#in a similar vein i went to the park today and holy shit

[threadmonster]

I tried to do all the setters as idols but gave up while trying to draw Kenma. Somewhere I was working on a whole AU for them being rival idol groups like setters v captains v aces but I got conflicted because Oikawa and Bokuto have dual citizenship. I TOTALLY could have just used that to add the most drama oh my gosh Past!Me. And then there’s... well i’m not sure if anything prompted that? I think i just... made it.

[knuffled]

just practice - chapter seven

so hopefully this chapter punched you in the gut and stole your lunch money because that means i did my job. if you liked the chapter, please do reblog or drop a comment on ao3 - i would really appreciate it!

here’s the ao3 link

bonus link to the song i was playing on repeat while writing this chapter

Annabeth’s lungs burned from exertion as she made her way out of the woods behind the high school. To her right, the lake was calm like always, but there weren’t any geese floating atop the water this time of the year. Darkness was already beginning to encroach upon the sovereignty of the setting sun, turning the sky an inky purple, and apart from the sound of her own ragged breathing and swift footsteps, it was blissfully silent.

With the invitational only a week away, Coach Davis had freed her from her responsibilities as captain until it was over, which was why she had the luxury of running this far ahead of everyone else instead of having to slow down to keep watch of the underclassmen. It felt so liberating to run without the weight of responsibility hanging over her head. In her darker moments, Annabeth sometimes found herself wondering if being captain was actually keeping her from reaching her full potential, but despite all her complaining, she did take great pride in her role.

Coach Davis was waiting for her at the end of the trail, stopwatch in hand. When she saw Annabeth approaching, her eyes flitted from the stopwatch to Annabeth and back to the stopwatch again, a smile beginning to break across her face, but Annabeth was too focused to notice it. Within seconds, Annabeth came to a stop in front of her and crouched over with her hands pressed against the top of her thighs and swallowed deep lungfuls of air.

“Look at your time!” Coach Davis said, unable to repress the excitement in her voice.

Annabeth blearily looked up at the stopwatch inches in front of her face and took a few seconds to register the time before knitting her eyebrows.

“Are you sure that’s accurate? There’s no way I finished three minutes earlier than normal,” Annabeth said, still trying to catch her breath.

“Oh, it’s accurate alright!” Coach said, grinning manically. “You’ve really improved over the course of this past month, unbelievably so.”

Three minutes didn’t sound like a long time in most contexts, but for long distance running making such an improvement was nothing short of miraculous. Not for the first time, Annabeth mentally thanked herself for being brave enough to reach out to Reyna. The minor improvements she had picked up on during their run together was paying dividends now. Theoretically, Annabeth knew that the tweaks she made would help but seeing the evidence right before her eyes, especially when the improvement was so stark, was beyond gratifying.

“If you go at a race pace, your time should be even better,” Coach added.

Annabeth stood up and brushed aside the strands of golden blonde hair that had escaped from her ponytail and lay matted on her forehead.

“I sure hope so,” she said.

Today she had done a tempo run, which meant her pace had been around 15% less than her typical race pace. With her veins shot full of adrenaline during an actual competition, her time should improve theoretically, in ceteris paribus at least.

“I’m sure it will. Alright, I’ve got to stick around and finish timing everyone else. Do your cooldown run and stretch. Be sure to get plenty of rest the next few days,” Coach ordered.

Annabeth huffed and said, “I’ve been on the team for four years, Coach – you don’t need to remind me to cooldown and stretch.”

Coach Davis shrugged her shoulders with a smirk. “Force of habit, I guess.”

Annabeth rolled her eyes and made her way closer to the high school track where she jogged a lap before starting her stretches. The coolness of the grass against her flushed skin felt wonderful, eliciting a sigh of relief from her. Annabeth took her time with her stretches and enjoyed the thoughtless, almost trance-like, state she felt after a strenuous run.

It didn’t last for long, however, and she soon found herself thinking about the dream for the umpteenth time that week. Interacting with Percy felt more stilted than ever, much to her dismay. For the first time in her life, she didn’t know what to say around him anymore.

Well, that and Reyna’s confession both made things more awkward than usual. Annabeth knew that she would have to tell him at some point that Reyna had asked her out, but she didn’t know how to broach the subject, especially since Percy didn’t seem to like Reyna that much. There was a part of her that wanted to hide it from him altogether, insisting that she was entitled to keeping secrets if Percy could, but she always felt guilty afterwards for thinking that.

Annabeth had just finished her final set of stretches when Jason flopped on the ground beside her with an exaggerated groan, covering his eyes with his forearm.

“You’re done early,” he said breathlessly.

“Three minutes early, to be precise,” Annabeth said, trying not to sound smug.

He moved his arm to peek at her with one eye, a huge grin splitting across his face. “Holy shit, seriously? That’s amazing!”

“Thanks, I’m just hoping it’s a good omen for the invitational,” Annabeth said.

Jason huffed and said, “Ugh, don’t remind me. I don’t even want to think about it.”

Annabeth patted his arm affectionately and said, “You’ll do fine. I’m sure of it.”

“Easy for you to say, Ms. Three Minutes Early,” Jason scoffed.

“Don’t be an ass,” Annabeth said, laughing.

Jason rolled his eyes and asked, “What’s your secret, oh wise one?”

For a brief moment, Annabeth considered telling Jason that Reyna had asked her out, but it would’ve been difficult considering he didn’t know about the whole fake-dating thing.

Instead, she opted for a half-truth and said, “I ran with Reyna, the girl who won State last year, over the weekend and picked up on some inefficiencies with my form. Didn’t think it would help as much as it did.”

“Oh, Reyna!” Jason said. “I went to summer camp with her in middle school.”

Annabeth raised an eyebrow and said, “Really?”

Jason sat up and nodded, wiping the dirt off his palms against his shorts. “Yeah, she was intense. Beat me at pretty much every camp activity – canoeing, rock climbing, capture the flag – you name it. She was even better than me at arts and crafts!”

Annabeth laughed and said, “Yeah, that sounds like her.”

“It’s gotta be exhausting to live like that. Treating everything as a competition means you can never do anything just for fun,” Jason said.

“She probably thinks that the competition is the fun part," Annabeth said, shrugging. "At least, that’s how I feel, and she and I are kind of similar."

Jason looked at her closely, his head cocked to the side, before a small smile broke across his lips. “Now that you mention, you two are scarily alike,” he mused.

“She’s faster than me,” Annabeth said lightly.

Jason nudged her with his shoulder and shook his head fondly. “I can’t believe you sometimes. I’m pretty sure I would go insane in minutes if I had to live in your head.”

“Saying you’d last minutes is a bit generous,” Annabeth teased.

“Ok, that’s enough bullying for one day,” Jason said, standing up. “I still need to do my cooldown run or Coach will hunt me down.”

A sudden thought occurred to her, prompting Annabeth to catch Jason’s arm before he left.

When he looked down at her quizzically, Annabeth said, “Before you go: what do you know about Kara Mayfield?”

Jason furrowed his brow and said, “Percy’s ex?”

“Yeah, do you know what happened between them?” Annabeth asked.

He looked away from her and coughed surreptitiously. “Uh, no.”

Annabeth narrowed her eyes and said, “I know you’re lying, Jason. You’ve always been dogshit at it.”

When he remained silent, Annabeth sighed and said, “Piper’s already gotten to you, hasn’t she?”

Jason gave her a pleading look and said, “Look, I don’t want to keep anything from you, you know that, but this is a special circumstance. I agreed with Piper when she told me not to tell you. It’s something you need to hear from Percy himself.”

A spark of anger blazed in her chest, but Annabeth forced herself to breathe and nod instead. It was hard not to be frustrated when everyone refused to tell her and insisted she ask Percy when she knew Percy wouldn’t tell her either. No matter what she did, she lost.

“I’m sorry,” Jason said. “We’re not trying to do it to piss you off or anything. It’s just not our business to tell you.”

Annabeth sighed and said, “Yeah, I get it. Thanks anyways.”

Jason offered her an apologetic smile and jogged back to the track to finish his cooldown lap. Annabeth sat there for a while longer before sighing and making her way to the showers. She stayed under the water for longer than usual, trying to stomach the bitterness that had been brewing in the pit of her stomach all week. It was made harder by having to hold the dream in perilous tension at the same time. She almost wished she could just give in and allow herself to be bitter, but she felt too guilty when twelve year old Percy’s promise still echoed endlessly in her mind.

When she finished her shower, Annabeth made her way to the parking lot. She was in the process of fishing for her keys in the front pocket of her backpack when she noticed Percy sitting on the hood of her car, a brooding look on his face.

Annabeth's stomach churned as she tried frantically to think of her best course of action. She didn’t want to have a confrontation with him now while she was still trying to work through how she felt, but she could tell by the look on his face that he wasn’t going to let her escape without at least admitting something was going on. With a sigh, she decided it would be best to get it over with and made her way towards him.

Once he saw her, Percy offered her a small smile and pushed off the car. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Annabeth said, gripping her backpack strap.

“Can we talk?”

Annabeth blinked. She hadn’t expected him to get straight to the point, but she supposed it was better this way.

“Sure,” Annabeth said tightly.

Percy raised an eyebrow and said, “Do you want to tell me what’s going on? You’ve been acting weird all week. Almost like you’re trying to avoid me.”

Annabeth was silent for a few seconds, trying to decide how much she wanted to tell him. Part of her wanted to immediately jump to asking him about Kara, but her intuition was telling her that she wouldn’t get any answers out of him that way. She also briefly considered denying that there was anything going on altogether, but she could tell by the intensity in his eyes that he would call her bluff immediately.

She sighed and decided to go with a half-truth again. “I went running with Reyna last week, and she asked me out.”

Percy’s face was perfectly blank, and his body language didn’t betray anything about his emotional state, despite what she had said. There was a brief silence, and when Percy spoke, there was a hint of trepidation in his voice along with something else, something she couldn’t quite put her finger on.

“And what did you say?”

Annabeth scuffed her converses against her ankle, her hands wrapped even tighter around her backpack straps.

“I turned her down at first, but she insisted that I think about it.”

“And you’re still mulling it over?” Percy said slowly.

Annabeth nodded and said, “I want to make sure that I take my response seriously because she asked me out seriously. If I was offhanded about it, I’d feel like a dick.”

There was another pause before Percy deflated a bit and said, “So I’m guessing you want to call the whole fake-dating thing off then?”

“What? No!” Annabeth said, frowning. “Unless you want to call it off.”

Percy blinked before he said cryptically, “I want whatever you want.”

Annabeth hesitated and swayed in place before saying, “Well, I’m not going to go out with her. I mean, I barely know her.”

“I’m confused,” Percy said, furrowing his brow. “If you’ve already decided on that, then what is there to think about?”

Annabeth sighed and leaned against her car, hugging her arms against her chest. “I don’t really know either. It’s just that– well, I’ve never been asked out by a girl before, and I never imagined that I would actually consider saying yes in that situation.”

Percy softened a little bit and said, “That sounds confusing. I think it makes sense that you’re feeling a little conflicted about it.”

“I’m trying to think of what this means. Like, am I straight? Am I bi? Does being attracted to just one girl make me bi or is it a one-off? I don’t really know,” Annabeth said, trying not to sound frustrated.

“So you’ve never been attracted to any other girls in the past?” Percy asked.

Annabeth was about to say that she hadn’t before she caught herself and thought about it some more.

“Well, I mean I think Piper and Rachel are attractive and stuff, but it didn’t really occur to me that I could date them,” Annabeth said, shrugging. “Maybe it’s purely aesthetic?”

“If it was, I feel like you wouldn’t be giving it this much thought right now,” Percy noted. “Like, if you were absolutely straight, you would have known immediately that dating a girl wasn’t for you, I think. The fact that you’re still mulling it over makes me think you might not be entirely straight.”

Annabeth was silent for a bit before she slowly said, “Yeah, I think you’re right.”

Percy leaned against the car right beside her, close enough that their elbows knocked against each other.

“It’s not like you need to immediately think you’re bi, anyways. Piper always says sexuality is more like a gradient than a binary, right? I don’t think you need to be in a rush to label yourself or anything. Take your time and figure it out. It’s okay if you’re wrong or realize differently in the future. It’s not like you aren’t allowed to change or anything,” Percy said.

Annabeth took some to digest what he had said before she turned to him and smiled. “Thanks, I think I feel a bit better now. I mean I’ll still have to think about it more but yeah,” she said.

“Of course you do,” Percy said fondly.

Annabeth shot him a mock-glare, but there wasn’t any venom behind it. All at once, a lump formed in her throat. She had really missed this. When things were just normal and easy and she didn’t have to swim through twenty layers of subtext to understand what the fuck was going on. She missed when they were just Annabeth and Percy.

“What are you thinking about?” Percy asked softly.

Annabeth swallowed and tried for a laugh, but it sounded strained even to her own ears.

“Nothing,” she said, shaking her head. “Nothing. Just that it’s been a while since we were like this and stuff. It made me realize how much I missed this.”

“Yeah, me too,” Percy whispered, sounding suddenly weary.

Annabeth blinked in surprise – she hadn’t expected him to agree with her. She had assumed he was going to say that nothing had changed at all and that they were still the same. Hearing Percy also admit that things were different hurt a lot more than she thought it would.

Percy gently bumped his shoulder into hers, a small, wistful smile on his lips. Annabeth tried to return the smile but knew it wouldn’t reach her eyes.

“You sure that’s all that’s going on?” Percy asked gently.

The familiar warmth and kindness in his voice nearly made her crumble and admit all the pain and resentment she was holding inside, but she forced herself to stay strong and shake her head instead.

She needed some time to figure this out on her own before she confronted him. For some reason, she knew that if she tried to ask him now without knowing enough that he would just weasel his way out somehow. Whatever he was holding back would take a lot of effort to break through, and she needed to be more prepared for when that time came. At the very least, she knew that it wasn’t a battle she could win right now.

Percy looked at her skeptically but otherwise nodded and stepped away from her car. He ruffled his hair before he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

“Well, that was all that I wanted to talk about, I guess. I know things haven’t been great between us and stuff, so I just wanted to make sure we were still good,” Percy said.

“Yeah, we’re still good,” Annabeth lied, her voice catching on the last word.

Percy looked at her for a while, his brow ever so slightly furrowed, like he was going to say something more, but then he shook his head and stepped backwards.

“Well, I’ll let you get going then,” he said. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Annabeth.”

Annabeth cleared her throat and nodded. “Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

:::

After shutting the car door, Annabeth fiddled with her green cape for what felt like the thirteenth time since she’d put on her costume. The damn thing kept getting caught underneath her feet when she tried to walk, constantly making her trip. She swore darkly under her breath and made her up the driveway to Rachel’s house.

Annabeth rang the doorbell and wondered how anyone would even be able to hear it over the rumbling bass blasting inside, but it wasn’t long before Rachel opened the door, a bright grin on her face. Annabeth had to do a double take when she saw Rachel’s costume. She was painted entirely orange and there was a large yellow mustache taped under her nose.

“Annabeth! I’m so glad you could make it.” Rachel said brightly. “Cool costume! You’re a quidditch player right?”

Annabeth nodded and said, “Thanks! I would compliment your costume too, but I honestly don’t have a clue what you’re supposed to be.”

Rachel put her hands on her hips and lowered her voice. “I’m the Lorax! And I speak for the trees!”

That managed to get a laugh out of Annabeth. Every year, Rachel threw a Halloween costume party, and without fail, she always wore the most bizarre costumes. Last year, she had been Chewbacca from Star Wars, complete with the wookie cries and everything, and the year before that she’d been Vincent Van Gogh after he had cut his ear off.

Rachel craned her neck and looked behind Annabeth. “I don’t see Percy. Is he not coming?”

Annabeth rolled her eyes and said, “He could’ve driven himself here, you know. It’s not like we’re always attached at the hip. Anyways, he couldn’t come because he has a swim meet tomorrow morning.”

Rachel held her palms up in surrender and said, “Alright, sorry, sorry. Just thought you guys were going to do a couple costume or something.”

“That’s not happening in a million years,” Annabeth said, snorting.

Rachel patted her arm benignly and said, “Love makes people do all sorts of strange things, darling. Now come, enjoy the festivities!”

“People in the 21st century don’t say festivities,” Annabeth said, unable to help herself.

“Well, I am honored to be the first,” Rachel said glibly. “There’s food and drinks in the kitchen. You already know where the bathrooms are so I don’t need to give you that spiel. I think I saw Piper and Jason near the backyard. I’ve gotta go greet people, but I’ll find you later! Go have some fun!”

Annabeth only had the chance to nod before Rachel disappeared into the crowd once more. There were a lot of people at the party, some from Westwood, some from Rachel’s private school, and some from other schools that Annabeth couldn’t recognize. She made her way through the throng of dancing teenagers in the living room and made a beeline for the backyard, hoping she’d find Jason and Piper there.

She spent a few minutes looking for them before giving up and heading back inside. Luckily, she ran into Hazel shortly after and joined her in the living room to dance a bit. Annabeth hated dancing with a burning passion, but she was more willing if she was with friends. After all the tension from the past weeks and with the invitational bearing down on her, she figured it was a good time to cut loose.

Dancing in a quidditch costume proved to be more logistically difficult than she could’ve anticipated. She nearly tripped on her stupid cape five more times before she finally called it quits and made a break for the kitchen.

Hazel joined her and watched as Annabeth reached for a bottle of water, downing it in one giant gulp before opening another. Once she finished her second bottle, she wiped her lips with the back of her hand and turned to Hazel, who was still looking for something to drink.

“Have you seen Piper and Jason? Rachel told me that they were here,” Annabeth shouted, trying to be heard over the music.

“Yeah, I think I saw them in the basement a while ago,” Hazel said.

“Weird, I couldn’t find them,” Annabeth said, frowning.

Hazel shrugged and said, “Maybe they don’t want to be found.”

Annabeth pulled a face that made Hazel giggle.

“As long as they’re out of sight,” Hazel said mildly, eyeing the food on the countertop.

She looked like she was going to get something to eat when she paused and fished her phone out of her pocket.

Her face lit up and she turned to Annabeth and said, “Just got a text from Frank saying he just got here and that he brought Leo with him too. I’m gonna meet them at the front door. See you in a bit!”

“Yeah, I’ll see you later,” Annabeth said.

Hazel nodded before leaving the kitchen. Once she was gone, Annabeth sighed and leaned against the counter top, already contemplating going home. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t bring herself to enjoy parties unless she was with close friends the entire time. She found herself wishing Percy were here, telling her some snarky joke about some of the other party goers, but the thought only soured her mood even more.

She was about to leave the party altogether when Kara Mayfield walked into the kitchen, clad in a Sansa Stark costume. Annabeth watched, unable to hide her astonishment, as Kara sifted through the drinks before deciding on a bottle of Jim Beam. Throughout most of her life, Annabeth had pretty terrible luck, but at that moment, she couldn’t help feeling that the universe was presenting an opportunity on a silver platter for her.

Annabeth approached her before she could talk herself out of it. “Hey, Kara,” she said.

Kara looked up, noticing Annabeth for the first time, and took a step backwards, a nervous smile on her face. “Oh, hi, Annabeth,” she said.

“Nice costume,” Annabeth said, nodding to her outfit.

Kara looked down and breathed a laugh. “Thanks. It would be more accurate if my hair wasn’t brown though. Yours is neat too. Repping Slytherin, huh? That’s pretty bold of you.”

“What can I say? I like to live dangerously,” Annabeth said, shrugging.

There was an awkward pause before Kara cleared her throat and busied herself pouring a drink.

“I heard that you and Percy were finally going out. That’s great!” she said with strained enthusiasm.

“Yeah, since the start of the school year,” Annabeth said carefully.

The fact that Kara was steering the conversation exactly where Annabeth wanted it to go only reaffirmed to her that she had to take advantage of this golden opportunity, but in the back of her mind, a small voice whispered that she would be going behind Percy’s back if she continued.

Kara’s lips quirked upwards in the semblance of a weak smile. “That’s good. It was a long time coming.”

How many times had someone said that to her now? “What do you mean by that?” Annabeth asked, frowning.

Kara looked up from the table sharply, her facsimile of a smile dropping, and searched Annabeth’s eyes with a cold stare.

“Are you fucking with me?” she asked lowly.

Annabeth blinked and held her palms up in surrender. “What? No, I’m genuinely curious. I’ve been hearing other people say the same thing, and I don’t know why.”

Kara barked a harsh laugh. “Are you fucking serious? You don’t know why?”

Annabeth’s jaw tightened involuntarily before she forced herself to close her eyes and exhale slowly. “That’s why I’m asking,” she said.

For a few moments, Kara simply stared at her before her eyes widened. “Holy shit, you actually don’t know. Well, that explains a lot of things.”

“I’ve tried asking, but no one will tell me what happened,” Annabeth said, shaking her head. “I wanted to hear it from you.”

“It’s not something you want to hear,” Kara muttered, looking away.

Annabeth bit back her frustration and said, “I can decide that for myself.”

There was a pause before Kara deflated in front of her, and when she looked at Annabeth again, she reminded Annabeth of a lamb being led to slaughter.

“Oh well, you’re going to find out eventually. Might as well get it over with,” Kara muttered. “Let’s go outside. I can’t hear myself think in here.”

Annabeth nodded in agreement, and they both left the kitchen but not before Kara paused and took the entire bottle of Jim Beam with her.

When Annabeth gave her a quizzical look, Kara smiled grimly and said, “Trust me, we’re both going to need this soon.”

A flicker of apprehension began to burn in the back of her mind. Maybe this was a bad idea after all. Annabeth shook her head, trying to dispel the thought. This was the best chance she had to find out what happened between Percy and Kara. She couldn’t afford to back out now.

Kara sat down by the edge of the empty pool, setting the alcohol beside her, and took her shoes off so she could dip her toes in the water. The lights at the bottom of the pool cast smudged beams that swiggled when the water was even remotely disturbed. Kara kicked her feet under the water, forming bubbles that rushed to the surface, and the ensuing ripples sent the fallen leaves floating in the water into a slow waltz.

She leaned back on her palms and stared up at the night sky for a while before suddenly speaking. “So, how much do you know?”

Annabeth sat down beside her and hugged her knees to her chest. “Almost nothing.”

“Well, I guess I’ll start from the beginning then,” Kara said, sighing. “I’ll give you some context, so you can better understand everything. I’m not trying to make excuses, but I do want you to know that I was in a really fucked up place back then, and that led me to making some really bad decisions, decisions I still deeply regret.”

Once Annabeth nodded in acknowledgment, Kara took a sip from the bottle. “Okay, so I had a boyfriend during my first two years in high school that I really liked. I’d known him since we were kids and stuff. We went back a long way,” she said, a forlorn tinge in her voice.

“Kind of like you and Percy, now that I think about it,” Kara mused, looking at Annabeth. “Anyhow, towards the end of sophomore year, he cheated on me for some whatever reason.”

“Shit, I’m sorry to hear that,” Annabeth said.

Kara gave her a terse smile and shrugged. “Yeah, well it happens. We broke up after that, of course, but it was really rough. I remember crying almost everyday after school, wondering desperately what I did wrong, why things happened the way they did. What fucked me up the most was the fact that I’d known him since we were like six years old. I kept asking myself: was I just unaware that he had always been like this, or had he changed somewhere along the way?”

“It got really bad,” Kara admitted softly. “I kind of developed an eating disorder and started drinking a lot, but nothing helped. Instead of waiting to get over it, I thought I just needed to be in a new relationship. Like, more than anything, I wanted someone to make me feel like I mattered.”

“And that’s when Percy came in,” Annabeth said, understanding finally dawning on her.

Kara nodded and said, “Yeah, we had history class together. He was always really sweet. Funny in a dorky way. And really hot. I asked him out at the start of junior year, and I still remember him asking me if I was sure about it. He told me that he knew I had just broken up with my old boyfriend and that he didn’t want to be someone’s rebound. I stupidly said yes, which was the first in a long list of mistakes.”

She paused to take another sip from the bottle, but when she set it down again, her eyes were distant and unfocused.

“We started going out after that, and for a while it was good, but I was still hurting a lot from my previous relationship. Percy was really nice about it though,” Kara said wistfully. “He listened to me vent a lot. It probably wasn’t pleasant hearing your girlfriend talk about her ex all the time, but he was really sweet about it.”

“I think it was the first time in a long while that I felt like I meant something to someone, and not long after, I legitimately did start to fall for him. Like, it was just easy being around him, I can’t explain it,” Kara said, shaking her head.

Annabeth found herself smiling. “Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.”

“Like I said, for a while things were good,” Kara said, sighing. “Only issue was that you were all he talked about. Always ‘Annabeth said this, Annabeth did that.’ It was like he worshipped the ground you walked on. Needless to say, hearing your boyfriend constantly talking about how amazing another girl is, can really make you feel like shit.”

Despite the context, Annabeth couldn’t help feeling a rush of affection for Percy. “I had no idea he talked about me that much.”

“Well, I wasn’t the only one – the other girls he’s dated have said the same thing. It was particularly hard on me, especially when he would sometimes cancel dates to be with you. After what happened with my ex, I felt like it would be monumentally stupid of me to ignore all the red flags popping up,” Kara said bitterly. “So, over time, I slowly became convinced he was cheating on me with you.”

“Percy would never cheat on someone,” Annabeth said reflexively, unable to hide how offended she felt. “If you knew him at all, you wouldn’t think for a second that he would even be capable of that.”

Kara barked a harsh laugh and shrugged. “Well, I thought I knew my old boyfriend, and I was spectacularly wrong about that, so you’ll have to excuse me if I didn’t exactly trust my judgment at the time.”

Her immediate instinct was to protest, but when she was unable to think of a response, Annabeth clenched her jaw and nodded sharply for Kara to continue.

“When I confronted him about it, he insisted that you both were just friends. I really wanted to believe him, but I just couldn’t and honestly I can’t blame myself for that. I mean, anyone could tell that he was super in love with you,” Kara said.

Whether it was through teasing comments made by friends or whispered rumors among classmates, people had been telling her since middle school that Percy was in love with her, in some form or another. Annabeth had always dismissed it as drama stirred by people who had nothing better to do, but hearing it come from Percy’s former girlfriend, even if Annabeth didn’t fully believe it, still knocked the air out of her lungs.

“Percy didn’t love me – he liked me – and that was it. It wasn’t long till I realized that he loved you more than he ever would love me, and, once I did, it just– it just fucking broke me,” Kara said, her voice cracking at the end.

Annabeth’s heart clenched in her chest. She didn’t like where this conversation was heading, but it was already too late to stop it.

“You can probably guess what happened next, but I’ll spell it out anyways,” Kara said, taking a shuddering breath. “Through some demented logic, I convinced myself that I had to cheat on him to get even. So I did.”

Annabeth had already begun to suspect as much, but actually hearing it come from Kara’s mouth hit her in a way she was utterly unprepared for. Time seemed to stop, and her throat felt like it was sewing itself shut. Suddenly, even the act of breathing felt painful.

Kara cleared her throat and stared down at the bottle in her hands, tracing the outline of the Jim Beam logo with her finger, for a few seconds.

“Of course, I told him about it later. He had to know if I wanted to get even, after all. He just sat there and listened quietly. Can’t tell you what he looked like because I couldn’t bring myself to look at him,” Kara said, chuckling humorlessly.

“And, after that, I told him we should break up, but in the middle of that, you texted him. I can still remember exactly what happened, like it was yesterday. There I was, telling my boyfriend I had cheated on him and wanted to break up, and he stops and checks his fucking phone while I’m talking, and do you know what he told me after that?”

Kara gave Annabeth a sidelong glance, cold fury burning in her eyes, but Annabeth didn’t dare speak or move. Before she continued, Kara took a long swig from the bottle and screwed her eyes shut.

When she spoke, Kara sounded utterly dead inside. “He looked at me and said in this super emotionless voice, ‘Annabeth needs me, so I have to go now’. And then he just stood up and left. Just. Like. That.”

Annabeth couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The sound of the party in the background bled into nothingness, replaced by the frantic pounding of her heart beating inside her skull. Bile rose to her throat, bringing with it the sudden urge to vomit.

What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck

Kara leaned back on her palms again and laughed humorlessly, shaking her head. “I remember being so fucking stunned. Like, your girlfriend is telling you she’s breaking up with you after cheating on you, and your response is to go be someone else’s fucking therapist?”

If Kara was right, then Percy must have come to see her right after this happened. Annabeth desperately combed through her memory, reviewing all her interactions with Percy that year, searching for a hint or a sign, anything that could possibly betray that something was amiss, but nothing stuck out to her.

Annabeth bit her bottom lip in a vain attempt to stop it from trembling, cutting into her palms with her fingernails.

If Percy had seen her that day, he had acted as gentle and kind as he always had, never letting her know what he had been through, just so he could help her with whatever the stupid thing she’d texted him about.

Then another terrible thought occurred to her. What if Percy was showing signs that he was hurting that day, but she had been so self-absorbed with her own issues that she hadn’t even noticed?

The thought made her want to retch.

Kara tiredly said, “I’ve been trying to apologize to him ever since, but Piper doesn’t let me get anywhere near him, which is really fucking frustrating. If Percy doesn’t want to see me, then that’s fine – I deserve that – but like, let him make his own decisions. He doesn’t need a fucking babysitter.”

Annabeth shook her head and said, “Piper is doing that because despite all this messed up shit that you did to him, if you talked to Percy and apologized, he would still forgive you. Piper knows that and doesn’t want to let that happen.”

For the first time since their conversation began, Kara looked genuinely shocked. “There’s no fucking way he would-” she began, but Annabeth interrupted her.

“I know Percy. That’s exactly what he would do. If I were in Piper’s shoes, I wouldn’t let you within a mile of him,” Annabeth said, anger creeping into her voice.

“Ah, there it is,” Kara said, a mordant smile dancing on her lips. “I was wondering when you’d get angry. I spent all of junior year dreading what would happen once you found out, you know? I mean, Piper was hostile enough, but I didn’t want to imagine how you were going to react.”

She was right. If Annabeth had known about this back then, there was no telling what she would’ve done. Even now, Annabeth balled fists trembled with fury, itching to hurt Kara. Annabeth wanted to hurt her more badly than she had ever wanted anything in her life, but she screwed her eyes shut and steadied her breathing instead.

“I’m surprised he never told you,” Kara muttered. “I figured you’d be the first to know.”

“He knew I’d come for you,” Annabeth said, her eyes still closed. “He did it to protect you. Despite everything you did, he still tried to protect you.”

There was a pause before Annabeth continued, and when she did, her voice cracked with barely suppressed rage, “Percy was good, and you-you!”

Kara fell silent at that, pressing her lips together tightly so they wouldn’t quiver. Annabeth caught a glimpse of the pained look in Kara’s eyes before she turned away from Annabeth to hide her tears, but the way her shoulders shook and she sniffled gave her away.

Despite everything, a tiny part of Annabeth couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for her. Kara made some terrible mistakes, but as she herself admitted: she was in a really fucked up place. That didn’t mean for one second that Annabeth would forgive her – every molecule in her body burned with the need for vengeance – but it did make her feel a small amount of sympathy for her.

In the back of her mind, however, some tiny part of her felt a sick sense of elation after hearing Kara’s story. Percy had chosen her over his previous girlfriends – she had meant more to him than any of them. Annabeth had always known she was important to him, but to see such an obvious, direct comparison made her giddy, and she hated herself for it.

Still, to know exactly how much he cared about her made a lump form in Annabeth’s throat. She couldn’t help feeling that she was partially responsible for this mess too. If she hadn’t taken so much of his time when she knew he had a girlfriend, maybe this would never have happened.

Was it her own selfishness to see him, to have him in her life without thinking about his own circumstances, that had caused him so much pain, so much suffering?

“Will you tell him that I am sorry,” Kara said, her voice raw and bleeding.

Annabeth’s immediate instinct was to refuse – she had no right asking for absolution – but this wasn’t about her: it was about Percy and Kara.

After a while, Annabeth slowly said, “I won’t promise anything, but I’ll think about it.”

“That’s good enough for me,” Kara muttered.

A minute of silence passed, and the sound of thumping bass coming from inside the house rushed in to swallow it, reminding Annabeth that she was, in fact, at a party. The whole thing was so surreal and it overwhelmed her all at once.

Annabeth felt sullied, like she’d failed Percy when he needed her most, and she wasn’t sure she would ever be able to forgive herself for that. It was made worse by the fact that she’d gone behind his back to hear this story to begin with. Annabeth knew now that he had tried to hide it from her because he knew she would blame herself if she ever found out.

He was too good for her.

He had always been too good for her. She was only now realizing just how much.

Annabeth took a deep shuddering breath and her voice was hoarse when she spoke. “Thank you for telling me all this, but I don’t think I will ever forgive you.”

Kara offered her a pained smile and whispered, “I thought as much.”

When Annabeth stood up, Kara cocked her head to the side and looked up at her. “You’re taking this a lot better than I imagined you would.”

“I don’t know how I feel right now,” Annabeth said. “But this isn’t about me – it’s about Percy. It doesn’t really matter how I feel.”

Kara nodded in a clipped manner. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

There was a pause before Annabeth said, “I’m gonna head home now.”

“Okay,” Kara said. “Thanks for not breaking my nose.”

Despite the situation, a laugh managed to escape Annabeth before the pain settled in again immediately. “I wish I could be offended by that, but that’s fair,” she said.

Kara smiled again, but this time it was actually genuine. “Take care, Annabeth.”

“You too,” Annabeth said quietly.

She lingered there for a few seconds longer before heading back inside the house. Annabeth jostled through the party-goers, barely registering them as they passed by. If anyone spoke to her, she didn’t hear them. At some point, she found herself sitting inside her car. Then she was home. Then in her bed, staring up at the ceiling.

The clock that hung over her bedroom door ticking the seconds as they passed was the only sound she could hear, the seconds piling atop another, suffocating her underneath their weight. It was only after surrendering to sleep that she could actually breathe freely – the guilt was too much when she was conscious.

[belladonnabear]

Dabi X Reader X Bully Hawks

Inspired By: @yandere-love-love-love​

I loved the story Intertwined! I’m a huge fan as well! And I read some ideas that were bouncing back and forth on your account. I really liked a lot of them! Especially the one where soft Dabi comes in to rescue the reader from one of her darkest moments in life. So I was inspired to write this! You can consider this a unofficial sequel to Intertwined! Thank you yandere-love-love-love for helping inspiring me to write this! I hope you all enjoy!

WARNING: Sexual assault, Harassment, Abuse, Cursing, Angst with a happy ending!

Intertwined: https://yandere-love-love-love.tumblr.com/post/186177178656/intertwined

Artist Kadeart For The Picture Above: https://kadeart.tumblr.com/

You wake up with a heavy gasp. Tears dripping down your face and you're coughing ferociously. A queasy feeling bubbles in your stomach. Adrenaline rushing through your veins as you sprint to the bathroom. Flipping the toilet seat up and vomiting up your previous dinner. Not that you ate much to begin with. It felt never ending. Just choking out more excess from your stomach.

If it wasn't for that damn bastard, this wouldn't be happening. The nightmares, the constant feeling of being watched or the unbearable flashbacks you would get from something that reminded you of him. From a lingerie store, to a coffee shop and even cars that looked similar to the one he drove. 

Gagging over the toilet seat with tear stains on your face was how you often woke up these days. Especially after that night.

His dirty hands touching your body.

His eyes leering down at you.

That damn smirk...!

Everything was beginning to spin out of control. The worst part about it, you couldn’t do anything. The feeling of being helpless was always the last thing you felt before you passed out on the bathroom floor. What happened that night with Hawks wasn’t just a nightmare. It was torture. And you felt so small and insignificant compared to him. 

Why me?

~~

Classes began again. Every step towards the campus felt like a ball and chain around both your feet. Hawks hasn’t contacted in a week since the incident but you could feel his eyes watching you. As if testing you.

He stole pieces of your mind day by day. You felt like you were going insane. Everytime you heard about Hawks or saw a glimpse of him from the corner of your eye, you heard his voice from that night.

“No- you can’t leave- I’ll make you want me! No-no-no-“

“Stop! “Stop fighting me! I’m trying to be gentle-”

“Shh, shh- I’ll make this good, I swear I’ll make this good.”

While smacked yourself in the head to try to make yourself stop remembering it. This wasn’t the time yet. Just get through the day. College can’t last forever. Once you’re out of this hellhole, he’ll be gone too....right?

That’s what you said after high school and now look where you are....

“Holy hell...” a voice whispered.

That voice sounded familiar. Turning around, you were met with the most beautiful set of eyes on you. A fairly tall, pale young man of a slim, somewhat lanky build. He has longish black hair that spikes up around his head, hanging low over his eyes, which are thin, turquoise in color, and heavily lidded. His most striking features, however, are undoubtedly the patches of gnarled, wrinkled purple skin that cover much of his lower face and neck, all the way down past his collarbone, below his eyes and on his arms and legs. 

Despite all that, you knew who that man was standing in front of you. It was Dabi. A long lost acquaintance from high school that you occasionally talked to when Hawks wasn’t making your life miserable. He tended to be a loner. Not really having any friends to talk to. His scars seemed to be the main cause for his isolation but he didn’t seem to care. 

“Oh....hey Dabi.” you quietly said.

He eyed you for a moment before saying. “Hey yourself. Didn’t know you came to this place as well.”

“Me too. Did you just transfer here recently?” you asked.

“Yeah. Meant to come here sooner but personal shit got in the way.” he grumbled looking away.

Dabi was a rebel in his teenage days. Life at home sucked. School sucked too. He was a bad boy who had done vandalism, smoking on school grounds and getting into fights. Eventually though, he mellowed out. His siblings helped him become the brother he used to be. Though he still didn’t care much for his dad, he secretly hoped that dad really was trying to change. After some police incident that scarred part of his face, he said he would take the necessary steps in order to help his family. Apparently, that included him too.

“You haven’t changed a bit. Still wearing Hot Topic clearance?” you lightly joked.

A small smile made it to his face. “Still wearing Old Navy off the rack?”

“Meanie.” you pouted.

“Short stuff.” he teased.

The air was light as the two of you talked back and forth on your way to campus. Dabi mostly teasing you and you pretending to be offended. It made you wish you got to know Dabi more. Despite that rugged exterior, a very charming man lied beneath the surface. One who helped make you laugh. It was like being released from prison after serving a long sentence.

“You still make your own little lunches?” Dabi wondered.

“Maybe, why?” you wondered.

“You’re like a junior high girl trying to impress her crush. You’re about the same height as one too!” he smirked.

“Hey! I try to maintain the best diet I can! Besides, what do you have in that bag of yours? Turkey sandwich?” you nudged him.

“Ham sandwich short stuff.” he jabbed back.

“Isn’t that cannibalism?” you giggled.

He narrowed his eyes but the humor was still glinting in them. 

“Well then, why don’t we trade lunches today? You could afford to gain some weight. A balloon could knock you over.” Dabi invited.

You felt as if a rock slammed into your stomach. You haven’t been doing well eating regularly. Skipping breakfast, having a small lunch and then some dinner. Only for most of the meal to be vomited from your mouth around midnight. 

Before you could answer him however, your eyes caught the sight of another man. One who did not like what he was seeing. It was Hawks in the parking lot eyeing you and Dabi viciously. You definitely felt like throwing up now. Dabi seemed to catch what you were staring at and turned his gaze towards the golden boy. Hawks eyes quickly shifted from distaste to calm in a few seconds. Which unerved you to no end.

“Isn’t that Hawks from high school?” he muttered mostly to himself.

“I-I-I’ll s-see you l-later Dabi.” you stammered before running off towards the building. 

Dabi wasn’t an idiot. He heard about the bullying Hawks put you through in high school. Everyone did. But no one said anything because of how influential his parents were. His dad was the Mayor of Hosu City for crying out loud! They were rich upper crusts with enough money to buy your way out of trouble. But now it seems that even after that, Hawks still didn’t leave you alone. And you sounded like a frightened child just by looking at him. It was a feeling Dabi knew all too well. Which made him loathe Hawks more now.

Speaking of the man, Hawks casually strolled over. Hands in his brown Gucci jacket, like he owned the world. But even though his face seemed friendly, deep down Dabi knew Hawks was resenting Dabi inside. Hawks smiled at him and waved casually.

“Hey there scarface, long time no see! I’m surprised you’re not locked up! Thought you got into some trouble with the law!” Hawks greeted.

He already knew where this conversation was going and Dabi didn’t like it one bit.

“Don’t you have better things to do with your time than to pester me idiot?” Dabi scoffed.

“Ouch! Harsh! Don’t worry though, I’ll make this quick for everyone’s sake!” Hawks waved off.

That’s when his face twisted into a look of hostility. Dabi stared him down though not blinking. Like hell he would let this short daddy’s boy try to make him feel puny.

“Stay the fuck away from (Y/N).” Hawks warned.

Dabi rolled his eyes. “Are you still harassing her after all these years? When will you learn to grow up?”

“My baby? No.” Hawks denied.

“Baby? She’s your girlfriend now or something? Cause from what I know about girlfriends, they don’t run away in panic when they see their supposed boyfriend.” Dabi jeered.

“We’re going through a rough patch now and I want to make sure that no one tries to take her from me while we’re figuring stuff out. I saw how cozy you two were getting.” Hawks dismissed.

Now Dabi knew something was going on. There was no way you would date Hawks. Not after the years of torment he gave you. And after all this time, he was still coming after you? This creep couldn’t take no for an answer.

Plus the way Hawks said you two were going through a “rough patch” hit closer to home. The way his father and mother had gone through their own relationship and it ended with a much needed divorce. And he was seeing those same signs repeat here.

“So stay out of our way Dabi. She’s mine.” Hawks hissed.

The man then had a friendly face as he walked to the campus whistling. Dabi could feel the anger radiating from Hawks. Like the man didn’t want anyone near you at all. Is that why you were always by yourself?

He remembered for a moment when he resented the world because of what it did to him. He got these scars from an incident beyond his control. The world couldn’t even look at him because of him. While on the outside he never cared about what they thought, he hated everyone for casting him out. He felt alone. Now it seems like you were going through your own crisis back in those days. But unlike Dabi where he slowly got better from his past, your past seems to keep coming back to you. Whatever the case, Dabi simply couldn’t help but feel like he had to help you somehow.

~~

Classes came and went like the tides. Although you hadn’t heard from him, you felt as if Hawks was eyeing you the whole time. Like he was calculating when his time would be before he striked. Like a vulpture surveying the area before it feasts on its prey.

You had just exited from the bathroom when you saw Hawks leaning on the wall. His eyes shot to yours and you felt nauseous all over again. Your hands began trembling and your eyes began watering and you couldn’t move. So Hawks moved first.

His face looked stern as he said sharply. “You’ve been avoiding me. Is there anything you want to tell me baby? I’m honestly hurt you wouldn’t come to me if you’re having a problem.”

Now you felt angry. How dare he! After everything this man put you through, he’s acting like he’s the victim in this situation!

“Stay the hell away from me Hawks! I mean it!” you snapped.

“You don’t mean it. You’re just upset about how that night went down! I know jealousy is a horrible feeling but do you honestly think that talking to that hood rat was going to mend things?” Hawks sighed.

“What are you talking about?” you questioned with a baffled expression.

Hawks leaned down towards you and your back hit the wall. You felt trapped once again. Small bits and pieces from that night flashed in your mind and your eyes felt watery.

“I mean, I get it. You wanted me to feel jealous after I slept with that girl and you didn’t know about it. So you decided to be friendly with that mongrel this morning to try to get back at me.” Hawks explained.

You honestly wanted to hit him right now. That’s why he thought you were avoiding him? Because he slept with that one girl from class after he locked you in closet and threatened you to be quiet? And after that he raped you moments after it was over! 

“You disgusting piece of shit! What the hell is wrong with you?! You honestly think that I’m mad about you sleeping with someone else?” you snarled.

His eyes looked condescending, like he was your father and you’re the teenager who was caught past curfew. It made you boil inside with absolute fury. 

“Well that is why you didn’t talk to me on the car ride home, right? You were upset with me! But don’t worry! I have blocked all her contact information and haven’t spoken to her since! So-!” Hawks began.

“Just shut up! You’re delusional! I don’t care about you Hawks! In fact, I hate your guts! You honestly want me to pretend like nothing happened! Let me say it aloud since you can’t accept it! You raped me Hawks! You locked me in your closet, had sex with her to try and make me jealous and when that didn’t work, you dragged me into your bedroom and violated me! Want to know why I’m avoiding you?! Because I can’t stand the sight of you! Even just talking to you now I can’t stop thinking about all the terrible things you did to me! I’ve been in agony this whole week because of you! No! Not just this whole week! MY WHOLE LIFE HAS BEEN RUINED BECAUSE OF YOU!” you thundered.

“(Y/N), babe! Sweetheart! Calm down!” he clamped a hand over your mouth to stop your shouting as he leaned closer to you. Pressing his body up against you as you continued to struggle. 

“You know what you just said wasn’t true! You said you loved me! Even before then you said...you said you loved me! I know you’re just going through a rough time now! Our fight has made things difficult and you can’t trust me anymore! I get it! But I’m willing to work things through! That’s what you do for the people you love! And I really do love you beautiful!” Hawks cheerfully said with dreamy look in his eyes.

You bit his hand harshly and he removed it from your mouth. You then screamed right at his face. “YOU MANIPULATED ME BASTARD! I ONLY SAID THAT BECAUSE YOU LOCKED ME IN A STORAGE CONTAINER AND WOULDN’T LET ME OUT! YOU’VE HIT ME! YOU SPREAD RUMORS ABOUT ME SO I HAD NOBODY TO RELY ON! WHAT THE HELL IS THE POINT OF ALL OF THIS IF YOU CAN’T EVER LEAVE ME ALONE?!”

“Stop it! You know I had to do those things baby girl! You weren’t thinking properly! I had to take action! You’re just scared of starting a relationship!” Hawks scolded.

“THE ONLY THING I’M SCARED OF IS YOU!” you bellowed.

He once again covered your mouth but this time with his lips. He kissed you passionately. Letting his hands feel up and down your body. You tried pushing him away but he kept his arms wrapped tight around you. Like a python around its prey. Nobody was around. Most had left for lunch and you weren’t anywhere close to the cafeteria. 

You were all alone yet again with the man you despised more than anyone.

He pulled away and softly said. “Don’t worry honey. I’ll make it up to you. Say, the bathroom will work right? I’ll make you love me again!”

And just when you think you were going to faint right on the spot, a voice spoke up.

“Get your fucking hands off her.”

The two of you turned as your eyes glazed at Dabi. The man looked furiously at Hawks. Like he was pure scum that had no reason to exist. 

“The hell are you doing here?” Hawks questioned.

That’s when Dabi held up his phone. It was a video. A video that played the conversation the two of you were just having. Starting from when you said.

“Stay the hell away from me Hawks! I mean it!”

And ending with the chilling finale.

“I’ll make you love me again!”

You pushed Hawks away and he stumbled back into the middle of the hallway. Dabi then motioned for you to come over to him. Which you did without a second of hesitation. You hid behind him gripping on the back of his black jacket. You whispered quietly to him.

“How did you find us?”

“I wanted to have lunch with you.” Dabi smiled reassuringly.

Then his eyes went back to Hawks but with a resentful look. Hawks still looked frozen on the spot. The video had really put the egotistical man child in his place. He knew deep down if that video got out, it was all over for him. His name would be ruined, his family would be ashamed, they would cast him out as a disgrace to the family, he would lose his scholarship, never get his diploma and would living out on the streets. Without his parents money, he would have nothing.

And Dabi knew it too. While Hawks was keeping his eyes on you, he never noticed Dabi keeping his focus on the degenerate. After seeing you and Hawks alone in the hallway, he realized that something was about to happen. So just in case, he filmed the entire ordeal from around the stairs. Quietly making sure you wouldn’t hear him or see him. What he caught made him want to beat the living shit out of Hawks. The claims you made against Hawks were vile. In Dabi’s own opinion, Hawks shouldn’t be allowed to be anywhere on Earth, let alone the victim he’s been tormenting for so long.

And if you were too scared to do anything about it, Dabi would stand up for you. He knew the pain of being abused and pushed around till you feel like dying. Someone as kind as you didn’t deserve this. 

“So here’s how it’s going to go champ.” Dabi glared at him head on. “You go anywhere near (Y/N), me or our families: I release this video everywhere. Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook or hell even MySpace. All these websites will have it. I’ll even tag the university and your parents too. Just think about it. Hosu City’s mayor has a pathetic excuse of a son like you! I couldn’t imagine the reaction the public would get!”

Hawk’s eyes narrowed. “You wouldn’t.”

“I fucking would.” Dabi confirmed.

You looked at the two men nervously. Both were giving each other such hateful looks. Hawks was shaking in pure rage. Like he was holding back everything he has from killing Dabi right here. Dabi looked at him smugly. He knew he had the ace in the hole. And so did you.

“So what’s it going to be? You have three seconds to decide. Going once....going twice....going-.” Dabi started counting.

“Wait!” Hawks shouted.

You were all in silence. Hawks breathing became heavy.  As he stared at you in desperation. It made you sick.

“Love, please....please don’t do this to me. I need you.” Hawks pleaded.

It was pathetic.  He knew he was losing everything. This video was the end of his fantasies and desires. His crush on you from middle school is finally coming to an end. It should have ended long ago but the demented man refused to ever accept that.

“Leave me the hell alone Hawks. And this time, never come back.” you snapped.

“She’s made up her mind. Now get the fuck outta here.” Dabi warned.

Hawks gave you one last look. A heart wrenching look that might have anyone else feel guilty or have a second thought. But not this time. You were done being his prisoner. It was time to finish the chapter to this story.

You looked away from him and hid behind Dabi. Closing your eyes and gripping onto the man tight. You were refusing to allow Hawks to even look at you. You could hear a pained whine come from the blonde but eventually he walked the opposite way of where you and Dabi were standing. The sound of doors slamming finally made you open your eyes. 

“He’s gone now.” Dabi softly said.

That’s when you took a deep breath and realized you were holding it in for so long. Afraid Hawks would do something rash that would result in you and Dabi getting hurt.

Eventually, you sunk onto the floor. Breathing in and out heavily while on your knees. Warm arms wrapped around you as Dabi stroked your hair. He shushed you quietly and murmured.

“It’s okay now. He’s gone. He’s not coming back.”

Eventually, you began crying. It was all too much. These last few minutes were overwhelming and you felt like you needed to let it all out. Tears of horror dripped down when you almost realized how close you were to reliving that night again right here on campus. Sobs of disgust after everything Hawks had done to you and was going to do to you. And small hiccups of relief when you realized it was over. It was finally over!

Eventually, your cries were silent. Wet cheeks covered your face. No doubt smearing any makeup you had on you. But you stared at Dabi in the eyes. In his wonderful sapphire eyes and whispered with a shaky voice. 

“T-T-Thank y-you D-Dabi. Tha-Thank y-y-y-you!”

Your arms wrapped around him as well. You just needed to hold him after everything that has happened. Dabi rocked you back and forth as you slowly began calming down. He then spoke up after a moment.

“I wasn’t going to send the video out to the internet. It was just a threat.” Dabi clarified.

You looked up at him as he continued. “Didn’t want you to experience everyone knowing about you from that one video or something. You shouldn’t have one of your trauma’s posted out to the internet for everyone to see. However, this video can be showed to the police or heck even get you a restraining order. Either way, I wasn’t going to humiliate you for the whole world to see. Just needed show the bastard that I wasn’t going to allow you to get hurt anymore.”

You smiled at him. “D-Dabi, that means a lot to me. Thank you...”

“I’m sorry I was watching by quietly (Y/N). My gut was telling me the slimy little bitch was going to do something to you. I wanted you safe from him. I could tell from the parking lot that something was wrong.” Dabi apologized.

“Don’t apologize! You stood up for me! You got proof! You saved my life Dabi!” you insisted.

Dabi felt relief roll down his shoulders. Like a huge weight was lifted off of him but now that the first step was complete, he needed to assure your recovery.

“So (Y/N) what do you want to do with this video? We could take him to court. Or we could let him sweat it out for the rest of his life. Your call. I’ll help. I won’t let you down.” Dabi assured.

You thought about it for a moment. You didn’t want Hawks to ever come back to you. But no matter how many times you’ve told him that, he always came back. This time you couldn’t screw things up. Dabi has helped you get this far, you might as well take this advantage while you can. Hawks will try something to get you back. So you had to try something to get him to leave you alone.

“I....I want a restraining order. We can try to get the police involve....but I don’t want that video out there for the world to see. Knowing Hawks, he’s already thinking about a way to try and get me back.” you decided.

Dabi slowly nodded. “Sounds good. My old man never liked Hawk’s family. Didn’t agree with their political views or whatever. He’s got a big agency we can take this video too. If that old man is really trying to change, then this is his chance to prove it.”

Dabi had a dark look in his eyes. A look that was all too familiar to you. Leaning in, you kissed his rough cheek. He froze on the spot and you pulled away.

“Dabi, I’ll be there for you too. I’m sure you’ve gone through some hell as well. Let’s promise right here and now, we’ll be there to support each other. No matter what happens.” you said with a determined look.

Dabi looked surprised. The quiet reserved (Y/N) was already starting to break out of her shy demeanour. And he couldn’t afford to waste this moment. He held up his hand and stuck his pinkie out. 

“Only if you agree to let me take you out on a proper date.”

You interlocked pinkies that day and changed your future.

Six Years Later...

“Dabi! Hurry up! We’ll miss the dolphins!”

“I’m coming short stuff!”

Dabi groaned but he adored the smile on his girlfriend’s face. She was wearing a sundress with flower petals on it. The two of them were on the beach away from the gigantic crowd. They heard from a local that this was the best spot to see the dolphins and (Y/N) insisted on going there. Today was a special day so they walked all the way there.

It was their six year anniversary since the two started dating. Their lives significantly changed since they reunited in college. Dabi was out of his rebellious teenage stage and was now a happily taken man. He was slowly trying to open himself up to his family again. Enji was trying to make significant changes to appreciate his family. Even though his mom never remarried him again, she was still happy and loved (Y/N) as much as Dabi loved her.

His siblings loved her too. Fuyumi and her were sisters from their first meeting, Natsuo tried to tell embarrassing stories about Dabi he got him back with his own embarrassing stories  and Shoto thought you were good enough for his elder brother. The siblings however were wondering when Dabi would pop the question though.

Well....he hoped it would be today....

In his black shorts was the small box containing the very expensive ring. He silently prays that it doesn’t fall from his fingers and is lost in the ocean forever. That would be his luck after all. (Y/N) was taking a photo of the sunset on the shore with her phone. Which reminded Dabi of the time when she was under that asshole’s thumb.

Enji took on the case fiercely. (Y/N) did manage to get a restraining order placed against him. Hawks parents were not pleased at all to hear of what had happened. He had been put on the sex offenders list as well. Hawks remained confirmed that he wasn’t guilty. Simply saying that (Y/N) was taking things out of context in the heat of the moment. So while his sentence wasn’t that long, his life was ruined. His parents cut Hawks from them after the scandal had accidentally been leaked to the public. No one really knows what happened to the man since. His small prison time was over now after one year later, no one has heard from Hawks since. Some say he’s homeless in the city trying to survive after his parents stopped giving him money. Some say his parents are giving him money but they’re not letting the public know. So Hawks is living under a new identity far away from everyone and everything he knows. Some even say he’s trying to make a living but is trying to hide who he is from the public.

Dabi doesn’t care what Hawks was doing. He could be dead for all Dabi cares. Hawks social media hasn’t been used in ages and Dabi never found him on the news anywhere. He had to make sure Hawks wouldn’t come back to you. You two were far away from Hosu City and were now living much happier lives out in the country. But back then, you two were still worried about if Hawks would come after you. It pained him to hear you wake up from nightmare after nightmare recalling the events that night had brought to you. However, he stayed by your side. Getting you to see a therapist and getting some antidepressants. With time, patience, courage, you were finally starting to be happy. Genuinely happy. 

You two graduated from university together. Both of your families meeting each other for the first time. It was kind of awkward for Dabi at first but your parents quickly warmed up to him when they saw how much happier you were with him. But now, he wanted you to be the most happy woman in the world. 

“Look! Dabi! The dolphins! And there’s a cute baby one too!” you squealed.

The striped dolphins were jumping over the waves making whistling and trilling. Your eyes lit up as you took a few photos. The dolphins were cute but Dabi thought you were cuter.

When you turned around to ask him something you saw he was on one knee. Revealing a diamond ring to you. His eyes blazing like fire.

“You’ve been the greatest treasure I could have asked for. We’ve been through hell and back together. But no matter what we go through, we’ll always be together. But now, I want to do this together with you as your husband. So will you be my wife short stuff?” Dabi grinned.

A smile stretched across your face as you nodded and whispered. “Yes! Yes!”

He slid the ring onto your finger and then kissed it. You leaped down to him and kissed him on the lips. He lifted you up and kissed you back just as passionately.

A new chapter indeed.

~~

I feel reeeeallly bad because I love canon Hawks from BNHA but I wanted to make this story!

Thank you for reading!

[niallismymuse]

Chapter 2

Tessa went to bed that night feeling happy and content, even with the knowledge that she would have a wicked hangover the next morning. It was all worth it, just for the look on his face when she had kissed his cheek.

Yet when she woke up the next morning to a splitting headache, it didn’t matter for long. Because her feed was filled with texts from her mother and sister and some of her colleagues, all with links to various articles online. Articles written about her.

She clicked on the one her sister sent, ignoring the other messages. It opened up to pictures of her and Niall hugging inside and outside of the bar, and one showing her kissing his cheek. The headline was ‘Popstar Niall Horan and YouTuber Queen Tessa – Dating?’

She blinked about eight million times, despite how crusty her eyes felt, and let out a groan that would have woken the dead. She couldn’t deal with this. She could not. And Niall – he must be embarrassed right now. She hadn’t seen any messages from him, but surely someone had told him that he was in the pop-culture articles once more. Especially over something like this.

Dating? No. Did she wish? Yes. Was it likely to ever happen now? Mm, probably not.

They hadn’t been spotted out and about together before, not that they had gone outmuch before. But of course, the one time she decided to have balls, someone took pictures.

With a sigh of utter despair, Tessa tossed her phone aside and buried her face into her pillow. Tears burned at her eyes, and she sniffled, her bottom lip quivering. Sure, this wasn’t the first ‘story’ that had been sold about her, but this was by far the largest. She would be lucky if it didn’t affect her friendship with Niall – unless that was already screwed. He hadn’t messaged, after all.

Neither had Jess. So much for having a best friend.

Tessa reached down and yanked the covers over her head, blocking out the light of day streaming through her curtains.

✩✩✩

After wallowing under the blankets for at least an hour and pushing back tears a majority of the time, Tessa decided she had to get up and deal with the trials of the day. She took it slow – she emerged from her cocoon and got some Advil and a glass of water to ease the headache pulsing through her skull. Once the pill was swallowed along with the rest of the water, she rummaged around her fridge for some breakfast. She found some leftovers to eat, not in the mood to cook; that was sacrilegious, because Tessa was always in the mood to cook. Today, though, she let it slide.

She munched on some cold quesadilla’s from the other night and filled the ache in her stomach. Yet the ache in her chest was still there, pulsing beneath everything else. She couldn’t believe someone had taken pictures of her and Niall. Wait, yes, she could, but what she couldn’t believe was that they were all over the Internet. How had her fun night out turned so sour?

Tessa decided she couldn’t dwell on it any longer – it would make her headache come back, stronger than ever before. She needed to get her mind off of it, so she would do the one thing she could: work.

And work she did. When she was about halfway finished with putting the Othello video together, she sent Niall a text, a simple ‘hey’, and then set her phone aside. She lost herself in the editing process, and when the video was complete and ready to be stored for uploading, the sun was westward in the sky.

Blowing out a harsh breath, she saw that Niall hadn’t texted back.

Okay, ouch, she thought, but I have better things to do than overanalyze that.

It could have been anything. He was likely dealing with fallout of his own. Now that she was back on her phone, she could see that her social media was blowing up. She was being mentioned in practically triple the Tweets that she was normally mentioned in. People were commenting all over her Instagram, and yeah, about half of those were nasty comments. Like, ‘why would Niall kiss her? She’s ugly’ and others in a similar vein.

When Tessa checked her YouTube account, she saw that her subscriber count had definitely increased since yesterday, which caused some mixed emotions.

Perhaps this wasn’t entirely bad, then. But then she felt guilty over the thought – she did not kiss Niall’s cheek for more views or subscribers, she kissed Niall’s cheek because she liked him.

Tessa could feel herself beginning to spiral, and her chest tightened. She set her phone down again and took a deep breath in through her nose, and then pushed it out through her mouth. After repeating the process for a few minutes and narrowing her focus until breathing was all that she could think of, her chest loosened. That tight, anxious feeling still lurked, but it was manageable. As long as she had something else to do, some way to keep her mind occupied, it would stay that way. Doing nothing would make it come back, full-force.

She turned the notifications off on her phone and ignored the several texts her mother had sent her. Maria Jenkins would have to wait for her daughter to catch her breath.

Tessa sat there in her desk chair and thought about what to do next, lacing her fingers together. She needed to get her car. She had taken an Uber home last night, which meant that her poor car was still sitting in that bar’s parking lot. That was a priority.

Mind focused, she ordered another Uber and worked on a script for a video while she waited.

✩✩✩

Driving in LA always took a lot of concentration, at least in Tessa’s opinion. The roads were crowded and full of traffic, and in certain tourist-trap areas, there was always at least one person who darted across the street when and where they weren’t supposed to. She didn’t mind; not today, anyway. It was just another thing to focus wholly on.

She stopped at Trader Joe’s and bought groceries for dinner, keeping her eyes down and her steps quick. She’d been stopped by fans before, and while she always loved seeing them, today was just not the day for it.

When she got home and unloaded, she took a moment to check her phone. She hadn’t checked it since the Uber had arrived and wasn’t surprised to see more messages from her mom (‘Are you ever going to message your own mother, Tessa?’), but she wassurprised to see a single text from Niall.

It read: hey…how are you holding up?

She typed back: I’m okay. You?

His response came a minute later. I’m okay, used to it. I’m more worried about you. Want to talk?

Not really. Not about the media and the pictures that were taken of them. But she did want to see him; Tessa realized that she missed him already.

Want to come over for dinner? I’m making spaghetti.

His response came a mere second later. Yes. Anything I can bring?

Tessa texted back no and sent him her address and apartment number. Then he was on his way, and she looked around her apartment and panicked.

It wasn’t dirty or messy, necessarily, but this was the first time Niall had ever come over. She had dishes in the sink, and the floor needed a quick sweep. She set about completing her chores quickly, all while the water for the noodles boiled and the sauce came together, and then she wiped down her kitchen table and the coffee table in the connected living room.

Oh God, what was she going to wear?

All too soon, a knock sounded from the door. Tessa glanced down at the yoga pants and thin sweatshirt she was wearing, and then shrugged. This was what it was, then.

She padded quickly to the door and opened it, smiling just because she knew who would be standing behind it.

Niall was dressed in a similar attire; he was wearing gray sweatpants and a comfy-looking blue t-shirt. He hadn’t shaved. A light coating of stubble decorated his jaw. He tugged at his shirt almost self-consciously. “Hope ya don’t mind my clothes…”

“Oh, pfft.” She waved his comment off. “Look at me. I work at home. We wear what we want in this household.” And with that, she gestured him inside. “So, this is the place where I live. Welcome. I’m still cooking the spaghetti.”

His eyes rested on each piece of the apartment that he could see from where he was standing. The kitchen, next to a large floor-to-wall window. The small wooden dining table, a few feet away from the kitchen, and the living room with its blue sofa and TV a few feet back. Her bedroom door was closed, and right beyond the kitchen with a bathroom connected. The second bedroom was on the other side, by the living room.

“I like your apartment,” Niall stated, and she could tell that he wasn’t lying or just saying it because it was the polite thing to say – there was a genuine warmth to his tone, and his eyes lit up when they landed on a tiny stone turtle knickknack that was on the kitchen counter. “You like sea turtles?”

“Love them,” she replied as she headed back towards the kitchen, giving the cooking noodles a stir. She added some parmesan cheese to the sauce and stirred it, then gave it a quick taste. She had already put some sugar in to cut the acidity of the tomatoes, but she had forgotten salt in her rush to clean. Tessa fixed that quickly before turning to look at Niall, who was watching her intently. “They’re my favorite animal. What’s yours?”

Niall looked a little nonplussed. “No one has asked me that in years.”

Tessa frowned. “Well, I think having a favorite animal says a lot about a person. See, my all-time favorite is the sea turtle, but I also really love meerkats. And sharks.”

He blinked, before coming closer and peering into the spaghetti sauce like it would have an answer for him. “Um…huh. I think giraffes are really cool. I kind of forgot that I liked them so much, actually. Especially when I was younger.”

Tessa nodded sagely, before grabbing a clean spoon and dipping it into the sauce. “Good choice. Want a taste? Be careful, it’s hot.”

Niall took the spoon and tentatively tasted the sauce, and his eyes widened. “Holy shit, Tess,” he chuckled as he shook his head, “this is good. Quite possibly the best red sauce I’ve ever had.”

She beamed at him. “Thank you. I love cooking, so I try to make the best food that I can.”

“I like cooking too. Is there anything I can help with?”

Tessa thought for a moment. She knew this wasn’t really why Niall had agreed to come over for dinner – it was obviously about the pictures and media attention – but this was a nice detour from that situation. “You can slice up that bread over there and make garlic bread, if you want.”

He smiled. “Cutting board?” he asked, gesturing to the cupboards. She grabbed one for him and handed him a knife, while he rummaged around in her fridge to find the butter and garlic. They worked separately on their tasks, but together. Tessa put her oven on to preheat, and Niall chopped garlic and melted butter before combining the two. It was nice. There was a comfortable silence between them.

Once the garlic bread was in the oven, Niall leaned against the counter and gazed cautiously at her. “Are you okay?”

She knew what he was asking. Self-consciously, she stirred the bubbling sauce, avoiding looking at him. She needed to get the noodles out of the boiling water, but it could wait just a little longer. “It was…a shock. I’ve never dealt with something quite this big, you know?”

He nodded, folding his arms across his chest. “It gets easier, the more ya deal with it. I just don’t comment on my relationships.”

“I haven’t been in one since my YouTube career started, so it’s never been a problem before,” she admitted before looking over at him. “But we’re not in one. So, it’s okay. We just won’t say anything…right?”

There was an odd silence, filled with a sort of half-tension. Niall swallowed harshly, and she saw his throat bob with the movement. Something inside of her was aching, just waiting for his response.

“Right. Won’t be a problem. Everyone’ll forget about it with the next scandal. We just have to wait it out.”

That ache plummeted inside of her, leaving Tessa feeling a little empty. He didn’t like her after all. If he did, he would have said something…right?

She forced a bright smile in his direction before grabbing the pot of boiling noodles and moving over towards the sink. She poured it into the colander, leaning back to avoid the steam, and let the heat and strain of staying still cleanse her mind. She shook the colander, trying to get rid of as much water as possible. When she turned back to face him, she was over it, as much as she could be over it.

“Spaghetti’s done.” She smiled, and Niall hummed softly in response, pulling open the oven to check the bread. When he said it needed just a minute more, she nodded and grabbed two plates, setting up the counter buffet-style.

She was fine. She was Tessa Love Jenkins, dammit, and she could handle an unintentional rejection. She compartmentalized it and shoved it in the back of her brain, making herself be ‘more fine’ than ever. The area of her brain containing her feelings for Niall was pushed wayback.

Niall plated himself some spaghetti, and when he was out of the way, Tessa pulled the garlic bread out of the oven and set it on the stove beside the spaghetti. With a flick of her wrist, she turned the oven off, and then began to serve herself. They sat down across from each other at the table. She took a deep breath, exhaled, and began to eat.

“Holy fuck,” Niall grumbled after chewing, “this is fuckin’ delicious, Tess. Damn.”

She grinned, unable to help being pleased. “Yeah?” She took a bite herself and then nodded enthusiastically. “It’s good!”

“Just good? It’s fuckin’ fantastic! Give yourself some more credit, love.”

They ate quickly, not because they were in a hurry, but mostly because it was that good. When they were finished, Tessa put the leftovers away and waved off Niall’s offer to help clean up. She would do it later.

“Want to watch something?” she asked as she sat down on the couch, remote in hand. She turned her TV on and pulled up Netflix before reaching down and grabbing a blanket from underneath the coffee table. It was chilly outside, and she wanted a bit of warmth and comfort, especially considering the day she’d had.

Niall sat down at the opposite end of the couch, which, ouch, definitely hurt a little, but then she threw the other end of her blanket over his feet and tucked that piece of information away to analyze later. He grinned at her and pulled his side of the blanket more fully over his lap.

“Absolutely, unless it’s a murder documentary. You mentioned you liked those. Whatcha got on?”

“No murder documentaries, this time.” Tessa side-eyed him. This next question could prove to break their friendship. “Would you be okay with Blue Planet?”

He dipped his chin, nice as ever. “’Course. I’ve never seen it.”

She gaped at him. “But it’s David Attenborough! Blue Planet II is what made Queen Elizabeth declare a war on plastic!”

Niall chuckled, looking just slightly sheepish. “Well, remember, I may live in London sometimes but I’m Irish and constantly traveling.”

Tessa shook her head, speechless, and started the first episode, which was about all of the oceans and habitats in some way. The documentary was beautiful and breath-taking, and Attenborough’s voice narrated it wonderfully.

Niall scooted closer, slowly enough that at first, she didn’t notice he was moving at all. Next thing she knew, his knee was bumping against hers and the blanket had settled comfortably over both of their laps. She swallowed, nervousness rising for some reason; she fisted the blanket before forcing her hand to relax.

This was nice. This was good. She liked this. All Niall needed to do was stretch his arms over her shoulders, and everything would be perfect.

They watched in silence as Attenborough described the mating habits of a particular fish. “He attempts to make with her and any of the dozen or so females that live in his territory, whenever he gets the chance.”

Niall snorted. “What a player.”

She giggled, dipping her head in agreement, and when she peeked over at him, he was staring in fascination at the screen. His lips were parted slightly, eyes wide but intensely focused, drinking in every word spoken. When the episode was finished, he shook his head in amazement and turned to look at her. Their shoulders brushed.

“I think you’ve gotten me on to something new to do with my time, what little I have of it.”

Tessa smiled gently. “I’m glad. I care a lot about our oceans and our water life. In fact, when I do my first charity livestream, I’m raising money to give to ocean conservation. I still have to put everything together, like who I’ll be donating to and what I’ll be doing, but it’s something I would like to do this coming year.”

His eyes lit up with interest. “Sounds cool, Tess. Keep me posted, I’m interested.”

“I will. I haven’t made a lot of progress with figuring it all out, since it’s just me on my channel so far, and I spend a lot of my time making sure I have weekly videos. I have to come up with a concept, script it as much as I can, get whatever I need for filming, film it, and then edit.”

“You do a lot of work,” Niall mused, looking at her steadily. There was a flash of concern in his eyes, and it gave her pause.

“Yeah,” she replied in an odd tone, “I do.”

It had gotten to the point where she rarely left her apartment, so consumed in filming and editing. By the time she was finished with something to a degree that she could be proud of, it was often late, and she was almost too tired to do anything. Tessa could recall going to bed without eating dinner more than a few times. “I guess…I’m something of a workaholic.”

“I get that.” Niall leaned back against the couch, gazing blankly at the coffee table in front of them. “When I get a song in my head…sometimes I can’t stop working on it until it’s as perfect as I can possibly make it. I’ll be asleep, and hear it in my head, and I’ll wake up, fingers twitching, needingto finish it.” He loosed a breath, shaking his head before running those fingers through his hair. “I love what I do, and I love creating music, but sometimes I can’t get out of my own head.”

Tessa understood that perfectly. Certain videos she had produced had been the result of hours upon hours of work, of 2am wakeups filled with the urge to do something, of rejections to go out with friends because she was worried that if she didn’t finish whatever she was working on soon, the concept in her mind would burn out and take the whole project with it.

“It sounds like you and I need to relax,” she told him because she didn’t know how else to process this, and Niall laughed a little breathlessly.

“I’ll relax when I’m dead,” he chortled, and she could tell he was only half-joking.

The thought she had yesterday came rushing back. “I don’t post a video or do any work the first week of the New Year as a way to reset and recharge. In fact, I go away every New Year’s Eve with my friends to a cabin in Big Sur Campground…would you like to come with us?”

Niall turned once more to face her, eyes calculating. She could see that he was weighing the pros and cons quickly in his mind, and she waited, breath baited.

“Fuck it. Yeah, I’ll come.”

“Great.” She exhaled, a wide smile breaking on to her lips. “We leave in two days.”

Niall grinned at her. “Awesome. I could use a good time.”

“Oh, it’ll be a great time. We basically just get drunk and eat junk food. It’s my favorite time of the year.” She paused, remembering the circumstances that had landed Niall on her couch in the first place. “It’s private, too. No one should bother us.”

Of course, no one should have bothered them last night either, but they always rented a cabin far away from all of the others, just so they could party and do as they saw fit.

He nodded. “Sounds good. I’m excited, Tess. Just text me what to bring.” He stretched slowly, loosening his muscles, and she didn’t pretend to not notice when his t-shirt rode up, exposing a thin sliver of his stomach. She didn’t pretend (to herself) that she didn’t want to see more. “I should get going. But I had a great time. You cook a fuckin’ delicious spaghetti.”

She smirked and led him to the door. Halfway out the door, after already saying goodbye, he pivoted and turned to face her. “Oh, and Tess? We probably shouldn’t be seen in public together for a little while…just to let things die down.”

Tessa blinked, before nodding her head in silent agreement. That funny feeling in her chest was back – like something was about to crack, but it wasn’t quite there yet. It hurt in an all-new way.

Niall smiled, waved, and then disappeared down the hallway of her apartment building.

She closed her door, mind whirling with every little thing Niall had said or done that evening – every note of disinterest, every smile or move that spoke of the opposite. She leaned against her door, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath in before slowly blowing it out.

What had she gotten herself into?

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