#i want to give the gifts to teachers tomorrow morning but there's no guarantee the gift cards the organization ordered for that will be

[loveandscience]

This week is like... climbing to the top of a huge room that has hundreds of shifting staircases swinging around the room and trying to dash around finding the right staircase that gets you just a little bit further along. And those staircases like to shift at the last second just before you step on to them.

2/5 of it is out of the way. Only 3 more days to go.

[melanielocke]

Lost in the Shadows - Epilogue

AO3

Taglist: @alastaircarstairsdefenselawyer @foxglove-airmid @alastair-esfandiyar-carstairs1 @justanormaldemon @styxdrawings @ipromiseiwillwrite @a-dream-dirty-and-bruised

Previous Chapter: Chapter 35

This is the epilogue and final chapter. While there are some loose ends and I might write a sequel one day, I have currently have no plans for one so it would take some time. As it is I'm working on a Frozen TLH story (chapter 1-3 are currently published), and one post CoI story titled "We bury the sunlight" so look out for those.

Alastair decided to move in with Jem at the end of the summer. He had managed to finish decorating his bedroom just in time for the first week of university, which he was excited about starting. He wasn’t sure why, but he’d expected Jem to be overbearing and constantly worrying about his mental health. He’d always thought that was what a psychiatrist did, he guessed, just like his father had always feared Jem would know about his alcoholism from just looking at him.

He’d learnt that wasn’t the case. Jem was a doctor, he couldn’t read minds, and although he was there for Alastair when he needed him, he was family and not his doctor, which was an important distinction. Jem gave him lots of space, and the ground rules were mainly about keeping everything clean, which was no problem. Jem also preferred it to know if someone he didn’t know was visiting, but that rarely happened since Alastair only had a few friends and the only one who hadn’t known Jem before was Kamala.

It was nice, having so much space to himself. Jem had changed a lot about the house, it didn’t look like an exact copy of the house he’d lived in when he was very young. Cordelia and his mother still lived with Risa, with him gone it fit a bit better, but they were in the process of getting the house back.

He saw Thomas regularly, and they had sleep overs once a week. Alastair had bought a new double bed for his room mainly so they could share the bed. Thomas was currently adapting to student life, but had vowed to Alastair that he would not drink any alcohol. Alastair worried that would severely limit Thomas’ social life, but secretly he was very happy Thomas would do that for him. Lucie had also decided they would all start playing DnD with her, and although Alastair still didn’t understand much of the game, they had fun. Thomas, who had been in Lucie’s previous campaign as well, had helped him with his character. Right now, the group consisted of Lucie as the story teller, or dungeon master as the game called it, and Thomas, Cordelia, Kamala, Eugenia and him as the players. Alastair played a warlock, which he felt suited him. Warlocks also got nightmares they never asked for all the time and were constantly exhausted, not to mention they made deals with otherworldly beings. Perhaps it fit a little too well.

He’d also decided to take lessons in ballroom dancing, with Kamala as his dance partner at the student dance association. He almost had something that resembled a social life, which was both very new and very weird. As it was, they both were quite good at dancing. Kamala had taken two years of dance classes too, although it had been years, and together they could figure out what they remembered and how to do it. Both had been forced by their father at the time and it was much more enjoyable now that they’d chosen to pick it up again, not to mention it was nice having a dance partner he matched well with.

Thomas was still considering starting dancing, but finding a partner who was tall enough for him would be a struggle. Alastair could follow decently and dance with Thomas, although he still noticed the height difference, but with the lack of men in dancing most teachers would rather pair Thomas with the tallest girl available.

He felt like for the first time in years, he was sort of happy? Happier than he used to be at least. He still had nightmares, flashbacks, all that, and didn’t think it was going away anytime soon. If anything, EMDR made it harder, but that was to be expected. He’d known that during EMDR he’d have to talk about everything, and although in time that would make it better, at first it just brought everything to the surface. He’d learnt not to plan anything else on days he had EMDR, except maybe cuddling with Thomas.

Although relationships were still new to him, any relationships really, he was getting more accustomed to having people around who cared about him. Not just Thomas, but Lucie and Cordelia, who had just started their last year of school and came to him for help with their math homework, Kamala and Eugenia, who he’d been spending time with at the dance studio. He often visited the Lightwoods too, and he felt welcome there. Gideon and Sophie had made a habit out of inviting him along with any family outings. He’d never felt so welcome before, it had taken some time to work through that.

‘You’re going to love my gift, I promise.’

Tomorrow was Alastair’s nineteenth birthday, and Thomas was sleeping over the night before.

‘What is it?’ Alastair asked.

‘A surprise.’

‘It was worth a try,’ Alastair said. ‘How was your visit at Matthew today?’

Alastair had spoken to Matthew once. He didn’t think the two of them would ever be good friends, but they could move past school and tolerate each other’s presence. Thomas had spent the day with him today, shopping. Matthew apparently loved clothes even more than Alastair did, and had an unusual and extravagant taste.

‘Awkward,’ Thomas said.

Alastair frowned. ‘Why was it awkward?’

‘Well, he’s the only other man I know who is interested in men and has previous, uh, experience. So I figured I’d ask what to expect and what to do. It was a very uncomfortable conversation.’

Alastair started laughing. ‘You could have just asked me.’

‘I know, but I thought it would be nicer for you if I had some idea of what I’m supposed to be doing,’ Thomas said.

Alastair put his hand in Thomas’ hair. ‘That’s sweet.’

‘From now on I’ll be asking you my questions,’ Thomas said. ‘Of course, the internet has also been helpful.’

‘As long as you know where to get your information,’ Alastair said. ‘Porn isn’t real and not a good source. But I don’t mind if there’s things you don’t know yet, because I know enough.’

They had sex for the first time that night. Alastair felt it was the right time. Of course, having sex the night before his birthday wasn’t new to him. The previous years he’d spend with Charles ever since he’d turned sixteen. It was far better with Thomas. Not because of experience or anything like that, but because Alastair felt comfortable, because he was absolutely sure he wanted it and felt like he could ask Thomas to stop if he wasn’t comfortable anymore. Thomas was a little clumsy, but Alastair didn’t mind. He would get better at it with some practice.

The next morning, they went to the Victoria and Albert museum. It was early on a week day and neither of them had classes today. Thomas had been surprised at first by how empty his schedule was but had ultimately discovered much of his free time was spent on assignments and preparing for lectures and classes. Fortunately, it did mean they could easily plan such trips on times it wouldn’t be crowded. Alastair still didn’t like crowds and didn’t think he ever would. Thomas had grown over his fear of them, but he also preferred the quiet. It was much nicer this way, taking his time to let a piece of art wash over him, undisturbed by other visitors. Thomas made the occasional comment. He’d taken art history in school and could name the different styles and put works in the context of the time period. Alastair didn’t say much in response, just nodded. He felt he didn’t have to.

Thomas had promised him his gift after coming back from the museum, and Alastair was starting to get curious. Thomas had hidden the gift somewhere in Jem’s house, so Alastair wouldn’t even be able to guess from the shape. He hadn’t bothered to look for it, but had been tempted. As much as he liked the small smile on Thomas’ lips as he said ‘not yet, mi Cielo,’ Alastair was not fond of surprises. He liked to know what to expect with a three to five workdays advance notice for anything out of the usual.

‘You’d think no one has ever given you a birthday gift before,’ Thomas said. He paused. ‘Wait, is that it? Did you not usually receive gifts?’

‘No, I did, from my mother and sometimes Cordelia.’

Charles too, Charles had had a habit of giving him expensive gifts. Or gifts he’d found among his mother’s things, he guessed. Alastair had not seen him again now that he was back in London, for which he was grateful. Gideon had spoken with Charles and told him he knew what he’d done and wasn’t welcome at his house anymore. Apparently Charles had been very angry about that, but Gideon had told Alastair he was welcome anytime and it was his responsibility to guarantee his safety. Alastair appreciated that.

‘Have you been asking them about it all this time too?’ Thomas asked.

‘No just you. But you made a big deal out of it by hiding it someplace here,’ Alastair said.

‘Alright, I guess you can open it,’ Thomas said, who left and came back to the living room carrying a very big box.

Alastair carefully opened the wrapping paper, making sure nothing tore. He wasn’t sure why exactly, but he’d always opened gifts this way, as if he intended to reuse the paper, something he’d never done.

‘I thought, with how impatient you were, you’d rip it all apart,’ Thomas said.

‘No,’ Alastair said.

‘You can rip it, it’s no problem,’ Thomas said as Alastair was struggling to get a piece of sticky tape off without damaging anything.

‘No,’ Alastair said, even more determined to get everything off properly.

Once he’d gotten it open and folded away the colorful wrapping paper, Alastair revealed something that resembled a hamster cage, but bigger. There were two floors, the top open and the bottom offering a little more darkness with a little home in there an animal could hide in. There was a wheel, several balls, and a little hedgehog plushie.

‘I know you were planning to get a pet hedgehog, so I researched what it needs. This has most things it needs to live in, you just might need to add a heat lamp because hedgehogs need a warm environment.’

‘I’d been looking into what I’d need too,’ Alastair said. ‘Jem is alright with me getting a hedgehog as long as I make sure to keep Church away from him. That shouldn’t be a problem, as I would put the hedgehog in my bedroom and Church doesn’t go there.’

‘How is Church?’ Thomas asked.

‘Usually, he is wherever I’m not. He doesn’t come into my bedroom. In the living room it can be a bit more of a struggle, as he likes to claim his space, and no matter where I sit, he gets upset because that’s the spot he wanted for himself. The only moment he tolerates me is when I’m accompanying Jem on the piano.’

Alastair had picked up playing music again after years and he tried to practice for half an hour daily. Sometimes with Thomas, singing his songs and playing more modern music. But he also played classical music with Jem, who was exceptional at the violin. Jem could probably have been a concert violinist if he hadn’t chosen to become a doctor instead.

‘Sounds like Church,’ Thomas said. ‘He won’t be a danger to your hedgehog, will he?’

‘I will keep my hedgehog in my bedroom,’ Alastair said. ‘If I make sure to keep the door closed when I’m not there, I think it’s unlikely Church will even go there. Even then there’s a cover for this hedgehog home and a little house for him to hide, and of course a hedgehog can roll into a little ball of quills. I think it’ll be fine. And my therapist thought it might be good for me to get a pet, as long as I am confident I can care for it of course. Now, can you help me think of a name? I’m not great with names.’

‘You and Cordelia have been arguing about baby names for weeks now,’ Thomas pointed out.

‘Yes, the baby should have a beautiful Persian name,’ Alastair said. ‘For pets it’s different.’

‘Or dnd characters,’ Thomas added.

‘So what if my character has my middle name?’

‘No, I like it,’ Thomas said. ‘Esfandiyar. It’s a beautiful name. For a pet I think a shorter name is better. I think your plushie hedgehog is called Mr. Prickly?’

‘I named him when I was a child,’ Alastair said. ‘I’m not naming my pet something stupid.’

‘No little pipsqueak?’ Thomas said with a grin.

Alastair rolled his eyes. ‘Absolutely not.’

***

‘You mean to say you forgot to buy Alastair a gift for his birthday?’ Lucie asked.

‘I didn’t forget,’ Cordelia said. ‘I planned to do it today, after school. How was I supposed to know I was going to get detention?’

They entered the bookstore, certain she could find something Alastair would like here.

‘Sorry I couldn’t get you out,’ Lucie said. ‘Even my dad can’t do that, but he knows it was completely unfair.’

Cordelia shrugged. ‘I finished my homework. But I’m still pissed.’

She knew teachers tended to be harsher on her, Alastair had always had the same problem, and she usually made a point to behave but she also wasn’t going to let people just walk over her girlfriend. So what if she’d gotten into a fight with a bully? He’d started it, but that’s not how the teacher who’d broken them apart saw it.

‘Alastair will understand,’ Cordelia added. ‘He was often sent to detention unfairly too. Now, which of these books do you think he’ll like?’

‘Both seem pretty good,’ Lucie said. ‘What are they about?’

‘This one’s called Malice, and is a Sleeping Beauty retelling focused on Alyce, the dark grace with powers similar to the original evil witch who cursed the princesses, and she might be the villain but she might also fall in love with Aurora. I haven’t read it, but it sounds awesome. The other is Girl, Serpent, Thorn.’

‘Oh, didn’t I lend you that one last year?’

‘Yes,’ Cordelia said. ‘It was awesome and the cover is so beautiful I wanted my own copy. I think Alastair will like it too, the world is inspired by Persian culture and the Shahnameh, which he loves, and the story is very good too.’

Girl, Serpent, Thorn was probably one of her favorite books, and Cordelia ultimately decided to buy it for herself while buying Malice for Alastair. He could always borrow the other book from her, she just wanted to reread it several times and have the gorgeous cover on display.

‘I doubt Alastair minds we’re late,’ Cordelia said. ‘He’s been spending the day with Thomas.’

Cordelia sometimes envied the amount of free time Alastair had compared to her. She hoped it would be the same once she went to university. Of course, Alastair had his memory, he only had to read everything once and he would remember forever. He could save so much time that way.

It still struck her as odd how they didn’t understand Alastair’s memory. Lucie was the way she was because her grandfather was the thief of souls. Same for Tessa, who’d gotten some of her power back after his death. Thomas had the sight because his mother did, and Kamala had healing powers because a fairy had given them to her. But no one knew why Alastair was the way he was. Cordelia knew it still frustrated him, not understanding.

‘I can’t wait until I can go to university,’ Lucie said. ‘I am so done with physics.’

‘Why did you take physics?’ Cordelia asked.

‘No clue,’ Lucie said. ‘I’ll survive another year. Then it’s English literature and creative writing.’

Cordelia wished she knew what she was going to study. Half her biology class was already working on their med school applications, but Cordelia had no clue yet. At least she couldn’t really picture herself as a doctor. Part of her still wanted to be a hero, but what if like Jem she decided to retire early? Being a hero didn’t exactly pay, and it was good to have some education. She just didn’t know what. She knew, of course, it was fine to choose wrong at first. Alastair had realized being a politician wasn’t for him, and was again starting in his first year.

‘At least Alastair promised to help me with my math homework,’ Cordelia said.

Cordelia and Lucie took the metro and arrived at Jem’s house. She’d been here frequently since the summer, and it already felt like Alastair’s house. She’d considered moving in herself too, but felt like she was still too young to move away from her mother and would rather stay for now.

Alastair and Thomas were in the living room, where an animal home was standing on the table next to a bit of neatly folded wrapping paper, not a tear in sight. Alastair had always been a little obsessive in the way he opened gifts. The wrapping paper would be thrown away, yet he always opened it with such a care and he never ripped anything.

‘Happy birthday,’ she said, hugging her brother.

He’d grown more comfortable with physical affection lately, and for Cordelia it felt like it had become easier to reach him. She’d had to get used to not living in the same house as him at first, but Alastair seemed happier here.

‘Thank you,’ Alastair said. ‘I’m officially on the waiting list for a pet hedgehog. It might take some time, but I have some of the supplies I need now. I am open to name suggestions as I have not thought of anything yet.’

‘Pipsqueak!’ Lucie called out.

‘Oddly, you’re not the first person to suggest that,’ Alastair said. ‘No, I am not naming my pet Pipsqueak.’

‘That’s because I already call Alastair that,’ Thomas said.

Alastair rolled his eyes. ‘My hedgehog will have a serious name, not something a toddler would have chosen.’

They didn’t settle on a name yet that evening. Lucie kept suggesting the kind of names Alastair meant to avoid as a joke, and Eugenia did the same when she and Kamala arrived. Kamala had a few good suggestions, and Alastair decided to look into Persian pet names.

Cordelia started feeling like things would be alright again, like things would be normal. Of course, she could never be sure. Tatiana had not turned up again, Gideon had reported her missing and so far the police had no leads. Cordelia didn’t think they’d find her, and she wondered if Tatiana would come back. There was no chance she could bring back her son, not anymore, but Cordelia feared she might want revenge. Right now, she tried not to worry. She would be prepared, yes, but she would also continue to live her life, go to school, worry about things normal girls her age should be worried about. Alastair seemed to be doing a little better as well, although she knew his EMDR days were hard. He was playing music again, and Cordelia loved to listen to him play the piano while she was here.

‘Do you want to play something?’ Cordelia asked at some point, gesturing to the piano.

‘Of course,’ Alastair said. ‘Thomas, I need your help.’

‘I didn’t bring my guitar,’ Thomas said nervously.

‘I don’t need you to play, I need you to turn the page of the sheet music. One of these days I’m going to make a copy and tape this piece together, but it’s 5 pages long.’

Cordelia would always be impressed at how fast Alastair could move his fingers over the keys. He’d tried to teach her when she was younger and she could play some simple melodies with her right hand only, but she’d never gotten the hang of playing with two hands.

‘I recognize this,’ Lucie said when Alastair was finished. ‘I think it’s in Pride and Prejudice. The one with Colin Firth.’

‘That’s possible, it’s well known. The Turkish March by Mozart,’ Alastair said. ‘I’ve been practicing this for the past week.’

‘It’s lovely,’ Cordelia said. ‘I missed hearing you play.’

‘And now you only get to listen when you’re here,’ Alastair said apologetically.

‘I’m here several days a week anyway,’ Cordelia said. ‘I’m glad you’re playing again.’

‘I forgot how much I loved it,’ Alastair said. ‘But I’m happy too. Even Church likes it when I play.’

Cordelia noticed the cat was sitting up from his spot on the couch, listening intently as Alastair started playing something else. Church might hate everyone and everything, but he loved Jem and he loved music.

Thomas continued to do his job as page turner and Cordelia could see the adoration in his eyes as he watched Alastair play. She was glad they’d been able to work it out and were still together, Alastair deserved that.

When Alastair was finished, Lucie decided to present her gift, which was a story she’d written herself in an insanely short time. Cordelia had read it and helped her edit, but the premise was that it was Frozen but with Alastair and Cordelia as the main characters.

‘I’m going to read it as soon as I have the time,’ Alastair promised. ‘This sounds brilliant.’

[emotionsofthesoul]

Chapter 6 _ La Mansión Carvajal

Valentina awoke soon after the sunrise. She turned to Juliana and smiled tenderly at her and snuggled into her maintaining eye contact.

"Good morning. Thank you for keeping me calm last night. I tend to overthink everything. My mind goes to the what ifs and what will people think but now I feel better. I think." Valentina said in a sleepy voice.

"Hey I get it, but don't think of the what ifs, think of the now, live in your present because you'll never enjoy it otherwise. It doesn't matter what people think. They'll get over it." Juliana said holding Valentina's cheek.

"What time did you wake up?" Valentina said as she settled into Juliana's neck.

"Hmm... nope, I haven't slept. I couldn't." Juliana said.

"Juls no has dormido? Chiquita... you need to get some sleep. It 7am at least get two hours please. I don't want you driving like that. I mean I can drive from here to mine but I don't want to send you home on no sleep." Valentina said holding herself up with her arms in order to look directly at Juliana. It was really more of an order than a request.

"No, I can't. My mom leaves in an hour and I always make her breakfast, it's our thing. Can we go make breakfast and then I'll sleep on the way to your house?" Juliana said trying to convince Valentina by pouting.

"Okay but only because I can't refuse you anything with that face," Valentina said squeezing Juliana's cheeks and then held out her pinky for Juliana to link to, "but promise me you'll sleep on the way over please."

Juliana linked Valentina's pinky with her own in agreement and added, "Okay but wake me when we get into town so I don't get lost leaving your house."

The girls got up and made themselves and Lupe breakfast. Juliana introduced Valentina to her mom and Lupita took the opportunity to thank Val for taking care of Juliana and becoming her friend. After Lupita left, the girls did the dishes together.

"What's your favorite meal of the day?" Valentina said as she dried their plates.

"Breakfast, definitely. You know what they say, it's the most important meal of the day!" Juliana replied with a giggle.

"Well then we know who's gonna make breakfast when we move in together." Valentina said slightly blushing.

Juliana teased her with a kiss and then walked around her while smirking and saying, "que rápida me saliste!"

She loved the idea of being domestic with Valentina one day, not time soon but definitely one day.

After the dishes they each got ready to head over to Valentina's house. On their way to Placerville, as promised, Juliana fell asleep while Valentina drove. When they arrived to the first light indicating they had arrived to town Valentina woke her sleeping beauty up.

"Juls wake up. We made it to Placerville." Valentina said playing with Juliana's left hand.

As Juliana awoke she saw how many more trees there were the more they drove on the highway. Valentina decided to make a quick stop by the lookout point, telling Juliana to get out the car and leading her down past the railing to where she always sat "Juls this is my favorite place to come and think. I came her a lot after my mom passed."

Juliana looked at her as she said, "It's beautiful Val. One of the prettiest views I've ever seen." She wasn't simply talking about the view though.

Valentina caught onto what Juliana meant and leaned in to kiss her.

They stayed there for the next half our until Valentina said, "I think we should get going, it's time to show you the famous Carvajal Mansion. My dad has it very secured with guards and he's glad to live up here because not many reporters are actually willing to drive all way up here just to spy on us. I love the view so I don't really mind, it's home."

"Okay, lead the way child of the wilderness." Juliana said holding Valentina's hand as they walked back to the car.

Valentina gave Juliana directions the rest of the way home so Juliana would know how to get back. When they arrived she introduced Juliana to Chivis and then showed Juliana all around the house eventually reaching the pool.

"Juls do you wanna swim it's starting to warm up and I can heat the water if you'd like." Valentina said.

"No Val I didn't bring a swim suit and I don't know how to swim." Juliana said knowing Valentina's reaction before she actually said anything.

"Juls! You don't know how to swim! Then I have to teach you, please! I love swimming!" Valentina said.

"Okay but please don't let me drown." Juliana laughed as she agreed.

Valentina showed her how to float for a bit and afterwards they just leaned against the wall to talk.

"You know, not many people are willing to learn something new but the ones that actually try and don't give up are the ones that succeed. At anything. One time we had a class party at one of my teacher's house and there was a girl who didn't know to swim, she was scared of the water but said she wanted to learn so I and 3 other friends dedicated the rest of our time at the party teaching her how to swim. By the end after about 5 hours she had all the basics down. It was amazing. Her eyes had a proud gleam at the fact that she had actually learned how to swim." Valentina said as she leaned back into the water to wet her hair.

"You've always been a sweetheart haven't you?" Juliana said knowingly.

"I guess. I just like to help others when I can." Valentina said shrugging her shoulders and leaned her forehead against Juliana's staring into her eyes.

The day went by and they spent most of it in the pool until 3pm when they decided to watch a movie in Valentina's room. Juliana napped through most of it but Valentina didn't mind because the girl needed her sleep. Soon after the movie ended Valentina's family got home and they had dinner together.

"Papi, Lucia, this is Juliana the friend I've told you about. Juls this is my dad and my stepmom." Valentina said introducing them.

Leon shook her hand as Lucia gave her a hug.

"So Valentina said you want to be a designer. How did that come about?" Lucia asked making conversation as they ate.

Juliana turned to Valentina and then back to Lucia and began to share, "When I was little my family was very poor and it was cheaper to buy fabric and material than actual clothes so my grandma, my dad's mom, would make my clothes. Once I grew out of the clothes we would donate them to local children in need. She would make clothes or alterations for others in exchange for money. She taught me how to use her sowing machine and eventually when things got better and my parents started making more money, all three pitched in to buy me my own machine at the age of 10 as a birthday gift. My grandma passed away soon after and like Valentina with photography, that became my outlet and passion." Juliana said as Valentina took her hand under the table and rubbed her thumb over it.

"I didn't know that." Valentina said softly looking into Juliana's eyes as Juliana just shrug her shoulders.

"So you parents. They're supportive of this passion?" Leon asked.

"No, it's actually the first thing we don't see eye to eye on. I've always done what they've told me so it came as a shock when I said no to medicine which was always their dream for me. In their eyes it's better to get something secure where they're always needing people like the medical field and not pursue something like fashion where there is no guarantee or security." Juliana responded.

"Well, Valentina says you're really talented and if this is really what you want to do then don't let anyone stop you. They'll come around eventually." Lucia said with a smile and winked.

"Thank you." Juliana replied.

Dinner went on and conversation continued to flow between the three of them. After dinner Juliana decided to leave so Valentina could get to sleep early since she had an early morning the following day.

"Gracias por venir." Valentina said leaning her forehead against Juliana's pinning her to the car.

"I had a great time and your family is wonderful. You have a lovely home." Juliana said.

"When can I see you again?" Valentina asked hoping the answer would be soon.

"I have a check up tomorrow but we can meet up on Wednesday for lunch if you want. We can have a picnic at my secret getaway?" Juliana offered caressing Valentina's cheek.

"That sounds perfect." Valentina said closing her eyes and enjoying Juliana's touch.

"Can I kiss you?" Juliana asked and Valentina simply nodded keeping her eyes closed while meeting Juliana half way.

After the kiss Juliana went on her way. Little did the girls know Mr Carvajal had been looking at the security cameras in his secret bunker the entire time.

[iliketowrite1996]

Royal Wedding Series: A Bridesmaid, a Flower Girl, and a New Friend- T’Challa and Reader

Six Weeks Before the Wedding:

    You are exhausted. The end of the week concert is tomorrow, so all of the lessons are completed for your students, but you still have a busy schedule.

    Between grading last minute assignments, sending out wedding invitations, meeting with the caterers and Shuri and Ramonda training you for future duties as queen: how to act, what to say, and what not to say.

    ‘’T’Challa will take care of more of the laws and policies. You will visit children and be in charge of charitable work. You have duties as he does, but with him being kind and Black Panther, more of your duties will fall under the charity categories,’’ Shuri started, doing her best to explain to you.

Ramonda speaks next, ‘’’Although you will more than likely be just as involved with everything as T’Challa is. He values your opinion.’’

‘’Got it,’’ you nod as Shuri brings some books over.

‘’I can nearly guarantee you that the elders will question you on the history of Wakanda. It is best to read up on our history as well as you can. Do not worry, though. I will help you.’’

‘’Thank you,’’ you sign feelin some of the tension leave your shoulders.

‘’I have some more in my chambers. I will go get them,’’ Ramonda speaks, gliding out of the room with grace.

You appreciate the moment, because you have a very important question to ask Siri.

‘’Shuri,’’ you stand, placing the books in a chair, walking over to your soon-to-be sister-in-law.

‘’Yes,’’ she smiles at you, closing the book that she had been researching form.

‘’I need to ask you something.’’

‘’Yes, you and T’Challa should wear matching black outfits.’’

‘’Haha. This is serious. I need to ask you something concerning the wedding.’’

‘’You’re not getting cold feet are you,’’ she asks, her eyes portraying her fierce protectiveness of her brother.

‘’He’s one of the few things I am sure about,’’ you admit, moving to pull the small box out of your bag, ‘’My questions is geared towards you.’’

She's always been wise beyond her years, and preferred to spend her time with people older than her. It is no wonder you grew so close to her, and consider her one of your best friends.

She looks at you with suspicion evident in her brown eyes before untying the ribbon on the box, opening it up to reveal a candy ring and a note:

‘’I can’t believe you just gave me string as a present,’’ Shuri mumbles, doing as the slip of paper said.

Tied to the string was a slip of paper that read: ‘’Tie me!’’

She did, then reached in to the box for the next message, ‘’I can’t tie the knot without you. Will you be my… maid of honor?’’

She looks up at you then, big brown eyes shining bright .

‘’I’d love to,’’ Shuri sniffles, the first time you’ve seen her cry in… ever.

‘’I love you, little sister.’’

‘’I love you, big sister.’’

The sound of the camera taking a picture breaks you both off and you look to the door to see T’Challa, who is staying at the picture that he just snapped.

‘’This will definitely be going in the wedding slideshow that you suggested for the reception, my love,’’ T’Challa explains, pocketing his phone.

‘’I see the sandals are back,’’ Shuri looks at his shoes with slight disapproval.

‘’How can you make fun of my shoes when you just shared a lovely moment with my fiancee’?’’

‘’Her sneakers are on point,’’ Shuri shrugs, flouncing out of the room, carrying her gift with her.

‘’And what where you and my baby sister discussing today,’’ T’Challa asks, pressing a sweet but fiery kiss to your lips.

‘’I asked her to be my maid of honor,’’ you reveal, and T'Challa beams with happiness.

You knew how important Shuri’s opinion of you was to him when you first started dating Shuri and Ramonda are the two most important women in his life, other than Okoye. And Nakia. You feel honored to be apart of that group now.

What you don’t tell him is the private conversation that you had with Shuri this morning. That’s left between two future sisters..

‘’You know,’’ Shuri begins as she puts her braids into two buns, ‘’That man really loves you.’’

You look up from the paper that you are grading, ‘’Who? T’Challa?’’

‘’No, Captain America. Of course T’Challa,’’ Shuri rolls her eyes then, and you roll yours as well.

‘’Well, then, be more specific.’’

‘’I didn’t think that I’d have to specify that I was talking about the man that worships the ground that you walk on,’’ Shuri rolls her eyes before sliding on her denim jacket.

‘’Hush,’’ you laugh, throwing popcorn at her, ‘’I don’t need this from you.’’

‘’You’re so immature,’’ she laughs with you, ‘’I’m gonna find a new best friend to send me memes. Perhaps I can ring Bucky up if he is with Captain America.’’

‘’Shut up, Shuri.’’

‘’Make me.’’

You roll your eyes again, going back to the book you’ve been reading on your rare free time.

There’s more silence until you look up and see Shuri looking at you, a strange and unreadable look on her face.

‘’Shuri, is there something on my cheeks,’’ you frantically wipe at them, hoping you didn’t miss anything from breakfast earlier.

‘’I’m glad he met you.’’

Well, that certainly took you by surprise.

‘’Really?’’

‘’I know that I was a bit wary of you before… especially with that whole Erik Killmonger business. And I did not want T’Challa to get hurt again. But I’m glad he found you. You bring out the best in him, but you also challenge him. I really do consider you one of my best friends,’’ Shuri tells you, and you can see in her eyes that she really means it.

‘’Awww, Shuri-’’

‘’And I like having someone around to look at memes. I’ve mentioned that before, but I think you need to know that it is really how I feel.’’

Right. Because Shuri just couldn’t let the moment be sweet.

You laugh now, thinking about her heartfelt confession and the comment that she immediately followed it up with.

‘’What is so funny, my love,’’ T’Challa asks, gazing at you with love in his eyes.

‘’Nothing. I just can't wait to have a new sister.’’

And so the countdown continues.

5 WEEKS UNTIL THE WEDDING

    Efua runs up and hugs you, having finished packing away the last of the books.

    ‘’I will miss you next year,’’ she tells you, sniffling a bit.

    ‘’I will miss you as well.’’

    She will be going to a prestigious music school next year, while you may not even be returning to be a teacher. With your new roles as queen, you have a lot to consider within the next few weeks.

    ‘’I’m glad that I at least get to come to your wedding, though,’’ Efua looks up at you, ‘’I can not wait to see your dress. It was all over the Internet about what you may wear.’’

    T’Challa and you both decided to take a break from the internet. At least until after the wedding. And you do mean both weddings, since you are having one in your hometown a week after T’Challa is done meeting with Mr. Tony Stark in New York City.

    ‘’Thank you, Efua. I actually wanted to discuss something with you.’’

    ‘’Yes,’’ your former student looks up at you, brown eyes shining brightly.

    ‘’I was wondering… would you like to be my flower girl?’’

    You have grown very close to Efua over the years, and  this feels like a good idea. Her family approved of it when you asked them at the concert last week, and T’Challa thought that it was a grand idea as well.

    ‘’Yes!,’’ the young girl squeals, wrapping her arms around your middle, ‘’Thank you, Ms. Y/L/N!’’

    You laugh, patting her back gently, ‘’No, thank you! I am so excited! I can not wait!’’

    Yes, this was the right choice.

    Your other students told you they have a surprise for you as well, but you do not know what it is.

    The excitement on Efua face takes you back to the moment, and you’re just fine that you can at least expect one thing: your wedding will have you being surrounded by people that you love and that love you.

4  WEEKS UNTIL THE WEDDING

Okoye.

    Okoye seemed indifferent towards you. You didn’t think that she hated you, or that you liked you. You two barely talked.

    Still, if you were going to be married to T’Challa, you would be spending a lot of time with Okoye.

    T’Challa and Okoye are important to each other.

    It was important to you to know where you stand with her.

    Which is why you asked her to be the one to accompany you as T’Challa met with the elders and held press conferences and meetings all day.

    ‘’Okoye,’’ you begin, staring at yourself in the mirror, ‘’Might I ask you something?’’

    ‘’Of course, my queen,’’ Okoye responds, back turned to you as you have your last fitting for your gown for the reception.

    ‘’Do you have a problem with me?’’

    You decided that bluntness as the best method, and try not to regret it when she flinches i the mirror, back still tired to you.

    ‘’No, Y/N, why would you think that?’’

    ‘’You seem indifferent towards me. And I know that you are just as fiercely protective of Wakanda and T’Challa as I am, so I wanted to make sure that we are okay.’’

    She seems to be mulling that over, so you change into your regular clothes, giving her a moment to answer.

    ‘’T’Challa is my king, but he is like a brother to me as well. We grew up together. I won’t act like I liked the idea of him dating you when you first got together. IN fact, I hated it. I wanted it to be Nakia. I know her.’’

    It’s understandable.

    It hurts, but it is understandable.

    ‘’He talks about you like your the sun, though. He’s really in love with you. He thinks you have the qualities to help Wakanda thrive. That is good enough for me. I am sorry if my indifference came off as me not liking you.’’

    That’s good enough for you, so you do not press it forward.

    ‘’He came to me when you had your first huge  fight, you know. Told me he thought it was the end. Then he threw himself into his work and being the Black Panther until I begged him to go talk with you. His stubbornness is part of why he is a good king, but it is also very agitating. He froze, didn’t he?’’   

    You think back to that day that he came to make up with you after a fight that was about...who even remembers now?

    You’d been up all night working on song sections and papers when he knocked at your door, dressed in his Black Panther costume after just finishing a mission.

Because, somehow, going on a mission and nearly being hurt despite his vibranium suit, was still less nerve-wracking than coming to talk to you.

    He did freeze at the sight of you, stuttering out a ‘’Y/N...HI.’’, tongue tied and not sure how to apologize.

    You don’t quite remember what he said, but whatever it was, it was enough for you to forgive him as he forgave you.

    Which is why you are standing where you are today.

    ‘’He did,’’ you giggle, remembering that day, ‘’He still does every so often.’’

    ‘’Good. Keep having that effect on him. It is nice to see T’Challa challenged by someone other than Shuri,’’ she laughs then, ‘’Any way, if he loves you, that’s good enough for me. You don’t need my approval anyway. He is so very much in love with you.’’

    And, you’re not quite sure, but you do believe that you’ve made a new friend today.

Please consider sending me imagine requests! I really want to try !

DISCLAIMER- I own no Marvel characters, they belong to their rightful owners.

[httpsung]

baby, there’s a shark in the water

pairing: reader x wonpil x sungjin ft. young k

genre: angst

word count: 2,830

next: pt. two

note: a new addition to fic wars so tagging @wonpillows. once again i’m dealing with what can I do feels ;o; happy reading!

It was a mess of emotions between several people and no one knew when the cycle of loneliness that caused the chaos would end.

You watched him, watch him.

Kim Wonpil was one of the nicest guys you ever met in your short lifetime. His aura was warm, his smile brighter than the sun, and his heart bigger than anyone around. Wonpil was caring, always willing to help any and everyone if he could. You were envious at just how caring he could be and in your own opinion, you knew that a person like him could care too much.

You sat in your assigned seat in the back of the classroom, eyes gazing straight ahead at your friend who seemed to only have eyes for the boy he considered his best friend, Park Sungjin. The two had a connection so strong you knew deep down you would never understand it. They grew up together, since they were two years old and had been by each other’s side, never letting go and never looking away until Sungjin did first.

Park Sungjin had been drifting lately from you and everyone else around him but it had the deepest effect on Wonpil who didn’t know how to handle the situation. The two of them were like rubber and glue but Sungjin just couldn’t stick anymore, at least not when his mind was clouded with love.

You watched Sungjin keep conversation with Wonpil until she walked into the room. She was beautiful and everyone knew it. You even found yourself stealing glances at her every now and then. Her name was Jina, the pretty girl, the nice girl loved by many of your peers and even the teachers enjoyed her personality.

Sungjin was in love with her, and just about everyone could see it. Her laughter filled the room during free time, guiding eyes to look her way as she joked around with her best friend Jae, he was the class clown that had everyone laughing from time to time.

Wonpil kept his eyes on her like Sungjin did, the only difference between their gazes from what you could see was that Sungjin stared longingly and lovingly while Wonpil stared sadly in defeat. You hated that look he got when he was upset, you loved when Wonpil smiled the most, especially when it was toward you.

You could have tried to get his attention in that moment and tear his mind away from the thought of losing the boy who was much like his brother to a girl who swooped in out of nowhere. You could have tried to get Wonpil’s attention but it was a task that had been hard for you lately, leaving your tender heart to break piece by piece each day.

Wonpil was so worried about Sungjin’s situation, your feelings would have to remain on the back burner for a while.

You told yourself each morning that it was fine, it’s not like he knew you loved him anyway.

Wonpil:

It’s always for a short period that Wonpil felt like things between him and Sungjin were back to normal that was until she appeared and his emotions spiral downward while Sungjin’s spiral upward. Jina Lin was not what she seemed and only Wonpil seemed to know what kind of person she truly was. He regretted that day in the library where he saw his best friend gaze at the girl he loved, Wonpil wished he hadn’t given Sungjin that extra push he needed to talk to her.

 What started as a brief conversation between Jina and Sungjin led to longer conversations in which Sungjin tuned out everything else around him. Soon he began changing little by little, distancing himself from his friends to spend more time with the girl whom Wonpil knew was using him.

He heard her one afternoon after school while she stood with a few other girls from their class. Jina laughed and joked about his best friend as if he was nothing to her. She thrived off his friendliest and willingness to do anything she asked, spilling all her secrets among her friends about Sungjin completing her homework, buying her gifts, she even revealed something Wonpil had no idea of, that she and Sungjin were sleeping together and he was only good enough to have sex with instead of being with. 

Personal things like that were something Sungjin would have shared by now, and it made Wonpil sad to know that his friend had chosen to leave him in the dark.

Jina was a shark in his eyes, she had her teeth so deep into Sungjin it killed him to know how stuck his friend was. 

Wonpil was afraid to mention all the foul things he overheard her say. With how Sungjin was acting lately he knew it would lead to an argument and he couldn’t risk that so he kept it all in.

He would watch his best friend drift further away to be with a witch who didn’t want to be seen with Sungjin when people were around. That should have told him something, signaled a red flag but when you’re so deep in love you miss all the warning signs.

The school bell rung which signaled it was time for class to start up again. Your teacher began talking, making you yawn immediately. You kept your eyes on the chalk board as he wrote, gaze diverting to Wonpil who turned to look at you with a weak smile.

“Lunch...?” He mouthed and you gave him a nod. This meant he wanted to eat lunch with you in the usual place on the rooftop where you were sure Sungjin wouldn’t be today by the look on Wonpil’s face.

Lunch followed your literature class and you went ahead of Wonpil while he tried to get a few words in with Sungjin before he disappeared. Jina left the room with Jae but she caught your eye in the hallway, the scene of her and a boy from the class next door unfolding before your eyes. Her body collided with Brian Kang’s, a delinquent who often skipped classes and fought anyone if he was ticked off enough. 

He glared and Jina stared, it was an interesting moment when you noticed her eyes lingering after him with a similar look Sungjin would give her. Interesting.

You arrived at the rooftop, the slight breeze feeling great against your skin as you sat down in a corner on the concrete, waiting for your friend to arrive. Your eyes lit up when Wonpil appeared with his paper bag full of food but his eyes were somber.

“Hey Y/n…” He sighed as he sat down close to you, the fabric of his pants  brushing against your skin.

“Hey...” You gave him a light smile, taking a bite from the sandwich you made. Wonpil ate silently leaving you feeling lonely while in his presence. This couldn’t last, you would be a bad friend if you didn’t ask what was wrong even though you knew what plagued his mind anyway.

“Are you alright...?” You asked expecting him to answer with a no or shake his head, but instead, he blurted out something that had your eyes widening.

“Jina is using Sungjin… I overheard her the other day with her snake friends. She’s just playing with him Y/n…” Wonpil turned to you with hurt eyes that had your heart sinking in your chest. He cared so much about Sungjin’s situation it was bound to be his downfall.

“Wow…” You responded and turned away looking straight ahead. You thought about Jina and Brian earlier, maybe she was in love with someone else but you didn’t think she could be foul enough to play with a sweet guy like Sungjin. He was too kind to be treated that way. 

Wonpil expressed his sadness over it all and you listened just like a good friend should but what advice could you give him?

You wanted to tell him then and there that he should just let Sungjin make his own decisions and maybe focus on someone else like himself or spending more time with you but the latter would only make you seem selfish.

You didn’t want to be selfish but there came a night where selfishness was all you could think of. You blew up at him, at the last person you wanted to be mad at but he had to know how you truly felt for once.

Wonpil was supposed to help you study that night but once again he was thinking about a friend who might as well be a lost cause by now.

“Is Sungjin all you ever think about...?” You asked, your voice low as you gripped you pencil trying your best not to slam it on the small table you were sitting at in his room.

“No, I…” You didn’t let Wonpil continue before you raised your voice.

“I’m so tired of this! You’re too nice Wonpil! I know kindness is a great virtue but you can’t let the silly emotions and actions of others hurt you!” You were teary eyed from the anger you felt and the loneliness that ate at your heart from the mental distance he was giving you. 

You remembered when the both of you used to laughed and smile together. Sungjin was around too, everyone was happy and Wonpil looked at you more, your hope for a deeper connection beyond friendship was so strong then.

“You say Sungjin has changed… but so have you!” You slammed your fist on the table as you stood up and gathered your things, Wonpil stared at you with surprise, his brows creasing at your sudden outburst.

“I didn’t know you felt this way…” He replied.

“Of course, you didn’t... my feelings don’t compare to Sungjin’s... my love for you-” You stopped yourself immediately as the word love slipped past your lips. Your front teeth bit into your lower lip so hard you thought you’d see blood. Wonpil stared with a mixture of hurt and confusion settling on his sharp features. You couldn’t handle his somber eyes anymore, hurrying out of his room and out of his house.

You knew you ruined what little friendship you had with him, negative thoughts flooding your mind as you ran toward home with watery eyes.

Sungjin:

Sungjin waited near her apartment door, waiting for her parents to leave and then he knew she would come out and get him. His eyes sparkled when he saw her face and he approached her holding out a report she needed to turn in by tomorrow. Sungjin spent hours pulling together information guaranteed to get the girl he was head over heels for an A+. Jina took the stapled papers and thanked him with a swift kiss on his cheek, one that had his heart throbbing so heavily in his chest.

“Thank you.” She pulled him close, lips inches from his which gave him the opportunity to close the distance between them. 

Sungjin kissed her as if his lips didn’t just feel hers yesterday, as if he had been longing for it for years. Jina pulled him into her apartment home and immediately led him to her bedroom which he had seen several times over the past three months. She pushed Sungjin back on the bed and crawled into his lap, her hands cupping his cheeks making him feel loved though in reality she didn’t love him at all and he knew it.

Sungjin wasn’t oblivious, but he was a fool to let her use him. During the time he spent with her outside of school the loneliness he always felt faded away. 

Jina was a beautiful distraction from his life at home, a mess of mayhem filled with yelling parents who didn’t care about their son witnessing their crumbling relationship, leaving him clinging to the little affection she managed to give him every now and then.

“Touch me...” Jina pressed sweet kisses to his lips and Sungjin complied. She would get everything she asked for and more. He touched her in a place she needed most and never stopped until it was time for him to go.

She was bad and he knew it but he couldn’t stop.

“You shouldn’t be out here by yourself…” You heard a voice approach you but you were too down to look up, listening to the footsteps of the stranger who soon stopped in front of you.

“This is a playground… but thugs like to hang out here at night.” It was a male who continued to speak to you and you gave no response. “Hey, are you listening to me?” He sounded frustrated and suddenly you felt a hand on your shoulder which made your red eyes meet his in surprise. You stared at him and he stared back at you with the same expression. It was Brian Kang, ironic how he stated thugs roamed the location when he was considered one of them.

There was silence between you until he decided to speak again, his voice a lot softer than before.

“Are you alright...?” He asked as he rubbed the back of his neck feeling awkward to see you in such a state. You looked heartbroken, a wreck and he decided to be polite and see if you were okay with the urgent thought of seeing you home before the goons came out to play. 

His question struck a chord within your chest and you felt your eyes burn once again with hot tears over your blow up with Wonpil.

You shook your head and squeezed your eyes shut, quietly sobbing without a care about the boy near you. 

You didn’t care at this point if a person like him saw you weak. Brian watched you cry and it tugged at his heart strings, he noticed you a lot at school thinking you were one of the cuter girls in his grade but he never imagined seeing your beautiful features break with emotion from a cause unknown to him.

You felt a gentle pat on the top of your head, you were too lost in your sadness to appreciate the kindness that the infamous bad boy was showing you. You heard Brian sigh and then he spoke to you again.

“I don’t know what’s wrong... but let it out until you can’t anymore. Better out than in, right?” His words were true, you had buried so many emotions about Wonpil inside you and it was all coming out on a cloudy night. 

You cried harder, louder and Brian just stood and listened. He felt bad for you. Who could have hurt such a pretty face?

After a few minutes more of crying your eyes out the fog of sadness began to ease from your mind and you noticed Brian and how he stood by all this time to make sure you were okay.

“Thanks…” You wiped your nose as you got off the swing you sat on.

“For what? I didn’t do anything special.” He had an intense look, one that usually kept others away from him but you saw right through it.

You shrugged at him with a small smile. “You were here…” You said, for just a little while you didn’t feel as lonely. Brian stared at you as if you said something amazing, and when he realized how long his gaze lingered he turned away, clearing his throat.

“Sure… you should really get going, some pretty horrible dudes show up this late at night. I’ll keep my distance… but let me make sure get home safely.” It was hard for him to offer caring words like that, he wasn’t used to being nice.

You gave him a nod and gathered your things making sure you didn’t leave anything behind. Brian kept his distance as he said, trailing behind you as you walked, refusing to make further eye contact as if he didn’t know who you were. It was kind of humorous but you appreciated his effort.

Your heart dreaded the new morning but you worked up the courage to step foot inside your school not sure of where your friendship with Wonpil stood after yesterday. You walked slowly to your classroom, brushing by a group of girls who stalked the school’s star Yoon Dowoon.

You stopped behind a group of rowdy boys joking around in the hallway and held up traffic for everyone else. 

Your eyes found Brian who you were sure was going to pass you while he moved through the crowd as if you had no interaction with him last night. You were surprised when he touched the top of your head like he did before. 

You didn’t notice Jina and Jae witnessing the moment, missing how her loving stare toward Brian turned into a fierce glare toward you. You missed it but Sungjin caught her glances, leaving his heart aching while Wonpil who was by his side looked at you, feeling a similar pain himself.

[taegijae-blog]

BREAKFAST DELIVERY 8

pairing: 2jae

genre: fluff, if you squint there’s angst

word count: 2k

description: the school’s hottest boy im jaebum wants to get a certain boy’s number.  but the first problem is: he’s unhappy and not eating.

status: completed

note: this was originally posted on wakaba’s wattpad @/jaeholics

| part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |

“Where’d you buy those jeans?”

Munch munch. Chew.

“Um.”

Chomp chomp.

“Yes?”

Youngjae looked over to the side, where Im Jaebum continued to persistently walk beside him. He swallowed down the mouthful of cookies he was chewing on, not bothering to wipe away the crumbs around his mouth. “Why are you still following me?”

And also talking to me, he wanted to ask.

“I’m going to the supermarket down this road. It just so happens that you also head this way to go home,” Jaebum said with a light shrug of his shoulders. While he walked alongside the younger, he made sure to close the space between them by a tiny bit. “But those jeans. I really like them.”

“…” Youngjae stared blankly at the path ahead of him, chewing on some more cookies. “I got them in Japan.”

“Oh. You went to Japan?” Jaebum said, mostly to himself as he nodded his chin slowly. “Do you like the cookies?”

Youngjae sort of paused his jaws from munching and glanced at him with an odd look. “Yeah… Why…?”

Ah—why’d you say that, you idiot?

“Oh, well—I mean, they look good from the way you’re eating them.” Jaebum tried grinning to make the suspicion leave his shoulders. Youngjae glared at him in doubt before glancing back to the road.

Jaebum sighed and started jogging out of nowhere. He was eager to go to the supermarket and pick out ingredients he’d use in order to cook something amazing for Youngjae. Feeling a bit too excited, he turned around and jogged backwards briefly.

“I actually just really like your legs, not the jeans!” he shouted with a wink before facing forward, sprinting to the market and out of sight.

Youngjae stood still in place, a few crumbs falling from his gaped mouth.

🍽

“Jinyoung.”

“What.”

“I need something.”

“What is it.”

“A thermos.”

“Why do you need a thermos??”

“Just because. Can you bring one over whenever you can?”

“When are you going to return it?”

“Once I get it back. Trust me, I’ll have it washed the day after tomorrow.”

“…Alright. You better not be doing anything stupid. I have high quality thermoses, got it?”

“Sure.”

Jaebum pressed the end call button and placed his phone down on the table. He stretched his arms and legs before rushing to his kitchen, tying on a blue apron with cute ducklings on it (a gift given by his mother which he refused to use).

He was ready for this.

🍽

All of his friends noticed Jaebum was unnaturally excited the next morning. They had no idea, of course, about the blood, sweat and tears Jaebum had invested in the afternoon before, cooking something that he guaranteed would taste fabulous.

His foot tapped against the floor endlessly throughout the first periods of the morning. He seemed to be hyper all day, in fact, because his arm shot up to answer the teacher’s questions and his pencil in hand moved at an unnatural speed. His teachers were shocked yet also proud to see the Im Jaebum like that for once.

Lunchtime.

Jaebum practically ran to his English classroom—he would’ve, but teachers were adamant about yelling at students to not run in the hallways—and almost ran straight into the closed door. His hand pulled on the doorknob but, to his horror, it wouldn’t budge.

The one time the teacher locked his classroom.

Jaebum slammed his head against the door in disappointment.

“I’ll hand it to him after school…” he murmured to himself as he walked to the cafeteria in defeat. “No, no… i have to make it anonymous. Then how do i do that…”

Jaebum was still muttering things to himself as he sat down at the usual table with his buddies Jinyoung and Jackson. The blonde was unhappy and pouting because Mark was absent, having caught the flu. He glanced over to where Youngjae usually sat at, only to see the two (weird) sophomores BamBam and Yugyeom. That was strange, since he had see Youngjae walking around the halls that morning.

“Jesus, Jackson, if you’re that worried then you should’ve skipped school with him.”

“Nooo… I promised to study well for him. And for my mom, too,” Jackson whined as he sobbed into his chicken. Jinyoung rolled his eyes and stood up from his seat, grabbing his backpack with him.

“Yo, where are you going?”

“A meeting with the student council,” Jinyoung said with an exhausted sigh. Jaebum rushed to open his backpack and took out a cloth bag with a thermos and container in it. He handed it to his friend and made puppy eyes at him.

“Can you hand this to Choi Youngjae if you see him? Please?”

Jinyoung squinted his eyes. “Why should I?”

“Because I’m going to treat you for a snack after school today.”

“Fine.” Jinyoung grunted and took the bag, annoyedly heading for the meeting room.

🍽

“Don’t you ever even think about touching her again!” the senior snarled, kicking the junior in the shin. He collapsed to the floor, staring at his feet silently. Jinyoung happened to be climbing up the stairs when he noticed that happening. He hid behind the corner and watched as things went on.

“I didn’t even mean to do it! She bumped into m-” his cry was cut off when he was kicked again, this time on the other shin. Both of his legs were pain as he clutched them, curling into a ball on the floor. The senior and the girl watching walked away from the scene, but not before the boy he spat on his face.

Youngjae was thoroughly disgusted at the senior and at himself for being uselessly weak.

jaybee

[jype]: come to 2nd floor hallway

[jype]: youngjaes injured.

Jinyoung shook his head slightly as he appeared from the corner and approached the boy in pain. Crouching down, he put down the bag right next to him and grabbed a tissue from his pockets to wipe away the spit on his face. Youngjae stared at him in disbelief, recognizing him as the emotionless friend of Im Jaebum.

When he started to leave, Youngjae rushed to try and stand on his feet. “W-wait-”

“I’m busy,” Jinyoung said simply, not bothering to turn back.

“I just… wanted to know if you’re the person who’s been leaving m-”

“I couldn’t care less,” Jinyoung interrupted, moving his head to the side so he could glare at the stumbling Youngjae. He soon went into a room, leaving the younger stunned silent.

“Youngjae!” someone rushing up the stairs called out. It was Jaebum with his backpack hanging on one shoulder, running to where the other was. Panting, he asked, “What happened to you? Are you okay?”

Youngjae’s expression was dazed but gradually turned into hurt. “Not really,” he murmured, trying to stand up but failing. Jaebum held onto his arm with one hand and the other onto his waist, helping him stand on his feet.

That touch felt so oddly familiar.

“I’ll take you to the infirmary.”

“No,” Youngjae refused, grabbing the bag that was left for him. “Somewhere without other people.”

“Right… okay,” Jaebum muttered under his breath, guiding the other as he attempted to walk a bit more. Seeing how painful it’d probably be for him to travel that many flight of stairs, Jaebum swooped him up by the legs and carried him in his arms.

Although Youngjae usually would’ve been against it, he only blushed lightly and stayed quiet.

Jinyoung, from the meeting room, was watching with an unimpressed look on his face.

Youngjae was back at home, where only he and his puppy Coco were present. He plopped down into a chair at the dining table and placed the bag down, peeking into its contents.

He took out a tall thermos and another small plastic container. The delicious scent hit him the moment he took them out the bag, making his mouth water in anticipation of the taste. He screwed off the lid of the thermos and was met with the sight of bright yellow ramen in red red broth. The plastic container contained bulgogi that seemed awfully homemade.

Yum.

As expected, there was also a note left in the bag. Youngjae pulled it out and read it with a growing smile.

make sure to warm up the meat before eating

He couldn’t help but squeal. This person, whoever it was, made him so happy on unimaginable levels. He quickly grabbed a pair of chopsticks from the kitchen drawers and dug into his ramen. Sighing in happiness with a mouthful of food, he played with the note in his free hand.

It was weird how he’d refuse to eat any food from anyone—no matter homemade or storebought—including himself, except for this stranger…

…and ‘Def Soul’?

He almost choked on his food from eating too fast and chugged down a cup of water.

Once he was finished, he went over to the kitchen sink and washed the thermos and container thoroughly. He was making sure to clean it and return it in the best quality, washing every inch of it. Turning the thermos upside down, he was sure to wash the bottom side too.

“…?”

A sticker that said 'P. Jinyoung’ was stuck to the bottom.

🍽

Youngjae held his phone tightly in his sweating hands.

His finger was hovering above the 'send’ button and had been doing so for a minute by then. He shut his eyes and pressed the screen, hoping that ‘Def Soul’ would either reply immediately or never reply in general to save him from embarrassment. Turning off his phone and throwing it next to him, he lay down on the bed with a long sigh. His hand was on his chest, on his confused heart.

He remembered who Park Jinyoung was.

He was a close friend of Im Jaebum. A member of the student council. Feared by everyone, including Jaebum, because of his unsuspecting anger.

He was there when Youngjae was being shoved around by those girls. It was true that he found it strange how the person giving him food knew about the girl whispering something to him, which was something he only told to Jinyoung.

And the day before, when he was kicked by that senior, Jinyoung was there to personally give him that bag of food.

He honestly thought that the chance of that person being Jinyoung was high, but his mind wouldn’t forget about how he was so cold to him.

'I couldn’t care less,’ his voice echoed in his head.

His phone buzzed and he shot straight up, glancing at his bright phone screen to see who it was. He quickly unlocked his phone and typed furiously, having to rewrite his message multiple times.

???-hyung

[c.youngjae]: hey, are u able to talk?

[???]: yeah

[???]: whats up

[c.youngjae]: i hope you don’t mind me ranting about something;;

[???]: go ahead

[c.youngjae]: so ive been getting food from this person who noticed that i don’t bring a lunch to school

[c.youngjae]: recently they gave me homemade food which was great and all but…

[c.youngjae]: there was a name on the thermos the food was in

[c.youngjae]: its the name of this guy who’s p cold to me

[c.youngjae]: and kind of mean

[c.youngjae]: idk whether to believe that its him?? bc i may or may not have a lowkey crush on this person;;; and he seems to basically hate me

[???]: ah

[???]: so u dont know who’s giving u food?

[c.youngjae]: not at all no

[c.youngjae]: i do want to find out…

[c.youngjae]: but im too nervous about everything being a joke

[c.youngjae]: like,,

[c.youngjae]: what if this person’s doing this on purpose just so they can laugh at me later when theyre satisfied

[c.youngjae]: I’m kind of

[c.youngjae]: scared

[???]: are you scared of knowing who it is?

[c.youngjae]: no!!

[c.youngjae]: I’m grateful that anyone’s even doing this for me to begin with

[c.youngjae]: i wouldnt care even if the person is im jaebum

[???]: who that?

[c.youngjae]: a rly popular guy at my school

[c.youngjae]: he’s strangely nice to me even tho ppl know him as a player

[c.youngjae]: …and hes kinda rly hot

[???]: suggest meeting up w that person and see for yourself is my advice

[???]: otherwise how would you know?

[c.youngjae]: …that’s true

[c.youngjae]: okay!! thank you hyung

[???]: no problem

[???]: hey, btw

[???]: are you into guys?

[c.youngjae]: ;;;

[c.youngjae]: what

[???]: sorry if that sounded weird

[???]: i just want to know

[c.youngjae]: …

[c.youngjae]: ..maybe

[???]: alright

[???]: sleep well youngjae

[c.youngjae]: goodnight hyung!

[c.youngjae]: 💚

Jaebum threw his phone onto his bed and sighed, placing the back of his hand on his forehead.

He was so thrown off by that heart emoji Youngjae sent him.

[baseberry-blog]

Cryptocurrency Vs Fiat ( Cash money)

New Post has been published on https://baseberry.com/what-is-the-difference-between-cryptocurrency-and-fiat/

Cryptocurrency Vs Fiat ( Cash money)

“It’s not slow jazz. It’s punk rock. Deal with it.” –– Andreas Antonopoulos,  cryptocurrency educator, author of Mastering Bitcoin

  Feeling intimidated by cryptocurrency? Understanding money is a skill. Depending on the messages about money we grew up with, there may some emotions in the way. While we may not always be up to healing the wounds of our troubled youth, we can always resolve to start adulting. Or, at least adulting enough to take it upon ourselves to figure what the big deal is with cryptocurrency.

The first hurdle? Maybe, like many of us, you never had that clear a picture of money in the first place. Parents or teachers can leave questions about how money works in a perpetually-delayed zone, what flip-chart facilitators like to call “The Parking Lot”. We don’t need a Rich Dad to tell us the wealthy teach their kids different stuff about money. Because they must know something, right? Even if it’s just how to hide the fact that you’re wealthy.

While the filthy rich community may want to shroud their wealth in secrecy, people who know cryptocurrency –i.e. open source development communities– often seem to want other people to know crypto, too. So now’s the time to get the lowdown on what money actually is, now that we have finally have something to compare it to other than the ancient barter system known as Bunz. This cryptocurrency stuff is an honest-to-goodness new thing, and one thing that makes it so remarkable is that it’s not fiat currency.  Here’s 5 important things about fiat currency that we might not think that much about without crypto around:

FIAT currency? No, not like that.

Borders.

One thing you’ll notice about the money in your pocket is that it has the name of a country on it. And usually some sort of sovereign ruler whose history is likely vigorously contested. All this kind of goes along with the word “fiat”, or “by decree” which, naturally, conjures up images of rolled parchments and unquestioned rules ordered by enthroned demigods with over-designed crowns and robes.

And this job, Decree Announcer: Needs more “Hear Ye.”

Of course, whether it’s an actual Royal, a government,  or a long-dead economist ordering us to recognize these inherently useless pieces of paper as legal tender, you can’t actually be forced to use it. But businesses that want to stay on the right side of the decree, if they know what’s good for ’em, have to accept it as payment. (It doesn’t mean they can’t accept other forms of payment, though, right?  Right. Have some CorrectamundoCoin.)

From time you time you’ll find the local store’s debit machine is broken, but you never see a hastily scrawled NO CASH TODAY.  (If you ever do happen to see such a sign at the bank? Not a good economic indicator. Speaking of banks…:)

    2.   Banks.

Who cares, you ask, if some monetizin’ eggheads named my money after what Kings get to do? I may not know money but I know what I’m used to. Because of course you do: you put money in the bank; they keep it; you go and get it out when you want to exchange the paper tickets for something of value.

You put money in the bank, OK. Why, exactly? Because it’s safe there? That interest rate? Because this conveniently lets you pay with a tap everywhere you need to? Fine, there may not be too many places you can do that with Bitcoin yet, but the key thing with cryptocurrency is you don’t need a bank to use it.  A decentralized peer-to-peer network verifies transactions, which also means that your wallet app, and the trustable verification that you’d usually associate with a bank, are now sort of the same thing.

And what is a bank keeping anyway? Your actual bills? No.  When particular bills wear out,  no one’s balance changes .  A bank is keeping a ledger, the same thing the blockchain does. And getting money out simply means that the bank converts an amount in their ledger to a paper ticket or coin that a) you can lose and b) probably has a dumb nickname. (e.g.”Toonie”)

Fiat currency still has the glowing-in-the-dark advantage.

  Spending a Bitcoin directly from your wallet app may not seem all that different from making an electronic transfer from your bank, but different it is, mainly because the wallet belongs to you, and the bank belongs to someone else. A whole bunch of someone elses, who, by the way, have a lot of information about you.  While Bitcoin isn’t exactly anonymous, there’s no required filling out of forms to prove you are really the real you.

  3.  Your Money Is Worthless.

The Bank Of Scotland, promising to pay you one of these. Like this one.

One thing fiat and crypto have in common in that neither is actually backed by anything. It’s true, insurance might guarantee your bank deposits, but those bills aren’t actually guaranteed redeemable for anything at all. Come to think, both of these currencies are fundamentally worthless in a way my Rainbow Cinema Gift Certificate isn’t: if the price of theatre movies ever crashes, five dollars of RCGC could be a year’s worth of movie! A never-expiring gift certificate should retain its worth over time in almost-first-run movies.

No Expiry Date!

The money we’ve grown up with used to hold its specific value in a similar way, only slightly better, because it was backed by gold. When countries adopted the Gold Standard in the Thirties, it meant your $1 bill always represented a particular measure of gold. This changed not really all that long ago, as long as your idea of ‘not really all that long ago’ includes President Nixon. All your money means now is, this $1 bill is worth $1. Great.

  4. Technology Has Changed Money More Than It Has Changed Banking.

So far, anyway. Yes, of course, you can access your bank account online, but that’s connecting to a ledger-keeping institution (i.e. bank) that also happens to have a website. The decentralized peer-to-peer nature of the blockchain ledger means it would have been hard to even conceive of before the internet and computational encryption came along. (Heck, it’s hard to think about it now, and it’s existed for 8 years!)

When you get fiat bills from an ATM, you only care about getting the right  amount. You don’t need your actual specific bills. With cryptocurrency,  every coin has a history: every time you spend,  you’re spending a particular coin from a particular transaction. And  you can spend a tiny amount of that particular coin, unlike the 1/100ths, (a.k.a. “pennies”) that fiat currency limits you to using. It’s as if you could put a dollar bill through a paper shredder — but every piece of confetti retains its value.

Take that, pennies.

  5. Economic Crashes

Do you have faith that the money in your pocket will be worth about the same tomorrow? If you answered ‘Yes’, it means something intangibly upbeat about your country’s economy. Any currency has value because people believe it will continue to have value. When we were walking around with gold coins in our pockets, we may not have known where the price of gold was going, but we knew gold would still be gold.  No currency can be free of volatility—the tendency to rise and fall in value – and right now our familiar fiat currency is less subject to wild fluctuations than cryptocurrency is.

But that’s also because there’s people at the top of the nation’s financial structure pulling levers like the interest rate. The cryptocurrency world might have its VIPs, enthusiasts, investors, and advocates, but it doesn’t have the same kind of “people at the top”.   Such people are all too human, and governments can take drastic measures.  Economically strapped governments can announce one morning that they’ve decided to give everyone’s savings a little trim off the top! (It’s happened. And you thought you were upset when your Air Miles expired.)  It’s easy to see how cryptocurrency could become attractive. You might need to keep any centralized middleman’s grubby hands and eyes off your money all of a sudden.

Even in dire times, the first question to ask about any currency, fiat or crypto, doesn’t change: What can I do with it?  Knowing the differences, you can have a plan for economic downswings as well as upswings. A good plan can be a kind of wealth that’s more real than any currency—even movie gift certificates.