couple weeks ago?”

You don’t allow yourself to have a reaction to that. How can you?

“Jaemin.” He points to the pink haired man across from him.

“Dare. Obviously.”

“I dare you to remove one article of clothing every time someone skips a question.” Chenle grins.

“Sure.” Jaemin shrugs in response. “Easy. Mark, what about you?”

“Truth. Your dares are ridiculous.”

The night goes on like that, and eventually, Renjun is asking you the dreaded question.

You roll your eyes, but pick dare. Mistake.

“I dare you to kiss whoever you think the most attractive person is.”

You turn to Jaemin. “Looks like you’re finally taking your shirt off.” You grab the bottle of alcohol and the shot glass, much to Renjun’s dismay.

As you lift the first one to your lips, you catch Chenle’s gaze. His eyes are narrowed as you throw the first back and cringe. While Renjun refills the glass, you and Chenle are in a staring match, almost like he wants to know who you would’ve picked.

Renjun hands you the alcohol. “I’m trying to help you, you know.”

“I don’t need help,” you shoot back. “Stop helping.”

It doesn’t take long after your third for you to feel it, the room spinning slowly as you fight to pay attention to the game. Jaemin found that his shoes counted as an article of clothing, so all he’s got left are his pants, underwear, and one sock.

“Chenle, truth or dare?” Mark asks.

“Dare.” A chorus of ooh’s flood after Chenle says it.

When Renjun leans over to whisper something to Mark, you almost groan out loud.

Mark turns his attention back to Chenle. “Pick one of the girls, and they have to sit on your lap for the rest of the night. If they say no, you have to do the three shots.”

With the alcohol raging through your system, you wouldn’t have the energy to pretend you don’t want that to be you. You won’t hesitate to climb over, despite that being the last thing you should do.

He looks at you, his eyes dancing over your figure before he beckons you over with a single nod. He’s already done his fair share of passing on truths this round, so there’s no way you’re making him take three more shots. He’d be cooked.

Giving yourself a mental pep talk, you shuffle over to him. You hesitate about actually getting on top of him, but he doesn’t hesitate to wrap his arm tightly around your waist and pull you as close as he can get you. All you hope is that the catch of your breath isn’t noticeable.

In the split second you look back at him, your gaze travels down to his lips. He’s so close, but you know you have to stop. You can’t let this happen right now. But as soon as you feel the warmth of his body pressed to yours, your thoughts run rampant all over again. It takes every ounce of barely existent willpower to get you to turn towards the group again.

“Relax.” Chenle’s breath tickles your ear as his arms wrap around your midriff. “They want a reaction.”

“How do you—”

“Jaemin, truth or dare?” Chenle ignores whatever question you were about to ask, and your shoulders slump.

A few more rounds pass, and Renjun asks you if you’re interested in anyone. Drunk you can’t lie, so you take two more shots. You shift on top of Chenle to get your shots, and he loosens his grip a bit to give you more room. Without hesitation, you throw the shots back and watch as Jaemin pulls his sock off.

As you take your spot on Chenle’s lap again, you move to try and get comfortable. He holds you still suddenly.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers to you. “I’m drunk and you’re just moving and I can’t help it—”

“What are you—” And then you feel it.

“Please don’t freak out,” he says, panicking. “They’ll all know and I’ll literally never live this down. If you want to move, just…do it fast.”

“It’s okay,” you tell him. “Relax.”

“Huh?”

“You don’t pick when it does that.” You shrug. “If I move, will they see it?”

“Um, yeah.” He gulps. “It depends on if they’re sober enough to look, I guess.”

“Next time one of us gets the chance, we’ll just…dare the other something to get us out of here,” you suggest.

“Us?” he mutters, and you feel his breath shudder against your neck.

“Is it really just because you’re drunk?” you ask.

Before he has the opportunity to respond, Renjun’s voice catches you off guard. “(Y/N), truth or dare?”

“Dare.” You grip Chenle’s arm tightly.

“I dare you to kiss Chenle.”

You immediately think of the three shots you’ll have to take if you skip this one. Rolling your eyes, you decide you’ll show your friend up this time. You turn around so you’re straddling Chenle’s lap instead. The hard bulge in his sweats presses right against your core, and you swear you’re going to lose your fucking mind.

“Is this okay?” you ask him, shamelessly staring at his lips.

“God, yes.” He tangles his fingers in your hair and pulls you in, his mouth meeting yours harshly. You have to keep reminding yourself not to grind against him.

Your core throbs with want, and you’re sure your panties are ruined at this point. The only thing that pulls you away from the man beneath you is the woops and hollers of your friend group. The tips of your ears burn as you realize what you’ve just done, but you want to get him out of there now more than ever.

“Chenle,” you say, loud enough for everyone to hear. “Truth or dare?”

His fingers are still in your hair, like any shame the two of you would’ve felt is out of sight. He wets his lips. “Dare.”

“Come upstairs with me.”

The uproar around you almost drowns out Chenle’s question.

“Are you sure?” he whispers. “Even if we don’t do anything, they’re gonna think—”

“Stop worrying so much. Walk close behind me so they don’t see.”

Chenle glances up at the ceiling like he’s contemplating his options. Before long, he’s nodding. You carefully lift yourself off his lap, and the two of you stand at the same time. While you’re in front of him, the bulge in his pants is undeniable, and you almost grin in triumph. As he leads you through the group with your back basically pressed to his chest, you glare at Renjun, who smiles widely as if he’s won or something.

He leads you up the stairs and down a hallway, stopping at one of the doors in the middle. “This is where I stay whenever I drink too much.”

“So open the door, then.”

“You need to decide what you want right now,” he says, scanning over you. “If all of that was to save me from the embarrassment of our friends seeing how you made my dick hard, you don’t have to come in here.”

“If you knew half the shit I’ve thought about when it comes to you, I think you’d stop talking to me.” You let out an airy chuckle. “Open the door, Chenle.”

He does, gesturing for you to walk in first. You don’t even take a second to admire the room, because as soon as the outside world is blocked off, you pull his wrist until he’s pressed against you.

“You think about me?” He tilts his head. “What kind of things?”

“I’m not the one who popped a boner just from me sitting on your lap. Do you have some thoughts you’d like to share?”

“Oh, come on, now.” He narrows his eyes and weaves his fingers through your hair to tug your head back. “I fucking know you’re soaked. The way you kissed me out there? Whatever way you’ve thought about me must be…”

“Why tell you when I can show you?” You lean up, his lips brushing yours.

His chest rises and falls rapidly, his grip tightening as he kisses you and walks you backwards. The back of your knees hit the mattress, and he lets you fall onto it. When he moves to climb over you, you spread your legs to accommodate him. His mouth is back on yours in an instant, his hands everywhere.

“Need you so fucking bad,” he groans against you. “You drive me fucking crazy.”

You roll your hips up, and as his hands slide under your shirt, the rest of the night gets blurred.

When you wake up, you’re surprised to find your headache isn’t that bad. At first, as you’re staring at the ceiling, you forget what happened yesterday.

But then you feel the warmth of Chenle’s body next to you, his bare skin lighting fires on yours. He looks like an angel while he sleeps, but you feel an overwhelming urge to run. This wasn’t how you wanted it to happen. At the end of the day, you’ve wanted him for a long time, to the point where you’d created versions of him in your head.

The Chenle you daydreamed about is not the one in front of you, but you wonder how similar they could be.

You wish you could remember last night–the way he felt inside you, how he treated your body. All of that waiting to not even remember what it felt like.

You carefully remove his arm from around you and gather up the courage to get out of bed. As quietly as possible, you dress yourself and make your way to the door. With your hand on the handle, you blink at his sleeping form. You wonder briefly if he’ll remember the events from last night, if he’ll remember it was you, and if he’ll be upset you’re leaving.

The thought is quickly squandered and shoved away, and you leave him curled in his sheets like an angel. You sigh as you make your way down the stairs. Whatever peace you may have known within your silent daydreams are gone, considering your entire friend group watched you go upstairs with him last night. You and Chenle had been friends for years, but you’ve always wanted him in more ways than you’d let everyone think. Years worth of daydreams and hopes and wishes led to some form of delusion where you felt like you knew him cosmically.

Now you’ve done exactly what you’ve craved for so long, but it doesn’t feel right. And even though you feel like you know him, you only know the idea of him, truly. A made up version in your head that has you all kinds of fucked up.

You curse under your breath, letting your eyes roll as you blink back tears. The kitchen comes into view, and you’re surprised to be met by Jaemin and Renjun, too.

“Well, well, well.” Jaemin tsks, narrowing his eyes. “Are you sneaking away from the man of the hour?”

“Sneaking away is a little strong,” you mutter. “Renjun, you drove.”

“I figured you’d be wrapped up all day.” Your roommate pouts.

You glare at him. “Could you stop that? And get your ass out of this house so you can take me home? I need to shower.”

“I’m sure Chenle wouldn’t mind if you—”

“Renjun.”

The serious tone of your voice has both Renjun and Jaemin losing their smiles. They exchange glances, and then your roommate grabs his keys and follows you out of the front.

“Is everything okay?” Renjun asks once you get in the car.

“I—” You sigh. “Yeah, it’s fine. I just feel…sticky, and I’d like to shower and change my clothes.”

“Does he know?”

“Know what?”

“That you left.” He raises an eyebrow at you.

You gulp, wondering if it would’ve been so bad if you’d stayed until he woke up.

But it would’ve. You’re closer to him than he’ll ever be with you, and you have your own mind to thank for that. You’ve imagined late night trysts, laughing with him over nothing, kissing him just because you felt like it. If you’re going to let yourself cross a physical line with him in the real world, how the hell do you build something with someone you’ve already mentally created an entire home with in your head?

“He likes you, you know.” Renjun taps his fingers on the steering wheel, but his eyes are locked on the road. “He wouldn’t have slept with you otherwise. And this is just gonna make him think you don’t like him back, and literally everyone knows you do.”

“It was…all wrong, okay? And I can’t even remember it, so does it even count for anything?”

“So…you left?”

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” You shake your head, cross your arms over your chest, and stare out the window. “I’m sure he’ll bring it up.”

As soon as you get home, you get in the shower. You mentally chastise yourself the whole time, and then you get out and change your clothes. Logically, Chenle would be up by now, and he’d notice you were gone. You don’t even want to look at your phone. None of it even has to do with him—you’re just not ready to shatter the image of who he is in your head. What if he’s nothing like the Chenle you’ve created?

But when you grab your phone, you have no notifications on your screen. You swallow hard, knowing that in attempting to save your precious image of him, you might’ve hurt him by leaving him alone.

The Chenle from your head would’ve rushed over the second he realized you were gone. You lay on your bed, grab one of your pillows, and cradle it to your chest as you stare at the wall. How do you explain you’re in love with a man that’s not real? That you’ve made him into someone he’s not and spun stories upon stories that he’ll never actually share with you?

A knock sounds at your door.

“Go away, Renjun,” you grumble, still facing the opposite direction.

It opens anyway.

“Does Renjun usually come to your room a lot?” Chenle’s voice startles you from your fetal position, and you drop your pillow as you whip around to face him.

His shoulder presses into the doorframe and his arms are crossed over his chest. A different pair of sweats clings to his hips, and a simple, long black T-shirt covers his upper half.

“Why do you look so surprised?” he asks. “Did I tell you I wanted you to leave?”

“Chenle, I—”

“Do you regret it? Is that why you left? I’m just trying to figure this out because, at the very least, I don’t want things to be weird between us. So, let’s talk about it.”

“Aren’t things already weird?” You bring your knees up to your chest.

“Well, they were. And I kind of figured that’s what resulted in last night. It doesn’t matter what happens at the end of the conversation as long as we’re good, okay? I’m not expecting anything from you except for us not imploding our friend group.” He taps his foot on the ground.

“Okay.” You take a deep breath and pat the spot next to you. “Close the door.”

He does as you ask and then takes the spot next to you, keeping his hands flat on his thighs. Staring forward, he can’t seem to sit still.

“Do you have something you’d like to say?” You tilt your head. “You seem nervous.”

“I just—I guess I just really want to know why you left.” He laughs at himself. “Not even for my ego purposes, but…did you not like it? Was it bad for you?”

You scratch your forehead and scrunch your face up. “To be honest, I don’t remember any of it.”

Realization dawns on him, and his cheeks paint a gentle pink as he averts his gaze from yours.

“We were drunk, Lele, I didn’t forget on purpose.” You want him to say whatever it is on his mind. He looks like he’s biting his tongue.

“No, I know that.” He nods. “It was kind of a big deal for me. Not that I’m trying to make you feel bad or anything because that’s also not your fault, but I…I really like you, (Y/N). So, that was…real for me, I guess.”

His confession takes you off guard, despite Renjun already telling you. You created a perfect version of Chenle in your mind, but never for a moment did you believe he might live up to those expectations. Now, you’re not sure.

“Drunk or not, I wouldn’t have slept with you if I didn’t like you, too, you know.” You nudge his shoulder. “It was a lot. And I was pissed at myself for not remembering it.”

“Yeah, I’d probably be freaked out if I didn’t remember.” He pauses. “Are you okay? If I’d known that would happen, I wouldn’t have—”

“Relax,” you reassure him. “It’s embarrassing how long I’ve wanted to do that. Even more embarrassing that it actually happened and I have no clue if I made a fool of myself.”

He clears his throat, eyebrows jumping up. “You did not.”

“Well, in that case, everything is right in the world.” You shrug.

“So…” Chenle sighs. “What now?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, what do we do from here? Are we…a thing? Is that what you want?”

His fingers trail up and down your spine, his eyes meeting yours through the darkness. He’s gentle with you, and the brush of his skin on yours is almost too soft to feel. With every blink, his eyelashes flutter against his cheeks, and you trace over his features mentally. You stare at him, the stillness of the room around you making him that much more heavenly.

“I think I’m in love with you,” he whispers, pulling you closer. “I don’t know if I’m allowed to say that, but I think I am.”

In order to be with this Chenle, you have to let the one in your head go. But how can you do that? How do you erase complete storylines?

“I think I need some time.” You inhale slowly. “It’s a lot all at once, and I just need to make sure it’s a good decision—”

“You don’t need to explain yourself to me,” he says, putting his hand on your knee. “I get it. Do whatever you need to do, and I’ll obviously respect whatever you decide.”

“You okay?” he whispers, pulling you closer. “You seem sad today.”

“I’m never sad when I’m with you.”

“I…I’ll see you around, okay?” He doesn’t do well at hiding his hurt and disappointment, and while that tears you apart, you need to figure out if this is something you’re willing to risk. The perfect image of him might shatter, and is that really fair to either of you?

You place your hand on top of his and nod, finally looking into his eyes. “I’m sorry, Lele.”

“I promise, it’s okay. I get it.” He takes a deep breath. “I’m here for you if you need anything. Seriously.”

His words sink in, and your stomach twists.

“You know I’m here for you if you need anything,” Chenle tells you, brushing your hair behind your ear. “You don’t have to be alone anymore. Not when I’m here.”

“You scare me,” you admit to him. “Falling for you scares me.”

“I’d be more worried if you weren’t scared.” He laughs and leans back against your couch, spreading his arms across the back.

“Come on,” you deadpan.

“How about you relax a little? C’mere.” He beckons you closer. “I’ll show you how nice it is to be with someone.”

At this point, it all feels real. Every thought you’ve manufactured about him has become so real to you, you can’t fathom the Chenle sitting in front of you isn’t the same person.

He leans forward and presses his lips to your cheek, but within the blink of an eye, he’s standing up and walking away from you. If your vision didn’t blur, you wouldn’t notice the tears welling in your eyes. It feels like the end. The end of a beginning you never really had, but you know something has to happen. You have to figure your own shit out before you can even think about him.

They’re the same person, but an overwhelming feeling of guilt takes over. You’re lying to him. Both versions of him, actually. And now you’ve got yourself caught up in the real world with no way to explain why you can’t move forward with him. How do you tell him it’s because he’s not who you pictured him to be?

But how do you know that if you never give him the opportunity?

You bury your head in your pillow and scream. The answer would come sooner or later.

When you fall asleep that night, the answer comes quicker than you thought it would. You fade into your dream world, which is the only time you get with him uninterrupted. These always feel so…real.

Dreams and imagined thoughts become fact, reality. Where do you draw the line?

His form is warm next to you, but here, fear doesn’t exist. You curl closer to him. He hums in content and kisses the top of your head.

“What’s going on?” he mumbles, voice deep with sleep. “You okay?”

“I don’t know.” You inhale shakily. “Why does this feel real?”

“What? Because it is.” Laughter intertwines with his voice, but your irritation sets in. Now your delusion has a mind of its own.

You sit up in the bed, looking over at him. “Chenle, I’m serious. We both know this is all fake.”

“The love isn’t fake. The admiration and the way we want each other. You didn’t want to sleep alone, and this was a safe option. What’s changing your mind?”

“You.” After a brief pause, you drop your head into your hands. “The real you. No matter what I do, if I stick around here, I still wake up alone. I don’t have anything without this, and this is barely even…”

“I can’t tell you what to do,” Chenle replies. He reaches over and intertwines his fingers with yours, rubbing his thumb against you. “Do what you think is right. If you don’t give him the opportunity to prove himself, you’ll be stuck here. If you do, and he fucks it up, you can always come back. I’ll always be there for you.”

“That’s the problem, I think.” You furrow your eyebrows and shake your head. “As long as I know you’re here, I’m never going to want him. It’ll always be you.”

“Then you know what you need to do.”

“I’m scared.”

“That’s natural. He’s not going to hurt you. He loves you.” This version of Chenle is so soft with you. So gentle. So overly cognizant of everything going through your head.

Because you created him. Because he knows every corner of your brain.

Expecting the real Chenle to be this way is…unfair, to say the least. He’s separate from you.

“But we—” Your voice breaks. “If I do that, you’ll be gone. Everything we had will be gone.”

“We don’t have anything, (Y/N). You know that. Don’t let him slip away because you’re scared he won’t live up to expectations. Go, and love him. You deserve to be happy.”

He wipes away the tear that falls down your cheek with his thumb, a small smile gracing his features as he regards you with all the care in the world.

“I’m so sorry.” You sigh and pull him away by his wrist. Quickly, you press your lips to his forehead and hug him. “Thank you for everything. But I have to let you go now. I can’t believe I’ve let it go on this long…it feels like I already have a life with him. Like all of this is real and he’s waiting for me to admit it, too.”

“Thoughts don’t make you a bad person. Wanting someone doesn’t make you evil. Not giving them the opportunity to love you back does. Don’t think of all of this as a vow to him, but a vow to yourself. You know what you need, and you shouldn’t accept anything else.” His gaze travels over your face. “Let me go. It’s okay.”

Your jaw quivers as you will reality back in. As you watch this perfect, handmade version of the man you love dissipate right in front of your eyes. He gives you a reassuring smile as he fades into nothing, and your heart pangs as you see the same thing happen in all of the memories you forged.

You’re free. And that can only mean one thing.

You give yourself a week of space from Chenle. Any version of him. In that time, you find the one created in your head doesn’t appear nearly as often. On the seventh night, you’re alone, staring up at your ceiling while trying to sleep.

At times like these, you’d usually depend on the man you crafted, but the longer you’re away from him, the more you crave the real version. He admitted he likes you, and all you have to do is tell him you feel the same. It shouldn’t be that hard.

Your phone tells you it’s just past midnight. You throw your blanket off of you, and you don’t even change out before you’re preparing to leave your house. Maybe showing up at his place at this hour with soft pink shorts and a matching shirt would introduce some problems, but you don’t care about any of them.

His lights are still on when you pull into his driveway. You give yourself one last mental pep talk, and then you’re launching out of your seat and approaching him for the first time in a week. You knock on his door. Inside is silent, so you pace while you wait for him to let you in.

He opens it, blinking in shock at you. Everything about him is so simple right now, and you might like him best like this. A thin, silver chain is clasped around his neck, dipping beneath the neckline of his oversized T-shirt.

“It’s freezing outside,” he scolds you, pulling you into the house. “Are you alright? You didn’t tell me you were—”

You wrap your arms around his shoulders and kiss him. He lets out a short gasp, but he quickly recuperates and gives you back everything tenfold. His hand lies flat on the small of your back as he presses you as close to him as he can. He spins you around and walks you back until you’re between him and the wall.

You don’t realize the force behind the action, but something around you clatters to the floor.

“Shit,” he groans as he pulls away from you.

When he looks over his shoulder, you peek past him, and find Jaemin, Karina, and Renjun staring at you with wide eyes. Your face burns as you drop your forehead against Chenle’s chest.

“I…yeah, they’re here right now.” He lets out a breathless chuckle. “I would’ve told you, but…you know.”

“Actually, we’re about to head out.” Jaemin clears his throat. “Like don’t let us interrupt anything. Karina was just saying how tired she was, and Renjun really doesn’t like being out this late anyway. So we’ll…see you guys tomorrow. Or not. Depending on how tonight works out. But it looks like she’s a woman on a mission so—”

“Jaemin, shut the hell up.” Karina glares at him.

“Right. Bye!” Jaemin giggles as the three of them exit, leaving you and Chenle alone to bask in whatever the hell this aftermath is.

“You—you’re here.” Chenle leans away from you to catch your eyes. “Are you okay? Sorry, they probably made that awkward.”

“I’m okay. Great, actually. I…I thought about it, about us, and I want to try. As long as that’s what you still want.”

You fidget with your hands, and he reaches down to stop you. Intertwining his fingers with yours, he grants you a soft smile.

“Of course, I still want that. I’ve liked you for so long, I’m not gonna randomly stop now.” He pulls you in for a hug, breathing you in.

When the two of you move away from each other, you can’t help the way your gaze naturally locks on his mouth. Nothing compares to the feeling of them on yours. You cup his cheek, and the next thing you know, both of you are leaning in.

He stops just before your lips brush. “You’re sober this time, yeah?”

“Seriously?” You push at his chest. “Of course, I am.”

A smile breaks out on his face, and he cuts his chuckle off by kissing you. You mold into his body and sigh against him when you feel his hand on your lower back. A shaky breath escapes you as his palms travel downward, squeezing your ass before reaching your thighs. With his unspoken hint, you allow him to lift you up, and then he’s taking you down the hall.

Before you’re even in his bedroom, he’s putting you down and sliding beneath your shirt, pulling the silky fabric over your head. He pauses at the sight of your bare breasts, immediately leaning down to latch his lips to your collarbone. You sigh and grab the hem of his T-shirt.

“Tell me how it was last time,” you whisper, the ache between your legs already too much to bear. “Was it good?”

“So fucking good,” he confirms, dragging his lips up your pulse to kiss your jaw. “I laid you down on the edge of the bed and made you cum on my tongue. Did you know how much you fucking squirm?”

You press your thighs together. “Chenle…”

“You were so wet when I fucked you.” He pushes your shorts down. “How long were you waiting for that moment? Hm?”

“Why don’t we do it all again?” You grab his hand and guide it between your legs. He easily complies, his fingers finding your clit through your panties.

You grind down against the pressure he barely applies, throwing your head back at the sensation. He nips on your neck before sliding the embarrassingly wet fabric away from your core. Two of his long fingers stretch you open, and you can’t help the moan that falls from your lips.

You don’t know how you possibly could’ve forgotten this last time, because you certainly never will now. His palm hits your clit with every thrust of his hand, and your brain quickly turns fully focused on finding a way to reach euphoria.

“So wet for me again,” he mumbles. “So fucking perfect.”

You grab at his wrist to get him to remove his fingers, and then you’re turning him around and pushing him to sit on the edge of the mattress. Like you’ve lost every sense of control, you climb onto his lap, tugging at his shirt. He finally takes it off while you work on pulling his sweats down enough to get his cock out.

“You gonna ride me?” He grips your ass and squeezes. “Gonna show me how bad you want me?”

“Is that okay?”

“Of course.” He moves his hands to your hips and lowers you a bit more on his lap.

You reach down and line him up with your entrance, watching as he inhales in anticipation. Sinking all the way down, you whine at the feeling of him stretching your inner walls.

“Pretty pussy’s all mine,” he murmurs, rocking his hips up. “Wanted me so much you can’t even wait ‘til I make you cum first.”

Your body urges you to move. Nothing is enough to satiate this growing urge except for him. You slowly lift up to tentatively sit back down, and then you hold on to his shoulders, keeping a steady pace in how fast you take him. His eyes grow hazy at the pleasure, and he digs his nails into your skin. Everything else in the world disappears as he stretches you out, as he reaches a deep spot inside you that has you crying out.

Short, low moans leave his lips as he thrusts up harder, leaving your body shaking in his grasp. Nobody has ever made you feel the way he does. Your thighs begin to ache from your increased pace, but when he reaches down to rub circles on your clit, you easily forget the burning sensation.

“Fuck, you’re so tight.” His eyes roll slightly, but he’s determined to keep his pace. “You gonna cum for me? C’mon, baby, squeeze my cock.”

Your speed increases more, but your movements are more erratic, chasing a high that’s so, so close to you. He leans forward and wraps his lips around your nipple, and flicks it with his tongue.

Your orgasm hits you like a truck, and as you spasm on top of him, you attempt to keep your pace. Curses spew from his mouth, and he wraps his arm around you to flip you onto your back. He puts your legs on his shoulders and grips onto your hips. His skin slaps against yours and despite your overstimulation, he finds your throbbing, sensitive bud again as he thrusts hard enough for the bed to join you in crying out.

“That’s it, baby,” he groans. Strands of his hair stick to his forehead in sweat, but he doesn’t relent. “Almost there. You can give me one more.”

You whine his name, squirming wildly until you feel another knot tying deep inside you. He stretches you to your limits, and never fails to reach that spot that has your eyes rolling back.

His eyebrows furrow in concentration as the bed squeaks unforgivingly below you. He moves your legs and turns you to the side, digging his nails into your thigh as he picks up his speed. His hips smack into you so hard, your whines and moans are loud and distorted from the movements.

He thrusts into you one more time before he spills his load. You’re both panting. Shock courses through you at the course of events, but you fucking loved it. He pulls out slowly, guiding you onto your back.

He pushes his sweats all the way down but settles his cock back in his boxers. Leaning forward, he presses a kiss to your cheek.

“I’ll be right back. Gonna grab something to clean you up.” He heads toward his bathroom and leaves you on his mattress.

You’re asleep before he even comes back.

When you wake up, you’re staring at your own ceiling, in your place in your own bed. Disappointment weighs heavily on your shoulders, but you know exactly what this is. The emptiness on the other side of your bed proves to you all you needed to know—It’s getting pathetic at this point.

There’s an ache between your thighs from the aftermath of the dream, but since you’ll be meeting up with everyone later, you’d feel bad for taking care of yourself at the thought of one of your closest friends railing you.

But that’s the thing, isn’t it?

Soon enough, you'll confuse yourself between the fantasy you've built in your brain and the real world. You’ve never actually touched him, not really. So, at the end of the day, is there anything to be guilty about?

But that thought does more damage than it helps. It’s not going to work out for you, and you’ll always be here, Chenle heavy on your mind, all while you’re guilty as sin.

[sundrop-writes]

i’d love to see the preview of the stiles fic! please & thank u 🤍

I am so excited to post this fic later!!! for now - here is a preview <3

BRAINWASHED (preview) - Stiles Stilinski x Fem!Reader - NOW POSTED

everything's clean - except for my thoughts

Word Count: 900

A/N: The longer fic is about Stiles stealing a pair of the reader's panties and masturbating with them. Currently, I am running a poll where one of the options is a sequel to this fic where the reader 'punishes' Stiles for stealing her panties, so if you want to see more of this, go vote in that poll!!! Also, my requests for Teen Wolf are currently open, but please read my Rules before requesting.

Warnings: reader uses she/her pronouns and has a vagina, the reader is implied to be plus-sized, this is mostly just one-sided pining and fantasizing from Stiles's perspective (which is what the whole fic will be), mentions of Stiles fantasizing about having sex with the reader and giving her oral sex, Stiles has sexual fantasies about the reader and has a romantic crush on her, mentions of Stiles's romantic feeling distracting him from school work. I think that's it for this part of the fic?

...

Tonight, the two of you were studying for an upcoming English mid-term that would be worth a decent portion of your grade. 

Logically, Stiles should have locked himself in his room and forced himself to study, or he should have taken up Scott on his offer to study with him and Allison. But no, he just had to ask you for your ‘help’. And you pitied him and said yes, because he was doing poorly in the class. The only reason being because it was one of the classes that he shared with you, and he spent all of his damn time staring at you across the room during it. He had tried to tell himself that he really would study tonight, that he would really take advantage of your intelligence here and now to get his shit together in order to up his grade. 

But no - since the moment he had set foot in your bedroom that afternoon (and it was dark out now, well into the evening) - he hadn’t been able to focus on anything but you. 

Sure, sometimes that worked to his benefit. Hearing you recite Shakespeare, the words coming off your sweet lips - it did force him to focus on the material at hand for at least a short period of time. But it wasn’t like he was actually retaining any of it. He was just thinking about how gorgeous your voice sounded and how amazing you would be in an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. One where he played Romeo, of course - and he would get to use someone else’s well-crafted words to romance you, finally getting to kiss you for the first time. 

Again - he was hopeless. 

Currently, he was laying diagonally on your bed, sitting among a mess of books - the english textbooks, the assigned novels, the published copies of the play, along with binders of your notes and other notebooks, stray papers - and he couldn’t pay attention to the notes he was supposed to be writing, not for a moment - not when you looked this stunningly beautiful while busy writing your own notes. 

With the soft lighting from your bedside lamp brushing across your skin, making that skin look even softer, you were a goddess-like vision sitting on the bed across from him. You were wearing the simple dress that you had worn to school earlier that day, your tights since shed off in the name of ‘comfort’ (and so that your cat wouldn’t rip holes in them while crawling across your lap, you had remarked to Stiles). When you had stood at your hamper and peeled them off your legs, Stiles had a hard time not letting the drool spill out across his chin. 

Your thighs were gorgeous. Thick, wide, spread out like a buffet for his eyes to feast on every single time you sat down. From his angle, laying down the way he was, he was up close and personal with the dimpling cellulite and stretchmarks you had there. The hem of your dress had ridden up when you had adjusted your position to get comfortable, and he felt absolutely spoiled by how much more of your thighs were revealed. 

A few times throughout the evening, he had to physically clench his fingers to remind himself not to reach out and touch. How many times had he imagined what those thighs would look like bouncing and jiggling while you rode his cock? How many times had he imagined those thighs clamped around his head while he licked your pussy? (Far too many for his own sanity.) 

Not to mention the concentration spread across your face - the way you would nibble your own lip when thinking, the way your brows furrowed slightly in thought. Everything about you - from the bra strap sticking out of the neckline of your dress to the chipped edge of your nail polish where you had chewed on it - was a fucking vision. And Stiles couldn’t take his eyes off you, no matter how hard he tried. 

It was a wonder that you didn’t notice Stiles staring at you - not as often as he did it. 

Stiles felt strangely caught when you put down your pen and looked up from your notebook, then - and he scrambled to grab his own pencil and start writing something, to look busy. But of course, he just looked like more of an idiot when the eraser began scraping across the page in nonsense patterns. 

“Stiles,” You scolded him with a sigh, a way he was used to hearing his name come off your lips. “Have you gotten anything done? I told you to copy down at least half my notes-” 

Of course. You pegged his blank page as simple laziness, rather than his brain slowly melting out through his ears due to his inability to think about anything but you (especially when he was in the same room as you). At least he hadn’t been caught staring at you in that creepy way yet. 

You snatched up his notebook to check his work, and his heart dropped - if you looked too carefully, then he would be caught. In the back of that notebook, there were about three pages of his name and yours in hearts, and a few times he had practiced writing his signature as ‘Mr Stiles L/N’. (He was a feminist, and he liked the idea of starting a new tradition.) There was even a drawing he had made designing your theoretical wedding cake, including a topper where he was Superman and you were riding on his back while he was flying. 

“Y/N, uh-” 

He quickly snatched the notebook back, causing a glare from you while he sighed in defeat. 

“Fine.” He shrugged. “I didn’t get anything done. You caught me.” 

“Stiles!” You scolded him again, reaching out to gently smack his shoulder. “If you keep this shit up, you’re never gonna graduate!” 

Sadly, you were probably right.

[vitaminkyeom]

red + seungkwan please hehehe

PAIRING || Seungkwan x Female Reader

GENRES || Fluff

WARNINGS || none

WORD COUNT || 0.5k

A/N || HI I AM SO SO SORRY OF HOW LATE THIS IS. LIKE REALLY SORRY but life came up and yeah :'D. I hope you enjoy this very very late fic TT. also definitely not inspired by seungkwan's loubootins. 1k followers event [if you want to be added to the event taglist send an ask!]

TAGLIST || @prpldahy @yoonzinokim @sea-moon-star @hanicore @alyssng @amethyistheart @weebotakuboy @aaniag @thepoopdokyeomtouched @caramyisabitchforsvtandbts @hrts4hanniehae @athanasiasakura @doubleshoticedshakenespresso @asasilentreader @isabellah29 @mrswonwooo @wonvsmile @nonononranghaee @luv-uriboo @hoichi-02 [if you want to be added to my taglist, fill in this form!]

[21:10]

“hi baby.” you giggled at his hushed voice, pressing the phone closer to your ear to listen to your boyfriend more clearly. “hi kwannie!” 

“i’m waiting for you outside.” he said and you got up from your bed, but his next line caused you to pause. “don’t come out through the front door yet!”

“oh?” you asked, unsure of what your dramatic boyfriend was going to do now. you could feel your heart beating with anticipation as you waited for him to let you in on the secret.

“come to your balcony. i’m parked right underneath it.”

“okay. i’m coming out.” you said, cutting the call as you stepped out of your balcony door. a small gasp escaped you as your eyes fell down, feeling a laughter bubble in you almost immediately.

because right below your balcony was boo seungkwan, waiting for you as he leaned against his car’s body. but what caught you off guard was his hair, which was now dyed red, matching the colour of your dull red dress. seungkwan smiled back at you as your eyes met, making your heart skip a beat.

“kwannie! your hair!” you said, leaning over the railing. 

seungkwan smiled sheepishly at this. “do you like it?

“like it?” you asked, as you eyed his overall appearance. the red hair looked so so hot on him, making him look especially handsome paired with the black suit he was wearing. “i love it, babe!”

“you look stunning too, juliet.”

you felt your cheeks heat up at his statement as you tried thinking of a counter argument. 

“is that why you brought me to the balcony? to confess your love romeo style?”

“are you disappointed?” 

“not at all.” you smiled at him in reassurance. “i’ll come down now?”

seungkwan nodded so you stepped back into your bedroom, closing the door behind you. making sure you had switched off all lights and locked everything properly, you finally came out of your house, shutting the door behind you. walking up to seungkwan, he leaned towards you and you pressed a soft kiss against his lips.

“i have a gift for you.” he murmured, one hand wrapped around your back as he reached for something on the back seat.

“again? kwannie, didn’t i tell you-”

“oh hush. let me shower the most beautiful person in my eyes with all the love i can.” he said, opening the beautifully wrapped box and presenting it to you.

your eyes fell on the sleek shiny shoes he had bought for you, and another gasp escaped you when you noticed the detail.

the red sole was unmistakable. “did you…get me louboutins?”

“loubootins.” seungkwan corrected you, chuckling. but he stopped when he saw you glare at him. “what? they were so pretty! and you deserve them.”

“oh, my love.” you whispered, cupping his cheeks as you gazed at him fondly. “you know how much i love you right? and not because you bought me some really expensive pair of shoes.”

“i know.” he said, quickly pressing his lips against yours. breaking apart, he rested his head against yours. “and i would give you the world if i could.”

you smiled at him, before burying your face into the crook of his neck. you inhaled his scent as he gently patted your back, feeling comfort seep into your heart. “you are my entire world.”

© 𝐆𝐘𝐔-𝐄𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒

[mochinek0]

Daminette December 2023: 12-Betrayal (SUB)

CONTINUATION OF 10-DEFEATED...

The fashion department of Wayne Enterprise found the whole situation between Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Damian Wayne funny. Damian avoided their area, as demanded by the other Waynes and Marinette. They took to calling them Wayne Enterprise's own Romeo and Juliet, seperated by his family. Everyone knew they were dating.

Marinette had agreed to date him and Damian had been happy to try to work out his emotions. She had asked to keep their dates casual for a bit: coffee, movies, cafés. She didn't want anything big for at least six months, if they made it that far.

Damian refused to admit it, but he was excited. It had now been a year since he met her. She had changed his view of thinking and challenged him.

"Marinette, will you have dinner with me?" Damian questioned, as he handed her a coffee.

"Yeah." Marinette answered, "When?"

"I do not mean our usual dinner." he replied with a smirk, "It has been six months, as you requested. I would like to invite you out and make a reservation."

Mari looked at him, surprised.

'Has it actually been that long already? He has been nice and he hasn't gone back to how he was when we first met.'

"Yes." she smiled, "I'd love to."

Damian felt his lungs betray him, as he stood in Marinette's place. He hadn't expected Marinette to come out in a cocktail dress, her hair down in waves, or in heels. Damian thought back to those months long ago, when he confessed.

Damian felt his family walk away from them and give them privacy. Marinette had leaned close to him when they had left.

"If you think my business suits are innapropriate, Mr. Wayne, then we're gonna have a problem when we go out on an actual date." Marinette declared.

Damian had felt his ears warm up.

He didn't think she had been telling the truth. Her cocktail dress was above her knees and the dress was off the shoulder, revealing her collarbones.

"Ready to go, Damian?" Marinette asked.

"Yes." He answered, his heart betraying him further.

He had made sure to make a reservation ahead of asking her, just in case.

"I enjoyed our time at the resturant." Damian spoke, walking Marinette back to the door of her apartment.

Mari smiled, "It wasn't bad and the food wasn't horrible. It was nice to have French cuisine again. Maybe it's something we could do every other month?"

"I would find that enjoyable." the Wayne heir answered, "You were also correct. You surprised me with your apparel, yet again."

"Oh?" Marinette inquired, leaning in.

Marinette bent her knee backwards and lifted her leg, gaining his attention. Mari reached down and pulled wha appeared to be her skin. She could tell Damian was confused as to why her skin was elastic.

"Skin tone leg warmers." Marinette smiled, "Insulated, too."

Damian turned to her, about to ask a question, when she kissed him.

"Good night, Damian." Mari spoke before going inside and closing the door.

Damian stood outside the closed door. It took him a moment to realize she had really gone inside. He chuckled to himself.

'She still continues to surprise me. Mother would definitely like her.'

TAGLIST: @maribat-calendar-events@animeweebgirl@a-star-with-a-human-name@meme991001@vixen-uchiha@abrx2002@alysrose-starchild@fandom-trapped-03@dood-space@moonlightstar64@saltymiraculer@marveldcedits20@09shell-sea09@icerosecrystal@animegirlweeb@insane-fangirl-of-everything@blueblossombliss@nickristus-dreamer@megawhitleycalderonpaganus@missmadwoman@meira-3919@princessdaisysolosyourfaves@blep-23@fangirlingfanatic@darkhinauniverse@ravenr22@im-a-satanic-ritual@ravennm84@bianca-hooks123@a-slytherinish-gryffindor@starling218

[sagesolsticewrites]

Yes, Captain

John Brady x Juliet Thompson (OFC)

a/n: in honor of Ben’s post on his Instagram story yesterday… that cheeky lil shit was saying " I am the captain now" and all I could think was "yeah you are 😩🫡" here’s a thing I’ve been working on for longer than I care to say lmao

word count: 3.5k

warnings: mature content (fingering, oral [f receiving], unprotected P in V sex [wrap it before you tap it!], use of titles [Captain]), generally just John Brady being feral for his wife and Jules being feral in return 🤭 enjoy~

@winniemaywebber @ginabaker1666

Masterlist

“Honey!” Juliet calls as she scrambles to get the essentials into her purse, “Are you almost ready? We should’ve left—”

The reminder that they’re already running late for a 100th Bomb Group reunion dies on her lips as John steps out of their room in his crisp, clean uniform, medals and ribbons shining on his Class A.

“I’m coming, sweetheart, I’m coming,” John Brady assures his wife as he adjusts his tie, hat tucked neatly under his arm, “Is my tie straight?”

She can only nod, eyes wide as she takes in the glory that is her husband in uniform. It takes her a moment to remember how to speak— can you blame her?— but eventually a soft, appreciative “You look very nice, Captain,” slips out, a heated undertone weaving through the words, lingering on his rank.

She’s learned to read him very well over their months of marriage, and so she can see exactly what kind of effect her words have on him as he takes a shaky breath in and out, deft fingers fumbling with the knot of his tie.

Juliet can’t help but grin, a thrill running through her at the effect she has on him, until his hands are on her waist, pulling her close.

“You look lovely, Jules,” he says lowly, “But if you knew how much I wanted to rip this off of you…” His voice trails off in a warning as his fingers trace over the deep red fabric of her swing dress, and her breath catches, her knees turning into jelly as his lips just barely brush over hers.

“But I know we’re already running late,” he continues, all business as he pulls away save for the teasing glint in his eyes, “So that will just have to wait for when we get home.”

Her jaw drops as he slips his keys and wallet into his pocket, turning expectantly to her as he waits by the door.

“Johnny, that’s not fair,” she whines even as they step out into the warm evening, his arm draping easily around her shoulders.

“I’m afraid I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about, my love,” John grins, opening the passenger door for her to slide onto the bench seat before slipping over to the drivers side, “Now let’s go, I’m sure the ladies are waiting for us so you all can start your gossiping.”

“I never gossip, John Brady, and I have absolutely no idea where you got that notion,” Juliet says primly, the effect utterly ruined by the grin on her face that tells him she has plenty to tell her friends once they arrive.

“Oh! And did you hear—”

Whatever Jo heard, Jules will never know, because her husband chooses that exact moment to make eye contact with her from across the room and very deliberately adjust his tie, a dangerous heat simmering in his blue eyes that makes Jules grip the bar she’s leaning against just a bit tighter to hide the sudden weakness in her knees and down the rest of her drink in one gulp. 

Lord, this man was going to be the death of her. She had felt his eyes on her all night, anticipation straining between them like a string stretched almost to its breaking point.

She waits patiently for a break in the conversation to flag down the bartender for a refill when someone in a familiar dress jacket sidles up next to her, pressing a fresh lemon drop into her hand. 

“For the pretty lady.”

She turns, smiling at her husband.

“Thank you, Johnny.”

“Anytime, sweetheart,” he says, pressing a kiss to her cheek. He brings his hand to rest at the small of her back as he effortlessly joins the conversation while Juliet sips at her drink, his hand subtly drifting lower and lower as the night goes on.

As she sets the empty glass down on the bar, John catches her gaze with a regretful look.

“Sweetheart, I hate to do this, but… do you think we could slip out a little early? I’ve got a bit of a headache.”

“Oh honey, I’m sorry,” Jules pouts, doing her best to ignore the warm hand resting sinfully low on her back, “Yes, of course let’s get you home.”

They bid a quick farewell to their friends and the rest of the 100th crew— the knowing smiles of Olive, Val, and the rest of the girls going unnoticed as they hurry out— and as soon as they’re out of sight Juliet tugs him into a fierce, heated kiss.

“You,” she gasps into his mouth, “are an absolute menace, John Brady. Faking a headache, really?”

“Who, me?” He grins as he pulls away, hands remaining firm on her hips for the moment to hiss in her ear a teasing “Never.”

A soft, desperate sigh tumbles from Juliet’s mouth as John’s lips brush against the sensitive spot just below her ear.

“Johnny,” she breathes with a gentle, insistent squeeze of his arm.

He pulls back to meet her gaze, pupils blown wide and growing wider at her next words.

“Take me home.”

He ushers her to the car faster than she could’ve imagined, pulling her close so she’s pressed flush against him the whole drive home. John takes every shortcut he can remember at startling speed, though most of Juliet’s attention is on his hand resting possessively on her thigh, tracing patterns indecently close to her core but never touching it.

She’s pulled into the house as soon as the car is parked, John’s hands firm on her hips as he presses her back against the door.

“Johnny—”

She’s cut off by his lips crashing onto hers, stealing the air wholly from her lungs.

“Do you have any idea,” John’s voice is ragged as he drags hot, open-mouthed kisses across her skin, “what you’ve been doing to me all night?”

All she can do is let out a desperate whimper as he continues unraveling her.

“You in this dress,” he growls, bunching the offending fabric in his hands as he presses every inch of himself against her, and she lets out a ragged gasp as the heat building in her core intensifies, “Having to act like I didn’t want to drag you back home the second we got there, couldn’t keep my eyes off you the whole time…”

His mouth lands roughly back on hers, and Juliet reciprocates with equal enthusiasm as she clumsily fumbles with the buttons of his Class A jacket.

Her squeak of surprise is swallowed as John effortlessly lifts her into his arms, his mouth never leaving hers as her legs lock instinctually around his waist, her favorite red heels tumbling noisily to the floor at the action. He stumbles up the stairs, one arm supporting her while the other splays across her back, nimble fingers blindly undoing the buttons of her dress. Juliet’s hands slide up to bury themselves in his hair, nails raking sweetly across his scalp as her husband makes a swift ascent to their bedroom.

She’s pressed up against the wall in short order with a muffled gasp of his name, her feet settled back on the ground at the squeeze of John’s hands at her hips.

The sight that greets her as he pulls away is one that won’t be leaving her mind anytime soon.

Her husband’s pupils are blown wide, sweet blue eyes nearly black with desire, chest heaving, pulling air in through deliciously kiss-swollen lips that are now smeared with Juliet’s red lipstick.

“You look stunning, sweetheart. I don’t think I told you that enough tonight,” John murmurs tenderly, a timbre that has Juliet’s heart melting, then shifts into a low, heated tone as his hand slips around her back to continue his work with her buttons, “But this dress needs to come off now.”

She reaches back to help as he makes quick work of the fastenings, her dress and half slip soon pooled around her feet. Juliet steps out of them and nudges the clothing to the side, butterflies flurrying in her belly at John’s appreciative gaze dragging over her figure.

“See something you like?” She teases, fingertips gliding softly up and down his forearm.

“You know I do, Jules,” her husband breathes, yanking her close as his head dips towards her, his lips skimming across her cheeks to press a path of slow, hot kisses down her neck.

Her breath hitches as his lips move lower, dragging over the hollow of her throat, her collarbone, just brushing the edge of her brassiere, her head falling back against the wall with a soft thunk that’s just on the edge of her awareness.

Looking up at her through his lashes to scan for any hesitation, upon seeing none John makes quick work of her brassiere fastening, letting the fabric fall to the floor as his eyes soak in the view. The groan that leaves his mouth at the sight is nothing compared to the feeling of his mouth finally on her, tongue swirling hungrily around her nipple as she takes the Lord’s name in vain several times over, her husband’s name tacked on in a whimper at the end. His mouth drags over her for what feels like hours, leaving no inch of skin untouched as he carefully kisses his way down her stomach. Having carefully slipped her other undergarments off, his fingers linger delicately over the gap of skin just above her pantyhose, unclipping the thin fabric from her garter belt before carefully rolling it down and discarding it, repeating the agonizingly slow action on the other side.

Once both of his wife’s legs are revealed to him, John kneels between them and presses a gentle kiss to Juliet’s right knee, brushing a path up her thigh, soft whimpers and pleas tumbling from her lips as he works his way towards her core.

The pleas become louder and more frequent as he turns his attention to her other leg, repeating the process before pausing at the apex of her thighs… if only to tease her for a moment.

A whimper of “Johnny, please” tumbles from Juliet’s lips, a plea to get him to do something, anything to relieve the ache building in her core.

She lets out a cry as her pleas are answered, and…

She doesn’t mean to let it slip, truly. It was something she called him only in her head on especially lonely nights when he was away, and she had never really planned for him to know about it. But now she’s feeling positively drunk on the sight of John Brady in his dress uniform, silver bars shining on his collar, sinking to his knees in front of her, the intoxicating mix of her husband’s lips worshiping every inch of her skin, the soft mumbles of praise falling from his lips, and the careful control he’d nearly lost once they’d arrived home making her skin tingle, and it’s as she finds purchase in his hair to tug him closer that it spills out.

“Oh god, Captain—”

There’s a sharp inhale from between her legs, the proximity of it to a very sensitive part of her making her jolt as John freezes, dark blue eyes darting to meet her green.

Slowly, he leans back just enough so she can see his face, his expression unreadable.

“What did you call me, angel?”

Juliet’s mind is going haywire, alarm bells ringing as she imagines every worst possible scenario resulting from her stupid slip up.

“I—”

“Say it again.”

Wait… what?

Her confusion and overactive mind must be crystal clear on her face, because John swoops in to distract her the best way he knows how.

He brushes his lips softly against her hipbone, scattering kisses all over her pelvis as he lifts his fingers to drag them delicately through her folds, angling to hit all the spots he knows she likes.

“Say it again,” he murmurs lowly against her skin once he’s got her writhing underneath him, two fingers pumping slowly in and out, a dark twinkle in his eyes, “or I stop.”

“Captain,” she gasps, feeling herself near that familiar precipice, “fuck, Captain please—”

His fingers crook just enough at just the right angle to have her gushing over his hand, her knees going weak underneath her.

There’s a moment of heated silence, blue and green gazes locked as Juliet catches her breath, a soft, helpless sound slipping out of her as his fingers slide out of her and into her husband’s mouth.

She’s frozen there until John speaks again, a low, dangerous tone she’s never heard before.

“On the bed, sweetheart.”

On wobbly legs, she does as he asks and perches on the edge of their ivory floral bedspread, eyes wide and heat building anew in her core.

The ache between her legs intensifies as her husband takes his sweet time carefully draping his jacket over the chair at Juliet’s vanity, making sure his eyes are locked on hers as he loosens his tie and tugs it off, his musician’s fingers making quick work of the knot and moving swiftly to the buttons of his shirt.

Once he’s stripped down to his undershirt, he makes his way over to his wife, gently prying her legs apart from where she’d pressed them together in an attempt to soothe the ache between them. Two fingers come up under her chin to tilt her gaze up, but she doesn’t feel him anywhere else, even as her body unconsciously arches towards him, needing his touch on every part of her.

A soft, trembling “please” slips out of her, barely a breath, but it gets a slow smile out of him.

Juliet feels fingertips skimming up her side and suddenly she’s being gently guided onto her back, his lips bumping just once against the corner of her mouth as he murmurs against her, “Let me take my time, darling.”

And take his time he does, his mouth dragging over her skin at a snail’s pace as the ache between her legs grows.

“Johnny,” she whines impatiently, grinding her hips against nothing as he hovers just out of reach, lips pressing a slow path down the valley between her breasts, “Please, need more—”

Her plea turns into a despairing wail as his mouth leaves her entirely.

“Try again, sweetheart,” he says lowly, “Otherwise I start all over.”

Her mind is terrifyingly blank for a moment, and then—

“Captain,” she sighs desperately, “please.”

She can feel his predatory grin against her skin as his lips return to her, the murmur of “good girl” sending a fresh wave of heat through her core.

Her breathing becomes heavier, the sighs and soft moans more frequent the lower her husband’s mouth travels. Her hands fist into the bedspread as his lips brush her lower belly, her hipbone, skimming down to her inner thigh, and she fears she may actually tear a hole in it if she doesn’t get what she needs soon.

Leaning her head up slightly to watch, the planned plea dies on her lips as darkened blue eyes lock on hers. With a wink, he maintains eye contact for as long as he can, then her mind is overtaken by relief as his mouth finally reaches her.

“Oh, god—”

He makes short work of making her fall apart on his tongue, large hands pressing down on her hips in an attempt to keep her still as she bucks into his mouth. His tongue drags hungrily through her folds, the occasional gentle suck at her clit drawing out incoherent gasps of “yes” and “Captain” and “right there” from Juliet’s lips, the words running together into a wordless cry as she reaches her second orgasm of the night.

Gasping, Juliet returns to her body, a shudder running through her as something brushes just outside her core. Tilting her head up, she realizes it’s still her husband, mouth glistening as he presses a series of kisses to her inner thigh, her hipbone, working his way back up her body until he captures her lips in a sloppy, heated kiss.

A moan erupts from her throat at the taste of herself on his tongue, the sound promptly swallowed by John’s eager mouth on hers. With fumbling fingers, Juliet tugs his undershirt out from the waistband of his slacks, her hands slipping under it to blindly map out the expanse of his back.

John reluctantly pulls his mouth away from hers, lips kiss-swollen and shiny as he reaches to tug the white fabric over his head, tossing it to some unknown corner of the room. He slides off of Juliet to undo his belt, giving her time to appreciate the view of his muscled torso as the belt joins the clothes scattered about the room, his slacks hitting the floor soon after along with his boxers.

Juliet catches her lip between her teeth, her eyes dragging hungrily over every new inch of exposed skin. It’s nothing she hasn’t seen before, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t utterly melt at the sight every time. 

There’s a glint in John’s pretty blue eyes as he moves to hover over her once more.

“See something you like?” He murmurs, mimicking her own words from earlier.

Juliet tugs him down for a hungry kiss, her breath hitching as his hips settle snugly against hers.

“Yes, Captain,” she grins against his lips, rolling her hips in a practiced motion against his own.

“Shit, Jules,” John gasps, huffing out a laugh. He pulls back just enough that their noses brush, maintaining eye contact with his girl, “You ready?”

At her eager nod, he shifts his weight onto one arm, rewarded with a stuttering gasp as he drags the head of his cock back and forth through her folds, a delightful high-pitched sound escaping his wife as it bumps her clit once. It catches at her entrance and, with practiced ease, he slowly presses into her, Juliet’s head falling back with a moan as she adjusts to his size.

He waits for her nod to begin rocking his hips back and forth, slow thrusts that allow her to feel every inch of him, that soon have long, breathy moans falling from her lips.

“M—” 

Whatever his wife was about to say, it’s cut off as another moan spills out of her.

“What was that, honey?” He gasps, bumping her nose with his.

It takes her several tries, but eventually a plea of “more” tumbles from her lips, a whine of “faster” on its heels.

John grins, “of course.”

Meeting her eyes, John’s hips snap into hers with military precision, the utterly perfect staccato rhythm of his thrusts drawing out cries of “yes, oh my— right there, don’t stop—”

He lets out a sharp gasp of his own as Juliet’s nails rake down his back, building towards her third orgasm of the night.

She tightens around him, nails digging into his skin as she reaches her peak, his rank tumbling from her lips in a broken moan. John follows suit not long after, his hips stuttering against hers before spilling into her with a groan muffled in her neck.

They stay there for several long moments, feeling the rise and fall of her chest against his as they catch their breath. Her husband pulls back to meet her gaze, falling in love with her all over again at the sight of her dark curls splayed out atop the bedspread, the rosy flush in her cheeks, the satisfied glow in her sparkling green eyes.

He dips down to capture her lips, muffling the whine that escapes her as he slides out.

“You alright, sweetheart?” He pants softly, brushing a damp curl from her forehead.

Her gaze is so fond he feels his heart might burst as she replies with a smile, “I’m perfect,” adding teasingly, “Captain.”

He chuckles, brushing a kiss to her cheek as he moves to stand, making his way over to the bathroom.

“Hey, you started that.”

“So I did,” She’s beaming as he emerges from the en-suite with a warm, damp washcloth, though it falters slightly, “You’re sure that was okay? I know it was kind of a surprise—”

“It was,” he acknowledges, moving gently between her legs to clean up the result of that particular surprise, “But I promise, sweetheart,” — there’s a glint in his eyes as he meets her gaze — “it was a very good surprise.”

“Well,” her smile turns the tiniest bit shy, “I’m glad.”

She takes the cloth from him, sitting up to toss it into the hamper before standing, incredibly aware of her husband’s gaze following her.

“I’ll be right back,” she assures him with a laugh as she slips into the bathroom, emerging fresh faced and makeupless, her hair tucked up into a silk scarf.

She joins her husband under the covers, both forgoing pajamas for the night in favor of the skin-to-skin contact Jules tends to crave after lovemaking. She lets out a contented sigh as her husband’s arms wrap around her and pull her close, pressing a kiss to where she can hear his heartbeat under her ear.

“Goodnight, Jules.” He murmurs into the crown of her head, squeezing her the tiniest bit tighter for a heartbeat.

“Goodnight, Johnny,” Juliet murmurs, eyes already drifting closed.

The "I love you’s” are unspoken, but no less true as the Bradys drift off to sleep in a sweet tangle of limbs.

[spideyanakin]

10 Things I Hate About you - Chapter 5

Eddie Munson x Harrington!reader

synopsis - A new rule strikes the Harrington household: if Steve wishes to date ever again, his sister needs to find a boyfriend first. As Steve becomes desperate and thinks of everything in his power to set her up, only one guy comes to mind that will take up a challenge such as that: Eddie Munson.

warnings - way too much fluff, ties in with season 1 (rip Barb), talks about Eddie's past (so trigger warning?), lotr references, one lil suggestive moment, angst if you squint

word count - 14.5k

Proof read by the amazing @inknopewetrust

series masterlist 🌻

the playlist

There was not a time in your life where you once believed you would feel like a main character in one of those cheesy romantic comedies your mom liked to watch on Friday nights.

Never did you think you would close the door to your house with a dumb smile plastered across your lips and a lovesick sigh would proceed to tumble from your body as your bag slid from your shoulder to find its spot beside the umbrella rack. You bit your lip, leaning against the white wood of your entry door in a daze.

Never did you think that the warm fuzzy feeling the young female lead always described would be coursing through your veins, astonished in the best of ways when the images of today flashed through your mind. Was this how Juliet felt when she first met Romeo at that masked ball? You felt dizzy; light and floating at the same time. Your fingers traveled by themselves to your lips as the ghost of his own haunted your thoughts. 

What had just happened? 

Eddie fucking Munson. 

That's not what, but who. 

The crazy metalhead who turned out to be the most amazing person you had ever set your eyes on. The one who would play torturous games of tags with teachers and spend half of his life getting detentions he never stepped foot in. 

That boy had come into your life like a hurricane. Ravaging every single one of your well thought out plans and everything you had seemed to set your mind on only to leave everything in the dust to be swept away with the wind. It only left you to become helplessly and hopelessly submerged by his existence.

"Y/n?" Your mom's wavering voice came from the kitchen, "Darling, is that you?" You could hear her footsteps on the colored carpet coming toward the entryway. 

"Yeah, mom, it's me." 

"Oh my God! Where were you?" She sighed out, voice cracking in relief.

"Out?" You said, nonchalantly as if you did it often and it wasn’t unusual. Slipping your shoes beside the door, you wiggled your socked feet out and kicked your shoes perfectly against the wall before walking the few steps towards the kitchen archway.

She was already halfway to you. Half of her hair stuck in bright pink and yellow hot rollers, her pink cotton shirt falling off one shoulder and worry creases marked between her eyebrows.  Her makeup done up and her eyes in a personified version of panic. 

Behind her, Steve sat on the counter with an unbothered gaze and a glass of orange juice between his fingers. He was fixing a strand of hair falling on his forehead before he took a sip of his juice. You noticed your father next to him, facing you with a stern look in his eyes. He was well dressed in his best polo and white dress pants. 

It was obvious your parents were getting ready to go somewhere and you were a stickler in their evening plans.

"Never do this to us again," your mother took a bated breath before continuing on. Her shaking hands reach for you to wrap her arms around your shoulders.

"O-ok?"

"Where were you?"

"I told you she was out with her boyfriend!" Steve smirked in between two sips. You glared at him from behind your mother’s shoulder before pulling away.

"I was out with a friend," you corrected. A friend which you had just kissed. But none of that mattered by the way your mother kept her hands on your shoulders and that crease between her brows only deepened, fighting the urge to fall into the panic that had been brewing for hours.

"What happened?" You scanned your mother's face, attempting to clarify the situation.

"You didn't come home after class and with that Byers boy disappearing–"

"Mom,” you interjected. “I'm fine."

"But you could have not been! We don't know what happened to Joyce’s boy and if someone’s out there snatching up–" 

"Mom,” you stressed again. “I was with someone. Nothing could have happened to me." 

And she frowned as your words sunk in, sighing and gripping your shoulder tighter and tighter until all of her weight was on you and the pressure was enough to make a bone ache. It was the worry of a mother.

"I was worried sick."

"I'm fine. Trust me,” you nodded, slipping out of her arms to go grab a glass of orange juice for yourself.

“Why is your hair wet?” Steve narrowed his eyes on you. He was poking around for insights on his plan and hoping that your parents would see you were up to something. 

“We went paintballing and I took a shower.”

“What do you mean ‘we?’” Your father raised an eyebrow.

“Her and her boyfriend,” Steve sang. 

“Boyfriend?”

“Well…it’s not like we’ve labeled anything–”

“I KNEW IT!” Steve pointed his finger at you.

“Steve-”

“Well, I’m glad you're home safe,” your father continued, too tired to go further into this conversation. “Both of our kids are home safe… Now, shall we finish getting ready? We also have our suitcases to prepare for tomorrow,” he turned his attention to your mother.

“Where are you guys going tonight?”

“Enzo’s.”

“Ah ok,” you nodded before opening the cupboard and grabbing the first glass that fell between your fingers; an old mustard glass from when you were a kid. The white cat from Disney’s Aristocats was painted on it. You took a short glance at it only to notice the tail was starting to fade off from the amount of times you’d used and washed it. “I might be going to the search.”

“Search?”

“The search for Will Byers. Half of the town is going,” you placed the glass on the counter before reaching for the orange juice carton next to Steve.

"Is that ‘boyfriend’ of yours coming with you?" Your father further questioned. 

"Nope," you shook your head, hoping your smile would be enough to shove the subject away. 

"I don’t like you going alone."

"As I said, there's a whole party going. Chief Hopper included."

Your father thought for a second, pursing his lips before nodding. “Don’t come home too late.”

“Sure, yeah, of course.”

"Well,” Steve slipped off the counter and winked at you as he turned to put his glass in the sink. “I’m going to Nancy’s to study.” 

"You're going to who's?" The surprise in your father’s voice was evident.

"Steve’s new love interest," you took a sip, excited to see the arguments your brother would throw at your dad.

“Potential new love interest!” He corrected you.

"Steve-"

"You said I could date when she does!" He raised his hands in innocence before slithering his way out of the room like a cheeky cat who had just captured the mouse. "Rules are rules, Dad."

“I don’t have time for this,” your father pinched the bridge of his nose and gave you one last look as if to tell you 'be safe' before turning around on his heels and exiting the kitchen, your mother following behind with not another word spoken.

~

“Rumor is,” Tommy beamed as he approached Carol and Steve, wrapping an arm around her shoulder–a large smirk plastered on his face, “the Freak and your sister are dating.” 

“I KNEW IT!” Steve threw his fist in the air in victory. “She came back home late yesterday after a totally not date with him.” Steve chewed on his bubble gum as he spoke, excitement rising in his chest at the idea. Everything was finally going according to plan, he grinned, looking around the bright hallway for any signs of you. He unfortunately didn’t spot you in the multitude of heads bopping around the corridor and turned his attention back to his friends.

“How’d you know?”

“People spotted them together in the hallway this morning before class. They kissed apparently.”

“This is actually going well,” Carol chuckled. “Who would have thought?” 

“Not me,” Tommy laughed.

“Damn,” Steve scoffed in surprise. He hadn’t expected for the plan to go that well, but He sure as shit could finally go out with Nancy now and that was all that mattered. 

On the other end of the hallway, hidden by the sea of students, Eddie had been waiting for you. Leaning on the wall by the door to Mrs. Click’s class, ee was toying with the chain attached to his jeans as he blankly stared at the little window opening. He could spot Mrs. Click bright red curls poking atop her head as she moved around the board. Eddie could almost hear the loud thud of her giant ruler colliding with whatever she had written on the board, continuing to go on about whatever country she had been rambling about. He thought this would forever be a trauma sound; anchored into his mind, doomed to haunt him every time he saw a world map. 

Finally, after what felt like a hellish eternity, the door opened and there you were: angelic as ever as you fixed your grip on your bag and pulled your walkman out of your back pocket. 

Eddie pushed himself off of the wall. He met your gaze as he got closer and wished he could permanently tattoo in his brain the smile that lit your features when you spotted him. His whole being buzzed with happiness as you strutted over and gave his cheek a peck. Eddie hummed in appreciation before you wrapped arm around his waist and his fell over your shoulder. 

It quickly became obvious that the onslaught of students would make walking like a pair more difficult. So as fast as your limbs had found purchase on the other, they left and returned to their homes at the sides of your bodies. 

“What tape did you bring today?” He asked, bumping his shoulder into yours instead.

“Rebel Yell.” 

“Of course you listen to Billy Idol,” he chuckled.

“And of course you wouldn’t,” you gave him your best smile. “Let me guess, it isn't metal enough for you?”

“Bullseye” Eddie pretended to throw a dart, a popping sound emitting from his lips as he let the imaginary dart go and it hit the red center. 

“Well, I like Billy Idol very much,” you placed the walkman back in your pocket with the headphones now resting safely on your shoulders. 

"How was the search?" Eddie changed the subject but instantly felt the shift in the conversation. You frowned before answering. He shouldn’t have asked. He should have listened to the gossip of the table beside him at lunch but he couldn’t help it. He was just as invested as everyone else. 

"Led absolutely nowhere," you sighed. You allowed yourself to melt closer to him as you held your notebooks tighter against your chest. "I just hope nothing bad has happened to him. He’s a good, quiet kid.”

Eddie came to a halt in the hallway and made you stop with him. He turned you around so you’d face him, taking your free hand in his. 

"Hey, look, I'm sure he's going to be alright," he took a breath and rubbed your knuckles with his thumb. "Plus they're continuing the search today, they have to find him. This is a small town, and nothing bad ever happens in Hawkins."

"Yeah," you nodded, “I guess you’re right,” you did your best to try and sound hopeful, but the pit at the bottom of your stomach wouldn't budge. You looked up from your red history notebook to find Eddie’s bright eyes staring right back–making you feel just a little bit better.

"C'mon," Eddie nudged you, keeping his hand locked in yours. “Let’s get to class.”

You sighed as you continued your walk through the hall. You were so caught up in the multitude of possibilities as to where Will Byers could be that you didn't think twice about the way Eddie was holding your hand.

In the meantime, Eddie couldn't believe that his fingers were intertwined with yours in the middle of the fucking Hawkins High hallway. He couldn't believe that he was walking with the girl of his dreams by his side and that she was not giving a care in the world about the lingering eyes and odd stares. Eddie had tried to convince himself that this morning had all been a dream. That you hadn’t jumped to hug him the second you met his eyes that morning or that you hadn’t pecked his lips before rushing off into Mr. Davis’ classroom. But the fact that your hand was indeed securely locked in his own made him know this was very much real.

He could hear the patter of his heart climbing up to his ears just thinking about it all.

But the dreamy reality quickly crushed when he spotted Steve's fluffy head of hair. He suddenly remembered that two weeks ago he wasn't even sure of your name. That not even two weeks ago he hadn’t had a clue that you were this amazing girl of his dreams that would make him feel this way. Two weeks ago he would have laughed at the face of anyone that would tell him he was on the road to falling in love. That he was practically sure he had met his soulmate and was utterly captivated in a two-week time frame which seemed so ridiculous. 

The closer the both of you became to Steve, the more he wanted to throw up.

"Oh my God," your voice brought him back.

"What?"

"I cannot believe Steve got his grip on Nancy so quickly," you squeezed his hand tighter and Eddie did too. Perhaps the fear of losing you had iced his veins because the words that left your lips felt too real. Of course Steve would be seen with Nancy. It was the entire point as to why he had paid Eddie in the first place. Now that he had the girl, it felt too likely that Steve would drop the deal and Eddie could try and see how he would go from there.

"What do you mean?" He played dumb.

"Well, now that I've been hanging out with you more, Steve is using this as a ‘get out of jail free’ card."

"Ah,"

"A party?" you heard Nancy squeak. "But it's Wednesday."

"C'mon it will be just a small gathering," Steve gave her a dazzling smile. 

"Well, look who it is!" Tommy Hagen cheered with a bright smirk and you closed your eyes in despair. Of course they had to call you. Carol leaned into Tommy’s shoulder as she eyed you and Eddie up and down, a sly smirk on her lips at the sight.

The hair on Eddie's arm spiked as Tommy's voice traveled up to his ears. He straightened himself up, bracing for the snarky remarks or comments that always came out of his mouth.

Steve turned around at the distraction. And rather than jeer like Carol and Tommy, he was rather happy to be met with yours and Eddie's faces. He was beaming an even brighter smile when he saw your intertwined hands but you quickly slipped yours out of Eddie's before he or his dumb friends could even think of commenting.

Eddie felt his heart plummet back to his shoes at the security that left him. 

"Y/n, you should invite Eddie," Steve pointed to Eddie as if to say ‘this is Eddie, this is who I am referring to’.

"Invite him to what?"

"Our party! Tonight!"

"Party?” You narrowed your eyes at him. “Steve, you can’t just throw a party just because Mom and Dad are gone. What about-"

"-It’s just a small gathering. Just us seven."

"Steve-"

"Eddie, you coming?" Steve cut you off before you could say anything.

Eddie’s eyes widened. He looked confused, scared, in the slightest. He was never invited to the small gatherings of popular kids. He had no idea what it would even be. And in the small gatherings he would do with his friends, they played D and D and smoked and listened to records or tested new music. They had a reason to meet up, something to discuss.  

"Um, yeah… sure?" He side eyed you, and you stared daggers back. He could tell this was annoying you more than you were leading on.

"Good," Steve clapped his hands.

"Oh and bring some stuff," Tommy smirked before patting Eddie's shoulder, Eddie tensing up at the touch.

"Alright," he awkwardly chuckled back, finding your gaze to seek any kind of help you could get from you.

"This is going to be amazing," Tommy rubbed his hands together, grinning from ear to ear, as if he could boss Eddie around and use him just to get some free drugs. 

"No, it’s not,” your tone may have been a bit too dry because every head turned towards you. You gave an uneasy look to Eddie before swallowing and continuing with the rest of your sentence. “because he is not going to bring anything, and we're not coming to this stupid party," you pinched the bridge of your nose, "Steve–can you please just leave us alone for five seconds."

"Never," he almost looked offended upon the request, putting a dramatic hand across his chest. “Y/n, you're my sister. It’s my job to annoy you.”

A beat fell upon the group. Steve rolled his eyes and crossed his arms around his chest while you huffed. Sibling banter hanging thickly through the air and no one really knowing how to make it go away. Everyone knew both of the Harrington siblings were headstrong, each more stubborn than the other.

It was an entrancing silence only either of you could break. Your eyes drifting towards Barb, she was looking at Nancy uneasily as she fixed her grip on her pink spiral notebook.

"You two are coming?" You questioned, your soft words slithering through the tension and making it evaporate into a mere memory.

"Yes!" Nancy beamed shyly. Barb looked as though she wanted to melt from the spotlight behind her and become one with the squeaky white hallway floors.

Nancy was about to continue, speak to something else but Tommy abruptly cut her off. "My god that's depressing," Everyone’s curiosity took the better of them and followed Tommy’s gaze towards whatever he was looking at behind Nancy. 

Johnathan Byers.

The Byers boy was awkwardly standing, a grim look on his face as he pinned a missing persons poster of his little brother on the board amongst the collection of theater posters and recruiting sheets of random clubs and sports teams.

You and Nancy looked at each other. Her sympathy bled from her hands. She was a good person and somewhere, you’d like to believe you were too even in your stubbornness. 

"We should go and say something," she said hesitantly but steadfastly to do so. 

"I don't think he speaks," Carol raised an eyebrow.

"I bet he killed him," Tommy snickered.

It made you sick. Jonathan’s pain was evident. You saw it in Dustin, you saw it in the boys he had grown so close with… Surely Mike had been upset in the Wheeler house which made Nancy more attune as well. But the fact that Tommy could assume such a thing about a boy, barely a man and no older than the lot of you, made you sick. 

And you wished you hadn’t dropped Eddie’s hand for the sake of comfort. 

~

Will Byers.

If there was a level of sweetness to rank the young boys of Hawkins, Indiana, Dustin would reign supreme but Will Byers would always be fighting for that spo. You figured that if he had disappeared into thin air and most of the town didn’t even think to care. Surely enough that assumption came true. Instead, you had people like Steve who only cared about making out with a pretty girl and throwing a dumb party on a school night and girls like Tammy Thompson who were too busy handing out neon pink flyers for the Spring Fling. 

All the while people like Joyce and Johnathan Byers were being ridiculed for caring about their smallest joy disappearing. 

It all seemed ridiculous. 

Ridiculous that not only Steve and his dumb friends, but most of Hawkins, were only thinking about themselves and what mattered in their lives. If it was a kid from the right side of the tracks, some neighborhood like Nancy lived in, everyone would be looking. There would be vigils and strange prayer groups in hopes that the kid would return. 

It made the grip you had on your bag tighter, knuckles going white as your nails dug into your palm. 

You truly hoped he was ok. 

Because if he wasn’t, you didn't know how you could handle seeing Dustin grieve for his closest friend or how you would be able to compose yourself from the pain. 

Those thoughts of Jonathan and where Will may be plagued you for the rest of the day. At your locker, you had been lost in a train of thought. The idea of Dustin being sad and the town forgetting a kind kid made your mind swirl. 

"Boo!" Two hands were draped over your shoulder, making you jolt out of your thoughts and your heart beat out of your chest. You only relaxed when a familiar laughter echoed behind you, turning around to be met with Eddie's mischevious grin.

"You have to stop doing that!" You playfully slapped his shoulder in return.

"Doing what?"

"Scaring me like this!"

"Come on,” he careened, “you love it and you know it’s fun.”

"Not for me," you bumped your shoulder into his as he had done that morning. This time, Eddie slung his arm around your shoulder and walked with you towards the parking lot. 

A rainbow of cars were parked as always; jocks at the wheels of their brand new convertibles while girls sat at the back, swooning over their million dollar smiles. It was the same every day and would always be the same every year. For god knows how long, the same archetypes would run the halls of Hawkins High and the same things would happen over and over again for generations to come. The same crown prince would date the crowned princess while bullying the misfits.

You wondered if the embroiled, eternal circle of Hell would ever come to an end.

"What are you going to do before the... small gathering?" Eddie’s voice felt relaxing amongst the crowd.

"I need to drop off Dustin at his friend's place and then homework, probably. If Steve allows me some peace. How about you?"

"Walk home… then attempt to read Romeo and Juliet."

"Oh my god! Is Eddie Munson finally going to do this homework!? Oh my god, even better, am I rubbing off on you?”

"Maybe," he smirked.

"Also, why walk?"

"Van's at the garage, problem with the gear shift. I brought it in last night."

"Oh,"

"Yeah, but I mean it's not that far, anyways."

"I could drop you off." 

"You don't have to."

"C'mon! Like this, I can hang out with you and we can work together! I don't think I can stand being in the house alone with Steve right now," you pouted, hooking onto the hopes of being as far from Steve for as long as you possibly could.

"Alright," he smirked. "I'll let you bring me home."

"Good. As long as you don't mind that we bring Dustin home first," you slipped the key into your car door and opened it in a swift move, slipping your bag into the back seat.

"I don't mind at all. He seems cool."

"He is. It's not usually one of my babysitting days but his mom wants to make sure he gets home safe with the disappearance of his friend." 

As if on cue, you heard Dustin's voice calling, screaming, your name in his usual enthusiastic tone and closing you into his traditional bear hug.

"How's my favorite troublemaker going?" you huffed, wrapping your arms around him.

"Doin' good," he mumbled against you. He wasn’t doing good, you knew that. 

"You sure?" 

"Yeah."

"Alright," you nodded and pulled away from his embrace. "I'm dropping you off at Mike's, right?” Dustin nodded his head. 

“Also, is it alright if my friend tags along?” You lifted your gaze to stare at Eddie who was awkwardly leaning on your car behind Dustin.

Dustin’s brow scrunched in confusion before following your gaze; his eyes lighting up when he came face to face with the metal head he couldn’t stop babbling about to his friends. He had heard a rumor of a D & D club at the high school he just couldn’t wait to join.

 "You're coming with us!?"

"Yeah," Eddie smiled back, a certain ego boost rising in his chest caused by the stars of admiration apparent in the young boy’s eyes.

"Awesome," Dustin breathed out, as if this was the best news since he read about the announcement of the new Zelda game. You blinked as you registered Dustin's enthusiasm. Somehow, Dustin's best friend was missing but all he could think about was how he was going to be in the same car as his new idol; Eddie Munson.

Dustin waited until everyone was settled; seatbelts fastened and car doors secured shut before popping the question that had been dancing on his lips the second he placed his butt onto your back seat. "So… are you two dating now?"

There was an awkward pause. Eddie looked at you like a deer in headlights, blush creeping on both your cheeks.

You didn't know how to reply. Eddie had made it clear he wanted to go out with you.

You had been acting strangely like a couple for the past few hours. Holding hands in the hallway, stolen kisses in between classes. Your heart beated faster than your thoughts and words escaped you without thinking twice.

"Yeah, kind of," a short smile creeping on your lips as you looked at Eddie for confirmation.

Eddie knew he shouldn’t have felt this relieved when the words left your lips. He had wanted that answer from you with every fiber in his bodyvbut he knew very well this wasn't supposed to be real. This was supposed to never go further than a few planned dates so that Steve could go on dates of his own.

But dammit did he want this to be real. He felt angry and nauseous at the same time, almost close to agony at the mere thought that this had all started around a stupid deal. 

He was beating himself up for not finding you sooner himself.

He knew he had to find a way. 

"OH MY GOD! I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT!!" Eddie’s sulking was quickly shattered by Dustin’s piercing shriek and excited bounces. For a second he was scared the kid was going to hit his head on your car’s beige ceiling yet he seemed to have his bouncing up and down perfectly under control. 

"Dustin-"

"I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU GUYS," Eddie smiled a bit at the boy's adoration. He knew this kid was a keeper. A heart of gold to be paired with an amazing mind. He just hoped that once he reached high school, he wouldn’t let people like Steve or Tommy Hagan crush all his hopes and dreams in a single sentence.

Eddie wouldn’t be there to protect this kid. He wouldn’t be there to protect his friends and guide them in the adventure that was high school… he’d go on to bigger and better things and maybe, if life didn’t work out like he’d plan and he still stuck in this hellhole of a town, he’d cross paths with Dustin if he ever needed repairs to his potential future car.

"You two are like perfect for each other!" Dustin continued his happy rambles. 

"Really?" Eddie raised an eyebrow, a grin painted over his features as he turned to meet the kid’s eyes.

"Yeah!" He furiously nodded. "Y/n, I'm so glad you listened to me!"

"Dustin! Please–” you tried to stop the fountain of words that Dustin could spew be when he got overly excited.

"What's that now?" Eddie changed his gaze to you like a curious cat pulling on a string until he unraveled all the yarn laid out in front of him.

"Dustin said we should date–"

"I said you two should date!" The two sentences came out like music, mixing together to echo in the car and scramble together.

Eddie grinned from ear to ear, clicking his tongue as he leaned back against the leather seat, "talking about me behind my back I see."

"Only good things, I promise."

"Well, I'm so glad you finally have a boyfriend. Steve will finally stop bugging you." Dustin huffed, making you giggle.

“Hopefully,” you glanced at Eddie who tried to swallow the lump in his throat at the mention of your brother.

You quickly brought your stare back to the road, blushing when you remembered the use of the word boyfriend. It's not like you had labeled anything yet and Dustin was coming in like a hurricane, ready to pull out every potential seed that he found if that meant you got to be happy and prove a point to Steve. Trying so hard to be your mini wingman, even if it meant he had to annoy or embarrass you in the process. You loved him to bits and knew this was all coming from a place of love, however you were desperate to change the subject.

Whatever was happening with Eddie was too fresh and not something to discuss with a twelve year old. You rummaged your brain for anything to ask Dustin, but everything that came to mind was going to potentially remind him of Will.

"Do you listen to metal?" Eddie’s voice made you release the breath you didn’t know you were holding. Once again, your savior. 

"I tried to get him to but he says he never has the time to listen to the tapes I give him," you answered for Dustin.

"That's not true!"

"It is true Dustin! When I give you a tape, I miss my tape, so I ask for it back, and it turns out you didn't even listen to it!"

"Ok, fair enough. But I like what you put in the car when you pick me up. Especially the one band that's like… sabertooth something."

Sabertooth something. He absolutely has not, never in his life, listened to a tape you have given him. 

"Black Sabbath?" Eddie questioned. You didn’t know how Eddie even made that connection when you didn’t.

"Yeah! That one!"

"Oh my god, the kid has taste."

Before Dustin could answer, the car came to a stop. You thought you almost heard a whine leave Dustin’s lips when he spotted Mike's house from the passenger window.

“I don’t want to go,” Dustin melted in his seat. “Can I stay with you and Eddie?”

“Dustin, as much as I love you, Mike is waiting for you,” Dustin groaned, making slow moves to unbuckle his seat belt. “Don’t you have a campaign to do?”

“Yeah, yeah…” he mumbled, not giving you a full answer. He was elusive. At this time on any normal day, he’d catch you up on the progress of the campaign and complain about how Lucas or Mike were playing. Dustin said nothing. He just looked at the house in slight concern. Maybe for Will, maybe for something else.

A part of him just wanted to stay with Eddie and yourself. He wanted to know everything about Eddie Munson and find out if the rumors the 8th graders spoke of the Witch King were true. Eddie didn’t even seem like a villain. He didn’t seem like the freak everyone at the malt shop said or the scary metal head the people at the pool gossiped about. 

"Can we hang out with Eddie more often?" He asked hopefully.

"Yeah, we can," you let out a breathy laugh at his expression. "Now go! Mike is waiting for you and don't forget to call your mom! She's going to be worried sick."

"Yeah, yeah," he whined again as he put  his bag on and opened the door. "I'll leave you and your boyfriend alone," he rolled his eyes and swung the door to a close.

"Bye, Dustin!" You waved your hand and he did the same before taking fast steps toward Mike's house.

Silence fell in the car as you watched Dustin waddle his way over to the white door of Mike’s home. His curly hair bounced as he did. He rang the bell and waited, turning around to meet your gaze and giving you his best toothless smile. You waved a last time before the door swung open behind him to reveal Mrs. Wheeler–well dressed as always. She rushed Dustin in, not noticing your car before closing the door which made her and Dustin disappear behind the perfect suburban house.

Neither of you wanted to be the one to break the silence. 

Dustin's happiness still hanging in the air, both your cheeks hurting from his contagious smile. It was far from uncomfortable, sitting in a car with a giddy smile on your lips and Eddie Munson by your side.

"Boyfriend, hm?" Eddie smiled to himself.

"What?" You turned your head to face him, only to see that he was already staring at you.

"He called me your boyfriend."

"Oh yeah..." you felt the heat rise as the word sunk in.

"I like how that sounds, to be honest." Eddie hated himself for speaking. Digging himself a bigger hole than the one he was already trapped in. Yet everything felt so right.

"I kind of do too," you played with the sleeve of your sweater.

Eddie stayed frozen for a moment, contemplating his next move. His gaze was burning on you as he watched your shy demeanor. He was sure you were going to undo the seams of your sleeve by tugging so hard on the loose string, he could see the turmoil of thoughts reflecting on your features and hard focus on anything that wasn’t him. Trying to find an escape.

Eddie stopped you, grabbing your hand in his, the movement making you look up.

He gave you his sweetest smile, making your heart leap in your chest, feeling him lean in. Left hand coming up to cup your jaw, thumb grazing over the soft skin of your cheek that was burning from his touch. Not a doubt clouded Eddie's mind as he leaned in to kiss you. Not a single ounce of regret flooded him as his lips moved in sync with yours, his hand holding yours tighter.

He would find a way out of this mess he put himself in.

He had too. 

If not for his own sanity, than for yours.

~

"Is that a Millennium Falcon keychain?" You noticed as Eddie's keys clinked together when he held them up to the door, sliding it into the keyhole.

"Yeah," Eddie chuckled. "You didn't notice it last time?"

"Sadly not," you smiled as he opened the door, waiting for you to get in before he did. He closed it behind you, dropping the keys in the fish shaped key bowl on the counter by the door and sloppily removing his shoes, messily tucking them under said counter. 

You removed your own shoes, dropping your bag next to them before following him further towards the kitchen area.

"Do you want anything to drink? Soda, water?" Eddie opened a wooden cupboard, grabbing two tinted blue glasses and placing them on the counter behind him. 

"Water, please," you spoke, admiring as Eddie grabbed one of the two glasses, filling it with water from the tap before handing it to you first. 

"Here's your water, my lady."

"Thank you very much," you winked, taking a sip before looking over to your backpack. "So, we've got some Shakespeare to read and I have history questions to do."

"I'm afraid so..." He looked at you, defeat evident in his eyes.

"It will be alright!” You cheered, “where do you want to work?"

"In my room?"

"Is this a pretext of getting me in your bed, Munson?" you raised an eyebrow and Eddie froze on the spot. The wheels in his brain coming to a stop as you stared back at him with a cheeky smile. "I'm kidding," you chuckled at the look on his face. "Working in your room is perfect."

"Alright," he gave you a nervous chuckle before opening another cupboard and finding a pack of already opened cookies, placing them on the counter between the two of you.

"Can I ask you a question?" Eddie wondered as he grabbed a cookie from the bottom of the plastic package and handed it to you.

You took the cookie, raising an eyebrow before answering, "go ahead."

"How do you do it?"

"Do what?" 

"Handle a brother like Steve," you chuckled at the question. 

“I just don’t,” you took a bite of the cookie Eddie had handed you. “You saw what happened Friday. I survive with a brother like Steve, because I genuinely know I cannot do anything to change him.”

"Fair enough," he grabbed another cookie from the pack, taking a bite out of it before dropping it on the counter and turning to the fridge.

"My turn to ask a question,"

"Go ahead," he answered as he grabbed a carton of milk. Closing the fridge before turning back towards you.

"Where were you for a month last fall? Not jail, I hope?" 

Christ. He couldn’t believe you knew he was gone for so long. He didn’t imagine anyone except his five friends knowing he wasn’t there. 

"Why, you’re scared your new boyfriend has a criminal record?" He raised a challenging eyebrow, the word boyfriend still making butterflies flutter in your stomach.

"No," you rolled your eyes, watching as Eddie poured himself the milk in his still empty glass. He pointed the carton towards you in a silent question, you nodded, chugging the last of your water down before sliding him the glass. "Couldn't care less, honestly. Just curious, people say so many different things…” You trailed on with a cheeky smile, “jail, short-lived porn star career, cult leader, the list goes on. Forgive me for being curious."

"Definitely none of those," he snorted at your list, dipping his half eaten cookie in the milk and taking a large bite. He waited until he finished chewing and swallowed before answering.

 "I was with um, I was visiting my dad while he was on his deathbed."

"Oh," you looked down at your own glass of milk, you seriously didn't mean to open this can of worms. You had never heard a mention of Eddie’s parents and you seriously didn’t mean to intrude in on something that seemed so private to him.

"Hated every minute, to be honest."

"That bad?" You looked back up.

"Well, you know I didn't always live in the trailer park with my uncle," he wiped the cookie crumbs from his fingers on the side of his jeans before leaning closer to you agasin't the counter, "I use to be in an alright apartment, with both my parents," he reached for your free hand, still splayed on the countertop, "of course, I didn't know we were squatters back then, but then my mom died when I was 8 and my dad left, leaving me here with Wayne." 

"That must have sucked," you let him play with your fingers, a pause settling in before you lifted your gaze and made eye contact with him. It was not an uncomfortable one, almost peaceful as his words hung in the air. 

"Yeah," he made a funny face, "he left and ended up meeting this bimbo who I guess managed to put him on the right track. Made him a new family and shit," that took all the words out of you.

"So yeah, I wasn't in jail, or attempting a porn star career; although I might have preferred to be doing that,” he chuckled. “I was visiting him and his new perfect cookie-cutter family. It was a fiasco," he chuckled to himself. "His new wife didn't want to introduce me to her kids as their brother so I was always baptized as Wayne's kid, their freaky cousin from bum-fuck-nowhere, Indiana. She was throwing daggers at me half the time and I spent most of my days at the neighboring mini golf getting high with the manager."

"You did what?" You smiled at the absurdity.

He matched your smile, "he kept playing Metallica and Ozzy, I had to befriend him. Freaks with freaks, am I right?"

"Yeah," you squeezed his hand, "freaks with freaks."

You didn't know how the air felt so light after what Eddie had dropped on you. Maybe it was the matching look in each of your gazes, or how normal this all felt. A pause lingered in the air. You could tell Eddie had processed this whole crazy situation he had been in. You thought it was a shame he'd probably have to redo a year because of that. But maybe it wouldn't be so bad if it meant you'd do your Senior year with him by your side.

This brought you back to your purpose of being here with Eddie.

"Maybe we should get to work," you patted his hand.

"Yeah,"

~

"I cannot do this," Eddie huffed, dropping his book on his lap. You watched as the book opened itself like an accordion and fell open on his bed. Eddie roughly leaned his head against his wall, groaning when his head collided against the hard material. 

"What's wrong?" you peaked from your history book.

"This is barely English," he lifted Romeo and Juliet up from his lap and held it by two fingers like it was a dead animal.

"You can read all of Tolkein's work but not Romeo and Juliet?"

"That's different. Tolkein's English is way smoother to read."

"Hm," you smiled, bringing your attention back to the paragraph on the Russian Revolution you were previously reading. Something about the murder of the Romanovs and the supposed victories that followed for the Bolsehviks. "You’ve already read it haven’t you?"

"Yes, but a long time ago. I’m taking my time rereading it," you flipped to the next page, hoping the chapter on the first world war would end there but your eyes fell upon yet another two page section about the consequences of the war on the world. Your eyes quickly danced across a paragraph detailing the problems soldiers faced. You sighed, lazily taping Eddie’s beige carpet with the pink eraser on the back of your pencil. 

"Ugh, I don’t know how you do it." Eddie spoke again after a long beat of silence, a new minute of him trying to focus as much of his strength as he could to make sense of the scrambled letters in his hands. He dropped the book again, and flopped to the side like a dead fish. Letting his head and one of his arms drop by the side of his bed. Staring at you now upside down.

"Dramatic much?"

He groaned in response.

You looked up to him from your place on the floor, giving him a silent laugh as you took in his state. His eyes were closed as another dramatic groan escaped his lips, hands flying on his face in desperation. You bit the eraser at the end of your pencil, contemplating your next move.

"Alright, I’ll help you," you closed your textbook and shuffled to stand up, shaking the soreness out of your legs. Eddie mumbled something barely audible when he heard you move.

You picked the book from the spot it had been thrown and flipped through the pages until ACT 2 was written in bold across the white paper.

"Move aside,” you nudged him, making him roll over so he was correctly placed against his pillow, leaving room for you. You climbed on the bed and moved until you were resting against his side, head cosied up on his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Eddie mumbled as he wrapped his hand around your waist, mindlessly starting to draw circles on your exposed skin.

"Reading it to you,"

"You don't have to,"

"I know, but I want to. Like this, I'm rereading it and learning too," Eddie blinked as he stared at the top of your head, intently watching as you cleared your throat.

“Act 2, Scene 2. In Capulet's garden, Romeo enters.” 

“Romeo: But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief,” Eddie felt his breath catch in his throat. When you spoke the words, Eddie could comprehend every meaning behind it, and his mind, against his own will, twisted the meanings to relate them to you. Was he doomed to feel like Romeo?

“Juliet appears at the window,” you continued, and Eddie felt himself squeeze the side of your arm in realization. “Romeo: It is my lady, O, it is my love! O, that she knew she was! She speaks, yet she says nothing. What of that?” You sighed, expecting any comments from your usually talkative boyfriend, but nothing. You looked up to be met with eyes full of thoughts. 

“All ok up there?”

“Y- yeah,” he breathed, “you make it easy to understand.”

“Hm,” you giggled, cheeks warming up at the feeling of Eddie’s hand on your arm and his lips close to your ear. “Really?” 

He kissed your temple as a reply.

He meant every word. 

Not only does hearing you reading make the words clear in his mind, organizing themselves like the perfect melody Shakespeare meant it to be. But the words resonated with something stronger in him. As if the feelings Romeo was crying out were ripped straight out of his chest and burned into the pages you were holding.

You were holding in your hands what his heart was yearning to scream.

~

“I hate this,” you looked at Tommy’s car from the windshield. You could hear the music playing from the garden and Tommy Hagan’s laughter and to top it off, Steve’s faint voice as he rambled on about whatever had annoyed him that day. 

“It will be alright, I promise,” Eddie offered, grazing your arm with his finger tips in an attempt to bring you some comfort, however, perhaps he was the one who needed it that evening.

He could hear the splash of your pool from the other side of the house, and it made him feel as though he was walking straight through a shark tank. Swimming straight for the enemy that could sense the smallest drop of blood; the smallest crack in his armor.

But you made that armor ten times stronger and there was no way Eddie Munson was going to let Steve Harrington and Tommy Hagan see him bleed. 

“Hm,” your grumble brought him back to the present, watching as you aggressively grabbed your bag and slipped out of your car, Eddie trailing not far behind.

You opened the door to your house, your R2D2 keychain making music as it clinked agains’t the rest of your keys. You grabbed the right key, the biggest silver one out of the 3 that hung around the ring. You reluctantly turned the silver object in the lock, ready to meet your doom.

From the look on your face he thought you were getting ready to fight the battle of Helm’s deep. Ready to fight an endless battle against the most vile creatures of Mordor, no hopes of winning and the odds far from being in your favor.

But the Fellowship did win the Battle of Helm’s deep. 

The door opened to reveal a big but homely house. A variety of shoes stood against the entry hall wall, from Steve’s basketball sneakers to the Reeboks Eddie had seen you wear multiple times. Hagan’s Nikes were next to Carol’s Vans; and you fought the urge to throw in the trash Tommy’s bright green hoodie that hung next to your blue and yellow windbreaker.

“You can take off your shoes and hang your jacket here if you want,” you smiled, pointing to the corner filled with all the clothes of the teenagers currently in the house. You slipped your own shoes off and dropped your bag on a yellow chair by the door to the kitchen. 

You sighed as you watched Eddie remove his own shoes and shrug off his jacket.

“Ready to infiltrate the enemy?” 

“As long as you’re by my side.”

It was everything you knew it would be. A soaked from head to toe Tommy chasing Carol across your parents garden in an attempt to throw her into the pool. On one of the old white sun chairs sat an uncomfortable Barb with a glass of water dancing between her fingers. Steve shared a sunchair with Nancy who was blushing at whatever stupid joke he had whispered in her ear, and in between all of that two packs of unopened beer sat piled on the small black and green garden table.

“This looks… fun?” Eddie raised an eyebrow, watching you roll your eyes and step forward. 

You huffed, barely muttering a hello to your brother and your friends as you ripped the cardboard of one of the six packs open and grabbed two beers. You threw one to Eddie and opened yours, taking a long well needed sip, bracing for their greetings.

“Munson!” Steve cheered, standing up from his spot next to Nancy.

“Harrington,” he nodded a bit stiff as Steve roughly patted his back. “Welcome to the crib!” He chuckled and you wondered how many beers he already had from how loud he was talking. 

Tommy stopped running after his girlfriend once he spotted Eddie, a large grin plastered on his punchable face and hovered towards you.

“Eddie, my man!” Tommy cheered as though he was his new best friend, giving him a handshake before taking a step back and asking, “you got the stuff?”

“Yeah,” Eddie fished for the packet of weed in the back pocket of his jeans before throwing it in Tommy’s hand.

“Thanks man,” he winked before waltzing over to the other corner of the pool where had already prepared some rolling paper and other random tools you couldn’t see from that far. All neatly laid out on a mossy wooden block that your parents had meant to throw away weeks ago.

You laid up on one of the empty sun chairs, eyeing Eddie. You watched him fumble with his hands, awkwardly playing with the can of beer in his hands and looking for something to fiddle with. You’d learn it was a habit of his when he felt nervous. He met your gaze and you silently nudged him to come over. You folded your legs together so he had room to sit in front of you.

You placed a reassuring hand on his thigh, and Eddie placed a ring cladded hand on top of yours. You blew him a kiss before looking to your left to where Barbara and Nancy were still sitting, he intently watched as you gave Barb a short smile and took a new sip of your beer.

“Hey! want some?” Tommy placed the freshly lit blunt in front of Nancy’s face, she politely declined and Tommy shrugged, not caring to make any comments before taking a new drag for himself. He silently asked Barbara but he got the same answer, an answer he expected anyways, and turned around towards you and Eddie.

“I know you won’t say no,” he joked and Eddie tried to hand him a smile as he took the joint out of his hand and took a drag for himself. “It’s good stuff by the way,” Tommy commented as Eddie blew smoke to the side, making sure it didn’t get in your face.

“I know,” he spoke, “but you’re half ruining it by rolling it like that,” he scanned the joint in his hand, inspecting it and indeed seeing the crooked way Tommy had folded it, he almost winced as if Tommy had made damage to something greater than him. “My grandmother rolls better than this, Hagan.”

You watched in amusement as Tommy’s eyes widened in an amused shock, not expecting that comment from the drug dealer in front of him. He was sure he knew how to roll well, he’d been doing it occasionally and most of his friends never complained. 

Tommy stayed dumbfounded and couldn’t answer until the words registered. He shrugged it off, pretending Eddie made false accusations before walking over to the other side of the pool to greedily make a new one to prove to Eddie that he wasn’t as bad as he was saying.

Once Hagan was out of the way and Eddie had already taken one to many drags, you moved your hand towards him, making grabby hands at the stress relieving gold between his fingers. 

He laughed at your eagerness, letting your fingers linger as they brushed against yours to grab your last hope to stay sane tonight.

Your eyes scanned the sky, trying to enjoy the beautiful sunset that tumbled upon the tall Hawkins tree. You wished you could have been elsewhere, maybe at lovers lake, playing truth or dare with Eddie as you sipped on homemade cocktails you threw into to-go cups. 

But as the weeds seeped in and you watched the sky turn from its pink and orange colors, you thought that maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad. Especially if the weed kept tumbling and Eddie stuck by your side.

Steve stole the blunt from you after your third drag, nagging something about how you should keep some for the others. He blew smoke to the side before looking at his watch, sighing before flicking his wrist, making his watch place itself better on his wrist and looked at you, “Y/n/n, do you have any cash on you?”

“No, why?” You threw your head back on the chair to catch his face.

“Because I ordered Pizza.”

“And? You expect me to pay?”

“No, no, totally not,” his lie made you groan in annoyance, wiggling your feet out of their criss-cross position to lay them out across Eddie’s lap. “I was just wondering,” he rolled his eyes, and as if on cue, the doorbell rang.

“I have some cash, if you want?” Eddie chimed in, rubbing circles on your ankles as he eyed your brother, and could see Tommy smirking like a madman from the corner of his eye. They all knew where the cash in question was coming from and Eddie felt even more guilty from the knowing looks they were giving him.

“Nah, S’okay, keep your well earned money Munson,” he waved his hand and smirked, Eddie’s chest stinging at the comment.

His gaze went back to you. You said something he didn’t catch to Nancy, happy you had stopped paying any attention to their conversation. 

He just experienced the first shark attack; subtle but all the same painful.

Eddie knew he was playing a dangerous game by being here tonight.

“Eddie, could you help me?” Steve took a last drag of the joint and handed it back to Tommy who was probably going to finish it and light up a new  one by the time they got back with the pizza’s.

“Yeah, sure,” Eddie grabbed your ankles, lifting them up from him and back down on the hard panels of the sun chair making you instantly divert your attention back to him.

“Hey, where are you going?” 

“Helping your brother with the pizza’s, baby,” he smiled, kissing your forehead before following your brother into the house. 

You watched attentively as Eddie disappeared behind the glass door, unapologetically checking him out.

“Y/n/n, can I talk to you for a minute,” Barbara broke you out of your staring, making you blink out of whatever trance Eddie had you in.

“Yeah of course, Barb,” 

“In private?” 

“Oh, sure,” you dropped your can of beer on the floor, sliding it under your chair to minimize the chances of it getting spilled by a clumsy Tommy Hagan or Steve.

You fixed your jeans as you stood up, following Barbara down the stone path that led further down towards the forest parts of your garden.

“What’s up?” You questioned, folding your arms together, as if to shield yourself from any of her comments, and maybe from the slight wind that started blowing.

“You’ve got to be careful with Eddie.”

“Why?” You frowned, biting at your nails. “You’ve seen how he is, Eddie’s a sweetheart, Barb.”

She frowned even more than you, “yeah, but don’t you think it’s weird he’s only shown interest in you right around the time your brother got this new rule from your parents? And not only that but Steve has been acting really weirdly these past few days–”

“Barb, it’s Steve,” you cut her off, “he’s always acting weird,” you rolled her eyes and chuckled. A sharp laugh that made Barb look down to her feet. “Eddie makes me happy, okay? That’s all you need to know and that’s all that matters right now, okay?”

“Right,” the white toe of her shoe collided with a small rock on the ground, she rolled it around for what felt like a second too long before speaking again, “just think about it, please?”

“Barb, let’s get back to the party, okay?”

~

“I can’t believe you got my mutant sister to date you, man. Good job, honestly,” Steve chuckled, shaking his head as he grabbed his wallet from a wooden console in the hallway and continued his way towards the door. 

Eddie frowned at Steve’s obliviousness. He seemed to be blind to the fact that you were truly infatuated with Eddie, forgetting the part where this was all a twisted deal. This made a new kind of ache rise inside his stomach.

Did your brother really care so little about you?

Eddie’s eyes trailed from the bowl that previously sheltered Steve’s wallet, not half full with keys and other trinkets Eddie didn’t know the use of. He looked up from it and noticed the frames hanging above the furniture. A green wooden frame caught his eye, a picture of you and Steve hugging. You must have been about five and six and Eddie wondered when it all started going down between the two of you. At which point did a flip switch in Steve to become the coldhearted douchebag he was today.

“Parallel universe where we got along,” Steve joked before nudging Eddie to join him by the door. Eddie expected for Steve to open the front door but instead he opened his wallet in half and slipped out two green bills. 

“Here, as promised. That’s for tonight,” he handed Eddie a fifty, the brightest smirk plastered on his traits. He was happy, his investment was paying off. Eddie noticed the other bill was also a fifty, and he hoped he had ordered fifty dollars worth of pizza, because he thought he was going to throw up if it was another payment for another ‘task’ he’d have him do, another place he needed to take you.

“And that’s to take her to the Spring Fling,” Eddie didn’t make a move to grab the money, Steve didn’t seem to care and almost stuffed it into his hand. As if he was a vampire touching silver, Eddie felt the money burn his fingers, “and please, please convince her to go, my parents would never let me if she doesn’t.”

“Yeah, yeah I know the drill, Harrington,” the words felt bitter in his mouth. He stumbled a bit on his words, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to prepare his next words, he was ready to cut the deal off, give him the money back and pretend this deal never happened. 

But Steve opened the door before he could get a word out, and Eddie instantly recognised the delivery boy as a client of his.

A young redhead who had graduated Hawkins High a year ago, he remembered learning that he was saving for college with his job at the one Surfer Boy Pizza location Hawkins had, but Eddie also knew that he was using a crazy amount of his savings on weed, and other shit, because half of the profit he’d made in the last few months came from him alone.

“Oh! Hey, Munson!” The boy’s face lit up when he recognised his dealer, “didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Makes two of us,” Eddie offered a smile, grabbing half of the pizza boxes while Steve handed him the money and grabbed the rest of the boxes himself, “I’ll see you later.”

“Yep,” the redhead grinned and Steve bidded him goodbye before closing the door with his foot.

“Thanks for the help,” he muttered, trotting to the back of the house. Eddie watched as Steve skillfully opened the door with his elbow, and the cool spring air hit his face again.

“Pizza's here!” Everyone cheered, and the two boys dropped the boxes on the now empty sunchair that used to host you and Eddie minutes prior.

You walked up to Eddie, melting at his side as he draped an arm around your waist. 

“Did my brother annoy you?”

“No,” Eddie chuckled, a little awkwardly, his eyes darting to Steve who was circling the garden to turn on the lights.

The sky was darker now, night starting to shine in all its glory, taking it the reassurance of sunlight with it. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood though, weed had started to take over and the first beer pack had already disappeared into a pile of empty cans. 

This was going to be a long night.

~

“So, you and Eddie hmm?”

“It’s none of your business.”

“Oh, but it so is my business.” Steve had the biggest smile on, the smile only faltering as he took another sip of his beer, chugging the end in one go.

"Oh, but it so isn't,” you caught Eddie’s eye from the other side of the pool, he was teaching Tommy how to roll a proper joint.

You watched as Eddie smiled, a freshly rolled joint in between his fingers while Tommy was grumbling something you couldn’t understand. Eddie, shrugging before standing up, tucking the cigarette on his ear as he made his way to you. 

Tommy’s ego seemed to have calmed down and his thoughts soon caught the attention of something else. A devilish glint in his eyes as he ran across the pool and grabbed Carol by the waist, threatening to throw her in the pool. 

She screamed, a piercing scream that made almost everyone giggle–even you. 

“Stop it Tommy! Don’t!” She screamed until she was back on her two feet and you kind of wished he had thrown her in.

Steve left your side to grab a beer, piercing a hole through the bottom before opening the can and chugging it in one go. He made eye contact with you, throwing you one and you grabbed the knife closest to you to do the same. You watched as Steve slung himself across one of the lounge chairs by Nancy, trying to be as cool as possible but his poor attempts weren’t invisible. 

“Is that supposed to impress me?” Nancy raised an eyebrow and you rolled your eyes at your brother’s nonchalance.

Eddie grabbed a beer, not paying any mind to Nancy and your brother as he made his way to you. You stood up from your sunchair and Eddie almost told you to stay put. That he’d just sit on the floor next to you but your actions were faster.

You made him sit down and you didn’t hesitate one second to sit on his lap, making yourself comfortable against him, legs tangling with each other on the extension of the chair. 

“This is way more comfortable than the floor,” he whispered in your ear as his arm found its way across your waist. 

“I know right?” You brought him into the most tender kiss, the way he made you feel all soft and mushy on the inside seeping through. 

He smiled once you leaded away, smiling as you grabbed the swiss knife back from the garden table next to you and imitated your brother’s earlier actions–piercing a hole at the bottom of your can, and opening it, chugging the whole thing in one go.

“Oh, is this some kind of Harrington super power?” Eddie raised an eyebrow, making you laugh. 

“Maybe, maybe,” you laughed and Eddie did too. The sounds of laughter are contagious to each other. You bumped your forehead into the side of his head lovingly and Eddie could feel your smile against his cheek.

“Thanks for coming tonight,” you whispered. “Without you, I don’t know what I’d be doing right now. Probably planning my next murder attempt on Steve,”

“Oh, because there’s been a first one?”

“A few.” 

“Very metal of you, baby.”

“Hey, Barb, are you ok?” Nancy’s voice caught your attention, snapping you out of your bubble. 

You watched as Barb clutched her hand, blood dripping out of it.

“I’m fine,”

“Barb, you’re bleeding.”

“I said I’m fine,” she shrugged Nancy’s help off and turned to Steve. “I’ll just go, clean up,” she nodded and you stood up from your spot in Eddie’s arms, grabbing her shoulder before she could take a step further. 

“Hey Barb, I’ll go help you wrap that up. It doesn’t look good.”

“I’ll be fine Y/n/n, I don’t need your help,” she muttered, almost bumping into your shoulder before disappearing behind your back door.

“Awkward,” Tommy snicked, trying to relieve the tension. It made Carol and Steve laugh while you and Nancy shared a worried glance. This wasn’t like Barb at all. 

But the tension quickly dissipated. Tommy knew very well what to do to save the night and pushed Carol into the pool only to  jump after her. Steve did the same with Nancy and you took it as your cue to grab Eddie’s hand, making him leave his spot on your uncomfortable chair and jump with you in the pool. 

The water felt colder than you expected. You hadn’t been in the pool since September, even if you had reopened and cleaned the pool only about a week ago, and the air still held on to the bits of winter, persuading you to stay in the comfort of your bedroom instead of taking a swim.

Barb seeped out of everyone’s minds as water splashed across the space. Steve splashing Nancy but the hit also falling onto you and Eddie who tread behind her. 

The six of you fell into a loud water fight, making the concrete slabs beside of your pool sopping wet and the water even reaching the empty pizza boxes that were all cramped up in a corner by your small garden table. 

You were so enthralled in watching Nancy trying to swim away from the menace that your brother could be, that you didn’t realize Eddie was behind you, making an easy strike as he grabbed you, enveloping you in his arms and pulling you closer by the waist. You squealed before you realized it was him, your back hitting his chest. You quickly melted in his embrace as his lips hovered the shell of your ear.

He whispered something you unfortunately didn’t catch over everyone's screaming, so you turned around in his arms to ask him what it was but by the time you were face to face with him, he pulled you into a kiss and dragged you down under the water with him, taking you by surprise. You pulled away, letting out a surprised breath under water, bubbles seeping out to climb the surface, but you quickly registered the gesture, and pulled him back into the kiss. 

You were both laughing messes once you reached the surface, panting from being deprived of oxygen. Eddie pushed some wet locks out of your face, staring at you with star filled eyes. 

A certain melancholy seeped through him as he watched you in awe–mesmerized by you. Your eyelashes filled with droplets of water, and your hair going crazy. He got closer, whispering something you this time heard loud and clear.

“Where were you all my life?”

You felt yourself grabbing his shoulder; a way to anchor yourself because if you didn't, you didn’t know how you could keep your knees from buckling and keep yourself from drowning. The water might have been freezing cold, but your entire body felt like fire under his touch.

“Right here,” you whispered back, pressing a kiss to his cheek before resting your forehead against his.

“Why so far?” Butterflies rose to your stomach and even though the others were screeching and screaming behind you, you felt like it was only you and Eddie, holding each other in the corner of your pool.

“Hey lovebirds!” Of course, Tommy had to break the moment, sending a giant wave of water towards the two of you, making you snap out of your love spell and back to harsh reality.

~

“Here,” you grabbed one of your blue striped towels from the pool shed and handed it to Eddie.

“Thank you,” he placed it around his shoulders. He watched intently as you grabbed your own towel and started wrapping yourself around it, closing the pool shed right after. 

You gazed up, watching as Steve and Nancy went inside the house, towels of their own wrapped around their shoulders, Carol and Tommy quickly following. 

You shivered. The briskness of night setting in, reminding you this was only a random Wednesday night of April. It wasn’t a time to swim or take a dip in the pool just for kicks–It was spring as it barely emerged from a winter that you wished had morphed into the endless summer nights where the sun stayed high longer and you wouldn’t freeze the second you exited the pool.

“C’mon, let’s get you some dry clothes.”

Eddie nodded, and followed you in, noticing the way your damp hair swooshed with the wind as you walked, and the way you smiled as the warmth of the house engulfed you whole the second you stepped inside.

Eddie walked in after you, and you made sure the door was closed before wrapping your hand around his and walked further into the dim lighted room, right until you reached the brightly lit corridor.

“Hey Barb,” you frowned as you saw her, standing by your front door. “Everything ok?” 

She watched with big eyes as your hand wrapped around the white railing of the staircase, other hand wrapped around Eddie’s as he trailed behind you. 

“Yeah, yeah,” she dismissed it, watching as Eddie pressed the towel he held in his free hand against his wet curls, frowning at the redhead before him. 

Even he knew she was lying. 

“Where’s Nance?” You asked, perched up on the third step while Eddie played with the wet belt loops of your jeans, intently watching as you tried to know more of the reason behind your friend’s frown.

“Upstairs with your brother.”

“Ah,” you nodded, biting the inside of your cheek in thought. 

“I’m going to go home,” she looked down at her shoes averting yours and Eddie’s gaze as best she could.

“You sure?” You frowned again, and Eddie squeezed the side of your waist in an attempt to sooth your thoughts. “Eds and I are just going to get dry clothes and then we’ll come back downstairs. We could play Uno?” You offered, remembering when you’d pull out your Uno deck at any given chance during boring school field trips, Nancy always complaining because she was so bad at it while Barb often took the win.

You could see the hesitancy in her eyes, memories flashing before her. “Thanks, but it’s late,” she cleared her throat and fixed her glasses. 

You knew there was something else behind her voice, a sort of strain that told you ‘I don’t want to be more of a bother than I already am’. 

“Alright, well, be careful ok?” You smiled and started making your way back up the stairs, Eddie nodding to Barb before following you up. 

“Oh, and Y/n/n,” she caught your attention before you could reach the last step, waiting until you met her eyes before continuing; “please think on what I’ve told you,” your gaze softened and you had to prevent yourself from looking at Eddie, not to raise any suspicion that he was the lead subject of her words.

You had no intent on doing so, but just to give her a piece of mind you spoke, like a dance in the wind, “I will Barb, promise. Get home safely.” 

You saw her shoulders slump from the corner of your eye as you climbed the last step, before taking a left towards your room.

“Well, since Steve is occupied, I can’t ask him for anything,” you looked behind you as you opened the door to your bedroom, Eddie’s big eyes intently staring back, “but I do own oversized band tees and stole a pair of sweats from Steve two weeks ago so you could use that?” You offered and Eddie couldn’t help the laughter that tumbled out of him at the proposition.

“That would be more than perfect.”

The door of your bedroom closed behind you with a soft thud, and Eddie found himself mesmerized by how similar your bedrooms were. Posters against posters, and a huge shelf with more fantasy books than Eddie could count. His mind went back to the first time Steve sat at the Hellfire table, while Eddie read through the list of books he’d found in your room. Indeed Steve hadn’t been lying, and the list he’d read on the crumpled white paper with Harrington’s sloppy handwriting found itself manifesting on your wooden shelves. 

His eyes scanned every shelf and he found himself ogling at your Tolkein collection–all hardbacks with different colors and the recurring T symbol. Eddie had never seen such a beautiful collection of Tolkein’s work. 

“My uncle gave them to me before he died, they’re pretty cool, don’t you think?” 

“I think I’m falling in love with them,” you chuckled at his antics.

“Some of them are signed.”

“No way, can I?” He pointed towards the collections.

“Of course, Eddie. The Hobbit is signed if you want to see.”

Eddie pulled out the blue book in awe, fingers delicately dancing across the pages.  

“You should see mine,” he smirked, “ripped out front covers and dead spines. I accidently burnt the first page of the two towers because I was smoking while reading, and Oliver, so not accidentally dropped his chewed gum in the middle of my Hobbit book.”

“Why?” You raised an eyebrow at the absurdity.

“He was mad because I accidentally scratched his guitar.”

“Well, wouldn’t you be mad if he stretched your Warlock?”

“Yeah, but that’s different. His was an old guitar that didn’t ring well, he was about to get a new one, anyways,” Eddie rolled his eyes before he continued to scan your shelves. “Oh my god, is that a mini replica of the millennium falcon?” He placed the copy of your hobbit back on the shelf, and grabbed the Star Wars miniature, eyes wide like a child who discovered his new favorite toy.

“Yeah,” you smiled as you opened your cupboard, scanning the shelves for the sweat pants and shirt you had promised Eddie. You threw two oversized Metallica shirts on your bed, and found sweatpants for you before finally getting your hands on Steve’s gray sweatpants. “I got it last summer when we went to California,” you spoke, grabbing the biggest shirt out of the two and the gray pants, handing them to Eddie as he placed the small figurine back on your shelf. 

“I love it,” he kissed your cheek, thanking you for the clothes.

“Bathroom is in the corridor, first door on your left,” you pecked his lips, watching him as he scurried out of your room.

You sighed, a giddy smile on your lips as you changed into dry clothes of your own. When Eddie came back, he couldn’t keep his eyes from roaming the room. There was so much stuff he wasn’t sure where to look first. 

He saw a stuffed Chewbacca on your bed, right by where your head laid, and snatched it from the spot. He sat at the edge of your mattress, turning it to you and making Chewbacca noises.

“You know what, Chewie? I agree,” you played along and Eddie continued his Chewie noises as if the doll was speaking.

You giggled, grabbing the plushie from Eddie and scooting yourself closer, kissing him silly. 

Eddie’s hand found its place on your waist, pulling you closer but the kiss was broken by your ever growing smiles.

“You’re so silly, you know that?” You muttered, smiling like an idiot.

“And that’s why you like me so much.” 

“You’re right,” you kissed him again, lips melting with him and moving in perfect sync. It was everything your previous kisses weren’t. Passionate and burning with envy as your hand found its place in his hair, gently tugging on his curls. Eddie groaned in your mouth as you continued gently pulling onto his locks, making a moan leave your own lips.

Eddie thought he was going to go crazy. His hand traveled up your thigh, pushing you up so you sat on his lap, hungrily kissing the corner of your lips before continuing his way down your jaw.

"Come to the dance with me," Eddie mumbled against your skin, kisses trailing lower until he found the spot that made you shiver.

"What?" You half moaned from the attention he was giving you and half chuckled at the absurdity of the question.

"Come to the dance with me," his voice was more serious now, a slight pant in his breath. He stopped what he was doing and straightened up, eyes leveling with yours.

"No, no, I heard you. Why?" You pushed a strand of hair away from his eyes. “I thought you hated that kind of stuff, because I definitely do.”

"Gareth is going with a girl he really likes and he doesn't want to be the only Hellfire guy there," he half lied. Oliver was going too but you didn't need to know that, yet.

You sighed, fingers dancing across the Metallica writing on the chest of his shirt.

“Eds-”

“Think about it, please?” 

You bit your lip, looking up to meet his big chocolate eyes, peering at you almost like a lost puppy; how could you refuse him anything when he looked like that. “I’ll let you know, Eds,” you bit your lip. “No promises.”

“Alright,” he breathed out, one ringed hand reaching up to cup your face. His thumb brushed over your cheek and you felt yourself melt into his touch again. 

You leaned in, breaths mixing together until your lips brushed each others, melting back into a kiss–this time it was more desperate, he kissed you with a gentle urgency and you were already breathless in his mouth as you felt his fingers brush your bare skin under the soft material of your shirt. His hand itched to travel upwards, but the deal was still tugging at the back of his mind, like a faint melody, haunting him. 

But that melody was just a faint whisper as you repositioned yourself on his lap, now straddling him as the kisses only grew hungrier, more desperate. Desperate to get closer, to feel him against you as much as you could.

Your mind was all Eddie, and you didn’t mind one bit. 

In fact you were welcoming his ever hypnotising presence, letting you melt and engulf in everything that he was–you fitted together like pieces of a puzzle, and the words he’d spoken to you while you were enveloped in the cold water of your swimming pool resonated again through you; ‘where were you all my life?’

Where had he been all this time? Your knight in shinning black armor. You wondered if life would have been easier if he had been by your side earlier. If the nagging from Steve and the bullying from his friends would have effected you less if you had each other–if you had been there to protect one another from the jungle that was Hawkins High. 

The cold metal of his rings agains’t your waist brought you back to the present–and suddenly you knew you weren’t going to be alone in the treacherous sea of Hawkins, that you didn’t need to be scared of the sharks anymore. That you would have no more use for the walls you had spend all these years building. That you could take a break from your Heinous Bitch alter ego.

But as the moment went on, Eddie already knew where this had taken a turn–the nagging melody only grew louder, and he felt himself come back to his sense–as if waking up from the intoxicating hold you had on him. 

Suddenly, he felt guilty for the way he was touching you and pulled his hand from the soft skin of your waist as though it was burning him. His heart knew this was right, but his mind knew it was wrong–and Eddie felt himself get torn apart the more your lips danced together in perfect rhythm.

He hummed against your lips, in an attempt to wake you from the same daze that he had abruptly been ripped away from.

"We- we should stop,” the words left his lips before he could over think more than he was already constrained too. “I- I should go." He looked at your face, his own fake smile flailing at the hurt your eyes held. 

“What?” You panted, pushing yourself back so you could take a better look at him, trying to understand what made him stop his actions “Eddie-” you grabbed his shoulder, hoping it would keep him here, anchor him back to you.

But instead he offered you the poorest of excuses; “It’s getting late,” you only registered that he had moved you away from his lap and back onto the bed when you watched him stand up, and pace around to gather his things, “we have school tomorrow, remember?” 

“Since when do you care about school?” You half joked, hoping this would help Eddie give a clearer explanation to his sudden need for his departure. You watched as Eddie snorted from your truthful comment, but patiently waited for more words to fall out his mouth.

“Since I’ve got a pretty girl helping me with my homework,” he approached, hoping to ease the tension. He came over to you with a genuine smile and bopped your nose, fingers lingering on the soft skin of your cheek.

"Eddie,” you muttered, barely audible, and Eddie felt a new pang of guilt eat him up as he watched you–head falling down as you grabbed his other hand and played with his rings. “Why do every time I take a step forward you take two steps back?" 

He froze–all thoughts fleeting out of his brain, threatening to shut his system down. He knew why, but he could never tell you, he didn’t know what he should even tell you. What words he could use to not dig himself a bigger hole and discern the trust it took so long gaining.

 "You chase me around and when I finally cave in, you push me away?" Your mind flashed back to the first time you had tried to kiss him–when he had dropped you off after that damned party.

"I just-" He whispered, hoping he would find a quick way to defrost from the prison of his thought, trying to scrape at the sanity he was holding on to, trying the situation. "I want to take things slow with you," your frown only deepened. 

"Sweetheart, I really really like you, and everything is happening so fast," the second part of this sentence couldn’t be so far from the truth; hell he could marry you tomorrow and he’d be the happiest man on earth. 

He heard your sigh and was too cowardly to look at you. Fear lay heavy on his stomach the more this went on; traveling to his heart and seeping into his chest to spread all over him. Killing him softly with every passing minute. 

He wished he had called the deal off hours ago when he had the chance. Give Steve his money back before he even opened the door for the delivery man; and maybe, just maybe tonight would have been different and guilt wouldn’t be eating him up like it was now.

“Ok,” you nodded, trying to hide the small ache that had started in your own chest.

You were going to try and say something else; bid him good night and tell him you’d see him tomorrow, hoping that sleeping on this whole situation would make it better for the both of you, give you answers to his behaviorvbut a loud, unrecognizable noise screeched from the garden. 

"Did you hear that?" Eddie’s head snapped towards your window.

"Yeah,” you stood up, pushing the curtains open without a second thought. You both peered down, but saw nothing. The water of the pool was still, the lights creating shadows at the bottom and stray leaves dancing ontop the water. 

Eddie turned his head towards you, “what do you think it was?” 

“I don’t know,” you frowned, fingers dropping their grip on the soft material of your curtains once you had finished scanning the whole area visible from your small window.

You looked up to meet Eddie; not really knowing what to do with the silence dancing across the two of you. 

“You should go,” you offered a smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Eds.”

“Y/n,” Eddie grabbed your wrist before you could move. “I really, really, like you, you know?” He breathed out, a hint of desperation in his voice that made you smile. 

You leaned into his touch, taking a step forward, leaning in to press a kiss to his lips.

“I really like you too, Eddie.”

“Good.”

“Good,” you repeated. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

[coldasyou]

She had like 23838 love story perfomances, we don't need another one, at least not for another 2-3 tours! Sorry

fair point, fair point...counter point we were both young when i first saw you i close my eyes and the flashback starts i'm standin' there on a balcony in summer air see the lights, see the party, the ball gowns see you make your way through the crowd and say, "hello" little did i know that you were romeo, you were throwin' pebbles and my daddy said, "stay away from juliet" and i was cryin' on the staircase beggin' you, "please don't go, " and i said romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone i'll be waiting, all there's left to do is run you'll be the prince and i'll be the princess it's a love story, baby, just say, "yes" so i sneak out to the garden to see you we keep quiet, 'cause we're dead if they knew so close your eyes escape this town for a little while, oh oh 'cause you were romeo, i was a scarlet letter and my daddy said, "stay away from juliet" but you were everything to me i was beggin' you, "please don't go, " and i said romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone i'll be waiting, all there's left to do is run you'll be the prince and i'll be the princess it's a love story, baby, just say, "yes" romeo, save me, they're tryna tell me how to feel this love is difficult, but it's real don't be afraid, we'll make it out of this mess it's a love story, baby, just say, "yes" oh, oh i got tired of waiting wonderin' if you were ever comin' around my faith in you was fading when i met you on the outskirts of town, and i said romeo, save me, i've been feeling so alone i keep waiting for you, but you never come is this in my head? i don't know what to think he knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring and said, "marry me, juliet you'll never have to be alone i love you and that's all i really know i talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress it's a love story, baby, just say, "yes" oh, oh, oh oh, oh, oh, oh 'cause we were both young when i first saw you

[vacoomer]

CRIMSON NEEDLE (sneak-peek wattpad story ;))

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ACT 1

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CHAPTER 2: THE BALL PT. 1

"[Name]! [Name]! It is already 7:46! Yet, you still haven't started sewing the dress back together! You will never make it in time!", the strawberry blonde woman barged through the office door, clearly out of breath.

When Abigail arrived at the shop, she already had suspicions about the job her boss still had to complete. Yet, seeing how her superior is just casually lounging around in her office, makes her head dizzy. As soon as Miss Moody saw [Name] stretched out on her table while consuming a drink from her porcelain cup, she realised that her boss didn't have any plans to start work soon.

This turned her mood sour, she immediately became agitated and began to whine about how 'we as adults should be responsible and manageable'. With multiple tasks for her to complete before they open the business for the day, the young tailor merely hushes her out of the office.

Now it is precisely 7:53 and the young blonde noble should be coming soon to get the fixed dress. The only problem is that [Name] just started fixing the hole in fabric, which usually takes a few hours, based on how big it is. Which means, [Name] won't be finished fixing the dress anytime soon.

So when a knock and bell came from the entrance door, Abigail flipped out. "Oh, my heavens! Whatever shall we do!? This is not good for business, not good at a -"

"Shut up and open the door, Abi."

Miss Moody looks slowly back towards the tailor and notices a heavy glare directed at her. She slowly gulps and heads towards the front door.

"O-Oh, Miss Midford! Please come in! I assume you are here for your dress?... Well, you see-"before the brown-eyed woman could continue, Lissie's eyes shimmered with delight and her loud voice echoed through the foyer.

"My dress! Is this my dress? It looks amazing!", her green eyes sparkle while looking at the garment the young tailor is holding. As soon as Abigail hears the young lady's words, she slowly turns around. In front of her stands [Lastname] holding a dress. The dress she hasn't even touched 2 minutes ago.

"H-How...", the strawberry-blonde woman mutters in shock, while the noble lady clasps her hands in admiration.

"I knew you could do it, Miss! There is no denying it, this dress is even better than it was before!" The basic light blue dress with a few scattered ruffles and bows was no longer there; instead, a light blue dress with off-the-shoulder juliet sleeves, white bows and ruffles, and a bustle skirt that gives the back fullness and the front flatness sways in front of them. The blond noble should look richer thanks to the silver embellishments that hang from the bows on the frock.

[Name] smiles lowly at the brown-haired maid, her noble lady and the perplexed assistant of the tailor. "I am delighted that you think so, my Lady."

Elizabeth grinned warmly as she gently took the dress from the tailor's hands. "I know this is a bit sudden, but because you mended my dress while you were already closed, I simply have to ask: Would you kindly come to the ball my parents are hosting this evening? Yes, I know this sounds abrupt, but if you were here to attend the event, I would cherish the garment more! Oh! Please do bring your assistant, naturally!"

The [eye-colour] eyed person only smiles in appreciation. "We would love to attend the ball! I appreciate your invitation and I hope we see each other there!"

Elizabeth Midford grins at her, hands her the money and practically dances out of the shop.

Silence engulfs the two women.

"I recall you saying, I would not make it in time. Could you repeat that for me, please?"

"No need to call me out like that."

"The extent of your disbelief in me is so profound that it astounds me, even though my abilities surpass yours by the brightness of the sun on a flickering candle. Yes, your confidence in my skills is as empty as a homeless person's pocket full of change-"

"Okay!! I got it!!"

(wattpad: vacoomer, story launching soon!)

[skele-bunny]

Romeo and Juliet. (No CW) Terzo/Omega

CW - NONE, Arranged marriage talk, pregnancy talk

Characters: Papa "Cardinal" Terzo/3, Omega, Papa Nihil, Sister Imperator

("Good luck, Babe!" Also I love making my own timelines 💪 Divider by @ wrathofrats)

Read it under the cut!

Terzo always thought love at first sight was a fairytale Phil would read to him as a child. Sure, there was lust at first sight, but never romance. Seeing someone and falling so deeply in love with them you wouldn't need to utter a single word, it sounded ridiculous as much as it was possible in theory. He'd consider himself a fool if he ever believed in it. And oh, was he such a fool.

Head over heels for his own servant of Lucifer, a simple Ghoul who had to simply look at Terzo before his heart would race and longing for his touch. How his voice held the softest echo as he whispered in his Cardinal's ear, always making goosebumps go up his pale skin. Omega had something so alluring to him, more than Alpha or any other of his ghouls had. Alluring enough to be found in Terzo's bed, his arms, and his heart.

How could anyone blame Terzo as the cardinal practically ran out of his class with his eldest brothers, hands clenched together as he'd make his way down a certain hallway—looking left and right before continuing his adventure into a closed section of the Abbey.

"Amore mio!" He partially whispered and shouted, looking around before hands quickly grabbed his hips to cause a bundle of laughter.

The cardinal turned, being lifted and spun around by Omega before being lowered, their lips connecting immediately — Omega holding him up from under his bottom as Terzo caressed down his cheeks.

Pulling back, the ghoul chuckled under his breath. "That's the fastest you've ever gotten here, love."

"Can you blame me? Knowing I have to talk to my father with only ten minutes in-between, of course I need time with my demone." He whispered, quickly closing their gap once more.

Sneaking around was like a favorite past time to them. Ghouls and humans being together was an unspoken rule. A taboo. In a sexual sense no one batted an eye, but romantically? The master to the servant, the same sex Romeo and Juliet of different species as the Capulet's (Or in this case, the Emeritus') kept them apart by a single hammer between them. Terzo hated when he'd wake up to Omega quickly dressing himself, a final kissed shared before quietly sinking into the shadows just in time as a 'nanny' Sister would knock on the door to wake him. So many midnight dates in the garden, sneaking out of the window to jump in the arms of a now freaking out ghoul two stories below just to skinny dip in the lake nearby.

The cardinal gasped as Omega moved to his neck, claws gripping tighter at his ass as they moved to the wall.

"No marks— Oh, amore mio..."

Omega huffed, his tail flicking and purrs rumbling as Terzo touched his chest. "I know, I know. Just need to taste you."

Cassock straining at the skirt, Omega settled himself between his human mate's legs, pushing forwards for a gentle rocking motion to earn those hitches in Terzo's breath. The pair stayed connected as long as possible before Terzo tapped his ghoul's chest in a familiar pattern, Omega taking the hint and carefully setting his partner down.

"So soon already?" He whined, tail moving around to wrap on Terzo's wrist. "Didn't even get to kiss you again."

"Mmh," Terzo go to his tiptoes, placing a kiss on the ghoul's jawline that erupted a heavier purr. "Unfortunately. It shouldn't be too long. Probably will scold me for not studying hard enough. But, think of tonight and what we'll have, yes?"

A deep laugh sent shivers down Terzo's back as Omega moved down. "Oh how can I not think about it? Just the simple thought of you drives me feral, love."

"Ohh, careful with your words. Might just have to chain you up then won't I, beastie?"

"I guess so, amica."

Cardinal laughed again, placing one more kiss before sneaking out from under Omega's arm, walking backwards with a kiss blown. "I'll see you tonight, Omega!"

Placing a hand over his heart, Omega bowed, pretending to catch the kiss and placing two fingers onto his lips. Cardinal Terzo turned, quickly adjusting his hair and trying to calm his heavy blush as he went back into the more active parts of the clergy, adjusting his collar and propping it back up. It was a simple walk to Papa Nihil's chapter hall, knocking loudly to make his presence known. Too many times he's stood outside waiting just because Nihil didn't hear him.

With the words of permission faintly coming back, Terzo opened the door and his heart suddenly sunk as many other clergymen sat around the table, more importantly Sister Imperator next to her ex-husband. A rare sight that never meant well. He cautiously closed the door and approached, hands behind his back as he bowed.

"You may rise, Cardinal." Sister said, her voice calm. "No need to be frightened."

"Yes, Sister." He cleared his throat, now suddenly more aware of how his voice cracked. "What may I do for you?"

Another voice chimed in, an archbishop who's face always reminded Terzo of the Scrooge. "Excellent question, and exactly what we need. What can you do for us!"

"I'm a bit confused, I apologize." Terzo mumbled back, now more lost as nothing was being directly said.

Another archbishop chined in. "Cardinal Terzo, we're aware of your transition, yes, but talk of the continuation of the Emeritus line as come up. As someone who can bare children, we're now looking at you as your elder brothers have passed that opportunity."

Silence. "Ah." Was all Terzo could muster, feeling his face get warm of both embarrassment and rising blood pressure.

Eyes were on him, and suddenly the thought of Omega touching him as he was drenched with sweat became disgusting. The cardinal cleared his throat again, resisting the urge to rock on his feet to calm himself.

"The idea hasn't come up, I apologize. It's still so soon, and I-I, you know!" He began to ramble. "Still so young! Having the time of my life and all, think a little tot running around would be, ah, too soon!"

"You're about to turn twenty-seven." Sister interjected, raising an eyebrow.

"That's... Still young." He tried to argue back, laughing nervously.

There was a general look of annoyance from the crowd, Terzo swallowing harder as he tried to keep up his demeanor. Sister sighed and leaned back in her chair, looking at the supposed third heir to the Papa lineage.

"We've arranged for you to meet someone. Wether a husband or donor, your choice," Terzo went completely pale as she continued to talk. "We'll give you that grace until you're thirty, but after that if you don't have something or your brothers have something, it shall be done."

Terzo diagnosed himself with tinnitus as his hearing began to ring, watching multiple mouths talk but nothing reaching him. Surely, the clergy must've made this their April Fools, right? Surely... Surely, Sister and Nihil wouldn't have pulled something they were so against just for a heir. They weren't that desperate, were they? He was going to puke, pass out, puke again but make sure to aim on the archbishop to his left that kept bedroom eyeing him, then maybe have a meltdown in-between as everything kept feeling worse.

"—So, you understand, yes?" Sister finished.

Terzo nodded, placing a fake smile on his face. "Yes, Sister. I understand."

"I knew you would. Thank you for your time, you're free to leave now."

Cardinal Terzo bowed before turning on his heel, calmly walking out and closing the door before bolting down the hall, taking the back way around the unfinished part of the abbey to his quarters. He shoved himself into his room, going first thing to his bathroom and heaving. Nothing but panic, disgust, and fear came up—acid prominent as he tried breathing. The youngest Emeritus brother gagged again, spitting into the mess below as he heaved, using his long sleeves to wipe his mouth and forehead.

He sniffled and slowly stood up straight, hand clutching his chest as nausea still radiated through him. Turning the sink on to cup water in his palms, splashing on his face and swallowing a bit more to spit out. He fumbled as he reached over to flush the toilet, sighing and letting the sound of running water echo into his mind.

Marriage? Children? By a complete stranger? Terzo didn't know if he wanted to start crying or vomit again, but his body made the choice to do both. He was wracked with sobs as he kneeled over the porcelain, unable to calm himself. Sure, Terzo's had partners before Omega, had a few pregnancy scares, and maybe the idea was further in the future... If it was possible for ghouls and humans to procreate.

Omega was the only thing on Terzo's mind. The first thing he'd do as Papa is remove that taboo just to simply marry the one he loved with everything in him. To continue promoting that love held no bounds, that favorite line he would chant during June and whenever possible, that love is love. What would Omega think to know he'd possibly be married off or used for some man's incubator before he'd even become Papa to have their dream come true?

Let alone, how could his brothers be so selfish? Sure, Primo would get a pass but as the eldest human shouldn't this be his responsibility? Secondo was already a whore, surely he'd manage to knock someone up with how much he laid around. Better yet, Terzo would put thumbtacks in every single condom that'd enter the abbey if needed. This was nothing but targeted to him, anger replacing his despair.

"Selfish bitch!" He yelled, hitting his legs as Sister's words repeated in his head. "Go lay with our air head father again, I'm positive you have more in you, you old hag!"

He grabbed his hair as a frustrated yell left him, quickly standing up and shucking his cassock off. The smell of his sweat was displeasing, yet he turned, eyeing himself in the mirror. Another burn of hate erupted. Only Omega could touch what was presented, could love what was offered. No one else could do it like he could. Terzo didn't want anyone else to do it.

The cold shower he sat in gave just a bit of relief, letting his tears and stench drain away. His eyes closed, cheek squished against his own knee. He hadn't even realized he fell asleep until the gentle smell of peanut butter breath touched his nose.

"Terzo? Amica?"

Terzo hummed, feeling an all too familiar palm and claws push back his soaking hair. "You alright?" Omega asked.

Despite calming down, Terzo busted into hysterics again as he woke up quickly, grabbing Omega and bringing him into the water despite his clothes still being on. The ghoul choked a bit from Terzo's arms on his neck, shivering at the freezing temperatures. He looked down as his mate continued crying, pulling him down again for a frantic kiss.

"Darling—" Terzo pressed up again, hands fumbling with his ghoul's uniform, and another disconnect. "What's going on?"

The cardinal shook his head, hands going back up to hold Omega's face, determination and spite radiating despite his active tears. "Impregnate me right here on this floor right now, Omega!"

"W-What?" Omega laughed, his face quickly turning a dark purple.

"All night, fuck me all night until I lose my breath."

"I'm not doing it in this freezing ass water." The ghoul grumbled, pulling them both up and out of the water only to be pushed onto the bathroom floor, hands instinctively holding Terzo's side.

"Then make my room stench of you."

Despite wanting to pry, Omega knew his lover would open up eventually. So he did exactly asked— Or well, ordered. Pressed against the sink counter, somehow dancing their way and staining furniture nearby until they reached the bed and gave it a permanent squeak. Terzo was laid against his chest while on his side, fingers gently poking at Omega's nipple piercings.

"Are you ready to talk now?" The quintessence asked softly, claws delicately scratching at the root of Terzo's scalp. "Or do we need another round before we get to a talking standpoint?"

Terzo laughed, his cheeks turning pink again but shaking his head. "No, no... We can talk."

Their bodies became closer as Omega pulled Terzo close, purring and chin resting on his mate's head. "I'm all ears."

"...They're trying to sell me off to some random man."

"What?!" Omega jumped back, looking with confusion at the words just spoken to him.

"Okay— Not literally, but it feels like it!" Terzo groaned, sitting back up. "Apparently talk of the Emeritus bloodline or some shit came up, and both Primo and Secondo had denied so now they're looking at me for a child. I don't want a runt! I can barely stop smoking marijuana how in Lucifer's great name will I be responsible enough for a whole life?!"

He continued, frustration showing with his hands. "So they were saying that they have this... Man lined up to be a husband or donor, and I can decide for myself until I'm thirty and then they're essentially going to force me to do one!"

Omega still laid back, eyes scanning over his master before exhaling. "...Wow."

"The audacity!" Terzo flopped into Omega's chest, whining like a toddler as he kicked his feet against his soiled bedsheets. "I just want to be with you and it feels like everything is just getting in the way..."

The ghoul's heart broke, hearing his little mate so... Defeated. Lost. It was so unnatural for his headstrong and confident personality, someone that never gave up until he got what he wanted.

"Oh, love... Thankfully, you don't turn thirty in three and a half years! While, yes, it's not optional, I'm positive things may change between then."

"And if it doesn't?" Terzo whispered, facing away from Omega as he still laid on his torso.

"Then... We figure out another way. We'll run away if we have to, like that one story book you keep telling me about. We'll be Romeo and Juliet just without the double suicide." That earned a laugh.

Facing Omega again, Terzo let the ghoul gently wipe away his silent tears, pushing against his giant palm. "I love you, Oila."

"And I love you too, Terzo. I always will until my final breath in the ether." He pulled the human closer, a gentle kiss being shared before Omega pulled back. "In the meantime, we have to make a plan to get your brothers to take the responsibility. Poke holes in their condoms."

"That's exactly what I was fucking thinking of earlier! Ugh, you beautiful beastie reading my mind."

Omega began to laugh as well, rolling them over to where he sat between Terzo's legs. "Guess I have my work cut out for me in the next three years to just beat this mystery man though, hm?"

"Ohh, very much so." Terzo sang softly, hand going down the quintessence's chest then around to his back to rake his sharp nails into the warm flesh. "Guess we'll have to get to it then."

Nuzzling down, Omega began to kiss as Terzo's neck again, thumb pads pressing at the scar beneath his breast. "On a serious note, love... I'll do everything in my power to make sure you don't meet this fate. Or if the worst becomes truth, I will never leave your side... Till death do we never part, remember?" He spoke, the Emeritus whining at a reminder of their promise to one another.

"Till death do we never part..." He repeated back, hand going to the back of Omega's neck against just to pet through his hackles. "Now stop before I cry again and make love to me."

"What, don't want me to impregnate you on the floor anymore?"

A light tug on his hackles made another laugh leave the ghoul's lips, kissing his mate over and over again as he pushed back Terzo's thighs.

[lowkeychenle]

And Then It Was [ZCL] (M) fic teaser

Description: After your marriage with Chenle was arranged by your parents for a company merger, things with him aren't quite like you expect. In your life full of obligations, he's determined to finally give you the ability to make your own choices.

Genre: Smut/Fluff/Angst (arranged marriage!au, rich families using their children as business mergers yk) (no actual smut in the teaser but the tension kinda wild lol)

Content Warnings: Not sure of any in the teaser, but in general content warnings will be rich, generational family trauma, mentions of pregnancy and heirs (no actual pregnancy in the fic), reader feels obligated to do literally everything and Chenle's like yeah that's not really cool, umm if I think of more I'll let y'all know

Expected Word Count: 20-30k

Teaser Word Count: 789

Release Date: 8pm EST 2023.3.22

READ HERE :)

Taglist: Open!! Please let me know if you want to be tagged when this comes out <3

Pairing: Zhong Chenle x fem!Reader (features the rest of dream!)

Juliet's Masterlist | Tell me what you think? :)

“Chenle?” you call out.

When he appears in the doorway, his shirt is absent, and you were pretty sure he’d been wearing a belt before. His arms are crossed over his chest as he leans against the frame, awaiting you to tell him what you need.

You don’t have to actually speak. Instead, you turn your back to him and pull your hair over your shoulder. He hums behind you, keeping a respectable amount of distance before he grips the zipper.

“What did you do before me?” he asks, hesitant to pull it down.

“Staff.” You shrug. “But I mostly wore things I knew I’d be able to—”

The familiar sound and the rush of cool air against your practically boiling skin as he reveals more of your skin has your breath catching in your throat. You cut yourself off, immediately reaching up to hold the dress to your chest.

“I’m a very accommodating man, (Y/N).” His voice sinks into every inch of your skin. “If you need something, tell me. I’m your husband. It’s quite literally my job to ensure you’re happy, darling.”

The warmth radiating from his bare skin so close to yours has every thought in your brain flying away. Logically, there’d be nothing wrong with giving in to your temptation. It’d been a long time since anyone had touched you, and the man behind you is your husband. Physical attraction had nothing to do with emotions or feelings, so it was okay. One thing you’d never be able to deny is how he’s one of the most beautiful men you’d ever met. Your parents could’ve chosen much, much worse for you.

His voice centimeters from your ear startles you out of your trance. He says, “I wonder what you’re thinking about. You seem a bit distracted.”

“Wouldn’t you love to know.”

“Truly.”

“I need to change.”

“Do you?” He trails a finger up your spine. “You’re so soft. What an odd comparison to that steel wall you’re forcing yourself to keep up.”

“I think you’re forgetting your own boundaries.” You clench your fist into the fabric of your dress. “This wouldn’t be real.”

“What even is this?” His breath fans across your neck, and you’re sure you feel the sublest brush of his lips on your skin. “Tell me where you think this is going. After all, I’m helping you with your dress like a good husband.”

“My dress was dealt with minutes ago.”

“Darling.” He tsks. “If your dress was dealt with already, it would be long, long gone.”

Even like this, you refuse to let him win. If this were to be the extent of your relationship with Chenle, you’d be fine with that. You crave satisfaction, and you also know this is a means to an end. This may be the key to giving your family those fucking heirs they want so badly.

In a bold move, you release your grip on the fabric and allow it to crumple at your feet.

“What?” You tilt your head, grinning when his breathing halts. “Are you the only one who can deliver?”

He places his hand on your hip. “Can I touch you here?”

“Mhm,” you inhale sharply when he squeezes, trying your best not to roll back against him.

“Here?” he whispers, splaying his fingers out along your stomach.

“What’s your goal?” you ask, looking back at him over your shoulder. “You seem like you want something from me.”

His face is much too close to yours, but for some reason, it does little to bother you. When his lips part, you don’t mean to squirm in his touch.

His eyes sweep over your expression, his touch edging just a little further downward until he can play with the lace hem of your panties.

“I’ve told you what I want already.” His gaze locks on your mouth. “Everything. I want it all.”

You gulp, unable to speak for fear of making a fool of yourself.

“What about me makes this hard for you?” he asks.

Despite the softness of his voice, your proximity to him means you see the hint of hurt swimming around in his dark irises. The heat of his bare skin on yours has everything inside you awakening, but you can’t give him what he wants.

“The choice is yours.” He takes a deep breath. “Going forward, the choice is always yours to make. I’m yours in any way you want me.”

The atmosphere around you is so hot, charged, you can’t help the way you struggle to breathe. You lean closer to him, and when your lips brush his, his grip around you tightens.

Before he’s able to initiate a real kiss, a knock sounds on the bedroom door.

[my-own-walker]

Someone You've Never Seen Before

A Kyle Spencer Fan Fiction

frat!kyle AU, fem!main character, sexual themes, mature language, use of drugs and alcohol, frat boy antics

17.

Learn to let go of what's not meant to be held.

It's easier said than done, but it must be done. It's something that carried me through the days leading up to Halloween. I felt that any feelings toward Kyle, negative or positive, were not meant to stay. I used everything I could to distract myself. 

I didn't dare look in his direction during class on Monday. The goal was to remain transfixed on my note-taking. I listened to music wherever and whenever I could, avoiding Sonic Youth like the plague for obvious reasons.

Lily took me everywhere she went if she and I didn't have class. We took a trip to a nearby shopping center to get our Halloween costumes in order.

"Hannah, would this cover my ass?" Lily asked, holding up the shortest red pleather skirt I had ever seen.

"Not a chance in hell," I laughed, turning my attention back to the rack I had been flipping through. She sighed loudly, dropping her arms down to her sides. "Wear shorts underneath. Or bloomers."

"It took me this damn long to find a red skirt, how will I find red shorts for underneath?" she whined, exasperated.

"Get your ass to work, Davies."

She planned to be a cute little devil, complete with horns and a pitchfork. She had already bought a headband with dainty sequined horns fastened on it and a black bustier top embellished with chunky red rhinestones. I, of course, was to be the angel. I already found a small pair of white wings.

My idea was to be an angel in the way Juliet was in the 1996 movie version of Romeo and Juliet. So when my eyes landed upon the long, empire-waisted white dress on the rack, I nearly squealed in the middle of the store.

Lily got invited to a party that was to be at the TKE house on Halloween. She asked me, very delicately, if I'd like to attend it with her. While my every instinct was screaming "no," I kept true to letting go of things that were not to be held. While my fears over what happened were very real, I did not want to rot away in my apartment for the remainder of my college experience.

Thursday, aka Halloween, was spent skipping class and running last-minute errands. We bought some red lipstick for Lily, a pack of rubber bands for my hair, and most importantly, liquor. I would only feel safe if we were drinking our own liquor.

We sat getting ready in my room, Lily sitting on the floor, my full-length mirror just inches from her face as she leaned in close to paint on some eyeliner. I sat at my desk with a tabletop mirror, creating two small braids in my hair that I would form into a halo with pins and elastics. Arctic Monkeys albums played softly over my small speaker. 

"How are you feeling?" Lily asked, breaking the lapse in conversation.

"Me?"

"No, the other person in this room right now," she snarked. I turned to look at her. She had moved on to brushing blush over her cheeks. I opted for minimal makeup, so I was already done. She still needed her hair done.

"I'm a little nervous, I guess," I admitted, "but I think this will be fun."

"Just let me know if you want to leave and we will. No questions asked," she said sternly. "I'm not playing any games tonight. I will kill a motherfucker if I have to."

I pinned down one braid and dropped my hands into my lap, then turned to face her. "I love you, Lily. Seriously. You are my best friend."

"Don't on me with the sentimental shit right now, Martin. I will kiss you," she joked, turning to face me.

"I dare you," I replied, then breaking out into a fit of laughter.

We got to the party around 11. It was already in full swing. We got rather drunk while pre-gaming at the apartment, so no part of me cared about how crowded it was. I guessed everybody's week must have been tough, though. Everyone was drunk, loud, or pissed off. 

On the front stoop alone, there were two sets of people arguing about god knows what. The front door opened to a barrage of music and voices. It smelled of latex and hairspray with all of the Halloween costumes inside. We found a place to settle in the second living room along the wall.

It wasn't long before Lily found someone she knew and disappeared into the crowd. Not before asking me if I would be okay alone roughly thirty times. I insisted everything would be fine. I was confident I could find someone to talk to.

I meandered around for a while, stopping here and there to chat with a few people I vaguely knew. It was when I crossed into the kitchen, though, that my stomach turned. Standing next to the doorway I had just walked through was a tall figure.

"Hey, angel," his deep voice spoke. This voice was low and quiet, he said a secret no one else but me could know. I turned my head to my left slowly, my gaze landing on Julian's deep, tired eyes. His full lips curled into a wry smile.

Before, the way he towered over me was endearing. Something that gave me butterflies. At this moment, though it felt downright terrifying. Suffocating, even. He could easily overpower me and cause me harm. 

Without a word, I turned on my heel, crashing into the poor girl in the cat costume standing behind me. "S-sorry, I-" I stammered, placing a hand on her shoulder to steady myself before bolting for the front door.

The night was cool. I rushed to the edge of the stoop where there was a railing and gripped it for dear life, letting the cold metal remind me I was on Earth. I took in the fresh air of the night, but it was soured by a cigarette smell, making it clear that I was not alone. A boy with a mop of tight curls smirked over at me.

"Wanna smoke?" he offered, holding out his cigarette to me. "You look like you need it."

"Fuck it," I muttered, grabbing it from him and taking a long drag. I handed it back to him and blew a large cloud of smoke out into the night.

"You're Hannah?" he asked, unprompted, before taking a drag.

"Yes...what's it to you?" I inquired, brow furrowed. I was growing tired of men and their stupid attempts to talk to me.

"I'm Lance. Lance Hamont," he answered while exhaling smoke. He held out the cigarette for me again and I took it. "I'm in KLG."

I took a drag and blew it out upwards. "Right, right. I don't think we've ever formally met."

"Yeah, I've just seen you a lot is all. Guess that's how I knew you'd need a smoke," he chuckled.

"Oh?"

"You know, dealing with Kyle and all," he shrugged before inhaling more smoke. "I've seen you come through the house a lot this semester." His voice sounded funny as he tried to hold in the cigarette's vapors.

"That was for a project, that's all" I answered quickly, trying to end the Kyle subject. "He was my project partner for a class."

"Really?" he asked, cocking his head. "You weren't dating? The amount he talked about you I figured you were."

"Talked about me?" I exaggeratedly repeated. I reached for the cigarette and he handed it over. I took in a large puff of smoke and held it in for a beat longer like Lance had just done.

"Oh god, all the time. Just this week even," he scoffed. "You two close at least?"

"Not really," I trailed off, growing despondent. I handed him the cigarette back while staring off into middle distance.

"Damn," he laughed. "He's always mentioning 'Hannah' -er, you, in conversation. That's weird."

"Yeah..." I whispered, backing up a few steps before turning to walk inside. "Thanks, Lance."

"You owe me a smoke next time I see you!" he called after me.

I don't even smoke. I replied in my thoughts.

I found Lily in the front room sitting on a side table. She was talking to a girl in a cute sailor costume. I grabbed her shoulder to make my presence known.

"Hey, baby!" she exclaimed. Party vibes had already gotten to her. "Maddie, you've met Hannah, right?"

"Yes!" the sailor, Maddie, smiled. I didn't remember meeting her ever, but I returned the smile and nodded.

"Right," I grinned. 

"I was just talking to the most interesting person, Hannah," Lily smirked, raising her eyebrows. Maddie got bored and turned away to speak to someone else. "He was asking how you were."

"God, I can't even deal right now," I groaned. I screwed my eyes shut and tilted my head back. The night was already annoying enough as it was. No answer she was going to give me was going to make things any better. 

"Who was asking about me?"

Previous Part | Next Part

[lost-inanotherlife]

Lost Rewatch S3 - Random Thoughts

As I've stated before, in stops and starts season 3 was quite cringe-y. Of course, we're still navigating high-quality storytelling waters but you know there's something a little wrong when writers admit to being in shortage of creative ideas by episode NINE (the much-talked about "Stanger in a Strange Land"). As a result this post might sound a bit S3-negative although, as I've just said, I'd never question the writers' command of the narrative. It's just that some stuff didn't really work out for me this time, that's all. I'll sprinkle-sprinkle some positivity too 'cause this season gave us all some mind-blowingly intense and beautiful moments, too. We can never forget those.

Starting off strong with our lovingly island-made love triangle: Jack/Kate/Sawyer that's not so slowly becoming a love square. Not a fan of how Kate and Sawyer got together, I'll be honest. Yes, the trauma of being kidnapped, forced to haul rocks and live in cages makes a human do crazier things, still... They put on a pretty dress on Kate and all of a sudden everybody goes "woa" (very 90's "chick flicks", didn't they have EYES before?), Sawyer is smashing rocks under the sun, sweating his own weight off but can't seem to resist the urge to look at her ass and kiss her, Kate herself is working her ass off (sorry for the pun, couldn't resist haha) and, well, the shots very much highligthed that by focusing on her ass... Guys, it was cringe to watch. And yes, the kiss was a distraction and blah, blah, blah. Again: cringe. All of a sudden Kate's madly in love with Sawyer which, you know, I'd have dug if they'd continued to show how their flirty relationship evolved instead of going from their sarcastic banters to extreme "I love yous" desperately screamed at gun point. Same goes for Jack by the way: for most of S2 Jack and Kate are on looser terms compared to the closeness of S1. after their kiss Kate's way closer to Sawyer because she chose him. Jack and Kate are not together and don't speak very much for, possibly, the whole duration of s3 and all of a sudden Jack's all "I love you". I don't see the crescendo of this love, therefore I don't fully buy it. Not gonna lie, the scenes were beautiful and very well-acted but these guys have spent weeks without talking to each other lol. They did the same exact thing in S2 as I've said before and I didn't particularly enjoy it in S2 so it's not like I wasn't gonna see it repeating itself in S3.

The majority of the flashbacks shown in this season are... how can I put it? Not au pair with the usual Lost-esque quality. Particularly not excellent, let's say, were the already mentioned "Stranger in a Strange Land", "Enter 77" and "I Do". Also, please but Desmond's and Kate's wigs in their flahsbacks are plain awful. Please stop.

Conversely, "Left Behind" was a fucking good flashback story. Kate-centric episodes are either meh or extremely good for me. I think she's one of those characters that when you find the right vein to write her, you write an incredbily layered, unbelievably complex character. When you don't, her character feels quite flat and it's a pity.

I might be in love with Juliet?! When I watched S3 for the first time in 2007 I deeply disliked her. Maybe I was too young to appreciate her character, she's not a clear-cut archetype like the other main characters are: more lived life helped me understand her better and now I'm deeply in love with her. I love how you can never predict what her little cute smirk means, she's a bit of a mystery but, unlike Kate, she's as such not because she has something to hide from her past (at least until now lol): she's enigmatic because that's who she is, she's very "torn-in-two" character. Love it.

I'm not liking all these dead women on my screen. Locke couldn't kill his father, couldn't kill Jack but he could sure as hell plant a knife in Naomi's back. The two persons guarding the submarine hatch had to be women and they had to die, didn't they? Of course, the mothers are dying on the island, of course the mob in "The Cost of Living" had to shoot just a woman, of course Bea Klugh had to be killed by Mikhail, of course "Tricia Tanaka is Dead". I was quite growing fond of Tom and was saddened by his death but I ultimately think that if they kept sparing white guys while killing off women and black people in general in the blink of an eye they'd have a real problem. Well, as a matter of fact they still do. They should've done better.

John's "shamanic journey" in "Further Instructions" is very offensive. Shamanic practices are serious things that must be done seriously. But hey, here's our "connected-with-the-island-lazarus-rising" white old man, let's have him enter a sweat lodge, prepare a slop of something so that he can have a vision and resolve this knot in the plot. No, thank you.

I don't agree with people bashing on "Exposé": I think it's a good episode. In fact, I appreciated the Other Losties' POV (Arzt you won't be forgotten!). The real problem is that it's just that: other, plot-unrelated people's pov, nothing really new was added and the characters were eventually killed off so what's the point lol? What I want to say is that it's a good filler episode and I enjoyed it but at this point in the series, filler ep for filler ep, I'd have preferred one that was "-centric" to one or more of the main characters. But hey, I get what I can and, all in all, good ep.

Now, I know that one of the main themes of this season is the impossibility of going back: it was very artfully written to lead us to the season finale's big reveal. Fine, good, intellectually I love it. Instinctually when in a story I see characters going from point A to B and then going back to point A in the span of the same episode or the following I... well, I don't take it well lol. It's a pet peeve of mine, really, but COME ON. It's a way to milk a narrative thread for all its worth. It's a way to buy narrative time without resorting to fillers. But sometimes you just need to let it go and come up with a better idea presto. I'm talking about Kate going back to find Jack as soon as she arrives at the beach. How in hell did Kate know that Jack was on the main island and not still on Hydra? And how did John connect the dots between the writing on Eko's stick and Jack's whereabouts? And why did the Others just leave their barracks, in which they had lived for years, instead of just killing Kate, Sayid and John? Come on. These guys have killed for way less.

The best fucking line of the whole season is Charlie's: "It's the five best moments of my… sorry excuse for a life. My greatest hits. You know, memories. They're all I've got." Chills, literal chills.

"Flash Before Your Eyes" is a totally cringe episode. Everything feels exactly what it is: a set, a prop, a wig on the actor's head, lol. Twenty years ago I was still a naive girl fangirling over Desmond and Penny's relationship but now I know better. Des was a lot of a dick toward Penny, let's be real. He was obsessed with this "honor", with feeling "worthy" and totally took it out on her. She was right, he was indeed a coward. I wish they had given a different backstory to Des. Maybe it's because it's so similar to (re it's the same as) Jin and Sun's story but it didn't land for me this time. I don't see the same "epicness" in their love story that I'd first seen back in the 00'.

Eko's "Redemption-Not-Redemption" arc is the best thing of this season. I have no words to describe it so I'll just leave his final speech here. INCREDIBLE.

I ask for no forgiveness, Father. For I have not sinned. I have only done what I needed to do to survive. A small boy once asked me if I was a bad man. If I could answer him now, I would tell him that... when I was a young boy, I killed a man to save my brother's life. I am not sorry for this. I am proud of this. I did not ask for the life that I was given. But it was given, nonetheless. And with it... I did my best.

[taylorswiftandx]

Taylor Swift and Family Members

‘Taylor Swift’

Picture To Burn: My daddy’s gonna show you how sorry you’ll be

Mary’s Song (Oh My My My): And our daddies used to joke about the two of us

Mary’s Song (Oh My My My): And our mamas smiled and rolled their eyes and said “Oh my my my”

Mary’s Song (Oh My My My): Our whole town came and our mamas cried

Mary's Song (Oh My My My): We'll rock our babies on that very front porch

Our Song: When we’re on the phone and you talk real slow ‘cause it’s late and your mama don’t know

'Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’

Fifteen: And your mama’s waiting up and you’re thinking he’s the one

Love Story: And my daddy said, “Stay away from Juliet”

Love Story: I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress

The Way I Loved You: He’s close to my mother, talks business with my father

The Best Day: I have an excellent father, his strength is making me stronger

The Best Day: God smiles on my little brother, inside and out he’s better than I am

The Best Day: And Daddy’s smart and you’re the prettiest lady in the whole wide world

We Were Happy: Talking about your daddy’s farm we were gonna buy someday

We Were Happy: Talking about your daddy’s farm and you were gonna marry me

'Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’

Mine: You made a rebel of a careless man’s careful daughter

Mine: You say we’ll never make my parents’ mistakes

Mine: I fell in love with a careless man's careful daughter

Back To December: How’s life? Tell me, how’s your family?

Speak Now: And her snotty little family all dressed in pastel

Dear John: And my mother accused me of losing my mind but I swore I was fine

Never Grow Up: You’re in the car on your way to the movies and you’re mortified your mom’s dropping you off

Never Grow Up: Memorize what it sounded like when your dad gets home

Never Grow Up: Remember the footsteps, remember the words said, and all your little brother’s favorite songs

Last Kiss: Because I love your handshake, meeting my father

Long Live: If you have children some day, when they point to the pictures, please tell them my name

Ours: And any snide remarks from my father about your tattoos will be ignored

Superman: He’s got his mother’s eyes, his father’s ambition

When Emma Falls In Love: When Emma falls in love, she calls up her mom

'Red (Taylor’s Version)’

All Too Well: And I left my scarf there at your sister’s house and you’ve still got it in your drawer even now

All Too Well: And your mother’s telling stories about you on the tee ball team

Starlight: Ooh, ooh, we could get married, have ten kids, and teach them how to dream

Begin Again: But you start to talk about the movies that your family watches

All Too Well (10 Minute Version): You who charmed my dad with self-effacing jokes

'1989 (Taylor’s Version)’

Now That We Don’t Talk: I call my mom, she said that it was for the best

Now That We Don’t Talk: I call my mom, she said to get it off my chest

'reputation’

This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things: And here’s to my mama, had to listen to all this drama

Call It What You Want: I’m laughing with my lover, making forts under covers, trust him like a brother, yeah, you know I did one thing right

'Lover’

Paper Rings: Which takes me back to the color that we painted your brother’s wall

'folklore’

the 1: Rosé flowing with your chosen family

cardigan: Leaving like a father, running like water

seven: Your dad is always mad and that must by why

invisible string: Now I send their babies presents

mad woman: Good wives always know

epiphany: Keep your helmet, keep your life, son

epiphany: Something med school did not cover, someone’s daughter, someone’s mother

peace: Give you my wild, give you a child

peace: Family that I chose now that I see your brother as my brother

'evermore’

champagne problems: Your mom’s ring in your pocket

champagne problems: You told your family for a reason, you couldn’t keep it in

champagne problems: Your sister splashed out on the bottle

'tis the damn season: I’m staying at my parents’ house and the road not taken looks real good now

no body, no crime: Este’s been losing sleep, her husband’s acting different and it smells like infidelity

no body, no crime: He reports his missing wife

no body, no crime: Good thing my daddy made me get a boating license when I was fifteen

no body, no crime: Good thing Este’s sister’s gonna swear she was with me

dorothea: Skipping the prom just to piss off your mom and her pageant schemes

ivy: So tell me to run or dare to sit and watch what we’ll become and drink my husband’s wine

right where you left me: I'm sure that you got a wife out there, kids, and Christmas, but I'm unaware

it's time to go: When the words of a sister come back in whispers

it's time to go: 20 years at your job, then the son of the boss gets the job that was yours

it's time to go: Or trying to stay for the kids when keeping it how it is will only break their hearts worse

'Midnights’

Lavender Haze: The only kind of girl they see is a one-night or a wife

Anti-Hero: I have this dream my daughter-in-law kills me for the money

Anti-Hero: The family gathers around and reads it and then someone screams out, “She’s laughing up at us from hell”

Midnight Rain: It came like a postcard, picture perfect shiny family

Vigilante Shit: Now she gets the house, gets the kids, gets the pride

Vigilante Shit: Picture me thick as thieves with your ex-wife

Paris: Your ex-friend’s sister met someone at a club and he kissed her

High Infidelity: Storm coming, good husband, bad omen, dragged my feet right down the aisle

'The Tortured Poets Department’

Fortnight: Your wife waters flowers, I wanna kill him

Fortnight: My husband is cheating, I wanna kill him

But Daddy I Love Him: Now I’m running with my dress unbuttoned, screaming, “But, daddy, I love him”

But Daddy I Love Him: I'm having his baby, no I'm not, but you should see your faces

But Daddy I Love Him: Dutiful daughter, all my plans were laid

But Daddy I Love Him: All the wine moms are still holding out, but fuck them, it’s over

But Daddy I Love Him: Now I’m dancing in my dress in the sun and even my daddy just loves him

But Daddy I Love Him: Screaming, “But, daddy, I love him, I’m having his baby”

Florida!!!: And my friends all smell like weed or little babies

Florida!!!: And your cheating husband disappeared

imgonnagetyouback: Whether I'm gonna be your wife or gonna smash up your bike

Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus: And you have some kids with an Internet starlet

How Did It End?: Soon they'll go home to their husbands, smug 'cause they know they can trust him, then feverishly calling their cousins

So High School: I feel like laughing in the middle of practice to that impression you did of your dad again

thanK you aIMee: Everyone knows that my mother is a saintly woman but she used to say she wished that you were dead

thanK you aIMee: And one day, your kid comes home singing a song that only us two is gonna know is about you, 'cause

The Bolter: And I can confirm she made a curious child, ever reviled by everyone escept her own father

The Manuscript: Afterwards she only ate kids’ cereal and couldn’t sleep unless it was in her mother’s bed

Other Songs written by Taylor

All Of The Girls You Loved Before: Your mother brought you up loyal and kind

Best Days Of Your Life: I heard you’re gonna get married, have a nice little family

Christmases When You Were Mine: My mama’s in the kitchen, worrying about me

Christmases When You Were Mine: I’ll bet you got your mom another sweater, and were your cousins late again?

Official Alternate Releases

But Daddy I Love Him (Clean Version): All the wine moms are still holding out, but it’s over

[blue-cordial]

OUTER BANKS ACADEMY PART 2- RAFE CAMERON X READER

Chapter 2: Beneath the Surface

The next few days passed in a blur of Shakespearean analysis and clandestine meetings in the library. Y/N and Rafe's partnership flourished as they worked together to dissect the intricacies of Romeo and Juliet. Despite their initial reservations, they found themselves enjoying each other's company, their conversations ranging from literature to life beyond the school's walls.

Outside the library, however, life continued with its usual drama. Rafe's relationship with Odessa was a constant topic of gossip among the student body, their on-again, off-again status fueling speculation about their next move. Meanwhile, Y/N maintained her discreet arrangement with Topper, a handsome and popular boy who shared her preference for keeping their relationship private.

One afternoon, after their English Lit class, Rafe approached Y/N with a curious expression. "Hey, do you have a minute?"

Y/N nodded, closing her textbook. "Of course. What's up?"

Rafe hesitated for a moment before speaking. "I was thinking… since we've been working so well together on the essay, maybe we could grab dinner together sometime? You know, to celebrate finishing the first draft."

Y/N blinked in surprise, caught off guard by the unexpected invitation. "Uh, sure. I guess that could be nice."

Rafe's smile widened, genuine excitement flickering in his eyes. "Great! How about Friday night? There's this new Italian place in town that's supposed to be really good."

Y/N hesitated, glancing down at her notes. "Friday… sounds good. I'll check my schedule and let you know."

As Rafe walked away, Y/N couldn't shake the feeling that their partnership was evolving into something more than just a school assignment. She found herself looking forward to their dinner plans, curious to see where this newfound connection might lead.

Friday evening arrived with a sense of anticipation hanging in the air. Y/N stood outside the Italian restaurant, nervously adjusting her dress and wondering if she had made the right decision in agreeing to dinner with Rafe. She spotted him approaching, looking effortlessly handsome in a button-down shirt and jeans.

"Hey," Rafe greeted warmly, offering her a small bouquet of flowers. "I hope you like tulips."

Y/N accepted the flowers with a grateful smile, inhaling their sweet fragrance. "Thank you. They're beautiful."

Over dinner, their conversation flowed easily, ranging from their favorite Shakespeare plays to their aspirations for the future. Y/N discovered that Rafe was more than just the school's golden boy; he was passionate about history and had a keen interest in travel.

"You know," Rafe said earnestly, his gaze meeting hers, "I never expected us to click like this. I thought we'd just be partners for the essay, but I'm glad we got to know each other better."

Y/N felt her cheeks warm slightly at his sincerity. "Yeah, me too. It's been… surprising."

As they walked back to campus later that evening, Y/N couldn't deny the growing attraction she felt towards Rafe. He was unlike anyone she had ever met—charming yet vulnerable, confident yet genuine. She found herself wanting to explore this connection further, despite the complications that their social circles and existing relationships posed.