#is why drunk driving is the top cause of death in both towns so i don’t really wanna do that. but my mom has a friend in town who has

[mermaidonsororityrow]

as much as i love seeing someone’s else tourist town i miss my tourist town <3

[alittlebitofloveliness]

As a Two-Bit lover I must ask…do you think he’s mirror hall or archer coded? (Taylor swift). I’d love to her your explanation for either or!

Also Happy Holidays!

Hi anon! So, I sat on this ask for a few days because I couldn't decide because both songs really work. Ultimately i decided whichever one I could more easily write a songfic with was better, which turned out to be the Archer. Um, so, I hope you enjoy the fic? (sorry if this isn't the kind of exposition you were hoping for, you can always resubmit the ask if it wasn't)

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

Combat, I'm ready for combat

The socs spread out in front of them, a wall of madras shirts and unearned superiority, made of more money than he’d ever see in his whole life, enough that his mother wouldn’t have to work herself to death and Susie could have fun for once instead of always having to pinch pennies and be practical. He hears his mom’s voice in his head, telling him it’s not right to hate anyone. He swallows another swig of beer and hates them all anyway. Johnny’s dying, Ponyboy’s sick as a dog, and Dally’s a wild, dangerous explosive animal more than he is human, and all because the socs couldn’t stay on their own side of town.

I say I don't want that, but what if I do?

Everyone from the east side fights. It’s just a way of life. 

‘Why do you always do this?’ Susie had screamed at him once, on one of the many nights he’d stumbled home drunk, bloodied and bruised after picking a fight he didn’t care if he could win. He hadn’t had an answer then, when she’d stitched up his forehead with fury in her eyes, but looking at the socs he does now, thinks maybe he fights sometimes because he likes it a little too much, likes being hit when it feels like he deserves it and hitting someone else when it feels like they do. 

He’s never said he was a good person.

'Cause cruelty wins in the movies

“Look at the dirty fuckers run!” The words feel torn from the savage monster in his chest that delights at the socs downfall, that feels like this is retribution, somewhat, for Johnny and Pony and the rest of their whole fucking neighbourhood. For a second, a blissful moment, it feels almost like they’re in a movie and they’re still a bunch of hoods but the heroes of the story nonetheless.

Then the rest of the night happens, and he remembers that life isn’t ever like a storybook, and that tragedy is the only thing the east side ever has to spare.

I've got a hundred thrown-out speeches I almost said to you

He’s in the school hallway a week after Dally and Johnny died, walking with Steve and Ponyboy- for the kid’s comfort or his own he doesn’t know- when he sees her. 

She’s as pretty as she was at the drive in, prettier even, now that it’s daylight and he’s sober enough to see the auburn strands in her otherwise brown curls, and can catalogue the mirth hiding in her clear eyes, a spark he recognizes easily because he sees it every day in the mirror and never managed to find it in anyone else but her, no matter how hard he tried.

He should hate her, the way he hates all the socs now, should blame her for Johnny’s death and Dally’s by proxy because the whole mess started with her and her redhead friend and their shitty, violent boyfriends. To not hate her is almost a betrayal in itself.

She meets his eye, sunlight from the window bathing her face, and smiles. 

He doesn’t hate her. He can’t.

He smiles back. 

She keeps smiling, for weeks, every time she sees him in the hall. He smiles back. Thinks about talking to her. Doesn’t.

She’s in his art class, the only subject he isn’t in a remedial lesson for, and one he used to skip before he noticed her. She sits three rows ahead of him, and sometimes she ties her hair into a huge fluffy ponytail on the top of her head. 

Once, she brushed an errant strand of that glorious hair behind her ear and smeared blue paint along her cheek. She’d laughed at herself and caught his eye, as if to share the joke, and Two-bit found himself thinking about licking it.  

His attendance in other classes is abysmal but art class is near perfect. 

Easy they come, easy they go

Mom gives him a weird look on a sunny morning in May, sometime after the midterm reports are out but before classes end. It’s uncommon, the two of them sitting at the breakfast table together, but he spent last night bailing Steve out of county lockup and she didn’t have an opening shift for once, so they both slept at home and woke up in no sort of rush. 

“You haven’t brought a girl ‘round in a while,” Mom says, and his ears burn because she knows what he brought those girls around for, and it’s embarrassing being asked by his own mother why he’s got no game all of a sudden, “everythin’ alright?”

“Fine.” His ears burn and all he can think about is brown curls and blue paint and the fact that he stopped bringing girls around about the same time he started going to art class everyday, and hadn’t even noticed until now.

“Well,” mom pops a bite of scrambled eggs in her mouth, and grins, her smile the only one in the world that matches his, “you got your eye on anyone?”

His mom has always loved gossip, but she knows what most people don’t: that he loves it too.

Unbidden his mind flashes back to art class and the girl who never seems to leave his mind. He can feel his face split into a smile.

“Maybe.”

I jump from the train, I ride off alone

He talks to her on June 2nd, 1967, the last day of classes. Her usual seat partner is absent along with half the rest of the class who apparently had better things to do than sit in a classroom that’s forty degrees when grades are already in. Steve had ditched before lunch and invited him to go to a poker game at Tommy Prumly’s place, and even Ponyboy had permission from Darry to leave once he handed in his theme for English, but Two-bit had chosen to go to class instead. All because of her. All because he realized if he didn’t talk to her today then it might be a whole summer before he catches a glimpse of her beautiful, quietly mischievous face again. 

“Took you long enough,” is the first thing she says when he slides into the seat next to her, and he laughs, and suddenly he doesn’t know why he waited so long to talk to her again when it’s most of what he’s been thinking about for months.

She steals his pencil crayons while he draws a shitty, cartoonish version of their teacher, complete with a bow tie and an elaborate handlebar mustache, and Marcia giggles so loudly she gets sent into the hall, and Two-bit gets tossed out about half a minute later.

She’s waiting for him in the hallway, hair up in that fluffy ponytail he’s still dying to touch.

“Perfect,” she says, seizing his hand brazenly, right there in the hallway for god and her ex boyfriend and anyone else to see, “I knew you’d follow me. Let's get out of here.”

Then she sprints without warning, dragging him along, flying through the school hallways and out the doors until they reach her car, a tuff blue corvette he feels wrong just staring at.

He thinks that was the moment he truly fell head over heels in love with her, running from nothing and towards everything, her hand in his and him content to follow her anywhere just to bask in her aura a little bit longer. 

I never grew up, it's getting so old

He’s been told his whole life he needs to grow up, stop being so childish, get his shit together, get a job, figure out his life, as if the east side wasn’t all he’d ever have and a hood wasn’t all he’d ever be. Dad said it before he stormed out, Mom said it when she was harried and tired and came home to a sink full of dishes and an empty fridge. Susie said it too, before she gave up and stopped speaking to him altogether. Even Darry said it sometimes, when things with the gang were at their worst. He’d said it after Johnny and Dally passed, and it was about the only time Two-bit ever found himself considering it.

Marcia never says it though, probably because she was just as childish as him. They bought milkshakes instead of dinner and raced to see who could finish theirs first and then stumbled out of the diner with stomach aches and matching grins on their faces. He sings along too loudly to the radio, and when they go for walks she balances on the edge of the sidewalk with her arms out to the side like it’s a tightrope and she’s some sort of gymnast. They make petty bets and she call for a race after she’s already started running and it’s fun and easy and real the way life has never been with anyone else. With every other girl he’s always felt like he had to play a part, the suave greaser, the funny guy from the Curtis gang, a tough, no feelings type of casanova. But with Marly, he’s just him. Keith Mathews. For once, being himself doesn’t feel so soul crushingly bad.

Her kisses taste like chocolate and cherry lip balm, and her touches like sunshine, soft and warm or burning, but always all consuming, and he spends every stolen minute with her and could spend the rest of his life with her and it would never be enough.

Help me hold onto you

He genuinely wonders sometimes how he survived before he met her. Marly’s hand in his feels like the only thing tethering him to the earth after his sister leaves, bag packed and room left empty, having left nothing behind but a note and her grieving family. It’s not as permanent as death, but it hurts more, another abandonment and the knowledge that part of it is his fault.

“You didn’t know,” Marcia whispers into his neck, one of his hands caught between both of hers, “You couldn’t have done anything more. She made her choice.”

Maybe he couldn’t have. That’s the worst part. 

Marly’s too perfect in her pressed green dress and shiny shoes, to be sitting in his run down living room with the peeling wallpaper and stains on the coffee table, but she makes no move to leave, holds him close and curls up next to him on his lumpy mattress that night.

It hurts. He misses his sister, but Marly is here with him, and he isn’t out on a bender, and maybe he will survive this without destroying himself in the process. As long as she’s here next to him.

I've been the archer

I've been the prey

It felt like they played cat and mouse for months before they ever properly spoke after the drive in, but he’s hers now and she’s his, and it doesn’t matter that they’re still sneaking around nearly seven months later, doesn’t matter that they drive a town over to go on dates,  that his friends still think he’s single, and her mom keeps trying to set her up on dates. They love each other. That’s all that matters. 

Right?

Who could ever leave me, darling? But who could stay?

They’ve been together almost a year when he decides he has to break up with her. She’s too good for him, always has been, always will be. It’s cruel of him to tie her down like this, for her to still be a secret after all this time, for her to have to hide him from her family like the shameful thing he is. They come from two different worlds, how could he ever justify tying down someone as effervescent as her? She’s as precious and rare as the jewels in her earrings- earrings he could never in a million years afford to buy her no matter how much he may want to- but him? He’s just some east side hood who likes booze a little too much and isn’t going anywhere but down. Boys like him are a dime a dozen, and he doesn’t know why she bothered to give him the time of day in the first place.

They’re the hardest words he ever has to say, but he says them anyway.

“This can’t keep workin’. You know it can’t. Just- please, don’t make this any harder than it has to be, I’m beggin’ you, Marly, please.”

He turns to leave, half because she’s so beautiful sometimes she’s hard to look at, and half because he doesn’t want her to see the tears in his eyes. Greasers shouldn’t cry in front of anyone, but especially not pretty soc girls they’d fallen in hopeless, unsustainable, soul shattering love with. Besides, his tears would only hurt her, more than he knows he already has, breaking things off like this without warning, and if there’s one thing he’s recently learned he hates more than anything in the world its causing one Marcia Valentine any sort of pain. 

“No,” soft, manicured hands close around his arm in a grip that’s near bruising, and when he looks into her brown eyes they’re fiercer than he’s ever seen- which is saying something giver her strong opinions on just about everything. “You’re not doing this to us Keith Mathews. You’re not doing this to me. I won’t let you.”

“Mar,” he tucks a rogue curl behind her ear, a selfish final excuse to touch her in this, the last moment where he can, the action he’d longed to do in that art class all those months ago, “I ain’t good for you. Your folks can’t stand me and they don’t even know I exist, your friends wouldn’t give you the time of day if they knew about us, and I can’t exactly blame them-”

“Shut up!” She snaps, and she’s real angry now, he can tell, just like he can tell he’s about to get an earful.

“You listen to me, Keith Mathews, and you listen good. I don’t care.” She wrenches herself away from him, trembling with rage, and all he wants to do is wrap her in his arms, but he can’t let his shitty self tarnish her imperfect perfection any longer. It was selfish and cruel to have let it last this long in the first place, but he is and always has been the lowliest form of a selfish man.

“I don’t care,” Marcia repeats, her chin jutting out stubbornly, “You hear me, Keith Mathews? I don’t give a flying fuck what anyone else thinks. I’ll tell my parents, and Cherry, and the goddamn president tomorrow if it’ll convince you I’m serious about this because I need you.You get that? I need you like I need air to breathe and water to drink and sugar to keep me sane. I need you. I love you, like I never loved anyone else, and I know you love me too. So you can’t end this for no reason. You just can’t.”

“I know-” her breath hitches, and tears fall from her eyes but she keeps going, brave, so brave, always, “I know you think you’re some kind of worthless or that I’m somehow out of your league and I wish I knew why. And I wish I knew how to convince you otherwise, or show you how I see you because you’re so much better than that but- but I’m not going to let the piece of you that believes you don’t deserve anything good in this life tear us apart, because you deserve it all Keith. You deserve it all. You deserve to be happy, and I know- I know I make you happy. ”

Fuck. His own tears start to fall in earnest this time, and he looks away reflexively, not wanting her to see him cry- he’s supposed to be funny, he’s supposed to keep things light, to make her laugh, keep her laughing, all the time-

“Hey,” suddenly his cheek is cupped in a soft palm and he’s looking into her eyes once more, and there's so much feeling there if he didn’t know better he thinks he’d call it forever. “I mean it. You deserve to be happy. Let us be happy, okay? We can be happy.”

“O-okay,” it feels like a gift and like a curse but her face splits into a familiar smile he loves so much and anything that makes her look like that could never be bad, not really. 

She swipes her thumb under his eye, wiping away a stray tear, and the gesture is so gentle, so sweet, so loving it’s the complete last straw.

The dam breaks and a full on sob bursts from his mouth. The next thing he knows he’s cradled in Marcia’s arms and she’s pulling his head down to rest it on her shoulder, cooing softly in his ear and holding him together as he falls apart.

“We can keep being happy,” she promises, “you deserve it. You deserve to keep being happy.”

With her, he thinks one day he could believe it.

You could stay

You could stay

You

[queenshelby]

Foreigner – Peaky Blinder Fanfic

PART ONE – WAY BACK HOME

Featuring: Tommy Shelby x Reader

Warning: Angst (don’t worry, Smut is coming in the next part for you dirty minded people)

Words: 3462

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Your Story

It has been 8 years since you left Birmingham and embarked on a journey to the US with your parents. Your brother was killed by Arthur Shelby, after having stolen from the Lee Family and getting involved in your father’s business.

It wasn’t your brother’s fault that he resorted to stealing. In fact, it was all he had ever known since he has been a young boy. He was stealing to feed you and your mother while your father was preoccupied interfering with Thomas Shelby’s gambling business.

Over 8 years ago, your father was employed by the Shelby Family to fix races but, at the same time, he was trying to skim money from their forged winnings and it wasn’t long after your brother’s and father’s actions had come to the attention of Thomas Shelby that a war emerged between your family and the Shelby gang.

The war was bitter and a threat made by Thomas Shelby against your father’s life caused your family to flee to a safe haven offered by your aunt Esme Bortelli in Atlanta.  Just like you and your parents, your aunt was gypsy. But, she made a deal with the devil after her first husband had passed away from Spanish flu.

Her second husband was no other than Luigi Bortelli. Luigi had a direct affiliation with the North Italian Mafia in Atlanta. He enjoyed the dangers in life. Handling and dealing with cocaine, heroin and alcohol, which, at the time, was prohibited in the US.

Luigi was shot a few years ago by police along with his brother Pepe while collecting a shipment of cocaine from the port of Atlanta. Following Luigi’s death, your aunt Esme took over the family business and dealings with the North Italian Mafia. Unfortunately for her, she wasn’t taken serious by some of her suppliers. It wasn’t common for a woman to be in this kind of business. Your father became her assistant, taking shipments and dealing with suppliers on her behalf. Nonetheless, it was her all along who pulled the strings.

The business ran smoothly for several years until, one day, a dispute occurred between the Sabini family and yours. As a result, your mother was shot in your family home by Sabini’s men. Giovanni Sabini resided in the UK and was Darby Sabini’s brother. He had family in the US which operated a rival gang importing the same products as your aunt Esme. After your aunt Esme ignored several of Giovanni’s demands to cease dealings in the area and accept shipments from the UK arranged by the Changratta family, he sent his men to send a message and kill Esme’s sister (your mother).

Esme and your father soon declared war on Giovanni Sabini but, your family’s local men turned against Esme as word came to them that Sabini had turned on the Changratta Family and, as a result, Luca Changratta was killed in Birmingham and the Peaky Blinders took over the supply of alcohol and cocaine to Atlanta exclusively to Giovanni Sabini’s men. This caused the Sabini family to gain greater power within the Atlanta area, much to the disadvantage of your aunt and the North Italian Mafia.

Your aunt Esme saw only one option to rectify this issue and replenish her standing within the North Italian Mafia. She sent your father back to Birmingham to make Thomas Shelby an offer he could not refuse, namely an alliance between the Peaky Blinders and the North Italian Mafia, guaranteeing exclusive supply to the entire West Coast.

Since you had become interested in the family business over the past few years and your aunt had taught you a lot about her supply and trading operations, you demanded that you join your father during his trip to Birmingham. Whilst your father had grown fearless and calculating, you were smart and practical which is just what your aunt Esme needed in order to represent her business.

Unfortunately, whilst your aunt was suspicious of your father’s recent behaviour, what she didn’t know was that he had a very different plan of his own. He wanted revenge on both, Arthur Shelby and Giovanni Sabini, even if it would cost him his own life. For this reason, your father was against you joining him on this journey. You were his only living child.

But, aunt Esme demanded that you join him and so you went.

‘Watch him and his men and report back to me’ were your aunt’s words as you left the port of Atlanta.

Back in Birmingham

After a three day boat journey, you and your father arrived in Birmingham along with several of his men.

Three of your men were questioned by border security upon their arrival. Fortunately for them, aunt Esme’s men in Birmingham had already made pay offs and you were escorted to your hotel.

Birmingham has changed a lot since you have been there last. Most factories, bars and residences were owned by Shelby Company Limited and even the hotel you were staying at was owned by Thomas Shelby.

You never met anyone from the Shelby family. Your father and older brother both worked for the Shelbys for many years until conflict emerged between them. Nonetheless, during this time, your father shielded you and your mother from these dealings. He always said there is no place for women in this business. It therefore comes as a surprise that your father works for aunt Esme now.

You know that your aunt does not trust your father. She always tells you that your father is a danger to himself and you have begun to believe it. His anger and hate has taken over in the last few months and that is why aunt Esme has sent you.

As you finally arrived at the hotel, it became clear to you that Shelby family already had tabs on you. A note from Thomas Shelby was left at reception for your father. It was an invitation to a charity event.

‘Smart’ is what you thought when you read it. Thomas Shelby obviously doesn’t know whether or not he can trust your father. What better place to discuss their business could there be than a public event where your father and his men cannot strike against him. After all, most men in Birmingham work for the Shelby family in one way or another.

Your father, however, was not impressed with the invitation and liaised with two of his men. A message was to be delivered to Thomas Shelby at the Garrison. You only ever heard of the Garrison in conjunction with your brother’s death. This is where he was killed just over 8 years ago by members of the Lee family. But, despite this, you recalled your promise to aunt Esme, to keep an eye on your father and his men.

Shortly after the two men had left to the Garrison, you sneaked out of the hotel.

The Garrison

‘Excuse me sir, how do I get to the Garrison?’ you asked the delivery driver who was delivering Gin to the hotel you were staying at.

‘The Garrison? This is really no good place for you Love’ the delivery driver said.

‘I have business to attend to at the Garrison. I am new in town and am looking to promote a new type of champaign to all of the establishments in the area’ you explained.

‘I don’t think you are going to have much luck at the Garrison Love, but I can take you there after I finish unpacking these. It’s my next delivery stop’ the man said.

‘Thank you sir, I much appreciate it’ you said as you climbed into the man’s truck.

The drive was less than 10 minutes and after you gave the man a couple of pounds for his troubles, you climbed out of the truck and went inside the Garrison while keeping a careful lookout.

The Garrison was full of drunk men, some steel factory workers and some men nicely dressed in suits.

Unfortunately for you, you could not see the men your father had sent. You carefully removed your hat and ordered a glass of whiskey.

‘Top shelf please sir’ you said as you sat down at the quite end of the bar. To your surprise, the bar tender didn’t question you or your choice of drink. It wasn’t common for women to drink in establishments like this. In fact, it was prohibited.

You decided to stay for maybe ten or fifteen minutes to see whether your father’s men would turn up. You took a careful look around every two minutes or so but the men couldn’t be found.

There was, however, one man who caught your eye. He was incredibly well dressed for a place like this and accompanied by a beautiful blonde woman. It was obvious to you that the woman wasn’t his wife. In fact, she looked just as much out of place as you did.

His eyes were blue like the sky on a sunny day in Atlanta and his hands were perfect, clean and masculine as if they had been crafted by an artist.

You couldn’t stop starring at him. His charisma was almost overwhelming.

It wasn’t long until he noticed you too. His eyes gazed over to you several times, much to the dislike of his female companion.

His looks were intimidating and you didn’t know whether he noticed you starring at him or whether he had taken an interest in you. Probably the earlier, considering that he was obviously much older than you.

After 15 minutes had passed and you felt surprisingly awkward in this man’s presence, you quickly finished your drink and decided to call it a night. You did not think that your father’s men were going to appear any time soon and it was getting quite late.

As you left, you noticed two drunk men following you.

“Ey Love, how much for the both of us?” one of the men said as he followed you.

‘In your dreams’ you said with laughter as you turned around for a brief second as, all of a sudden, the man grabbed your wrist.

‘Feisty… I like feisty girls’ the man said as he pulled you closer towards him while his acquaintance approached you and ran his hand over your blouse.

‘Fuck off and leave me alone’ you responded angrily and with some ignorance towards their actions.

‘Oh, you like it rough love?’ one of the men shouted in return while the other pushed you against the wall.

You tried to reach for your gun which was pinned to your left upper leg as, suddenly, you heard a gunshot from near the entrance to the Garrison.

It was a dark and foggy night and you couldn’t see much more than a shadow of a man approaching you and the attackers.

‘The lady said that she wants to be left alone’ another man said from the distance while pointing a gun at the attackers.

‘Piss off man’ one of the attackers yelled in a rather drunken tone, ignoring the first gunshot that had already been fired by the mysterious man.

Suddenly, you heard a second gun shot and a loud scream from one of the drunk men right beside you. He had been shot into his left knee and was in agony.

‘The next time I will aim higher’ the gunman said as he approached you closely, just before the uninjured drunk man scrambled and ran off, knocking you down onto the gravel in the process, while the other man began pleading for his life.

‘I am… I am very sorry please. I won’t…It will not happen again’ the man said. The tone of his voice was frightened and you could tell that the men knew each other.

‘I will not see you and your friend at the Garrison again, you understand?’ the gunman said angrily before allowing the injured attacker to leave.

You were lost for words. This mysterious man may have just saved your life.

Getting to know the Stranger

‘Are you alright, Miss?’ the man asked as he put away his gun and reached for your hand to help you up.

‘Thank you, I am fine’ you said quietly.

As you looked up towards the mysterious man you noticed that he was the man you had seen before, at the bar, with the beautiful blonde lady by his side.

With thoughts racing through your head, you almost didn’t notice that your legs were shaking and you had an awful pain in your left knee.

‘You are bleeding’ the man said, but you barely noticed the red staining on your white skirt. It was like you were hypnotised by this stranger.

‘Common, lets get this sorted out for you, ey?’ the man said with a caring voice and, without further words, you followed his lead back to the Garrison.

The Garrison was still as busy as when you had left and no one really noticed you walking in.

‘Bring us some bandages and whiskey. Top shelf, two glasses’ the man said before guiding you to a private room next to the bar.

‘Thank you for your help but I am fine, really’ you said to him as he pulled out a chair from beside the table in the middle of the room.

‘If you do not get this cleaned out, it will get infected. Now sit down love’ the man instructed as the barmaid brought bandages and a bottle of top shelf Irish whisky with two glasses.

The man poured you a glass of whiskey and handed it to you. Without words, you took a hasty sip knowing that, what was about to follow, would hurt. Your mother used to clean out your wounds with whisky on numerous occasions after you had fallen off your bicycle, just not as expensive as the bottle that was standing on the table right in front of you at this moment.

Without warning, the man kneeled down in front of you and lifted up your skirt just above your knees. He poured a good amount of whisky onto your wound, which caused you to clinch your teeth and some tears escape from your eyes. He then used his handkerchief to carefully pull some pieces of gravel and broken glass from your knee before wiping the wound again with some more whiskey.

‘So, tell me, what brings a girl like you to a place like this? You are clearly not from here’ the man asked as he wrapped your knee up with a bandage.

‘Business’ you clinched as you grabbed the bottle of whiskey from the table and poured yourself another glass while the man finished bandaging you up.

‘Business?’ the man asked surprised as he sat down opposite from you while lightening himself a cigarette. ‘What kind of business?’ he added.

‘Export of products to the US’ you said carefully. You didn’t know who this man was so you didn’t want to reveal anything that could be of detriment to you or aunt Esme.

‘Now that is interesting’ the man said with a grin before taking a short pause. ‘Let me guess, you want to export alcohol to your country because of the prohibition’ he added.  

‘What makes you think that?’ you asked carefully with a little pretend chuckle. It was not your place to discuss matters like this and you were surprised that he caught onto you almost immediately. Could he read you, you wondered, and regretted saying anything at all.

By this time, you were quite intimidated by this man and were contemplating to leave. On the other hand, you didn’t want to be rude. After all, he had just saved you from an attack.

‘What else could you possibly export from Birmingham to America? You manufacture machinery, vehicles and weapons yourself. This means you have no need for them. You are after something you cannot get where you are’ the man said as he leaned back into his chair.

‘Let’s not talk about business’ you said nervously. You felt as though you had been cornered.

‘Alright…let’s talk about something else’ the man said before pausing again. ‘Maybe let’s start with your name. What is your name?’ he added.

‘Y/N’ you said.

‘It is nice to meet you Y/N…’ and, before the man could introduce himself, another, older man stormed into the room.

‘They fucking got him, we need to move now’ the man yelled.

‘I am sorry Y/N, I have one of my drivers take you to wherever you are staying’ the man said before storming out of the room and grabbing two guns from behind the bar. With him were several men and all you heard was yelling and cars driving off within moments after.

Family Confrontation

A young man came into the room and introduced himself as ‘Finn’.

‘Apparently, I am your driver’ Finn said rather annoyed. ‘Where are you staying?’ he asked.

‘Renaissance Hotel’ you answered.

‘Alright, then let’s go’ Finn said in a haste.

This was an abrupt ending to an eventful night and the drive back to the hotel was rather quiet. Finn didn’t speak a word with you, not a single one.

As you approached the Hotel, Finn wished you a pleasant night before racing off. Your guess was that he was going to join the others for some kind of fight.

It appeared to you that life in Birmingham wasn’t so much different to life you knew in Atlanta. Violence, gangs and conflicts. It all was the same.

‘Y/N, what the fuck did I tell you?’ your father shouted at you as you entered the penthouse suite.

‘Father, I am not a child anymore. I can look after myself’ you said.

‘What is this, on your knee? Your skirt is full of blood’ your father asked worryingly.

‘I fell. It turns out that heels do not go well with all the horse shit on the streets here. A nice man at the Garrison helped me to get bandaged up. It is not a big deal’ you explained, not wanting to admit that you had gotten in to trouble.

‘The Garrison? What the fuck did you do at the Garrison? This place is dangerous, you hear me Y/N?’ your father said angrily.

‘I am keeping an eye on your men, something which you have obviously failed to do as they weren’t there’ you answered, causing your father to raise his hand at you.

‘Careful Y/N. This business is not for you and I wish that your aunt would learn to understand this. Get yourself cleaned up’ your father said before walking away.

And, so you did. You ran yourself a nice warm bath, knowing exactly that it will hurt, but this was exactly what you needed. Sometimes pain makes you feel alive and there has been a lot of pain in your life in the past eight years.

Your mother never got over the grief of losing her son while your father never gotten over his hate for the Shelby and Lee family. Your aunt Esme was the one who took you in, who ensured you were educated and who had confidence in you.

Being in business with her was something you wanted. You both felt that change was needed and the success that came with the business was something that gave you satisfaction. You were running her accounts for the past two years and you knew how lucrative this business was. But did your father care about it? This was always something you were wondering about.

‘Perhaps these questions and thoughts were for another night’ you said to yourself as you poured yourself a glass of whiskey and climbed into the warm bath.

It stung terribly but soon the pain went away and all you could feel was the warmth over your body.

Your mind soon drifted off into more pleasurable thoughts about the man you had met tonight.

You only ever had been with one man before and it didn’t take long for him to bore you. That being said, he was barely a man at all. He was the same age as you and studying to become lawyer. There was no adventure and no intensity. But, this man you met tonight, who was a fair bit older than you, he appeared to be far from being boring. There was some kind of intensity in his eyes, it was almost hypnotising. His voice was calming but yet intimidating and the thoughts that appeared about him in your mind were unfamiliar to you. They were intense. They were pure pleasure.

You kept wondering who this mysterious man was and whether you would see him again.

[derekmorganscrocs]

Galentines Gone Wrong

Pairing: Wendell Bray x Reader, Valentine’s Special.

Word Count: 2,623

Summary: Y/n Booth is an FBI agent who works under her brother Seeley Booth and is also partnered with the Jeffersonian. Valentines rolls around and Cam, Daisy, and Y/n are all painfully single. Brennen and Angela join in and the group decides it’s girls night, get absolutely smashed, cause major chaos and get arrested for disturbing the peace. When their counterparts show up to bail them out, girls night turns to date night... or whatever this is.

Edit, March 11th: I hate the end of this. I reread it and it’s lowkey trash, but I’m going to keep it up because people seem to be enjoying it. Just a disclaimer that this is not my best work.

Notes: Tbh I second guessed this yesterday, hence the late post. I want to clarify that Wendell IS NOT preying on a drunk girl, and there was no drunk hookup. This is definitely not my favourite thing I’ve written and I was so out of ideas for the ending, but fck it, I have a migraine and feel like the personification of death. ALSO I WOULD NEVER USE GALENTINES IRL IK ITS LAME BUT I SIMPLY DO NOT CARE. HOLDIDAY SPIRIT BABES. Anyway, on with the show.

It’s been a long night. Fun, but long. You wake up against Daisy’s side, stretching lazily, and still partially drunkenly. As you sit up, you recall the events that led to your current seat in a drunk tank.

The five of you ended up in a biker bar, huge leather-clad and big bearded dudes all over the damn place. Despite being big scary bikers, they were chill and actually bought half of your drinks. Then you and Daisy got a little too close to an attractive younger biker, and his girlfriend was not having it. So an argument turned full on brawl caused the lot of you to bail out of the bar and trek back into town.

Only you were real rowdy, laughing and singing, a little to loudly for anyone’s liking. And got the cops called on you. And got thrown in a dunk tank. Unfortunately “you can’t arrest me, I am the law” doesn’t work if you’re drunk. The cops weren’t a fan of your badge, either.

You’re torn from your thoughts at the sound of voices down the hall, and you stumble over the the bars of the cell, holding onto them for balance. A half-hour nap didn’t do much to sober you up. The voices get closer, and your friends and brother walk in. Wendell’s the first one you notice, your eyes immediately darting to him. He’s wearing a hot ass black jacket, jeans and a white T-shirt, and you stare at him for a lot longer than you should.

“Hey, BJ. Never thought I’d see you on the other side of the bars.” Hodgins laughs at your expression of annoyance, and lets the cop they’re with open the cell door. He walks over to grab Angela, and you scoff.

“I told you to stop calling me BJ. I know you mean Booth Junior, but other people might think something else,” you mutter, much less than impressed at the innuendo tied to the nickname.

Your brother and Sweets go collect Brennan and Daisy, and Cam stands up on her own. She’s the most level-headed of all of you, and she’s completely sobered up now. Wendell walks to your side, your brother is too occupied with his (much less coordinated than you are) wife. Wendell puts an arm around you, and you gladly lean into him, hands settling on his chest.

“You’ll never guess what we did,” you giggle drunkenly against Wendell’s chest, overcome with the giddiness of a schoolgirl with a crush.

“Apparently you guys disturbed a lot of peace.” Wendell has somewhat of an impressed/concerned/entertained smirk on his face. He looks down at you, massively interested in the story as to how you got here. Not that he’ll hear it anytime soon.

“How’d you know?!” You look up at him with surprise written all over your face, a gasp escaping your lips, and it takes a lot for him not to burst out laughing.

“The sheriff told me. Let’s take you home, okay?”

“Okay,” you mumble, much more sullenly than five seconds ago.

Wendell keeps an arm around you, more than a little worried that you’re gonna fall over, and takes you to his car. You get in the front seat, smacking his hand away as he tries to help with your seatbelt. After successfully buckling the seatbelt, you glance back at him with a smirk.

“You know if you wanted to get on top of me all you had to do was ask.”

Wendell nearly chokes and dies at what you’re insinuating. He’s also not sure if this is the tequila talking or if it’s you talking. Composing himself quickly, he lets out a chuckle, saying something along the lines of ‘okay then,’ and closes the door for you. He walks around the front of the car, making his way to the driver’s seat. Hodgins drives by, Angela and Cam in the car with him, and waves as he heads home.

Seeley pulls up beside Wendell, looking at him sternly. Daisy and Brennen are singing in the back seat, and Wendell can see Sweets in the front seat, holding back laughter. It’s a funny sight really, the usually stoic Dr. Brennen and overly excitable Daisy, swaying together in the back seat singing an off-key rendition of piano man. Seeley makes a face at a certain piercing high note that comes from Dr. Brennan, before turning to Wendell.

“Listen man, I appreciate it. If we didn’t live on the opposite side of town, I’d take her home.” Seeley leans out the window slightly, looking at Wendell.

“It’s no problem, really.” Wendell smiles, giving your brother a small wave as he turns to get in his car. “I’ll make sure she gets home safe.”

“Wait! Not that I think you will, but don’t try anything. Alright?”

“Course not, man. Don’t worry, I got this. Head home, I’ll text you when I get Y/n home.” Wendell knows your brother means no harm, obviously, yet can’t help but think about why he’d even think to say that to him.

When he gets back in the car, seeing you sleeping soundly in the passenger seat, curled up and leaning against the window, his worries melt away and he smiles. He turns the car on and lowers the radio volume before driving off.

Tonight summarizes the two of you pretty well, actually. Y/n, the chaotic do-good-er badass, and Wendell, the (sometimes also chaotic) best friend, who always has your back. Sometimes it pains him that you only see him as that, a best friend, but he’s okay with just being that. A friend. Because it means he gets to see you happy. Little does he know, you wouldn’t have gotten so sauced tonight if you weren’t drinking away the thoughts of his lips on yours, his skin pressed against yours as the night turns to morning, the idea of a spark that doesn’t exist. The day of love sucks.

And for some reason, neither of you can see that you’re crazy about each other. Maybe it’s because you’re afraid to ruin what you have, or maybe it’s because you’re both just oblivious, but it doesn’t make a huge difference. Nothing seems to be happening.

Wendell is occupied with a lot of thoughts as he drives to your place. His mind bounces all over the place. He thinks about how you met, when you first walked into the Jeffersonian covered in dirt and sweat (in a cute way... even though he thinks anything is cute on you) after a chase in the desert, just to see your brother and make sure he was okay. He also thinks about the time he literally ran into you and the two of you fell down the platform stairs. The alarms went off, and everyone stared at the pair of you tangled up on the floor. Needless to say it took a while to live that one down. He thinks about every time he’s seen you laugh, and the few that he’s seen you cry. Not that you really even cried, you just couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. You don’t exactly do emotions, not out in the open at least.

He thinks about every reason he’s so smitten with you. You’re courageous, selfless, you protect your friends and family, you’re cutthroat and ferocious, yet simultaneously the sweetest person he’s ever met. You care about every detail of his day when you ask how he’s doing, and you can tell when the slightest thing is off with him, or anyone else at the lab, except for noticing his flaming crush on you. And as he thinks about all the little things, he realizes it can’t stay bottled up forever. He has to tell you.

Before long, you’re home. The two and a half hour drive have Wendell a lot of time to think, yet somehow it also feels like he’s had no time at all. The time has also started your trail toward sobriety, and you can at least think coherently. Wendell wakes you, and when you wake up, your hand goes to your head.

“Good god. Did I get hit by a bus?” Your words are still slightly jumbled together, but you’re getting back to business as usual, and that’s good enough.

“There she is,” he singsongs playfully, glad to see your usual demeanour starting to return. You unbuckle your seatbelt, groaning when you go to move. Wendell offers you a hand, and you take it.

Helping you up, he puts an arm around your waist again. You stumble slightly, and when he catches you, you fall against him, leaning against his chest. He ends up just scooping you up off the ground and carrying you inside, placing you on the couch. You’re mostly in good shape, just awful clumsy and distracted due to your headache. Wendell heads into the kitchen, grabbing a glass of water and some crackers.

“How you doing?” He sits by your thigh, putting an arm on the back of the couch and looking over at you. You cover your face with your hands, laughing gently.

“Ugh, please tell me I didn’t actually make the worst sex implication joke ever.”

“Um...”

“Oh shit. This is embarrassing.” You sit up, still a little tipsy, but not as messed up as you were at the police station. Maybe if things go off you can play it off as Valentine’s tequila. “Fuck it. I’m just gonna go for it. Tonight was fun or whatever, but I really wanted to spend it with you.”

“We could’ve done that. We can hang out this weekend if you want.”

“No, no. You really are a blonde.” You laugh, nudging his shoulder with your fist. Suddenly nervous, you start to ramble. “Not that that’s bad, because you’re definitely pretty. You’re a cute blonde, and you do have really nice arms, they’re really toned, and you know, at the garage you wear these tight shirts and sometimes I just stare and I worry you see, but-“

“Y/n! You’re getting off track here.” He puts a hand on your shoulder, laughing at your rambles. “Maybe we should talk about this tomorrow.”

“I like you a lot.” The words are out of your mouth before he’s even finished his sentence. “Like I have feelings for you?” It comes out like a question, but it’s meant as more of a fearful statement.

“Wait, really?” His eyes widen and his smile falls. At first you think he’s about to run for the hills, but when a small smile appears on his face you’re not so sure.

“Ah, shit, I shouldn’t have said anything,” you curse, rolling your eyes at your own stupidity. That’s fuckin embarrassing.

“No, I like you, too. A lot.” Wendell takes your hand, and you lay against his side as he keeps talking. “We can talk more, when you’re sober. But I do like you. And I think that if we decided that this weekend’s hangout was more ‘ice skating in the park’ instead of ‘trying to kill each other at the rink’, I’d be more than okay with that. I’d like that a lot, actually.” He lets out a small, nervous chuckle, and he glances down at you, fingers grazing your cheek as he contemplates if it would be weird to cup your face with his hand and run his thumb over your cheek.

“Really?” You look up at him with an adorable awestruck expression, and he nearly bursts out laughing.

“Yeah, really.” A smile stays glued to his face, and he shifts slightly, which causes you to sit up. “Now, you should probably go to bed, so that you’re not completely useless tomorrow.”

Wendell plants a small kiss on the top of your head, before standing and scooping you up, bringing you to your room. He drops you gently on your bed, and you let out a small giggle as you bounce slightly with the impact. You banish him from your room so that you can change, and not really paying attention, grab a black hoodie and shorts out of your closet. When you open the door again, he’s just leaning against the wall outside.

“Sorry, I didn’t know where you wanted me to set up- is that my hoodie? I’ve been looking for that!”

“Huh?” You look down at the sweater, seeing the small Jeffersonian logo on the left side of the chest, and the initials on the sleeve. “Oh, I guess it is.” You remember when he gave it to you, he couldn’t stand the idea of you remaining in your blood soaked T-shirt, the grey had become a sticky maroon, too much so to be comfortable. “You can have it back-“

“No, you keep it.” He steps closer, lifting your chin so that you look at him, and brushing a stray hair out of your face. His voice drops, becoming softer and breathy. “It’s much cuter on you anyway,” he murmurs, making you blush profusely, a little laugh escaping your lips.

The two of you fall silent, each staring at the other’s lips. A hum comes from the furnace, causing you both to startle slightly, and it ends the moment. You glance back at Wendell again, before sitting on your bed. He tilts his head at you, mildly confused as to what you’re doing.

“Where did you want me to sleep?”

“Wherever you want. There’s blankets and a few pillows in the closet.”

He thanks you and walks out, and you breathe in deeply, not realizing how shallow your breathing had become. Your mind is racing, and so is your heart. This is simultaneously about the best and worst Valentine’s you’ve ever had. As you mull over the events of tonight, you slide under the blankets, laying back and staring at the ceiling. The shuffling in your living room comes to a stop, and you can hear Wendell coming back to your room. He stops in the doorway.

“Came back to say goodnight,” he says softly, making your heart melt.

“You mind staying for a while?” You sit up, looking at him. He glances over his shoulder at you, a perplexed expression plastered on his face. “What?! I’ve had a rough night,” you say, pretending to be offended. He makes his way over, laying on your bed, on top of the blankets. You roll over and face him, looking up at him lazily. “Goodnight, Wendell.”

You drift off to sleep fairly quickly, but not before you subconsciously lay your head on his chest. He’s terrified at first, frozen in place and afraid to breathe, but after a few minutes he collects himself and calms down. You sleep soundly, curled up beside Wendell. He’s warm and he smells good, and he’s pretty comfortable. By the morning, the two of you are completely intertwined, tangled in blankets and each others’ arms.

The two of you grab a greasy breakfast (and some Advil) and spend the day together, actually talking about what happened the night before. Most of the day is spent at your place, you and Wendell lounging around on your couch as you binge watch your favourite series and try to overcome your hangover.

The next days and weeks fly by, you and Wendell getting closer and closer. The pair of you go on a few dates before things are made official, Wendell going as far as taking you on a walk in the snow and officially asking you out by the outdoor rink. He even reserved ice time so the two of you could skate around like idiots and pass a puck around.

And eventually, when people start to see you’re together, and ask about your story, you have to tell them he bailed you out of jail after Galantine’s gone wrong.

[kikikittykis]

Content with The Life, remember to never let Hinata and Tanka to Drink together

Summary:  This is a crossover where the reader is a hunter and Nishinoya is also one, They meet up with Hinata and Tanaka in New York

Fandom: Haikyuu & Supernatural

Pairing: Nishinoya Yuu x (Y/N) Winchester

Characters: Nishinoya Yuu, (Y/N) Winchester, Hinata Shoyou, Tanaka Ryuunosuke

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: Alcohol Consumption

Wordcount: 1029

Note: I may edit and repost this so comment if you wanna be tagged than

Masterlist

“Where is (Y/N) and Nishinoya these days” Hinata asked Tanaka as they caught up with each other in a small dingy bar somewhere in New York. 

“They said that they are going to be here tonight, but they aren’t here” Tanaka said “The two of them have been living on the road driving from town to town in the States” Tanaka said as the little bell at the door jingled signaling that it was opening and somebody was walking into the bar. 

“Hey Tanaka” Noya said from the doorway

“Speak of the devils” Tanaka said

“Hey Hinata it’s great to see you” you said to them and you and Noya sat down at the table where Tanaka and Hinata were.

“So where did the two of you drive from” Hinata asked “Tanaka says that you have been driving all over the states” Hinata continued

“We came from Montauk Beach, It was positively beautiful, but we weren’t there to relax we were on the job”

“What do you guys do for a living” Hinata asked 

“Yeah I thought we were friends, you’ve never told me what your job is?” Tanaka said

“Because we are Federal Agents and work in all kinds of towns-”

“ and It’s confidential information so we can’t tell you much about our jobs” Noya added to make your lie seem more real. You were in fact not FBI Agents but instead were hunters, The only thing that protected the world from what lurks in the dark and under the beds, causing most of the odd murders and deaths. Just before graduating from High School you had told Noya about the family business and to your surprise instead of running the other way after finding out about the Supernatural, Noya decided to join you in Saving People and Hunting things. You trained Noya hard before you allowed him to join you in the field. It took a few years for the two of you to get to where you were now. Noya’s favorite part of working cases with you, was when you would go to the crime scenes flashing your fake badges and the suits that the two of you had to wear. Noya held your hand underneath the table, his fingers brushing the rings on your left hand. Courtesy of the time you were in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“Have you two been to any of the big cities”

“Well we were in Vegas” you said

“Wait don’t tell me the two of you had a what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas story” Tanaka said excited

“Yup we full on eloped in Vegas” Noya said and pulled your hands up and onto the table smiling at you as he pulled your hands out in front of the two of you.

“Damn why didn’t you tell me, I was hoping to be your best man” Tanaka said and drank from his drink.

 “Tanaka we did it because, being in the profession we are in, is dangerous and we chase killers for a living” you said explaining why you and Noya got married like that. All four of you were drinking and laughing and played pool and by the end of the night Hinata and Tanaka were firmly plastered, Since you and Noya have had much practice from drinking quite a lot on the nights after a hunt to numb the pain from wounds sustained from the case, Sometimes it was for a celebration and other occasions but mostly it was after injuries. You both had experience with Alcohol but evidently they did not have the experience that you and Noya had. At least the motel that you and were staying at was next to the bar. Hinata and Tanaka were also staying there. Yours and Noya’s room was nestled in between Tanaka and Hinata separate rooms. You handled a very drunk Hinata. You helped him into his room, laying him down onto his bed Hinata started babbling about how his ex-girlfriend was totally crazy in bed. You promptly started to leave and lock the room, not wanting to hear any more about his sex life. Hinata kept on babbling as you left the room  and went back to your own room. Where Noya was not yet back. You got ready for bed brushing your teeth and pulling on your pj’s, wincing when you bumped the bruises from the werewolf you and Noya were last hunting. The werewolf had been terrorizing and killing men who cheated on their wives. 

 By the time you had finished getting ready for bed. Noya was sitting on the bed waiting for you. “Hey” Noya said

“You will never guess what Hinata said to me” you said as you got into the opposite side of the bed. Noya opened his arms letting you snuggle right into them, So he could hold you close

“What was he saying” Noya asked you

“That he last girlfriend was totally kinky, I left before he could say anymore” you said as Noya turned off the light 

“That is a good Idea” Noya said and kissed the top of your head

“Night” you said cuddling closer to Noya’s side as the two of you fell asleep, hoping to not have too bad of hangovers in the morning. 

 You woke up to Noya holding you close. He stirred in his sleep waking up and he rolled onto his back and pulled you close to his chest. “Don’t worry I was already waking up” Noya said to reassure you making sure that you didn’t think that you woke him up. For once the two of you didn’t have to wake up super early to do research for a hunt or having to drive to the next town for the next case. Both of you were reveling in the silence due to your slight hangovers. Noya and you only had each other, but that was okay with you. Maybe one day you will retire, hopefully have a kid or two and have a white-picket house, but for now just being the two of you and the road was perfect and you were content with your life the way that it is.

[levi-inthesun]

Loving Someone

This is for @stuckonjbbarnes​ writing challenge with the song Loving Someone by The 1975. 

Summary: In order to protect your heart, you made up the “only fuck once” rule, dictating that you could not sleep with the same person more than once. Then Carol Danvers comes back to the compound, to stay. Will this rule bite you in the ass?

Warnings: Swearing, references to smut, dirty talk?

Paring: Carol x Reader

A/N- I did not edit this.... so sorry

“What are you doing tonight?” Sam asked as you both slowed to an easy jog.

“Probably just gonna go the bar,” you reply easily.

Sam stops abruptly, “How long are you going to stay in denial?” There isn’t any malice or bite to his words, just genuine concern and it makes you feel uneasy. You make some non-committal noise instead of answering and finish jogging to the doors of the compound. 

You do your best to avoid Sam the rest of the day, which wasn’t too difficult until it’s time for you to leave for your favorite bat. Except Sam is standing by the door, dressed and ready to go. As you approach, Sam has that look in his eyes and you know you cannot convince him to stay home unless you stay home tonight. 

“You driving or are we getting an uber?” You ask, throwing your cropped leather jacket on. 

“I’ll drive,” Sam decides, grabbing a random set of keys and you both make your way to the garage.

The bar is only slightly packed, which is, in your humble opinion, optimal. You like to have room to breathe, more specifically though, room to dance with whatever woman consents. 

You skip over to the bar and order a rum and coke and chat with your favorite bartender and Sam watches from a booth he’s claimed. 

“You know, you are a lot less closed off here,” he casually says while throwing a peanut into his mouth. 

“Are you just going to therapize me the entire night?” You (semi) joke.

Sam shrugs and you take a long sip of your drink before moving towards the dancing people.

The night went on how every weekend-night goes. You get pleasantly buzzed/on the edge of drunk, dance with hot women, and eventually, go to either your place or their place where you will (hopefully) ravish each other. 

~

You wake up slowly, a faint pressure on your hip. You hear the woman behind you breathe deeply before stretching gently.

“Morning,” she says softly, placing a kiss on your bare shoulder. “I’d love to stay for breakfast, er,” she looks at her phone. “Lunch but I’ve got a meeting later.” 

You nod and watch her hop around throwing her clothes back on. “I’m just gonna use the bathroom then I’ll be out of your hair,” she says, watching as you sit up and the sheet pools around your waist.

You raise an eyebrow in reply.

Once she’s left (with her phone number written on your mirror with the lipstick she was wearing last night), you throw on a pair of sweats and one of Sam’s shirts before making your way out to the kitchen.

“She was cute,” Sam says, throwing something in the microwave.

You hum in agreement and look through the fridge, eventually settling on an apple. 

“Oh, we’ve got a meeting at 3,” Sam informs you. “Captain Marvel is back in town and she has some stuff she needs to brief us on.”

“Captain Marvel is a woman, huh?” You ask Sam, wiggling your eyebrows suggestively.

“You do know that not everyone is bisexual, right?” Sam teases. He grabs his bag of popcorn out of the microwave and starts to walk out of the kitchen before turning back. “Uh, maybe don’t have a one night stand with our teammate?”

~~

You are ready to crawl into a hole or have the earth open up and eat you.

“Hey, Y/N,” Carol greets you, a mischievous glint in her light brown eyes. 

“Oh, fuck me,” you whisper before composing yourself. “Hey, Carol,” you say, shaking her hand. 

“I already did,” Carol states, voice low, before switching gears to get the meeting started. 

The entire meeting is spent trying to listen to Carol talk about possible issues outside of the earth’s orbit, but really you just end up staring, flashes from last night taking over when she moves a certain way. The other part is spent sending death glares at Sam and Bucky who are having the time of their lives at your misery.

Carol excuses herself to take a call and you lean forward, finger-pointing at the men across from you.

“You knew!” You whisper scream, “You couldn’t have warned me? What the hell?” 

Sam grins, “I just… Listen, I was going to when I realized it was Carol, but then I remembered that it is 5 million times more fun watching you suffer.”

Bucky cocks his head to the side, “Wait, did you hook up with Carol?”

“Some spy you are,” you grumble as Carol walks back in, a slight frown on her face.

“Apparently I’m grounded for the next… well,” Carol pauses, taking a deep breath, “foreseeable future.”

Sam and Bucky high-five under the table, then volunteer you to show Carol around. 

~

After showing Carol around the compound you decided you needed to go out again tonight. During the tour, Carol was extremely flirty, which was welcomed- except for the fact that she was a teammate and not a one night stand. To avoid her, you spent the rest of the day hiding in your room and searching your closet for the perfect outfit to wear. You ended up in a crop top with high waisted, wide-legged pants, and after checking yourself in the mirror you walked out of your room with your head held high. Luckily no one was in the kitchen and you were able to leave the compound without anyone noticing, or so you thought.

The club was vibrating with energy as patrons drank too much and danced as much as they could. You downed a shot at the bar then headed into the crowd. At the heart of the masses, you threw your hands in the air and danced, not caring who with. Soon a pair of large hands gripped your hips. Turning your head to the side, you glanced up at the beautiful man before leaning your body into his. Time was non-existent as you danced with the man and you were positive the feeling of his hand on your waist was burned into your skin.  

“You want to get out of here,” he asked, lips at the shell of your ear and voice low. 

“I’d rather stay here and dance for a little while longer. That good with you?” You replied eyebrow raised.

Instead of saying anything, he rolled his eyes and walked away, attaching those large hands to some other woman.

You rolled your eyes and sighed as you headed back to the bar and ordered a beer. You sat down and took a long drag from the bottle before popping some peanuts into your mouth. A remix of your favorite song came on, causing you to down the rest of the bottle before heading back into the throng.

You moved your own body with the mix of bodies around you, circling your hips, running your fingers through your hair. You saw a familiar hand slip around your middle and in your alcohol-induced haze, you thought it would be a good idea to test fate.

Lips crashed together as you both got out of the taxi and headed towards the compound. 

“Wait,” you cautioned, “ Gotta make sure no one is up.”

“It’s 3 am, Y/N,” Carol countered, “Who is going to be up?”

You chuckled before heading into the common area, Carol trailing behind you. When you found everything dark and empty, Carol’s voice cut through the silence.

“FRIDAY, are any of our teammates up?”

“No,” FRIDAYS voice replied, volume lowered for how late early it was, “All Avengers except you and Y/N Y/L/N are asleep.”

A mischievous look took over Carol’s features as she stalked towards you, causing you to back into a couch, almost falling over the back of it.

Carol quickly caught you, wrapping an arm around your waist and pressing her lips to your neck with open-mouthed kisses, causing a low moan to escape you. She then traced her tongue from the pulse point below your jaw over to your mouth. 

“You’ve gotta be quiet, baby,” Carol teased, voice low. “If you can do that, I’ll reward you by taking you to my room and fucking you so hard you can’t help but scream.”

A soft whimper left your lips and you nodded, crashing your lips against hers.

~

When you woke up, the first thing you realized was that you were alone in Carol’s bed. You quickly looked around, finding her room empty.

“God damnit,” you muttered to yourself. “I was supposed to go to the club and find  someone else to sleep with.” 

Your muttering continued as climbed out of her bed to find your clothes scattered throughout her quarters.

You didn’t notice right away when Carol walked back in, giving her the opportunity to admire your half-dressed form. 

You were about to put your bra on when you noticed her, leaning up against her desk with two mugs of coffee in hand. Her lips turned up in a smirk as she saw what she thought looked a lot like relief flood over you. 

Standing there, bra hanging around your middle, still staring at the gorgeous woman you’ve slept with twice now, you were overwhelmed with confusion. You quickly shook your head and fixed your bra and Carol pushed off the desk towards you.

“Thought you might want some coffee,” she said, handing it over.

“After last night I’ll probably need a pint,” you whispered, taking a sip.

“What was that?” Carol asked eyebrow raised. 

You coughed and looked up at her before clearing your throat. “Uh, I just said I’d probably need a pint after last night.”

Carol smiled, “And why is that?”

“Seriously, Carol? Do you need to hear me say it?” you asked. 

“Yes,” she replied simply. “Say it.”

You set the coffee down on the nearest flat surface before stepping closer to her. “I need a goddamn pint of coffee because you fucked me into almost every surface of your room until I couldn’t form a coherent sentence.”

“And I’ll do it anytime you’d like,” she told you, voice husky.

You quickly cleared your throat, then located your shirt and headed towards the door. “I wouldn’t count on it,” you did your best to keep your voice even. “I rarely sleep with the same person more than once.”

~

You spent the following weeks avoiding Carol unless absolutely necessary, which included going to a different bar and staying more sober than you normally would, just to make sure you didn’t accidentally end up back in her arms bed. 

“You’ve been drinking less,” Bucky stated with a questioning look on his face.

“And what’s that to ya, bionicle boy?” you responded, taking another bite of leftover pasta.

Bucky shrugged, “ Just curious. I-”

“Not just curious,” Sam interrupted, walking out from around the corner. “There are very few things that can get you to drink less. So what is it?”

You huffed and was about to deny them when Carol walked in, sweaty from the gym. She greeted you and you smiled in response, then did your best to not watch the bead of sweat trail down her neck. 

You sighed inwardly when she walked out of the kitchen.

Sam and Bucky shared a look before narrowing in on you. 

“You just sighed,” Bucky accused, “What happened between you and Carol?”

“I bet I know,” Sam said. “I bet you slept with Carol a second time, breaking your only fuck once rule.”

You tried to interrupt Sam, but he wouldn’t let you.

“BUT! Not only that, you have a crush on her,” he finished. 

“I do not!” You exclaimed, trying to sound annoyed. 

“Your voice just went up an octave,” Bucky observed, “Which means you are lying.”

“What do you have to say about that?” Sam questioned.

You could feel your face heat up and you jumped off the counter. “I’d say,” you turn to them, legitimately annoyed now, “That it’s none of your business.”

Instead of stomping off to your room, you walked out the front door and headed in whatever direction your feet took you, ending up at a park. Taking a deep breath you sat down on a nearby bench and let your head fall back so you were looking up at the sky. You stayed like that for a while, just watching the soft clouds roll by, mind empty. 

At least, it was empty until you looked up and saw two women holding hands, watching their kid go down the slide. 

“Fuck,” you whispered to yourself. 

You thought about what Bucky and Sam had accused you of, and you knew they were right. You had a big ole’ fat crush on Carol Danvers, fucking Captain Marvel, the woman who played your body better than anyone ever had. That’s when memories flooded your mind.

Memories about people from your past who you had cared deeply for, and who all betrayed your heart. The last one was just after you dropped out of college, right before the Avengers recruited you. After her, you swore you’d never care for anyone in that way ever again. It was just easier that way. Except, when you looked back up at the couple, you felt a heavy loneliness come over you filled with a special kind of pain.  

You looked away and your eyes caught on a woman who looked too much like Carol. You rolled your eyes before scrubbing your hands over your face. 

“Y/N?” Carol’s voice called out, causing you to tear your eyes from a spot on the sidewalk, surprise etched into your features. “I was looking for you when Sam told me you walked off, upset. He said you’d probably be here.”

“Oh,” you said quietly. 

Carol took that as an invitation to sit down next to you, allowing some space between. 

“I was looking for you because I am fed up with you avoiding me,” She stated. “I’ve been tired of it for about a while now, actually.” 

You let your eyes slide over to the woman next to you, eyeing her carefully. 

“Another reason I came looking for you is because I was worried about you,” she said softly. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Well, I’m fine,” you said far too quickly. 

“Obviously,” Carol chuckled. 

You were both quiet for a few beats too long when Carol spoke up again.

“It would be easy for me to be upset with how you’ve been treating me without acknowledging something probably happened to cause you to react like this,” she said, “So, I’ll just say this once and leave the ball in your court.” She turned her body towards yours and your body turned all on its own to face her. “It sucks that someone, or multiple someones, hurt you so badly in your past that you’ve decided to make your ‘only fuck once’ rule, all to avoid developing any sort of connection or feelings for anybody ever again. It seems like your rule to avoid connection is hurting you more than you thought it would, so I know there’s hope,” Carol stood up abruptly to stand in front of you. 

“You should be loving someone,” she finally said. “Just, fucking let yourself love someone.” 

You sat there staring at her, heart beating out of your chest because you knew she was right. You stayed silent because you were scared of how much you have already started falling for her, and you were searching for the right thing to say. 

Carol hung her head in defeat before turning to walk back down the path she came, pausing like she wanted to say something else, but changed her mind and began walking away from you. 

~

“Carol?!” You called as you walked into the common room, “Carol! Where are you?” 

“Can you stop yelling,” a gruff voice pleaded from the couch. “She’s not here.” 

“Do you know where she is?” you asked, “Buck, I need to find her.”

“I think she went to a bar,” Bucky said with a sigh, realizing he wasn’t going to be able to continue napping. 

“Thanks!” You said, running towards your room to change your clothes. 

~

You had gotten FRIDAY to disclose which bar Carol was at, and sped through New York traffic on your bike, getting there in record time. 

As you walked in, your eyes scanned the room looking for her. You walked over to the bar to ask the bartender if they’d seen her, and they pointed to the far side of the room. You looked her over, noticing how she was leaning up against the wall, talking to some gorgeous woman. It reminded you of the last time you slept together, how sexy she looked leaning up against her desk. 

The song changed to Loving Someone by the 1975, bringing you back into the present. You watched her for a moment longer, gathering your courage when she looked past the woman in front of her and locked eyes with you. A smile tugged at her lips giving you the courage you needed to close the distance. You saw her say something to the woman who waved her off before she met you halfway. 

You both stopped in the middle of the bar and she looked to you expectantly.

“You were right,” you admitted. “I made that stupid rule to try to protect my heart and I think I honestly caused it to break too many times.”

Carol raised an eyebrow, urging you to continue.

You let out a sigh, “Aaaand I like you and that scares me,” you admitted.

Carol smiled, “Well, then can I buy you a drink?” 

You shook your head, pulling the keys out of your pocket, “I’m good. You wanna go for a ride?” 

Carol’s smile stretched further over her lips and she nodded, so you took her hand and walked out of the bar.

[brokecollegenerd]

A Convenient Dare

Paring: Hongjoong x fem reader

Genre: University au but in a bar and it’s funny (I think)

Warning: It takes place in a bar, also kissing and slight mentions of sexual stuff

A/N: This took longer than I thought (I thought I’d have it done in two days, but it actually took me four days) I appraciate any form of feedback, so feel free to comment. @abangtanfangirl​ I finally finished it

“Come on now darling, admit it. You like me.” You were so done with this bloke. This was the last time you’d hang out with your brother’s “friends”. Jongho, your brother, was young and had just entered University, so he was going around trying to find the type of people he wanted to spend his time with. Unfortunately, the current batch of people he was hanging out with weren’t to your liking. Jongho was a very strong person, so all the college frat boys had decided to make him one of their own. They hadn’t corrupted him yet, but you made it your mission to keep that from ever happening. It also helped, or maybe didn’t, that you both were attending the same college, so you could be his safety buddy whenever he went out with them. A sort of safety net to make sure he didn’t end up drunk in some random persons home. (That almost happened once. If he hadn’t called you drunk asking you to be his drive home you don’t know what would have happened to him.) That was how you ended up in this situation. He had called you earlier that day telling you that he and his friends were heading to the local bar to have a few drinks. Worried, you asked Jongho if you could tag along as his buddy and he had told you yes. Thus, you were now in the local bar with far to many frat boys, a drunk brother (who for some reason was breaking apples with his hands and singing at the top of his lungs cause the guys had asked him to) and one frat that was trying to hard to get you in bed.

“For the last time, you are the last person I could ever like.” You took a swig of your beer hoping he’d finally get the message and leave you alone. Tonight was definitely not your night.

“Now baby,” the guy slurred, “you have to at least admit that you find me attractive. I can’t think of anyone who doesn’t.” He was far to close in your space, leaning on the bar toward you. It didn’t help that some of the other guys were edging him on. One drunk frat was easy enough to deal with but a handful, that was a headache.

“Well then, you definitely haven’t been hanging out with the right people.” you said, your voice dripping with acid. Couldn’t this guy take a hint. Sure, he wasn’t ugly, but he wasn’t that good looking. Definitely good looking enough to get people in bed but not enough to overcome that of his attitude.

“Fine then,” the guy said, “I dare you to find someone hotter than me. While your at it, give him a kiss and get him to go on a date with you.”

“I accept your challenge.” you said with great determination, anything to get this guy to leave you alone. Laughs left the group of guys surrounding you. They seemed to think you wouldn’t be able to find a guy, you couldn’t wait to prove them wrong. Taking this opportunity, you got off the barstool and took a look around the bar. Since this was a University town, most of the people your age in the bar were from your University. However, you noticed that most of the guys in the bar were either part of the frat group or a part of a friend group just hanging out, not many single hot men apparently. Then you saw him, he was sitting at the end of the bar in a blue button-up, black jeans, and were those suspenders? A small chuckle left you, he was someone you had always found attractive and maybe even someone you wanted to ask you out. It also helped that you were pretty sure that frat wouldn’t like him as your choice, so double win. Without a second thought you made your way over to him. “Hey, Hongjoong.” you called out. Hongjoong turned his head upon hearing his name.

“Oh, Y/N, how are you?” he asked. A smile came to his face that was brighter than his red hair. You definitely made the right choice.

“Tell me if you want me to stop.” You responded

“Tell you to stop? What do you mean…” He never got to finish his question, cause you had grabbed his face and attached your lips to his. At first Hongjoong didn’t do anything, to much in shock at this sudden turn of events. However, this didn’t last long before he returned the kiss, increasing it as he did. Time seem not to exist between the two of you. With each passing second the kiss grew in passion. Soon Hongjoong was using his tongue to play with your mouth and you had your hands buried in his hair. (Something you’ve always wanted to do.) Next thing you knew, you were sitting in his lap with your hands on his shirt, which he apparently hadn’t buttoned up all the way. This boy would be the death of you, and this kiss was definitely confirmation of it. Lips devouring each other with passion and haste, almost as if this was a dream and it would end soon. Hands traveling over each other, trying to memorize what they had only seen before. It was enchanting and filled with so many growing emotions: passion, lust, curiosity, connection, and a growing sense of love. You both broke apart when the need for air could no longer be ignored. Hongjoong eyes were wide and filled with so many questions, but there was a sense of hope and excitement under those questions.

“If you think for a second that I want you to stop then you’re so wrong.” Hongjoong said, a smile on his face. This caused you to smile and move your hands to cup his face.

“Good, cause I was going to ask you if you’ll go out with me? Yah see, this asshole over there,” you motioned with your head toward the direction the guy had been in, “was all like ‘I bet you can’t find a guy hotter than me’ and to prove him wrong, I had to kiss a guy who’s hotter than him. While also getting this guy to go on a date with me. So, I was super lucky and saw the hottest guy on campus was here. Plus, this gave me an opportunity to do what I should have done weeks ago.”

Hongjoong pouted, “No fair, I’ve been planning on asking you out for weeks now.”

“Really?” you asked shocked.

“Why do you think I keep trying to talk to you after audio and visual?” he asked. Hongjoong had a point, he had been trying of late to make you stay after class and talk. You both were taking audio and visual production together, you for your communications major, and him as an elective for his music production major. That’s how you knew each other, you had both sat next to each other on the first day and ever since then your friendship had grown.

“So that’s a yes then?” you asked with a smile on your face. Hongjoong grabbed your chin and brought it closer to his face.

“I say it is.” He started to lean in again for another kiss. Unfortunately, the happy moment didn’t last long.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” That stupid guy really was the worse. You turned your head to look over and saw all the frat boys looking at the two of you, completely baffled. “This guy? Isn’t he some kind of music major? What kind of person does that?” You almost felt bad for the lad, he looked so confused. He probably never had someone pass him over before, that gave you a strange sense of pride for being the first.

“Apparently, the hot guys do.” A smirk graced your face as you responded. You could feel Hongjoong’s hands move from the small of your back towards your hips, where his grip on you tightened.

“Now then, if you don’t mind, me and my new boyfriend shall be on our way.” You looked back to Hongjoong, “You don’t mind me calling you that?”

“Of course not baby.” he responded giving you a quick peck. Giddiness swept over you at this gesture, and you couldn’t stop the small giggle that came out. Ignoring the other people, you climbed out of Hongjoong’s lap.

“If you’ll walk out with me I have to find my brother and then we can go.” you said while giving his hand a squeeze

“Alrighty baby, I’ll just paid for our tabs.” You started to argue, but Hongjoong had already called the bartender over. Sighing, you shook your head and head off to find Jongho. Jongho wasn’t too hard to find, you merely had to find the slightly drink boy singing and that was it. You managed to tell him that he’d had enough for the night, and that it was time to head home. You and Jongho met up with Hongjoong outside the bar and to say your brother was confused was an understatement.

“Who’s this?” Jonho asked seeing Hongjoong.

“Ah, this is Hongjoong. He’s my friend from my audio and visual class.” you answered him.

“Oh, so hot music major.” Johngo said with realization dawning on his face. Before you could stop yourself, you had slap his arm in frustration. That was a giant sibling code break if you ever saw one. Hongjoong found this very funny and started laughing way to hard. You started pouting at Hongjoong, which apparently didn’t help. Hongjoong stopped his laughing and reached his hand out to Jongho.

“Hi, I’m hot music major but you can call me Hongjoong.” he said side-eying you. Jongho, never one to miss an opportunity to tease you went along with him.

“It’s a real pleasure to meet the guy my sister hasn’t stop telling me about since the year started. With the way she talks about you, you’d think that you guys were dating.” He responded laughing. You pout had now turned into a frown. You should have known better than to let these two rascals near each other.

“How convenient, she just asked me out, so we are dating now.”  Hongjoong turned and looked at you with another one of his brilliant smiles. You felt your anger at the situation slowly fade, you could stay mad at him when he smiled at you like that. Jongho didn’t seemed to be shocked at the news.

“It’s about damn time, I was half tempted to go find you and ask you out for her.”

“Alright, that’s enough you scoundrel.” you said to your brother, pushing him away. “Head over to the car, I’ll be back in a bit.”

“No problem, have fun with your hot music major.” Jongho laughed as he ran away from you before you could hit him. That boy would be the death of you. Turning back you saw Hongjoong giving you one of his looks. (You called them his seductive face, he put it on whenever he was about to mess with someone.)

“So, I’m the hot music major?” he moved closer to you.

“Oh, shut up” you responded with a sigh. “Let’s just agree to forget that I called you that.”

“Hmmmm, I don’t know. I kind of like it.” Hongjoong reached out and brushed your cheek.

“But I’d much rather call you by your actually name.” you said outing at him. Your heart was beating fast. You were hoping that he’d kiss you again, you were already addicted to his kisses.

“Fine then, I won’t bring it up. I do have a question for you though.” he seemed to move even closer to you.

“What?” you answered in a whisper.

“Where would you like our date to be?” he asked.

“Wherever you want.” you responded with a small smile.

“Alrighy.” Hongjoong then leaned in and you closed your eyes for the kiss. However, his lips didn’t go to yours, rather he kissed your forehead. You opened your eyes to see Hongjoong with a large smirk on his face. “I’ll see you later than. I have an idea of what we can do, I’ll text you the details.”

Shaking your head at his antics you respond, “Ok then, see you around hot stuff.” before he could respond you gave him a quick peck on the lips and ran off to your car. You could hear Hongjoong’s laughs follow you as you ran away.

[gobydana]

Have You Ever Cared?

Hi! Could I request a batfam x batsis reader fic where she’s not a vigilante and everyone thinks of her as a spoiled trust fund kid and say some pretty mean stuff to her during an argument causing her to storm out. She’s killed and nobody really does much. So when she is resurrected she stays off the grid and leads a simple life until the batfam finds he and confront her where she reveals how hurt she is.

Batsister was a lot of things, biological daughter of billionaire Bruce Wayne, Gotham’s party child, twenty-some year old with no real path in life, living off her father. Or well that is what one would think if they read the tabolids or even talked to her family. As one of the only family members not in the superhero business. The gossip columns loved to feature her. Who she was out with, where she was partying, what car did she wreck. Her family loved to get on her case. Why didn’t she go to college or do something besides chilling at home. Why waste the money on drinking, being the party persona Bruce took on for many years. 

Tonight was one of those nights, only it seemed worse. Maybe it was due to the non-stop shit she got or maybe just today she didn’t want to deal with it. Either way it didn’t seem to stop and just kept coming. 

“They said you were drunk and saw you driving.” Bruce about yelled as he pushed the car away. 

“I wasn’t drinking.” She hollered back. 

“Really? Then do you just suck at driving? Can’t find the line?” Damain added in. 

“C’mon sister, we can’t have two family dissapointments. Just drunk driving?” Jason said from a top the stairs. That got him the bird. 

“When are you going to grow up.” 

“Father can’t get you out of trouble all the time.”

“What if you cause someone else’s injury? Did you ever think about that?

“Stop being the billboard for trust-fund child. Like c’mon can you actually use that brain in your head.” 

“I can’t believe we are related. Are you sure you are Bruce’s kid.”

“Enough!” Bruce yelled among the insults shooting out. “I am very disappointed in you.” He said with the most even, cold tone he could. 

With that batsister left towards the door not wanting to hear anything more. She couldn’t take it anymore. They of course wouldn’t listen to her but take the word of the press. It’s not like any of them were around enough to even get to know her. That’s why she knew they wouldn’t know where to find her. 

She went to the graveyard. It was her safe place, minus certain times of the year her family really didn’t come here. She walked towards the only two people  she hadn’t manage to disappoint in life: Thomas and Martha Wayne. She sunk down in defeated and started talking to the tombstones. Having the feeling at least someone would listen to her. 

“Your son hates me again. Family wouldn’t even listen to. Thought I was drinking and driving all cause of some Instagram videos taken of me not driving in a straight line. You want to know why I couldn’t drive? I was crying again. Had the stupid police radio on and heard bat down. Didn’t know which was got hurt, but judging by the sling on Jason’s arm going to guess it was him. They don’t know what it’s like. Finding out the same time the public does when one of them gets hurt. Every time I am home I see a new bruise, stitches, broken bones. Don’t they care that one day I might come home and find them gone? Hell doubt anyone would even tell me if they died. I probably would find out from the press.”

“Got into that university for a degree in chemistry biology. Think I might just pack and leave. Would they even care? They give me shit cause doing nothing, but they don’t know what goes on in my life. If they did, they would know I was applying. That the press’s opinion of me hurt my last chance. Been trying so hard. I am going to pretend you are proud of me though. So at least one or two Waynes would be.” 

She brushed the tears off her face. The thing she would never let her family see. Stay strong until she was alone. She was a Wayne and they were strong. But times like this she couldn’t be. After a few hours she knew she had to go. The rain was starting to come down and the moon was already hanging high in the sky. Grabbing her backpack, she walked towards the road. Starting tomorrow she was finding her own place and living a  new life. Maybe move to Metropolis. 

The dark night, slick roads, and her black clothes made her hard to spot. It didn’t help she was walking from the graveyard to the main road. That might be why the driver didn’t see her. The tears in her face cloudy her vision so that she didn’t see the car until it was too late. The last thing she registered was red blinding pain as the car made contact with her body at 45 mph. A driver who didn’t even care enough to stop but instead drove away. 

From the shadows though stood someone who did see. Someone who recognized her and knew of her family, Both as civilians and with capes. Someone who wanted to get back at Bruce and see him suffer. So Talia stepped out of the dark and picked up the bleeding girl. Batsis had died upon impact, but that didn’t mean she had to stay dead. Her father had a way to fix that. 

Green and pain was the next thing she remembered. It was almost glowing green as every injury she just suffered came flowing back. Her yells and pleas for it to stop echoes in the dark cave. Finally she found her way out towards the end of the pool where Talia and a guard were waiting. She explained everything to her and what happened. 

The first thing she asked was about her family. They might have been mad at her, but truly they would mourn her at least? But when Talia showed her newspapers and camera that she hacked into the manor, it surprised her. No mention of her death or the accident. Her family was acting as if nothing happened. Just carrying on like normal. When each of her siblings died and her father, she cried for days. Often feeling like she couldn’t get up each day. 

Everyday she found herself checking on her family with the same results. Talia saw the girls spirit died a little each day. After a few weeks she handed the girl a wad of cash and some new clothes. Gave her a chance that once she wanted more than anything. A do over, living a life not as a Wayne but as herself. She took that chance and left the compound to another world. It wasn’t long before she found a job and a place. Settling into life away from the family who didn’t care. 

It would be months before someone found her backpack. Bruce went to the cemetery to visit his parents' grave. On the way out he saw the backpack hidden in the bushes. At first he thought it was a normal one until he saw the W.E pin that she always had on hers. Closer look saw blood that was long ago dried up. The weather got to the backpack, no doubt being there for some months. He thought she had left mad at them, to another city. But maybe it was something else. He took the bag to examine further. 

Back at the cave, he emptied the contents. He was surprised at what he found. A college acceptance letter to pretious program, volunteer shirts from an orphanage the next town over, notebook and pencil, and her wallet. So much of it surprised him so much he didn’t know about his own daughter. Soon he found himself lost in thought he didn’t hear Talia come in at first. She knew he would be at the graves today and made sure he would find the backpack. 

“She died you know.” She said with hands up as he stood up with a batarang in hand. “A hit and run. Her killer just drove off without a care in the world.”

He sank down into the chair with a sad realization coming over him. She hadn’t been avoiding them, she had been dead. The rest of his kids were coming down the stairs at that moment for patrol. Every single one stopped in their tracks as what she said echoed in the cave. Not one knowing. 

“DId you?” He started with her only to cut him off. 

“Yes. SHe is alive again and if you truly cared about her, you would stay away from her. What family doesn’t know that one of them is dead. Prioritizing cape life over your own blood?  She died alone thinking you all hate her.”

With that she left. Bruce couldn’t say anything but waived the rest of them off to patrol. While they were gone he went up to what was once her room. Some place he hardly walked into since she was a child. He could still remember when she was younger and wanted it decorated pink. A pink glitter canopy hung over her bed. She was so happy to help him put it up. THat room no longer existed. Some time between now and then she painted it a different color. 

On the dresser was pictures of all of them. She was younger in 

most of them. Thinking back it had been a while since he had done anything with her. Between Gotham and the league, something was always pulling him away. Different college applications clouted her desk along with an old text book of his. Looks like she was teaching herself different science items. A police radio sat on the bed side table with a wrinkled sheet. On the sheet had all the code names the police used for the different bats. She must have been listening at night. Further discovery of wrinkled up tissue told him more than he ever knew. 

Through out the next week, they all found parts of her around the manor that surprised them. Jason found the book he recommend she read before his death as Robin laying on her bookshelf. It was worn out and no doubt been read a  few thousand times. Damian discovered that she had a sword hint half painted. It was going to be a gift for him. Dick found the old letters he use to write her when he first left the manor and started on his own. It appeared he was the one who stopped writing. Tim found his old camera and pictures in her room. Duke saw she wrote down his parent’s birthdays as a reminder for herself what days might be hard for him. 

It was Bruce who went looking. Everyone else thought maybe the best thing was to let her move on. Him though, he just couldn’t give up. She was his daughter, an only child he got to raise up. He had baby pictures of her and more growing up until the pictures stopped. He couldn’t give up on her. He might have found the man who hit her and threw him in jail with a lot of bruises, but none of that could make up all he forgot. 

He remembered as a child she was fascinated with France. Claimed she was going to live in southern France one day. So on a hutch, he went there. A few weeks later he saw her. It was in a small village near a university. She was working at a café. He sat across the road and watched her. The whole time, she looked genuinely happy. Something that didn’t happen in Gotham. 

That night he followed her home towards a small flat where she lived with a cat. She turned around when he came through the window, just starring at her. 

“Wonder if you were ever going to come. Was it better without worrying about a press nightmare living at home.” She asked. 

“I didn’t know you died.”

With that she threw up her hands. Of all he could say, that is what he said. SHe exploded. 

“I died and saw you all move on. You didn’t even know? What thought I just up and left. Didn’t even care to find out where? Did I ever matter to you? Because it sure as hell didn’t feel like it. I was second string to everything. Sorry missed you birthday, had to go save the world. I wanted a Christmas morning with my family? Too bad Joker broke out. I seem like I am hungover? Nope been up all night crying because the police reported one of you asses were massively hurt. Seven I wanted to go trick o treating but nope went to a fellow soliciaties party because the bat was too busy to take his child out. The damn league saw you more then me. I debated often just joining the rogues because then maybe you would pay attention to me. Nope just caused you problems that you couldn’t ignore. Put the Wayne name in the spotlight and you started paying attention to me. 

“I didn’t know.” 

“Is that all you can say? LIke I know you weren’t a man of many words but c’mon. How hard is it to say you are proud of me? To ask about my day just once in awhile instead of scolding me? Well guess what, I am proud of me. I am starting my degree of chemistry biology while working at the cafe. I made friends here who are friends with me not because of my family but because of me. No more wondering if I am good enough for you or good enough to be a Wayne. I am good enough for me. So there’s the door, don’t let it hit you on your way out. 

That night Bruce grabbed sleep at hotel and video chat with the family. Each one of her brothers ashamed that she thought she wasn’t good enough. For the next year, they came separate and slowly got her to be at least friendly with them. No doubt they could never undo the damage done but they tried to be a family. Bruce thought has the longest road. 

For the longest time he could never get the picture of her as a little girl asking for story before patrol. But over time he slowly saw her for the brilliant young woman she had become. He started talking time off from Batman to see her. Wanting to not waste more time. He almost lost her for good due to his own stupidity. Seven years later when she graduated with her doctorate, he made sure to be there with the family front row. He had missed so many memorable moments he wasn’t going to miss that one. 

Over time she also started to forgive them. The sadness and loneliness that had made a permanent place in heart had finally left.  She finally heard her father say that he was proud of her. That was something she never thought would happen. Also as a promise to her, he never came as Batman. Only as her father, Bruce Wayne. The family started to inform her more of when they got hurt instead  of her finding out herself. ANd some days when she came home to two of her brothers crashing on her couch bickering, she couldn’t be happier. 

Tagging: @the-shadow-of-atlantis @superwhoteen @speedypan 

[olicitytropes]

Olicity Tropetastic Awards: Season Three

The season of angst, assassins, and al sah-hottie is one we’ll always hold close to our Olicity-loving hearts. From their first date, to their first kiss, to their first time together, season 3 really gave us everything...including(arguably) the best hiatus fanfiction we’ve ever had.

Don’t ask Oliver to say he doesn’t love Felicity. And don’t ask us to say we didn’t love these fics. 

@tangled23works’s recs:

Memory Lane - @lupin72

Oliver and Felicity spend a night at a karaoke bar with Oliver telling Felicity how he knows for a fact that she can sing. Felicity realizes that she really doesn't remember Thea's birthday 

**Award: Best Karaoke+Fluff I’ve Ever Read**

Devil’s Backbone - @anthfan

What happens if Oliver and Felicity begin a physical relationship brought on by the catalyst of Sara's death, but acted like nothing had changed between them. One chapter per episode.

**Award: Best Canon Divergence/Fic You Need To Read ASAP**

The End of the Beginning - MachaSWicket

Tomorrow – and her stomach jumps a little every time she lets herself think about it – tomorrow, she and Oliver are leaving on some grand tour of the U.S. (And each other.) But first: sleep. Lots and lots of sleep. At least that’s the plan. To say she wasn’t expecting a knock at her door is putting it mildly. Because Oliver left her outside Palmer Tech with a sweet, lingering kiss, and he’d looked at least as tired as she felt.

**Award: Cutest, Most Realistic Olicity The Night Before They Ride Off Into The Sunset**

Only you can set my heart on my fire -  inlovewithimpossibility

He can’t help but smirk at her tone of voice. His main focus over the past two months has been memorizing every element of the woman underneath him. He’s tuned himself into her frequency, storing the cause and meaning of every type of hitched breath, moan and tone of voice. This soft, distracted murmur is rare but one of Oliver’s favorites.

(A small NSFW fic set in Bali during Olicity's post-s3 roadtrip)

**Award: Most Gratifying Olicity-In-Bali Fic**

@blondeeoneexox’s recs:

Caught in the Rapture - @bindy417

AU. Being the daughter of a ruthless and notorious crime lord, Felicity Smoak didn't think her life could get any worse. When her father unexpectedly sells her in marriage as a peace offering to his enemy, she quickly learns it'll take more than just her sharp intellect to survive. But what starts out as a sentence worse than death may actually be her only shot at freedom.

**Award: Most Beautiful Olicity Growth**

The Firebird - @supersillyanddorky06

Felicity Smoak stumbles upon a man dressed in black about to kill someone. The man takes an interest in her and she does not realize who he is. He is Al Sah-Him, the best assassin in The League, the crown jewel of the brotherhood, who is known for his lethal focus and killer instincts, brought up in the League itself.

What happens when he is taken completely with the blonde?

Assassin AU. Basically a what if Felicity met Al Sah-Him and not Oliver Queen story. Stuff will happen. Enjoy!

**Award: Most Amazing Felicity and Al-Sah-Him Non-Canon That I Really Wish Was Canon Because It Would Have Been SO REWARDING Fic**

P.S. Hong Kong: Was it Real?!? - @cruzrogue 

(This is off season 3 Flashbacks. When Tommy goes to Hong Kong he doesn’t go alone he takes his friend Felicity as the best information system being to help him locate Oliver Queen. Tommy may leave empty handed but Felicity gets to be a bride…)

Trope-tastic Awards: Week One

Fake Marriage!

(Olicity fake marriage stories! Pretending to be married, accidentally married, drunkenly married in Vegas and they don’t remember any of it)

**Award: Cutest Fake Marriage S3 Fic**

@allimariexf’s recs:

Once More (From the Top) - @writewithurheart

In the aftermath of his fight with Ras Al Ghul, Oliver finds himself somewhere unexpected: his hospital room when he first came back from the Island.

With a second chance to right the mistakes he’s made since coming back to Starling City, what will Oliver do to save the people he’s loved and lost?

Will he be able to change his past or will be he forced to watch history repeat itself?

**Award: Most Intriguingly Brilliant, Heartwarmingly Beautiful, Why-Can’t-This-Be-Canon Time Travel Trope**

We Should Just Kiss (Like Real People Do) - @dust2dust34

Prompt-inspired ficlets covering Oliver and Felicity's road trip after 3x23 "My Name is Oliver Queen."

Covers everything from the fluffiest fluff to silliness to gratuitous smut to ridiculous happiness to some angst.

**Award: Hottest Exploration of the Sweet, Smutty, Quiet, Happy! Domestic! Olicity Moments From the Summer of Olicity that we Deserved But Never Got**  

Long Time Coming - MachaSWicket

Felicity’s pretty proud of them both, that they follow up their frantic, almost-had-(probably-amazing)-sex-in-the-lair lapse in control with an actual, grown up, adult conversation in which they agree to keep their hands to themselves until they go on a couple of real, official dates. Well, that’s not entirely accurate. They agree that kissing is okay. And some, you know, associated behaviors. Because kissing involves touching and hugging and maybe occasionally some delightful friction. So that kind of… grinding is also acceptable. But they’re not going to have sex before their first date. Probably. Or how Oliver and Felicity turned all that blistering UST to RST. Finally. Spoilers through S3, including “The Climb.”

**Award: Sweetest, Most Emotionally-Fulfilling Use of Delayed Gratification (not to mention hottest)** 

@smoaking-greenarrow’s recs:

Confidence - itwasred

Olicity on their road trip after the season 3 finale, discovering each other. Felicity has some confidence issues that Oliver is quick to get her over.

**Award: Best Oliver Making Sure Felicity Knows How He Has Always Felt About Her**

Pacific Crest Trials - @imusuallyobsessed

After they drive off into the sunset and leave Starling City behind, Felicity and Oliver decide to go hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail. Felicity soon realizes that her vision and the reality don't match up, and Oliver does his best to convince her that backpacking isn't all that bad. Part of the Olicity Hiatus Fic-A-Thon, prompt: summer vacation.

**Award: Cutest Protective Oliver**

This One Time in College -  Vixx2pointOh

After we saw them drive off into the sunset, we know the travelled around the world....

In Thailand Felicity got drunk and started talking.....drunk Felicity shouldn't be in charge of talking....

**Award: Most Hilariously Drunk Felicity**

Daughter of the Demon - @laxit21,  mewmew666

What if in 1988 while traveling through Las Vegas Ra's al Ghul bumps into a nice waitress named Donna Smoak and they have one-night stand together? A little bundle of joy named Felicity Smoak is the result. In 2014, the Demon Head becomes aware of his youngest daughter's existence.

**Award: Most Unique Twist in Canon**

@memcjo’s recs:

Bury me in your Sins - @theirinrutherfords

Don’t involve yourself in the league of assassins and don’t fuck with the league of assassins. It’s a pretty easy concept, right? Well, it would have been if Felicity had known what she was meddling with. Now she has one of the league’s best assassins knocking down her door.

**Award: Best Use of Felicity Being in Over Her Head But Coming Out on Top**

Come Back When You Can - @smoaking-greenarrow

Felicity Smoak had accepted that her husband is dead. She's done everything she could to hold her family, her team, her city, and herself together. But five years after losing her husband, Felicity learns that things didn't happen the way she thought they did. And when Oliver realizes that he was lied to, he's willing to do whatever it takes to get revenge on the people who took his life away.

**Award: Best Use of Angst/Sorrow/Revenge Leading to a Happy Olicity**

Into Thin Air - @realityisoverrated-fic

Tommy disappears on his morning run. Two weeks later, Felicity is taken from the Foundry. Oliver is willing to sacrifice everything to get them back.

**Award: Best Use of Stubborn SmoakingBillionaries Facing Extreme Danger to Save Each Other in a HOLY SHIT~WOW! fic**

Try Harder Next Time - @hope-for-olicity

Set in Season 3 (I heart Season 3), Diggle confronts Oliver about letting Felicity go - yes, I can write the same story a different way over and over and over ;) This was Hope-for-Olicity’s 100th story as well!

**Award: Best Use of Diggle Sees ALL and is Tired of Oliver’s Shit**

A Nice Day for a Light Wedding -  sarcasticmama

A one shot based on leaked finale spoilers for Season 3 of the Arrow. Olicity! Written in between feedings with no beta. All mistakes are mine.

**Award: Best Happily Ever After Olicity Fluff**

Unasked Questions - @laurabelle2930

Olicity Smut ;) This one takes place during 3x20. It’s my take on what happened before we see Oliver staring out over the moon lit sands of Nanda Parbat. 

**Award: Best Use of Sexy, Bittersweet Olicity**

@msbeccieboo’s recs:

His Felicity, His Happiness - @oliversmuse

She just wanted to have a night off. A night where she could forget the trauma she had been through three months ago. But that night, everything changed. He saved her then kidnapped her. He was a mystery to her and she hated mysteries. They needed to be solved. She was determined to find out who was Al-Sah-Him.

**Award: Best disposal of Evil!Ray**

Adventures in Ivy Town - @it-was-a-red-heeler

Oliver and Felicity learn that there can be danger in the burbs, too.

**Award: Cutest Ivy Town fluffiness!!**

[nefarious-minds]

Moonlight Magic

Pairing: Billy Hargrove x Reader

Warnings: language, mentions of abuse, alcohol use, and some smut.

Word count: 2000+

                “The backseat of Billy’s car became your

                              new favorite place.”

It was 1am and the whole town was dead silent. Nothing ever happened in Hawkins, Indiana at night. You leave the house after a particularly brutal beating from your father and go to the one place you could clear your mind. The Hawkins Pool. The first time you ever broke in after hours you were 10 years old. Eight years later and things are still bad enough at home that you have to find sanctuary here.

You climb over the fence and change into your swimsuit. It’s a perfect night, the full moon overhead lighting up the sky. You dive into the pool and begin swimming laps, enjoying the feel of the cold water against your bruised skin. You get lost in the motions completely tuning out the world around you. In just a few months you would be at college in California and this town and everyone in it would be nothing more than a bad memory.

 “Hey! What are you doing in here?”

 In all the time you had been coming to the pool after hours you had never been caught. You come up from under the water to see Billy Hargrove standing above you. Billy was in a few of your classes at school, he had made a name for himself as a bully. You knew he started working as a lifeguard but had no idea why he would be here this late. “Sorry, I just needed to get out of the house. Why are you here?” You ask, swimming over to the edge of the pool where he is standing. “None of your business. Now, get out of here.” Billy demands hatefully. 

 “You’re just a lifeguard, you’re not allowed to be here any more than I am. What gives you the right to tell me to leave?” You were getting beyond sick of everyone bossing you around. “Go. Before I kick you out of here myself.” Billy says, pulling out a flask and taking a big drink. Another drunk is the last thing you want to deal with tonight. Deciding an argument just wasn’t worth it, you get out of the pool. His eyes scan your body, the constant scowl on his face changes slightly when he sees the bruises and cuts. “What happened to you?”

 “My dad is a piece of shit.” You answer, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around your body. No one else knew of the horrible things that went on at home, you always kept to yourself and hid the marks well, but you hadn’t anticipated someone seeing you tonight. Billy took a few more sips from his flask and held it out for you. “I don’t drink.” He started laughing and threw the flask onto one of the chairs. “Maybe you should. It helps with the pain.” You roll your eyes assuming he’s just making fun of you and grab your things to leave. “Wait,” Billy grabs your arm to stop you, you flinch slightly from the contact and look up at him. You could get lost in those blue eyes… “You can stay, if you want. My night is already ruined anyways. You couldn’t make it any worse.”

 There was something in the back of your mind that told you being anywhere near this boy was a bad idea. But going back home was the last thing you wanted to do, so you decide to stay. You look down at his flask and pick it up. “Might as well.” The liquid burns the back of your throat and tastes awful but you try to not let it show. You can see Billy smirking from the corner of your eye as you take another drink. 

 “You’re easily corrupted.” Billy says, taking off his shirt and jumping into the pool. “I’m trying to gain some perspective. Understand how a drink can turn a person into an asshole.” You try not to stare as he comes back up out of the water. “How have I not seen you around before?” He asks. “We had classes together. You’ve seen me plenty of times. I guess you just never bothered to notice.” You didn’t intend for that to come out as bitter as it sounded.

Thankfully, Billy ignored your comment and continued swimming. You sit down on the edge and put your feet in the water. Billy came over to you and reached for his flask. “You’re eighteen right? Why don’t you move out of your house and get away from your dad?”  

“I don’t have the money to move out right now. I’m going to college in California, so I’ll be out of this town soon enough. I just need to survive until September.” You confess. Billy has a pained look on his face, the first real emotion he’s shown so far. “I used to live in California. I want to go back more than anything. I miss everything about it.” Billy finishes off the flask and throws it aside. “What’s stopping you?”

“A lot of things. Enough of this shit, lets have some fun.”

Before you can protest or stop him Billy grabs a hold of your legs and pulls you into the pool. You scream as your body submerged in the cold water, giving Billy an incredulous look once you return to the surface. Billy was laughing at you, a real laugh too. One that was extremely rare for him. You couldn’t help but smile.

Billy swims over to you, getting really close. You can smell his cologne and the whisky on his breath. Everything about him is intoxicating. You were both just staring at each other, the moonlight illuminating his face. He reaches out and runs his hand over some of the bruises on your arm. “My dad is a piece of shit too.” His voice is soft, almost a whisper. You didn’t know what to say. Had Billy really admitted something so personal to you?

In this moment he didn’t seem as bad as his reputation made him out to be. 

“I want to show you something, will you take a ride with me?” Against all your better judgment, you nod your head yes. Billy smiles and makes his way out of the pool. Your can feel your heart race as you follow Billy, collecting your things. Neither of you bother to change out of your wet swimsuits before getting in the car, Billy seems to be in a hurry. As if he’s excited for what he is about to show you. 

Billy drives insanely fast but it doesn’t scare you. You watch him as he grips the steering wheel, water still dripping off his body. This felt like a dream. As if in this moment you were no longer the loner girl who was abused home, but someone interesting enough to be in the passenger seat of Billy Hargroves’ car. 

Billy pulls over on the side of the road, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. You look over had him, beyond confused. “Come on, we have to walk a little ways to get to it.” He says, getting out of the car. “You didn’t bring me out here to kill me did you?” You were joking, but the situation did seem rather sketchy. 

“No, I’m going to show you the best view in this shit hole of a town.” You follow behind Billy as he climbs over the fence alongside the road. “Are we trespassing?” You ask, trying make it over the barbed wire unscaved. “You just broke into a city pool, and you’re worried about trespassing now?” Billy laughs and helps you over the fence. The feel of his hand on your back causes you to shiver and you hope he didn’t notice. 

You walk for about fifteen minutes before arriving at the towns water tower. “A water tower? The best view in town, is a water tower?” Maybe Billy had more to drink than you thought, because he had to be insane. “The best view is at the top, darling.” You want to protest, to turn and run while you still had the chance. But there was something about the way he looked at you that made you throw all rational thought out the window. 

“Come on, I promise it’s worth it.” Billy says, motioning to the ladder. You step up to it, looking up at the top. “I don’t know if I can do this.” Your hands are already shaking. “Yes you can. I’ll be right behind you. I won’t let you fall.” 

You take a deep breath and let Billy give you a boost up to the start of the ladder. You grab onto the rails and begin to climb. This is by far the craziest thing you have ever done. After what feels like an eternity you make it to the platform alongside the water tower. Practically crawling, you make your way over to give Billy room to come up. There’s barely any room between the railing and the side of the tower. You hold on tight as Billy stands beside you. “What do you think?” 

In all honesty, you were still scared to death. But the view of the town was amazing and Billy seemed genuinely happy. “I think this is the best night I’ve ever had.” You say, looking up at him. Your eyes fall on his lips and the words you are thinking come out before you can stop them. “Kiss me.”

Billy doesn't hesitate, he grabs your waist and pulls you in. The feel of his lips against yours sends shivers down your spine. He slowly moves his hands up to your neck, caressing your body along the way. You lose yourself in the moment, forgetting all about the troubles at home and the pain you feel. Billy pulls away for a moment as you both catch your breath. “Let’s get to the car.” He says, a wicked grin on his face.

The climb down the water tower seems to go much faster than the climb up. All you can think about is Billy, and wanting to feel his touch again. Once you reach the bottom of the tower he grabs your hand and you both practically run to the car. Your heart feels as if it’s going to beat right out of your chest. The moment you reach his car Billy’s lips find yours once again as he presses you up against the passenger door.

A moan escapes your lips as he begins to kiss your neck. Everything is happening very fast. “Is this okay?” Billy asks as he starts to pull down the top of your swimsuit. You were a virgin, had only ever been kissed once before Billy. But you want him in this moment more than anything. “Yes.”

Billy completely removes your swimsuit, his hands exploring your body. He reaches behind you opening the door and you climb into the backseat. Watching Billy take off his shorts, you are very thankful for the darkness of the night. Maybe he won’t be able to see how red your cheeks are. He gets in the back seat with you and pulls you on to his lap. You squirm with anticipation as Billy teases you.

“Fuck.” Billy groans as he finally enters you. There’s a sharp pain at first but it goes away in no time, replaced by pleasure. He grabs your hips, rocking them back and forth. You give into Billy completely allowing him full control over your body.

The backseat of Billy’s car becomes your new favorite place. You would give anything to stay in this moment forever. Captivated by ocean blue eyes and the scent of leather and whiskey. Maybe there is something in this town worth staying for after all...

[kackmack]

Fake Smile

Rowan x Aelin

Chapter 5

“What?” Aelin didn’t think she heard him right.

“Oh. I just thought since it is morning and you’re off from work. Unless you don’t want to…” Rowan was stumbling nervously over his words as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Sure but, um, I’m not really dressed,” she said, pointing to her outfit and comparing her large t-shirt to him being in a grey button up and blue jeans. She laughed a bit and said, “Just give me 15 minutes.” She ran to her room down the hall, leaving him in the living room.

Aelin wasn’t lying when she said she didn’t have better clothes on her laundry days. All her jeans and nicer tops were dirty. She gave an outward sigh as she realized the only options were either leaving in what she had on now or putting on a dress.

Trying to reason with herself, Aelin finally settled on a blue sundress. With it being summer, it was the only option that wouldn’t cause her to sweat.

As she looked in the mirror with the dress on, she noticed the bruises on her face and she frowned. She’d have to wear at least a little makeup to distract from the purple marks on her cheek and lip.

….

Rowan walked around her living room with his eyes roaming over the full bookshelves that covered every wall. He realized her apartment looked bigger and homier than it did last night, with a large cushioned couch, a multicolored rug, and a coffee table stacked with even more books.

As he paced he found a small framed picture with four people in it. There was Aelin with a young brown haired man’s arm slung around her shoulder in a casual way as she stared at his face instead of the camera. Beside them was an almost clone of Aelin but male, holding a brunette girl with a huge smile. Although the brunette looked nearly like a model, he couldn’t help but stare at Aelin; she had a huge genuine smile on her face. Rowan tried to think over the past week, with every instance he’d seen her, he had yet to catch a genuine smile from her. Rowan frowned at the thought and put the picture back down when he heard her walking down the hall.

He turned to see her in a sky blue sundress with a boat neckline that pulled in at the waist and flared out to her mid-thigh.  He was stunned to see the color against her tan skin. He trailed up to see her face with a little makeup on and her hair put up in a loose bun.

She looked so stunning that he was at a loss for words.

“So where were you thinking about going?” Aelin said to break the silence.

Rowan cleared his throat as he said, “I saw a nice café on the way here. Would you like to go there?”

“Sure!” she answered as they made their way out of her apartment and walked the few blocks to the café.

….

One week later

“Wait, what do you mean he just left you there? Are you serious?” Lysandra spat.

Aelin had just gone over the events of the last Saturday as they both sat on the couch eating chips. “I honestly don’t even know. We had a nice breakfast, and after that we walked around the park. He looked like he was going to kiss me and then he just snapped and walked off.”

“So weird. Did you offend him?”

“Lys, all we talked about was college and my competitions. I don’t see how I would offend him,” Aelin answered.

“Maybe your breath offended him when he got close.” Lysandra laughed as Aelin tossed a pillow at her face.

Aelin had been going over what happened in her head the whole week. When they had gone to breakfast, he had been nothing but nice, asking about her degree, her favorite classes, her hobbies, any small things. How Rowan had insisted on walking around the park to keep the conversation going well into the afternoon. Talking to him felt easy to Aelin, unlike anything she’d experienced. She found herself wanting to share with him, small things yes,but it was still a huge step, she never wanted to talk to anyone about herself.

After what felt like hours, he had gotten close and put a hand on her waist. She then placed a hand on his cheek as they looked at each other’s eyes hooded with hunger. She let her fingertips trail his jawline and run down his neck over his tattoo when suddenly his expression darkened and he snatched her hand away from his neck “No, we can’t do this!” and stormed off, leaving her shocked in the middle of the park.

It served Aelin right for thinking she could get close to someone again.

“Did he at least call you to apologize or explain?” Lysandra asked, calming down from her laughter at her earlier joke.

“Nope. I haven’t heard from him all week. I honestly doubt I’ll ever see him again,” Aelin trailed off, looking at the hem of her shirt. “Which I can’t say is a bad thing. It’s for the best. I didn’t like him anyways,” Aelin lied.

Lysandra raised an eyebrow and said sarcastically, “Yeah, sure, Aelin, you totally don’t sound hurt by it.” And another pillow came flying at her face. “We really need to find a date for you to take to the wedding. It’s coming in a few weeks, and I’m not having my maid of honor dateless,” she whined.

Aelin frowned at that and said, “I don’t think I should be dating; I don’t think I can deal with anyone else’s bullshit when I can’t even deal with my own.” Lysandra opened her mouth to say something but Aelin cut her off, “Plus, I’ll take Dorian. He loves parties. I’m sure he’ll make things even more fun, and we can get drunk.” Aelin winked and they both laughed.

“Oh, come on, Aelin, at least let me set you up with my coworker Archer,” Lysandra said, and Aelin rolled her eyes in response. Lysandra had been trying to get Aelin to meet Archer for months, but Aelin had blamed it on scheduling or her getting over Chaol to get Lysandra off her back.

“Um, no, Lys. You once called him a male hooker because of the girls he flirts with,” Aelin said, remembering a conversation they had almost a year ago when Lysandra had gone on a rant about every coworker she had.

….

“Pay attention Rowan!” Lorcan roared, snapping in front of Rowan’s face. Rowan had realized it was the third time he zoned out during the meeting in the conference room. He had been thinking about the same thing all week, pulling himself a little deeper in embarrassment and guilt every day. Rowan balled up his fist under the table to keep from punching Lorcan in the face for pointing it out again. It seemed Rowan found it harder and harder to suppress his anger by the day.

He had avoided calling her to apologize to her. Even though every nerve in his body told him to contact her, he told himself he wanted nothing to do with her, that he didn’t care what happened to her or what she thought. He lied to himself, trying to make this insufferable feeling go away.

Rowan knew why she had leaned in to kiss him. He had given her every reason to: asking her out, talking to her for hours, letting himself show his lust in his eyes, but when she touched the tattoo, when he felt her fingertips on the words of Lyria, he couldn’t take it, couldn’t take having someone else touch him the way Lyria did. Even though Rowan lost his wife five years ago, he still had this seething, constant pain in his soul. Everywhere he went, every day, he never forgot the woman who held his heart and would forever hold his heart even in death.

He knew he needed to get his mind off this so he went to the only place that always had him forgetting his own name, the army base where his old colleagues still had been stationed. He knew one training session with them would make him forget about his outburst at the girl who had done nothing wrong.  

 After work, Rowan went straight to the base to train with the new recruits. For hours on end, he did all the obstacles, sparred with three of them and ran two miles. None of the young men could keep up, which made the sergeant pissed off enough to make them do more and more. Rowan didn’t feel bad at all for them because he had been in the same place 10 years ago.

Even being exhausted out of his mind, drenched in sweat, and barely able to walk out of the base on his own two feet, he still couldn’t shake the feeling, couldn’t stop thinking about Aelin. It seemed like the training he did during the day had done nothing but make it more clear he needed to talk to her, when his intentions were the opposite.  

Before he knew what he was doing, he was on the other side of town, driving down the street he hadn’t seen in a week but knew by heart now. With it being two in the morning, he really had no idea what he was doing. He knew she probably didn’t want to see him. He wouldn’t if he were her. But still, he decided to see her anyways.

Parking the car, he picked up his phone and dialed her phone number. Doubting she would even answer, he told himself he would let it ring three times before giving up and going home.

It rang once.

She’s probably asleep.

It rang twice.

She won’t want to see me. 

On the third ring, Rowan was about to hang up when he heard her voice.

“Hello,” Aelin’s voice was raspy as if he had just woken her up.

Shit. He didn’t know what to say.

“Hello, Rowan?” she said, her voice still laced with sleep.

“Can I come over?” he said, his voice coming out a lot deeper than he meant it to be.

“Why? It’s late.” She sounded unsure.

“We need to talk,” Rowan spoke fast as if preparing himself for rejection.

“Um, sure, I guess, Rowan. What time?”

“Now. I’ll be up in two minutes.”

….

When Aelin woke up to her phone ringing, she thought it was a wrong number, but when she flipped her phone to see Rowan’s name, her stomach completely dropped. She told herself to ignore it, let it go to voicemail, but she just couldn’t. It wasn’t just curiosity that had her answering the phone; no, it was a surprise because she thought she would never hear from or see him again. So she had answered, and now she was letting him come in to her apartment. 

Gods, she hoped this wasn’t going to be an awkward rejection. He could have easily ignored her for the rest of her life, ghosted her to no end, and it would have been better than hearing words of disappointment.

 When he knocked on the door a lot faster than she thought he was going to, she slung her legs off the bed and walked to the door. Wrapping a blanket around her shoulders, she opened it.

Rowan looked like a mess, sweat dripping off of him and eyes bloodshot. This took her by surprise, a complete difference from the clean-cut man that she had seen.

“Rowan?” she croaked out as she opened the door wider and moved to the side to let him in.

“Aelin… I’m here to explain.” He paused as he met her gaze and looked into her eyes in the dim light of the entrance to her apartment.

Authors note: A big thank you to @tangledraysofsunshine for revising and editing and also giving me so much advice. This chapter looks so much better with their help!

tag list: @flowersinvegas @shadowstar2313 @heir2chaos @heymichelle360 @aelinchocolatelover @captain-timetraveldreamer @rowaelinforeverworld 

[tswiftandtsn]

TSN x Lover Album Breakdown

So I see Lover as the album about Mark & Eduardo finally making up honestly, ala The Social Network 2, while also touching upon what happened in The Social Network

I Forgot That You Existed - Eduardo @ Mark after he got his fucking money

(HOW MANY DAYS DID I SPEND THINKING HOW YOU DID ME WRONG (EDUARDO) I FORGOT THAT YOU EXISTED AND I THOUGHT THAT IT WOULD KILL ME BUT IT DIDN’T (EDUARDO), IT ISN’T LOVE IT ISN’T HATE IT’S JUST INDIFFERENCE (BOTH OF THEM)  Got out some popcorn as soon as my rep started going down, down, down, laughed on the school yard, as soon as I tripped up and hit the ground, ground, ground, and I would've stuck around for ya, would've fought the whole town, so yeah, would've been right there, front row, even if nobody came to your show (THE CHICKEN INCIDENT) But you showed who you are, then one magical night (DILUTION), 

Cruel Summer - Okay but like that was a cruel summer, but this is like the anthem for when Mark & Eduardo first got back in touch like

(Devils roll the dice (Mark), Angels roll their eyes (Eduardo), WHAT DOESN’T KILL ME MAKES ME WANT YOU MORE, I'm always waiting for you just to cut to the bone (EDUARDO TO MARK),  And if I bleed, you'll be the last to know (EDUARDO TO MARK),  I'm drunk in the back of the car, and I cried like a baby coming home from the bar, said I'm fine, but it wasn't true (EDUARDO TO MARK) I don’t want to keep secrets just to keep you (MARK TO EDUARDO),  And I screamed for whatever it's worth "I love you," ain't that the worst thing you ever heard? (LITERALLY, BOTH OF THEM WOULD SAY THIS DUMB ASS SHIT), HE LOOKS SO PRETTY LIKE THE DEVIL (AGAIN BOTH OF THEM WOULD SAY THIS ABOUT THE OTHER)

Lover: LIKE WE’RE IN LOVE AND ONE DAY WE’LL GET MARRIED MARKWARDO WE HAPPY AGAIN

THE MAN: WOULD BE MARK

I WOULD BE COMPLEX, I WOULD BE COOL (MARK), I’D BE A FEARLESS LEADER, I’D BE THE ALPHA TYPE, WHEN EVERYONE BELIEVE’S YOU WHAT’S THAT LIKE (MARK), I’M SO SICK OF RUNNING AS FAST AS I CAN (MARK), AND I’M SO SICK OF THEM COMING AT ME AGAIN (MARK AND ALL HIS FUCKING LAWSUITS), THEY’D SAY I HUSTLED PUT IN THE WORK, THEY WOULDN’T SHAKE THEIR HEADS AND QUESTION HOW MUCH OF THIS I DESERVE. WHAT I WAS WEARING IF I WAS RUDE. COULD I BE SEPERATED FROM MY GOOD IDEAS AND POWER MOVES (OKAY BUT LIKE THIS WAS MARK DREAMING OF HIM ENDING UP ON TOP LIKE FUCKING WHAT HE WAS WEARING AND IF HE WAS RUDE)

THE ARCHER: SAD AND SCARED MARKWARDO more in depth version on my blog

I THINK HE KNOWS: THIS IS THIRSTY MARK 

I think he knows, His hands around a cold glass, Make me wanna know that, body like it's mine (Mark),  He got that boyish look that I like in a man, I am an architect, I'm drawing up the plans, It's like I'm 17, nobody understands (MARK, EDUARDO THE SWEET LOOKING BRAZILIAN AND HE IS THE ARCHITECT OF FACEBOOK),  Wanna see what's under that attitude  (Eduardo’s attitude),  I'll make myself at home, and he'll want me to stay, I think he knows, he better lock it down, or I won't stick around (EDUARDO: MARK BETTER PROPOSE SOON OR I’LL SMASH ANOTHER LAPTOP),  Lyrical smile, indigo eyes, hand on my thigh (Mark’s indigo eyes!)

Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince: MARKWARDO SAPPY SADNESS

I counted days, I counted miles to see you there, to see you there, it's been a long time coming (SINGAPORE IS FAR AND THEY SHOULDA BEEN TOGETHER A LONG TIME AGO),  It's you and me, that's my whole world They whisper in the hallway, "She's a bad, bad girl" The whole school is rolling fake dice (MARK AND EDUARDO AGAINST THE WORLD, MARK IS A BAD BAD GIRL),  My team is losing, battered and bruising, I see the high fives between the bad guys, Leave with my head hung, you are the only one Who seems to care (FUCK THE WINKLEVII),  and I don't want you to (Go), I don't really wanna (Fight) Cause nobody's gonna (Win), I think you should come home (EDUARDO MOVE TO PALO ALTO PLEASSEEEE)

Paper Rings:

The moon is high like your friends were the night that we first met (DUSTIN WAS FUCKING HIGH THE NIGHT THEY FIRST MET),  Went home and tried to stalk you on the internet (MARK ENERGY),  Like the shoulder that I gave you in the street, Cat and mouse for a month or two or three, Now I wake up in the night and watch you breathe (WHEN EDUARDO FIRST DIDN’T WANT TO MAKE UP WITH MARK),  Kiss me once 'cause you know I had a long night (Oh) Kiss me twice 'cause it's gonna be alright (Uh) Three times 'cause I've waited my whole life (JUST YES), I like shiny things, but I'd marry you with paper rings (MARK ENERGY HE LIKES SHINY ELECTRONICS AND MARRYING HIM WITH PAPER RINGS IS HIS ENERGY),  Darling, you're the one I want, and I hate accidents except when we went from friends to this (MARK AND EDUARDO YESSSS),  In the winter, in the icy outdoor pool, when you jumped in first, I went in too (PALO ALTO GOTS POOLS, ZIPLINE SCENE) I'm with you even if it makes me blue which takes me back to the color that we painted your brother's wall (MARK IS COLOR BLIND ALL HE CAN SEE IS BLUE, EDUARDO HAS A BROTHER 0.0) Honey, without all the exes, fights, and flaws we wouldn't be standing here so proud (THEY STRONGER NOW),  I want to drive away with you, I want your complications too, I want your dreary Mondays, Wrap your arms around me, baby boy (EDUARDO ENERGY IN FIX IT FIC)

CORNELIA STREET

I rent a place on Cornelia Street (MARK’S PLACE IN PALO ALTO),  We were a fresh page on the desk, filling in the blanks as we go (THEY STARTED OVER),  And I hope I never lose you, hope it never ends, I'd never walk Cornelia Street again (YEAH),  And baby, I get mystified by how this city screams your name (PALO ALTO SCREAMS MARK’S NAME) And baby, I'm so terrified of if you ever walk away (MARK TO EDUARDO),  Jacket 'round my shoulders is yours  (SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECHING THE NORTH FACE JACKET),  We bless the rains on Cornelia Street (RAIN IN PALO ALTO HAS TO BE BLESSED CAUSE IT HAS PREVIOUSLY BEEN EVIL),  Back when we were card sharks, playing games I thought you were leading me on, I packed my bags, left Cornelia Street, Before you even knew I was gone (EDUARDO)  But then you called, showed your hand I turned around before I hit the tunnel  (MARK SHOWED HIS HAND AND <3),  I hope I never lose you, hope it never ends (MARK AND EDUARDO),  That's the kinda heartbreak time could never mend (MARK AND EDUARDO),  Sacred new beginnings That became my religion, listen (THEY WATCHED IT BEGIN AGAIN)

DEATH BY A THOUSAND CUTS: THE DILUTION SONG

Saying goodbye is death by a thousand cuts, Flashbacks waking me up I get drunk, but it's not enough ’Cause the morning comes and you're not my baby (EDUARDO),  I look through the windows of this love, even though we boarded them up (STILL CAN’T HELP BUT WATCHING ONE ANOTHER),  'Cause I can’t pretend it's okay when it's not it's death by a thousand cuts   (EDUARDO),  I dress to kill my time, I take the long way home, I ask the traffic lights if it'll be alright, They say, "I don't know" And what once was ours is no one's now I see you everywhere, the only thing we share Is this small town (EDUARDO AND MARK IN THE SAME CITY DURING THE DEPOSITIONS),  You said it was a great love, one for the ages but if the story's over, why am I still writing pages? (THE STORY AIN’T OVER YET THE SOCIAL NETWORK 2),  My heart, my hips, my body, my love, tryna find a part of me that you didn't touch gave up on me like I was a bad drug (MARK DITCHED HIM LIKE A BAD DRUG AND TOUCHED HIM EVERYWHERE),  Our songs, our films, united, we stand Our country, guess it was a lawless land Why are my fears at the touch of your hands? Paper cut stains from my paper-thin plans My time, my wine, my spirit, my trust Tryna find a part of me you didn't take up Gave you so much, but it wasn't enough But I'll be alright, it's just a thousand cuts (FACEBOOK WAS THEIR COUNTRY IT WAS A LAWLESS LAND, MARK’S HANDS, EDUARDO’S TRUST, HE TOOK SO MUCH AND EDUARDO GAVE SO MUCH AND IT WASN’T ENOUGH, THERE WERE SO MANY CUTS)

LONDON BOY:

But something happened, I heard him laughing I saw the dimples first  (MARK’S FUCKING DIMPLES),  And then I heard the accent, they say home is where the heart is, but that's not where mine lives (MARK HEART EDUARDO’S ACCENT AND HE’S IN SINGAPORE NOW :’( )  He likes my American smile, like a child when our eyes meet (EDUARDO LIKES MARK’S AMERICAN SMILE LIKE A CHILD WHEN THEIR EYES MEET), 

SOON YOU’LL GET BETTER:

I know delusion when I see it in the mirror (EDUARDO),  I just pretend it isn't real I'll paint the kitchen neon, I'll brighten up the sky (EDUARDO),  Soon, you'll get better, You'll get better soon, cause you have to (EDUARDO TO HIMSELF),  But who am I supposed to talk to? What am I supposed to do. If there's no you? (EDUARDO THINKING OF MARK),  This won't go back to normal, if it ever was It's been years of hoping, and I keep saying it because, cause I have to (EDUARDO YEARS AFTER THE DILUTION) 

FALSE GOD:

We were crazy to think, crazy to think that this could work remember how I said I'd die for you? (EDUARDO)  We were stupid to jump in the ocean separating us Remember how I’d lie to you? (MARK),  And I can't talk to you when you're like this, staring out the window like I’m not your favorite town I'm New York City, I'd still do it for you, babe (EDUARDO),  They all warned us about times like this They say the road gets hard and you get lost (YEAH BIG MARKWARDO VIBES),  When you're led by blind faith, blind faith (EARLY FACEBOOK DAYS),  But we might just get away with it, religion's in your lips, even if it's a false god We'd still worship, we might just get away with it, the altar is my hips even if it's a false god, we’d still worship this love (EDUARDO AND YEAH),  Hell is when I fight with you, but we can patch it up good, make confessions and we're begging for forgiveness (VERY THEM),  Daring you to leave me just so I can try and scare you (MARK)

YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN:

MARK AND EDUARDO’S FUCKING DRAMATICS SEE MY WHOLE BREAK DOWN OF IT ON MY BLOG

AFTERGLOW:

THE MARK APOLOGY

I blew things out of proportion, now you're blue, put you in jail for something you didn’t do, I pinned your hands behind your back, oh, thought I had reason to attack, but no (MARK DILUTING EDUARDO),  Fighting with a true love is boxing with no gloves, chemistry 'til it blows up, 'til there’s no us Why'd I have to break what I love so much? It's on your face, and I'm to blame, I need to say (I MEAN EDUARDO’S FACE DURING THE DEPOSITIONS UGHHHH THIS MARK),  Hey, it's all me, in my head, I'm the one who burned us down, But it's not what I meant, Sorry that I hurt you I don't wanna do, I don’t wanna do this to you (Ooh) I don’t wanna lose, I don't wanna lose this with you (Ooh) I need to say, hey, it’s all me, just don't go Meet me in the afterglow (MARKS APOLOGY),  It's so excruciating to see you low just wanna lift you up and not let you go  (MARK TO EDUARDO),  I lived like an island, punished you in silence (MARK) Went off like sirens, just crying (EDUARDO),  Tell me that you're still mine, tell me that we'll be just fine, even when I lose my mind (LAPTOP SMASH MUCH)  I need to say Tell me that it's not my fault, Tell me that I'm all you want (EDUARDO TO MARK)  Even when I break your heart, I need to say, Hey It’s all me (Mark)

ME!:

They’re happy in their individuality now there’s a more in-depth look on my blog

It’s Nice to Have a Friend:

Lost my gloves, you give me one (Mark) "Wanna hang out?"(Eduardo) Yes, sounds like fun (Mark) Video games, you pass me a note  (What Kirkland fic doesn’t have them playing video games?) It's nice to have a friend (Best Friends),  You've been stressed out lately, yeah, me too, something gave you the nerve to touch my hand (Classic Markwardo fic move),  Call my bluff, call you "Babe" Have my back, yeah, every day, Feels like home, stay in bed the whole weekend (Mark)

Daylight:

My love was as cruel as the cities I lived in, everyone looked worse in the light There are so many lines that I've crossed unforgiven, I'll tell you the truth, but never goodbye (MARK ENERGY),  I don't wanna look at anything else now that I saw you, I don't wanna think of anything else now that I thought of you I've been sleeping so long in a 20-year dark night and now I see daylight (EDUARDO),  Luck of the draw only draws the unlucky and so I became the butt of the joke (EDUARDO ABOUT THE DILUTION),  I wounded the good and I trusted the wicked, clearing the air, I breathed in the smoke (Mark wounded Eduardo and trusted Sean, trying to make Facebook stronger he ended up hurting Eduardo),  Maybe you ran with the wolves and refused to settle down (Mark ran with the wolves (sean) and refused to settle down always working still),  Maybe I've stormed out of every single room in this town (Eduardo storming out of Facebook),  Threw out our cloaks and our daggers because it's morning now it's brighter now, now (They’ve resolved their issues now),  And I can still see it all (In my mind) (Their past is their past and it’s still there but they’re stronger),  All of you, all of me (Intertwined) I once believed love would be (Black and white) But it's golden (Golden) (Eduardo thought love should be simple and easy and no fighting) And I can still see it all (In my head), back and forth from New York (Eduardo having to fly back and forth, and them being apart) I once believed love would be (Burning red) But it's golden (Mark believed love was nothing but passion but he discovered it was more complex) You gotta step into the daylight and let it go, just let it go, let it go (They had to let go of their issues and focus on the fact they were meant for one another)

[cakesunflower]

Sugar Coated Pain [Boxer!Calum AU] Ch. 3

All Chapters: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 | Chapter 18 | Chapter 19 | Chapter 20 | Chapter 21 | Chapter 22 | Chapter 23 | Chapter 24 | Epilogue | BONUS CHAPTER

Chapter 3

“I STILL FEEL bad, leaving you here by yourself,” Noelle worried, willing herself not to chew on her lips so she didn’t eat off the lipstick staining them.

Her seventeen year old sister rolled her eyes in exasperation. “I’m gonna be fine, Elle,” Andrea insisted. “I just found out Amazon Prime has all the seasons of Bones on it so I’m gonna binge watch the crap out of that and order food that I’m gonna eat until I pass out. It’s gonna be a fun night.”

Beverly descended the stairs that led right into the living room the other two were in. “Since when do you have an Amazon Prime account?”

Andrea grinned impishly. “Mom got sick of me begging for it and gave in. Perks of being the paraplegic child.”

Both Beverly and Noelle scoffed and rolled their eyes, used to Andrea using her disability as a way of getting what she wanted, though Andrea didn’t even have to use that as an excuse because they all babied her anyway. Still, Noelle and Beverly couldn’t help but shake their head in amusement as Andrea giggled giddily. She’s been paralyzed for three years now, and at this point she was fully capable of cracking jokes about her being confined to a wheelchair.

It had been a tragic accident, one involving Andrea and their father and a drunk driver, in which Mr. Simon died on impact and the driver was imprisoned for driving under the influence. It was one of the toughest times for Noelle and her family, trying to deal with their dad’s death and helping the youngest of the family adjust to a life in a wheelchair. For the longest time Andrea was angry at everything in the world—for the loss of their dad and for the loss of feeling below her waist—and it wasn’t until a year and a half after the accident where Andrea cracked the first joke in regards of her being a paraplegic.

“Okay, but if you need anything, call either of us, alright?” Noelle told Andrea with a raise of her eyebrows, unplugging her phone from the charger by the couch.

The seventeen year old nodded before waving her sisters off, telling them to leave already. It wasn’t often that the girls left Andrea alone at the house; their mom had long hours at the hospital and while Andrea was fully capable of taking care of herself, they still worried over her. They couldn’t help it; she was their baby sister. They’d been taking care of her long before she was ever paralyzed.

“So what’s Ashton throwing this party for?” Noelle asked once she and Beverly slid into the backseat of the Uber, leaning her back against the door as she faced her sister.

Beverly ran her fingers through her blonde hair to push it back. “Cal won every match he had this week so Ash sometimes throws a little celebration type thing. Obviously no one really knows the real reason for the parties because of what Cal does but, you know, still fun,” she explained with a shrug before grinning happily. “Now that you’re back in town, I finally have someone to go with!”

Noelle smiled wryly, pulling her phone out to scroll through social media. “Joy,” she dryly responded, though she was fine with accompanying Beverly.

Truly, Noelle was never opposed to a night out when she really wanted to go and from what Beverly has told her, Ashton’s parties or get-togethers were always a fun time, so it was time Noelle attended one. Though, the fact that this particular party was for Calum, meaning he would be there, had Noelle’s gut twisting nervously. Obviously, she hasn’t seen him since she met him the first time three nights ago, but Noelle wasn’t going to forget the disgruntled way he looked at her. She could only hope he wouldn’t be irritated by her presence and make her feel embarrassed once more.

If she was someone else, it would be enough for her to reject the invitation, but Calum was too handsome for Noelle to not want to just get a glimpse of him again. Was that desperate? Maybe.

They arrived to Ashton’s apartment in SoHo within fifteen minutes, getting rung in through the front security desk by Ashton and using the elevator to go to the fourth floor. When they walked in through the unlocked door, Noelle couldn’t help but notice how nice Ashton’s apartment was, having never been there before. Large windows and slanted ceilings with lights embedded in them, and sleek wood floors. Ashton was a general manager at a popular gym in Manhattan and he earned a pretty penny, and his residence showed that in the least obnoxious way possible.

There was music playing at an appropriate, non-deafening volume and there were a bunch of people hanging around with drinks in their hands as they talked and mingled. Noelle was relieved to see it wasn’t like a literal house party, many of which she attended during high school and college, and that everyone here seemed much more relaxed yet enjoying their time.

“They’re in the kitchen,” Beverly said, nodding towards the left of the apartment before leading her sister over. Noelle noticed Beverly waving and saying hi to a few people as they walked, already familiar with almost everyone there as they entered the kitchen.

“You’re here!” Came Ashton’s cheery voice and Noelle easily caught sight of the dirty blonde haired man as he moved his way around the center counter that was full of different types of alcoholic bottles, weaving past a few people that were lingering about. He reached them hugging and kissing Beverly with a grin. “Hiya, Noelle, I’m happy you’re here,” he added genuinely, pulling the younger girl for a surprise hug.

Noelle couldn’t help but smile as she returned the hug before pulling away. “I can never say no to free drinks, you know,” she teased.

Ashton giggled before nodding towards the counter. “What’ll you have?”

Before Noelle could answer, Beverly said to him, “Oh, make her a tequila sunrise.” To Noelle, she smiled, “He’s an expert at making that drink. So good.”

Not one to say no to a good drink, Noelle merely nodded and smiled in agreement as Ashton moved towards the counter to make two of them for the girls. As he did so, Beverly leaned forward on the counter opposite of Ashton as she asked, “Where are the others?”

As Ashton picked up the bottle of orange juice, he hummed, “Michael and Luke are around here somewhere and Cal stepped out for a smoke.”

Noelle tilted her head slightly as Beverly quirked a brow. “Isn’t he trying to quit?”

Ashton snorted. “Trying be the key term. We all know Cal’s not one to quit easily.”

“Stop talking shit about me behind my back, mate.”

Noelle felt her back straighten at the deep voice sounding behind her, watching from the corner of her eye as Calum appeared next to Beverly on the side of the counter diagonal of Noelle. Her gaze remained on him, taking in his simple outfit of black jeans and a white shirt with a black leather jacket on top, her thoughts immediately consisting of how damn good he looked. She watched as Calum reached for the stack of cups before pouring in whatever drink was mixed in a glass bottle, her eyes going to the tattoos on his hands, the silver bracelets on each wrist and the chunky rings on his fingers. A man’s hands should not look as good as Calum’s did.

“I’m not talking shit!” Ashton defended with a high pitched laugh before handing Noelle and Beverly their cups. “Just, you know. . . Complimenting you on your determination.”

Calum scoffed, looking away from Ashton to his left as he brought the cups to his lips. “Bullshit.”

It was when he turned his head when Noelle spotted the bruise that was blooming on his cheek, her eyes widening slightly at the sight of it. Dark blue and purple in color yet not too big in size, right on the side of his face near his jaw and she couldn’t help but wince slightly, thinking of the punch that was the cause of it. If almost everyone here didn’t know about Calum’s fighting, what did he tell them if they asked about his bruise?

“Oh, shit, ouch,” Beverly’s eyes widened, leaning forward slightly as she looked at the black haired boy’s face. Apparently she wasn’t hesitant on bringing up the bruise like Noelle was. “That looks like it hurts.”

Calum’s eyes flickered over to her, throat working as he swallowed his drink without complaint and lowered the cup. “Nothin’ I’m not used to,” was his reply, the corner of his lips curling smugly. Then his eyes shifted over slightly, finally landing on Noelle as she took a sip of her admittedly delicious drink. “Noelle, right?”

Honestly, Noelle was surprised that she didn’t choke on her sip as Calum addressed her, taking her by surprise as she swallowed her drink. Tequila always warmed her up easily, despite it being mixed or not, but she was sure the warmth spreading up her neck had more to do with the pair of dark brown eyes staring at her rather than her drink. “Um, yeah,” she stumbled out, mentally cursing herself for sounding unsure. “Hi.”

Calum merely nodded in return, making Noelle bristle slightly—how could a subtle action make her feel so unwelcome, and why did she care so much?—until Beverly spoke up. “Congrats on your wins, Cal,” she smiled, holding her cup out to him as she dramatically added, “You’ve made me proud.”

The tall, curly haired boy snorted, lifting his eyebrows at her as he responded, “It’s why I do it.”

                                                      ♔♔♔♔♔

Calum raised unimpressed eyebrows as he stared at his two best friends, who were singing a Queen song terribly and totally off-key, as he sat on Ashton’s couch with his legs spread and a red cup in his hand. Though they weren’t singing all too well, Ashton and Luke were definitely entertaining everyone here with their rendition of We Are The Champions. Calum knew getting Ashton that karaoke machine for Christmas would be a bad idea.

As Luke and Ashton started the second verse, an arm wrapped around the other as Ashton held the mic in his right hand and Luke held his cup in his left, Calum couldn’t help but let out a deep chuckle. Everyone around was laughing and recording the two of them, and Calum shook his head in amusement as Ashton and Luke swayed while singing. The party was a few hours in and his friends were a few drinks in, and Calum was surprised either one of them was staying upright.

His gaze flickered around the room before ultimately landing on a face he’s seen twice now. Noelle stood leaning against the wall that separated the kitchen and living room, a bottle of beer in hand after switching it from the liquor and a wide grin on her face that showed off dimples Calum wasn’t aware she had, as her eyes remained on Ashton and Luke. Just like everyone else, she was wildly entertained by the show the two idiots were putting on, her mouth forming soundless words whenever she spoke to Beverly.

Calum’s eyes trailed up her figure, taking in the exposure of her legs due to the blue shorts she wore and the way her pale yellow, form fitting tank top hugged her tightly. He attempted to ignore the tightening in his jeans at the sight of her slender neck, wondering what it’d be like to have his hand wrapped around it and lips pressed against the skin. Calum wasn’t afraid to admit he had similar thoughts the moment he saw her after stepping off the ring, wondering who the hell she was and what she was doing at his match, but he wasn’t going to voice his desires about Noelle after just meeting her. Especially not to Beverly or Ashton.

“That was for my man Calum Hood!” Ashton’s voice rang through the house thanks to the karaoke machine speakers, drawing the Australian’s attention back to his friends who had apparently finished the song already and everyone broke out into cheers. Calum’s eyebrows shot up once more in amusement as Ashton gestured to him with one hand and pressed his other to his chest. “The champion of my heart.”

Despite himself, Calum couldn’t help but let out a laugh at Ashton’s words, shaking his head as he lifted his cup to his two laughing friends in cheers, shaking his head before taking a sip of the hunch punch. “You’re ridiculous, mate,” Calum announced after swallowing his drink. Still, he found the gesture nice.

About an hour or so later, after Calum finished sipping at his first cup of mixed drink and was now nursing another one, he made his way towards the bathroom in the hallway. He may have taken small sips of his drinks as an attempt to uselessly stall the effect of the alcohol he was consuming, but he still had to really fucking pee.

Which was frustrating because the bathroom door was locked. “For fuck’s sake,” Calum cursed under his breath, wishing that Ashton had more than one bathroom in his place. Raising his free hand, Calum rapped sharply and impatiently on the door with his knuckles. “Others have to use the bathroom, too!”

Okay, so he may be slightly tipsy and raised his voice a bit louder than necessary, garnering the attention of the few people lingering in the hallway, though he paid them no mind. He was too focused on making sure he didn’t piss his damn pants right there. Calum let out a groan when no one on the other side responded, clenching his jaw and leaning his forehead against the wooden door, eyes shut in exasperation.

But then the door suddenly swung open, and Calum lost all sense of his fighting agility as he stumbled forward at the lack of support, eyes shooting wide open. His free hand shot out to grasp the door frame, but not before the contents of his full cup sloshed and a good chunk of his beverage spilled out.

A startled gasp sounded in front of him, and Calum looked up in surprise to see Noelle standing in the bathroom, her hazel eyes widened as she remained frozen. For a brief moment, he wondered if she looked so startled because he was standing there, but then his eyes trailed down and caught sight of her pale top and blue shorts darkened by the reddish-purple drink he had been consuming.

“Oh, my God,” Noelle breathed out, stunned at the sudden cold wetness on her front. She looked down, taking in the drink that had spilled on her right below her collarbone, effectively wetting her skin and staining her light colored clothes. It was wet and sticky.

Calum, too, was staring at what he accidentally caused, gaze lingering on the area right above her breasts that was glistening with the drink, forcing himself to break his stare when he realized who those ridiculously nice pair of breasts belong to. “Give a guy a warning next time, will you?” he practically snapped, immediately defaulting to his usual cold demeanor.

Noelle’s head snapped up, eyebrows lifting in surprise as her mouth dropped open with a scoff. Sure, she was a bit shaken at the fact that it was Calum who spilled his drink on her, but why was he the one with the attitude in this situation? “Are you kidding?” she let out a short disbelieving laugh. “You’re the one who spilled his drink on me!”

Calum dropped his hand from the door frame, straightening to stand at his full height and fighting the smug smirk that threatened to grow when he noticed Noelle’s throat work nervously as her gaze flickered up to maintain eye contact. “You’re the one who opened the damn door out of nowhere.”

Was he serious? “Because you were knocking and yelling on the other side!” Noelle countered, bringing her fingers to the front of her tank to pull the tight material away from her skin. She let out a small groan—her clothes were totally going to be stained now. A glare furrowed her brows as she looked up at Calum, completely forgetting that this guy definitely intimidated her as she demanded, “What were you even doing, leaning against the door like that? This is your fault.”

He seriously didn’t have time for this. Sure, Calum felt kind of bad for spilling his drink on Noelle, but that didn’t come anywhere near as the urgency he felt for needing to use the damn bathroom. And, yeah, he knew it was his fault for leaning against the door and losing his balance but apologizing wasn’t in Calum’s nature, and he wasn’t about to start now.

Grunting, Calum reached forward and placed his half empty cup on the sink right next to Noelle before shrugging off the leather jacket he wore. It was his favorite jacket, with two white stripes running down the length of the sleeves, but he begrudgingly put that aside as he held it out to Noelle, who blinked at the piece of apparel in confusion. Impatiently, Calum shook it and said through gritted teeth, “Just wear it over your clothes for now and get out of the damn bathroom, for shit’s sake. I have to piss.”

Immediately Noelle’s face scrunched up in mild disgust but when she took in the irritated expression Calum wore, mixed with the bruise on his cheek, she clamped her mouth shut and took the offered jacket with a somewhat shaky hand. He was lending her his jacket?

When she took it, Calum stepped aside and waved his hand, raising his eyebrows as he silently gestured for her to get the hell out. Noelle swallowed inaudibly before shuffling through the narrow doorway, catching a whiff of whatever cologne Calum wore over the pungent stench of the alcohol she was wearing, and wincing slightly when the door slammed shut behind her.

Calum let out a relieving sigh once he flushed and zipped up his pants, washing his hands as he stared at himself in the mirror. He turned his head to the left, hands still running under the cold water, as he assessed the bruise on his cheek. It still hurt when his facial muscles moved a certain way, and every time Calum felt that sting of pain he also felt a surge of anger for letting Underwood get that hit in in the first place. It was a slip on Calum’s part, lost in a thinking strategy during the fight a second too long and not seeing Underwood’s left hook coming for him, but managing to return the favor by knocking him the fuck out. It was a lucky shot on Underwood’s part and Calum was determined to not let it happen again.

Grunting, Calum grabbed his drink and drained the rest of it in the sink before dropping the cup in the trash before shutting off the faucet and drying his hands. When he left the bathroom, he realized that Noelle wasn’t in the hallway anymore and made his way back to the living room. And when he did, Calum couldn’t help the way he froze when his eyes somehow, almost immediately, landed on Noelle.

She was standing by the window talking to Michael and their friend Dominique, and Calum’s adam’s apple bobbed in his throat at the sight of her wearing his jacket. Her short and slimmer figure had the jacket practically enveloping her, the sleeves too long and shoulders hanging off hers. But what really had Calum taking in a sharp breath was the fact that the jacket was so long on Noelle that it made it seem like, zipped up, it was all she was wearing. Her legs looked even more appealing than they already did. The jacket was like a fucking dress Calum had the sudden urge to rip right off of her.

She should not be looking as good as she does in his jacket.

Calum huffed. He shouldn’t have thrown away his drink.

tags: @aphroditebeautyshit @modelukes @cartiercalum @candidcalum @tothemoonmikey @perfectlycake @cakestan @lukesback @polarizehood @luke2k18 @vaporlewk @biggestslutforcalum @kinkycorbyn @nostalgia-luke @captain-what-is-going-on @hoodstations @calumamore

[thewriterxo]

Random chapter from one of my stories ‘Death Saved Me’

Junior year of high school had come to a close for Phoenix and summer vacation had already begun. Their last day of school, Phoenix and her friends already planned a weekend trip to one of their favorite beaches. Bodies always crowded the sand during the hot summer weather and it was easier for them to blend in while illegally drinking. Normally they’d meet up with others from school and just hangout the entire day, then relaxing by a warm bon fire when the stars lit up the sky.

Phoenix was beyond ecstatic to get herself out of the place she called ‘home,’ and into her vacation body. She’d already packed her bag even though she wasn’t to leave until the next day. She had made sure to pack the blanket that always lay in her bed. She never slept without it and wasn’t going to start now. It was a soft pink and white knitted blanket her mother had made her before she was born. It felt to her that it was the last thing she had to remember her by.

Her excitement for school to finally draw to a close seemed to make the last few days drag more than usual. Now that it was officially over she had time to set out on adventures with her friends, and look forward to her senior year.

Without Death around the girl looked to be herself on the outside, but she didn’t feel it. It wasn’t because she missed him but for the fact she felt a sort of emptiness in her gut. But after the weeks that she never saw his figure pop into her room soon made her become aware that he wasn’t real, and he was in fact someone she had created in her mind. Of course it had to be. No one else could see him except for her. The Grim Reaper wasn’t actually real. It was all in her head.

No mysterious angel came to check on her and Henry had been distant. For the past few weeks she decided against replying to his texts and avoided his house at all costs. Her imaginary friend had told her something along the lines that made her feel as if they knew of each other. If it were true and Henry was also a part of the supernatural world, Phoenix wanted nothing to do with him.

For a while she felt as if she could get her life back on track. No more spinning corners worrying if something was lurking between the shadows. She no longer wanted to be afraid and instead hoped she could come to terms with herself and regain the happiness she missed.

The day the girls had planned to leave, Phoenix was waiting for a phone call from Amanda. She was to pick up Phoenix and meet her other friends at Tina’s house. Tina was a gorgeous blonde and blue eyed girl that Phoenix and Amanda became friends with freshmen year. Tina never felt like she fit in up until high school. She always wore sweatpants and hoodies with her large round glasses. Once she became a freshmen her style changed completely. She never touched a pair of sweats again and instead either wore mini skirts or jeans. She got herself contacts and never left the house without her makeup. She was the most flirtatious out of all of them from then on and always enjoyed capturing the attention from men’s wandering eyes.

Chloe had joined the group when she moved to town two years ago. She was never the brightest bulb in the box which annoyed most, except for Phoenix. She was the type to get to know someone before she ever dared to judge them. Chloe’s hair was dyed red and freckles covered her nose and cheeks. She had almost everything pierced; her lip, nose, eyebrow, ears and nipples. She never enjoyed wearing bras due to the fact she loved to show off the two piercings beneath her shirt.

Phoenix ran outside to meet Amanda at her car and after throwing her duffel bag in the back seat she bounced next to her friend.

“I’m so excited!” She grinned.

“Me too,” Amanda stated, holding the same amount of enthusiasm in her tone. “Tina said her older brother got us enough alcohol to last the weekend. The only thing we still need to get are cups.”

“Already ahead of you,” Phoenix winked as she grabbed the solo cups from her bag.

By the time the girls had made it to Tina’s, Chloe and Tina were already bouncing their way outside. They were both dressed in booty shorts and tank tops, clearly ready to take over the beach. It’d been a while since Phoenix actually got to spend a plentiful amount of time with her girlfriends. It was going to be a wonderful trip.

An hour passed of the friends singing the entire drive to the thumping music. The beach appeared on the right of the long empty road, packed with people partying. The house they rented was big enough for the four of them with an immaculate view of the ocean. The sun was cooling itself behind the waves, lighting the sand and causing pebbles to shimmer.

Not even bothering to unpack, the girls immediately changed into their bathing suits. Phoenix had on a bright pink strapless top with her black ruffled bottoms. It was her favorite bathing suit piece do to that fact it showed off her curves and hugged her chest.

They found a spot on the sand to relax and set their towels down along with the cooler filled with drinks. Already Tina and Chloe were buzzed from drinking during the car ride, so Amanda and Phoenix popped open two bottles together.

“Hey Phoenix!” a familiar voice called out over the loud voices around them.

When the girl spotted her friend Todd coming towards her waving, a pair of shades covering his eye, she smiled and stood off the ground to run into a hug. Todd had been possessed by a darkness a while back whom tried to drown the girl. But to this day Phoenix believes it was the alcohol she had drank causing her to hallucinate and fall into a dream. Todd also never remembered what happened. Him and Phoenix talked as if everything were fine from then on, and even became closer as friends.

“I didn’t know you’d be here,” Phoenix smiled towards him, showing off her perfect white teeth.

“My friends let me tag along,” he replied to her, the smile she had becoming contagious.

The boy lifted his sunglasses to the top of his head, his blue eyes glistening under the sun. He hung around the girls for a while longer before heading back to his group of friends as they started to play Frisbee.

Phoenix couldn’t keep her eyes off Todd’s shirtless body. His sweaty abs twinkled from the golden rays of the sun. A small attraction towards him lifted from the pit of her stomach. Amanda caught her best friend staring and elbowed her side, smirking and wiggling her eyebrows.

“Can’t take your eyes off Todd?” she questioned as Tina and Chloe turned their heads.

“He’s hot,” Phoenix shrugged with a shade of pink erupting through her cheeks. Amanda took a swig of her drink and winked.

“You should totally bone him!” Chloe yelled out over the loud noises.

“Chloe!” Phoenix gasped.

“You have the perfect opportunity,” Chloe told her. “While everyone’s out by the bonfire tonight, you can take him back to the house. You’ll be all alone.”

The four girls began giggling, Phoenix wondering if the words coming from Chloe’s lips could actually work. Sure, Todd was one of her best friends, but the thought of losing her precious virginity to him didn’t seem like too bad of an idea. She did know he wasn’t the type to totally ditch her afterwards. And if it had to be with someone, she’d rather it be with him.

When the moon kissed the sea, the fire flamed as the kids sat around. Todd was seated beside Phoenix, both watching as the ambers sprinkled from the flames. Phoenix was still feeling drunk but had enough sense to know what was going on around her. Chloe’s words danced in her head nearly the whole day. She wanted to take Todd back to the house, but she was afraid of rejection.

“Hey are you hungry?” Todd whispered in her ear.

“A little,” Phoenix replied.

“Why don’t we go back to your house and I’ll make us a little something to eat,” he smirked and butterflies flopped in Phoenix’s stomach.

The two walked off together, Phoenix noticing Amanda and Tina giving her thumbs up. The entire walk felt like an eternity as the girl rubbed goosebumps down her arms. She was nervous to even try anything with Todd. She didn’t want to lose him as a friend but when would there ever be an opportunity like this again?

“All we really brought was cold cuts,” Phoenix announced as she stepped inside and flipped on the lights, Todd right behind her.

“Then sandwiches it is,” he replied and set for the kitchen.

Phoenix sat on a stool near the counter, watching as Todd pulled the ingredients from the fridge. She bit against her bottom lip, watching his still shirtless stomach tighten.

“This knife is pretty sharp,” Todd spoke out of the blue, holding the knife he cut the sandwiches with up to eye level. “It could be used as a...” he stopped to look in Phoenix’s direction, his eyes a light grey. “Dangerous weapon.”

Phoenix gulped, her eyes bulging.

“You,” she whispered more to herself.

“Trying to whore it up?” Todd, who wasn’t really Todd, laughed as he ran his finger over the blade. “You know, I don’t enjoy my prey selfishly going around from guy to guy without at least kissing me first.”

“I thought I got rid of you,” Phoenix sneered, slowly inching off the stool.

“You can never get rid of me,” the deep voice chuckled, noticing the girl was about to run. “I’m everywhere.”

Phoenix dashed in the direction of the hallway. She slid around the corner and hid in the closets closet, pushing herself back against the wall and covering her mouth to keep her loud breathing quiet.

“I love hide and seek,” Todd called, slowly walking down the hallway. “Especially when there’s a knife involved.”

Phoenix heard the feet tap against the hard wood floor, coming closer to where she hid. The shadow of a figure loomed through the cracks of the door, stopping just outside it.

“Gotcha!” Todd yelled just as he banged open the door. Phoenix let out a scream, crawling past him to begin running again.

Her feet brought her back to the kitchen so she could escape through the front door and find help. Only her plan was defeated when a body pulled her against them, the knife planted right against her throat. She yelped and became still when she felt the cold blade slide across her skin gently. The pressure the boy put against it wasn’t enough to cut through her but it defiantly scared her.

“Now what did you think was going to happen tonight?” Death spoke through the body he possessed. “He was going to actually steal your virginity? Well I won’t let that happen. That precious flower of yours belongs to me. After all, demons sure do love a virgin.”

“Death,” Phoenix hissed through her clenched teeth. “I thought you were going to leave me alone.”

“Plans have changed my dear,” he cooed into her ear. “Once you decided to slut it up, I had to step in and stop you.”

“But why,” she gritted.

“Because you’re mine.” At his words, the girl shuddered uncontrollably. “And since you belong to me, you will fall under my command. Do exactly as I say.”

“I’ve already told you,” Phoenix began, finding her perfect opportunity to free herself. “I don’t belong to you!” Just as she finished her words, she kicked her leg back and kicked the boy directly in his testicles.

Hunching over, Death could feel the pain the body did and snarled in anger. Phoenix grabbed another knife off the counter and held it in front of her.

“Careful,” Death tsked, still hunched. “You hurt me; you’re really only hurting Todd.”

Phoenix frowned and stomped her foot like a stubborn child.

“Reveal your true form you wimp! Fight me like a man!”

“You really want that?” he asked her as the pain subsided and he straightened his back.

Phoenix gulped again and wondered if she’d regret her choice of words.

Right before her eyes the body of Todd began to twitch and jerk until his movements became inhuman. She watched in horror as his mouth opened wide enough for Death to slither his way out of the body as if it were only a costume. Todd fell to the floor unconscious after Death had finally released his form and stretched out his muscles. He kicked Todd’s body to the side more with his heavy boot and then focused his attention back to Phoenix.

Tonight his normal cloaked wardrobe was different. A black hoodie draped around his body, the hood still covering his face. Dark washed jeans fell down his legs and landed at the usual black combat boots he wore which were always in perfect condition. Phoenix thought Death’s outfit made him resemble more of a teenager tonight, but his towering form proved her wrong. He was still a monster.

Death extended his arm to the side, his hand wide open as if he were waiting for something to appear there. Instantly like a magnet, a tall stick appeared in his grasp, a long curved blade at the end of it. Phoenix had only seen this item in movies and couldn’t help but stare at her reflection in the clean blade. Her tiny knife she still held was nothing compared to this.

A scythe.

Phoenix knew he was going to fight her with this which wouldn’t be playing fair. But instead he twisted it to the side and sliced through the air, creating purple and white smog to circle itself until it became big enough to form an opening. Inside the smog that still circled, Phoenix saw what looked like another world. She recognized it as Purgatory, the place Death took her the first night they met again. She shuddered from the awful memories of sluggish souls wandering the streets aimlessly.

“You see this place?” Death spoke out to her as he pointed to the portal. “Remember how I’d send you here if you disobeyed me?”

Phoenix chewed the inside of her cheek glaring at him.

“Do you want me to do that?”

Phoenix rolled her eyes and clenched her fist at her side, wanting so badly to punch him in his unseen face.

“Answer me!” Death snarled.

“Obviously not!” Phoenix replied with the same snarky attitude.

“Ok, then what are you going to be doing from now on?” Death taunted her, twirling his finger in the direction of the portal as if teasing her.

She never wanted to return to that awfully place, especially if she were to be trapped there alone.

“You’re all in my head,” Phoenix replied. “I created you from my sick imagination. That place isn’t real and neither are you.”

“Shall we find out then?” Death smirked, his lips twitching.

Suddenly he grabbed Phoenix’s arm and dragged her with him. When she tried to attack him with the knife he merely swiped it from her grasp, and then stuck half her body through the portal. Phoenix looked down to the town as if she were floating in the sky. She screamed when Death let her go to fake her out, but then grabbed her once again.

“Fine!” Phoenix yelled, closing her eyes to keep the images of the place out of her head. “I’ll listen, I’ll listen!”

Death whipped her back but never let go of her arm. Immediately the portal swooshed closed after Phoenix’s body retreated from it.

“Good,” Death grinned. “I hope this time you’ll listen. Oh and by the way,” he paused to lick his lips and eye her body up and down. “Sexy bathing suit.”

Before Phoenix could cover herself with her arms, Death was gone with a snap of his fingers. The girl immediately ran to Todd’s side as he began to groan, waking slowly.

“What happened?” he asked her groggily.

Phoenix knew he wouldn’t believe the truth so she made up a lie. “You fainted. How much did you drink?”

“Not a lot,” he responded, looking to the ceiling. Little did she know; Todd made an excuse to bring Phoenix back to the house because he too wanted time alone with her. He was also attracted to her but never took a chance for the fact he wasn’t sure if it’d ruin their friendship.

“I think I’m going to get back to my hotel,” he sighed as Phoenix helped him stand. “I’m not feeling too good.”

“Alright,” she frowned. Todd felt sorry that he had ruined the night but still he took a chance and bent down to her level, placing a small kiss to her soft lips.

Phoenix shocked, watched Todd leave as she touched the spot he kissed. She wasn’t expecting it but alas felt weak in the knees. She prayed Death wasn’t going to flip out about it.

Later that night when the girls returned to the house, they found Phoenix curled up in front of the television. She had to explain the lie to them also of how Todd fainted and returned back to his hotel. Nothing happened between them which left her bummed. She was still pissed that Death had interrupted her and hated him even more for it. She couldn’t understand if he was just jealous, or really was trying to “protect” her as he says.

When her friends headed off to bed Phoenix did the same. She was snuggled against the soft blanket, her eyes shut but her mind still powered on. It was difficult to fall asleep considering she was still thinking about the kiss Todd shared with her. Did it mean something? Did he like her?

“Isn’t this adorable,” a wicked voice jolted Phoenix into a sitting position. She saw Death at the foot of the bed. “Cuddled up next to your blanky,” he mocked her.

“Get lost jerk off,” she snarled in anger.

“I could be your blanky if you’d like,” he purred but she wasn’t in the mood for his taunting.

“I said, get lost!”

She chucked a pillow in his direction which he dodged immediately. He then snatched the pillow off the floor and threw it directly at her face. Phoenix pounced then, running off the bed and jumping onto the tall creature hoping to knock him down. When his body stood like a statue she instead tried chocking him with her arm wrapped tightly around his neck. Since he still wasn’t dressed in his cloak there was nothing to protect him so she finally had victory when he coughed. She kept squeezing tighter until he eventually flipped her over him, Phoenix landing roughly on her back. When the wind was ripped out of her she moaned in pain and rolled against the floor in agony.

Death loomed above her and snorted.

“Funny, you grew some balls,” he growled and reached down to lift her up by her throat. He slammed her against the wall, pinning her in place as the air was sucked from her.

“This is how you choke someone,” he told her then began to squeeze his hand. She gasped for a breath but couldn’t receive it. As her lungs tightened and her face became red, Death released her and she once again fell to the floor.

“You’re a psycho!” Phoenix yelled to him.

“I get that a lot,” Death only shrugged.

“Can you leave now? You’ve tormented me enough!”

“I just came by to tell you something and I had to get attacked,” he stated lightly as if he were offended.

“What is it?” Phoenix huffed, crawling back to the bed where she made herself comfortable against the pillows. “I need my beauty sleep.”

“Well I’m not going to tell you now.”

“I hate you!” Phoenix cried out. “Stay away from me. You’ve ruined everything good in my life. You take away the chances I have with any guy. And you’re a sarcastic prick. I don’t need you taunting me every chance you get. Get out of my life!”

Death placed a hand over his chest as if his feelings were hurt, which they weren’t. He bent down to the girl, never revealing his face. He tilted his head to the side, staring at her angry expression before him. He could see how much hatred filled her eyes and his hands went cold. He wasn’t understanding why but for some reason he felt more numb than usual, as if the words actually upset him.

“Fine,” he whispered coldly. “Good fucking bye.”

And just like that, Death vanished, leaving Phoenix once again alone. She couldn’t believe her words actually worked into making him leave. She felt like doing a victory dance but the tiredness in her eyes grew. She crawled back into bed and finally managed to get some sleep. Without Death around, she could easily do that.

[chwetuan]

Purple Velvet - Mark Tuan x Reader (m)

Summary: Mark’s having a hard time staying at your side with you in that purple dress (4.1k).

Rating: M

Warnings: swearing, use of alcohol, implied smut, mention of a parental death (not elaborated on).

Sidenote - this is loosely inspired by the “The House Party” (part of the “LOOK” Drabble Series) by @inyournightmares97 (she’s awesome, I love her) 

Sidenote 2.0 - thank you so much to @mintyjin for being an amazing person and sharing her thoughts with me on this fic (she’s awesome x2) | now let’s move onto this mess of a fic shall we

Mark was definitely not happy that you decided to wear that dress. Although, there was nothing that he could really do or say about it. It was beautiful; a purple velvet that shimmered whenever light hit it. So, he watched as you greeted everyone that approached you, your head bowing with that smile of yours on display.

It was a work gathering, in celebration of several head partners securing possibly the biggest contract of the year; an accomplishment that would finally put the firm at the top of the industry. The owners of the company rented out one of the newest clubs in town and filled the open space with employees and extended guests, ranging upwards of 500 people. The place was crowded. You had just recently become the new Manager of the IT department, which was undoubtedly a big accomplishment for someone as young and arguably inexperienced as you. Many said that there was something about you, something they “couldn’t put their finger on”. Little did they know that your only quirk was that you simply liked computers. They were complicated, but once you learned them, they made sense. In a way, it mirrored your relationship with Mark.

Mark, being one of your closest friends, emphasis on close, had accepted to be your +1 before you even asked him. He just assumed that he’d be the person you’d take. He knew some of your fellow co-workers through college, so attending the event wouldn’t have put him in an overbearingly uncomfortable situation. Anyways, he was social. People liked him. Yet, tonight, his face was positively set in a scowl with his jaw clenched and no one even tried to speak to him. But several people came and spoke to you. And boy, was he having a hard time. He watched helplessly as your delicate hand came up and flipped your dark hair over your shoulder. With his bottom lip now tugged between his teeth, he averted his eyes and scanned the room because god knows he needed something else to look at. Without much luck, he snatched a glass of champagne from the tray of a clumsy waitress that was passing by, choosing to turn to alcohol if he couldn’t find something else to keep his attention. He sipped it, scrunching his nose at the taste before placing the unfinished drink on a nearby table. Cheap, he thought. Or perhaps it was too expensive. He couldn’t tell; champagne wasn’t really his drink of choice anyway, and if he wanted to make it through this event, he would need something way stronger. As expected, his eyes wandered back to you. They always managed to do that. They traveled down your back, admiring the colorful tattoos that adorned the skin he knew was soft. That damned dress, he thought. All he wanted, quite frankly, was the dress off or for you to at least cover your chest; make a damn choice, he reasoned with himself. But neither of those things would be happening, not then and most definitely not later on. So, he settled for stepping closer to you and running his hand down the trail of writing that was exposed to him. And everyone else, he thought begrudgingly. The sudden contact made you jump, causing you to forget what you were going to say to the older woman in front of you. You smiled apologetically at her and excused yourself, promising to find her later on and continue your conversation. She smiled in response before taking a sip out of her glass and swimming into the sea of people. You turned to Mark and looked up at him with questioning eyes as you felt the palm of his hand close around your waist and pull you closer to him. You tensed when he brought his lips down to your ear and spoke, surprisingly, curtly. It wasn’t the tone you were expecting. “I’m going to find Jinyoung. If you need me, text me.” “Mark-“ And with that, the warmth of his hand along with his presence disappeared. The air around you was replaced with a sudden coolness that caused goosebumps to rise on your skin. That asshole didn’t even wait for a response. But that’s how things seemed to settle between you and him; hot and cold. One minute, he’d have you pressed against his chest, engulfing you in one of the most comforting embraces a person could give. The next minute, he wouldn’t even spare you with a glance. Whenever he touched you, you could feel the air around you shift. Each touch was purposeful- Mark didn’t just hold your hand or kiss your temple without reason. He held your hand because he didn’t want to lose sight of you in the crowd; he kissed your temple because he noticed how your smile faltered at the sidelined remark that came from a friend. He was good at noticing those things. Tonight, however, he was being an asshole. You didn’t know why, either. It was times like these that the reality of your relationship dawned on you. Mark could do whatever the hell he wanted. You could, also. You weren’t dating. You weren’t together. It started on a dark, mostly drunken night, when all that was audible was the sound of thunder and heavy rain. Why you and Mark had decided to get piss drunk during the middle of one of the worst storms the town would face, eluded you both. “The world is about to fucking end,” you concluded, feeling rather confident with your deduction. And in your state of intoxication, you fell clumsily into each other’s arms. “The world is not going to end without me doing this,” he said before his lips met yours. That messy kiss was the first domino to fall. The line that was crossed. Afterward, you would find yourselves in one of your apartments on several different occasions, exchanging those same kisses and sometimes more. And that’s where you guys were now. In a confusing limbo of friendship where you both had more than friendly feelings for each other. It left you to wonder why you didn’t just date, or stop screwing each other, physically and emotionally. He often thought of it too. You both knew stopping was out of the picture. There had been too many nights where you found yourself underneath him, begging him to do something- anything, to get rid of the knot he’d slowly tied in your stomach. There had been an equal number of other nights where you didn’t have to ask. But on these nights, he kissed your forehead like you were made of porcelain. There had been nights that you cried into his arms; nights that you found you could only sleep if he was next to you. There were days that went by where he found himself miserable without hearing your voice or seeing you. And although you never claimed each other with a title, you both knew the truth. There was no one else on this hell-forsaken earth that could understand you like Mark Tuan could. No one that could make you feel like he could. No one that could make you as frustrated or as happy. Right now, you were frustrated. The asshole. ~~~~~ Mark hadn’t found Jinyoung. Jinyoung had found Mark, after Mark had downed two glasses of tequila at the bar and was ordering his third. He sat, one elbow on the bar counter, his free hand resting lazily on his thigh. Jinyoung hated tequila. He thought it was a cheap man’s drink. But more importantly, he hated what it meant when Mark Tuan drank tequila: the man was ready to stir up some trouble. And Mark Tuan looked a mess. “Yah, hyung- what’s the matter?” Jinyoung asked as he seated himself on the stool next to him. “That fucking dress,” Mark mumbled, grimacing at the burn his throat felt when he sipped his fresh drink. Jinyoung couldn’t hear him. The music was too loud and the dj was playing the same stupid pop song he had played twice already. “What?” He asked leaning closer towards him, “Nothing.” Mark spoke louder this time, sitting up and turning slightly to face him. “Who are you here with? You didn’t drive, right?” Jinyoung asked, the concern dripping off of his words. His eyes scanned Mark’s face, taking in his flushed features. Mark would’ve preferred if he said “Hey, Mark, you drunken idiot. You took a cab, right? You have that look in your eye, you know, the one that screams “I’m drunk off my ass and need a babysitter.” I’m here to babysit you”. “I’m supposed to be here with Y/N-“He started, pausing to sip his drink,“But she’s probably out there ass kissing her way to another promotion.” The corners of Jinyoung’s mouth turned downward. So, this was the trouble Mark wanted to start, he thought to himself. “You know you don’t mean that, hyung.” It was true. He didn’t mean it. Jinyoung always knew what the truth was. “We took a cab. This is my last drink.” He shrugged before taking another sip. Jinyoung nodded and motioned towards the second floor balcony of the club. “I’ll be up there- I think Jaebum might still be there too. If you get tired, tell the host you’re looking for table 6. Bambam disappeared about an hour ago but I’m sure he’s either throwing up or hooking up.” Mark nodded, not really paying attention to what the man in front of him was saying. He thought the music was too loud and he felt dizzy. He also thought the tie Jinyoung had on was stupid, which is why- he concluded,- that he couldn’t focus on what he was actually saying. He reasoned that whatever Jinyoung was saying was stupid anyway, because who could wear such a god-awful tie. Willingly? ~~~~~ You caught a glimpse of Mark about an hour later, as it got closer to 11pm. When you came face to face, you noticed 2 things. The first being his slightly glassy eyes, and the second being the red color that danced across his cheeks. Then you noticed one more thing. The glass of tequila in his left hand. “Are you drunk?” You huffed out in annoyance and stared at him with expectant eyes. “Are you drunk?” He replied; shifting on his feet. You could tell he was unsteady. “I had one glass of champagne.” “I had one glass of champagne.” He repeated in a sarcastically saccharine voice. It was true, he did have one glass of champagne. Kind of. “Mark,” you started, reaching your hand out to take the liquid courage away from him. “Give me that. You’re going to fall and spill it all over yourself.” Mark grabbed your hand with his own free one before raising the hand that held the drink far above your reach. “No Y/N, this is my last drink. And if I have to stick around here and deal with stupid ties and stupid music and stupid people, and then you,” he paused to analyze your face, “Then I’m going to need it.” “Stupid ties? What the hell are you talking about?” You asked, with annoyance and a hint of confusion teasing across your tone. You figured it was just the alcohol talking. Drunk Mark was positively your least favorite Mark, right next to the Mark who thought it was okay to stand up immediately when a flight landed. He brought the drink down slowly, keeping his eyes on you as he downed what remained before slamming the glass down on the table in front of him. You were surprised it didn’t shatter. His hold on your hand had shifted, and now his fingers and palm encased your wrist. His grip wasn’t tight, but it was uncomfortable. He pulled you once, not hard enough to make you stumble- and then again. He was trying to get you closer to him, but you weren’t budging. “Y/N”, he whined, tugging incessantly at your wrist. It was then you decided that you needed to get out of there before he did something stupid. Or before you said something stupid to him. After one particularly hard tug, you found yourself bracing your free hand against his chest - a method of not crashing into him- as his hands found their way around your waist. You were so close to him; you could see his navy hair beginning to cling to his forehead. “I don’t like when you look at me like that.” He huffed out, throwing his head back. “Like I did something bad.” You just stared. He sounded like a child. “We’re leaving.” Mark felt reprimanded. ~~~~~ Getting Mark out the doors of the crowded club was a task you could manage. He was relatively small, although he towered over you, even with heels. You had been through much worse. However, getting him to keep his hands off of you in the cab was something you couldn’t manage. It wasn’t sexual; the way his arm was around your waist with his head resting on your shoulder. You and Mark had hooked up enough times that you knew what he was like when he needed you, or wanted you, rather. Mark was very conscious of the fact that you were mad at him, and he wasn’t even thinking about getting you in his bed, even if that damn dress wastempting. Anger was engraved on your face. He could see it in the slight pout of your lips - that he so badly wanted to kiss- and in the way you avoided looking at him. He hated that. “Y/N, you know I lo-“ he started; only to be cut off by a sigh escaping your mouth. “I don’t want I hear it.” He stayed quiet. Mark had a dirty habit of telling you he loved you when he was intoxicated. It was something he never said sober. Although, there had been one time when you heard him say it, to you specifically. It was a few weeks after your mother had passed away. You weren’t in a good place. You had threw your phone against the wall of your apartment, frustrated with the world. You were sick of the messages. The condolences from people who didn’t care. Tears ran down your face until you felt numb. Somehow, you managed to get into your car and drive to Mark’s apartment complex. It was late- you knew it then too- probably around 1 or 2am. You didn’t even know where you were until you found your feet on his “Welcome” mat. When he opened the door and saw you, he felt his heart break- he swore to it. He had never felt something like that before. You looked at him with tear stained cheeks and wet lashes. You started to cry again. He looked like comfort. He looked like peace. Your hands covered your face and you somehow choked out a strained “I’m sorry”. You didn’t know when he had brought you inside or locked the door, but you felt his hands around you, one on the back of your neck, the other on the back of your head. “No, Y/N. No, don’t you ever apologize.” His voice was stern but you knew the malice was superficial. His hands tilted your head so you were looking up at him. Once again, he had that feeling in his chest. A cross between a shatter and a stab. He hated it. “Baby, come here,” he whispered before pulling you into his arms. Next, you were on his bed, crying into his chest as he held you. You could feel his even breathing on the top of your head. His room was dimly lit, the glow of the green fairy lights along with the soft light reflecting off of the tv in front of you. You’d remembered those green lights. It was Christmas, the year before, and you’d harassed Mark into letting you put them up. He’d complained that they were stupid, as he thought most things were. But he let you do it anyway, and once he saw the way your eyes lit up, he was mad at himself for not saying yes sooner. Your sobs eventually died down, and your breathing evened as Mark’s hand rubbed your back soothingly. He spoke, so quietly that he probably couldn’t even hear himself over the buzz of the cartoons playing in the background, “God, I love you so much.” He thought you were sleeping. ~~~~~ With much effort, you had managed to slip out of your dress and into a pair of shorts and a large t-shirt, huffing when you realized that it was Mark’s. You stared at the exposed red brick of the wall, contemplating your next move.

His apartment was much larger than yours- a balcony and all. It suited him. It constantly smelled like a mixture of vanilla and his cologne; there was artwork and pictures everywhere. The couches were made of black leather and decorated with fluffy blankets and pillows, way too many for you to count. And then there was your stuff. You had - “annoyingly”, as he always said - left your hair ties on the coffee table and kitchen counter, along with earrings and other “unnecessary shit”, Mark called it. In his shower, your fruity shampoo was on the rack, right next to his body wash. You had a makeup bag next to the bathroom sink that he swore he was going to get rid of if you didn’t take it home. He never threw it away, and you never took it. One of your pink bras hung on the hook of his bedroom door, and there was a grey cardigan you’d been looking for since last October hanging in his closet. Mark was capable of changing into a hoodie and a pair of black sweatpants before flopping down on the couch. He was sobering up, you thought. More like hoped. At least you didn’t have to dress him. You already felt like you were babysitting. His arm was thrown over his face as you padded out of his bedroom with a freshly washed face. You walked over to him, nudging his knee with your own. “C’mon, let’s go to sleep. You need to-“ “You’re mad at me.” He cut you off, as you had done to him in the car. You huffed. He noticed that you kept doing that tonight, but he was wise enough to not mention it. “Mark, you need to-“ “Why are you mad at me?” Those words were the first indication that no, he was not sobering up. The second was him pulling you into his lap and clinging onto you as if you were going to run away. “We’ll talk tomorrow, okay?” You spoke softly. He just stared at you as if you were a code he needed to break. Contemplative. You tried to stand but his hands were holding you in place. This time, he wasn’t budging. “Mark,” you whined just as he had done when you were back at the club. “I’m tired, I want to sleep.” It was his turn to huff. He gently guided you off of him- surprising, considering his state- and in turn you guided him to his bedroom. Lights off, in bed. His hands still not leaving you. ~~~~~ When you awoke, you were surprised not to find your bodies tangled together. You braced yourself on your elbows before reaching for your phone and checking the time; 10:09am. Mark peeked out of the bathroom, toothbrush in mouth, when he heard you stirring. Your eyes met his, and for a brief moment, you were almost angry that he didn’t have a hangover. He waved at you before returning to the bathroom to finish brushing his teeth. When he was finished, you got up and did the same. You sat next to him on the bed, taking his face in your hands and scanning it. You checked his eyes and felt his forehead. “Well, you don’t look like you have a hangover.” You stated, dropping your hands and running them through your own tousled hair. He laughed and your heart fluttered. It always did that when you were around him. “I don’t,” he said as if it was the most obvious thing. “I woke up before you, after all.” You hummed and a few moments of silence passed between you. Mark eyed you, trying to think of the best way to say what he wanted. He knew he had to apologize. He was too slow, as you began talking. “Last night-“ “I’m sorry,” He cut you off again, intent on saying what he needed. He had been up for half an hour with words running through his mind. “I remember most of it and I know I was very rude and probably embarrassed you. I’m sorry for not staying with you and being a proper date. I’m sorry you had to leave early and babysit me- though I won’t say I’m not happy you did. I’m sorry.” He was rambling, but every word was sincere. “It’s okay, Mark.” You said softly as you scooted closer to him, placing your hand over his. He eyed your small hand over his own before examining your face. Squinting slightly. He always did that before he finally solved a problem or figured something out. “What?” You asked; expecting him to completely change topics and say something profound borderline ridiculous. “Last night,” he started, the first two words already throwing you off. “I said that if I had to continue to deal with you, I would need a drink. I made it sound bad because I included you with all the stupid shit that was there already. Y/N, never would I ever not want to deal with you. I’ll deal with you every single day until I run out of days if the universe allows it.” You were already highly confused. And your cheeks were turning pink without permission, although you had to think back to when he exactly said that; pinpointing exactly what he was talking about. You never paid attention to his words then, too focused on trying to get him out of there. “Mark, why are you-“ “Shh. My turn.” He shushed you, his lips curving upwards. Something only you would notice. “You see, I don’t have to deal with you. I have to deal with myself when I’m around you. I feel like I have to control myself when I’m around you. I have to stop myself from approaching guys who stare at you too long or flirt with you. I have to stop myself from staring at your legs or grabbing your thighs, or hell-“ he breathed out- “even kissing you. Which happens way more often than I’d like to admit, by the way.” You could feel the heat crawl up your neck to the tips of your ears as he continued talking, the tint of your face darkening. Your heart was fluttering non-stop. “I feel like I need to remind myself to breath when I’m with you. And I’m around you all the time, so I’m constantly out of breath, Y/N. And I know why I feel like this.” “Mark- you really need-“ You tried again, though you had no idea what you’d actually say if he stopped talking. He rolled his eyes before pulling you into his lap and biting your ear playfully. “God, you’re so cute. Anyways, I’m trying to confess my love to you and you keep distracting me.” He could feel your breath hitch. You could feel your heartbeat in your ears. “It’s not a confession. You must know by now. If you didn’t think so, I don’t know what to say. I am an asshole, but I am an asshole who is madly in love with you. And on the off chance that I’ve possibly misread everything, you are madly in love with me too. I’m sick of dancing around this with you. I need you, Y/N. I don’t care if you don’t need me, but I need you to let me love you- to let me be in love with you- properly, openly. Can you do that?” A wave of silence flooded the room as you tightened your grip on him. “I can do that.” He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He kissed behind your ear and nuzzled into the crook of your neck. “God, I love you so much.” You were grinning before you spoke; smile mirroring the day in December when he finally let you put the lights up. “I love you too.” Another moment of silence. It was the same comfortable silence that you were accustomed to. But this time, something felt different. Something felt free. “By the way, never wear that dress again.” He said, letting out a shaky laugh. “I thought it looked nice.” You frowned; “It did-“ he hugged you tighter and paused; “Too nice, baby. Too nice.” ~~~~~

The end <3 // This is my first fic everyone! -Z

[letmeletmetrashyourlove]

Three Little Words

Summary: Billy loves his girlfriend, he just can’t bring himself to say it. 

Author’s Note: Written from Billy’s POV!  More time jumps than I usually put in. Implied smut, big kids reading only plz. Shout out to Rachael and Emma for helping me with this one!

REQUESTS OPEN   FEEDBACK APPRECIATED 

She twirled her hair around her finger as the teacher lectured. Going over the third chapter of a novel she had finished long ago. I tapped the back of her chair with my foot, making her turn around to face me. She offered me a smile and a slight wave before turning her attention back to the notes she was pretending to scribble in her notebook.

She twisted back around, showing me a scribbled drawing of a stick figure, presumably of me from the looks of the hair,  making a disgruntled expression. She imitated the face she had drawn.

I rolled my eyes at her, giving her chair another kick. She stuck her tongue out at me just as the bell rang.

        “I don’t look like that,” I grumbled.

        “Yes you do, you’re a grump.” She beamed, holding up her masterpiece for me to look at again.

        “Only because I was sitting behind you and couldn’t see your pretty face.”

        “Oh, please.”

One of the things that drew me to her was that she saw right through my charm. The facade that I put on that allowed me to get whatever I wanted. She rolled her eyes, flipped her hair over her shoulder, and kept on walking. And she had me wrapped around her finger, following her around like a lost puppy.

                       Oh fuck. I think I’m falling in love with this girl.

As she swung around to strut away, she reached out behind her, an invitation to take her hand. I accepted this request, entwining our fingers as she led me through the crowded hallway and back to her locker.

She let go when she arrived at her number, dialing in the combination and opening it before tucking a couple books in and taking a couple others out.

        “Remember, we have to go to the dance tonight.” She reminded.

I let out a long groan.

The winter formal was tonight, and she insisted on going. Not that she wanted to go, but that her mother demanded she participates in school activities. Whether it was football games, student council meetings, theater productions, dances, she struggled to go to as many as possible.

        “I know.” She responded, letting out a sigh, “We only need to stay long enough for a couple pictures.”

 The bell echoed throughout the hallways,

          “Gotta go, can’t be late for Chem.” She hurriedly said, pecking me on the lips before bolting down the hallway.

 I licked the artificial cherry flavor of her lip gloss from my lips. The boys would mock me relentlessly if they caught me with pink lacquer on my lips.

I recoiled as she tugged at the collar of my shirt, buttoning it up all the way.

        “Are you trying to strangle me?” I choked, tugging on the collar with my finger.

          “I will if you don’t hold still!” She threatened as she wrapped the red tie around my neck, the same color as her dress.

          “Remind me why we’re doing this again?” I fussed.

          “Mom wants pictures.” She exhaled, “We don’t have to stay long if you don’t want to.”

 She evened the ends of the tie, brows furrowed in concentration, tongue peeking out from between her teeth.

          “I hate these stupid things.” She hissed when she messed up, untangling it and evening the ends once more.

 I looked at her and saw my mom. Forcing us to go to church, frantically getting ready because we were late. But she would slow down, take her time on my tie. Tongue sticking out between her teeth as her maroon painted nails worked on the knot. She always grumbled about getting me a clip-on tie though she never followed through.

I think she appreciated the bonding we did over that stupid, navy blue tie. Too long for my small frame at 7 years old. She’d finish by poking me in the belly, picking me up and hauling me out to the car.

Y/N looked up at me and tucked my hair behind my ears, clutching my cheeks before looking me up and down.

          “You’re starting to look like a proper gentleman, Mr. Hargrove.” She grinned, “Except for that.”

She had finally noticed that I had been resting my hands on her ass the whole time.

          “Sorry,” I smirked.

          “No, you’re not.” She quipped, seizing my wrists and arranging them at my sides.

We both let out an annoyed sigh as I parked the Camaro. She scowled at the steps leading to the dance, lined with tinsel and string lights.

        “Let’s get this over with.” She groaned, slipping her heels on and stepping out of the car.

I linked her arm with mine, leading her up the stairs and into the bustling gym. The music pumped in the background, lights and balloons littering the rafters.

A flash from our left stunned us both. Our eyes drifted over to the photo set up. A backdrop painted with snowflakes with a pine tree. 

        “Well, this is what we’re here for.” She exhaled, dragging me through the fake, cotton snow that sat on the ground.

Jonathan Byers was behind the camera, shooting me a stare as he snapped the photo.

We both stepped away, blinking our eyes to clear the spots caused by the flash.

        “Let’s get out of here.” She declared, clutching my hand.

        “Where to, princess?”

        “Ice cream.” She replied, “The parlor on Main by the theater.”

        “Ice cream? It’s freezing!”

She pouted at me, batting her eyelashes. My already weak resistance crumbled,

        “Fine.”

We relaxed in the back seat of the Camaro. She had a strawberry cone and I had a chocolate one.

        “Drip on the seats and I’ll kill you,” I warned.

She rolled her eyes, knowing damn well she could drive the car into a building and I wouldn’t even bat an eye.

I never much enjoyed ice cream, the California sun melted it in seconds, leaving it to drip down your face and hands. My mom would always laugh to herself, snapping a picture before using her thumb to erase the dried chocolate from my chin.

Y/N glanced up at me, letting out a giggle. She licked her thumb, running it along my cheek.

        “You’re such a mess.” She beamed.

        “Good thing I got you,” I replied, resting my hand on top of hers where it sat on her lap.

The way she smiled at me then. I realized I was a goner. But was it love? Maybe she only sees me as the newest thing in town. Something different than the boys in Hawkins.

But what if she doesn’t feel the same? What if her heart doesn’t flutter when she sees me like mine does when I see her? What if she doesn’t anticipate every phone call? If she doesn’t smile when she hears our song on the radio?

She leaned in to kiss me, the taste of strawberry ice cream on her tongue. We sat in silence as we finished our ice cream. She snuggled into my side, tucking herself under my arm. She hummed along softly to the radio, playing with the pendant that hung around my neck.

        “You never did tell me where you got this.”

        “Uh. My mom gave it to me… Before she died.”

She frowned at me, squeezing me a little tighter. She knew what happened with my mom, I had dropped it on her like a bomb one night. I came staggering over to her house, drunk as I’ve been.  

I had been drowning my sorrows on the anniversary of my mother’s death. Each year somehow became harder and harder, despite the passage of time.

She held me as I cried, didn’t ask any questions. Didn’t say anything. She just listened. It was cathartic, having somebody just listen to me.

        “It’s supposed to be for protection.” I explained, “For delivering good graces.”

She ran her finger over the engravings,

        “Does it work?” She asked.

I glanced down at her, staring back up at me with twinkling eyes,

        “Yeah. I think so.” I smiled, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

I tugged her over to sit sideways on my lap. She settled her head on my shoulder, her forehead resting against my cheek.

She ran her hands through my hair, twirling strands of it around her finger. I closed my eyes, savoring the feeling of her hand on my scalp.

Her fingers slowed to a halt, making me let out a whine. I opened my eyes to see her passed out. She looked ethereal in the blue fluorescent light from the ice cream parlor.

The sweetest girl I had ever met was asleep on my chest. She couldn’t help her motherly tendencies. Hell, she even practiced them on Tommy H. Tommy H. Who she detested with every fiber of her being. The idiot had dropped his food on the floor and she gave him her sandwich. Whether it was to be nice or to quiet his complains, I’m not sure. When I asked if she was still hungry, she said not really, only taking one chip from my plate.

Although, when we left school that day, she promptly started to complain how hungry she was.

        “I hope Tommy doesn’t expect me to be nice to him all the time now.” She mumbled through a mouthful of cheese burger.

        “Oh please, you don’t have a mean bone in your body.”

        “Yes I do!” She fought.

        “Yeah, right.”

        “This bone.” She added, raising her middle finger at me.

I chuckled to myself at the recollection, making her stir. I let out a slight gasp, mad at myself for waking her up.

She glanced up at me,  her eyes half open as she squinted against the harsh neon light.

        “Did I fall asleep?” She asked, letting out a yawn.

        “Only for a few minutes,” I told her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

        “I need to go home and get this shit off my face.” She groaned, wiping her face on the back of her arm and smearing red lipstick across her cheek..  

She crawled off of me and into the passenger seat, sitting back and closing her eyes once more.

        “Home, please.” She yawned.

        “Your wish is my command, princess,” I replied, climbing into the driver's seat.

Just fucking say it, Hargrove. Just fucking tell her you love her. Don’t be such a pussy. 

She was too sleepy to notice how I gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles, my mouth hanging open as I tried to force the words out.

Before I built up the courage, we arrived at her house. I hurried out, running over to her side of the car and helping her step out. I placed my arm around her waist as she fished for the house keys in her purse.

She unlocked the door, stepping inside and rapidly slipping off her heels. I lingered on the porch, recognizing she didn’t want any funny business tonight.

        “Breakfast in the morning?” I asked. Saturday mornings, we went to Benny’s diner and got waffles. She got a cappuccino, extra whipped cream. And I got a black coffee. Every Saturday for the past year.

        “Of course.” She smiled sleepily, propping a hand on my chest and pressing one last kiss to my lips, “Night, Billy.”

        “Night,” I began, my heart racing as I geared up to say the words, but she had already begun closing the door. I cursed myself for not calling up the courage to just fucking say it.

But I knew I would be crushed if she didn’t say it back. And what we had going now was so good. Whether or not she loved me, I didn’t want to ruin that. I strolled out and got into the Camaro. I rested my forehead on the steering wheel.

I could’ve said it.  I had so many opportunities to say it.

But I couldn’t

What if she didn’t love me back? I mean, how could she? A piece of shit like me? No job, no ambition, going nowhere in life.

But she had to love me, right? We had been together nearly a year. The playful teasing, her wiping the ice cream off my face. Fixing my suit for me. Hell, putting up with me in general.

But it had been nearly a year…  Nearly a year and she hadn’t said it yet… she can’t possibly love me and not say it after being together that long.

But why else would she stay that long? 365 days of putting up with my asshole antics. That had to be love.

The argument continued in my head as I backed out of her driveway, speeding off down the street towards home.

        “The usual?” Maria asked as she approached our table.

        “Actually… can I try the chocolate chip cappuccino this time?” She asked, smiling politely.

        “Of course, darlin’. Extra whipped cream?”  

“         You know me so well.” She smiled.

A few moments later, Maria returned with our mugs, setting them in front of us. Y/N let out an excited hum as she took a sip of her cappuccino, wiggling in her seat. She set her mug down, looking at me with an expression that said “try it” as she pushed it across the table to me.

But my focus was exclusively on the whipped cream stuck to the tip of her nose.

        “You got a little…” I told her, pointing to the spot.

She poked her tongue out, swiping it across her skin and giving me a questioning expression.

I laughed at her pitiful attempt to lick her own nose,

        “I got it.” I leaned across her licking the whipped cream off her nose.

        “Ew!” She squealed, letting out a giggle as she pulled away. I marveled at the way her nose crinkled when she laughed. She swiped her hand across her nose, getting rid of any saliva I had left behind.

        “Funny, that’s not the last thing you were saying about my tongu-” She slapped her hand over my mouth, giving an apologetic glance to the elderly couple that sat at the booth across from us.

        “Stop it.” She hissed, unable to withhold the giggles that were bubbling up in her chest.

It was one of those moments where I realized how much I loved her. She was equally amused and disgusted. Her cheeks bright red as she laughed and covered her face. Her sleeves were tugged over her hands, her chipped painted nails peeking out. I pulled her hands away as I leaned in to kiss her, pushing her back against the booth.

One of her hands slipped to the back of my neck and the other rested on my chest, pushing me away after a few seconds.

        “Keep it in your pants, Hargrove.” She whispered, looking past me to the couple behind us.

        “You make it so hard, though.” I whimpered, “In more ways than one.”

        “Billy!” She shouted, giving me a whack on the arm.

        “Did you get your report card?” She inquired, changing the subject.

I had gotten it, but I hadn't opened it yet. Not ready to face the potential severity of my father’s rage.

        “Gimme.” She demanded, grabbing at me.

I handed over the envelope and observed as she opened it. A grin spread across her face as she leaned over and kissed me on the cheek over and over again.

        “I’m so proud of you!” She exclaimed.

I glanced at the paper, seeing that I brought my math grade up from a D- to a C+.

Proud of me…

It had been years since somebody said that to me.

Susan and Neil rented a cabin for the weekend and Maxine was staying the night at a friend’s house, so we had the place to ourselves.

She led the way up to my room, dropping her purse on my dresser and slipping her converse off.  She tucked herself under the covers in my bed, opening her novel. I slipped off my boots and jeans, sliding in behind her and wrapping my arms around her waist. My hands slipped under her sweater, tracing circles on her waistline.

I read over her shoulder, not absorbing anything on the pages, only taking in the scent of her shampoo.

        “Stop sniffing me, freak.” She complained, turning the page.

I forced her sweater aside, pressing kisses to along her shoulder. She let out a gasp as I gently sank my teeth into her skin.

        “Billy. I have to read this chapter by tomorrow.” She warned, shrugging me off.

        “Didn’t you just finish a book?” I whined.

        “Yeah. And now I’m starting a book.” She retorted.

        “How many pages?”

She let out a hum as she flipped through the book, counting as she went,

        “Twenty.” She replied.

I let out a groan. She was turned away from me so I couldn’t see the smirk I knew was there as she wiggled her hips against mine.

        “Stop it.”

        “I’m not doing anything.” She replied sweetly.

I let out a grunt, continuing my work on her shoulders.

        “You know, if you keep distracting me, it’ll take longer.” She flipped another page.

I ignored her, slipping my hands further under her top, brushing along the wire of her bra.

She rolled over, scowling at me and thrusting the back of the book in my face in an attempt to get my hands off her.

Instead, I plucked the book from her hand, folding the corner of the page in and throwing it on the ground beside the bed.

        “Hey!” She complained as I rolled over on top of her, pressing my lips to her’s.

I trapped her underneath me, hands on either side of her shoulders as I dipped my head into her neck. Her hands snaked up the back of my neck, holding me in place. I smirked against her skin as she emitted soft sighs,

        “Isn’t this more fun than reading?”

        “Hmm… No.” She countered, mischief in her voice.  

I reached down, picking up her thighs and forcing them to wrap around my waist. She let out a surprised squeal as I pinned her hands above her head and gently sank my teeth into the spot on her neck that makes her squirm.

I whimpered as she picked her clothes up off the floor,

        “Where you going?”

        “I can’t stay the night, Billy.” She told me, leaning over and pecking me on the lips.

        “Why?”

        “I’ve got an interview in the morning. I gotta get up and get ready.”

She pulled her top on over her head and bent down to put on her jeans. I snuck up behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her back onto the bed with me. I rolled over on top of her, resting my head on her chest.

        “Billy.” She protested as I tightened my grip on her

        “Just stay for like… five minutes.” I urged.

        “Fine.” She sighed, wrapping her arms around me and closing her eyes.

Soon five minutes had turned into five hours, the sun slowly coming up above the horizon.

        “Oh shit!” She exclaimed, looking over me and to the alarm clock, “Shit, shit, shit!”

She scrambled out of bed, collecting her jeans from the floor and stumbling into them, doing a little hop to get them over her butt.

        “What!?”

        “I have a job interview in like, ten minutes!” She shouted, pulling her boots on and running into the bathroom.

She returned a moment later with brushed hair and a toothbrush hanging from her teeth.  

        “Can I borrow the car?” She mumbled through the brush,

I reached over to my nightstand, grabbing the keys and tossing them to her. She smiled, shoving them into her pocket before returning to the bathroom to spit out her toothpaste.

She scooped her purse up off my dresser, pressing a kiss to my lips before running out of the room.

        “Love you, bye!” She called.

My world stopped, only continuing to turn once the front door slammed and broke my trance.

Love you. Bye.

The words played in my head like a broken record. The words that I had been poring over, searching for every detail as to why we hadn’t said it.

And she let it fly from her lips in passing, when she wasn’t thinking about it. Just something she hollered as she rushed out the door.

A smile crept onto my lips. I gripped onto my necklace,

Good graces.

        “Hey.” She grinned, handing my keys over to me as she pecked my lips.

        “How’d it go?”

        “Made it just in time. Manager seemed to like me okay.”

        “Do you… uh… do you remember what… what you said… before you left?” I asked, anxiously playing with my hands.

She took notice of this, taking my hands in hers and giving them a comforting squeeze.

        “I uh…” She pondered for a minute, thinking back to this morning, “I told you I had a job interview….then I said bye…”

Her eyes grew wide in realization,

        “I said I love you.” She murmured.

        “That’s uh…you’ve never said that before.” I stiffly shuffled my feet, cheeks burning as I refused to meet her gaze.

        “Yeah… I thought it was pretty obvious that I love you, goofball.” She smiled, taking my cheeks and making me look at her.

        “I-uh.. yeah… I mean… it.. I.. you’ve…” I stumbled over every word that came out of my mouth, “I just… can’t… why… me?”

        “Why you?” She scoffed, “You may be an asshole, but you’re all mush under that leather jacket of yours.”

        “I- I just… I don’t- I don’t deserve you.”

        “Hey.” She hissed, abandoning the sweet tone in her voice. “You deserve the fucking world, do you understand me? Besides, we don’t get what we deserve, we get what we need.”

I nodded, her gaze piercing through mine.

        “I love you, Billy Hargrove.” She told me.

        “I love you, too.”