#i went for a really nice walk until about halfway home when my heel exploded

[corpsoir]

omg new shoes :3c

blistered heels .

[hogwartsmarvelmommy]

Hey could I request something for Harrison where he’s madly in love with her and gets a little jealous seeing someone flirt with her (can get a little steamy)

Should be me (H.O)

A/n: I wasn't quite sure how steamy a little steamy is.. so I stayed on the safe side lmao.

Anyway, hope you enjoy ☺️

Warnings: swearing, some suggestiveness, alcohol consumption.

Word count: 1.3k

🌺🌸 Masterlist 🌸🌺

"Harrison, your face," Tom chuckled at his best mate.

"Huh?" Harrison asked, not having been paying attention.

"You look like you're about to explode mate," Tuwaine added. Harrison glanced back to where you were leaning on the bar counter, talking to the bartender.

"Does it look like she's flirting with him?" Harrison asked. The boys all turned their attention to where you and Harry were standing waiting for your drinks.

"With Harry?" Sam wondered.

"What? No, the barmate," Harrison chuckled.

"Oh, uh I'm not sure. Why does it matter?" Sam asked, eyebrows raised with suspicion.

"I guess it doesn't," Harrison huffed, sliding down a little in his seat. If he was being honest, it did matter, it mattered quite a bit, because if anyone should be flirting with you it was him. He watched as you laughed at whatever the man was saying and nodded along. He felt jealousy raging inside of him, but he could do nothing about it, without you finding out how desperately in love with you he was.

Harry made his way back over, leaving you on your own at the bar. "That guy is persistent," he chuckled as he slid into his seat.

"What do you mean?" Harrison quizzed.

"He asked for y/n's number twice, got shot down twice, and is still shooting his shot," he laughed, glancing back at you.

"You left her over there?" Sam asked.

"No, she said we had to get back to our friends, I didn't even realize she was still standing there till I was halfway back," he told the boys in defense.

Haz wasn't sure exactly what prompted his next decision, but one minute he was sitting and the next thing he knew he was walking up to your side and putting his arm around you. You glanced up at him smiling, thankful to have him by your side, a perfect excuse to get away from the chatty bartender.

"It was nice talking to you but I really do have to get back to my friends," you told him.

"Like I said before, I'll be here if you're ever interested," he shot you a wink, making you wince in disgust. Haz saw the way he made you feel uncomfortable.

"Hey mate, if she said no, that's what that means, no need to make her uncomfortable," Haz told the guy.

"Hey, sorry I was just being friendly," he said, throwing his hands up in defense.

"Yeah well there is a difference between friendly and creepy, learn it." Harrison pulled you away from the bar, and back towards the table.

"What was that?" You asked him.

"What?" He Wondered.

"That look you had when you were talking to him, it was kinda hot," Harrisons cheeks flushed red at your words, he wasn't sure what to do, or say. "thanks for coming to the rescue," you told him, kissing his cheek gently. You slid into your seat, grabbing your drink and joining in on the conversation with the boys.

A few hours had passed, and after many beers and lots of laughs you were ready to go home. "I'm gonna head home boys," you told the group standing up.

"Are you getting a car?" Harrison asked. You smiled and nodded. "Can I come? Make sure you get home safe?"

"Sure prince charming," you giggled as he got up. You waved goodbye to the rest of the boys, blowing them each a kiss before walking towards the front door of the pub. "Car should be here in a few minutes," you told Harrison as you rubbed your arms, which were filled with goosebumps from the chill in the air.

"Cold?" He asked you.

"A bit," you admitted, he walked over hugging you, pulling your body into his. He was warm and smelled amazing. "You were jealous earlier," you told him as you nuzzled your cheek against his chest.

"What?" He asked.

"The barmate, you snapped at him, cause you were jealous, Sammy told me," you giggled.

"I swear that boy has the biggest-" you pressed your finger against his lips shutting him up.

"You know, you don't have to be jealous, one question and I'm all yours Hazzy," you cooed. You watched as his eyes widened, and just as he was about to respond the car pulled up Infront of the two of you. You climbed into the car sliding over to the far side so Harrison had space to sit. The car ride was quiet, and quick. Before you knew it you were back at your flat, your drunk fingers fumbling with the keys to unlock the door.

"Got it!" You cheered pushing your front door open and walking in, Harrison following closely behind. "Ok prince charming, I'm home. Are you staying with me tonight? I'd hate to send you away," you said cheekily.

"Want me to?" He wondered as he sat down in your living room.

"Always," you giggled, as you danced your way to sit next to him on the couch. You sat up, putting your feet in his lap, heels still on and everything. "Take em off?" You asked.

He smiled at you, unclasping the buckle to each heel, pulling them off of your feet, and dropping them on the floor in front of you. He let his hands rest on your ankles rubbing them slightly, but you could tell he was holding something back.

"What's on your mind?" You wondered. He glanced up at you, a small smile on his lips.

"One question?" He repeated your words from before. Your cheeks flushed.

"Haz, you are so smart, but so oblivious," you giggled.

"What? Why?" He laughed. You considered your next move for a few seconds, deciding to just go for it (thanks alcohol). You pushed yourself up and threw one leg over his, so you were straddling him now. You rested yourself on his lap and grabbed onto his shoulders for added balance. "You ever wonder why I never leave the bar with anyone, despite how many people hit on me?" You asked.

"Why?" He asked, bringing his hands up to your waist.

"Cause I was waiting for a total div to realize that I like him, guess I'm just gonna have to make the first move myself though," you shrugged, shooting him a smirk. As you went to lean in for a kiss, he lifted you, flipping you so you were laid out on the couch on your back with him between your legs.

"Wanna know what I was thinking about Tonight?" He asked, his face dangerously close to yours. You nodded your head watching as he stared down at you. "I was thinking about how mad I would be if that loser actually managed to get your number when I couldn't even muster up the courage to tell you how I feel," he said.

"Tell me now," you whispered.

"I'm madly in love with you Y/N. I have been for so long. You drive me crazy. Everytime I see you, I want to pull you in to a kiss, and last week when we were at the hot tub party, I wanted to rip that bikini off of you and take you to my bed and fuck you for hours, untill you couldn't take it anymore," he whispered, leaning farther down.

"Do it now Hazzy," you whispered. He groaned loudly at that. He shook his head, sitting up.

"Not like this, not while we're both drunk. I want you, I want this, but I want you to want this too," he told you. He threw his head back and groaned again. You sat up, grabbing his hand and pulling him back to you.

"You're too good for this world, for me," you giggled, pressing your lips against his in a quick kiss. "Can we cuddle at least?" You asked him.

" 'Course we can," he told you, pulling your body against his. You couldn't wait till tomorrow morning when you were sober, because you knew you wanted him, as much as he wanted you.

[iisuya-simps]

Can I get Headcannons for Ichiro, Rosho and Jyuto with an S/O who’s an idol

A/N: ooooooh yes let's go :D

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

Ichiro Yamada

Ichiro was at the convenience store to grab some snacks

when you both reached for the last bag of candy

"Sorry, I-"

his eyes lit up when they met yours

he knew exactly who you were

no, I'm totally not ripping this off from mlqc shut up

"Y-you're-" you cover his mouth with your hand

"Shh, don't blow my cover, otherwise we're gonna draw a crowd."

"Y-you can have the candy if you want! I'll get something else!"

"Why don't we just share it? Hehe."

*Ichiro blushes and SWOONS

you bought the candy and took a walk down a secluded road and bonded a bit

Ichiro loves how down to earth you are, this is like a dream come true

and when the candy is gone you both continue your conversation for an hour or so until your agent calls

"whoops, I have to get going. Here's my info if you want to reach out." You give him a wink as you round the corner to the black van

dID I juSt gO oN a dAtE wITh mY fAVoriTe IdOl??!

*head explodes*

after staring at the number you gave him for a few days he works up enough nerve to message you

"Hey uh, this is Ichiro Yamada, we met at the convenience store the other day"

"Oh hi, listen I'm in the area, do you want to meet up?" :)

You literally show up at his front door

"Y/N!!?" "Nice place you got here. My agent doesn't even know I left, hehe." "I'll be right back!!"

you follow Ichiro into his room to see him rushing to take all of his posters of you off his walls. aw, how sweet~

once caught he'll open up and show you his collection

after a few more surprise visits like this, you become close friends

then he's your secret boyfriend

Ichiro will help you practice choreo for shows

he might even teach you how to rap for fun

Jiro is probably very jealous when Ichiro introduces you to the bros

he can't help but gush about how amazing and talented you are

even though his brothers have heard this rant 12million times before he even knew you

he loves to watch you play dress up when picking out outfits for shows and events

he loves going to your photo/video shoots

seeing you get dressed up in all kinds of crazy clothes is exciting for the both of you

"Hey, hands off! I need this outfit wrinkle-free for the shoot!"

"I can always iron it after babe" ;p

when you show Ichiro a song that you wrote for him dumbfounded and a little teary-eyed

"I can hear all of the emotion you put into this... thank you" *big hug and kiss

when the tabloids start spewing fake facts about you Ichiro is going to be mad but try and keep his cool

"Ignore them y/n, just know that I think you're amazing"

but being an idol is very exhausting

after a long day, you may sneak away to the Yamada household to collapse on the bed in each other's arms and pass out

at the end of the day, Ichiro can't believe that he's with someone that loves and appreciates him as much as he does you

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rosho Tsutsujimori

It was your dream to become an idol for years

you've been dating Rosho since highschool

he knew you would make it big because you were the best student in theatre, dance and choir

you even got first place in the school talent show for your singing and dancing routine

Rosho was finishing his bachelor's degree when you got signed to a label and went on to become of the biggest idols around

not only is Rosho an amazing boyfriend and support

he may even help manage some financial matters that your agent doesn't handle

Rosho is first to hear your songs when you come up with them

you always confide in him for new song ideas

mostly because you cant stop humming around him

"I can't help it Rosho, you're my muse"

he blushes brightly not knowing how to accept the compliment

one of his students asked why he had a charm of you on his desk

he said he was a really big fan

"What? You Mr. Tsutsujimori? *then proceeded to quiz him the rest of the class

"Please settle down now." "But what about-" *sigh*

If the press is spreading lies about you Rosho will try and talk you down

"Calm down, it's not worth it y/n, let them think whatever nonsense. I know the real you and that's all that matters."

he will help you prep for concerts making sure you eat properly, get enough water and do stretches and voice exercises

the farthest he got to see you live was backstage

which was still a pretty big feat for him considering

he doesn't know how you deal with being surrounded by crowds all the time plus perform in front of them...

you inspire him to work on his stage fright and public speaking

even if its just little things

he is in awe of you and loves the fact that you worked so hard to get to the place you were today

he finds your idol persona just an extension of yourself

he knew that you weren't just a cute bubbly idol

but an intelligent cute bubbly idol :p

Rosho is so touched when you sit him down and show a song you wrote for him

"Is this really for me? y/n... it's amazing. Thank you so much"

he prefers to stay at home for dates as opposed to going out and possibly having someone recognize you

even though your lives are completely different you still

you'll have deep chats about life and your future

you love and support each other the best you can and have a beautiful relationship

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jyuto Iruma

You first meet Jyuto he pulls you over on the highway for speeding

"License and registration miss."

He noticed you in full hair and makeup then raises a brow

"Please sir, I'm going to be late for my concert. I'll pay any ticket you give me but I just need to get to the stadium"

"I suppose I can let you off with a warning, if you give me a front-row seat"

"Follow me officer" *wink

He tails behind you to the stadium and the guards wave you both through

"I'm not a bodyguard y'know."

"I know, but you can be my police escort!"

your agent yells at you for being late and you scurry around backstage when you trip over a loose cord!

luckily he catches you in his arms

"Ooh, sorry sir. I've always been a bit of a clutz..."

he tries his best to bite back a flirty come back to keep it professional

but says it anyway

"Fallen for the officer already have you?"

you were drawn to his dry wit and charming personality

Halfway through the concert, you come backstage to see him getting ready to leave

"Hey I'm still on duty so I can't stay, but you're really talented and I enjoyed the show so far."

he hands you his contact card

"I suppose we could have a coffee sometime, after all, if you weren't there to catch me I would've sprained my ankle and the show would've been cancelled."

You're both pretty busy but find some time during the day to sneak away for a coffee date

one turns into two, then five

sooner than you know it the officer has won you over and you fall head over heels for each other *literally*

when you show Jyuto a song that you wrote for him he's going to be amazed

"Wow, I'm so thrilled that you feel this way, now come here so I can show you my thanks

*tackles OwO

If gossip comes out about you Jyuto will scout out the lowlife who write the article and bribe them to stop

"It's ok y/n, they'll know the truth soon enough."

"How do you dance in those heels all the time?"

"I wonder what else you can do with them..."

"Jyuto!!!"

Jyuto likes to listen to your music on the way home from work

You may not see each other as much as you want to

but when he sees you on the tv or the stage he knows how lucky he is to have you and he'll do anything to help support you and your dream

and the nights you do spend together are filled with longing and passion

it's a great way of relieving the stress of a hard day's work

⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆

Thank you for reading!

[someonewhowannadielol]

inevitable love (Yandere!Taehyung x SmolBaby!Reader)

You obviously couldn’t take care of yourself, so Kim Taehyung took matters in his own hands. Literally.

Warning: Harassment, loads of capitalism (kinda ironic that I hate capitalism, considering I’m an Econ student sigh), big dog chase idrk, y/n complains a lot lmao also she’s textbook smart but lowkey dumb,,, like me, I'm literally y/n anywaYS 

CHAPTER ONE (Honestly, its more of a prologue)

P.S Sorry, this one's mostly focused on Y/N, I promise Taehyung will make it in the next chap! 

Word Count: 1.4k

This was ridiculous. You had graduated from one of the finest business schools in the world, yet, here you were, sitting in your shabby studio apartment, listening to another rejection after the countless job interviews while watching the paint peel off the walls. You never really thought life would lead to this, you sitting here on your mattress, eating (probably uncooked) ramen, and crossing another job opportunity. The ramen wasn’t that bad, there were no complaints about it from your side anyways, because you couldn’t cook for shit and any food other than premade food was a waste in this household. You still have nightmares about the incident when you accidentally forgot to take off the plastic packaging off the sliced cheese before making a cheese sandwich in the microwave. Only to watch the microwave - and the cheese – explode in front your eyes. The poor baby.

Glancing at your watch, you realize that you have to head downtown to your job – which was paid under minimum wage, but it did make you better off than the homeless, and the jobless. You could still afford at least one meal a day (Was cup ramen considered a meal?) and the chef at the diner would sneakily give you food, sigh, he was so nice. Sometimes, you look back, and think where things went wrong. You were basically a child genius, always a couple classes ahead of your peers, you got almost got a perfect score on the SAT at the first try (it was a 1560!), you got your bachelor’s degree at the age of 18, instead of the usual 22. You look back and see how you used to think that you could afford a luxurious penthouse apartment in Manhattan and pay off your student loans within a year, while working in one of the best companies in world.

You did have the textbook knowledge, but who was there to teach you about the practical world? The real world? The textbooks didn’t teach you how to pay your water and electricity bills, they didn’t teach you how to hold your tears back when the landlord puts a suggestive hand on your waist, they didn’t teach you how to accept countless rejections, or how to use coupons while grocery shopping, or how to ignore the everyday catcalls, or how to walk through the streets at night. They didn’t teach you how to cope with the fact that your father died but you didn’t have enough money for a flight back to your hometown, they didn’t teach you how to not shout at your mother who got a new family, they didn’t teach you the reality.

So, here you were, two years later, serving disgusting men who harassed you, while wearing a skirt that was too short for your liking and heels that made your feet ache every single day. Somehow, it was worse today. Your hair wouldn’t co-operate, your mascara had officially dried out and no amount of contact solution could revive it from its flaky texture, your manager basically manipulated you to wear red lipstick, and these goddamn heels won’t stop hurting your feet.

At this point, I’m just going to die from the chronic feet pain, you thought.

It was just an endless day of serving, picking up dirty dishes, and of course, ignoring the occasional disgusting words of “endearment” from your customers. You were just picking up the mess of ketchup left by a couple of rowdy boys who sat here 15 minutes earlier, repeatedly asking for your number. Interesting enough, despite all the catcalling, you can only recall four people asking for your number.

The first one had been a wannabe bike rider, he was tall, around 6’4 – give or take – and quite chunky with a full curly beard down to his chest. Despite knowing some people who would dig this vibe, you personally didn’t love the entire ensemble. In fact, you cringed whenever you saw these people perform their tricks on the streets (You cringed even more when you saw them fall and smash their head open. Yikes).

You remember, it was your third day at the newly acquired job, and while you weren’t all that ecstatic to start working here (You were already looking for other, more well paid jobs with more benefits), you still respected the job requirement and went up to the customer and asked, “What would you like to order, sir?” in your sweetest voice possible.

“Well, what’s on the special menu?”

Special menu? You weren’t informed about any special menu, maybe your manager forgot to tell you?

“I’m sorry, I’m quite new here, I’ll go confirm this special menu with my manager,” and just as you tried to go to your manager – who by the way had been keeping an eye on you since you got here, you could say she wasn’t exactly fond of you – scary biker dude grabbed your wrist, a little too tight to be called comfortable, and you couldn’t help but wince.

“Oh sweetheart, you’re the first and only item on the special menu. And I’d like to order that, with a side of Vanilla milkshake,”

Okay, crinnngggeee.

And then, as impossible as it seemed, you were forced to smile and laugh it off, even if it disgusted you to the core. And then, you were manipulated to hand over your phone number.

Just go with the flow, Y/N, just go with the flow. Block it later, no worries.

He was known to be a usual customer, but surprisingly, he didn’t actually ever come to the diner after that, nor did he call you. Now that you notice, no one you gave your number to, actually did call you. Whether it was the biker, or the druggie, or the 50-year-old man who promised to buy you a yacht. Eh, he was so old, he probably died on his way home. So, you never knew whether to take it as an insult, or a blessing.

Well, this day was almost over until 5 minutes before closing down, a bunch of people, who were probably high, because of the unmistakable scent of weed coming from them – came and demanded to be served. Of course, the manager could score any penny she could, so of course, you were forced to work overtime again. Without getting paid.

Finally, a little after 1am, you could take off these horrid heels and slip into the much comfier sketchers. Sure, you had glued them a couple of times, and sure, they kept on breaking because you’ve had them since high school, but it’s okay. You’ll live.

You were halfway down the route to your house, as you tried to rub your fingers together and somehow magically take away the freezing wind this cold night brought. As you walked, you attempted to feel your phone in your back pocket – annddd just when you thought your day couldn’t get any worse. You’d probably left it back in your locker or your apron’s pocket and for a second you contemplated whether it would be worth it to go all the way back at 2am to get you phone. You almost decided against it, but remembered that you would get the confirmation call from the job interview you gave on Thursday, anytime tomorrow. And so, you decided to go back. Well, this was one of the worst decisions of your life. Scratch that, it was the worst decision of your life.

You reached the diner in approximately 10 minutes, but obviously, everything was locked and there was no way you’d sneak in there because, phew, if you got caught you’d lose the only job you have. Just as you turned back, you saw the biggest fucking dog you’ve ever seen. You didn’t know much about dogs, except for the fact that you’re shitless scared of the big, scary ones – and this was definitely a big, scary one. His fur was coated with black, brown and red spots, about half your height, and had teeth that could tear a human in mere seconds.

You didn’t really know whether to run or gently walk away, making it think you weren’t a threat – you took a couple slow steps back while looking at it in the eye, but you’re a dumbass and suddenly decided to run. Somehow along the run you lost the dog. And one of your shoes. And your apartment keys. And your bag which contained this week’s paycheck.

Well, you were fucked.

A/N: Please do give feedback! Also, tell me if you want to be on the taglist for this!

[willddheartt]

Black and White | JJ Maybank

Summary: Just a short, cheesy, teenage slow burn romance because i am a sucker for slow burn. 

Inspired by: Black and White - Niall Horan 

Warnings: None that I can think of

Work Count: 1.5K

A/N: This is just inspired by the first verse/chorus of the song. I just think its really cute and I’m a sucker for high school romance like this.

Masterlist

That first night we were standing at your door Fumbling for your keys, then I kissed you

Neither of you were sure when it started, there had been little things, like the times he always made sure you were alright when you both had a dangerous idea or the nights where he would walk you home then proceed to walk back to the other side of the cut, to his (or John B’s) house. There was no denying the chemistry between the two of you, you had the foundation for possibly more than a friendship in almost the best way possible, being each other's escape from toxic home lives, the two of you had been found countless times cuddled together on the hammock hanging from the tree at the Chateau.

But when things really started to change had been the night you stood outside of your front door, digging through your bag desperately trying to find your house keys in your tipsy state was proven to be a difficult task, once the door was unlocked you turned back around, seeing your blonde friend focused on your movements so intently you suddenly became self-conscious of every movement you made. 

He took a step closer, and his hands lightly rested on your hips. “Do you trust me?” He asked you nodded, “Can I try something?” He whispered you nodded again, within seconds of your nod his lips were on yours, kissing you softly. Your hands came up to cup his cheeks just as he pulled back, and you looked into his hazy blue ones. Butterflies exploded throughout your chest and you looked down, smiling, with your lips tingling from his touch. JJ placed a quick kiss to your forehead before letting you out of his grasp so you could open the door, leaving once you were inside and had shut the door behind yourself.  Even though your drunken state you found yourself replaying the kiss back in your head, the way his soft lips moulded around your own as you all but melted in his hands. 

Ask me if I want to come inside 'Cause we didn't want to end the nigh Then you took my hand, and I followed you

Suddenly, everything between you and the blonde boy you’ve known since freshman year became different. His small innocent touches lingered a second too long for that of a friend and his eyes never left you even in a group, and he almost became more protective of you.  You were laughing as you walked down the street with the blonde, stumbling over your own feet as you came faced with the chipping paint of your front door. On this particular night the walk from John B’s felt shorter as you two laughed the entire way there, drunk off the thought of living and high on the night. Feeling intoxicated without actually consuming any substances was a new feeling for the both of you, and one that you didn’t want to let go of and time in the near future.

You unlocked the front door and JJ went to turn around, getting ready to walk back to wherever he’d wind up sleeping tonight, when you cleared your throat, getting his attention.  “Do you wanna come in? Ya know, save you the walk home,” You asked, hoping he'd say yes, to which he did. Once he nodded you grabbed his hand to pull him in behind you and up to your room quickly and quietly, so as not to wake anyone who was already asleep in the house. 

You and JJ sat blowing smoke out your window as the sun began to rise from the horizon. Not sure what came over you, in one quick movement you sat straddling his lap, your hands loosely hung around his neck. Staring into his ocean blue eyes. You hadn’t noticed the breath that hitched in his throat until you finally connected your lips and he sighed, leaning into your touch. 

Yeah, I see us in black and white Crystal clear on a starlit night In all your gorgeous colors I promise that I'll love you for the rest of my life

Senior prom was in a couple of days and for as long as you could remember you refused to go. The thought of spending hundreds of dollars on a dress you would only wear for a few hours seemed ridiculous, your plans were to stay in for the night and watch multiple movies as you ignored your FOMO.  Not sure who brought up the conversation, but you were not explaining to your group of Pogues that you had no interest in attending the event, nor had you even bought a dress for the perhaps of going.  All in a matter of seconds everyone turned to convince you to go, saying all your friends would be there, trying to convince you and Sarah even turned to bribe you with 40 bucks she had in her pocket. It wasn't until JJ spoke up from beside you that you started to reconsider, “C’mon, even I’m going,” He said  “See, even JJ’s coming,” John B sighed, trying to convince you to come. 

You shrugged, “I mean you all have dates, and I don’t like the idea of sitting off to the side while everyone’s having a good time,” “I don’t have a date,” JJ said, a smirk falling upon his lips, “I’ll be your date if you want,”  Kiara nodded, accepting for you, “It’s perfect, you’re going with JJ,” Sighing you gave in, “Make it $60 bucks and Kiara let me borrow a dress, and you got a deal,” 

The day of prom you spent getting ready with the girls, Kiara lent you a short black and floral dress, commenting something about finding a tie for JJ that would match it perfectly. You had just finished putting on the heels Kiara was letting you borrow when the three boys showed up outside. They all looked very elegant, but your eyes fell upon the blonde who hadn’t stopped looking at you since you three stepped out on Kiara’s porch to greet them. JJ now stood in front of you, as you stood on the bottom step leading off the porch, his hands rested on your hips as he looked up at you, from the height difference the heels and step added.“You look amazing,” He mumbled  “T-thanks,” You stuttered, “You do too,” Your mind seemed to blank the more you stared at him but Kiara’s mom saying about photos pulled you out of the daze that had come over you.  “You know,” You sighed as you and JJ stood off to the side while Sarah and John B got their pictures taken, “ I don’t think I’ve ever seen you dressed up before,”  “You haven't?” JJ asked, his hands had not left your waist since you first saw him.  You shook your head, “You clean up nicely,” 

See you standing in your dress Swear in front of all our friends There'll never be another I promise that I'll love you for the rest of my life

Although you were dressed up, and on the outside everyone could easily assume you would act like a lady for the night, they were wildly wrong. Throughout the dance you and JJ snuck off, smoking joints and drinks from the flask he brought. The slight buzz you two carried seemed to make the boring dance bearable. 

He grabbed your hand, leading you out to the dance floor the second a slow song began, pulling you into his chest as his arms wrapped around your waist. You let your hands loosely fall around his neck, with your head on his shoulder  “Kiara’s gonna kill me for getting her dress smelling like weed,” You whispered, causing JJ to chuckle.  “I don’t think she'll be too mad,”  “I’m blaming you,” You laughed with him, as you picked your head up to look at him. 

The twinkling lights hung up around the room sparkled in his eyes, making everything look hazy as you slowly leaned up, kissing his cheek. The two of you stopped moving when you pulled back, JJ’s eyes flickered down to your lips and back up to you eyes a few times before you both leaned in, meeting halfway as your lips crashed down on one another. The room felt like it was spinning as the song came to an end and you and the blonde slowly pulled away.  Out of the corner of your eyes you saw your group of friends smiling at the two of you. 

Just like a scene from a cheesy teen movie, everything around you seemed to fade away as you leant in, connecting your lips one more. Your friends, who witnessed the two of you slowly falling since 7th grade, started clapping, which led the entire room to clap and turn to a semi-circle, facing the two of you. You pulled away quickly once the clapping got too loud, you and JJ both looking around realizing everyone had been watching the two of you. Your head dipped into his chest, hiding the pink blush that crept up onto your cheeks. 

[allaboutmywriting]

Walking the Gallery

can’t afford to go to Harry’s tour lol nothing new so writing this instead--gonna be some chapters, not sure how many yet || 5k words 

Lexy Marks is a recent novelist, who has risen to a reasonable amount of fame for a first-time fiction writer. She ends up at an album release party Harry Styles has thrown, where he tells her how much he loves her writing. Back in the day, Lexy was a 1D stan; unfortunately, she has some trauma related to that particular era of her life. 

CHAPTER ONE:

The check engine light came on as soon as could at least see the stoplights hanging from the intersection behind the row of cars in front of her—whoever had warned her about LA traffic certainly hadn't been joking—and Lexy screamed in frustration when she saw it. With her foot on the brake, she slammed her hands against the steering wheel, in the same manner that she was privy to throwing her phone on the ground whenever it froze. It was a method that never solved the problem, but always made her feel as if it did.

Her father had assured her, incorrectly it would appear, that her 2007 Toyota Corolla would be fine for the six-thousand-mile trip she was taking around the country—from Columbia to Los Angeles, Los Angeles back to Charleston. She'd already completed half of the journey there, but she couldn't exactly complete the other half back with a faulty engine.

The car behind her beeped its horn and Lexy jumped, pressing her foot too fast on the gas, jolting forward uncomfortably. She hadn't expected the traffic to be quite so bad, and she wasn't prepared for the traffic gridlock. She sighed and looked at the clock. 5:57.

She was meant to be there by 6:00. She didn't really know what the where was, somewhere in between Beverly Hills and a direction of Hollywood. She supposed she could've been smarter by not driving in rush hour traffic. Perhaps she could've asked the event holders if she could have arrived in the morning. Surely, they'd have understood that people hailing from the East Coast were not as smooth, talented, or put together as those on the Golden Coast.

The car in front of her moved up a foot. She turned the radio down and scrolled until she found her dad's contact. It was after eight on the East Coast, so he would be home from work. Probably in the kitchen making himself a sandwich with the unhealthy kind of bread and too much mayonnaise—he liked to play around with cholesterol.

"Lexy-loo!" he greeted. She smiled, already feeling at ease from hearing his booming voice. He was a middle school science teacher, the goofy kind, so he said everything with strange inflections and accents. This time, he sounded Irish. "Where the hell are ya?"

"Stuck in traffic." She glanced at the GPS he'd installed for her eighteenth birthday a few years before. It was the nicest part of her car, and it looked awfully out of place compared to the rest of it. She was somewhere in East Hollywood, which contrary to the name, was a little more rundown than she expected it to be. "This has to be even worse than New York."

He laughed, having spent his summers growing up in Brooklyn, back when the twin towers were still a part of the skyline. "You hanging with the rich and famous yet?"

Lexy glared down at her lap, pushing the gas gently as the next car moved forward. She didn't have the time to explain the intricacies of the area to her dad, to let him know that there were entirely more poor people in the area than celebrities, and that she would probably never even come in contact with someone of such a demographic. In fact, after the event or reading or whatever she had tonight, Lexy had half a mind to go handing out food to all of the people she saw on the sides of the street.

"Not yet, Dad." Her calf was starting to ache from staying on the brake for so long, and she tried to stretch it in place the best she could. "Anyway, check engine light just came on and I don't know what to do."

"Huh," he grunted. "Well, is it steady or is it blinking?"

"Steady."

"Did it just come on?"

"About a minute ago." She shuffled her seatbelt around to keep it from digging into her neck.

"Is your car acting up? jerky?"

"No. it seems normal. I can't really tell, though. Traffics at a standstill."

"Well, it's probably not an emergency then. Go find yourself an Auto Zone and they'll do a diagnostic for free. Call me back once they tell you and we'll figure something out."

She frowned at probably not an emergency, her mind speculating as it was prone to, visions of her car exploding in the middle of the LA freeway.

"I don't think I can do it today," Lexy frowned. "I have an event in three minutes."

"Glad to see that the extra three hours has increased your timeliness," he joked and Lexy rolled her eyes. "Just do it first thing tomorrow," he said nonchalantly, yawning. "I'm so proud of you, Lex. Living out your dream. I wish I could be there with you."

She wanted to roll down her window, to lay her arm across it the same way she might have back home, but she took the threats of pollution seriously.

She said a goodbye to her father quickly. Her eyes were already stinging. Lexy was so far from home and so alone. It had just been her and her dad for so long, even while she was busy in college, but he couldn't leave the school for the weeks the tour had taken her, would take her, for fear that the district would fire him. Ain't no rest for a public-school teacher, that's for sure.

Lexy had managed to do thirty-seven different readings without him. Had managed to impress thirty-seven different crowds of people without offending them—had even managed to make a few of them cry. Her twitter and Instagram followers had increased gradually, so that now she had a small following of few thousand, that rivalled the accounts of her high school valedictorian who'd gone on to become an influencer selling tanning lotion.

While Lexy really was living out her dream, having a New York Times bestseller at twenty-two, becoming an author wasn't as glamorous as she always thought it would. Her settlement for the book, which was supposed to be $55,000, after taxes only came out to a little more than half of that, and now she understood why authors talked about how difficult it was to make a living just writing. There were no health benefits in authorhood, and there were no extravagances where bookstores paid her to come talk. Here she was, six months out of college, driving herself around in her own car just for her inaugural book tour.

Who cared if Barack Obama had put her book on his recommended reads of the year, when her car was going to break down and she was going to be late for her first event in Los Angeles?

As the clock shown 6:04, Lexy finally was able to pass through the intersections. Now, if she could just figure out how to change lanes, she'd be doing okay.

&&

Her car started smoking as she turned onto the street. It was framed by huge houses with gates in front—black ones, silver ones, some with outright walls so that you couldn't see what was happening on the other side. About halfway down the street, and with the smoke darkening, her GPS said she arrived.

Just what was this event? Her fingers were itching for her phone, to call her publicist and make sure she was at the right place, but a security guard appeared just by her driver's side window.

He was a big and buff bald-headed man who gave her car a dirty look as he instructed her to roll down a window. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Statement of purpose?"

Statement of what?

It was really starting to feel like she imagined the White House felt like after all—back in the Obama days, not the current ones.

"Hi. My name is Lexy Marks. I've been told to be here."

"ID?"

She grumbled to herself as she reached forward and went through her purse, her fingers shaking as she took at her wallet, and then her driver's license. Her fingers were shaking, but she didn't know why she should be the nervous one.

He cross-checked her license with whatever was on the tablet he was holding, then nodded at her. "Pull around back. You should see the other cars. Park between the two on the back row."

Lexy took back her license, rolled up her window, and waited at the gates until the swung open. Her car continued to smoke so bad that she could see it even through the darkening tones of dusk. The house, which she gawked up at, was black and modern, with gaping windows. There were three stories from what she could tell—Lexy had never seen such a nice place, much less been invited to one.

She tried to park in between the cars the guard had instructed her to—a white Audi and one of several black rovers. These cars were all worth more than her manuscript was, and especially more than she was.

And Lexy had always been awful at parking. Never mind how awful she felt about being late, and how dreadful her stomach felt with her engine smoking.

She couldn't tell just how dark it really was outside due to the multiple lanterns and light fixtures that illuminated the entire outdoor parking space. She was most certainly late, but she wasn't even sure what this event was. She didn't know if they would even notice, if this was an event with other authors, if she was meant to be giving just a reading. Her publicist—Simon & Schuster had given her one along with her royalties' contract—had set up the whole tour for her. All she had to do was arrive on time. And here she was, a half hour late, and if her GPS was right, somewhere between West Hollywood and Beverley Hills.

But weren't the rich and famous known for not being on time?

As she climbed the steps to the front porch, she was certain she was at a mansion. Just whose mansion, she wasn't sure, but she was more conscious, if she ever had been before tonight, of the twenty-dollar black Old Navy dress she was wearing. She'd thought she was being frugal, chic, stylish. She'd even paired them with her favorite pair of chunky blue heels. But now she was certain it couldn't be further from than truth.

There was no one in the yard with her. Across the lane was the security guard, and Lexy contemplated waving him down and asking for directions. Suck it up, she told herself. You're living the dream.

A white cat was perched on the front step and it watched her, lazily, as she knocked twice on the front door. When there was no answer, she rang the doorbell.

There was music coming from inside, banging beats that made it seem like she was entering into a dorm. They were exactly the kind of loud that she heard in college on nights out, at house parties, or in the frats. She couldn't make it out exactly—either that or she didn't know the songs.

When she knocked a second time, the door was sprung open.

"Ay, welcome to the party of the century," A well-dressed man greeted her. He sounded Australian, but Lexy couldn't be certain—she was the worst at deciphering accents. But he was dressed in suspenders and a white t-shirt that read SOUTHERNE in black, bold letters. Behind him, Lexy could see a bunch of people standing around, talking. None of them were dancing, as she had incorrectly assumed from the music, but instead, standing around listening to the tracks.

And now Lexy was certain she had never heard it before.

"Hello? You there?" The man asked again. This time he grinned at her and revealed a set of teeth so perfect they were probably veneers. If Lexy had to choose a new occupation, it would be dentistry. But she was awful at science, math, and everything in between that would lead her to becoming one.

"Sorry." She tried to smile back, but her annoyance ran strong through her veins.

A few of the people around them, beautiful people, women with the sort of hair that didn't have flyaways and men that looked like they came from the cover of GQ turned to look at her curiously, but the company must've been important, because they looked away again.

"I'm Lexy Marks. I was told to come here by my publicist."

She cringed as she thought about how it must sound to this man—acting like her publicist was in charge of her. Much like a parent leading their child to the first day of kindergarten. It was just like her publicist to do this. She knew how unexperienced Lexy was and had been known to take advantage of it before—her first reading in the mid-west had been at a senior home for people who had never read her book.

But his smile only widened, and he opened the door up even further.

"Come in, come in," he said, waving an arm in front of him. He held a wine glass in his left hand. Dark and red, the kind she hated. "I'm Greg."

Well, she could guess that Greg was not the person she was meant to meet here. He didn’t have any idea who she was. But she stepped inside the door anyway, the music amplified, and Lexy had to stop herself from abruptly gaping at the beautiful scene before her. Beautiful hardwood floors that had been stained white, walls so beautifully decorated they looked straight out of a gallery, the people all around her who were so beautiful and dressed so well they might as well be models themselves.

It felt like something straight out of The Great Gatsby.

Greg nudged her arm. "Let's get you a drink, yeah? Have you eaten? We've got loads of stuff in the kitchen."

Lexy shook her head as he followed him through the crowd, saying hi to people as he went. She was almost positive he was Australian.

Lexy hoped she would recognize someone in the crowd, but these were not the sort of people she knew. She even tried to place the voice singing because she had most certainly heard it before but couldn't do it for the life of her. It sounded pop-y and generic, the sort she would've made out to in a club back in college.

"You're lucky I was walking right by the door," Greg continued, stepping beside her once the crowd was sparse enough to allow for it. There must be over a hundred people in the building. All of the windows were covered by long, flowing silver curtains; there was even a balcony that people hung off of. All they needed was a sprawling indoor people.

"What do you do, Lexy? Singer? Actress? Dancer? Triple threat?"

"Um, author, actually."

"Oh yeah?" he turned to grin at her. "Poetry?"

Lexy felt like she was disappointing him. "Fiction."

They entered the kitchen, after feeling like they had walked a quarter of a mile from the front door. The house hadn't actually looked this large from the outside and Lexy wondered if it was the fact that they'd had to navigate all of the people standing in the way.

And this time Lexy did look around with her mouth open. "Oh wow."

The countertops were black marble, and stretched the entire length of the room, which was probably half the size of her house back in South Carolina. The floor was still stained white wood, and the kitchen had double islands in the center, one of which was adorned with drinks—the other with sweets.

It was a kitchen so perfect she would've never been able to dream it up. Lexy couldn't cook—at all really, but if she could, this was exactly the sort of kitchen she'd want.

"Harry," Greg called, almost lazily, to a man in yellow pants and white t-shirt, who was looking out of the kitchen window. "I've brought you a guest."

He turned around to face her, and Lexy furrowed her eyebrows at the man standing there, then her eyebrows shot straight up to her forehead when she finally recognized him.

And all of a sudden, she was right back to being in ninth grade, fighting over which of her friends laid claim to the man standing before her. Hell, Lexy used to keep her toothbrush in a cup with the man's face on it.

His hair, a deep brown, not unlike her own, was wavy and perfectly placed—the definition of artist's hair. His skin was the sort of clear she only ever got when she was wearing a full face of make-up, and immediately, from the time his eyes first landed on her, he seemed to exude charisma.

"Hi," she said shyly.

"What's your name?" He smiled politely at her, without showing his teeth, and Lexy's heart dropped at the thought that she wasn't really meant to be here. Her ten minutes of existing on the estate had made her feel some sort of emotion towards the place.

But how could she be after all? Standing in Harry Styles' extravagant kitchen, in what was most likely his exorbitant mansion, at an event that was clearly some sort of Hollywood party.

She was meant to be reading.

"Uh, I'm Lexy," she stammered. "Lexy Marks."

His eyes bugged out when she said it, but he quickly recovered enough to grin at her, dimples on full show, just like the media trained mega star he was. And though he certainly looked more grown-up than Lexy remembered him as, his smile was the same as it was on her toothbrush cup from all those years ago.

He took a few steps forward and held out his hand to her, fingers covered in rings and pink and blue painted nails. She took it. "I'm Harry. I've been waiting to meet you—you're the guest of honor."

Behind her, Greg rolled his eyes. "You're the guest of honor, mate. This is your release party."

Harry grinned at Greg, then looked back down at Lexy. "I invited a lot of people."

Lexy's heart was beating so rapidly that she was certain if she tried to speak, she would be out of breath. So, she simply nodded.

"I love Beginning with February," Harry continued, naming her title. Lexy couldn't stop staring at his damn smile. It was so perfect. Her dad could never afford braces for her, and she had a thing for people's teeth. "It's my favorite book right now. After I finished it, I immediately read it again. I must've read it eight times by now. I tell everyone it's the perfect antidote to loss and loneliness—I don't think there's anyone I've ever met who explains love and friendship and death the way you do. I've bought a whole box of copies to hand out as Christmas presents. Of course, it would be better if you signed them."

Lexy stood frozen from his exclamation—still processing the fact that she was standing in front of Harry Styles and that he had read her book. More than once.

"I had my publicist reach out to yours, and I was really hoping that I could make it out to your reading tomorrow, but unfortunately I have an interview."

He smiled at her again and Lexy knew it was her time to say something. She tried to seem cool, seem the way that any of the people in the house might would respond, but her brain only backtracked far enough for his last few sentences. "Uh…I'll read you anything you want."

Lexy wanted to punch herself at how stupid she sounded, yet again, but Greg snorted, and Harry smiled, ducking his head.

"What I mean," she rushed to explain. It was his damn smile that got her. "Is that I'll give you a private reading of whatever you want. Like—"

This was just getting worse and worse as Greg began lightly laughing. She rolled her eyes up to the ceiling, then back to meet Harry's. He was a lot taller than she'd imagined he would be, but though his lips twitched, he was giving her his entire attention.

"Thank you for your kind words," she swallowed. "Of course, I'll sign anything you want."

Harry's smile deepened, his dimples appearing. Greg pointed to the door with his thumb, and Harry nodded at him.

He turned back to Lexy, just as the song from the other room changed. This one she'd heard before—something by Lorde, that she couldn't remember the name of.

They gazed at each other, then Harry suddenly clapped his hands together. "So, can I get you anything to drink? Wine? Water? Vodka?"

She was alone with one of the most famous singers of the time. And he was offering her a drink, in his kitchen, somewhere in Los Angeles. She wasn't just living her dream; she was living the whole dream. Everyone's. All of them. A place on Barack Obama's recommended reading list could have never prepared her for this one.

"Um, water. Please?"

He nodded, and turned around to the island, taking one a wine glass, similar to the one Greg was drinking out of, from the side and filling it with water from a pitcher.

He handed it to her, then leaned against the island and picked up his own drink, something green. He was dressed so well…Lexy had always admired fashion but could never get the hang of making anything look good other than wearing neutrals and blank shirts.

"I hope you don't mind being here," he drawled slowly, his eyes on hers, darting back and forth as if trying to determine what her true feelings were. Lexy hadn't heard him talk since the height of her One Direction days, when she would watch every interview that came out multiple times, but she wondered if he had talked quite so slowly back then. "This is my album release party, for my friends, and I was quite hoping you'd do the intermission."

All…of those people…at least a hundred…were his friends? Lexy could count all her friends on both hands. She probably only talked to three of them a day.

"Intermission?"

His eyes still on hers, he nodded. "Yeah. Do you know that bit in your book, the part where Jamaica dies? You have two pages of just wonderful prose there, and I was really hoping that you would read it. Maybe halfway through the songs?" He paused in thought, his eyes rolling up. "Actually, maybe after track seven would do."

She took a big sip of the water. It was room temperature and Lexy thought, in a moment of spare humor, probably the most expensive water she'd ever drank.

But her hand was already shaking, and she doubted that she could convince herself to read in front of everyone in that other room. Well, at least. There would be no way she could control the tremors in her voice. She was used to reading in front of people who knew her, in front of people who liked her reading, who cared about her characters as much as she did.

Not in front of talented, model millionaires.

"I'm sorry. I thought this was a reading."

"It is a reading," he insisted. He ducked his head and crossed his arms and smiled at her again. Lexy had to look down to keep from disappointing him. Those damn dimples.

She felt awful turning him down. But there was so much about the day that wasn't turning out right. Her car, her first day in Los Angeles. And here she was, about to tear up in front of this singer who had to share his work with everyone.

"I'm really sorry, Harry. It's just been a long day. I really thought this was just going to be a regular reading at a bookstore. My publicist, she never really told me, like, what this event was, or I probably would've been really prepared. But I think everyone wants to listen to you. Not me." She opened her purse and pulled out the printed-out pages she'd rendered just for her readings—she didn't know a single author who didn't at least tweak their writing somewhat before reading. "I don't even have those paragraphs with me. I only have chapter one."

Harry took the creased paper from her, frowning down at it. They had her scribbles all over it. Her first chapter had a lot of dialogue, and it was never the best for reading out loud.

But from the expression on Harry's face, you'd think that she'd just taken all of the magic out of it.

She was just about to say as much when the music changed, and her ears perked up. She frowned at the beat. "Is that—"

"Yeah," Harry said, still dejectedly frowning down at the papers. "Never get far from your roots, right?"

"That's what they say," she sighed.

Harry glanced up at quizzically but didn't ask for clarification. He handed the papers back to her. "Look, if you don't want to read, you don't have to. I'd be honored if you would, but I understand if you won't."

She nodded at him, folded the papers back in her bag, and took another sip of her water.

"Harry, love," a man called, walking into the kitchen. This man had brown hair and a long face, and a dark-haired woman at his side. Both of them were dressed—much better than she was.

Harry's face lit up and he set his glass on the counter. "Mitch! Maia! Well, you both look lovely!"

He walked over to them and Lexy took a step back, observing the way he interacted with them. The couple seemed completely at ease around him and it was obvious they'd known each other a while. Before Harry could turn to introduce her to them, Lexy had already set her water on the counter and left the room. She skirted in between the crowds of people, wondering why she'd always thought black was the classiest of colors, yet literally everyone in the room was dressed colorfully. That familiar urge to run away was strong, and she just told herself to get out of the room, and that no one would remember her.

The last chords of What Makes You Beautiful ended, and she vaguely registered the sound of something else start—an older tune, one that she was certain she'd heard before.

There was a group of people standing by the door, but she was able to open it and get out by not paying attention to the looks that they gave her.

More people were out on the porch. Did Harry really have that many friends? They were all laughing, clearly happy to be invited, and here she was running away.

She took the steps two at a time and nearly knocked herself over, sprinting to her car. She yanked open the door and got inside, slamming it back closed. She pressed the lock button, then tried to regain control of her breathing.

There were moments in life that suddenly took her over. It had been like that her entire life. When the air from her lungs would disappear and suddenly feel like there was a valve closed. And while she did have asthma when she was younger, she knew that this wasn't that. She took deep, deep breaths and tried to regain herself.

But the pain was too strong. It came quickly, the way her wrist broke in fourth grade when she fell off her bike and took over her body like it was an epidemic, consuming every organ.

She had to get out of there.

She rummaged through her bag for her keys, landing on her phone, her mirror, her makeup. For the most part, everything Lexy owned was somewhere in her car. It wasn't easy to know what you would need on a three-month trip across the country. At last she found them and jammed them into the car.

Two breaths.

She could feel the steering wheel beneath her hands.

Two breaths.

She could hear the people from the porch laughing, unseen behind the row of rovers in front of her car.

Two breaths.

She could smell the leather of her car, the sun-burnt smell it had acquired from being years old.

Two breaths.

She could see the scent ornament hanging down from her mirror, a green pine tree.

Deep down, Lexy knew why she felt like this. It had come back so suddenly now that she could breathe again—the way it felt to first hear it in the auditorium, how much it hurt, afterwards, almost in hindsight, to hear Mr. Mack, the principal, stumbling over those two words. He couldn't seem to figure out the best phrase, so he said them all. Is dead. Has passed away. Has died. Lexy stared ahead at the little ornament hanging off the mirror and tried not to think of the blue curtains in the auditorium. Or the ugly carpet that covered the floor. That little ornament was meant to smell of pumpkin, but the scent had gone away somewhere in Illinois, and if she stared at it long enough, the auditorium went away and she was alone in her Toyota.

She took another deep breath, convinced she would never again think of Harry Styles, or One Direction, or the night again once she had the opportunity to yell at Samantha—her publicist. She reached forward and turned the key.

But of course, in the spirit of the night, it wouldn't start.

Lexy laid her head upon the steering wheel.

She'd at least have to stop crying before she called her dad, lest he buy a flight and come all the way to LA to lose his job. And what use was being in a healthy state of mind if she destroyed her family’s, too? 

A/N: lmk what you think/thoughts/feelings etc etc 

[freckled-words]

Repost: Smoke and Blood

I’ve renamed this fic, which was originally “Monster Mash”...I think? It was a title that didn’t work for the story anyways XD

Edited by @the-wild-ego

‘This makes the fourth victim this month. Police are advising everyone to refrain from traveling alone at night until a culprit is caught. If you must travel at night please stay to populated areas. Now to the weather, Jim?’

You clicked off the TV frowning. You’d been keeping close tabs on the recent attacks. So far, no one had died, but people were going to the hospital comatose. More concerning was the reported blood loss, which had been mentioned in a leaked post online.

It was times like these that you wished you didn’t have the night shift at the gas station. And you definitely wished you were able to drive. Instead, you had to walk to work, sure it was only 20 minutes down the street, but it was still 20 minutes out in the open alone.

You glanced at the clock, it was near 8:30 pm. You had to leave for your shift that started at 9.

The nights had grown colder as it went on October. Bundled up with a scarf and lightweight coat against the slight wind you set to a brisk pace. The sun had set already, and the streetlights were on. With it being a Sunday night you took more notice of how quiet it was. The trees alongside the sidewalk rustled with their drying leaves from the slight wind. Someone opened and closed their car door, the slam as they closed making you jump.

Your own shadow stretched this way and that with each lamp you walked under.

Each step closer towards the gas station was another step further from home. If something happened you’d rather be able to reach home. You didn’t have any unknown variables to worry about at home.

The gas station doors would be locked by the time you reached it, your co-worker had to let you in. This wouldn’t be an issue if your co-worker wasn’t prone to taking personal phone calls behind the snack shelves. If a customer didn’t run over the bell line, they could take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes on the phone!

You were halfway there now. You just had to cross the street, pass the abandoned house, and the scary ass garage, then a couple more blocks and you were there.

You shifted from foot-to-foot at the crosswalk. You felt a tiny bit safer here since the traffic camera would have visual of you. For once, Big Brother was serving a purpose you appreciated and wanted to count on.

As soon as the crosswalk changed you dashed across the street. You kept some of that speed as you continued on. You could see the gas station up ahead as one of the few buildings illuminated.

You kept it in sight, your head lowered and your legs pumping. It was your end goal, the finish line of safety.

‘Squee!’

Your steps faltered, looking to the right you found yourself in front of the abandoned house and it's creepy garage. For as long as you’ve lived here the place has never had a tenant, and every year it got more run down and weather-beaten.

‘Squee!’

You weren’t an expert, but that definitely sounded like an animal in distress. Glancing at your phone you saw you’d been making a good time. ‘If it's hurt and could be saved it might be worth the look.’ You had a bleeding heart when it came to animals. You’d go out of your way more than once in the past to take in a stray cat or dog. You’d saved a bird’s nest, relocated a snake, and sheltered a mouse at one point.

‘Squee! Squee!’

You couldn’t turn your back on an animal in distress. You gave the gas station one more glance then turned for the garage. The animal’s cry was echoing a bit, and you could see that the door was open on the side of the building.

You didn’t want to startle the animal, making you step lightly towards the doorway. There was a streetlight just in front of the garage. It’s yellowish light reached into the doorway and illuminated some of the concrete floors. Getting closer you could see a tiny struggling body just on the edge of the light. It was a common little brown bat.

It was laying belly down on the floor, its right wing curled into its side with its left wing extended. You’d never seen a bat this close up before, only in videos. You crouched down low and approached the bat cautiously, “Hey little guy, what’s going on with you?”

Its ears wiggled, it shifted its body trying to push itself away.

Your attention narrowed in on the distressed animal you’d walked clear of the doorway. You took another crouched step closer to the bat.

The door slam closed, cutting off your exit and the light into the garage. Spinning around you scanned the darkness, “Who’s there?!”

You heard a flutter of wings, the bat that had been prone on the floor was apparently able to fly just fine. ‘A trap?’

Although you were blind without the light, he wasn’t.

He’d remained tucked in the shadows just next to the door when you came in. He hadn’t been entirely sure his plan would work, yet it seemed it was his lucky night. It was cruel of him to startle you so, but the sound of your heart racing was positively beautiful. Each frantic pulse was more blood coursing through those veins.

Prowling around you in a circle he stationed himself behind you, “Sorry for the crude tactics, I just couldn’t resist.”

You spin, your eyes frantically searched for the voice’s owner. Hugging yourself you took hesitant steps back to where you hoped the door was. If not you could at least get your back against the wall. “If this is some sort of prank, you’re a jerk. Let me out, or I’ll call the police.”

“How do you plan to do that without your phone?” He’d swiped it in passing. Now he held it up and turned on the screen, the sudden light making you close your eyes and turn your head.

His steps were without sound as he advanced.

You didn’t need to see him, you felt him when he stopped just in front of you. His hand took hold of your chin, tilting it up and to the side to expose your throat.

This closes your eyes adjusted just enough to make out his outline. Tall, lean, long bangs and hair that hung straight near down to his shoulders.

Even in the dark, his gaze was effective. Smirking as he held your eyes and keeping your body locked against your will. His free hand brushed a knuckle over your cheek, “I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised such a kind-hearted mortal came this way so late. I've been growing bored with the drug users. They have a funny aftertaste. Like diet soda. I wonder, what will you taste like? I'm hoping bacon and eggs. All that iron with a touch of sodium.” Thinking about it made him hum with want. He licked his lips as he worked up his own appetite.

‘Why can't I move?!’ You felt your mind connecting to your body, but nothing budged. The only result was a sniffled whimper from your throat.

“Shhh, you won't feel it. I promise. When I'm done you'll take a nice long nap, and when you wake up in a month...or a year...You won't remember this happened at all.” His voice lowered to an intimate whisper as he lowered his lips to your throat.

He opened his mouth, his fangs extended towards your main artery.

The door exploded clear of the frame. A stream of smoke collided with the man holding you, sending him sliding across the room.

His gaze broken from you your body sagged to the floor. Light flooded into the garage once more.

“Hey Rip Off, I've got a bone to pick with you.”

As your eyes adjusted you had to wonder what kind of whacked out world you lived in.

On the far side of the room, who you had to assume was your assailant was a young man in black dress pants, a white collared button shirt, and a black leather jacket that had seen many years of use. In the light, his irises were a startling shade of ruby red. His mouth was slanted in a smug smile.

Standing directly in front of you was your assailant’s twin. Same exact face, his hair was cut short on the sides with a fringe of bangs swept back. Dressed in jeans, and a t-shirt he was almost normal in comparison. Except his eyes had grey smoke floating out of them, obscuring his irises. His expression clearly read, “Pissed.”

Leather Jacket relaxed back on his heels, “If it isn't my baby bro. Nate-something or another right? Sorry for not dropping by to introduce myself, it was on my to-do list.”

“Cut the crap! You’re making hits in my territory, and it's bringing the heat on my ass.” The skin along his arms was building up a red glow. The inside of the garage began to feel muggy.

“Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you wouldn't mind if I thinned out your herd a bit.” He nodded towards you, instinctively you looked away to avoid eye contact.

You needed to get out of there! You didn't need to know who they were, they were clearly NOT human and shit was about to hit the paranormal fan.

The smoke guy advanced forward, “That's it, I'm melting your ass. I'll deform you so no one can mistake me for you again.” He lunged forward and Leather Jacket slid out of reach. As the battle engaged you took the opening. On your hands and knees, you hastily crawled for the open doorway.

There was the sound of flesh hitting flesh. The wall just behind you was destroyed as the smoke guy was sent through the drywall, support beam and aluminum tiles on the outside.

“Now really, NateMare, if you're going to pick a fight with your big brother, you better make it entertaining at least.” Leather Jacket chuckled and followed after the other man through the hole in the wall.

Reaching the doorway you peered around the frame and watched as the smoke guy turned into a literal cloud of smoke. It swarmed around Leather Jacket, and he just continued to laugh.

You got to your feet and took off running for the gas station. Behind you, you thought you could still hear swearing, laughter and something colliding with the ground.

You nearly ran straight through the glass door of the gas station, your body pressed flush against it you pounded on the door, “Let me in!”

Your co-worker jerked to attention off their phone and hurried over to let you in, “You're not that late for your shift.”

You scurried inside and slammed the door closed, relocking it you braced yourself against the cash counter.

“You okay? Did something happen?”

Before you could respond you felt the ground shake. A massive fireball went up in the air from the direction of the old house. Car alarms screamed. “Holy shit! What was that?!”

“There….there was a…..” you wanted to say ‘super-powered twins fighting’, but you weren't feeling inclined towards disbelieving looks. “There was a guy with a jerry can and a lighter hanging out by that old garage. He scared the crap out of me. I didn't think he was going to do that.”

Fire trucks and police cars came shrieking with their alarms down the street.

Your co-worker helped you over to the small stool in the corner, “You're lucky you ran when you did.”

“I know.”

[lifeofbouyd]

12 Years Anniversary

Fred: Yow, da gyal deh nice eno bwoy. Mi ago circle har enz an try get di digits.

He walked away, heading straight towards her. Walking as if he was going to collect a trophy. She was nice, really nice, that I must admit. She’s one of the nicest girls I had seen in a long time. Her hair was well done, her nails freshly painted or at least so they seemed. Her face, done to perfection and her dress, looked expensive. It swung a little above her ankles and rested perfectly on her body. Outlining her killer shape. She had a gold ring on her “wedding” finger and stainless steel on her pinky. I watched them greet each other and what actually caught my eyes was, how much of a lady she was. She seemed well groomed and too good for my liking. A “goody two shoes” was my first thought. Girls like these are normally either married, rich, or have a rich man taking care of them. I smelled trouble, yet there was so much desire. I felt like she was worth having. Not just for a night, but someone I’d be with for a while. They exchanged numbers as I pulled that fairytale thought from my mind. I hexed that shit. I was already in a sinking ship, no land in sight. I’d rather drown on my sinking ship that jumps across on her boat.

Fred: Yuh see how di genna work youth. Ago fuck that quick eno. Yuh zimi.

I humored him, knowing he normally never pulls through with these kinds of chicks. I’ve seen it one too many times to think differently. Fred was good when it comes to picking up girls, but he’s always had me as his role model. I was lucky when it came to women. Always getting the “better-looking ones”. Most of which turned out to be faces without priorities. I’ve had to learn the hard way that not all glitters is gold. Sometimes they’re not even gold filled. Days passed and I had forgotten about her. He didn’t mention her and I never remember to ask. I guess when you have your hands full it’s hard to keep up with likes. I spotted her one day staring at, and from the looks of it, she had been staring for a while. Taking in my presence as if she wanted me to say hi. I hadn’t heard him mention her I a while but I still didn’t want to take his link like that. I learned later that day that she had no interest in men. She considered them a total waste of her time and feels she’s better off with girls. Now I shared her view. I love girls just as much as she does. I’ve always had a Fetish for lesbian. Clean girly lesbians that is. I’d never fuck a butch even if she paid me to. I imagined all the things she’d do to me, and all the things I’d do to them. Mostly what I’d do to her. I still didn’t say hi for a while. I wanted to build the suspense between us and make the first conversation memorable. I planned it down to the very last second, every possible outcome, and I always walked away with her number. Again, I caught her watching me. Paying keen attention to me from head to toe. I got my convo together, but by the time I turned around again, she was gone. I argued with myself for a while until I accepted the fact that I was moving too slow. Again I forgot about her. Living my best life. Caught up chasing other chicks I was brave enough to start a conversation with.

Someone pats me in the shoulder.

Her: Hi, I’m Rachel. Wasn’t sure when you were gonna say hi, or if you ever would so I decided to be the first to say hi.

I took a few seconds to inhale her cologne and pay keen attention to her Weldon’s face, her pussy cheeks spreading over her pants crotch crease. Her breast sticking me in the face, her slippers which seemed she got it from House of Style or some other expensive women clothing outlet.

Her: 🙃 You can say hi you know. I won’t bite, at least not yet. I wanna get to know you first.

I froze. My palms got sweaty and heart heated like a fifty caliber gun. Well, she did say she wouldn’t bite me. At least not yet. Obviously, she was interested in getting to know me. But why me though? Of all the guys she could have, if all the guys that had been chasing her, why get to know me? I entertained her conversation and played it cool. Acting like I didn’t want her. Our conversations started off slow with basic texts and friendly flirting. Somehow she killed my urge by saying she Christian. I don’t mind dating Christians, but what I don’t like is someone consistently reminding me. She tried to get me to see eye to eye with her beliefs, but I just wasn’t ready to take that journey. I only plan on getting married and baptized once and I don’t intend to do it for the wrong reasons. We stopped talking for a while because I had decided not to chase her. It was more like respecting her religion and not trying to get between her legs. We went from 2:00 am calls to every other day texting. It became somewhat of a long distance relationship or friendship or whatever it was. I had accepted the fact that I wasn’t gonna have her, at least not as easy as I thought. In my mind, she would give me her number and I’d take her home and make her scream my name. But reality..... mmm. Reality is a bitch.

Lucky for me, I saw her one evening when I was buying dinner at a famous Chinese food place. I offered to pay for her food however, she ended up paying for mine. Trying to show she’s independent I guess. We sat and chat for a while which made me realize we had a lot in common. She braced her body against mine for the first time when she was leaving. She whispered in my ear, “This could be all yours if you’re a good boy.” She sent chills down my spine and made my dick rock hard. She ran her hand across the front of my pants and smiled. I didn’t know if it was a good or a bad smile but I’m sure I could drill a wall with my shaft. I walked her to her stand where she laid a wet “chups” on my forehead. You know that trickling feeling you get when electricity runs through your body? That’s the effect she had on me. We sext all night, building curiosity between us two. She told me how she wanted to make me cum all over her and sanctify her with my rod. Now, I don’t like to count my eggs before they hatch, but I considered it a done deal. A few days passed and the fetish became a relationship. One I’ll always remember. The funny thing about it is, I had no plans whatsoever to be in any form of ships. But I was too far out in the sea by the time I realized what I had gotten into. To be honest, I really didn’t mind. Everything seemed ok. She said there was no husband, no boyfriend, no girlfriend or anyone of that nature, and she never gave me a reason to doubt her. Before I knew it I was in love. Head over heels kind of love. Shit. I wanted to run but I couldn’t. She had me hooked on her like a coke headed drunky. We moved from occasional hugging and texting to kissing and phone sex. I knew girls were horny but damn, she had no stop in her. It would seem she hadn’t been eating for a while and was just trying to take all she could get. I was down for that.

I invited her over one weekend with intentions of fixing her business. I cleaned the place from floor to ceiling and made it smell like a five-star resort. I even did a fancy spread on the bed to sell the look. White fluffy carpet on the floor and breathtaking scented candles lit on the wall. I loaded an Amazon video for her to watch while I took a shower. I came out in nothing but my towel on, trying to look super sexy for her. I popped us a bottle of Grey Goose and made my deluxe mix with a bottle of Rosè. A sweet, lingering, sparkling mix. Halfway between the first glass, she was already half naked, making herself at home. She turned the movie off and started playing sex songs. I watched her stretch and touched her toes before whining out her bra and underwear. Squeezing her nipples and biting her lips. Now I’ve seen a lot of fat pussy in my life, but she had something different. “Too bad you don’t eat”, she said with a smirk on her face. But even I did, I’m sure I’d suffocate somewhere there 😂. She pulled the towel off and reached for my dick. She gently stroked it as she ran her tongue up and down my leg. I couldn’t help but hold her head each time she moved. The sensation was unbearable. She then sat on top and slid her pussy back and forth the length of my cock, causing her to get super wet. Less than a minute or two she had already cum. “No condom, no love”, she said. Sliding her self back and forth on my dick. I slid my hand in the pillowcase and pulled out three packs of condoms. Scented, glow in the dark and ribbed. I slipped a ribbed on and made her ride herself to another orgasm before flipping her over on her back. I pulled her to the edge of the bed and beat her clit with my shaft. That shit made her squirt. Her pussy was gushing cum and I hadn’t even started beating it up yet. I slid my way inside her and stroked her slow and deep. Holding her neck with one hand while I held her leg with the other. Her eyes rolled back, she screamed my name, she vibrated, and vibrated, and vibrated again. All this cumin made her weak. I had her lap her legs around my waist and her hands around my neck. Standing upright, I held her waist and pulled her back and forth the length of my shaft, causing her to squirt like a broken wipe. She released her hand from around my neck and almost hit the floor. All that fun had made her weak. I braced her against the wall, high enough to give her the full length of my dick. I kissed and fucked and sucked her nipples until she begged me to cum. I spread her legs wide and struck her like lightning until I exploded. Again, she flooded me. Squirting so much the floor was soaked. She was so tired she fell asleep the moment I put her back on the bed. She was knocked the fuck out.

I had to drive her home that night. She was too tired to even bathe herself. We fucked several times after that and had many picnic dates which made me want her even more. Who does a picnic and have sex in the bushes? Before I knew what hit me we were inseparable. Living the life. #Relationshipgoals #Happylife #Bae. I had given in, putting my heart on the line. Expecting hers in return. I had it, I’m sure I did. God knows I had it. But like everything else in my life, that got fucked too. I remember being home one weekend, watching a movie and texting some chicks when my phone rang. A random 876 number. I don’t normally answer numbers I don’t know, but this person was calling a number very few people have. It must be pretty important. What if it’s work? What if it’s an x I haven’t seen in a while and would love to bang again. I missed the first call. I figured if it was important they’d call again. My other Jamaican number started ringing. To my surprise, it was the same number. Obviously, this person wanted something so I answered. I stayed mute and so did the caller. The call ran for like two minutes before the caller said hello.

Caller: Bouyd.... Hello, is this Bouyd?

Me: Who dis?

Caller: You don’t know me but I know you. I’m calling to warn you before you get too deep and something happens to you.

Me: What? Warn me? From who? Who’s this?

Caller: I’m Craig, Rachel’s man.

Me: Which Rachel?

Caller: The someone you tucked last week and dropped off after eleven.

Me: 😳🙄🤭😏🤤. I chuckled to myself for a few before responding. Oh, that Rachel, I know her pretty well. I see you know a lot.

Caller: Yes. I watched you follow her in and squeezed her ass at the door before leaving. I could have knocked you out but I chose not to.

Me: 😂🤣😳🤔 now this is serious. How could he possibly know this? Was he actually there? I bet this is a prank call. Breda, wa yuh want? Mi nuh run certain joke eno bad man. Talk fast or walk fast eno.

Caller: A loud mouth won’t help you son.

I hissed my teeth and ended the call. Who does he think he is? Calling me so late at night to talk about rubbish. At the same time, I was worried. He spoke facts. He knew exactly what I did. I did see a white car parked across the street that night that wasn’t normally there. He messaged me on WhatsApp to answer my phone. Like wtf? How did he even get my WhatsApp number? He called again and I answered. He explained who he was and how he fits in the big picture. He made me tea how long he’s been paying attention to my movements. He knew when we fucked, where we fucked, where we went on dates and even some stuff I’ve only told her. What stood out to me most was when he said, “I could have hurt you so many times but I chose not to because I figured she played you well. He sent me pictures to prove his speech and gave me very detailed information that he had acquired about over a few weeks. I didn’t know what to do. “Now that you know, it’s up to you to decide what you do from here.” He said good night and hung up.

Leaving me in suspense. A million questions ran through my messages be. How could she do this to me? How did a twelve years relationship fit in our four months of dating? Is that even possible? She never slipped up, she never gave me a reason to doubt her. She made me believe that I could have someone for me, myself and I. She made me open up and let her in. Shit 😔. Did I shit in a fucking church or something? Don’t I deserve to be happy without hiccups too. Sigh 😔. Where did I go wrong? Did I fall for her too quickly, did I put my basket where I can’t reach it, is this karma, did I hurt someone who God wants me to repent for? What do I say to her? Should I stay with her, is it safe. I thought with both my heads as I wanted to ensure I made the right decision. I loved her and I love fucking her, but is it worth my life? Would she die for me? What would she do if she was in my shoes? Do I even mention this to her? Sigh 😔. I stayed all night wondering if he had followed me home and was outside waiting for me to act us to ambush me 🤔. She called me several times but I didn’t answer. Could it be a test? What if he was using her phone to call me to see if I would answer? What if she was calling me to say it was a prank? I grew paranoid. He told me to be patient until I see her and I will see that everything he told me was true. So said so done. The new hair do courtesy of, the brand new phone and the marks on her neck. I wanted it to be a joke, I wanted her not to show up the way he said she would. I swallowed my heart that day. Tears ran down my cheeks and I couldn’t stop crying. Why was I crying though? It’s not like it’s first I’ve fucked a nigga’s chick. What was so special about her that I didn’t want to share? Then it hit me, it’s simply because I had fallen in love with an illusion she created. She had created me a photoshop life in 3D. I told her what happened and I told her how I felt. Shit, I even had the guts to say it was over.

She tried for weeks to explain that they were no longer together but I was beyond her white lies. She sent sexy pictures to make me miss fucking her, which I actually did. But I just couldn’t see past what happened. I guess I felt like I was cheated out the chance to choose to date her while she had someone. I would have felt a lot better if she had told me this from the start. I wouldn’t have had my expectations so high. She taught me a lesson that will part me through life. A woman knows what she wants and she knows just how to get it. Women don’t get caught cheating unless they want to get caught, and a woman will create the life she thinks you want to live.i could have lost my life, #Dead. To top it off she said I was ungrateful. She had put her life in jeopardy to be with me and I repaid her by breaking up with her and taking his side. But if she did that to him, what would she do to me? He had the house, the money, the car and I had nothing but a good old dick. I guess that’s what she wasn’t at home.

Life isn’t always about what you can offer. Everybody want vanity, but if they ain’t getting the amount of attention, sex or fun that they’re looking for; “bun” will be your best friend.

[sofhyuck]

Terrace House!AU Haechan

Genre: fluff, bullet point scenario

Word Count: 1.8k

A/N please read the introduction first!

when you were dropped off at the house you completely expected to be the first to arrive seeing as it was 4 in the morning

but when you opened the door you saw another pair of shoes in the foyer and could hear someone moving around the kitchen

all previous fatigue left your body because shit you were not expecting human interaction this early in the morning you just wanted to slip into bed and s l e e p

your brain was going full throttle trying to think of ways to slip around the mystery person and just hide in your room when the front door slammed closed behind you, crushing all hopes of escape in its wake

you froze, luggage in hand, as the kitchen turned silent

a head slowly peaked around the corner and holy shit the sun rose early today because right in front of you was none other than lee donghyuck, sunny boi haechan himself

his smile nearly blinded you, a soft ‘hello’ fell past your lips

however, upon making eye contact with you, haechan’s smile faltered, a greeting failing to leave him

marking it up to a lack of sleep, you quickly introduced yourself before excusing yourself to your room

a few hours later and you finally felt rested enough to go out and meet the rest of your housemates, plus someone was cooking and it smelled absolutely wonderful

while making yourself presentable, you were able to meet your roommates as they were floating in and out of the bedroom

they were both lovely, one a fashion designer and the other a graduate student studying agriculture idk this was the first thing i thought of

after cleaning up a little you left the room and headed towards the kitchen where your roommates had informed you everyone had gathered

as soon as you entered the room you were once again greeted with haechan’s smiling face

he was sat at the table chatting with the fashion designer and another male figure who looked around your age

his eyes locked with yours and suddenly he froze, causing his two companions to turn and face you

your roommate���s face lit up in delight, glad that “you finally decided to grace us with your presence!” 

a small laugh escaped you and you settled into the only available seat left remaining, next to the male who introduced himself as jihoon, an aspiring artist, the same age as yourself

upon discovering you were the same age the table filled with teasing “ooh’s” from your surrounding housemates, all except haechan

he shifted uncomfortably in his seat while you hid your face in embarrassment

after everyone settled down, introductions were made and you all began to break off into your own conversations, all except for hyuck

every attempt you made to engage him was brushed off with one worded answers

you and jihoon found common ground in your love for hiking, your agriculture major roommate, aeri, joining the conversation halfway through

slowly the kitchen began to empty and you found yourself alone with hyuck

before you could even open your mouth, he stood up abruptly and rushed out of the room, mumbling something about being late for practice, leaving you flustered in your seat

weeks passed and your bond with jihoon and aeri grew, but still no luck with haechan

it seemed that everyone in the house except for you was his best friend

every time it was the two of you alone in a room, he suddenly became flustered and made up an excuse to leave

you did your best to remain unbothered, it would be a lie if you said you had no feelings for hyuck, i mean he was your bias but no one needed to know that 

all you could do was pray the production team wouldn’t make you look like an idiot once the footage aired nobody wants angry fangirls coming for their ass

you did your best to ignore the awkward interactions and hung out mostly with jihoon and aeri

you grew closer with each day, and when jihoon told you he liked aeri you almost woke the whole house with how loudly you fangirled

aeri had just told you she was gaining feelings for jihoon a few days before so obviously you took this as your initiative to set the two up since you had basically given up all hope on your love life rip hyuck wyd get your act together

so you decided to do something you all loved: hiking ik this a weird choice i just need it for the purpose of this fic and i now realize this could have worked with yuta better pls give me a break

so you find the perfect trail and plan everything out perfectly and you tell jihoon and aeri about this amazing new trail and you should all go together!!! and they’re like hell yEa!!!!

but then jihoon suggests you invite hyuck bc he happens to have a day off that day and he seems really stressed and a nice hike could help clear his mind lol @ hanbin and well you’d feel like an ass if you said no so you hesitantly agree

and jihoon’s all great!!! bc he sees this as his chance to set you and hyuck up he’s roommates with the kid he knows he has feelings for you silly kids so oblivious to each other’s feelings

so that’s how you end up on a hike with haechan while simultaneously trying to set up your two best friends

part of said plan was to tie your shoe and tell them to go ahead without you, leaving the two alone, but now you have no idea how to do that with hyuck there as well

the four of you begin your trek up the mountain making small talk aka jihoon trying to get hyuck to talk to you

and miraculously, somehow it works bc now you and hyuck are having a small conversation

but the whole time you’re glancing up at jihoon to make sure the two of you are falling behind

unbeknownst to you haechan is getting annoyed bc you’re talking to him pay attention to him >:( also he’s highkey jealous of your friendship with jihoon and he’s convinced you like jihoon despite him constantly telling hyuck it’s not like that

as the distance between the two groups grows you can feel hyuck growing more and more frustrated with you and he begins to speed up

assuming he’s frustrated because you’re slowing him down, you finally decide to reveal your plan to him

you scramble to catch up to him, not paying attention to the terrain and woops there goes your ankle

you let out a small cry and hyuck’s head whips around to see you sitting and cradling your foot

boi frEaks tf OuT

he turns to call for jihoon and aeri but they’re already out of sight and he doesn’t want to leave you alone so he zOOmS down to you

“don’t you hike all the time i thought you were supposed to be good at this?”

“ShuT UP hYUcK i’m in PAIN” you yell at him and he blushes bc a) you’re cute when angry and b) you called him hyuck omg he’s so soft for you

but he snaps out of it bc the love of his life you’re hurt!

since he’s a dancer he’s no stranger to injuries, especially rolled ankles

he props your ankle up while the camera crew calls for help

and you’re just sat there mumbling on about how “well this is one way to make the plan work”

and he looks over at you confused bc “what plan?? wait omg did you bring me out here to kiLL mE IS THAT WHY YOU WERE SLOWING US DOWN????”

but you’re just like omg no hyuck i was trying to get jihoon and aeri alone so they would cOnFEsS!

ad he’s just like...oh...but...don’t you like jihoon why would you want to set them up?

and at this point you completely forget about your ankle bc you want to slap the obliviousness out of his head

“no i don’t like him why would i be trying to set him up with aeri if i did??”

“well that’s wHY i was AsKInG!!!”

“ no i don’t like him i like you you idiot”

911 hyuck found dead on a mountain his heart exploded

you both just freeze while the production team is just smiling bc damn this episode is going to get the views to sKyrOCket

now hyuck is all (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ while you’re all (⊙ω⊙✿) bc fuck you just confessed to this boi who hasn’t even spoken to you before today

but hyuck just sits back on his heels and huffs and gets all pouty so now you’re all confusion bc y is this boy sad does he hAtE mE OH MY GOD

but then hyuck just goes “this whole time i thought you liked jihoon and i was too shy to talk to you so i thought i lost all chance with you but this whole time you liked me why am i so dumb oh my god the guys are never going to let me live this one down-”

and you know what you do to shut him up? a kiss on the CHEEk girlies not the lips consent is number one

and he blushes oooh boy and production crew is about to diE bc they know they’re getting a season renewal after this episode

eventually jihoon and aeri come down bc they noticed you guys went missing smh they were too wrapped up in each other

and they’re holding hands and smiling and you’re just like hell yea that’s my otp except they notice the paramedics around you so they’re all concerned but you’re just like nah fam it’s fine anyways tell me what happened on top of the mountain hmmmm ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

and they go on about how it was so romantic and you’re eating up until they noticed you and hyuck holding hands and now it’s their turn to interrogate you two

somehow you all make it off the mountain and your ankle was fine just need to ice it and you’ll be all good

a few days later after your ankle is 100% you and hyuck go on your first official date 

you get dinner and then walk around hongdae a bit before returning home and chill watching the tv

but hyuck can’t focus bc you just look so prEtTY and you can’t focus bc omg why is this boy staring at me???

you look over at him and make eye contact bc, well, he can’t take his eyes off of you

time freezes and you both slowly lean into each other until your lips meet

the kiss doesn’t last long bc you both can’t stop smiling

meanwhile the cameramen are all crying bc yall are just too cute and the producers are ready to be rolling in cash

the rest of the show is spent with you guys and jihoon and aeri fighting over who’s the real otp of the show while the other two housemates just watch in amusement like “oh these kids”

Masterlist

[sardonicnihilism]

A Biography of the Woman Who Never Was

Part 4 The Adult

Chapter 2

Shannon studied herself in the mirror. Her hair was much shorter now. It was also much curlier as well. Once she had gotten it cut, it naturally sprung up into thick ringlets which made her hair look even shorter. It barely hung down to her shoulders. Her makeup was decent, her black dress was nice but not too formal. Her stockings looked good, and her short heeled shoes looked classy but would still enable her to dance (if such a wretched thing was called for). If it wasn't for her weight, she might have considered herself beautiful.

It was Saturday, December 16th, 2006. Sam's work was having a Christmas party and he really wanted them to go. Shannon hated parties in general and work parties in specific. The schmoozing, pretend comradery, the mixture of bad food, drinks, music, and conversations made her want to break as many things as she could get her hands on. She didn't even have the luxury of disappearing into a drunken stupor since she didn't drink alcohol. Still, if it meant something for Sam, she would do it.

"My god, you look amazing," Sam said in legitimate awe of his wife's appearance.

"Meh, I guess I look ok for an old, fat broad," she replied in disgusted indifference.

Sam walked over, put his arms around her, and kissed her on the cheek. "You look great for any woman," he said.

Shannon turned around and and returned his kiss with a quick peck on the cheek. "Well, we might as well go and get this abortion over with," she sighed.

"Ah, you're a master wordsmith my love," he joked, and the two started to leave.

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

The party was in a local restaurant/bar the company had rented out. It was too dark, the sound system was too loud, but at least the food was halfway decent. The seating was assigned, which Shannon thought was weird but as long as the other people she would be forced to sit with weren't complete assholes, she guessed it would be ok. Luckily Sam did most of the talking, leaving her to only chime in every once in a while with spousal affirmation.

After the meal, there were the normal speeches from management about how hard everyone worked, how grateful they were, and how next year would be even better. Empty words since the regular employees never saw the actual fruits of their labor. Parties are ok, but increased pay and benefits would be better. Of course, since those would actually cut into management's ability to buy another yacht, that would never happen. Shannon wondered what would happen if she stood up and shouted, "workers of the world unite", but figured the reference would be lost on most of these dickheads and would probably get Sam fired. Still, the thought made her quietly chuckle a bit.

After the speeches, came some games. Sam won thirty dollars playing one of them. And then came the prerequisite of all office parties - karaoke. One by, tipsy employees went up to make asses out of themselves by caterwalling off key to homogeneous pop songs.

Sam suggested she should go up there since she was a musician. She reminded him that she was a drummer, not a vocalist, but by then the rest of the table was pushing her on.

Reluctantly, she got up and went over to the DJ's booth. She scrolled through the endless parade of shit until she found not only a good song, but a great song. She pointed it out to the DJ who looked at her quizzically, like are you sure about this? Shannon nodded enthusiastically.

Soon the opening strands of *Sick Things* by Alice Cooper started and with everything she had in her, she started growling along in a death metal voice that would have made Chris Barnes take notice. The DJ feverishly twisted knobs and moved levers, thinking it was his sound system shorting out. Everyone just stopped and looked at this fat chick growling like she's been possessed by Satan himself. Some laughed nervously, some just stared in shock, most just looked on in horrified confusion.

After she was done, the DJ gave her a massive grin and said, "The way you sang that song was sinister as fuck!" Shannon thanked him and returned to her table.

The rest of the night went along fairly standard. More pop songs were played and people tried to dance. Shannon consented to one slow dance with Sam, and then went to the bathroom. As she was sitting in the stall, hiding out, two women walked in.

"Gawd, who the fuck was that fat, Jewish bitch who gargled that shitty song out? She doesn't work for us, does she?" The one said with a slight, valley girl accent.

"Nah. She's Sam's wife. Poor guy. I wonder if she sounds like that when they're fucking?" The other replied in a more New England, upper crust accent.

Next came a slapping sound and the first replying, "Ugh! Don't make me think of that fat bitch naked."

The two went on like that for a bit while Shannon contemplated going out there and bashing their heads together until the bathroom was completely covered in blood and brain matter. Eventually they went into the stalls beside her and Shannon walked out and washed her hands.

"I guess I do look a little Fran Dresher-ish," she said under her breath.

As soon as she returned to the table, she called the waiter over and downed a glass of champagne. Then another. And another. And another.

"Hey, hey now," Sam said with concern when he saw what his wife was doing. "You're not used to that. I'm gunna have to pick you off the floor if you keep going like that."

Shannon glared at him. "Take me the fuck home now or be prepared to roll me out later," she said with a seething rage.

Sam didn't know what was going on but decided option number one was by far the best one.

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

The entire drive home, Shannon said nothing. She just sat in the passenger seat, looking out the window. As soon as they got home, she got out, slammed the door hard enough to make it rock, and stormed inside and up to their bedroom.

Sam followed cautiously behind. It was obvious that she was worked up over something, but he didn't want to pry immediately and make it worse. He hung his jacket up and put his keys on the table. He went upstairs and stopped outside the bedroom door, where he heard Shannon crying. He slowly opened the door and walked in.

"Hey love, you want to talk?" he asked timidly.

Shannon shook her head but started talking, the champagne from earlier starting to take full effect.

"I. . . I, I was in the bathroom and two fucking bitches come in, not knowing I was there, and started to say how ugly and fat I was and I was back in fucking high school all fucking over again." Shannon began to wail in sorrow.

Sam sat down and put his arm around her. "Hey now, don't you listen to them. I don't know who they are, but I know they aren't half as beautiful as you are."

"DON'T LIE TO ME!" Shannon screamed. She then grabbed her stomach fat. "This is why I was alone in school. This is why I was hated, teased, bullied. This ruined my life! I thought I'd gotten rid of it. I thought I controlled it. But it's back and I'm back! Back to being nothing again, to being a monster again!"

Sam turned Shannon's head to face him. His face was calm and sweet. "Look at me. I don't lie. From the first day I saw you in the library, I thought you were the most beautiful woman I had ever seen and I haven't seen anything yet. Every night, I go to bed, thanking the universe for allowing me to know you, and I wake up every morning doing the same. You're not just beautiful, but funny, smart, kind, loving; I'd be lost if I didn't have you. You're not a monster but my love."

Shannon looked at him in loving disbelief. "Honest?" she asked softly.

"With all me heart." He then leaned over and started kissing her.

To her surprise, Shannon was actually enjoying it. She also enjoyed it when his kisses started to become more passionate and his hands started to move across her body. She pulled him in and started kissing his cheek, chin, neck. For the first time, she wanted him, sexualy, viscerally.

They moved and pushed each other to greater and higher levels of physical pleasure than they had ever done before. It capped off with Shannon doing something she had never done before - taking the top. As she rode him, Sam suddenly remembered that he didn't put a condom on.

"Babe, I don't have a rubber on and I'm getting ready to go," he said with a sense of urgency.

"I don't fucking care," Shannon replied, lost in her own pleasure. "I want it. I want you to fucking cum in me. Fucking fill me up with it. Give me every drop."

And with that, Sam didn't even try to hold back and exploded inside her, his whole body shaking in orgasmic rapture. As soon as Shannon felt him go, she replied in kind before falling off of him in exhaustion.

They fell asleep in each other's arms, the night's passion quickly forgotten in fog of alcoholic memory until March when the consequences of that night became fully known.

[lydiastormborn]

title: keep the door open for me (1/2)

ship: jaykyle

summary: a chance meeting after years leads kyle to strike up a relationship he'd have never expected to have with jason todd. and, to his own surprise, he's more than just a little willing to keep it.

a/n: set in a pre-flashpoint continuity with some stuff taken from new 52. maybe kyle and jason aren’t as hopeless at developing and managing a relationship as one could think. (maybe.)

[on ao3]

Kyle hasn’t been back on Earth for a while and he misses it. Space is engrossing, of course, with how often there’s something that needs to be taken care of immediately before it escalates into an intergalactic conflict, but some time off sounds good. He’d go as far as to say he deserves it.

And considering it now, as he blocks an angry blow with a spiked mace to his torso, Kyle thinks he needs his vacation to start right at this very moment.

What he told Carol before she left to deal with another crisis was, “I will handle this,” and that’s how he ended up fighting an angry army on a planet which is far away from civilization even by his standards. A voice that sounds suspiciously like Guy’s keeps nagging him at the back of his mind, repeating, You always get into that kind of situations.

The worst thing, he can’t even argue with that.

All things considered, Kyle thinks he’s been handling himself pretty well up until now. Then again, there’s a limit of things he can have under control and apparently an upcoming decapitation is not one of them. Feeling exhausted, Kyle admits that his only coherent thought at that moment is, I really wanted to eat some enchiladas just one more time.

But then there’s a flash of neon violet and his would-be killer goes down. Kyle whips around and though technically he knows it can’t be Carol or any other Star Sapphire, even if only for the fact the violet beam was different, he’s still surprised when an arrow flies past his head and explodes further down the path, making the soldiers scramble and yell.

A shadow towers over him and Kyle squints as he hears a distorted, amused voice say, “I gotta admit, green trunks were okay, but I think white suits you in more ways than one, Rayner.”

It takes him a moment, but Kyle finally realizes that it’s Starfire and Arsenal (or is it Red Arrow again? -- he can’t quite keep track of Roy’s codenames) wreaking havoc among hostile forces as the Red Hood stands in front him and asks, in a tone that definitely suggests he’s smirking under the helmet, “Need a hand getting up, Lantern?”

Kyle has a feeling he’s not going to live this one down.

…

“It’s a nice ship,” Kyle says much later, after things are said and done, stepping into a control room after taking a hot, blessed shower aboard.

Koriand’r, floating slightly above one of the chairs as she’s eating something, smiles at him. “Thank you, I’m glad someone appreciates it,” she answers, casting a sidelong glance at Roy, who proceeds to jokingly shove at her.

“But we do,” he protests, crossing his arms over his chest. He seems to have changed out of his uniform only halfway and the effect is ridiculous. “It’s still in one piece. Give us some credit, Kory.”

“I will, once you stop trying to give it unnecessary boosts,” she replies dryly and looks over Kyle’s shoulder. “Stop frowning and finally come in, Jason.”

Kyle startles, starts to turn around, but then there’s an angry shuffle of heavy boots on the floor and Jason passes him by, a scowl on his face. As he takes a seat near the control console, Kyle notices he’s still in his Red Hood getup, sans the helmet, or a domino mask, for that matter.

“Are you annoyed because you didn’t get to shoot more aliens?” Roy asks, raising an eyebrow. “We thought you’d enjoy playing the rescuer part, considering…”

“Shut it, Harper,” Jason interrupts him decidedly, but with not much bite. His fingers run over the keys and he pulls up a screen with a map as Kyle concludes, coming closer. “Why the fuck are we headed back to Earth?” he asks, incredulous. “We left not even two weeks ago.”

“Yeah, but from what Kyle mentioned in passing, we figured he could use some time home,” Roy says.

“He can fly himself back there just fine,” Jason grumbles under his breath, glaring up at him.

“Thanks guys, that’s really nice of you,” Kyle answers, voice light as he pointedly ignores Jason. If he wants to be difficult, fine, Kyle isn’t going to indulge him -- though the urge to snap back is strong. Then again, when it isn’t around Jason Todd. “I wouldn’t like to impose or make you change your plans, though,” he adds, sitting down in one of the chairs.

“Don’t worry.” Roy waves a hand dismissively. “We’re just flying around now, the only reason we were near that planet was because Kory wanted to check it out for Tamaraneans, but I guess that ship has sunken,” he states, looking back to her.

She nods. “That wasn’t a good sector,” she says simply, a little disappointed. She looks at Jason then, adding, “Besides, it’s better to be around in case of an emergency.”

“I told you, unless the next call comes from Oracle, I’m not even gonna consider moving my ass anywhere,” Jason answers, having pulled up another screen and working on something. Kyle hopes he’s not going to break anything, with how unnecessarily hard he’s tapping the keys, but Koriand’r just raises her eyebrows. “Fricking Batman could ask us for help and I’d just laugh and flip him off.”

“You’re still mad about that time we got a distress signal from Dick and it turned out he was out of cereal, aren’t you,” she states. Roy snorts when Jason just straight up refuses to answer.

“If Oracle calls, you do come, even if only because it’s Oracle,” Roy counters. “Besides, if it was Batgirl or Black Bat, I know you’d come, too.”

“I resent that statement,” Jason replies without missing a beat. “They both can handle themselves just fine and I highly doubt they’d call us if they couldn’t.”

“Oh, ye of little faith,” Roy mutters with a smirk, sliding into a chair near Kyle’s as he massages his shoulder. It’s the one with his bionic arm, Kyle can’t help but notice. As if following his train of thought, Roy shrugs and says quietly, “It aches sometimes.”

Kyle doesn’t really have a good answer to that. He still finds this particular situation bizarre; he knew he was somewhat out of loop with superhero community on Earth as of late, but he really had no idea that Starfire, Arsenal and Red Hood, out of all people, teamed up, and it must have been a thing for some time now. As far as Kyle was aware, both Koriand’r and Roy always stuck with Nightwing and kept to hero side of line, rather than anti-hero. (Although, he also knows that after Lian’s death, Roy strayed off -- but it’s been a few years and Kyle doesn’t think it’s something he should bring up.)

Jason, however, well. From what Kyle glimpsed of his body armour earlier, there’s a red symbol on his chest that Kyle is just now realizing is probably bat-shaped, but that doesn’t give him much. In all honesty, he has no idea what Jason’s been up to lately and it’s not like he actually knows him all that well -- their trip through multiverse, as fun and life-threatening it had been, doesn’t really seem like a fair base to judge him upon. Many things went down back then.

He’s startled out of his thoughts when Jason suddenly gets up and stretches, an action Kyle involuntarily follows with his eyes. Jason smirks at him.

“You look like you’re about to fall asleep, Rayner. Tired much?” he teases.

If there is one thing, however, that Kyle concluded about Jason back in time and still stands by, it’s that he’s an asshole with a very punchable face.

Just as he’s about to retort -- because screw being a responsible adult, he’s on a vacation -- Jason suddenly drops something into his lap. Kyle picks it up and frowns.

“And this is…?” he asks suspiciously, inspecting from up close something that looks like a magnetic card.

“Key to your guest room or whatever,” Jason replies. “I changed the parameters because for some reason it was set to freezing and air conditioning was constantly on. No need to thank me. Don’t lock yourself in or out on accident because I definitely won’t come to your rescue this time,” he finishes with a flourish before walking out of the room.

“This boy,” Kory mouths to Roy, shaking her head.

Kyle is left a little stunned because, as off-putting and standoffish Jason’s demeanor just now was, he did something genuinely nice for him. And -- Kyle hates himself for forming the thought, but the damage is done -- he’s still good-looking, maybe even more than before. And that may prove to be a problem because, as much as he often felt the urge to punch Jason, he kind of wanted to kiss him sometimes, too.

And now, sitting in a spaceship with Starfire and Arsenal talking over his head as he grips the key in his hand, Kyle tells himself that this is definitely not a good time to revisit these ideas.

…

Four days, thirty sectors, an unplanned not-quite-crashing on a planet inhabited by big dinosaur-like creatures spitting furiously orange toxic venom, two near-death experiences and a very shirtless Jason passed out on his shoulder later, Kyle really regrets taking up this trip with the Outlaws. He didn’t sign up for -- whatever this is.

(He thinks Roy and Koriand’r know something is up and have way too much fun on his expense. Kyle is never trusting any of his rescuers again.)

…

Of course, just as they make it back to Earth, they receive a call from Oracle, the kind of “all hands on deck” one, as Gotham City is plunged into chaos by a massive Blackgate breakout. For all his swearing and complaining, Jason sprints into action with no time wasted, Roy and Koriand’r at his heels. Kyle considers it for a moment, pros and cons of showing up unannounced in Batman’s city, but because it’s apparently his life at this very moment, he descends to the dark and dirty streets as well.

Gotham is not very high on the list of places he wanted to visit back on Earth, not even remotely close to that, but he’s nothing if not flexible.

To their credit, the vigilantes he passes by don’t even question his presence here or act surprised -- although Red Robin almost crashes into a phone pole mid-swing when Kyle flies by, a fact he’s definitely going to laugh at Tim about later. Batgirl even shouts after him that he’s like “a White Knight people of Gotham deserve” and he could “give B a run for his money” as she viciously uppercuts a guy almost twice her size. It’s kind of a nice compliment, he supposes, but he doesn’t actually know her and he’s definitely not going to stand up and challenge Batman for her.

It takes them a while to contain the chaos and bring in the fugitives; by the time they’re done, Kyle examines himself on some rooftop to find lots of dust in his hair and a smudge of car oil on his glove -- how it got there, he’s not quite sure.

There’s a sound of a rooftop door swinging open and he hears, “All in one piece?”

Kyle looks over his shoulder to see Jason take off the helmet. The first thing he asks is, “Did you really take the stairs up here?”

Jason scowls. “No, I just dropped from the sky,” he says; to his credit, he doesn’t even sound winded. Still, Kyle stares and he sighs, relenting. “My grappling gun got jammed. High-class Bat equipement my ass.”

“Hmm,” Kyle mutters and shrugs, leaning against the wall. “I’m fine. Hasn’t dealt with an actual prison breakout in a while, forgot how hard it is to clean up.”

“Ain’t that true.” Jason pats a pocket of his jacket, a move suggesting he wants to smoke, but in the end, he ends up leaning against the wall next to Kyle with arms crossed over his chest. Kyle watches him from the corner of his eye and that’s why he doesn’t miss a wince at the movement.

“Are you okay?” he asks then.

“Yeah, some asshole surprised me with a crowbar to the ribs,” Jason replies, sounding surprisingly calm.

“I guess you showed him why it’s a bad idea?” Kyle risks asking in a similar manner.

At that, Jason smirks. “Was about to, but Robin beat me to it. Kid is quite proficient with a crowbar, mind you.”

This family, Kyle thinks, but knows better than to say it out loud.

“Shouldn’t you get those ribs checked out, though? Or like, get down there and help with damage control?” He points with his chin to the streets below them.

“Nah, too many Bat brats at once still give me a headache.” Jason glances at him. “Besides, I thought it’d be pretty rude of me to leave you on your own here.”

Kyle rolls his eyes. “Yeah, thanks, but I think I could handle myself, even in Gotham.”

“I know you can. That’s not what I meant.”

Now, Kyle turns to actually regard him. This past week was a pretty strange and confusing experience, and he would lie if he said he didn’t mean Jason by that. In many ways, he’s still like the guy Kyle took an immense amount of pleasure in knocking on his ass and bickering bordering on arguing, but there’s more to that. Kyle was surprised to learn that he can be a pretty good storyteller during makeshift dinners just as well as a quiet, almost soothing presence in the far and dark parts of the outer space -- and then, there are also moments like this, when Kyle has no clue what to make of Jason.

The atmosphere between them changes and there’s no mistaking it as Jason also turns to him and moves in closer. Kyle knows his eyes widen, but other than that, he’s very still, barely daring to breathe. Jason’s expression is unreadable like usually, but there’s intent behind his deliberately slow movements; intent and something else, something that tells Kyle that this is probably a bad idea and it’ll end up backfiring spectacularly in his face sooner than later.

And yet, as Jason pauses, his face still a few inches away from Kyle’s -- he’s giving him a chance to back out, he realizes -- this same, unspecified feeling is what prompts Kyle to close the remaining distance.

The kiss is… not what Kyle expected, actually. Jason’s lips are chapped and dry, just like he thought they’d be, but he kisses gently, with a purpose. Kyle is amazed and a little embarrassed at how easily he melts into it, sliding a hand into Jason’s hair; considering it’s them, he’d have expected to clash even during a kiss. Then, as if this wasn’t enough, Jason cups his cheek, putting his gloved thumb under Kyle’s chin to tilt his head and deepen the kiss. And Kyle groans and sue him, maybe he hasn’t kissed anyone in a long time, but this right here, it feels… good.

Jason sucks in a breath and breaks the kiss, leaning away a little to look at Kyle. His teal eyes are bright.

“You…” he breathes out, but doesn’t elaborate, and Kyle feels very smug about rendering Jason Todd speechless. It doesn’t happen every day.

Before he can say or do anything else, though, Jason suddenly straightens up and looks past Kyle’s head. He mumbles, “Son of a--” and takes a few steps away, picking up his helmet with a frown.

“What --” Kyle starts to say, but then he hears it, rustling of a cape. And, because Kyle can’t have nice things in life, there’s goddamn Batman on the rooftop with them.

Way to ruin a moment.

“Hood,” the man says pointedly, probably glaring at the discarded helmet in Jason’s hands, because secret identities and stuff.

“B,” Jason replies stiffly, his jaw clenched just a little too hard.

Kyle can feel Batman’s gaze flicker to him for a moment, but the man doesn’t address him; that’s good because Kyle doesn’t think he could bring himself to look him in the face right now. He knows himself; it wouldn’t take the World’s Greatest Detective to figure out what they’ve been up to just moments before from his face alone.

“All escaped prisoners are accounted for, except for two, but Gordon’s men are on their trail as we speak. Five civilians are dead and nineteen are in Gotham General.” Batman pauses for a moment and adds, sounding less official, “The woman you saved in Old Town only has a mild concussion and some bruises and scratches. She agreed to talk to the psychologist.”

“That’s good,” Jason says, his reply still curt, but some of the tension in his shoulders dissipates.

Batman continues, “Several prisoners are in… less than decent shape --”

“Don’t look at me like that,” Jason interrupts, hackles rising again. “I kept shots to kneecaps and shoulders just like you always damn tell me to. Not my fault if they lost too much blood by trying to get back up.”

“Actually, I was referring to the man you and Robin apprehended near Crime Alley,” Batman replies, sounding a little exasperated.

Jason blinks and snorts. “Oh, that one was all the brat. But don’t be too hard on him for it.”

“Hng.” The cape rustles again as Batman comes a step closer. Jason doesn’t back away, continuing to stand his ground. And then, in a voice that catches Kyle off-guard, Batman asks, “Are you alright?”

Jason shrugs one shoulder. “Nothing a pack of ice and a couple of painkillers won’t fix.” He looks Batman in the face and comments, “You, on the other hand, look like crap in need of three days of sleep, at the very least.”

Batman barks a laugh at that, if Kyle’s ears are not deceiving him. “A fair assumption,” he says. And, after a beat, “Thank you and the Outlaws for responding to the call, Jason. I know we haven’t parted on… the best note when you left recently.”

Suddenly, Kyle understands Batman’s strange behavior -- he’s simply being awkward, trying to find a middle ground in talking with Jason that won’t end up in an argument. That’s what hits him the most; that Bruce is trying, making effort, and Kyle suddenly feels bad for unintentionally intruding on this conversation and just waiting for him to leave, so he and Jason can get back to other things.

(He also thinks about his mother and wills away the tears before they can come.)

“You don’t know--” Jason starts, sounding ready to go off, but his eyes flicker to Kyle and he bites the inside of his cheek. He settles on, “Yeah, okay, B. We’ll talk about that thing another time.”

“Alright.” Batman nods and then turns to him. “Kyle.”

This time, Kyle faces Batman, feeling eerily a lot like he had in his early days as a Lantern. “Uh, hello,” he says, cringing inwardly; he even sounds like a complete greenhorn.

Seemingly unphased, Batman continues, “Thank you for your assistance as well. I’m not sure how you ended up… tagging along, but your help is appreciated.” After a moment, he adds, “Also, I had no chance to congratulate you on becoming a White Lantern. I believe the ring is in good hands.”

The only alternative to openly gaping is stuttering out, “Thank you?” which is not much better, but Kyle thinks he’s justified. He hopes it’s only the exhaustion that makes Batman so forthcoming because he honestly doesn’t know if he could get used to it in a long shot.

Batman nods at them one last time and approaches the edge of the rooftop. Before firing his grappling hook, however, he turns his head and says, “Alfred’s birthday is next week.”

Jason sighs, but it sounds fond more than anything. “I know, I know, I read the groupchat sometimes.” There’s an expectant pause and he adds, “I’ll be there. Most likely.”

“Okay,” Batman says and like that, he’s gone again.

Jason makes a face and runs a hand through his hair. “Could’ve gone worse,” he sums up thoughtfully.

Kyle is still in shock, stuck on being congratulated by Batman. “Did he-- I mean, he really just did--?” he asks, turning around, but then there’s a clatter of the helmet falling down and Jason is next to him, pushing him against the wall.

“Now, I believe we were getting somewhere before being rudely interrupted,” he says with a grin. And a part of Kyle -- a rational part -- wants to protest, considering who was with them mere seconds ago because that’s just like playing to get caught, but another part of him doesn’t really care.

“That we were,” he agrees and they kiss again, this time less gently, with more heat. Kyle knows Jason’s probably still strung-up, working through the tension from the encounter with Bruce, but he doesn’t really mind; this feels a little more like what he imagined, and it’s enough to shut down any unwanted thoughts, at least for now.

...

A few days later, as they’re eating breakfast outside of a cafe in Paris -- Kyle really needed that vacation, alright -- Jason announces out of the blue, “You know, I had a crush on you back during our nanoverse trip.”

Kyle chokes on the croissant he’s eating. Jason only glances at him above the rims of his sunglasses with a smirk.

Glaring back after taking a sip of coffee, Kyle says, “Stop joking around if you don’t want me accidentally dead.” Jason frowns, staring at him, and Kyle pauses. “Wait. You weren’t joking?”

Jason shakes his head and replies dryly, “I thought it was pretty obvious, actually.”

“But…” Well, doesn’t that put some things into perspective. Kyle is still confused, though. “I thought you were being an ass towards me because you had a crush on Donna and we had history, and all.”

Jason sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “To be fair, who doesn’t have at least a little of a crush on Donna?” Kyle can’t really argue with this one. “And I had a huge crush on her back when I was still running around in scaly pants. Besides, she’s been one of the very few people who didn’t condemn me for coming back different.” He sounds a little bitter, but not angry.

“You two still in touch?” he asks, curious despite himself.

“Sometimes.” Jason shrugs and chuckles. “The last time I saw her, she helped the Outlaws get rid of a cursed artefact stuck to Roy’s quiver. It was pretty funny, I guess.”

Kyle hums and clears his throat, “So… about you having a crush on me… care to elaborate on that?” he asks casually.

Jason grins and leans closer in. “Wouldn’t you like to know, Rayner,” he stage-whispers into Kyle’s ear, “especially now, when you’ve got the real thing going on?”

And Kyle thinks, To hell with it, and kisses Jason, because well, since this is a real thing, he totally can, right?

Apparently not having expected that, Jason makes a surprised noise in the back of his throat and backpedals abruptly, knocking the table and spilling the tea all over himself.

“You little--” he hisses, grabbing a handful of napkins to wipe himself with, and he’s so red in the face. Kyle knows people are staring at them, but he can’t stop laughing, even as Jason continues to chew him out, “You can’t just do that in public without a warning, I fucking swear-”

“So, making out on Gotham rooftops where any vigilante can see us is fine,” he says, when he manages to catch a breath, “but giving you an innocent kiss in a cafe is too much? Wow, I really can’t believe I used to think you were intimidating.”

“Shut the hell up,” Jason grumbles, unamused, “and bring me more napkins.”

…

Vacation with Jason involves stopping some more or less petty crimes -- and even toppling a corrupt local government one time -- and lots of lazing around and kissing, which Kyle isn’t opposed to at all. But all fun times must come to an end eventually; Kyle has his Lantern duties to get back to and the Outlaws are about to embrace on another trip. It ends where it began, in Gotham, as Jason complains, getting ready for Alfred’s birthday party.

“Alfred himself would never force me to dress up,” he mutters, smoothing out the wrinkles in his shirt in front of a mirror in the hallway of his apartment. Kyle is surprised he owns a mirror, actually, almost as surprised as he was when Jason didn’t just bring him to one of his many safe houses, but his actual, lived-in apartment.

“Isn’t he your butler? Doesn’t he kind of… does these things, actually?” Kyle inquires, leaning against the backrest of a couch.

“Yeah, but that was when I was a teenager, and a legal entity, and all that. Technically, they can’t make me do anything now.”

“Sure,” Kyle agrees, not bothering to hide a grin as he glances to the table where, neatly packed, there’s a cake Jason baked himself, his contribution to the party. Kyle was pleasantly caught off-guard when he learnt Jason can cook; actually, he made Kyle probably the best enchiladas he’s ever had, only later admitting to using a recipe he remembered from his childhood.

“Not a word,” Jason warns, giving his hair one last ruffle before turning around. “Okay, how do I look?”

He isn’t dressed up, per se; simply wearing jeans without knife holes and oil stains on them, and a long-sleeved white shirt which probably was crisp once upon a time. As far as Kyle’s aware, he’s also going to wear his less dirty biker boots and a leather jacket -- which is not far off from how Jason usually dresses. And yet, Kyle lets himself stare a little.

“You clean up nice,” he says eventually.

Jason cocks an eyebrow. “Hm, haven’t heard this in a long time.” He glances to the window and sighs. “I need to get going soon. I shouldn’t be late, considering I’ve got the cake, and all.”

And that’s the moment Kyle… well, dreads isn’t the right word for it, but he’s feeling vaguely disappointed and unsure where they stand with each other. These recent weeks have been nice, especially since their unplanned kiss on the rooftop and everything that followed. Kyle isn’t stupid; he knows Jason enjoyed that time as well, but it may be just that, with no intention of following up in any way.

“Yeah, well. I guess I’ll be leaving soon, too,” he says awkwardly, after a beat of silence.

Jason looks at him for a long moment before walking over to grab a notebook and a pen from the drawer. He scribbles something down and, once he’s done, rips the page out, giving it to Kyle.

“This is how to find and contact the ship, although I’m not sure if we’ll be going into space any soon,” he explains. Then, he points to the bottom of the page and adds, almost tentatively, “That’s a number for a phone I’m least likely to get rid of. If you wanted to, um, hang out again. Or something.”

“‘Hang out or something’? Really, Jason?” Kyle laughs, even though he clutches the piece of paper in his hand tightly.

Jason is looking everywhere but at him, expression pinched, “I have no idea what the hell I’m doing, okay?” he mumbles and Kyle knows how much this confession costs him. His face softens.

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I haven’t done this in a while,” he says, but actually, Kyle feels like none of his past relationships have prepared him for this… thing he apparently has going on with Jason Todd now. He’s kind of going in blind, but he doesn’t want to turn back. “It might be some time before I get around to calling, though. Because, you know. Phones and outer space don’t really mix.”

Rolling his eyes, Jason tells him, “You’re a weird one,” but it sounds quite fond, and kisses him. Kyle relaxes almost instantly, trying not to think about how long it will probably be before he gets to do that again, instead choosing to focus on the softness of Jason’s hair or how good it feels to trace the line of his sharp jaw.

And then, there’s a soft thud on the floor.

They jump away from each other and Kyle doesn’t know what he expected, but a short girl with watchful eyes, dressed all in dark colors wasn’t that.

“Cass!” Jason hisses and okay, it figures she’s one of the Bats, Kyle hasn’t even heard her sneak in. “Did you just come through my window in civilian clothes again?”

She shrugs. “Better than the stairs,” she says, her voice quiet and level. “Came for you. To make sure you don’t… change your mind at the last second.”

“I’m positively thrilled by how much you all trust and believe in me,” Jason scoffs. “I made the cake, did you really think I would bail out?”

She shrugs again and eyes the box with interest, coming closer. Then she turns her gaze on Kyle and he tries not to twitch; it feels like she can read straight through him.

“You’re a White Lantern,” she says then. “Helped us last week.”

“Um, yeah, that’d be me, I guess,” he agrees and oh, how is he realizing just now that this is Black Bat, one of the best martial artist in the world and probably the most likely person to take over as Batman, he has no idea.

Jason sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Kyle, this is Cass, my sister on a good day.” She punches him in the side and he makes a face. “Anyway, Cass, this is Kyle, he’s…” Jason trails off and Kyle can’t really blame him.

To his surprise, Cass grins. “Nice to meet you,” she says before turning back to Jason and patting him on the cheek. “It’s okay, little brother. Your secret friend is safe with me.”

Jason makes a frustrated sound. “Could you not call him that? It sounds creepy.”

“I will get going,” Kyle announces, before something even more embarrassing happens. “It was nice to meet you, too, Cass, have fun at the party.” He makes eye contact with Jason and offers a smile. “I will see you around?” he didn’t mean to make it sound like a question, but it’s too late now.

The corners of Jason’s mouth turn up, just slightly, and he answers, “Yeah, I guess you will.”

Kyle doesn’t leave immediately, though; he listens to Jason and Cass bicker on the way out of the building (“What do you mean you didn’t drive a car here? I told you my other motorcycle is in repair right now, do you really want us to drive to the Manor on my Red Hood bike with Alfred’s cake, no less?” to which she nods and Jason swears, and says, “I’m calling Steph.”) and he laughs silently.

For a first time in a long time, Kyle is actually looking forward to coming back to Earth.