#it seems like some of my buddies havent wanted to be with me lately

[cat-eared-rose]

Made plans with buddies tonight and they ditched me. Yaaaaaaaaaaay .-.

[cornflower-cowboy]

I posted 824 times in 2022

That's 144 more posts than 2021!

59 posts created (7%)

765 posts reblogged (93%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@hmslusitania

@lightfiretomypaperwings

@aramblingjay

@arrenemris

@luulapants

I tagged 816 of my posts in 2022

Only 1% of my posts had no tags

#i really need a tag for queued posts😬 - 633 posts

#9-1-1 - 96 posts

#evan buckley - 58 posts

#marvel - 52 posts

#eddie diaz - 46 posts

#the witcher - 40 posts

#kasey's anxiety express - 38 posts

#bucky barnes - 38 posts

#op i love this♥️ - 37 posts

#steve rogers - 36 posts

Longest Tag: 134 characters

#its going to be a buddie fic because i havent written one in a while and right now seems like the perfect time to write some sad angst

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

The Next Logical Step

Harley and Shuri take the next logical step:

Building a potato gun out of vibranium.

This is my entry for the @black-characters-matter-fest prompt #73. You can read it as Harley/Shuri but it’s more Gen.

Short piece included below the line.

Harley figured that it was the next logical step. Between the war, enemies turned allies and weapon upgrades, Shuri needed a project that wasn’t too taxing and actually sounded fun. So she agreed with his assessment. Peter was unfortunately unable to make it, but they had promised to do it again with him.

For now, her attention was on the prototype in front of her.

“Why a potato gun though?” Shuri asked Harley as he loaded up the schematics of the previous potato gun from his tablet to the holo-screen.

“I was ten and needed something to protect me and my sister from intruders. A real gun was out of the question and on of our neighbours had just planted a potato garden,” The boy shrugged, and Shuri shook her head.

“So now you want to make it better?”

“Just imagine if it could different vegetables. Or if it could shoot further.”

“Increase the power and velocity of the projectiles and you turn a simple potato gun into a weapon. We’d also have to account for the size difference of the vegetables,” Shuri said, already drawing up plans. Making a potato gun out of vibranium sounded like the stupidest idea that she ever had but she was tempted.

“Try these,” Harley slid over the digital schematics of an unfinished potato gun.

“Mark 15? Why do you have so many versions?” Shuri asked, taking a look at what she was sent. If she overlaid her plans with the ones in front of her, they would have the gun ready by the end of the day.

“Why not? Things can always be made better.”

“That’s what I said, but my brother doesn’t understand the need for upgrading,” Shuri rolled her eyes.

“No offence to the king, but I saw his shoes. Technological upgrades are the least of his worries,” Harley stage whispered. One of the Dora Milaje smiled for a brief second before schooling her face.

Shuri burst out laughing, thinking of the ‘What are those’ moment she had a few years back. It was a while ago and still her brother’s fashion sense hadn’t improved.

“No offense taken. I’ve also been trying to get him to change he shoes,” she said, catching her breath. Then she pointed at the screen, “Is the overlay good? I thought that we can use vibranium for the outer shell and pistons, then keep the rest a light metal. So –”

“– that it stays lightweight and we can make easy changes without wasting material,” Harley finished, nodding with an impressed look on his face. “This looks really good.”

“Well, anything made with vibranium usually does,” Shuri shrugged.

“Can’t argue that. I saw Bucky Barnes’ arm.”

“That was mostly my brother.”

“Ah, so the whole family is full of geniuses,” Harley joked. “Unfortunately, only the women have a good fashion sense.”

Shuri snorted again before turning back to the computer. They both worked on editing a few sections before they started with the fabrication process. It took them five hours to complete the entire potato gun, both the fabrication and assembly.

“That’s a beautiful gun,” Harley whistled, and Shuri nodded in agreement.

“Please tell me I’m not late,” Peter’s voice echoed through the lab as he made his way down the ramp.

“You missed all the science bits,” Harley shouted back. They hugged before Peter made his way over to hug Shuri. She could see that he was slightly out of breath, meaning he ran the whole way from the hangar to her lab.

“We still have to test it though,” Shuri offered.

“For science, right? We’re testing various vegetables for science,” Peter confirmed, a slightly mischievous glint in his eye.

Harley clapped him on the shoulder and turned to look at the Mark XIIV potato gun on the table, “Of course it’s for science.”

18 notes - Posted April 10, 2022

#4

My Heart Will Be Your Home Artwork

I had the pleasure of creating art for @drgrlfriend 's story for the @winterhawk-olympic-bang!

She wrote such an amazing story that I hope you all take the time to check out!

Read it here!

Artwork under the cut:

NB: shirtless guys and minor injury warning

Bucky and his soulmark:

Clint and his soulmark:

See the full post

18 notes - Posted November 7, 2022

#3

what for do you yearn?

Summary:

Geralt really didn't mean to fall for a biker. It doesn't help that Cirilla keeps cheering him on from the sidelines. And why do they suddenly own leather jackets?

In which Jaskier is the biker and Geralt is the single father who falls in love with him.

Warnings: N/A

Pairings: Jaskier/Geralt

Square Filled: Biker AU

A/N: @thewitcherbingo

Short piece I wrote under the tag.

I might expand on the story, I don't know...

Geralt wasn’t actually paying attention to the motorcycles as they parked outside the shopping centre. It wasn’t until Cirilla pulled his arm and pointed to them. He looked on in vague interest, scanning them as they all got off their bikes one at a time. Like dominos.

Until his eyes landed on the last person. There was nothing inherently special about the person, except for how out of place they looked. Everyone else was laughing and hanging off each other but that person – that man, Geralt discovered when he removed his helmet – was quiet and looked detached from the group.

Geralt was actually surprised to find that he was the leader, as all the men and women waited until he had passed before following him into the store. Not to mention, that while everyone else had embellishments and spots of colour on their bikes and clothes, the man’s clothes were a plain maroon leather and an equally plain black bike.

Right as he passed Geralt, their eyes met. It wasn’t anything special, but Geralt still felt a tingle down his spine at being noticed.

They held each other’s gaze until the man was gone into the store.

“Do you think they’re bad news?” Ciri asked, snapping Geralt out of what ever daze he had been in.

“Probably not, just because they look bad doesn’t mean that they are,” Geralt answered, placing the rest of their shopping bags into the car.

“I hope that they are, then something will finally happen in this town,” she muttered stepping away from where she was leaning against the trunk. “Maybe they’ll even let me join them. Do you think I’ll look good in a leather jacket?”

“Over my dead, burnt body, Ciri,” Geralt shut that idea down. He knew that once she got too excited about it, he’ll end up spending half his pay check on leather jackets and the other half on a motorcycle. And he was already busy paying for the fencing lessons she took interest in a few months prior.

“No need to take it that far,” she huffed.

Geralt rolled his eyes, “just get into the car.”

Ciri pouted but did as she was told. Her being gone gave Geralt a few minutes to process what had happened earlier. Geralt never stared, not if he didn’t have to, but there was something about that man.

Suddenly Geralt found himself wanting to know more about the mysterious biker leader.

23 notes - Posted February 16, 2022

#2

My first fill for @stucky-week Day 1: Memories. This will be one long work with one chapter for each day. Sometimes with art/moodboards, sometimes with a sneak peak into their life after CATWS.

As well as for @avengersbingo for the fill Reunited

Rating: Mature

Archive Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Additional Tags: Reunions; Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier; Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence; Canon Divergence - Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier; Pre-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie); Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie); Post-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie); Other Additional Tags to Be Added; Getting Back Together; Sort of because Bucky doesn't remember; Bucky Barnes Recovering; Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug; Bucky Barnes Feels; Steve Rogers Needs a Hug; Steve Rogers Feels; Art; Sort of? - Freeform; Canon Typical Violence Against Hydra; how is that not a tag?

Chapters: 1/7

Summary:

Steve and Bucky on dealing with the aftermath of CATWS.

Together.

25 notes - Posted February 20, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Kasey's AO3 Master List

Note: this will be only of recent and upcoming fics. I don't have the energy to put them all.

Marvel

A Picture's Words, A Person's Story (SpideyPool, 14K, Completed)

Our Love Was Made for Movie Screens (Stucky, 4K, WIP)

Happy Valentine’s Day (ThunderShield, 2K, Completed)

By Fate (Tony/Sam, 4K, Completed)

It Feels Like Coming Home (Stucky, 28K, Completed)

This Was Not on The Brochure (Stucky, 5K, Completed)

I Saw Right Through You (Stucky, 12K, Completed)

9-1-1

This Is For My Mother (Buddie, 29K, Completed)

Unsteady (Christopher Diaz centric, 5k est, Coming Sept hopefully)

He loved you (and it was killing him) (Buddie, TBD, Coming Soon)

Teen Wolf

To Hold My Shaking Hands (Petopher, 3.4K, Completed)

To Run In To Your Arms (Steter, 11K, Completed)

Between The End and Where We Lie (Jordan/Kira, 20ish, Coming Soon)

Witcher

We'll Get Better (Geraskier, 4.5K, Completed)

what for d'you yearn? (Geraskier, TBD, TBD)

Halo

The Weight of Their Sins (Is the Guilt I Carry) (Gen, 1.2K, Completed)

The Battles We've Fought (Gen, TBD, TBD)

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

Hopefully I'll remember to update this as things happen. For now, you can check me out here for all my other fics.

40 notes - Posted July 12, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[penguin--person]

Would you be willing to show more alík I love them so much they r very cool n so are you

thank you!!!:D!!!! i rlly appreciate it!!! alík's toyhouse is here if you wanna see more images of her, most, if not all, of them are there!! here's some of my fave images of her tho:3 more stuff about her under cut

she's sooo silly goofy... she's got a whole escape au !! she dates sanya in it and she joins tsar and arthurs shitty band and she does the worst screamo ever dude. she goes AUURHGHRRGHGRRRR!!!!!!! TITS AND COCK!!!!!!! and the club goes wild. they love her. despite her visible mutation, she does Not get reported! one reason is, people rlly like her screamo. its very "I WILL FUCK YOUR GIRLFIREND AND YOUR MOM" and also "I AM GOING TO TEAR YOU APART (detailed gore description)" "LIFE SUCKS SHIT BUT YOU SUCK DICK SO WHAT" , its not like "ohh life sucks ass", which most of the bands at the parties play. not rlly depressing. so, people dont report her, bc she spices the place up:3 also like, some people are sorta scared of her . wolf moment. shes not intimidating on purpose shes just like that. and also like if they try to report her she just runs away. n the gang then deals with it

about her dating sanya: shes got a whole arc about that !! sanya "handholding ?!?! who do you think i am ?!?!" x alík (describes in detail how she would fuck your mom) hehe... its like. so. okay. how will sanya deal with the realisation that shes into girls, that shes into a mutant, a dangerous one, one that cannot hide, one that sergei will report if he sees, one that sergei won't accept because she's a girl (tho alík could just go "yeah man im a boy" and sergei would believe her) (hes sergei hes a slav guy in his late twenties hes gonna be at least a bit homophobic), one that sergei won't accept because she's mutant, one that is objectively dangerous, one that she rlly cares for and wants to be safe. but one that she can never have a normal life with. how will alík deal with liking a girl so cute and awesome and cool, and how will she deal with never being fully accepted. how will she deal with being loved but not as much as she needs, but as much as sanya can? how will she deal with all the homophobia bullshit for the first time ever? how will she deal with being called a girl . its sooo. theyre so 'violence - against me' coded... heres their playlist

she beats yura up all the time. she acts like tsar is a stray pup and likes to throw him around. battle buddies with ivan. has a bit of a crush on yana.

its. man. i sometimes think about like, sanya taking alík and yura to hang out at her place. n sanyas sooo happy shes like "hi sir mr sir hi mr sergei thank you for having me:)" wagging her tail happy to be included while sergeis calling the containtment services on her . messed up

shes soooo shes so shes so shes so. she loves calling herself a dog bc it makes her seem 'tamer' than if she calls herself a wolf. if she calls herself a dog, shes obedient, something that can be loved, tamed, trained, that can be accepted. but if shes a wolf shes dangerous, shouldnt be here, and has to be put down.

shes sooo . god. and i havent even touched her friendship with zt001 . fucked up. she has a prey drive. shes still got wolf instincts. she can't stand to be human but she can't stand being in her wolf form either because she only has it associated with experiments and pain and she can never just run around and get sticks. would other wolves like her? would they take her in, or would they cast her away, too? i dont know man. shes so wild. definetly not human but only sometimes wolf. she loves being a wolf but shes not a wolf shes a human but shes not because shes a wolf. its like jerrys hallway in seinfeld or some shit. it should not be but it is

shes goofy tho she doesnt think sex is real she thinks its one big joke. she hunts down rats and such to eat. shes so normal. shes not a 'she' in any way that matters to her. its so normal

also her name is like. so. alík is czech. alík is some kinda dog name here - or, maybe it's not! maybe i just messed up and its not a dog name at all. either way its a masc one, shes got a Boy Name. my mutant is gnc af. and she didn't choose it ! the scientists gave her that nickname. its like if they started calling her "max" or some other popular dog name. its degrading. but its hers, and, its the only thing she has. so she takes it.

her real name doesn't matter. doesn't even have one in a meta sense. if she were to give herself a name itd be rastislav or some shit like that

thank you very much again for the ask!!!

[mitamicah]

Tw intuitive thoughts, gender dysphoria, hair dresser troubles

Yesterday I got so tired of my hair that I decided to do something I seldom do: I went to 3-5 random hairdressers in person asking if they got time: I was late so most didnt. There was this one place I was told to be back in an hour yet when I got there there were even more people in line and I got so scared - like heart beating 100 miles an hour, negative spiral and needing breath exercises scared- so I bailed

At one hand it has come to a point where I cannot stand my hair: it is way too long to be practical in this heat, to be able to style it and even more it makes me feel horrible

This part of me wants to find a razor and shave it all no matter how much it will bleed since I havent used a razor before. That is the same part of me that wants to find a kitchen knive and cut away my boobs

The other part of me wants to overcome this fear by actually going to a god damn hairdresser without having to back down because I am terrified of being judged as not Manly enough to be in a barber by 5-7 Guys I have never met. This part is discussing whether I should find a hairdresser buddy: a friend that will go with me and just be present so I cannot back down. Yet the only such person I have is my Mother. She is respecting my gender in some ways but dissaproving in others and this is one of them - she does not like my hair short and boyish and she lets me know it. the fact that she too has misgendered me the last two times I asked for help with something similar is making me hesitant to ask her. It also seems pathetic that I am adult but in need somebody to hold my hand while at the barber/hairdresser so that keeps me from asking anybody else. But am I brave enough to do it on my own? I honestly dont know

[etherealluminescence]

Shdjdjjddjjs okay but, more buff cat hcs when ?? But seriously, i know it probably counts as crack hc but i enjoyed it way to much i cant get it out of my head anymore, i havent laught so much in a while now sjdjchdj. I sure hope the buff cat saga will continue !!

You know what? I’ll give you some buff cat content now. 😤 my school work can wait. And trust me, the buff cat saga WILL continue. I just tend to work on requests first rather than my own wants haha.

I’m really happy you like buff cat! Buff cat is my life now. Constantly haunted by buff cat. Maybe one day I’ll introduce a girlfriend or friends for buff cat too 🤔

Maybe I’ll do a background about buff cat and how they met MC?? And why buff cat is so attached to MC? I don’t know. 👉👈 maybe if someone requests, otherwise I’ll just do whatever I feel like in the moment.

Anyone can also feel free to request any buff cat scenarios!! If not I’ll think of some up. THIS IS SO LONG IM SORRY. I WROTE THIS LIKE 1 HOUR OR SOMETHING STRAIGHT AHA.

The boys react to buff cat teaching you

Lucifer

Lucifer had noticed your grades were improving recently, and wanted to take you out to eat for working so hard to both keep up with your class.

When he came to your room, he saw a scene that honestly shouldn’t of surprised him, but did anyways.

You were sitting at your desk, books sprawled across the entire surface area of it. On top of a book pile was buff cat, wearing a pair of glasses, and he was using a pointer to show you important parts you should remember.

He watched in awe as you two never exchanged any words, but you were scribbling down definitions and important notes, while buff cat turned the pages and reviewed your work.

He’s gotten fairly use to buff cat cooking, cleaning, intimidating others, but he has never seen buff cat act like a teacher before, it was sort of new, and he even had a teacher outfit.

He swears that he never sees you buying these outfits, or that people in the devildom actually sell muscular cat clothing.

Buff Cat is the first to break the silence, looking over at Lucifer and positioning his pointer at Lucifer’s head, and then to in front of your desk.

You were still focused on your studying, knowing that you were steadily improving. Buff Cat got out a notepad from one of your desk drawers, and wrote “Leave what you require on this note, I am instructing MC right now, and when we are done tutoring I will give this note to them.”

Lucifer ended up having to take a rain check on taking you out to eat, and learned that your cat has really advanced vocabulary.

Mammon

He was failing the majority of his classes, and ended up asking you for help. You were his best shot, and you seemed to be passing all of your classes with flying colours.

You said you were happy to help him! Except that someone else was actually helping you study. They were a very efficient teacher.

He was relieved to hear that you’d introduce your teacher to him, until he found out it was that fucking demon spawn from hell.

He screeched so hard and ran out of the room, crying like a girl. “aAAAAaaaaAAAH”

Mammon is terrified of buff cat, and now you’re telling him this cat has the intelligence of a genius? You came to the devildom like a few months ago how is this cat tutoring you and making you pass your classes with ease??

He swears your cat is trying to plot for world domination or something. Will NEVER ask you to study with him again.

Leviathan

You walked into Levi’s room trying to find buff cat. It was a Sunday, which was typically a boys night out between them, but it was getting pretty late and you need to study.

There was a test tomorrow on devildom history, and you wanted to review one more time with buff cat, as to make sure you’ll do well on it.

“Mr. Kitty, are you here?” You called out, as soon as you said that Buff Cat paused the game and ran up to you. Levi was slightly annoyed as Buff Cat was beating a hard level for him, but he is your cat above all else.

You smiled as Buff Cat greeted you, and apologised for interrupting them. You explained to Levi how you wanted to review for the test, and if it wasn’t an issue could he spare around 20 minutes?

Levi huffed and agreed and called you a normie, and was about to pick up his switch when your words finally set in.

You put down the book you were carrying and got out a pencil, and took a piece of paper out of the book. You began writing down all of the important stuff on the paper while Buff Cat watched over your shoulder.

When you were finished, he went into the book with you and showed you a couple things you’ve missed or had forgotten, and then got you to write it down three times each as to remember. He even wrote a few essay questions for you which you got.

Levi was impressed. Not only did Buff Cat seem to know the whole devildom history by heart, he knew the exact pages and lines, and even how to write.

He didn’t really care as long as Buff Cat beats the hard level for him. He just considers it to be cool.

Satan

Satan was impressed with your high grades. It must be hard for a human to suddenly learn about a whole new realm, right? So if you had Cs he would understand, but you were getting 97s and 94s.

He understood everything when he started to notice what kind of books Buff Cat had been reading in his room, recently.

You all were having a test on curses soon, and Buff Cat came by his room and began looking for books about curses, and similar ones to what you all had been learning about.

Satan ended up chuckling to himself and found it amusing. It was amazing how your cat even spent his free time coming to someone’s room, finding books for your tests, and reads them before going back to you to help you understand the content.

He likes to get coffee with Buff Cat and talk about the stuff you’re learning in classes, he never directly said it to you, but he helps Buff Cat find specific books when Buff Cat comes over.

Asmodeous

Lucifer decided to punish the house of lamentations by taking away all of their electronics after they did something stupid again. The only way to earn it back, was through getting an 80% or higher on their next test.

You and Asmo suffered because you would normally look up answer during your test, and Asmo had no social media or contact with any of his friends with benefits.

You two weren’t ashamed to beg Buff Cat for help to pass your next test. He was probably the smartest in the house. He goes to Satan’s room almost every day and purchased books when he goes out. Your cat even tutored you when you were in elementary school.

You and Asmo barely needed to convince Buff Cat, as he was ecstatic to help you again. He’d do anything to help you, and was even willing to help Asmo out as well.

Asmo thought that Buff Cat looked REALLY adorable in his teacher’s outfit. A suit, tie, glasses, and his claws were so shiny from their manicure earlier.

Buff cat even slicked his fur back to look like he gel’d his hair. He was a literal fashion icon. Asmo could do some sewing, but nothing to the degree Buff Cat did.

Buff Cat had so many outfits he made himself, and he even did them so quickly. They all turned out perfect. Oh right, this was about studying wasn’t it?

Asmo never really asked questions about why your cat could just be so smart, and more so focused on how cool your cat looked. Priorities.

Beelzebub

Beel and Buff Cat are gym buddies, so naturally they’d walk home together from the gym. Everything was fine until Buff Cat’s MC senses were tingling, and began to walk towards you, crouching down in a store trying to figure out which notebooks to buy.

Beel thought it was pretty cool Buff Cat knew where you were, like how he and Belphie were that close to each other.

Brel asked you what you were doing, and you explained that you wanted to get some new notebooks because your old one is messy and confusing. You just scribbled whatever you could down, and were having a bit of a hard time in class.

Buff Cat immediately perked up, and you two seemed to have a conversation. He meowed and you happily said “I’d love that!”

Apparently, Buff Cat had offered to tutor you. Beel wasn’t so sure how well your cat could teach, though, considering he still is a cat, and offered to help you as well, since he wouldn’t like to see you sad from overworking yourself.

He was scribbling notes alongside with you five minutes into your first session together. Buff Cat wrote such simple explanations, and even prepared notecards ahead of time, Beel forgot he was supposed to teach you.

He is pretty fine with Buff Cat teaching you both, and once again forgets that Buff Cat is a “normal”? cat and not some weird creature that knows the answer to life.

Belphegor

Is really fucking terrified of your buff cat. Like TERRIFIED. So when he sees your cat in a teacher’s outfit sitting at the dinning room table, teaching you math, he was frozen.

He came down to get a glass of milk but what is this. Do you- do you have to do it in the living room?

There is no other reaction than physical fear coursing through his body his adrenaline is at the highest and his fight or flight instincts kick in.

He’s already fought once and that caused Buff Cat to exist in constant Buff form around him, so you can bet he is running.

Probably has a group chat with Mammon and Luke. “Buff Cat Conspiracy”. They talk about how scary buff cat is.

Diavolo

Buff Cat told Diavolo he was the one who helped you study. They were having conversation (buff cat used a notebook) and the topic of your studies came up. He mentioned how he had been helping you study, and understand the terminology in the Devildom better.

He was happy to hear that you understood it, and that it wasn’t too complicated for either of you too.

He actually asks if he can watch your study sessions, to see if he needs to lighten your workload just in case you’re pushing yourself too much.

You two allow him to watch, and he’s giving soft claps and smiles as the two of you give it your best.

Is honestly very happy with how much you two get along, and how you say it’s very simple since Buff Cat explains(meows) it in a very efficient manner.

He already knew Buff Cat was smart, but haha. Maybe he should hire Buff Cat to be a teacher or support class teacher for RAD?

Barbatos

You had grown accustomed to the devildom these past few months, and with Buff Cat with you, you were allowed to freely explore it when you want.

Buff Cat also happens to have a spare key to open the castle when he wishes.

Exam/testing season was coming up, and you knew you couldn’t study at the house of lamentation.

It was very distracting, and so you decided to go to the castle. No one will be screaming there, or trying to convince you your cat is a weird entity trying to plot world domination.

Barbatos was sort of used to seeing Buff Cat come and go as he pleases, but why were you here? Before he could say anything, you told him that you were visiting to study! And that you hope he didn’t mind that Buff Cat was going to tutor you.

Alright, so you’re studying, but why at the castle? You had to explain that it was very distracting at the house of lamentations, and Mammon was trying to convince you to get rid of your cat 24/7.

Ah, he could see that. Your cat isn’t exactly normal, and Mammon does occasionally scream like a girl. I promise I love Mammon. But it’s not like he minded, so long as you two were quiet and actually studied.

He left to clean for a bit, and when he returned to the guest room he saw you wearing a headband, violently writing down and muttering definitions at an insane pace. Buff Cat was in a teacher’s outfit, and holding out flash cards.

He’s slightly taken aback, but doesn’t show it anywhere on his face. He has never seen you so serious before, and neither has he seen Buff Cat so focused on you, as well.

He’s quite proud of you two for your hard work and dedication. He doesn’t interrupt but instead pours you three cups of tea, Buff Cat thanks him, and watches over you two.

Solomon

Solomon invited you over for a study session. He may be a little shady, but he does care for you, as a fellow human.

He was ecstatic to see Buff Cat come with you, because he still wants to dissect your cat.

He was about to talk to you about letting him research you cat, but you made yourself comfortable on his bed, and Buff Cat began to put on glasses and take out a pointer.

He didn’t have anytime to talk beforehand, as you were highlighting certain areas of your book, your cat pointing to certain parts, and you patted the bed beside you for Solomon to join.

Solomon’s plans to dissect your cat are set back another day, but he takes great interest in the way he teaches. Your cat is very methodical about how to remember things, and explains(meows) it rather simply.

He swears that your cat is not a normal human cat, but why can he sense literally zero magic power from it? If only Buff Cat could teach him that.

Solomon also gets 100% on the next test by remembering everything the way Buff Cat had taught you two.

Simeon

Absolutely chaotic man, when he sees you and Buff Cat in a classroom when school was over, he approached you two, and said hello.

You greeted him, and so did Buff Cat. He asked what you were doing after school so late, and that it was dangerous for the two of you. Buff Cat not so much but could still be in danger.

You told him you were studying for the upcoming test, and that Buff Cat was helping you.

Simeon was like!!! 💖👉👈💖💖💖💖🥰🥰🥺🥺 could I join?? This sounds so fun!! Buff Cat is so smart!!

He does not question the fact he’s studying with a cat, learning from a cat, or just how nice your cat can write on paper, like perfect handwriting.

He has such chaotic energy that he’s just like you, what a cute cat!

Luke

no.

just no.

he’s fine with your cat but does your cat have to be in buff form when you’re being taught?

he is happy you are getting good grades but please get him away from buff form buff cat.

[pmiller1]

Text from the Past! [N:TWEwY/Neo Zeta Earth]

"What are you doing on your phone Rindy?" Shoka ask, seeing him eyes glue on the phone when it supposed to be a hangout date with him.

"Hah?" He look up from his phone, blushing, "Em, nothing! I was just taken some backlogged."

"Really, looking in the past?" Shoka said with a hint of sneakiness, "Gezz, you really can't help going back there."

"I mean, I just not like I can changed them any more." RIndo said, "Beside, I just looking some of your old Swallow account chat logged and to be honest I feel like an idiot for not catching on sooner. Some of stuff starting to make sense in hindsight."

"What? You finally get I was your old online buddy and was trying to help you in the Game?" She ask him.

"Yeah. But." Rindo said. "I'm taking back before all of that. In fact here:"

As he show one of the chat log, One of them show a image of Mr Mew as Cait Sith.

Rindragon: hi i just got this special events mon seem like gn had been ad. Swallow: OMG!!!!! Swallow: gimmegimmegimmegimmegimmegimmegimmegimmegimme Swallow: Ive been looking for that so HARD TTwTT Rindragon: lol ok Rindragon: didnt think you be that excited Rindragon: here you go [trade link] Swallow: you are a life saver Swallow: I own you 1!

Shoka look and starting to cover her face with the hoodie. "I didn't really think you being of a fan of Gatto Nero, I just though you like the special events Mod back then." Rindo said. "You not wrong." She mutter "Just the best of both world, how can I not be excited?"

"That not all." He said, as he show him another chat logged. "Here someone else that made me think about it in hindsight."

Swallow: hey you okay? Swallow: you havent text for a week now Rindragon: sorry it just Rindragon: an0ther haven't been posting for a month now. Swallow: oh Rindragon: tbh I'm not sure what I can do now. Rindragon: an0ther inspired me yknow. Swallow: Rin. About An0ther. Rindragon: what about him? Two minutes pass Swallow: He could be busy Swallow: It not like he can post all the time Rindragon: i guess :/ Rindragon: "i'll wait until I'll died." Swallow: best you dont died Swallow: trust me Swallow: it isn't pity

She had nothing to say to this, giving a sorry look at him. "I guess you didn’t wanna to tell me that he was in the Game or..." Rindo said, "That he was big rotten scam artist?" She said bluntly "I knew An0ther was scamming people with those Copy Quote of his. If I knew he was in the Game, I’d would had beaten him up sooner. Really Rindo, Did you want me to brake your ideal world?"

"I mean, it better late then never." Rindo said "It kind of nice that you didn't, that you care, I mean I'm fine now, he kind of have it coming."

"But this one." He said showing her another chat logged "I not sure if you be okay with this."

Swallow: wgbnfvb vfgb  bfjdb vj Rindragon: what Rindragon: u ok Swallow: sorry a lizard was messing my phone Rindragon: ??? Swallow: my sis pet iguana Rindragon: oh Rindragon: wait u had a sis Swallow: adopted sis Swallow: she taken me in Swallow: n she own a pet iguana Swallow: sometime her love is 2 much Swallow: gtg good luck on u hunt

"Hah. I remember that. I was yelling at Ayano about that Iguana after that." Shoka said having some fond memory, "She been teasing me all day after that."

"Yeah you two was really close." Rindo said "You have no idea how hard for to talk to you on that day. Many Reset just so I can get it right..."

"Good Job, You almost doom the city because you couldn't talk to a girl from get go." Shoka said. "Yeah, Sorry about that."

"Is there any more." She ask him. "Well just this one." He said showing him the last chat logged.

Rindragon: say what youre name Swallow: what Rindragon: it just i doesnt know ur real name Rindragon: like maybe id know u in person Swallow: you sure :/ Swallow: isnt just being your birdy friend good enough Swallow: im dont even know u name 2 Rindragon: it ok ill tell u mine if ull tell me ur minute pass Rindragon: hello? Swallow: im sorry :( Swallow: it just Swallow: id want too but Swallow: does it matter? Swallow: like dont need to be friend in RG Swallow: RL* Swallow: i am swallow to you Swallow: just like you are my rindragon Rindragon: i was hoping Rindragon: that we get to be friend in rl Rindragon: and it hard Rindragon: only being text buddy Rindragon: we could play fango in person Swallow: that sweet ^_^ Swallow: but we just in 2 different world :( Swallow: id wish we could but Rindragon: but what? >_< Swallow: id hate to see on that side Swallow: it better that we been online buddy Swallow: is that okay? Rindragon: alright

"Yeah..." Shoka said "About that..." "Was because you was a Reaper and I was a Human in the RG?" "That and if I did, you would had look up my death report and..." Shoka said "I didn't want to scared you."

"I mean, I can get why?" Rindo said "But I wouldn't really look you up, there may not even be something to look up, you from Shinjuku, in a time where Shinjuku didn't existed in the public."

She giggle at that. "I guess I didn't really existed at the time."

"Witch can be worst is someway." Rindo admitted. "Someone that I been friend for never really existed. I could had gone mad, question my reality, that I could had made up, or...."

"Or I was a bots." Shoka ask him. "Yeah, that could work too."

"It not like it really matter now." She said "I'm here, you know who I am now. And same for you."

"How long you knew that Rindragon was me, back in the game?" He ask her. "Honestly." She said, looking down "From the start of your 1st week."

"I was gonna contact you, to check up on you." She said "But I couldn't, not before I got the text from you about some event. You was linked to the Reaper Networking Service, under Player."

"I just thought something bad had happen you that got you killed." She said "But then it click on me, Rindo, Dragon, RinDragon. Oh my fucking gosh. I even look up your icon and it yeah that was you, alright. I was feeling really dumb that I just met you and didn't do a good job getting you into the game. "

"So you knew all this time?" Rindo said. "Yep." "Even when I was being rude to you?" "Totally." "It must be hard for you." He said to her.

"It was. But I put on a brave act." She said "Really Rindy, I want you do push me away, I didn’t ready want you to catch on that I was your online friend."

"Yeah, you said can't we couldn't be friend in the game." Rindo said. "But I did my best to help you, with recruiting Nagi, giving you the answers, having Kaie and Riko into giving hint along with bribing some of Reaper to go easy on you on that day."

"Don't forget that you did lead us into finding Beat, or where he would end up at. Replayed, you told us that he was at Shibuya Hikarie." Rindo said, "Ah, good to know."

"And look what happen when I try to help you, I got suspended to a Swallow account, been strip of my Reaper power. And being use a spy to reclama my Reaperhood." She said and looking down. "I-I didn't really think you let me join your team."

"You did help us, I didn't really want to leave you behind." Rindo said "There so many reason to be Honest."

"Must be hard for you do so." Shoka said "More so with me wanna to stay by your side and wanna to save Shibuya."

"Rindo. I was gonna tell that I was Swallow when I joined you." Shoka said "But with Motoi, I didn't you want to worry about it."

"I thought so." Rindo said "If they one thing we had in common is that we had a hard time making decisions, I'm proud of you, able to pull yourself together make the call in the end."

"Sometime it feel like it wasn't the right choses." Shoka said. "I know right?" "Even if it wasn't, we still manage to pull thought it." Rindo said "We all can't make the right choses. We all can't turn back time and make the right choses in the end."

"Said the one that had that power back then." Shoka said. "It wasn't really mind to begin with." Her remind her.

"Still no point mopping about the past what we could had done." Shoka told him, "We got our happy ending." As she kiss him on the noise. Making cover his face with the mask, hiding her blush. "Y-Yeah, guess we did."

[vanityloves]

Two things, my dear crowned Ruffian:

May i reblog your sketch art of you? I wanted to ask first :') if not i understand and just wanted to say I really admire your traditional art so much!! I'm always excited when other people post traditional art ✨💗!!

Secondly: I am recc'ing Shane and Harvey from Stardew Valley- Shane is kinda rough around the edges but really nice when you get to know him plus he loves chickens & Harvey is a very sweet older man (late 30s), a doctor, and loves making model airplanes and also want to say Eddie Brock is DEFINITELY Jude shaped 👀

Tex @tex-treasures

hi sunny @tex-treasures !

1. ofc, i dont mind at all! i shouldve specified in the tags that it was ok to rb /lh so thank you sm for asking :] ! i havent done traditional art in a hot min n i didnt think it was anything super special (/lh) but im so glad to hear its sumn you enjoy/like seeing :D

2. i think this is the 2nd or 3rd time someone recommend shane to me 😭 /NM NM NM /POS funny enough, i used to ship w/ him in 2018/19ish when my ex buddy and i would talk ab our ships together! hes definitely My Type tho,,, the whole Unshaven, Father figure with Mental Illness,, i love this recommendation bc yall know me so well, tysm 😭😔💗💕!

ive thought ab shipping w/ harvey before but id feel so bad bc he seems so nice and gentle while im all,,, grouchy shaky chihuahua JSJSJ but yknow me and doctors *stares at medic* id be flexing for him every check up or like hey...im just working,,, working hard so i can please you *plucks weeds faster, passes out in the mines, dives into the lake to escape a single bee, sets crops on fire*

bonus: heres some old old old sdv s/i art!

3. NOW THAT YOU BRING UP...EDDIE BROCK...another unshaven bozo for me. im glad hes Jude Adjacent tho i truly know nothing ab him if im being honest, i just like that fact that hes a Package Deal - i get him but i also get the scary dog privilege of Venom

[wastelandlovingscenarios]

unanswered asks~

this post is solely focused on asks [that are not requests/reacts]  i haven’t been able to answer lately due to me being busy working on requests or just my personal life in general. if you know you sent me an  ask, my reply to you will be under the cut! i didn’t want to leave anyone’s ask unanswered and if you don’t see yours under the cut, please resend them! i’d love to see what you have to say to me. thank you guys for continuing to  support me. i love you guys very much! <3 

i havent been very active during november so if you know you sent an ask to me during this month and never received a reply, it is more than likely down here! im so sorry about the wait, ive been insanely busy.

[ THERE IS ABUSE MENTIONED DOWN BELOW! PLEASE READ WITH CAUTION! ]

1. are asks still open for prompts?

yes! it is. :) it is open till further notice! <3

2. Not a request, just wanted your thoughts. Ok, imagine a soulmate au where when the SoSu finds Kellogg and they find out they’re soulmates at fort hagen. My friends say I’m fucked up for playing around with the idea but I think with a certain backstory it could work. Maybe if SoSu’s spouse was abusive it wouldn’t be bad. But also Kellogg was just doing a job and he’s not actually that bad of a person given his story. I just think it could be an interesting idea. What do you think?

- i think its a really good and interesting idea, as much as i dislike kellogg on my end! i dont find a lot of sosu/kellogg fics so i think its pretty amazing you want to write a story based on an soulmate au trope and if you do end up posting it, link it to me! i will be more than glad to read it. personally, i believe kellogg is really traumatized and broken from his past and doesnt know how to express nor heal from it. instead he allows his bitterness to seep through his actions which is probably why he does it with no care and little to no signs of sympathy. so, i dont personally believe he was always an asshole and does have a soft side to him like everyone else. of course, this does not excuse his actions but it does create character in some way shape or form and i think its great to work around and has the potential to form a really detailed and well thought plot. i think soles spouse also being abusive can also aid in the progression of the story. good luck with it and please do share it with us when you decide to do it! im very excited to see you work with this.

2. do you write for longfellow?

- sadly, not at the moment. i haven't been able to play the far harbor dlc to its full potential and i haven't recruited old longfellow as much as i should have. maybe when i do come around to finishing it, i will add old longfellow to the list!

3. Nuooo! No more sad man Danse!  He needs some happiness too! Maybe after BB he developed some comradeship with a platoon of minutemen he could actually laugh and have a drink with. Find a new purpose in aiding and protecting fellow minutemen and their communities and families. Only people I can realistically see him being buddy-buddy with is either Struges, Preston or if you’re lucky the ex-BOS scribe that can be your armor merchant at your settlement. Dude NEEDS an emotional support system!

- UGH, you are so right! danse deserves nothing but happiness post blind betrayal!! i do strongly believe hes recruited into the minutemen a little later after the events and is immediately accepted into the faction as family, regardless of his past actions. i like to think that he gets along with almost everyone and humbles down as an individual, eventually letting go the ideals of the BoS. the minutemen is truly his first step into another chapter of his life.

4. I hate you😜nah I’m totally kidding😁 I gotta reeeeeally try to find anything subjectively bad to say to you honestly🤔. You’re friendliness comes off naturally like you’re not trying too hard to cater to anyone. You come off as genuine enough to just enjoy the fandom and the interactions you have with fans is very refreshing and inviting🥰. It’s always a pleasure to have some fun banter about a video game series we all love among each other as fans.💕

- THIS GENUINELY MADE ME SMILE!! im glad i dont come off as too rude of unfriendly to others and its reassuring to hear that! i try to be as nice as i can to everyone and im always happy to interact with anyone in the fandom so dont afraid to shoot me an ask or message. thank you for your message anon and please have an amazing day! i appreciate you! <3

5. your writing is amazing and super comforting and I love the work you do and you and you're wonderful 💖💖💖

- youre more wonderful and amazing! thank you for supporting my writing and continuing to read my works! im glad i can provide you guys with content that is comforting and i hope i continue to do so. <3 please have a wonderful day, anon and i appreciate you so much! <3

6. I’m actually a little jealous of you😖. You seem to have so much going on in your personal life yet still have time to have a little fun in the fallout fandom. You’re 19 now right? Ugh and yet you’re doing more in life than what I was doing at that age😞. It’s rather inspiring really, tho’ I’m a little envious I still wish you the best in all your future endeavors. Good luck and take care!❤️

- don’t be jealous, please. everyone moves at their own pace and thats perfectly fine! take your time and you will get where you want to be in no time. im 18 and im still trying to figure out my life day by day and lets be honest.. i wing it 99% of the time, LOL. im more than certain you will achieve a lot in your lifetime and i will be wishing you nothing but happiness and success! please take care and don’t be hard on yourself! good luck. <3

[theokotrain]

Vestige - Interlude: The Party

Wattpad Version

As the night fills the sky

All my fears are dissipating

'Cause I feel reassured

That I might make it through

And if all my luck should burn

Then I guess it burned for you

---

April 13th, 2012

I was sitting on my bed, back against the bed frame with my knees raised in front of me, holding up my laptop. I had been spending the last few hours writing an essay for my English class, specifically answering the topic question my teacher had given everybody: "How do our past experiences influence our decisions?". The question was simple enough, it's a pretty universally recognized idea that stuff that happens to us has an effect on our decision making. I mean, that's what it means to grow, right? You gain more knowledge as you live through life and form new memories, and that helps you make more informed decisions in the future.

I've never really been too good at writing anything analytical, especially non-fiction. Essays and research papers that required informed arguments that helped to prove your point? Those were an entirely unknown game to me, one which I had never managed to breeze through. Of course, we were supposed to use some of the books we've read this year as evidence for our arguments, so that at least made it a bit easier, even if most of the books were ones from nearly five decades ago and definitely out of touch at this point. The sound of my laptop's keys clicking as I typed away were the only sounds I could pick up in the room. I had my earphones in for a bit, but those always hurt my ears after a while, so I had taken them out.

Looking at the time in the corner of my laptop screen, it was 4:43 PM. I started writing as soon as I got home from class, so I've only been going for about an hour. Unfortunately, this essay is a non-insignificant amount of my course grade, so I needed to finish this as soon as possible.

God, it's a Friday! I could be out doing something actually fun with Shae and the other guys. Isn't that the whole point of high school? That's what it always seemed like in movies, at least, but I guess I've been a victim of false advertising.

After a bit more time passes, the sound of my phone ringing from my desk brings me out of my writing trance. I sigh, setting my laptop next to me on the bed, not wanting to get out of bed, but eventually forcing myself into maneuvering over to the desk, I grab the phone and flip it open, looking to see the Caller ID.

Shaela.

I instantly accept the call, it's almost second nature at this point. She calls me at least once a day so she can tell me about whatever person is pissing her off that day, or whatever drama she's heard from her other friends. I was never really one for gossip, or whatever, but I did appreciate talking to her.

I put the phone up to my ear, "What's up?" I say, a tinge of fatigue in my voice.

"Hey! Just warning you that I'm like five minutes from your place and you don't have a say in the matter." She replied bluntly. I can hear the sound of cars driving by on the other side of the phone, so she's obviously outside, confirming her words.

I take a deep breath before speaking, "...Why?" I said with exasperated sarcasm.

"Because! I have something to tell you, and if I say it over the phone then I seriously doubt it'll work out in the way I'm hoping it does."

"That clears up nothing, actually, and now I regret picking up."

"Even if you didn't answer, that doesn't stop your parents from letting their son's lovely goody-two-shoes of a friend stop by for a visit!" She exclaimed, a mischievous tone subtly layered in her voice.

She's not wrong.

"Wow, you make this sound like you're sneaking into a high-security building or something." I say, utterly confused at her motives. "Obviously you can come over, but I'm not exactly filled with confidence at whatever you're planning."

"Like I said, I can't tell you yet, but it's gonna be awesome!" She said. There was an unusual perkiness to her that made itself pretty clear over the phone.

Before I can say anything, I'm met with the dial tone, signalling that she had hung up. The only thing I can do at this point is wait for her to get here, I guess. She always lets herself in when she comes over, so I don't make the effort to meet her downstairs. A sudden ping sound fills the quiet room, seeming to come from my laptop. I get back into bed, looking to see where the notification came from.

It's a message from Tyler.

He's definitely the newest member of our little group, if even that. I'm the only person in the group that he's actually friends with so far, despite my efforts to bring him along on any plans we all make. I only met the Grey Wolf back in February, at the beginning of the second semester, in the school's photography class. Nobody I knew signed up for it, and due to our prestigious high school's advanced budget for technology, we were forced to be paired up for shared computer use in the Photography Room. I suppose Tyler was also fortunate enough to not know anybody in the class, as we ended up being paired together by the teacher. He was definitely someone I could only describe as uninterested, as the first week or two I spent with him in that class consisted of him either giving me one word answers or answering in the most blunt, bored tone he could manage. Though, it seemed that it took a bit of persistence on my part to push him to be more open, and since then he's grown to be a pretty great friend.

Tyler: u goin to that party tonight ive been hearin about?

Party? I wasn't made aware of anything like that, at least... not yet. Something in the back of my brain was telling me that Shae had ulterior motives about coming to my place so suddenly, but I'm still hoping that I'm wrong. I hate parties.

Jake: party? havent heard anything, are u going?

Tyler: thinkin about it

think its gonna be over at chris's place, guess his parents r gone for the weekend or somethin

Jake: chrisssss? ughh that guy is such an asshole

Tyler: yeah u dont havee to go, but itd prob be more fun to have someone u actually know there

The way he worded that was directed at me, but I could tell he didn't want to go on his own.

Jake: i guess ill think about it

Tyler: sickk, call me if u make up ur mind

Before I can type my farewells over IM, Shaela energetically bursts through the door.

"Jesus! You scared the shit outta me, don't you knock?" I said, mildly exasperated.

"Oh come on, I literally called you a few minutes ago, you had plenty of time to not make a situation where it'd be a bad idea for me to barge in," She replies, laughing, before setting her bag on the ground and dramatically falling into my bed. "Today was garbage."

"What happened?"

"Ugh, Claire decided to just not show up, I guess, on the day we're supposed to present that stupid History project? And, obviously, she didn't give me her part of the project or anything, so I had tell Mr Thomas about the situation, which was fucking embarrassing." She paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. "Luckily, he said he wouldn't reduce my grade for handing it in late, since I actually had my part finished. God, what a bitch- I must've called her like thirty times before class to get her to email me her part, and every time it went straight to voicemail - and she told me last night that she'd have it ready for today!"

"Have you gotten a hold of her yet?" I asked, closing my laptop and setting it beside me.

Shae turns her head to me, shaking her head, "Nope, she's been ghosting me all day."

"Sounds like typical Claire."

"Yeah, I shouldn't have partnered with her, but apparently I can't say no to anyone, so..." I chuckle lightly in response. "Anyways! I didn't just come here to complain to you!" She says, sitting up on the bed, now facing towards me.

"Right... So what was so important that you just had to tell me in person?" I say, sarcastically.

"Like I said, if I asked you over the phone you would've definitely said no, and my ability to pressure you into doing things isn't as effective unless it's in person!" She responded.

I subtly rolled my eyes, but it's clear she noticed from the stare-down she gave me, "Okay, so what is it?"

"Soooooo..." She says, trying to find the rest of the words, "There's a party."

Wow.

"Wh- did everybody know about that party except for me?!?" I exclaimed.

Shaela's face quickly turns to an expression of shock, "Who told you?"

"Tyler did, like, not even five minutes ago." I say, bluntly.

"What? How does he know Chris?"

"Friend-of-a-friend, I'm guessing?"

"Hmm..." She hummed, thinking about something, "So, did you tell him you were going?"

"I specifically said I'd think about it, nothing definite." I made it clear in my tone that I wasn't particularly interested.

"Oh, come on, dude! It'll be fun!"

I didn't really have an interest in going, but I know it'd make Shae happy, plus it'd be nice to hang out with Tyler again even if we've only known each other for a couple months.

"...Fine. But, if Chris or any of his buddies start shit, I'm leaving."

"Awesome!"

"Lemme just call Tyler and let him know," I said as I grabbed my phone and flipped it open, finding Tyler in my contact list and dialling.

"You gonna bring him with-" The phone rings a few times before he picks up and I extend my hand out towards Shae in a shushing motion. She rolls her eyes, smirking.

"Hey? So are ya gonna go?" He said eagerly.

"Well, Shae showed up at my door literally right after you messaged me, asking the same thing!" I exclaimed in a fake-preppy voice. "So, I guess I have no choice since she'll probably just drag me there if I say no," I joked. She nods her head toward me in response.

"Oh, is she going too?" He inquired.

"Yeah, I guess so! Your place is kinda on the way to Chris', so we could probably meet you at your place and go from there."

"Yeah! Sounds good!" He quickly responded.

I laughed, "Okay, we'll call you when we get there?"

"Sure thing!"

We exchanged our farewells, and hung up. The party wasn't for at least another hour or two, so Shae and I had some time to burn, of which I was entirely out of ideas. I figured I could at least spend this time actually being productive, so I grabbed my laptop and continued on writing my English essay as Shae resumed her previous conversation topic of stuff at school that was pissing her off. It was pretty entertaining, to be fair. She was telling me about how Chris had gotten in a fight with this other kid in our grade yesterday after class, which I wasn't lucky enough to witness, but it was obviously all anyone would talk about for basically the entire day today so word spread around fast. The part I hadn't heard about was that both Chris and the other guy, Nathan, got suspended for a week because of it. Chris was generally an asshole to everybody, including myself, so I didn't feel too bad about that. Although, I didn't know Nathan all that well. Other than having a few classes together, I don't think I've ever held an actual conversation with the guy. I think it was safe to assume that Chris was the one who started it, and Shae seemed to agree with me, even though she hadn't seen the fight either.

"But, apparently Nathan's gonna show up tonight!" She exclaimed coyly.

"...Remind me again why you want me to go to this specific party?"

"You'll have a great time! It's not like we'll be involved in the drama anyway so think of it more as entertainment!"

"I think you and I have different definitions of the word 'entertainment'," I joked.

"I'm sure you can go run off somewhere with Tyler if you're not having fun," She said, her tone reminding me of my mom.

"Oh yeah? What about you?"

"I can't just leave Alex at a party with Chris, those two start shit between each other so much and I'd rather not deal with the aftermath of that today."

"I'm guessing it's safe to assume that Elliot's going too, then?"

"He's not big on parties, but he'll usually go if everyone else is, unlike somebody," She says, gesturing towards me.

"Good one," I reply, unmoving as I keep typing away at my assignment.

"Well, we should probably leave soon since we're stopping at Tyler's place on the way.

I saved the document I had been working on, closing my laptop. "Sounds good to me!"

---

"I can't believe you actually agreed to go." Tyler joked as we walked towards the road from his house.

"Yeah, me either." I replied. I definitely didn't put in any effort in dressing up for the party, opting for a snug space-themed graphic tee, along with black jeans and a white zip-up hoodie. Shae and Tyler both stand on opposite sides of me as we walk down the sidewalk.

"Luckily I learned the subtle techniques in convincing you to do things against your better judgement, so now you get to have fun for once!" Shae exclaimed.

"It's not my fault that going to a party is literally the last thing on earth I'd do for fun in any normal situation." I retorted, putting my hands in the pockets of my jacket.

"Oh yeah? And what do you consider a 'normal situation'?" Shae asks.

"Any situation where you guys aren't the ones trying to get me to go! I'm only doing this for you two, y'know." I said, looking over at both of them.

"What about Elliot and Alex?" Tyler chimed in.

"They aren't the ones asking me to go to this party." I sarcastically remarked, trying to keep the conversation light-hearted. "Speaking of the party- this is Chris we're talking about, there's gonna be beer, right?"

"Uh, duh?" Shae replied.

"Yeah, that's a definite no for me, I'm already enough of a disappointment to my parents,"

"No one's making you drink, Jake. At least you'd be safe if some old hag called the cops about the noise." Shae said.

"I think at that point we're guilty by association, so we'd just make a run for it if that happens," Tyler joked.

"Dude, the chance of me outrunning a police officer successfully is about as likely as me not wanting to punch Chris tonight."

"And the chance of you winning that fight is just as low!" Shae retorted, Tyler laughing in response.

"I specifically said 'want' because of that very reason!"

"Wow, I'd pay money to see you fight that guy." Tyler said, nudging his elbow into my side.

It isn't a secret that I'm not exactly athletic. I mean, I'm definitely not weak, but fighting basically any animal of a similar size to mine was not a situation that favoured my victory.

"That sounds more like just getting the shit kicked outta me for your entertainment." I remarked, lightly punching Tyler's shoulder in return.

"Absolutely worth every penny!" Shae exclaimed. Luckily, the place wasn't any more than ten minutes away from Tyler's place, so I didn't have to endure listening to these two talk about me getting beat up for much longer.

We finally make it to Chris' house, and I'm suddenly filled with an impending sense of regret. Obviously, my parents would never in a million years agree to me going to a party like this. As far as they know, I'm just spending the evening hanging out with Shae at Tyler's house. So yeah, this entire night had a lot of potential for disaster.

Shae can clearly see my hesitation, because she grabs my hand, leading me up the walkway, Tyler following closely behind.

"I wonder if Elliot and Alex beat us here?" She says, knocking on the front door.

"I doubt they had anything to do earlier, hell they probably came straight here after school, knowing Alex." I said, laughing.

Our conversation is cut short by the opening door, revealing the familiar black cat.

"Oh, look, the Stephenson kid brought his girlfriend!" Chris exclaimed mockingly, looking back into the house, before peering around my shoulder, "And... Tyler?" He said, inquisitively.

I lean over, blocking Tyler from his line of sight, "Yeah, hey, not dating by the way!" I said. I've known Shae since I first moved to Vestige, around the time I turned five years old, so it wasn't uncommon for rumours to go around that we were dating. I've always thought of her more as a sister, if anything.

"I asked them to come!" Tyler said. That was only partly true, but according to Tyler, they've been 'somewhat-friends' for quite a while now, so saying that would at least mean less mild-harassment from Chris for tonight.

"Oh, uh, okay... come on in! But you're on the hook for any shit they pull, Tyler!" He said, opening the door wider.

---

The party had been going on for a few hours at this point. I could recognize most of the animals here from school, but not enough to actually hold a conversation with any of them, so most of my time here had just been spent with Shae and Tyler. The place hasn't been incredibly crowded luckily, but there were easily about forty others in this part of the house alone. I'm assuming only high school grades were invited, but there were a considerable number of students to meet that requirement. The issue at hand for me, other than how crowded this place is, is that both Shae and Tyler ditched me to go... somewhere? I think Shae saw some of her friends and went somewhere with them, but Tyler was pretty secretive about where he was going, only telling me that he'd be back in a bit. So I've been standing here in this random corner of the house with a drink in hand, trying to make myself look busy and not awkward, which is exactly why I didn't want to go to this party in the first place!

"Jake!" A voice shouted from a ways away.

I turn my head in confusion, revealing Alex, walking towards me from across the room.

"Oh, Alex! Hey! What's up dude!" I finish the last bit of my soda, waving at him. Because this was Chris' party, there was obviously beer too, but I didn't feel like coming home drunk and my parents finding out.

"I didn't think you'd wanna come to something like this! Feeling the regret yet?"

"I like parties! It's the times like these when I'm standing in a corner by myself with nothing to do that I hate, which seems to happen every time I go to a party!" I exclaimed, pausing for a moment. "Okay, maybe I do hate parties- I've had to explain this so many times today I'm about ready to jump into Lake Ambuscade."

' "Wow, sounds like somebody needs to socialize instead of stewing in a corner for the rest of the night!"

"Socialize? Really? I know just about everybody here and just about none of them are worth talking-"

"Hang with me and Elliot, then? Justin set up some racing games in the other room, we were gonna join, but we could use a fourth... You in?" He said, his tone obviously trying to sound coercing.

"God, please, anything to get me out of this corner for the next three hours." I said, Alex returning my words with a laugh.

"Well, come on then! We'll have to hurry if we want to get one of the good controllers!" He exclaimed, motioning to follow him.

As we move through the various cliques, I recognize a few faces here and there, though not enough to actually want to talk to them. There's been music playing since we got here, and I have yet to recognize a single song, they all seem to be some form of drone-y bass-heavy music that I can't say I've heard in any normal situations. I'm doing my best to follow Alex, although he keeps weaving between the other animals faster than I can keep up, resulting in me having to shove past everyone near me in an effort to speed myself up. Luckily, it seems that no one notices me anyway.

When we arrive in the other room, it seems to just be another living room, but decorated with a galore of punk band posters, shelves holding more DVD cases than I would ever care to count, and even a mini-fridge. Maybe Chris is the type to have a 'man cave' or something? Just hearing that phrase almost makes me want to vomit, but there aren't any more accurate words that come to mind. The room isn't massive or anything, but the TV resting upon the wall across the room seems to challenge that idea, looking almost eighty inches in size. Luckily no randoms from the party were in here, sitting about ten feet away from the TV is Elliot, leaning back in a purple bean bag chair that seems almost three times bigger than him, and Justin, the cougar I'd only known slightly through Alex, laying down sideways on the couch directly in front of the gigantic screen.

"Whatttt! You took the bean bag chair? Lameee..." Alex whined.

"You're the one who wanted to go get Jake, you snooze you lose!" Elliot retorted, looking oddly proud of himself.

"Damn, wish I had a room like this at my house..." I mumbled, looking around the room.

"Are we gonna play or what?" Justin said, cutting through the momentary silence.

"Duh!" Alex claimed.

Justin sits up, taking the spot on the couch closest to Elliot. I opt for the leftmost seat, and Alex sits in-between the both of us. Elliot grabs the other three controllers and tosses them over at us, one by one. Luckily, there weren't any garbage third-party controllers, so at least none of us would have to deal with that. I will admit, it did feel kinda weird going to someone's party just to play games away from everybody, but I would be lying if I said I didn't prefer that, even though I rarely play games, if ever.

After Justin turns the console on, he goes through the menus, launching the game. I can't say I recognize the title, but it seems to be a pretty standard racing game. He goes into the custom mode, opting for a four-player split-screen match, choosing 'R1' as the category of cars to race in. As everyone chooses their cars, I scroll through the list, not really knowing what to pick. I've never been good with car stuff, so I pick an 'Aston Martin Lola' just based on the number-rating system the game ranks the cars with.

"You guys ready?" Justin asks.

"Oh yeah, get ready to eat my dust you guys!" Elliot exclaims, challengingly.

"Oddly prideful words for someone about to lose!" Alex replies, laughing.

The countdown begins, as the cameras slowly show the view of each car as it moves to the rear. When it starts, I somehow manage the fuckup of spinning my tires out, leaving me a few seconds behind the others as the car swerves back and forth. I curse under my breath as I try to regain control of the car, and swiftly pick up speed. The track seems like nothing I haven't seen before, a typical professional track, with rows and rows of audience seating to the side. Unfortunately, I'm now in last place. The next few moments of the track are a few quick corners, allowing me the chance to catch up, at least a little.

Unexpectedly, the track turns off of the main road, going into a forested area. The road is considerably more narrow at this point, so it takes a conscious effort to not drive into the trees by the asphalt. It looks like the road stretches on forever, as I still can't make out any upcoming turns. I guess the car I chose for the race had a better top speed than Justin's, as I'm quickly catching up to him, moving into third place. I'm gripping my controller to an uncomfortable degree, but I can't seem to relax the tension as I try to make my way into second place. I don't think I can pick up any more speed in this car, so me moving up is reliant on the road staying straight for just a bit longer. After what feels like a lifetime, the front of my car finally starts making it past Elliot's, then the midsection, and finally, I'm in second. The sound of all four car engines is drowning out any remnants of the video game music, and I feel the sudden urge to curse out whoever turned the TV volume up this high. My eyes are focused entirely on Alex's car as I make my final push into first place. If I were actually driving this fast in the real world, I'd be scared out of my fucking mind. Out of nowhere, Alex, and the others, begins to slow down considerably.

Oh fuck.

It's at that point I notice that there is a sharp right turn rapidly approaching. I've been pushing the top-speed of this car since the beginning of this stretch of road, and now I'm going too quickly to stop in time. What's the button to use the handbrake, again? I figure that the only way for me to not fuck up this race for myself is to try to drift around the corner. Considering I've never played this game before, it's going to prove to be a challenge. But, it's either that, or just ending up in dead-last again.

I hold down the A button, and pull the joystick as far to the right as possible. Suddenly, all I can hear from the game is the loud skidding sounds of my tires against the asphalt. To my surprise, I cut the corner a bit early, now going over the grass. I try to do a bit of directional-corrections and start heading back onto the track. Going over the grass definitely slowed me down a fair bit, but it definitely was a significantly better outcome over just crashing into the wall. And, to my surprise, the corner of my screen reads... first?!?

"How the fuck...?" Alex questions, seemingly in disbelief.

"I wish I could tell you." I replied, eyes wide at whatever the fuck just happened.

The distance I managed to gain on Alex isn't by a whole lot, but there's only about a quarter of the track left before we reach the finish line, so I have a chance at winning this. The track hurriedly changes from the forest as it reenters the main track. The long, straight roads seem to end as the road becomes a slow series of sharp turns, never giving me the opportunity to get back up to speed. It seems like the high top speed was my only advantage, because at every corner we take, I turn my camera around, revealing the other cars inching closer and closer to me.

I can see the finish line on the mini-map, just a few more turns away. I know that I'm not gonna be able to distance myself from Alex and the others at this point, so my only feasible strategy is to keep moving, cutting the corners as fast as I can, and getting to the finish line before they can pass me. Unfortunately, Alex's car seems to be getting too close for comfort now, meaning I might have to take some risks to ensure I can stay in first. As we approach the final turn, leading into the finish line, I realise I'm gonna have to try to drift this corner. I can feel my pointer finger practically cracking the plastic on the controller from the amount of pressure I'm putting on the right trigger. In a final plea to win, I push down on the A button, pulling the handbrake. The car starts to smoothly skid around the corner. Luckily, there are barriers on the sides of the road this time, preventing me from sliding onto the grass. To my surprise, the drift seems to work better than expected. That is, until, like the fucking idiot I am, make a slight overcorrection towards the left barriers as I exit the drift. I managed to avoid driving directly into the wall, but it did slow me down a bit.

Alex is immediately behind me, and I put all of my strength into accelerating towards the finish line. I'd be fucked if I broke the controller, cause I can't really afford the fifty dollars to buy a new one, but winning this race is more important to me at the moment. The finish line is only about five-hundred metres away, and Alex is slowly beginning to pass. All I can do at this point is push the gas as much as I can, and pray that I can cross the finish line before he can get back into first place. The finish line gets closer and closer, and it seems like it's gonna be too close for me to accurately tell the winner. I can feel my heart pounding in my chest from how stressful this fucking game has been, and now, we're about to find out whose efforts paid off. As each car makes its way over the finish line, each of our dedicated sections of the screen turns to slow motion. When it's finally over, the text fades in on each screen, revealing our place...

...

...

...Second?!?

"FUCK!" I shouted, realising I had been holding my breath since the final stretch of the race.

"HA! Dude, you suck!" Alex exclaimed, playfully shoving me.

"I think that was the most effort I've put into anything in my life." I said, setting my controller on the coffee table in front of me.

"Wow, that's dramatic," Justin remarked.

"Yeah, that's the usual for Jake," Elliot replied, laughing.

"You probably woulda won if you picked a better car, dude. That track was way too close-quarters so you should've gone with a car with better acceleration." Alex said.

"Wha- do you own this game?" I questioned, looking accusatory.

"...Yeah? It came out a few months ago, pretty popular right now." He replied.

"Ugh, this is what I get for playing with a bunch of gamers." I exclaimed, applying a disgusted tone to the last word.

"Not my fault you only play like one game a month!" Alex joked.

"Even then, I was like this close to beating you anyway!" I said, gesturing a minuscule distance between my thumb and pointer finger.

A voice interrupts our argument, coming from right outside the room, "Uh huh...

...

Really? That's bullshit! Come on...

...

Dude, give me a couple of days, I'll make it right!

...

Yeah, I swear."

It seems that we all stopped talking to listen in at the same time. "That sounds like Tyler... who's he arguing with?" Elliot asked. I can't make out the voice of whoever he's talking to, it just sounds like mumbling.

They seem to pause for a moment, and the sound of a single set of footsteps can be heard.

"Fuck..." Tyler says to himself, still out of view.

"...I should probably see what's up, you guys can keep playing without me." I say, getting up from my spot on the couch.

"Yeah, you do that! Less competition for me," Alex exclaims, laughing to himself.

"Hey, I can still beat your ass at this game, I know exactly which car to pick this time!" Elliot argued.

"Yeah, right! Guess we'll find out!"

I leave as the three start up another game, kind of glad I don't have to have another near-heart attack from playing again. When I get back into the dimly-lit hallway, Tyler is nowhere to be seen.

I look around, heading into the main room of the house to see if I can spot him. It's pretty difficult to see anything, because of how dim it is here, plus the sheer amount of animals crowding up the place. Despite that, I manage to spot the Grey Wolf a ways away, hurrying quickly into the bathroom.

As I shove my way through a few groups of teens, I almost fall over a few times, gaining confused stares from a few in the room. I lightly knock on the bathroom door, waiting for a response, "Hey, you okay Tyler?" After a few moments, I'm returned with no answer, "...Tyler-" Before I can finish my sentence, Tyler swiftly pulls open the bathroom door, pulling me in and shutting the door behind me, before sitting down on the side of the bathtub. As I'm about to say something, I hear the sound of him sniffling.

...Is he crying?

He's looking towards the floor, so I can't confirm it visually, but the sound definitely gives it away.

"Whoa, what's wrong? Did something happen?" I asked worriedly, not yet choosing to bring up the argument we overheard.

There's a few seconds of silence as he tries to bring himself together, not very successfully. "I- I... I don't- I don't think I can-"

"It's fine, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to," I tried to reassure him. He raises his head for a moment to look at me, trying to find words to say, instead opting to go back to crying, head in his hands. I've never been good with situations like this, so I sit down next to him, putting my hand on his upper back, softly patting.

"I'm sorry- I'm a fucking idiot. I shouldn't have asked you to come."

"Hey! I've been having fun! Don't worry about me, it seems like you're the one who shouldn't have come." I joke, in some effort to lighten the mood.

Shit, was that inconsiderate of me to say?

To my surprise, he manages to let out a light laugh, "Yeah, I'm starting to realise that."

"...Do you wanna leave, then? They know I didn't want to go here in the first place, so you could just say you're being nice and walking me home." I didn't know if he would actually take up that offer, but I know some guys have a weird thing about not wanting to seem 'uncool' and leaving a party early was definitely considered that.

He thinks for a moment, still sniffling pretty noticeably. "...okay, just- give me a minute, I don't want to go out there looking like this." He mumbles, looking towards the door.

"Yeah, that's fine." I said, continuing to rub around his neck area.

This definitely wasn't how I expected the night to go. But it was a sort of 'two-birds-with-one-stone' kind of situation. I get to help out Tyler, which is usually the other way around, I get to leave early, and hopefully Shae stops bugging me about going to parties, at least for a while.

Now that I think about it, that analogy is pretty messed up.

A few silent minutes go by as I sit next to the still-crying Tyler, waiting for him to recollect himself. Even though he hasn't actually said anything here, in the two months I've known him, this is probably the most vulnerable I've ever seen him. When I first met him, it was pretty accurate to describe him as the kind of guy who acts like he never feels emotion. Hell, even I refuse to be open about my feelings, but most of my friends see through that nowadays. Even now, I don't really understand why I do that. I guess it's just easier to not talk about shit like that? Is that why Tyler does it?

"I think I'm good now," He said, shaking his hands as he stood up.

"Okay, let's get out of this dumpster fire." I sarcastically remarked. Tyler shot me a confused look in return. "Whatever, let's just go."

I open the bathroom door, grabbing his arm as I lead him out into the main room. Almost immediately the voice of a certain black cat perks up behind us.

"Oh? And what did you two get up to in there?" Chris remarked, laughing, "I didn't know you guys were THAT kind of friends!"

God damnit. This stupid fucking feline.

"Yeah, it's too loud out here for me, I needed a break, he came with." I explained, Tyler standing closely behind me with a confused look on his face. Just roll with it, dude, I think to myself, knowing I probably shouldn't say that out loud.

"You know, I would believe that, but normal guys actually just go outside when they need a break." He replied.

"Well, hey! That's where we're going right now, so it all checks out!" I say in the bitchiest voice I can muster.

"Heh, sure thing, Jake." He said, sounding weirdly satisfied with himself. I didn't want to spend any more time in this fucking house than I needed to, especially while talking to Chris, so I continue on, pulling Tyler by the hand towards the exit. After a few moments, we make it to the front door. I promptly open it and we both head outside.

We're immediately greeted by the light of the moon and the starry sky as we head down the walkway toward the street. One of the few benefits of living in such a backwater town was the absence of any significant light pollution. I've been to Portland a few times for school field trips and such, and seeing the sheer difference in visible stars was absolutely staggering. I could only imagine what it would be like to go stargazing in the middle of nowhere.

"At least it's a nice night out." I said.

"Yeah..." Tyler replied, his mind clearly in a completely different place.

"I should probably tell Shae where we went, so she doesn't freak out trying to find us back there." I joked, pulling out my cell phone. Texting on my flip phone was an arduous task, but I didn't want to call her, so I had not much of a choice.

I send the text, and close my phone, returning it to my pocket. As we walk down the road, we stew in the silence, the only auditory sounds coming from the party still close by, and the local crickets chirping.

I won't lie, as much as I usually appreciate quiet, this is the loudest silence I've ever been stuck in. It goes on for more than five minutes. I could tell he wanted to say something, and I was eager to find out whatever was going on that started this in the first place. But, like the coward I am, I try to lighten the mood.

"Hopefully that satisfied your quota of me going to parties with you for a while, cause I do not plan on having the energy for something like that again for at least a few months." I said, awkwardly laughing. He doesn't respond, at least for a while, as he raises his hand, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "...Uhh, are you sure you don't wanna talk about it? I mean-"

"Can I tell you something?" He interrupted, his voice still cracking like it was in the bathroom.

"...Sure?" I replied, slightly confused.

"It's just that- I don't really know- like what-"

"-to say? Just think for a minute. No rush." That's what my dad always says whenever my mind spirals. I used to be really anxious, although I've been getting better at controlling my thoughts in the past few years.

When I went to text Shae a few minutes ago, my phone's clock read 9:48 PM. I'm supposed to be home at ten and we're still at least twenty minutes away, not even including the detour we'll take to get to Tyler's place. Which brings me to the realisation that, when we get to his house, I'm gonna have to walk the rest of the way home by myself, in the dark. If I get murdered by some serial killer this late at night I'm gonna fucking haunt Shae from the afterlife-

"I think I'm gay," He quickly says, his voice holding a noticeable increase in energy compared to what I've been used to tonight.

Well... can't say that's exactly what I was expecting. Was I expecting anything in particular? I honestly don't know anymore. His words took me by surprise, my brain is kind of scrambled right now. I look over at him - he's looking back at me, probably trying to gauge my reaction. I did my best to conceal any facial reaction, but it's pretty clear that my lack of a response is starting to become noticeable.

"...You... think?"

"Well, like- I don't know. I guess I've just been thinking for a while, and it makes sense... all things considered." He replied anxiously.

"That- That's great! Does anyone else know?"

"I only really realised a few weeks ago, so... no. But compared to anyone else, I probably trust you the most to not like- tell anyone?" He said, looking over at me again.

"Well, I appreciate the completely undeserved confidence you have in me," I joked, realising too late that now probably isn't the time for that, "Yeah, I promise I won't tell anyone."

"Thank you," He replies, a genuine smile strewn across his face.

A few minutes go by as we walk down the road, absorbing the positive energy we created. Having only known Tyler for a little over two months, it definitely surprised me knowing that he trusted me more than anyone else to keep a secret like that... I mean, despite the short amount of time since I met him, I'm as close to him as I've been to Shaela for the past eight years. Maybe even closer? I barely even tell Shae about my actual problems, at least the non-surface level stuff. So yeah, I guess it makes sense that he would trust me with something so important, I know I would absolutely trust him if it were me in that situation.

"...So, do you think you're gonna tell your dad?"

He didn't say anything for a moment as he stared down at the ground beneath him, "I'll probably have to tell him soon, if he has to find out from some asshole that isn't me it'd make it ten times more difficult than if I just said it myself."

I agreed, and we let the conversation cut itself off as we finally approached Tyler's house. I followed him up the walkway and stood on the patio, making sure he actually got inside. He tries the doorknob eagerly, to no avail. Realising that it was locked, he reaches into his pocket for his key - again, to no avail.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me," Tyler mumbled under his breath, clearly done with tonight. All of the lights were off in the house, signalling that his dad was not awake.

"Maybe you'll wake him up if you knock? Then he can let you in."

"Nonono, he thinks I'm staying at your place! If he finds out I went to a party I'm in deep shit," He whispered.

Of course. If I had to lie to my parents, why would I expect anything different from anyone else?

"Okay, uhh... maybe we can make that lie... not a lie?" I said, sounding weirder than I'd like.

Tyler looked at me, confused for a moment, eyes widening as he realised what I meant, "I can't let you do that, I've already forced you through too much shit tonight."

"Oh, come on, of course you can sleep at my place for the night! My parents think I'm at your house right now, so I can just tell them that we both went over there early in the morning. They love you anyway, so it won't be a problem!"

He didn't move at all, still looking reluctant, "Are you sure it won't be... weird? I don't want to put you in an awkward situation cause of w- what I told you."

"Dude, that couch in my room has a hide-a-bed if you don't want to share mine. Either way, we're friends, aren't we? I trust you."

After a few moments of silence, he speaks up, "...I guess so-"

"Great, then it's settled!" I said, putting my arm around his shoulder as I led him back down the walkway.

---

Once we make it to my place, walk up the creaky wooden steps of my patio as I fish the house key out of my pocket. Tyler's standing closely behind me, looking awkward as ever, clearly not knowing what to do with his hands as he switches between putting them in his pockets and clasping them together.

I turn the key on the lock and try the door, noticing that It's completely pitch black inside the house. My parents usually go to bed at 10 PM, and it was well past that at this point. I lock the door behind us as I reach for my pocket, grabbing my phone and flipping it open to use as a barely-useful flashlight. I take Tyler's wrist as I lead him through the furniture of my living room and up the stairs. The only sounds in the house come from the soft ticking of a clock in the kitchen, the sound of which has always freaked me out whenever I'd come downstairs at three in the morning. Despite my best efforts to be as quiet as possible, the old wooden boards of the stairs prove my effort to be futile as they creak with every step. I can only hope that both of my parents have fallen asleep by now, or else they'd definitely have heard us. As I take Tyler down the hallway, walls strung with various family photos and art fit for a motel, I hear no sounds coming from the master bedroom, relaxing some of my tension.

Once we make it to my room, I breathe a sigh of relief as I turn on the overhead light, hoping my mom doesn't find out and try to lecture me in the morning, "Okay, hide-a-bed or mine, your choice!"

"Hide-a-bed." He replies.

"Sure thing, lemme show you how to set it up," I say as I remove each couch cushion one by one. The couch is sitting directly under my massive bedroom window, illuminated by the glow of the moon. Under the cushions is a black folded-up contraption, bearing a metal handle. I grab the handle and start pulling the bed out from the couch. As the first section of the bed comes out, Tyler stands next to me and helps unfold the second section, and finally the third.

I move over to open the closet door, "I have some spare pillows and blankets in here."

"So, why do you have a spare bed... thingy... in your room anyway?" He asked.

"My cousins' family came to visit from the other side of the country a few years back, so my parents made the cousins stay in my room and gave me our old couch that used to be in the living room. They were here for like two weeks, it was fucking awful," I remarked, pulling a comforter out of the closet and unfolding it out on the mattress.

"That sounds miserable," Tyler sympathized.

"It was, but hey, now I got a sick as fuck couch in my room! And it works as a great place for certain friends to sleep when they wanna spend the night," I said sarcastically, looking over at Tyler as I grabbed the pillows from the closet, tossing them to one end of the bed.

He turned his head, baffled, "Was that a dig on me?" He questioned.

"Depends on how you took it I suppose," I replied, smiling cunningly.

"You're the one who offered, dude- are you sure you didn't drink at the party? You've at least doubled your usual level of sarcasm." He retorted.

"Nope, unless somebody spiked my soda!" I joked, but the realisation slowly set in, "Oh shit- maybe someone spiked my soda?!?"

"Don't freak out, I seriously doubt someone would spike your drink,"

"God, I hope so, if my parents found out I went to that party, that'd be one thing, but if I got drunk? I doubt I'd see the outside world for months," I sighed.

"Even if you were drunk, it's not like you would still be drunk in the morning for them to find out, anyway."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," I said, letting out a yawn shortly thereafter. "Fuck, I didn't realise how tired I am." Looking at my alarm clock, it was 10:37 PM. That wasn't terribly late, I've definitely stayed up later when there was an assignment due the next day that I forgot about, but even before I met up with Alex and Elliot, that party was just wearing me down. "At least I can sleep in 'till like noon tomorrow. You sure you don't need anything before I pass out from exhaustion?"

"No, I'm okay, I think. And, thank you... Jake." He replied, smiling at me.

"No problem, dude!" I quietly exclaimed as I turned off the bedroom lights and hopped into bed. I can practically feel my muscles dissolve as I lean into the mattress, pulling the heavy blankets over me as I close my eyes.

I can't help but feel something itching in the back of my brain. I never did find out why Tyler was even crying back at the party. Was it related to what he told me after? He sounded pretty upset when he was talking to whoever it was in the hallway, too, so maybe that was why? We've already talked about so much shit tonight, though, and I definitely did not have the energy to have another huge conversation about something like that. It could definitely wait until tomorrow.

Soon, I feel my consciousness drift away, the only sound I can make out being the slow breathing of Tyler, across the room.

---

As I wake up, I'm blinded by the bright sun shining in through my windows, directly into my eyes. I glance over at my alarm clock, feeling incredibly groggy and sore, noticing that it's 11:13 AM. Usually, the latest I'd sleep in on weekends was only around ten, but I guess it took a lot of my energy yesterday to try to tune the party out. At least it's over.

I slowly sit up, yawning as I lean back against the bed frame. I glanced around the room, noticing that the hide-a-bed had been folded back into the couch, Tyler nowhere to be seen. I reach over to my bedside table to check my phone, finding an unread text from him, sent a few hours ago.

Tyler: hey

woke up early, figured youd want 2 sleep in.

will call u later, might have somthin big i wanna share, will see

A pair of oddly cryptic messages. Guess that confirms he isn't here anymore.

At least it was a Saturday, meaning that I had full permission to be a slob. I get out of bed, deciding to skip my usual shower until after breakfast. Other than the snacks that were out at the party, I ate practically nothing last night. I could almost feel my stomach turning itself inside out, so I hurried out of my room and downstairs to the kitchen to have some breakfast.

The first thing I notice when I get downstairs is my mom, sitting on the couch with a book. I head straight to the kitchen, trying not to make myself stand out.

"Jake! Finally woken up, I see." She remarked, still looking at her book.

"Hey, mom!" There's a moment of silence as I grab a bowl out of the cupboard, as well as a box of cereal, and begin to pour.

She speaks up, "Your friend, Tyler, seemed to be in a hurry to leave this morning, anything I should know about?"

"...Not that I know of? Like what?" I questioned as I poured some milk from the fridge, grabbed a spoon, and sat at the kitchen counter.

"Well, it's not like we didn't notice that you weren't home by ten like your father asked you to be, so obviously you must have a good excuse for why you didn't at least call to let us know you'd be late?" She replied. I could tell when she started talking all responsible-parent-like, it meant that she was gonna lecture me about something.

I sighed, thinking of the right thing to say. "...Well, Tyler was going through some things... so I was trying to help him with that, I guess. Time just kinda flew by and I wasn't able to get home 'till later."

"So he spent the night here? Weren't you at his house?" She asked as I ate a spoonful of cereal.

"Yeah... we went out for a bit and once I noticed how late it was I offered to let him spend the night at our house since it was closer," I said. Almost entirely a lie, but definitely preferable to the truth.

"Jake..." She said, setting her book down on the coffee table in front of the couch, walking over to me, and resting a hand on my shoulder. "You're sixteen now, obviously we don't expect you to tell us everything you're up to nowadays. But we worry about you! I worry about you. Just for future reference, please let us know if you're gonna be home late or anything like that."

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind," I said, looking up at her.

"Great! Now, I have to go meet a friend for lunch, please try not to burn the house down while I'm out!" She said as she grabbed her purse and keys off of the counter, hurring out the door.

"No promises, love you!" I said as she closed the door behind her.

Well, I guess that went... better than expected? I doubt she believed that story I made up, but I guess as long as I don't break curfew without telling them, I should be fine.

Having the house to myself wasn't totally uncommon. Considering my dad was gone during the day five days a week, and my mom would head out to go meet friends or run errands pretty often, I got some much needed alone time often enough to not go mad.

As I finish my bowl of cereal, I realise that I probably should go shower as soon as possible, considering the night I had. I put my bowl and spoon in the dishwasher and head back upstairs. I grab a towel from my room and head into the bathroom, grabbing my various fur care products out of the cabinet for after the shower. As I turn the shower on, I hear the sound of my ringtone going off in the pocket of my pants on the floor. I sigh annoyedly, walking over and trying to figure out which pocket my phone was in. When I flip open the phone, the Caller ID reads out Tyler's name.

"Tyler! What's up?" I ask eagerly, hoping to find out what the news he cryptically texted about was.

"Jake- fuck, I messed up, I shouldn't have- what am I gonna do?" He said anxiously, sounding almost out of breath.

"Hey! Slow down, what's wrong?" I questioned.

"I'm such a fucking idiot! Why did I think this would be a good idea? Jake, I'm so sorry-"

"Tyler! Calm. Down. Just take a few deep breaths," I said. After a few moments, I can hear his breathing steadying on the other side of the call. "Okay, good. Now, what's wrong?"

There's a short pause as he tries to find the right words to say. It sounds like he's been crying. What even the fuck has been the past twenty-four hours?

"Can- do you think I could crash at y- your place for a few more nights? I don't know what to do."

[heuristicallyinclined]

MallekWeek2020 Day 1 Writing Prompt

Day 1: What happened after Mallek's Friendsim route

(AO3)

If someone told you you would be spending your evening on the less dirty side of a couch belonging to a guy who genuinely thought you were a robot when he met you, you probably would have absolutely believed it. Honestly, you might have felt some relief knowing you would get a break from the usual life-threatening antics. Things might have started out weird, but chilling on someone’s couch was a nice change of pace. Even if there is a giant snake staring at you from across the room, seemingly unblinking. Can snakes blink? Do alien snakes blink? You don’t think this one does at least. You hope Mallek comes back soon.

The two of you had gone for a dip in some sewer water, willingly and otherwise, and had come back up to his apartment to get cleaned up. He offered to let you shower first since he did push you. You let him know you weren’t holding a grudge or anything, but he insisted. You did get a much needed change of clothes out of it though, so that was nice. You offered to see yourself out after your shower, not wanting to overstay your welcome, but he said it was cool. You are now wondering if he was just saying that to be polite. You mean, other people haven’t had much of a problem telling you to fuck off, but you think you are really feeling a friendship from him and you don’t want to risk it losing it because you can’t take a hint. You guess it is too late now, since while you were weighing your option, he enters the room.

Mallek plops down next to you on the couch and you look up at him and give him a friendly smile. You thank him again for being cool about the whole robot and palmhusk in the water thing, but he stops you.

“dude; its cool; you already apologized; were good;”

You relax a bit more at the reaffirmation. People have done worse for less and he felt bad enough to make it up to you. Maybe you are just waiting for the other shoe to drop?

“anyways; im hungry and am getting delivery; what do you want;”

Wait you’re getting fed? Oh he doesn’t have to do that and you don’t have anything to chip in right now an-

“i didnt really expect you to have money; im buying;”

You don’t have to do that, you’re good, you even ate today!

He shoots you a look of concern. Maybe you saying it like that was less than reassuring that you’re “good.”

“im not just going to eat in front of you; come on; plus my original plans fell through;”

You’re about to ask what when he nudges you with an easygoing smile. Oh, he was probably hoping to mess with a robot.

“here; what sounds good to you; i pulled up grubhub;”

What.

“oh yeah you = alien; you can get food off of it; here;”

He shows you his palmhusk and you scoot closer to see the screen. What the actual fuck. How is this a universal constant? Like you know they have a kind of bug theme going on and slap the word grub on things in ways you don’t really get. This still is a lot for you though. He is explaining it to you and you stop him. You fill him in. He chuckles and seems to be amused by this.

“that = weird dude; how about the food;”

Nope, the food is still eluding you. Some stuff seems to have Earthen equivalents and just have bugs or grubs on them or something. Others you have no idea what to make of. He can get whatever he thinks is good and you’re cool with getting whatever he is gets. He puts an order in.

“sure; but grubs = the best part;”

You disagree.

He laughs, “dibs on yours then;”

They’re all his.

You smile at him and it feels easy to do. You ask what you two are doing until then.

“how about a movie; = you cool with that”

Sure!

Okay, you are actually really pumped about this. A movie night with some delivery? That sounds like a really fun night. This is something actually you want to do, instead of just getting through to try to be his friend. You tell him to choose whatever, you haven’t seen anything other than a few romcoms anyways. Plus, him asking you to choose between two movies would take him ten minutes just to get through the titles. He chuckles at this and starts flipping through titles.

“do you like action movies;”

Yeah.

“how about bad ones;”

Like a really cheesy movie?

“yeah;”

Sounds fun. But you haven’t seen a lot of Alternian media, so whatever he picks is going to inform your opinion of his species. No pressure.

You hope he gets that this is a joke. Joking has felt easy to do with him so far and you want to keep doing it. You would hate to ruin it by saying the wrong thing and having him tell you to get out. By the way he is laughing though, he seems to appreciate it.

He grins at you, “okay; then this is going to be accurate as hell; enjoy;”

You’re ready for it.

Except you aren’t because there is a knock on the door. Mallek starts to get up, but you tell him you can at least grab it for him since he ordered it. You bound up to the door and open it with a delivery guy reading off the order for you to confirm. You realize you don’t know what Mallek ordered and the delivery guy looks up when you don’t answer. You also then realize he wasn’t expecting to see an alien answering a highblood’s door, based off of how he was looking at you. To his credit, he doesn’t drop the food. You just just grab it and thank him, basically slamming the door in his face with mild panic. You turn around and Mallek is there. You two look at each other and he doubles over. His laughter is contagious and soon you are too. You eventually collect yourself.

You feel bad, you know the poor guy doesn’t get paid enough for that.

“hes fine; does everyone do that when they see you;”

Depends on if they’re looking for a robot or not.

He chuckles and shakes his head. You settle back onto the couch with him with some plates and pop the box open. You see what looks like a very creative interpretation of pizza covered in mostly plants. And grubs. Cool. You grab a slice and start picking them off. It tastes good, not what you were expecting, but not bad. You grab another slice.

“how = it;”

You let him know you like it.

“enough to try it with grubs;”

Absolutely not.

He grabs one of the ones you picked off of your plate and into his mouth, “suit yourself;”

The two of you get back to watching the movie and you get comfortable. It has so many explosions and unrealistic combat scenes. Which you feel you now have the authority to judge based off what you’ve seen with Skyyla, Remele, Konyyl, Azdaja, and wow actually this is a concerning amount of violence you’ve seen. Hope that doesn’t have any long term consequences.

The acting is also just so bad. Like you know very little about quadrants, but based off of that and how prickly trolls can be, this is forced as hell. They have no chemistry in a love or hate way. God Polypa would be having a field day with this one. The characters are just. A lot. Some douchey main, secondary buddy dude, the veteran, romantic lead. There are so many cliches and you are having fun hating it, wait, did you just accidentally understand kissmesitude? Because of this shitty movie? Damn it.

There is one hacker character who does tech stuff for the leads. He uses a bunch of technical sounding jargon that you suspect means nothing based off of how Mallek is rolling his eyes. You don’t feel too bad interrupting the riveting dialogue.

So did any of that mean anything?

“fuck no; none of that made sense;”

You continue watching it, curling up fully on the couch now. More explosions and fight scenes. You wonder if humans and trolls have more in common than you originally thought just because of how you share so many tropes, just spun a bit differently. The hacker character utters, “I’m in,” and you can’t help it and smirk.

That’s you.

“that = me; you = right;”

This is easy and you like it, Just dumb side commentary during dumb movies.

Seriously, have you ever hacked anything and said “I’m in”?

“no;” he pauses and smiles at you, “but i have thought it;”

You wouldn’t be a real information specialist if you didn’t.

You grab another slice and immediately put the grubs on Mallek’s plate. The hero saves the day and triumphs doing some backflips off of a burning building. The buddy makes a joke that falls flat. The two kiss. Everyone is happy and the credits roll.

You look over at Mallek, sprawled out on the couch, legs on top of yours. He seems to always keep up a cool demeanor, but this is probably the first time you’ve seen him be genuinely relaxed. You wish you could be that relaxed, you were having fun, you really were, but the movie was over now and you didn’t know where that left you. As reluctant as you are to break the silence, you do.

So the movie is done now, do you want me to help clean up before I go?

“it = getting late; do you want to go;”

You hope you aren’t reading too far into this but you think he maybe doesn’t want you to leave yet.

You were down to watch another one if he was.

“Sweet; i =”

You were actually having a lot of fun.

He raises an eyebrow at you when you make this admission.

“Actually;”

Wait, by that you me-

“im just messing with you; yeah; i havent had a movie day with friends in a while; it = nice;”

He said friend! You were beaming at him. He returned the look albeit more tiredly.

“= you ready for the next one;”

You nodded and he pressed play.

[softforcal]

Wild One : Prince!Luke

Summary: Prince AU in a reality where it’s modern but there are lots royal families ruling over small kingdoms. Luke is a flamboyant Prince with a reputation for being wild and a dick to everyone he meets. you’re a Princess and your families want you and Prince Luke to pretend to be in a relationship to make his reputation better with his impending coronation. this is practically princess diaries 2 fam. (Harry Styles makes a cameo because im a slut)

Warnings: okay so there are 4 or 5 steamy scenes. they’re each different but this is smut so: choking, spanking, dom Luke, a tad breeding kink, that sort of thing. slow burn, angst. 

Word count: 14.5k

Note: this is a personal attack on @glitterprincelu. also, every link in this fic is for the same video because i am a hoe for it. 

Here’s a taste so you know what you’re getting into:

Luke forced a similar smile, “you’re right sweetheart, i might be, but i’m sure you’ve heard other things, havent you?” his eyes bore into yours and you fidgeted in your seat slightly, “yes darling you know exactly what i’m talking about.” his voice lowered to something near a growl, “well let me make things clear for you. i’m a sex god. i fuck who i want, when i want, and the girls are grateful to have even a moment of my attention. they beg for it. my room had to be sound proofed so my name wouldn't ring through the hallways every night. the girls who i haven’t fucked, would give anything to have a chance at me and the one’s who have? well they would kill to have me again because the rumours are true baby, i’m that good.” your smile faltered slightly and Luke’s widened, “so if you’re going to talk about what you’ve heard of me, don’t cherry pick darling, you’ll be sorry if you do.”

-----------------------

It was two in the afternoon by the time Luke entered the palace, waltzing past the security as he dropped his large fur jacket on the ground, taking off his sunglasses and throwing them, there were always more where that came from.

“Luke!” His mother called as he began walking up the stairs to his room, “I need to talk to you.”

Luke stopped and let out a loud groan, “can’t it wait till later?”

The look his mother gave him said no as he sighed and followed her into the large living room area, flopping his long body onto a couch so he could kick off his gold boots and rub at his eyes, hands coming back speckled in sparkles. 

splayed across the coffee table were tabloids. “this one’s new.” Luke grinned, picking up a magazine that showed him leaving the club with his arms around two models, a birthday hat on his head and his shirt missing, “they believed me when i said it was my birthday.”

“i’m sure that’s not true.” His mother sighed, eyes going down to the magazine covers as a look of distaste flashed across her face, “you’ve made quite a spectacle of yourself this month Luke.”

“been having fun.” he shrugged, tossing the magazine down as he studied the other covers.

The one from the month before when his buddy, ‘Prince Daddy Ashton’ as all the ladies call him, bought a yacht and proceeded to throw a week long rager on board. someone had leaked a picture of Luke wearing a captain’s hat and spraying two bottles of champagne all over a crowd of girls in bikinis.

then, of course, there was the cover that showed him in his beautiful golden crown and red cape getting a blowjob. that one had taught Luke that open windows were not a good idea when he had ladies over, it had also significantly tightened the on-ground security measures. it had been quite the scandal and no matter how many times Luke insisted that it was a one time thing and the girl had suggested it, people didn’t believe him.

Not that he cared at all. Luke was confident in himself and his life style. Being young, beautiful, filthy rich and royal had its perks.

“Do i need to worry about a new cover tomorrow? i’m sure your escapade last night was less than discrete.” his mother sighed.

Luke shrugged, “it was pretty tame.” he rubbed at his eyes again, more glitter transferring to his hand.

“your neck says otherwise my love.” 

Luke laughed, “shit, forgot about that.” a small sound of movement drew his blue eyes to the door as a maid walked in, “you, whiskey, neat.” he said, snapping his fingers.

“he’ll have coffee.” his mother interjected, smiling nicely at the maid who scurried away.

Luke groaned loudly, “what do you want with me mother.” he only ever called her mother when he was hung over, which had been happening more and more frequently as of late, “i’m tired.”

“Your father is stepping down at the end of the year.” she stated.

“pfff.” Luke rolled his eyes, “as if.”

“I’m not joking Luke.”

“well what does this have to do with me, i’m sure Ben is ecstatic, he’ll finally be king-” 

“Ben won’t be king, he did not score highest on the aptitude test.” Luke’s mother sighed.

the Aptitude Test. Luke hated it. some dumb test to see if a royal would be fit to rule. Every royal was forced to take the test at age eighteen. in families like Luke’s with multiple children under a King and Queen, whichever child scored highest would become ruler upon the parent’s retirement. upon initial retirement request by the king or queen, the test scores of the children would be revealed to the royal family to allow coronation preparation. 

“well, then Jack-” Luke began, eye brows furrowing in confusion.

“you scored the highest.” Luke’s mother interrupted.

Luke laughed, “that’s impossible. I can’t be king-”

“you will be king.” His mother stated.

Never in the history of the aptitude test had a child who scored highest not become ruler. the aptitude test was law, the most important royal law.

But Luke had lived his entire life knowing he would never be king. 

It was like all the air had been knocked out of his lungs as Luke doubled over, feet planting firmly on the ground as he ran his fingers through his hair, “fuck.”

“i wish this wasn’t the case, it’s less than ideal.” his mother began, “but we have to adapt. we have a few months to change your image so when the coronation is finally announced and it is revealed that you will be king, people won’t be as opposed to it.”

Luke began searching his pockets for his flask and he let out a sigh of relief when he found it, opening it to put it to his lips before his mother grabbed it and pulled it away, “for starters, no more drinking.”

“you’ve got to be fucking me.”

“no more swearing.”

“but-”

“no more but’s, Luke.” she said, reaching over and lifting the summoning bell she rang it twice and a group of people came with stacks of folders.

Luke recognized the Public Relations team, they’d tried to micromanage him when he turned the legal drinking age but had given up long ago.

“what the fuc-”

“Luke.”

“what the heck is going on?” Luke corrected himself with a groan as someone handed him the folders.

“we think it’s best if you’re seen with a steady woman. someone proper who can keep you on a tight leash.” his mother explained, “in these folders are details on all of the Princesses who would be suitable-”

“thought you were a Queen not a pimp.”

“Luke.” his mother said sternly.

“i can’t say pimp now?” Luke asked, opening one of the folders.

His mother stood, “just, look through the folders Luke. we need a decision by tonight.”

----

Luke groaned as he rolled around in his silk sheets, grabbing at the plush fur blanket before sitting up and feeling around for his phone. He messaged the kitchen staff, telling them what he wanted for dinner to be delivered to his room.

his eyes went to the stack of folders splayed out on the foot of his bed and he groaned, opening one. he recognized the first Princess, even met her once or twice but she was always looking down at him. he threw her folder on the ground, grabbing the next one.

the folders described basic information, likes, dislikes, that sort of thing. if they seemed okay, Luke would look the Princess up on instagram and scroll through their posts.

his dinner arrived and he ate it while looking through the rest of the folders. the last one he picked up said your name on it. he’d heard of you before and when he opened your folder he knew why, you were beautiful. he’d heard of you from a few of his buddies. Ashton was always trying to flirt with you and even Cal and Michael agreed that you were super cool but none of them had managed to woo you.

it was a no brainer for Luke in that moment. he threw on a long red silk robe and pulled his hair back into a messy bun, grabbing your folder and leaving his room.

Luke’s first stop was the kitchen where he grabbed a bottle of whiskey and poured himself a glass, then he went off to find his mother. she was in her office, as usual.

her eyes went to his hands, the chipped red nail polish and the long, once pianist fingers, holding the glass of whiskey. but if there was anything Luke’s mother knew, it was when to pick her battles and this was not one worth picking.

he tossed the folder onto her desk and took a seat across from her, taking a sip of his drink and grinning at the burn that seared through his throat.  

his mother opened the folder and looked up at Luke, “good choice.” she said, “i’ll contact her family and see if we can make this work.”

---

It had been a long week for Luke. His mother had enforced a house arrest on Luke, especially after he made headlines yet again with a picture of a girl straddling him in the club and sucking on his neck. 

the PR team had extensively briefed him on all the rules of the ‘relationship’. what he could do and not do.

he was allowed one shot, no more than one, per two hours with a maximum of five shots a day spread out over ten hours if absolutely necessary.

one beer equals one shot, same restrictions applied.

no drugs. except cigarettes but only in specially designated areas on palace grounds where no one could get a picture, and only two per day.

the two of you would go on two public dates in the first week, three on the second, with a steady rate of two to four public appearances each week.

“what about sex?” Luke had asked.

“if you must, invite girls to the palace but there will be absolutely no interaction with any woman but Y/N in public. and any girl you bring over has to sign a confidentiality agreement upon entering the palace, through the back gate.” 

“brilliant, so you’re cock blocking me too.”

“just get them to sign the confidentiality form.” the PR head said, sliding Luke a folder full of official looking documents, each with their own area for a different signature.

“Y/N will be staying at the five star hotel down the street for the entirety of the relationship. prior to each date you will be given information on the restaurants or outings you two will be doing, as well as an itinerary. body guards will accompany you everywhere you go and they are instructed to keep you away from all the before mentioned vices that you are accustomed to.” 

“and one final thing Prince Luke, we have assigned you a stylist-”

“i can dress myself.” Luke stated.

“Prince Luke-”

“i said, i can freaking dress myself, thank you very much.” and with that, he left the room to go get ready for his ‘date.’

---

Luke’s black boot tapped against the white marble floor as he fidgeted with the legacy ring on his thumb before running a hand through his wild tangle of golden curls. dressed in black suit pants and a black silk button up, Luke didn’t feel entirely out of place with the five star restaurant he was sitting in. 

okay, maybe the choker was an extra, unnecessary touch, but if his mother was able to draw the line at glitter highlighter on the first date, then he’d be damned if he showed up without something to stand out with. 

the sound of heels on marble drew his attention up as you entered the restaurant, a waiter showing you over to the table. 

you looked ravishing. dressed in a beautiful silky dress that hugged all the right curves, Luke’s eyes immediately began undressing you. he stood abruptly, his awkwardly long legs almost knocking over the table as he muttered “fuck” but composed himself so he could open his arms for a hug.

you grinned brilliantly as you tucked into his arms, fitting perfectly. 

Luke allowed himself to relish in the feeling for a moment before pulling away and motioning for you to sit down.

he sat across from you, “if i didn’t know better, i would think you’re actually happy to be here.” he stated.

you smiled, “all for the pictures darling.”

“so i’m Luke.”

“Y/N. you signed the contract?”

“yeah. you?”

“yup.”

“what are you getting out of this?” he asked, lifting up a menu, eyes scanning over it.

“well, i can only assume that because of your need for a public imagine cleansing, it’s likely that when your father retires, which im guessing is soon... it seems like you won the aptitude test.” you answered, not looking up at him as you scanned the menu.

you had the whole thing figured out and Luke laughed, “you’re smart. your folder didn’t say you were smart.”

you let out a beautiful laugh that rang through the restaurant, drawing eyes as people admired the two beautiful royals at dinner. “bet there’s a lot of things my folder didn’t say.”

“good point.” Luke snapped his fingers which drew your attention as a waiter scurried over, “we’ll have your best bottle of wine.” he stated.

“very good sir, anything else?”

“the wine will be fine for now.” you answered before Luke could say anything else.

as the waiter scurried away Luke grinned sheepishly, “wine is something civilized people drink right?”

“oh definitely.” you said sarcastically, “your folder left out the part about you snapping your fingers to get people’s attention.”

“someone made a folder about me?” Luke burst out laughing, “what else did it say?”

“nothing good.” you answered, “now, if we’re going to be seen together, you can’t snap your fingers to get what you want anymore. i won’t have it.”

Luke’s eyes narrowed at you. one date in and you were already making rules. rules on top of the rules he already had. and Luke did not like it. not one bit. “fine. if you don’t want me to snap my fingers then you have to wave down the help.”

“wow, you really are the pompous, arrogant, mama’s boy everyone says you are.” your words cut like knives but the beautiful smile remained fixed on your face.

Luke forced a similar smile, “you’re right sweetheart, i might be, but i’m sure you’ve heard other things, havent you?” his eyes bore into yours and you fidgeted in your seat slightly, “yes darling you know exactly what i’m talking about.” his voice lowered to something near a growl, “well let me make things clear for you. i’m a sex god. i fuck who i want, when i want, and the girls are grateful to have even a moment of my attention. they beg for it. my room had to be sound proofed so my name wouldn't ring through the hallways every night. the girls who i haven’t fucked, would give anything to have a chance at me and the one’s who have? well they would kill to have me again because the rumours are true baby, i’m that good.” your smile faltered slightly and Luke’s widened, “so if you’re going to talk about what you’ve heard of me, don’t cherry pick darling, you’ll be sorry if you do.”

you could feel your heart pounding in your chest as your eyes flickered over the gorgeous blondes face, you opened your mouth to say something when the waiter came back with the wine.

he showed you the bottle and poured you each a modest class before setting the bottle in the middle of the table, “have you two decided on dinner?”

Luke ordered the most expensive thing on the menu, specifying a bunch of different alterations on it before the waiter turned to you and accepted your order as well. 

meanwhile, Luke swirled his wine around before drinking the entire thing, setting his glass down and filling it again.

as the waiter left, you sighed, “i thought your contract specified your alcohol intake.”

“mentioned beer and shots but not wine.” he answered. great, so the whole ‘wine is what civilized people drink’ was fake. 

He swirled his wine around and you watched him, thinking about the way your heart was still beating in your chest like you’d just run a marathon.

He was right. You had heard about him. You’d heard about the orgies and the threesomes, his extravagant sexual antics that always somehow ended up in the news. you’d heard about the models and the movie stars, the songs written about him. 

One of the songs was a bop about ‘the golden haired diva’ and it had been obvious who it was about, especially when the artist won an award for it and thanked the Prince, who had been sitting in the audience with his arms around two different pop singers and just grinned when the camera panned to him.

he was the world’s favourite rich, bad boy.

and sitting there in that restaurant you saw the allure. part of you wanted to do something, anything, that would get him to speak to you in that low voice again. part of you wanted to see what would happen if you asked him to join you at your hotel later. but the part of you that grew up a Princess knew how to keep composure as you set your hands in front of you, interlocking your fingers.

“we should think of something to talk about.” you suggested, “after all, we have to be together for a few months.”

“tell me some secrets.” he suggested, sipping his wine.

“like what?” you laughed.

“dirty secrets.” he grinned at you over the rim of his glass, “a girl who looks like you can’t be as prim and proper as you seem, something tells me you’re into some dirty shit, aren't you babe?.”

you sighed, maintaining your smile, “wasn’t ‘no swearing’ on your contract?”

“didn’t answer the question darling.”

you reached out and grabbed your wine, taking a sip to hopefully loosen up a bit, “this is good,” you noted, setting it down, you rested your face on your hand, looking at the beautiful boy in front of you.

this was one of those moments. you could either choose to let loose and break the ice, answer all his dirty questions, or you could put up a wall and make life more difficult for both of you. 

“why don’t you tell me what you think I like?” you suggested, cocking your head at him with a grin.

he studied your red lips. the way they matched your beautiful red dress. hell, even your nails matched. you were an absolute vision. and there was this big expanse of space between the two of you: the table. 

Luke had never had to hold himself back before. girls were always throwing themselves at him, never keeping themselves at a distance. you were unattainable and part of it made him want you like nothing he’d ever wanted in his life. his eyes trailed down to your collarbones and the way the dress accentuated your cleavage, moving slightly up and down with each breath.

he set down his wine and leaned forward, voice dipping low again, “tell me when i’m getting close, Princess. you like a guy who can rough you up a little, someone not afraid to take charge, when you’re in the frisky mood, a little bit of choking, nothing too extreme, but i think that’s just because you’ve never met the right guy who could introduce you to the darker side of sex, the fun side.”

“and you’re that guy?”

Luke leaned back in his chair, stretching his legs out so one of his feet brushed yours under the table, he shrugged, “i am, but something tells me you don’t have the guts to fully let loose and i’m not down to share control so unless you’re one hundred percent ready to submit completely, it’s not worth my time.”

what a fucking dick. he’s gorgeous, but wow.

“oh yeah? well how about i analyze you and we’ll see how much you like it?” you asked, “you like control because you have a constant need to prove yourself. you grew up the youngest of three children and you never thought you’d be good enough so you made sure you could be the best at things that are important to other people, so... sex. but you don’t want anyone to question you ever. you only go for girls who are submissive because they won’t talk back and hurt your fragile ego.”

Luke rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest but you continued.

“you’re a mama’s boy and everything has been handed to you your entire life. girls throw themselves and are easy because you’re cute and have money so you’ve never had to actually work for anything, which means, any girl who isn’t ‘one hundred percent ready to submit completely’ is probably effort and you don’t know what effort even is which scares the shit out of you. because you don’t think you’d actually be able to get a girl not already falling head over heals for you.” you grinned as he narrowed his eyes at you, “aw, was that too close to home for you baby?”

he was eerily still for a few moments before he downed his glass of wine and stood, “i’ll be back.” he stated, turning and heading off in the direction of the bathroom.

you had been harsh. but he had suggested you weren’t worth his time. And you had been warned that he was an asshole with no experience with female royals, no strong women to contend against him.

the waiter returned with your food and you realized Luke had been gone a while. you sighed, motioning the waiter over, “Hello, i’m so sorry, my friend was feeling a little sick, I’m just going to go check on him, I’ll be right back.”

“of course Princess Y/N.” the waiter smiled, “the bathroom is this way.”

he led you to the mens room and you thanked him before opening the door and peering in. it was a posh, five star restaurant, which meant that they had a full on couch and fireplace in the bathroom.

Luke was sitting on the couch with his phone in one hand and a cigarette in the other. “your food came out.” you stated, drawing his attention from his phone.

“men’s room darling, you can’t be in here.” He said absentmindedly.

“we can get the food to go but we need to be seen leaving together.” you explained.

he stood up abruptly and approached you as you stepped back and bumped into the closed door, you realized how tall he was. towering over you, even while you were in heals. his shoulders broad and the first few buttons of his black silk shirt undone, exposing the tiniest bit of chest hair that worked to make him more manly in an almost animalistic way. a choker wrapped around his neck that drew attention his chiseled jaw, just slightly covered in golden stubble. 

he stepped closer and you bit at your lip, wondering what he would do. he leaned in, and you held your breath, “you’re blocking the door.” he said, his breath brushing over your skin and causing goose bumps to appear as he stepped back and allowed you to move out of his way.

He opened the door and grabbed your hand, lacing his fingers with yours as he pulled you out of the bathroom. everyone in the restaurant watched the two of you head back to your seats and you sighed, this was not a good start to his public image. 

Luke even pulled out your chair for you as you sat down before going back to his own. You both ate in silence and the waiter cleared your plates, “would you like a dessert menu tonight?”

“Yes.” Luke answered.

“thank you.” you said, eying Luke as the waiter left.

“dessert?” you asked.

“it will look good on camera if we share a dessert.” he stated.

even you couldn’t argue with that. The waiter brought back the menu and Luke handed it to you, “choose whatever you want.”

you sighed loudly as you looked at the menu, choosing something then handing the menu back to the waiter who left again.

your eyes went to Luke’s hands, fingers playing with the stem of his glass. “you should have a professional do your nails sometime. they won’t chip as easily.”

“i like it when they chip. it’s edgy. goes with my look.” 

he just sat there and stared at you and you met his gaze, refusing to back down or apologize. you both stayed like that until the dessert was placed between the two of you.

Luke picked up a spoon, taking a small piece and holding it out to you, “wanna taste?”

you forced a smile, leaning across the table (something that you were fully aware gave him a beautiful view of your cleavage that was practically popping out of your dress) your lips closed around the spoon as you accepted him feeding you. 

he watched your pretty lips on the spoon and he felt his already tight pants getting tighter as he grinned and pulled the spoon away.

Luke took a scoop for himself and put the spoon in his own mouth, sucking everything off while staring directly at you. there was something so oddly erotic about it. 

you felt your skin flush as you looked down, not wanting to meet his eyes anymore. 

you reached for your spoon but Luke grabbed it before you could, he made a tutting sound at you, “not a chance Princess.”

“seriously?” you asked, “you’re going to hand feed me this entire thing?”

“uh huh.” 

Luke knew it wasn't a good idea. he knew you were already driving him wild. he knew that if he continued down this path... well, blue balls were not on Luke’s list of top favourite things. but he could see the way it was affecting you too, and he’d be damned if he gave up on the satisfaction of that. 

-----

Luke leaned down and kissed the first girl as the second one finished signing the consent form. as she set down the pen, Luke turned to the second one, kissing her as well before ushering them out the door to where a guard would escort them off the property, he gave girl number one a final pat on the bum and a cheeky grin, ignoring his PR assistant’s disgusted face.

that’s when his phone rang. Luke padded down the marble hallway, answering the call, “sup?”

“have you seen the magazines?”

“no Ash, i just woke up.” Luke said, yawning loudly and putting his phone on speaker so he could hear better.

“you’re all over the cover.” Ashton stated, “you and Y/N. I didn’t know the two of you were seeing each other.”

Luke stopped walking, turning to look at his PR assistant who was following him like a puppy. in that moment, Luke could honestly not remember whether or not he was allowed to tell his friends.

the PR Assistant began to shake his head but Luke said: “yeah. i went out with Y/N yesterday.”

“and you fed her dessert.” Ashton interjected, “please tell me she put out for you.”

Luke’s gaze went to his assistant who was shaking his head vigorously, “uhhh... no?”

“you don’t sound too certain bro, how drunk were you?” Ashton laughed.

“uhhh....” Luke focused on reading his assistants lips but sighed, “wasn’t drunk. it was just a date.”

“there’s a picture of you leaving the bathroom together, i gotta be honest, i never pegged Y/N for a public sex kind of girl.”

“she’s not.” Luke answered immediately and his assistant let out a sigh of relief, at least he got that response correct, “Look, Ash, it’s not a big deal.”

“well when are you bringing her out for boys night?”

Luke opened his mouth when his assistant started vigorously shaking his head and making an ‘X’ sign with his arms and Luke sighed, remembering the ‘no partying’ part of the contract, “there’s a lot going on right now.” he said as his assistant typed out something for him to read, Luke’s eyes scanned the words as he read them out loud “and i’m trying to focus on this new relationship, so I might not see you for a while.” Luke rolled his eyes at his assistant. 

“pfff, lame, are you bringing her to the gala next month?”

Luke’s assistant nodded, “uh, yes.”

“cool, see you there mate. great job.” the line went dead.

“Prince Luke, the nature of this relationship being PR can only be known to those signing a contract but due to the nature of Prince Ashton’s place in society i find it unadvisable to tell him or anyone else of his stature due to the fact that a breach of contract lawsuit will mean nothing to another royal family if they choose to expose the relationship as PR to ruin your reputation.”

“it’s too early for so many big words.” Luke groaned, “i’m going back to sleep.”

“you have a date with Princess L/N in an hour.” his assistant called.

“of course i do, better wash the smell of pussy from my breath eh?” he grinned at his assistant who scowled, “something tells me Y/N would hate that.”

____

The dates continued two to four times a week as contractually stated. Mostly at five star restaurants or with the two of you going for walks in public places, flanked by body guards.

after your brutal analysis of him, Luke stayed away from sexual topics. opting to hold his tongue as best he could. 

You brought up political topics and part of Luke assumed that perhaps you had been told to do so, to get him ready to converse with other educated people about such topics. 

Between you, the PR briefings and the royal briefings Luke found himself with not much time on his hands. He missed partying. He missed drinking until he was numb. but most importantly, he missed the girls. 

or, parts of him did. but after the first two weeks of girls signing a consent form, the idea of it had left a sour taste in his mouth. 

especially when the girls brought you up in conversation. Delphi, one of his favourite usual shags had been curled against his chest in a post sex daze when she asked “does Princess Y/N know about this?”

his heart had lurched at the sound of her name and his jaw had set as he stood, putting on his robe and going to grab himself a shot before leaning against one of the bed posts, “get dressed.” he’d commanded.

“Luke, i’m sorry if-”

“Prince Luke.” he reminded her, “and I don’t want to hear it. you already signed the consent form last time you were here and you know your way out.” 

he’d gone onto the terrace without another word, swirling the whiskey in his glass. 

he didn’t know why it upset him so much. 

maybe it was because he’d never really had a girlfriend before, fake or otherwise. it had been two weeks and he’d spent a lot of his time with you. whether he considered you a friend or not, part of him cared about you in a way he’d never really experienced. 

it made his grip on the terrace railing tighten as his jaw clenched. you had power over him. and he didn’t like it one bit.

------ 

Luke tried not to pay much attention to the feeling of your small hand wrapped around his arm while the two of you looked at fabric. he was bored out of his mind, yes he liked fashion but usually his tailors would just send him a bunch of clothes every month and he’d wear what he felt like. 

but there he was, shopping with you. he didn’t get why you didn’t just do the same thing he did... but the smile on your face as you ran a hand through the fabrics, looking at everything, he guessed you just enjoyed shopping.

you pulled out a dress, removing your hand from his arm which suddenly felt cold from lack of contact, “what do you think?” you asked, showing it to him.

“it’s nice.” he stated.

“you’ve said that about the past four.” you sighed, handing the dress to the worker that hurried over to add it to your change room.

“they were all fine, gotta see what they look on your hot little bod.” he smirked.

you rolled your eyes, walking over to the change room with him trailing behind you. he leaned against the wall while you entered the changing room. his foot tapped while he waited as he began fiddling with his rings.

the door opened and he looked up, eyes eating up every inch of your body. the dress was stunning. it looked like it had been made for you. 

“i need help with the zipper.” you said, turning to show him your exposed back as your hands held up the dress in the front. 

he almost stumbled as he approached, flexing his fingers as they went down to the bottom of the zipper. he began to zip it up but your hair was in the way.

his fingers brushed against your skin lightly as he pushed the hair over your shoulder, his hot breath on the new exposed skin. he zipped up the dress and took his hands away, eyes looking up to meet yours through the mirror in front of you.

his heart leaped in his chest, having not realized you’d been watching him. 

the tension was so thick it could have been cut with a knife, his eyes devouring you through the mirror. 

“what do you think of the colour?” you asked, fingers skimming over the green material.

“looks-” his voice cracked and he cleared his throat, “looks good.”

“i’m going to wear this gala next week, with a few alterations. is that okay?”

“sure.”

his eyes looked down and you knew he was checking out your ass so you immediately turned around, misjudging how close the tall blonde was standing next to you. your chest bumped against his and you took a hesitant step back, wobbling on your heals as his hands immediately went to your waist to steady you.

you looked up at him and he opened his mouth but you cut him off, “stop.”

“stop what?” he asked.

eye brows furrowing slightly and you marvelled at how beautiful he was. a slight brush of glitter across one of his cheekbones, those crystal blue eyes, and one rogue strand of curly golden hair.

it would have been the easiest thing in the world to close the distance and just kiss him. your breath caught in your throat and you licked at your lips, considering it for a moment.

his eyes looked down at your lips and it snapped you from your daze as you realized you weren’t the only one considering it.

you had to forcibly step back, pulling away from his hands, “just... unzip me please.” you said, turning around again and looking down, “and no funny business.”

“wouldn’t fucking dream of it.” he grumbled after an exasperated breath, zipping your dress down with one hand then turning and leaving the change room and closing the door behind him.

---

the week passed and you spent each date trying to ignore him the best you could. but he made it very difficult. you touched him only when necessary, when the photographers were around. you kept the conversations short, brief, and about non-sex related topics, which was not easy, but anytime the conversation started going that way you would redirect it.

Luke waited outside your hotel in the limo that would take you to the ball. the limo door opened and you got in across from him, eyes scanning over his outfit as the driver closed the door behind you.

“you got a shirt to match my dress.” you breathed, noticing the beautiful silky green fabric that fit perfectly over his shoulders.

“oh. yeah.” he said, looking down at himself, “that’s a thing people do right?”

“yeah. it is.” you found yourself smiling. really smiling at him.

and he noticed. because you smiled different when you were actually happy. he had thought your fake smile was gorgeous but looking at you in that moment he realized he hadn’t seen anything truly gorgeous until that moment.

“you look good.” you continued, “but... i think you’re missing one thing.”

“and what’s that darling?” he asked.

you opened your purse, pulling out a makeup palette and a brush, “a little bit of glitter. i figured your mom would not allow it but... it looks good on you, so i thought i’d bring highlighter in case you wanted some.”

Luke’s eyes searched your face, the way you were appearing so shy. the way you’d actually listened when he’d groaned about the sanctions on his wardrobe the week before.

“sure.” he said, moving slightly so you could come sit next to him.

you took the smallest amount of glitter and brushed it across his cheek, eyes focused on your work while he stared into yours, appreciating the colour.

his eyes moved to your lips. he often found himself staring at them. how soft and plump they looked.

if you were anyone else, he would pull you on top of him and have his way with you. he thought about the sounds you’d make as he slipped your panties to the side and teased-

“done.” you said, pulling away and going back to your seat across from him, “there, now you look perfect.”

Luke opened his mouth but the limo door opened, you’d arrived at the ball.

---

you’d been attached to his hip all night. his hand on the small of your back as you greeted all your peers. you kept his drinking to a minimum and oddly enough, he hadn’t minded.

you answered all of the hard questioned and smoothly navigated your way through all sorts of tough discussions on politics, deflecting any negative questions about Luke’s ‘social life.’

Luke found himself watching you effortlessly converse with other royals, how graceful you seemed. but he was getting sort of bored. “Darling, i’m going to grab a drink, want anything?” he asked.

you looked up at him, “maybe a glass of wine.”

“okay.” 

you watched him leave before turning back to the people you were talking too but a new group of people were approaching you. you recognized the gang, three of Luke’s friends. among the Royal Bunnies (the girls who made it their mission in life to sleep with royals) this group was called the Pussy Parade.

Calum Hood, Michael Clifford and Ashton Irwin.

“Princess Y/N,” Ashton said, holding out a hand, “pleasure to see you again.”

“where’d Luke run off to?” Calum asked.

“yeah, i wouldn’t leave you alone for a minute if i were him.” Michael piped in.

“matching outfits, quite a statement though.” Ashton pointed out.

you laughed at their eagerness, “nice to see you all again.” you’d met them all once or twice at different royal events but never really talked to any of them.

Luke watched from where he was leaning on the bar, jaw clenching as he tapped his ring clad fingers against the table, “can you hurry?” he snapped at the bar tender, throwing a bill on the counter in the hopes it would light a flame under the mans ass.

his eyes went back to you, surrounded by sharks. his sharks, but sharks none the less. 

he hated the way they were all looking you up and down. looking at you like a piece of meat. looking at you like... like he did. 

his teeth gritted, “also a shot.” he ordered, throwing another bill on the table.

the shot was placed in front of him and he downed it before grabbing the wine glasses and walking over to where you were standing. “here you go darling.” he said, handing you one.

his free hand immediately went to the small of your back again and you took a sip, eyes widening, “this is the wine from our first date.” you grinned up at him, “you remembered.”

he smiled down at you, a genuine smile that made all of his friends jaws drop, “of course i remembered.”

four sets of eyes widen at this statement. “you can’t even remember my birthday!” Ashton gasped.

Luke rolled his eyes, taking a sip of his wine and shrugging, “you always remind me the week before.”

“he’s got you there bud.” Calum grinned.

“so... how did you two meet?” Michael interrupted.

now was the hard part. Luke wasn’t a fan of lying to his friends but he knew he had to sell this relationship, his hand slipped from the small of your back to your waist, pulling you closer, “i saw her around, thought she was cute, slid into those DM’s, the usual.”

“very romantic.” Calum teased.

you turned your body in towards Luke, tucking your own arm around his waist. in this position, your bodies fit so perfectly and that fact was not lost on you as you stared down his friends, “it was a nice first date.” you insisted.

“yeah, looked like it.” Michael scoffed, “we saw the bathroom pictures.”

you opened your mouth but Luke spoke first, “piss off Michael.” 

his strong language drew the attention of the people surrounding your group. “woah, didn’t mean any offence.” Michael said, raising his hands in defence, “just looked like a good time is all i’m saying.” 

“this is my girlfriend, watch it.” Luke said, voice lowered as he looked down at Michael. you were once again reminded how big Luke was. his friends were all six foot, at least, but he was still taller. and he was intimidating.

and... he’d called you his girlfriend. which... you were, it even said that ‘girlfriend’ was the preferable term to use when he talked about you, but hearing him actually say it was different. it had been a month and he hadn’t once called you his girlfriend.

“Luke, i think we should take a breather.” you suggested, rubbing your hand up and down his back in an effort to sooth him. 

Luke looked down at you then at his friends, slamming the wine and handing the glass to Calum who took it without asking questions as Luke pulled away from you, grabbing your hand and leading you through the crowd outside to one of the terraces. 

it was just you and Luke, the air providing a slight but comfortable chill, not yet warm enough to signify the impending summer, but a welcome relief from the temperature inside. “are you okay?” you asked as he let go of your hand and went to lean against the railing, looking out at the city.

you’d been dating a month and part of you would call him a friend but it’s not like the two of you were close and yet something made you approach the tall boy. you began to rub at his tense shoulders, hoping to ease some of the stress. 

“they think you’re just a fuck.” he stated, knuckles turning white as he gripped the rail.

“it doesn’t matter what your friends think.” you stated, “in a few months this will be over and you can go back to being leader of the Pussy Party and they won’t even remember this whole thing.”

he remained silent but you felt his muscles tense underneath your hand.

you sighed, “do you want to leave?”

“no.”

“do you want to be alone?”

“no.”

“Luke, can you look at me?”

he remained still for a moment before turning his body to look down at you.

“do you want my wine?” you asked.

he laughed slightly, taking it from your hand and downing it just like the wine he’d drank earlier. before you could tell him to slow down on the alcohol he simply tossed the glass off the terrace, grabbing your face between his hands as he pressed his lips to yours.

he tasted like wine but it intoxicated you as you melted into the kiss, hands going up to wrap around his shoulders. his tongue teased your bottom lip and one of his hands moved to the small of your back, pulling you closer.

your fingers tangled in his hair, something you hadn’t consciously realized you’d wanted to ever do. the curls were soft and you pulled on them slightly, earning a soft groan that you ate up like you were starving. you’d thought his low voice was sexy but those moans were next level.

his teeth sunk into your bottom lip and now it was your turn to moan. the small sound made his heart jump as he let out a breathy “fuck.” his hand moving from your face to your neck where the cold of the rings pressed against your skin. you grabbed at his wrist, not stopping him,

but you pulled away, collecting your breath as you looked down, his heavy panting on your forehead as he struggled to steady his own breathing.

you focused on his green silk shirt. the way he always knew just the perfect amount of buttons to leave open, you wondered what his chest would look like fully exposed and on show for you. your fingers played with the fabric just above his belt, teasing the sensitive skin just above the band. he swore again and you pressed your face into his shirt as his arms wrapped around your body, pulling you against his chest.

his skin was warm and he smelt like expensive cologne.

you both just stood there for a few moments, the sound of your facing heart drowning out the noise of the city bellow. you could feel his own pulse fluttering in his chest.

“shit.” a voice made you pull away from Luke as you both turned to see Calum standing at the doorway to the terrace, “I uhhh... didn’t mean to interrupt, just needed a smoke.” he waved the cigarette as proof.  

“it’s fine.” you smiled, fixing your dress and hair, “i should go inside-”

“i’m going to stay out here.” Luke stated, voice deadpan.

you didn’t look at Luke, afraid what you would see in his eyes if you did, so you brushed past Calum and went inside. Calum watched you go before stepping further onto the terrace, lighting his cigarette and taking a large puff, “wasn’t sure if it was real or not.” he breathed, the smoke disappearing into the air as he handed Luke the cigarette.

Luke brought it to his lips, taking a long drag, “if whats real?”

“you and Y/N.” Calum answered, “i mean she’s cute but we both know you don’t do commitment.”

Luke couldn't argue with that. he couldn’t think much about anything as he stood there next to Calum, sharing the cigarette. 

maybe it was because you were a challenge. yeah, that had to be it. it had to be. he wasn’t used to not getting what he wanted. yeah. that was it.

he’d just have to fuck you. then he’d be fine. that was a good plan.

Calum finished the cigarette and threw it off the terrace then they both went back inside. you were at the bar with Ashton and Michael and once again Luke felt a surge of anger flow through his body. 

his hand went to the small of your back, “i think i’m ready to leave darling.”

you nodded, telling the boys it was nice to see them again before you allowed Luke to lead you to the elevator. he leaned against the wall and you were both silent until you reached the first floor. you stayed silent the entire limo ride, until it stopped in front of your hotel. and then you were gone and Luke remained numb because it was easier than acknowledging the feelings and the thoughts.

----

it had been four days since the gala and Luke hadn’t seen you. things kept popping up in your schedule which was understandable. but he needed to see you. 

he was already dressed when his PR assistant knocked on his door, “Y/N canceled.” 

“like fuck she did.” Luke muttered, pushing past the assistant. 

it was a short walk to your hotel and Luke realized he didn’t have a plan on what to do once he got there. but Luke had always been lucky and he showed up as you were leaving. “you canceled our plans to go do something else?” he asked, voice making you stop just outside your limo.

“i have something to do-” you began.

“cool, i’ll come with.” he said, brushing past you as he got into the limo. you sighed and followed, “are you mad?” he asked.

you were taken aback by his question. part of you had assumed he wouldn’t want to talk about the gala. you guessed he’d be one of those guys who avoided confrontation and refused to communicate. but there he was, blue eyes on yours.

“i’m not mad.” you assured him, “just busy, as i said, are you mad?”

“no.” he said, looking down and fiddling with his rings.

“do you want to talk about it?” you asked.

“not really.” 

there was the Prince you knew. you stayed silent the remainder of the limo ride until you arrived at the house, Luke looked around as you exited the limo, “where are we?”

“my cousins baby turned one year old today, i forgot about it if i’m being honest, a year goes by so fast.” you explained as the limo handed you the big pink present from the trunk of the limo.

“we’re at a babies birthday?” Luke asked.

“yeah, you like children right?” you grinned, walking past him towards the house.

there were children everywhere. 

Luke stayed glued to your side, letting you do most of the talking like he had at the Gala. but he also introduced himself to the guests which is when he realized, ‘im meeting her cousin. and her aunt. and her uncle.’

he’d never met a girls family before. 

you hadn’t asked him to come.

another realization that made his chest ache. what would he have done if you had? he probably would have bailed.

but there was that genuine smile again. the one he was already starting to adore. you were next to your cousin, holding the baby in your arms.

she tugged at your hair and you beamed down at the baby.

Luke found himself getting jealous of the baby who had all of your attention and all of your smiles.

and his chest continued to hurt but he didn’t know why.

your cousins husband approached, leaning next to Luke, “are you two thinking about kids?’ he asked.

Luke choked on his water, sputtering and coughing while your cousins husband patted him on the back until he could breath again, “um, we haven’t been dating long.” he answered.

“oh, sorry, i didn’t realize, i just assumed because well, you’re here and Y/N has never brought a guy to a family event like this. not that guys havent offered to come, we all know they have, but Y/N can be kind of private.”

Luke’s eyes went back to you holding the baby and he winced. now he was thinking about having a baby with you?! 

this had been a wild month for Luke, even by his standards. he was confused, and tired and maybe he had a brain tumour or something because if someone had told him two months earlier that he’d be fake dating a girl who is actually super chill and has a beautiful smile and is considering having babies with her he would have said they were fucking crazy. and yet there he was.

you made a particularly cute face at the baby and all the tension Luke had been holding in his shoulders released as he smiled, “babies wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.” he muttered. and it was true.

he set down his water and approached you and your cousin, “um... do you mind if i hold her?” he asked.

your cousin smiled, “of course!” 

you eyed Luke but slowly handed over the baby and he looked down at her with a grin. the baby reached up, wrapping a hand in one of his golden curls and tugging but Luke allowed her to do so. 

he even laughed, an angelic sound that warmed your heart as you watched him. you’d never seen him so vulnerable. no walls up. no sassy or sexual remarks. just a beautiful boy holding an adorable baby.

your heart swelled in your chest and your eyes widened with realization that you probably had baby fever so you couldn’t be trusting yourself, but at the same time he looked so soft.

the baby grabbed at his finger, his chipping black nail polish contrasting the tiny baby hands.

“okay, i’ll give her back now.” he said, moving to hand the baby back to your cousin but the baby began to cry and Luke immediately began cooing, “oh no Sweetheart it’s okay, it’s okay baby,” as he rocked her back and forth.

she settled immediately and your cousin laughed, “looks like you’re a natural Luke.”

a blush crept over his skin and you watched in shock as he grinned at your cousin, “you think?”

this couldn’t be real. this couldn’t be the guy known for raunchy sex parties and having a different woman every night. it couldn’t be.

but it was.

he cooed the baby for a while until she fell asleep before he could give her back to her mama. by the time the baby was back in her mama’s arms you had been internally freaking out for thirty minutes about the absolute cuteness of the whole thing and how confused you were.

you grabbed his hand and took him to the bathroom, closing the door and locking it behind you, “what’s going on?” he asked.

“we kissed.” you stated, “and i’m really confused about it.”

“me too.” he said, looking at you very seriously.

you almost laughed, “okay good i’m not the only one. so... what do you want from me?” you asked.

“what do you mean?” 

“i mean, we are on this contract for the next few months and if something goes wrong and we hate each other-”

“wouldn’t happen.”

“it could happen-”

“no.”

“and what makes you sure?”

“i couldn’t hate you.” he says, crossing his arms and leaning back against the sink counter.

“well i could hate you.” you pointed out, “if we make this thing real and you cheat-”

“if we made this real i wouldn’t cheat.” 

“just like that.” you asked in shock.

“yeah.”

you looked up at him, considering it, but you groaned, “fuck!” you began pacing in front of him, “being around babies always makes me too soft! i can’t think clearly!” Luke watched you pace and he had to admit he knew the feeling.

“then don’t.” he said, hands grabbing your waist and stopping you from pacing as he leaned down and his lips met yours. you were so distracted by kissing him back, fingers going into his hair, that you hadn’t noticed he’d moved you until he lifted you and set you on the sink counter.

standing between your legs he pulled your body flush against his, his lips moving from your lips to your neck as he sucked on the sensitive skin just below your ear.

you let out a moan and Luke grinned against your skin, “open your mouth.” he stated.

you followed his request as two of his fingers slipped into your mouth, he continued sucking on your neck while you began to suck on his fingers. one of the fingers in your mouth had his legacy ring and your tongue slipped around the cold metal, swirling and sucking it up and over Luke’s knuckle before pushing it down again.

“fuck, where’d a Princess like you learn how to use your mouth like that?” he groaned into your ear, slipping his fingers from your mouth.

his hands went to your hips as he pressed against you, you could feel him through his pants and you grinned, “can’t tell you all of my secrets can I?” you teased.

he grinned, pressing his lips against yours again. “fuck, you’re so hot.” he breathed.

“hmm, you like this?” you asked, reaching between the two of you to grab his dick through his pants as you bit down on his lip.

Luke’s fingers dug into your hips, “Fuck yeah.” he breathed.

“what do you want to do to me?” you asked, rubbing him harder as his head lolled back and his eyes closed.

“pump a fucking baby into you.” he stated.

you stopped your motions and his eyes snapped open, “fuck, I uh, i can explain-”

there was a loud knocking on the door, “almost done in there?!” 

you pushed Luke away from you, fixing your clothes and hopping off the counter, “just a second!” you called, looking in the mirror to see if you looked okay. you turned to Luke, “we will talk about this later.” you stated before you unlocked the door and went out, Luke following a few seconds later. 

“hey, i really gotta get out of here.” Luke stated, “being around all these children is messing with my head.”

“okay, that’s fine, i’ll see you in two days for our Sunday date-”

“come by for dinner.” he stated, “at the palace. i mean, i can’t cook for shit but i have a world class chef-”

“i’ll be there.”

“okay.” he smiled. you turned to go but he grabbed your arm, pulling you into a soft kiss. when he pulled away he smiled, “i’ll see you tonight.”

as soon as he was in the limo Luke swore, punching at the seat. had he seriously just asked you to be ‘exclusive’? had he seriously just promised not to cheat on you?

he began to naw at his lip, it all fairness, he hadn’t slept with another girl in a couple of weeks. the thought of even sleeping with someone else made him feel dirty and Luke had been in plenty dirty situations in his life, many of them self created.

and you were coming over for dinner at his place. he swore again. you hadn’t said yes or no to the whole dating thing and Luke had a few hours to sort himself out.

he rubbed at his temples, still considering that perhaps he just needed to fuck you and then the feelings would go away. well, he’d give that a try and see where it took him.

----

you expected a servant to open the door so when Luke opened it, standing there in that green shirt, you were a bit taken aback. he still looked amazing in it as he pulled you in for a hug. “so this is the palace.” he said, opening the door wider for you to come in.

you’d started the contract around a month ago but all the dates were high profile for publicity so you’d never actually seen where he lived. 

he showed you the main rooms and the tour ended in his large bedroom. bedroom wouldn’t even be the word most people would use to describe it. it was practically a studio apartment minus the kitchen. 

there was a small dinner table set up with silver platters covering the food. “so how was the rest of the birthday?” Luke asked as you both sat down.

“fine. i left after you did. babies always give me baby fever.” you admitted. 

Luke laughed, “me too. that was sort of wild.”

“yeah, i would have never guessed you’d like children.”

“why? because im a quote: pompous, mamas boy?” he teased.

“you forgot arrogant.”

“right, how could i ever forget arrogant?” he rolled his eyes at you.

“so what was the whole ‘pump a baby into you’ thing?” you asked.

“uhh... i don’t know.” he answered, “why, did you like it? would you be down for that?”

you laughed awkwardly, “Luke, these are the kind of questions you ask a real girlfriend.”

“don’t friends talk about this sort of thing?” he asked, “i mean, haven’t you talked to your girlfriends about this?”

“yeah but i mean... are we even friends?”

“earlier today i said you could be my girlfriend if you wanted so yeah, i’d consider us friends. also, you never really gave me an answer on that and it sort of hurts a guys feelings you know.”

“i am your girlfriend.” 

Luke rolled his eyes, “you know what i mean.”

you sighed, “i just don’t want things to get messy-”

“oh, you don’t like messy?” he asked.

“not really.” you answered.

all of the sudden he was on his feet, pushing the entire table to the ground while you let out a yelp of shock, jumping to your feet as the table and the food landed on the floor, “Lu-” you began to say but his lips were on yours.

as you relaxed he pulled away, bending down and grabbing you, tossing you onto his shoulder, “oh my god you’re such a Neanderthal!” you screamed, wiggling around in his grip. 

then you were falling, landing on plush fur, Luke grabbed your feet and dragged you to the edge of the bed, getting on top of you as his lips attached to yours. he ground his body down against you and you groaned, legs wrapping around his waist.

your fingers tangled into his curls before they moved to the buttons of his shirt, “fuck, this is such a nice shirt.” you groaned.

“knew you’d love it.” he grinned, helping you pull it off his body.

he went back in to kiss you but you stopped him and he pulled away, looking down at you with an odd look, “is this too fast?” he asked, shocked that those words were leaving his lips.

“no, i just want to appreciate you.” you said, fingers tracing his broad chest, “you’ve been teasing me with those button downs exposing just the right amount of chest all month.”

he grinned down at you, running a hand through his messy curls, “you almost done looking Princess?”

“five more seconds.” you smiled up at him.

he laughed but humoured you, waiting for you to finish looking at him, “okay, my turn.” you said, tearing off your shirt and bra as his lips attached to your chest.

his kisses went down your body and he worked on getting your jeans off until they joined the clothes on the ground. his hands went to your hips as his fingers slipped under the waist band of your panties, “are you okay with this?” he asked.

“i thought you were some big sex god, you going to devour me or what?” you laughed, running your fingers through your hair as you laughed.

“i am a sex god, but i like you and i want to make sure you want this as much as i do.” he grinned.

you looked down as he toyed with the last thing between him and you. 

“i want this.” you stated.

“hmmm, you don’t sound like you want this darling.” he said, removing his hands.

“no, wait, Luke, please.” you whined, “please.”

his hands returned to your hips, fingers drawing circles on the sensitive skin, “you sure baby?”

“yeah, i’m sure.”

“you’ve never begged a day in your life, have you sweetheart?” he laughed, looking up at you.

this fuck.

but there was truth in it. maybe you’d misjudged him on your first date. “Luke, i’m sorry if i’ve been a bitch, i’m sorry if i judged you at first and thought you were some sex crazed asshole, i’m sorry-”

there was a tearing sound as he ripped your panties in two and you stopped talking, looking down at him in shock. you were about to say something when he buried his face between your thighs. your fingers tingled in his curls and you moaned at the feeling of his tongue working absolute magic.

“oh my god.” you moaned.

“i prefer Sire.” he said, flashing you the cockiest grin you’d ever seen.

“i am not calling you sire.” you groaned as his lips attached to you once more. 

one of his hands moved from your hip and up to your face and you opened your mouth, accepting the two digits past your lips as you sucked on them. the silver ring in your mouth was driving you wild.

“suck it off babe.” he instructed.

you did as he asked, pulling the ring off as he slipped his fingers from your mouth, the ring caught between your teeth. you took it from your mouth and slipped it onto one of your own fingers.

his fingers that had been in your mouth curled into you and you moaned loudly, pulling at Luke’s hair as he laughed, “you like that kitten?”

“fuck, yes Luke.”

his fingers stopped, “yes what?”

“yes sir.” 

“close but not what i’m looking for babe.” his fingers moved slightly and you moaned.

“yes sire, i love it.”

he grinned, lips attaching to your clit as he pumped his fingers at an unbelievably fast pace, sending your spiralling over the edge as you grabbed the fur blanket, letting out the most sinful noises you’d ever heard in your life as he worked you through your orgasm.

as you came down from your high Luke pulled back, standing up and putting his two fingers in his mouth, “fuck, you even taste pretty babe.”

“please just fuck me.” you begged, unable to say much else as he pushed down his pants and got on top of you, “wait, condoms.”

“you sure you want condoms?”

“Luke!” you laughed, pushing at his chest.

he sighed and moved to his bedside table, pulling out a condom and rolling it on, “you’re no fun.” 

your legs wrapped around his waist again as he teased your entrance before pushing in fully. you both groaned at the feeling, his lips attacking yours again as he began to pound into you.

“fuck princess you’re so tight.” he groaned, one of his hands wrapping around your throat as you let out a loud moan, your hands going to grab his wrist, keeping his hand pressed against your skin.

he usually didn’t do missionary. it was too personal. but this just felt right. there was something about it that he couldn’t explain. his lips found yours and you moaned into his mouth.

“if you keep making sounds like that i’m not going to last too long baby.” he groaned, lips going to your neck.

“me neither.” you said, grabbing his ear lobe between your teeth.

his grip on your throat tightened and you moaned louder, the sounds driving him insane and throwing him over the edge. his quickened pace made you cum as well and you both gripped onto each other like your lives depended on it.

he slowed down and you both breathed heavily as he stayed inside of you for a moment, kissing you sweetly on the lips before pulling out and discarding the condom before falling back onto the bed with you and pulling you to his chest.

“wow.” you breathed.

he laughed, “yeah.”

you both stayed there, enjoying each others warmth as you came down from the post sex high. “you ruined the food.” you stated finally.

he laughed, “i’ll order pizza.”

“woah, since when does Prince Luke eat pizza like some commoner?” you giggled.

he grinned, “you’re right, i should get the chef to make lobster-”

“i’m joking Luke. Pizza sounds great.” you curled up in the blankets and by the time the pizza arrived at the door you were asleep. Luke looked at you, curled up in the middle of the bed like such a Princess. that was his spot. this was the reason he never let girls sleep over. 

part of him wanted to tell you to hit the road, after all, your hotel was a five minute walk away. but something stopped him and he let out a sigh of exasperation as he found a smoke and went onto the terrace, closing the door as to not wake you.

he’d been standing in this very spot a few weeks earlier, angry about the entire situation. angry about your power over him. and yet, here he was again, letting you sleep on his bed in his spot.

the sex had been... like nothing he’d ever had before. which was odd, because Luke had thought he’d tried just about everything in the book. but not that. not with someone he actually cared for. 

he took a long drag of his cigarette and blew out the smoke. he’d assumed this whole fake dating thing would last a few months and he could go back to partying, not giving the whole thing much thought.

but in a few months... he’d be king.

he realized, he’d never be able to go back. 

the thought terrified him.

----

Luke buried his face in his pillow, reaching out instinctively but he only grasped air. his eyes opened and he realized he was alone. part of him wondered if it had been a dream but the torn panties and table mess he’d made the night before were still littered on the ground.

and you weren’t there.

it hurt in an odd way. he’d expected you to be there, even half asleep, you’d been his first thought, his first goal of the day. 

he groaned and pulled out his phone.

----

Ashton sat in a floaty, Cal with his feet in the water and Michael in the shade as Luke paced back and forth. “when we started dating I didn’t expect to fall in love with her.” Luke explained, “is that even what this is?”

he looked at his friends who all laughed, “don’t look at me mate.” Cal grinned, “you know i think love is fake.”

“Ash?” Luke asked, turning to the eldest.

Ashton shrugged as he sipped his cocktail, “you’ve only been dating a month bud, seems fast to me.”

“also you’ve never had a relationship,” Michael pointed out, “so maybe you’re just in a honey moon phase.”

Luke flailed himself onto a floaty, running his fingers through his hair “this is such a mess!”

“when are you seeing her next?” Cal asked.

“i have no idea! last night wasn’t supposed to happen, the contract-”

“contract?!” Michael interrupted.

“fuck.” Luke cursed himself.

Ashton set down his drink, “you have a lot of explaining to do Hemmings.”

------

You had spent the past two days locked in your room, your phone off as you tried to sort out what had happened. it had been two days since you left before Luke could wake up. two days since he’d literally fucked his way into your heart. 

you’d hoped the whole thing had been baby fever but that would have worn off by now and you were starting to worry that something more serious was at play.

could you really like Luke Hemmings? of all the possible princes you could fall for, and you had to fall for the playboy asshole who snapped his fingers at waiters?!

you had no idea what he was feeling about it either because you hadn’t talked to him. he’d suggested being your real boyfriend at the party but its not like that conversation ever got fully explored so who even knew? not you, that’s for sure.

taking a deep breath you turned on your phone, ignoring everything and calling a friend. you’d be damned if you let this whole thing get to your head. 

your friend answered on the first ring “Y/N i’ve been trying to get a hold of you for ages! you think your Prince can give you up for the night so you can come party?”

you laughed at the term ‘your prince’ and sighed, “you know what, yeah, i’ll come out.”

-----

Luke’s knee bobbed up and down and his friends stared at him, “it’s bullshit that she doesn’t have a no partying section in her contract and I can’t believe she’d go out and not even answer my texts first.” Luke groaned.

“well she’s not technically your girlfriend-” Michael pointed out but Ashton punched his shoulder lightly.

“she’s probably just freaked out. like you are.” Ashton said, smiling warmly at his friend.

“and you can confront her yourself.” Cal pointed out as the limo pulled up in front of the club.

Luke took a deep breath, running a hand through his unruly curls, “how do i look?”

“you’re a fucking panty dropper mate. don’t worry.” Ashton said before the door opened and they all climbed out.

flashes started immediately and a few people screamed “Pussy Party!” which made Michael grin and scream “Pussy Party!” with the crowd as they were escorted through the VIP door.

Luke looked around the club. he’d missed the flashing lights and the feel of bass in his chest. as soon as they entered girls began approaching. Ashton grabbed two blondes right away and Michael likewise broke off from the pack with two girls. 

Cal is the only one who stayed, hand on Luke’s shoulder as they both looked around. “there.” Cal said, pointing towards the bar.

the last time Luke had seen you, you’d been sprawled out on his bed, your naked body only slightly covered by his fur blanket. 

and there you were, in yet another stunning dress, a drink in your hand as you talked to a few people. Luke immediately recognized one of them by his dark curly hair and cheeky grin.

Luke’s fists clenched at his sides and he took a step forward but Cal grabbed his arm, “you can’t just go in there guns blazing mate.”

“like fuck i can’t.” Luke said, pulling away from Cal and barreling towards you. a few girls tried to get in his way but he pushed past them.

Prince Harry saw Luke’s approach and smiled “hey Luke!” he grinned.

you froze as you felt Luke come to stand directly next to you, his hand going to the small of your back, “Harry.” he greeted before turning to you. you looked up at him hesitantly, “long time no see, babe.”

“yeah, um... haven’t been feeling well.” you answered.

“your phone’s been off.” Luke stated.

you sighed at his possessiveness, “how did you know i’d be here Luke?”

“the paps saw you come in.” he answered, “people were wondering why i wasn’t with you so my mentions blew up.”

“come to think of it, why didn’t you two arrive together?” Harry interjected, leaning on the bar and looking at the two of you with furrowed brows, “you’d be daft to leave a stunner like Y/N alone.”

Luke’s jaw feathered and you noticed immediately, recognizing his anger radiating off of him like it had at the Gala, and on that night you’d been talking to a friend of his, not a rival. this was not going to end well for anyone.

you felt the pull of your contractual duty as you set down your drink and wrapped your arms around Luke’s waist, leaning against his side before smiling sweetly at Harry, “i’m sorry, you’ll have to excuse my boyfriend, he can get jealous sometimes.”

Luke kept his mouth shut as he glared down at Harry. 

one of your hands pressed against his chest and you looked up at him, and finally he looked down at you. he could feel the anger still coursing through his veins. 

you were his.

his arm went over your shoulders, “excuse us.” he said to Harry, voice a growl as he began leading you through the crowd.

“where are we going?” you asked.

he didn’t answer as he pushed you in front of him and into one of the lavish, VIP club bathrooms, closing the door and locking it.

the last time you’d been in a bathroom he had been a soft boy but standing in front of you now was a very angry, sexy, man. 

his shoulders heaved as he looked down at you, taking a step forward as you stepped back until your back hit the wall. his hand came to rest next to your head as he leaned down to be eye level with you.

“you like seeing me jealous?” he asked, voice searing into you, “you like flirting with other men while you’re dating me?”

“i wasn't-” you began but then you realized, “this whole thing is PR-”

“not to me.” he growled, pressing his lips against yours.

you wanted to be mad but the whole situation was making your heart race. you were friends with Harry, nothing more. you hadn’t meant to make Luke jealous but you had to admit, jealous Luke was a panty dropper.

your fingers went up into his curls as he bent down lifting you up and wrapping your legs around your waist as he pressed you back against the wall. your fingers danced over his shoulders as he bit down at your bottom lip.

having your legs wrapped around his waist had pushed your dress up and you could feel him through the thin fabric of your panties as you groaned into his mouth.

“Luke.” you whimpered as his mouth moved to your neck, teeth grazing your skin. he sucked on the area for a few moments, fingers digging into your thighs as he held you up.

he finally pulled away from your neck and moved to set you down on the sink counter, his hands going to his belt as he undid it. your fingers fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, finally getting the button down open so your fingers could roam his chest, exploring the ridges of his abdomen and the beautiful V-line disappearing into his pants.

when his belt was undone he stopped, kissing you again as he reached between your bodies and once again tore your panties in half to get them off of you, “you have to stop doing that.” you laughed against his lips.

“i’ll buy you new ones.” he promised, nipping at your lower lip as your arms encircled his shoulders. his hand reached into his back pocket and he pulled out a condom.

you expected him to fuck you like that but he pulled you down off the sink, forcing you to turn so your back was to him as his hand pushed you down over the sink, ass in the air. his eyes met yours through the mirror as he lined himself up with your entrance, hands steadying on your hips in a grip that you knew would leave marks.

he slammed into you and you moaned, moving to press your cheek against the counter but a hand wrapped in your hair, pulling your head up, “watch me while i fuck you.” he growled, eyes still on yours through the mirror.

“you’re mine.” he stated as he continued to pound into you mercilessly, “say it.”

his grip tightened on your hair, “I’m yours.” you repeated.

he let go of your hair, a hand coming down to smack your bum, “Louder.” 

“I’m yours Luke.” you whined, moaning as he hit a new spot inside of you.

this answer seemed to satisfy him as his head tipped down to look at where he was entering you, both hands returning to your hips as he continued to pound in and out. 

“up.” he instructed.

you pushed yourself up a bit and his hand came around the front of your body to wrap around your throat, pulling you up flush against his chest but being taller than you wasn’t making the angle that easy. he swore under his breath, pulling out of you and easily man handling you to be sitting on the counter again as he easily slide back into you.

his lips captured yours as your legs went around his waist and one of his hands cupped your face. “mine.” he hissed against your lips.

“Luke i’m gonna-” you began but he cut you off with a kiss.

“me too.”

his other hand gripped your thigh as his pounding got faster, lips on yours as you both reached your highs, letting out sinful moaning and whimpering sounds as he stilled inside of you.

you both breathed heavily, foreheads touching as he stayed there for a few moments. 

he pulled out of you and discarded the condom and your ruined panties, fixing his pants then lifting you off the counter and setting you down. he pulled your dress down, running a hand through your messy hair to fix it as he looked you over, not quite sure what to say to you, his gaze lingered on your neck where you knew there was a hickie forming.

“I... uh...” he struggled.

you looked up at the Prince, the guy who always knew what to say and yet here he was, tongue tied. “that was amazing.” you said, hoping it would help him find the right words and ease whatever conflicted emotions he was obviously feeling.

he laughed, removing his hand from where it had been cupping your face to do his buttons, “i knew it from the first day i met you, you’d like the kinky stuff.”

“Luke!” you laughed at the return of his cockiness as he did up his shirt, moving to smack his chest but his hand caught yours and he pulled you to his front, looking down at you with a grin. 

“don’t play dumb kitten. we both know you’re a dirty girl.” his words made you let out a breath as you wondered if a round two was a possibility but knocking at the door interrupted your thoughts. someone was always interrupting you two. 

Luke put his arm over your shoulders as the two of you exited the bathroom. “do you want to stay for a bit?’ you asked.

“not really.” he answered, looking down at you and laughing at the shock in your face, “i usually used to go clubbing for women but that’s not a good reason anymore.” he explained, leaning down to press his lips to yours.

you beamed up at your boyfriend. the two of you left the club, he shielded you from the paparazzi waiting outside as he held open the limo door for you before getting in himself, sitting next to you with his hand on your thigh.

“so we’re actually dating.” you stated.

he laughed, “yeah, who would have fucking thought?” 

you pushed at him and he wrapped his arms around you, “either this is real or this is the worst case of baby fever ever.” 

----

two months later it was announced that Luke Hemmings would be the next king. people were okay with it. everyone remembered the way Luke had been just months earlier but since he met you, everyone had seen the change. 

it was something in his eyes. an emotion that no one had ever seen there before.

it was the way he always had to be touching you, or protecting you from cameras.

it was just the way he was with you.

preparations were made for his coronation. his parents set up to move to a palace in the country they’d always planned on going to after retirement. Luke was in meetings most days but he always arrived back at the palace to find you, adorned in a new set of lingerie he had bought for you. he had entered a new chapter of his life and it was obvious to everyone around.

he no longer snapped his fingers at servants and everyone who worked on the grounds noted the change. 

the coronation was a big deal and Luke was worried about the whole situation but throughout the ceremony, if he ever felt lost or scared, his eyes would just find yours as you’d offer an encouraging smile.

when the festivities had ended and everyone went home, you and Luke finally had the palace to yourselves. he’d sent all the servants home to celebrate. the only sound in the entire palace was the sound of you laughing as Luke chased you around the long hallways, ready to ‘christen’ every room with your love.

it was wild, as you ran through the palace, chased by the boy you loved, to think that he was king. 

you ran to the bedroom and expected him to chase you. when you jumped into the bed and turned to find he wasn’t there, you furrowed your eye brows, sitting up. “Luke!?” you called. 

he entered the room a short while later, “sorry, i was um... just grabbing something.” he said, holding whatever it was behind his back.

“do you have a present for me?” you teased as he took a few steps into the room.

he grinned sheepishly and your heart fluttered, wondering what it could possibly be. “so we’ve been dating for four months-”

“if you include the PR month.” you pointed out.

he rolled his eyes, “fine, we’ve been dating for three months. and...” his adams apple bobbed as he swallowed, then he got on a knee, “i’ve never been more sure about anything in my life.” he pulled out a small velvet box that he had been hiding behind his back, opening it to reveal a ring, “i’m sure about this. Princess Y/N, will you take me, a cocky, arrogant mama’s boy, to be your husband?” 

you laughed at his inclusion of ‘arrogant’ because he always seemed to forget it, but not this time. looking down at the beautiful boy in front of you, your heart felt like it was soaring out of your chest as you nodded, feeling your eyes begin to swell.

“yes.” you said.

his face lit up as he removed the ring, taking your hand softly and slipping it onto your finger. 

then he was on top of you, body pressing you into the bed as your arms wrapped around his shoulders and his lips pressed against yours. you were both smiling so much that it was hard to kiss so you pushed at him, rolling so you could be on top.

you laced your fingers with his, marvelling at the ring on your finger as you looked down at him. “how did i ever get so lucky?” you asked.

“well i was given a bunch of folders-” he began but stopped as you laughed and pushed at his chest, “you know i’m a king right. you can’t push me around anymore.”

“oh yeah?” you asked as he rolled his way on top of you again, lips finding yours.

“yeah.” he said, rubbing his nose against yours slightly to make you laugh. 

you smiled at each other, not a care in the world. “I love you Luke Hemmings.”

“i love you too Princess.

[jawnjendes]

i’m tired too | shawn mendes

university au summer vacay babey, shawn x goth gf

*******just letting yall know that the chapter before this, girl you’re trouble did not appear in the tags when i posted it, so if u havent read it go ahead and do that now :P

masterlist | series playlist

My tongue was between my teeth as I focused on my reflection in my little compact mirror. Carefully, I filled in my eyebrow with dark brown powder, ignoring the people sitting on either side of me on the couch. Having two sets of eyes on me made it hard to carve out the enhanced version of my face, though. I tried to shift in my seat to get them to focus on literally anything else, but neither of them let up.

“She’s so good at that,” Mom said in admiration. She was sitting on my left.

“Isn’t she?” Shawn agreed in the same tone. He was on my right.

I paused and sighed. The previous evening, Aaliyah pointed out that my mom and her brother had some uncanny similarities. I thought she was just bringing light to the fact that they both… adore me. But they had the same mannerisms, like talking with their hands. They were both optimistic as well, unlike me… and my dad. I pretended not to see any similarities until now. I was just glad Aaliyah wasn’t here now to triumph in her discovery.

“Are you guys gonna do this the whole time?” I asked, looking back and forth between the two of them.

“Well, you’re so pretty,” Shawn said, bringing a hand up to stroke my cheek.

I leaned away from his touch. “I just did my foundation!”

My mom laughed. “She won’t let you touch her either! I’m glad it’s not just me!”

Shawn gave me a surprised look. He learned just a little too much about me in the last twenty four hours, and it wasn’t stopping anytime soon.

Luckily, my dad, who had been scrolling through his phone on the other side of the couch, piped up. “Shawn, I heard you play guitar?”

That started the music conversation. I was glad to have the attention off of me for once, all anyone asked me about these days was my stupid hospital stay. Plus, I could finish my makeup in peace. Not to mention, Shawn was still convulsing and crying in his sleep, so things were… not ideal at the moment. But he got to talk about his love of music, which was something my dad could relate to.

“You know, I used to be in a rock band,” he said. “Back in eighty-seven, me and my buddies played shows from my parents’ garage. That’s how I met Lucy. She was standing at the front of the audience for every show. We only had about ten people attend if we were lucky, but she was always there.”

Mom placed her hands over her chest fondly. “I think music has a beautiful way of bringing people together.”

You wouldn’t be able to tell just by looking at my mother, but she lived for heavy metal. She was the one who introduced me to the symphonic metal bands I listen to now.

“Oh, a hundred percent,” Shawn agreed. Then he told me parents that he and I met at one of his shows at a coffee shop.

Today was much more calm than the last. My parents slept on it, and they decided that they were just happy that I was live. I was just glad they stayed at a hotel, too. I couldn’t imagine being holed up with them after not living with them for a majority of two years. I also wouldn’t know how to explain why my boyfriend was yelling in his sleep every hour.

I really did miss my mom and dad. It kicked in when they had to go home at the end of the week. I was supposed to be home too. None of this was supposed to happen this way.

~

After my parents were gone, I was able to get around the apartment by myself. I didn’t need a babysitter anymore, so I tried to be happy about that. However, my incisions still kept me from doing anything strenuous, which meant I had no excuse not to return to work anymore. Most of what I did was sit behind a desk in a tiny office, so I made my first day back that Friday. I figured I might as well make some type of income to, you know, pay for my books for the next semester and uhhhhhh fucking live. I had to find my independence again somehow.

Anyway, my first day back at work was as mundane as it always was. It was like I wasn’t even gone for three weeks. Stacy gave me a professional “welcome back” and then hit me with the work I missed that I needed to catch up on. I spent the morning adding up gas receipts, entering vehicle information into the computer, and booking service appointments over the phone.

In the afternoon, Jason and Luca came in for their shifts. They approached the window of the office and stopped in their tracks.

“You’re here?” Jason asked in disbelief. “Weren’t you quitting?”

Clearly, no one knew or cared where I had been lately. I mean, I must have told Stacy to keep it confidential while I was high on morphine. Even then, I wasn’t exactly popular here.

“I had surgery, and now I can’t hop on a plane home,” I explained shortly.

“Oh, so you were dying and you weren’t planning on telling us?” Luca said, holding a hand up to my face in a dramatic fashion. “How dare you.”

I blinked once and then got back to adding numbers from the stack of receipts. The two of them entered the office, and that was when another question popped into my mind.

“Who covered me while I was gone?”

“Not me!” Jason said as he went to his desk at the back of the office.

Luca stood by mine and puckered his lips like he was thinking to himself. That said it all for me.

“Shoulda known.” I rolled my eyes. “Not a goddamn thing was done, and it’s month-end.”

“Hey, Stacy told me to book appointments,” Luca said defensively. “I lost commission these last few weeks because of that. I sell cars. I’m no receptionist.”

Bet he didn’t even book appointments either. Bet Stacy told him to cover all of my responsibilities. Luca just did not give a flying fuck about anything.

I spent my lunch hour in the car. Normally, Shawn would have come to meet me so we could eat together… or not eat. He was working too, though, and from the texts he sent me, he had been working on a flower arrangement for a wedding. He was going to be busy all day. When did we become a boring, married couple?

“You’ll never believe who they put to cover me while I was out,” I typed out in a text to Shawn. I munched on my white rice as I sent it.

“Who?!” he replied within a few minutes. I could almost hear the enthusiasm.

“Fucking Luca. He did fuck all, so I have a bunch to catch up on. Plus, it’s the end of the month, so we all have to close a bunch of sales and warranties and all this other boring crap. I’ll be home a little late.” Send. More white rice. God, I’m tired of rice.

My phone buzzed again while I was scrolling on Instagram. Shawn had replied. “Aw. Ok hon. I’m gonna have a couple of friends over tonight, just letting you know. Some of them want to see how you’re doing.”

“Ok. I’ll see you at home.”

“Love that you see my place as a home now :)”

Uhhhhhhhhh… Who’s gonna tell him? Who has to remind him that I was staying at his place for convenience, because I am recovering from a surgery? That I literally almost died and my complications kept me from travelling long distance…? Who’s gonna tell him?

~

I was horrifically fatigued when I got home. I seemed to have forgotten that stressing over numbers and annoying phone calls was mentally straining. Maybe travelling by car wasn’t a great idea either, but how could I not drive? I had a job to go to. I had an apartment to get back to. As I walked up to the front door, I wished that I didn’t have to worry about things like income and bills to pay. I just wanted to lie down and not get up again.

Walking into the apartment, I realized I probably wouldn’t even get to do that.

First of all, the door was unlocked. Shawn had given me a key, but apparently I didn’t need it this time. I was met with music and laughter as stepped over the threshold. I found people, strangers, when I peered into the kitchen.

It was a small kitchen, but there were five frat boy looking guys all holding plastic red cups. Among them were three breathtakingly pretty brunettes. I’m talking Instagram models, wearing sparkling crop tops and skin tight leggings. They were all laughing about something until they saw me at the doorway.

“Rock on, emo queen,” one of the frat boys said, holding up the rock and roll sign.

Yeah. Even in my work uniform, which was a button up with the company name on, was in fact black. Not to mention, the eyeliner I had put on in the morning smudged so much throughout the day that I now looking like a raccoon having a mental breakdown.

Awkwardly, I continued padding down the hall, finding more people standing and talking amongst themselves. Again, more ridiculously pretty girls and their dates. All I could smell was weed. I tried to keep a stink eye off my face, but it was the only thing that made people move out of the way so I could get to the living room.

Finally, there were people I recognized. Brian, Connor, Teddy, and Shawn were among a bigger group of strangers sat on the L-shaped couch. So this was a couple of friends?

Shawn noticed me first and raised his arms in the air, making me notice the red cup in his hand. “Look who’s here!”

That caused several pairs of eyes to turn to me, causing me to feign a smile. Everyone raised their drinks and cheered. Oh god, I was in a room of drunk toddlers. I was in a whole ass apartment of drunk toddlers. And my fucking boyfriend was the toddler hosting the other toddlers.

“Come, sit here,” Shawn said, waving me over. “I missed you!”

I still felt awkward and tired and far from the vibe everyone else was currently on. I stepped over and went to take the empty space next to Shawn, but he grabbed my wrist and pulled me onto his lap. My face went hot at the gesture, but not because of the affection, or the fact that he chose to rest his hands on top of my thighs. His chin rested on my shoulder, and I could smell the alcohol in his breath. Oh jeez.

“Man, let your girl breathe!” Brian joked, seeing the discomfort on my face.

“It’s fine,” I said sheepishly. I noticed several empty plastic cups and shot glasses on the coffee table. It wasn’t even ten o’clock yet.

“Yeah,” Shawn agreed, “I mean, I’d sit on her lap, but my poor baby had surgery. Wouldn’t wanna hurt her.”

Before I could retort, Teddy spoke up. She, too, had her own cup and was very obviously under the influence. “Oh yeah! How did that go? What even happened?”

I was going to reluctantly explain, but Shawn spoke for me again.

“My little fighter looked death in the face and said ‘fuck you!’”

Several gasps and fascinated expressions came from the group on the couch. I resisted the urge to plant my face in my hands. There goes my business, out in the open for everyone to put their noses into.

“You almost died?” Connor asked in shock.

“Ooh, story time!” Teddy announced. “Spill! Now!”

Been home for ten minutes, and I was not in my pajamas lying under the covers. For me, this was a couple of steps away from a worst case scenario. All eyes on me, expected to talk about things I wanted to keep quiet about. And it was all prompted by my drunk boyfriend, of all people.

“I had a bowel resection, and then I hemorrhaged,” I explained curtly. Then, I moved Shawn’s hands off my thighs and got to my feet. “And now I have to stay here and recover for the whole summer. The end.”

Some people booed at the length of my story. I’m sure I was expected to tell an awesome tale about the battle against my infected guts, but I was really not in the mood for that. I had to tell the story twice at work, and that was enough for me.  I didn’t really care about being a massive party pooper at the moment.

“Baby, where you going?” asked Shawn as I stepped away from the group.

I sighed and turned back to him. “I’m gonna change out of my uniform, and then I’m going to sleep.”

He pouted and got up to approach me. He came up close, so things felt a little more private. “Come have fun with me. We never have fun anymore.”

The plea in his voice was a jab straight to the heart. But I couldn’t find it in me to change my mind and stay with him.

“I’m not really in a party mood,” I said apologetically. “I had a long day, I’m really tired.”

Shawn’s face fell even more. His hazy, tipsy eyes filled with concern. “You want me to kick everyone out? I’ll do it! I’ll do it right now!”

I quickly got ahold of his wrist before he could rally the troops. I already had enough guilt on my shoulders. “No! No, no, no, don’t do that.” I held his hand in both of mine, and I ran my fingers over the swallow tattoo. “Have fun with your friends. You’re right, things haven’t been fun lately, and I’m sorry for that. You deserve a good time, even if I’m not there. Just have a drink for me, okay?”

He could have put out some things about how the party would be better if I was there. He could have sweet talked me into sitting on his lap again for the whole night. Instead, he squeezed my hand and said, “Straight tequila, right?”

Relief washed over me. “Yes. Remember to drink water too.”

“I gotchu, honey.”  Then, he leaned in a pressed a sweet kiss to my lips. “Keep the bed warm for me.”

The taste of alcohol on his lips made me one percent more likely to join him in the festivities. The other ninety nine percent yeeted my ass to the bedroom. Once I was alone, the crushing feeling of deliberate isolation sent me to the surface of the bed.

I was the type of tired that kept me from actually sleeping. I could sleep through plenty of external noise, living in a college dorm was enough experience. It was just my foggy brain and burning throat getting in the way. I grabbed my Switch from the nightstand and played Smash Bros, tuning out the sounds of people having a better time than me.

Every so often, I heard people cheering or chanting, “chug, chug, chug!” I remained curled up in bed, fighting people online to get my frustrations out. Taylor Swift’s Love Story came on around 1AM and everyone screamed the lyrics, while I brought my t-shirt to the bridge of my nose to catch oncoming tears. I felt guilty and selfish every moment I wished Shawn was here to spoon me til I fell asleep. He spent so much time worrying about me, he deserved to forget it all once in a while. God knows I wanted to do the same, but my insides were still recovering.

I had put my Switch away and I was lying on my side by the time people were saying their goodbyes out in the apartment. Some guy was praising Shawn for having such “epic parties” as they put it. Weird, this was the first party of his that I witnessed. We’ve been together just over six months. How much of himself was he holding back because of me?

“Whoo!” I heard Shawn yell, followed by a glass shattering loudly.

The sound woke me up a little. Meaning, my legs got me standing and dashing out to the living room. My eyes scanned the place, which was now vacant of people and full of trash, but I found Shawn sitting on the floor just outside the hallway.

The place was a mess. Half empty cups, food, and mysterious stains covered every surface in the apartment. I was only worried about my boyfriend.

“Hey, cutie,” I said affectionately, bending down so we were at eye level.

Shawn’s eyes were hooded, but sparkling. He gave me a toothy grin and held up a peace sign.

Then, Teddy emerged from the kitchen. “Oh, did I wake you? I dropped a cup, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, I wasn’t exactly sleeping,” I told her, still looking at Shawn. I waved my hand in front of his face, only for him to blink slowly. “Uh, how much has he had to drink?”

Teddy chewed her lip as she thought about it. “I lost count after his fourth shot.”

“My girlfriend told me to have ten tequilas,” Shawn slurred, belching right after. “I think I had like, six.”

I held my breath and waved off the stench. Someone was in for a long night, longer than normal. I didn’t think he would take me seriously, but then again, I did not tell him to have ten shots of straight tequila.

“Oh yeah, he mixed his liquor too,” Teddy said.

I sighed and moved Shawn’s long arm over my shoulders. “Okay, vamos mi chulo. Let’s get you to bed.”

Teddy stepped in to help get the six foot toddler to his feet. Shawn stumbled and swayed, his long arms hanging heavily on our shoulders. I baby talked him as we slowly strolled to the bedroom, and I told Teddy I could take it from there.

Shawn burped again as we got closer to the bed, and he groaned. “Ugh… this isn’t fun anymore.”

“Okay, let’s go to the bathroom,” I said, steering him the other way.

It took a minute to get him positioned in front of the toilet. It took less than a second for him to lean over the bowl and return everything he drank. As much as the sights and sounds of vomiting brought me dark and lonely flashbacks, I went and sat on the edge of the bathtub. I rubbed Shawn’s back and practically waited for it to end.

Once that was overwith, I really couldn’t go back to sleep. I managed to lay Shawn down on the mattress. The sparkle in his eyes was gone, now replaced with chilling emptiness. I took the liberty of pulling his leather boots off his feet, and I removed his socks as well. Then, I draped the comforter over his long body.

“Stay with me,” Shawn mumbled, his arm reaching out to me. “Let’s forget all the bad shit…”

It seems that no amount of alcohol could make him not think about the last couple of weeks. My heart began to ache all over again.

“Go to sleep, okay?” I said gently. “I’ll be with you when you go to sleep.”

Shawn whined. “You always die in my sleep. I love you too much to let you go.”

I had a feeling that that’s what he had been dreaming about. But I really could not get myself to lie down with him. I was too antsy from the vomiting.

“Wait for me, okay?” I told him, stroking his hair. “I’m only gonna be a few minutes, and I’ll come back.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

He’s drunk. He’s going to sleep no matter what.

Once Shawn was all tucked into bed, I left the room and quietly shut the door behind me. In the living room, Teddy was picking up plastic cups and shoving them into a giant trash bag. I really wasn’t expecting her to still be here. Wordlessly, I began helping her clean up. Anything to get my beating heart to slow down.

“What were you doing this whole time if you weren’t sleeping?” she asked me. “Was the music too loud?”

“No. It wasn’t anything from the party,” I replied, scooping up paper plates and used napkins. “Just had a long day. I wasn’t in the mood for a party.”

“Oh.”

She glanced at me a couple of times as she dumped more trash into the bag. This was supposed to be the part where I bare my soul to my boyfriend’s friend and make her my friend, but… Enough of my business was out there already.

Teddy, however, was persistent. “So, how come you didn’t want visitors at the hospital? Or when you got out, for that matter?”

I busied myself with fixing the sofa cushions so I could come up with a decent answer. “Uh, I like my privacy. Especially in moments where things are messy.”

“Hm. Well, aren’t messy moments the times when you need friends the most?”

That thought lingered in the air as we continued tidying up the living room. I could have had my video game club friends there, or Shawn’s friends, but instead I left most of the burden to Shawn himself. What kind of a person am I?

At last, Teddy got the last of the garbage in the bag, and she tied it shut. Then, we moved onto the kitchen. More cups, spilled booze, and the broken glass from earlier. Oh, how I did not miss house parties. I was at the prime age of partying, being 21. I should have been the type to be as drunk as my boyfriend was, to just have fun and forget the stresses of life. But I found myself on a completely different level than the people who were here tonight.

“Do you stay up late often?” Teddy asked, trying to fill the silence yet again.

We both paused as the sounds of loud, monotonous humming came from the bedroom. Teddy scrunched her brow and tilted her head. My shoulders tensed with chills, like ice cold water had been spilled down the back of my shirt.

“To answer your question,” I told her, “yes.”

She followed me to the room, but she stayed at the doorway while I went to Shawn’s quivering body.

“Baby, wake up,” I said urgently, shaking his arm. “Wake up, it’s only a dream, baby…”

He was on his back, head moving from side to side in harsh moments. He groaned, completely spastic, so I coaxed him some more.

My voice shook. “Shawn… please. I’m here, please-”

His eyes flew open with a loud gasp. He sat up, breathing hard and fast. I placed my hands on his broad shoulders, getting his attention.

“Hey, look at me. You’re okay, it’s okay. You’re safe.”

Brown eyes were wide with panic, and then sadness. Within a second, they were filling with tears, and Shawn was wrapping his arms around my waist. With a shaky sob, he buried his head in my neck and cried quietly.

I had a pained looked on my face while he wasn’t looking. I just held him and stroked his hair. I was whispering the things I always said when he was in this state. “You’re safe with me. It was just a dream, it’s not real.”

I was able to coax him back to sleep for the time being. It was only going to happen again, though. I didn’t know how to stop it from happening.

When I stepped out of the room again, I leaned against the wall by the doorway. Teddy was gone, probably fled the uncomfortable situation. Can’t say I blame her. I sighed heavily and brought the palms of my hands to my misty eyes. I was beyond exhausted now. I was at a loss.

A hand went on my shoulder all of a sudden, making me jump. I looked up, finding that Teddy was still here, glass of water in her hand. Her blue eyes were concerned and upset, like the world had just ended in front of her. I pushed past the feelings, though.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you were still here,” I said, my voice thick with emotion. “Uh, did you need a ride home?”

She shook her head and held up the glass. “My fiance is coming soon. Here, drink.”

I offered a weak smile and accepted the gesture. As I sipped, Teddy said something that threw me off.

“He told me he was handling his nightmares. Had it all taken care of.”

“Why would he say that?” I asked in return.

“Didn’t want anyone to worry, I’m guessing. But I can see how tired he is. I can see how shaken up he is. I mean, he never goes as hard as he did tonight with the liquor. And worst of all, he hasn’t written a song in weeks. He hasn’t been in the studio at all.”

And it was my own damn fault.

“Does he tell you what he dreams about?” I dared to ask.

“No,” Teddy said. “I don’t think he tells anybody. I think he needs something beyond our help.”

“You’re right. I need to talk to him about this, because I know he’s not gonna talk to me.”

She placed her both her hands on my shoulders. “Hey. I’ve seen Shawn with quite a few girls over the last couple of years. I’ve never seen him head over heels until you came along. He loves you so much, he can’t fathom the idea of losing you. He loves you so much that he won’t talk to you about this because he doesn’t want you to feel bad.”

I wasn’t sure if that was supposed to make me feel better, because I was barely coherent as I spoke. “I already do…”

~

For once, I was up and running before Shawn was. His last nightmare happened around six in the morning, and after that he slept normally. The hangover probably had something to do with that. I left him a glass of water and painkillers on the nightstand, and then I went to the kitchen to attempt a type of breakfast.

By the time had eggs scrambled on a plate, Shawn was stumbling out of the room, glass of water in hand. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, and then he ran his fingers through his curly hair. He was still in the navy blue t-shirt he wore last night, but he ditched his jeans and went for the underwear look.

I met him halfway from the kitchen, presenting him with his mediocre breakfast. “Morning, sunshine.”

“For me?” he asked, and I nodded. “You’re the best.”

He sat at the round glass dining table as opposed to going to the living room. He must have been really hungover. I sat next to him and basked in the silence as he ate. My hands were tingling from the nerves.

“How ya feelin’?” I asked in a stupidly gently voice, reaching over to rub his arm.

He hummed through a mouthful of eggs. When he swallowed, he spoke. “My head is pounding. But I took the pills you left for me. Thank you for that, by the way. Who cleaned the apartment?”

“Me and Teddy. After you knocked out, we just decided to tidy up so no one had to worry about it the next day.”

“Well, thank you. One less thing to worry about.” He ate in silence some more, and then spoke some words that truly had me puzzled. “I slept the whole night for once. Feels good.”

Must be nice to not remember your night terrors. However, I had to tell him.

“Shawn…” I said slowly. “You woke up like five times. You had a panic attack one of those times.”

He slowed his chewing, staring at the table top in thought. He stayed quiet, and it freaked me out. He practically shut down, and it scared me for multiple reasons.

“I don’t know how to help you,” I admitted, watching him carefully.

“It’ll wear off,” he said weakly.

“You don’t know that.” I had to be firm. “I don’t know what you’re seeing in your sleep, but I know it scares you so much that you won’t talk about it. And you talk about everything, so that’s how I know it’s bad.”

Shawn looked down, still silent. Not giving me a possible solution to this. Does he even want help? Or am I just exaggerating and losing my mind?

“You don’t have to talk to me about it,” I continued. “Just talk to somebody. Last night, Teddy told me that you were taking care of all of this, but you’re not. I don’t know how you’re functioning during the day, because I’ve been exhausted and sleep deprived. I know you are too, and I’m not the only one who sees it. I, I don’t know how much longer I can watch you go through this.”

Again, he was quiet. He was never quiet. Shawn was feisty and passionate, ready to say anything to prove his point at any given moment. He had strayed from the Shawn Mendes I loved in such a short amount of time. It was happening so fast, watching him slip through my fingers. It felt like I was the one in a nightmare.

“Please,” I mumbled, my voice quavering. My bottom lip began to quiver.

Shawn suddenly looked up at me, eyes wide at the sounds coming out of me. Even when he was sinking, he still paid more attention when I was about to cry.

“I’ll, I’ll give you my therapist’s number,” I offered, losing my composure. “I-I don’t know if she’s taking anymore clients, but I-I-I’ll give up my sessions for you. I’ll do anything if it means you’ll get some help. Shawn, I… I’m begging you. I’m begging you to get help, because I don’t know what to do anymore… a-and it’s because of me why you’re like this, a-a-and I’m sorry-”

I gasped when I realized Shawn had placed his hands on either side of my face. His thumbs rubbed my tear stricken cheeks, and he spoke calmly and gently.

“Okay,” he said. “Okay, I’ll get help. I promise. I don’t wanna go through this anymore either. I promise I’ll figure this out.”

I guess that’s how I knew I was falling in love. The want and need for him to be okay was so great, there was nothing I wouldn’t do to make that happen. The fact that he was not okay was ripping me a new one. I couldn’t even breathe when he slept. I couldn’t even think about how much I wanted to be in California, because then I’d have to think about leaving Shawn all alone. Who would talk him down from his night terrors?

My hospital stay alone triggered nightmares and eerie silence from him. But what would Shawn have done if I had died altogether?

[askthetotallynotcampcamp]

I AM LOVING THE NERRIS X HARRISON CAN I HAVE A FULL STORY OF IT P L E A SE

Ava: of course!! We'll start writing it after we finish the one we're doing now:)

OKAY WE'RE WRITING IT NOW

Okay so it's the next summer and the first day on camp

---------

Nerris: *runs off the bus* HI DAVID!

David: why hello Nerris! Glad to see you here again! Everyone is in the mess all!

Nerris: alrighty thanks! *runs into the mess hall*

Harrison: *is straight up vibin*

Nerris: HARRISON!

Harrison: Hello Nerris!!

Nerris: *runs up to him and hugs him* HIIIII

Harrison: Hey!! *hug yummy* How was your year?

Nerris: oh it was great! I went to Harry Potter world with my parents and got so many wands and capes!

Harrison: That’s awesome!! I didn’t, uh do much with my parents.

Nerris: well um- I missed you!!

Harrison: i missed you too!!

Nerris: *sits next to him* so, did ya do anything for Christmas? *v happy*

Harrison: uhh not really-

Nerris: well you're always welcome to come over my house whenever ya want! *swinging her legs*

David: wow Gwen, harrison and nerris are getting along this year! Isnt that great?

Gwen: yeah, sure. they’re into eachother, though

David: I know you're into trash tv but dont go around shipping our campers!

Gwen: David how stupid are you? Can you not s e e

David: what? They're having a friendly conversation!

Gwen: David come ON- look at them!

David: they arent holding hands or kissing!

Gwen: Okay, well, here’s a shock, you don’t always have to do that to be in love

David: l-love? They're just kids!

Gwen: Oh come ON did you not have crushes as a kid?

David: well- we dont talk about that Gwen! They're probably just really good friends- I guess friends stare at the other person like they're in love- oh my gosh they are! Or at least Harrison is

Gwen: What do you me we don’t talk about that- see you agree with me now!

David: I think Harrison has a thing for her but nerris doesbt have a thing for him- she always ends up fighting with him

Gwen: David you have never been with a girl, have you? That’s how girls hide their FEELINGS

David: no I havent but that's not important! So she hides her feelings by telling him he sucks?

Gwen: ugh you make it sound like you like guys- yes david that is what i am trying to ge through your head

David: oooo I'm gonna make this be their best summer yet *walks up to them* hello guys! So I'm giving out rent information and you and Harrison will be sharing a tent this year! *walks back to Gwen* bam!

Gwen: oh sweet jesus- okay, i’m out this is out of my control now. peace *goes to councilorlrorleoldleldosrs cabin casually*

Nerris: oh yay! Let's go set up our beds! *runs outside to the tents*

Harrison: *S p e e d s to nerris*

Nerris: okay which side do you want buddy!

Harrison: Uh, the left?

Nerris: okay! *throws all her D&D blankets on the bed* ah home sweet home

Harrison: *vibes onto his bed*

Nerris: this may seem like a stupid question, but are ya still doing magic camp this year?

Harrison: Yeah, I haven’t been able to bring my brother back yet *a wkward laugh :”)*

Nerris: *hugs him* I know I'll probably end up yelling at you about something later but you can always talk about it whenever you want if you need to. I'm here

Harrison: Awww!! Thank you Nerris!!

Nerris: oh uh- you're welcome!

Harrison: *h u g*

Nerris: oh- *hugs him back bc shes nerris*

Harrison: *:))))*

Nerris: so, show me your newest trick! Unless you're addicted to hugs *giggles*

Harrison: Oh!! Ok!! *boop capowie flowers magic pew pew* Flowers for you, my lady

Nerris: *red* that was amazing! *claps*

Harrison: I know, right!

Nerris: Imma go get a vase from Gwen for the flowers! *runs to the cabin with the flowers* hey gwen, do have a vase by any chance?

Gwen: uhhh, there might be some in the kitchen. why?

Nerris: *shows her the flowers* Harrison did a new magic trick and gave me flowers!

Gwen: oh wow! that’s nice.

Nerris: yeah! *gets a vase from the kitchen and runs back to their tent* bam, vase

Harrison: Wow okay!! Do you have any new things to show me?

Nerris: yesyesyes!! I got new D&D dice!! *takes out the bag and puts them in her hands* it's even better because me and my dad made them!

Harrison: Oh wow!!! That’s super cool!!

Nerris: I also got a new wand but it was "too big" according to my mom so I couldn't being it *:(*

Harrison: Oh no, you can have one of mine if you want!

Nerris: oh my god really?! Thankyouthankyouthankyou- *hug*

Harrison: *hug :D*

Nerris: it's getting late...do we sleep or be rebels!

Harrison: let’s be rebels!

Nerris: ooooo Harrison the bad boy! *pats a spot next to her on her bed* I brought my tablet teehee

Harrison: *l e a p s onto Nerris’s bed* how rebellious!!

Nerris: you've never stayed up, have you?

Harrison: uhhh, no not really

-after they'd been watching videos for awhile-

Nerris: *rests her head on Harrisons shoulder*

Harrison: *has his arm around Nerris 😳😳*

Nerris: *yawns* I'm tired Harrison...

Harrison: go to sleep!

Nerris: but arent you gonna sleep in your bed? I dont wanna fall asleep on you *sleepy giggles??*

Harrison: you can fall asleep on me if you want *teehee giggle*

Nerris: *sleep*

Harrison: *😳😳* goodnight then- *kisses nerris’s head and goes to sleep ahahahaha*

-3 am-

Nerris: *wakes up* huh... oh- *v red*

Harrison: *sleeps shyly*

Nerris: *cuddles Harrison bc crush*

Harrison: *AWAKENS* huh- oh god-

Nerris: *pretends to be sleeping*

Harrison: uh, *speeds over to his bed and sleeps there bc 😳*

Nerris: *sleep*

Time: it is day kachow

Harrison: *sleep tiem*

Nerris: ugh Harrison wake up I'm boredddddd

Harrison: *SLEEPING*

Nerris: *jumps on him* WAKE UPPPP

Harrison: HUH *IFNSKSNSKSNSKSNSKSNS*

Nerris: oh goodmorning!

Harrison: Hi nerris-

Nerris: hi Harrison! *smiles at him*

Harrison: *:D*

Nerris: *pulls him up but now shes like sitting in his lap😳* so what do ya wanna do today?

Harrison: Uhh, we could see what the rest of the camp is doing? *😳😳*

Nerris: alrighty! *runs out of the tent* meet ya there!

Harrison: *😳😳😳* *speeds out*

-at lunch-

Nerris: *chilling with her food*

Harrison: *w a l k s over to nerris* Hi Nerris!

Nerris: oh hey Harrison!

Harrison: Could I uh, sit next to you?

Nerris: uh yeah I guess

Harrison: Thanks, *s i t* so, how are you?

Nerris: I'm good?

Harrison: cool cool cool *😳😳😳😳*

Nerris: why the hell are you so red? And sweaty? Sick people shouldnt be at camp and you look pretty sick to me *grossed out expression*

Harrison: Hey I’m not sick! You’re the sick one! *😳😳😡😡*

Nerris: Mhm, I dont think my face could even get as red as yours magic boy

Harrison: Oh really? I’ll make it go red with magic

Nerris: still wont be real. Your magic cant do anything against me, it's all silly old tricks *crosses her arms*

Harrison: Your “magic” is just rolling stupid dice and then yelling about it!

Nerris: *holding back tears and walks out of the hall*

Harrison: oh shoot- *regrets all his life choices*

Nerris: *sitting in the tent talking to herself while holding the dice* hes right, you're just stupid dice! You dont do anything! You're worthless! You dont make anything better! You suck nerris! I hate you!- *breaks down*

Harrison: *sp e eds to the tent* Nerris- nerris i’m so so so sorry i honestly didn’t mean it i was just confused and i feel bad and i’m so sorry-

Nerris: no it's fine. You're right. My "magic" isnt even magic, its stupid! They're just a game board a dice! *takes off her hat and cape* it's stupid.

Harrison: nerris- come on, please- it isn’t stupid! it’s really really cool!!

Nerris: that's not what you said a couple minutes ago, is it Harrison?! You called it stupid! If it's really really cool, why didnt you say that? And you werent confused, we've been fighting since the day we met, and you know that.

Harrison: Nerris come on, i really didn’t mean it. If we’re using that logic, then my magic is stupid too. *throws his h a t on the FLOOR* now we both feel stupid, how about that?

Nerris: i-..*hugs him sobbing*

Harrison: hey, uh, it’s okay, don’t cry- *hugs nerris sadly and shyly 👉👈*

Nerris: i- I'm s-sorry * still crying😳*

Harrison: I’m the one who should be sorry, I took it too far. It’s okay, don’t worry about it *pat pat*

Nerris: thank you Harrison *smiles at him and kisses him on the cheek*

Harrison: *😳😳😳😳😳* uhhh, yeah, no p-problem

Nerris: damn you blush easily *giggles*

Harrison: you make it easy to *😳😳*

Nerris: *😳* shut up

Harrison: ha, whos blushing easily now? *picks up nerris’s c a p and c a p e* i believe these belong to you, my lady?

Nerris: *picks up his hat and puts it on his head* there you go my good sir

Harrison: I’m sorry about what i said earlier, that was too much

Nerris: *holds his hands* it's okay Harrison

Harrison: *blushes shyly and cutely* yeah, i guess

Nerris: I'm serious. It's okay. And I'm sorry too, I swear I didnt mean anything. I have to make it up to you- I'll do anything *smiles at him*

[mskinkyafro]

Last Call (Ethan Ramsey x MC)

A/N: I know what most could be thinking...what the hell it’s only been two chapters, but I can’t help it! I feel so much excitement and adoration for Dr. Ethan Ramsey. We don’t know much about him but ideas were popping in my head all weekend.  Any details I reference about his past in this fic is original content I conceived and nothing confirmed in PB cannon. This would definitely not be apart of cannon so cannon divergence here. The song used briefly in this fic is “These Arms of Mine” by Otis Redding.

Italicized and bold:song lyrics

Italicized: internal thoughts

Summary: Dr. Ethan Ramsay takes time to reevaluate the newest intern that’s captured his attention in more ways than one, whether he wants to admit it or not.

All Rights to PB for their characters, settings, and stories. I don’t own them, I just borrow minus my MC Dr. Katrina Michaels.

All Rights to who own the song “These Arms of Mine”.

In the mischievous hours of the night Dr. Ethan Ramsey sits alone in the now barren Donahue’s nursing another drink. The place once buzzing with noise is now near sheer silence except the gentle music playing from the jukebox. The last crop of stragglers, only a few with slurring speeches make their exit. Hearing the soft thud of the door shutting he let out a mild grunt and raises his near empty glass towards the bartender.

“Last one, buddy. My knees are screaming and any minute longer I’ll be visiting you at your job versus you visiting mine.”

Reggie says as he refills the glass and then grabs a rag to clean.

“Now we can’t be having that now.” Ethan replies before taking a small gulp.

Suspicious at such warm words from the man Reggie stops wiping down the counter to look at Ethan.

“Hmm, that’s strangely kind of you-”

Before Reggie can finish his sentence Ethan cuts him off all the while looking into his diminishing drink

“Because then who will serve me drinks at my beck and call?”

His eyes shine with mirth as looks at Reggie while he takes another sip.

“You almost had me there. You’re a cheeky bastard, you know that? I should throw your ass out for that.” Reggie says while shaking his head amused.

“But you won’t because you’re too good. That’s exactly why the likes of myself don’t deserve you as friend Reg.”

“Heh, damn right. I only keep you around because you tip well.”

Ethan chuckles at the man in front of him.

“Never change, Reggie.”

“Wasn’t planning to buddy.”

The two men finish laughing when the shoosh of the door opens and a young African-American woman enters while calling over her shoulder before the door closes.

“I’m going to use the restroom and wait inside until the Lyft comes. Night everyone!”

Recognizing the voice speaking  Ethan turns and sees Dr.  Katrina Michaels. As she moves from the entrance and towards the back right of the bar to the restrooms his gaze follows and he retreats to his mind briefly.

“I haven’t quite figured out why but there’s something about the rookie that intrigues me.”

Reggie notices his friend is watching the woman from earlier and can already gather what could be the reason why. Being the good friend that he is Reggie decides to give his old pal  a nudge in the right direction. So he taps Ethan on the shoulder to get his attention.

“Welp, I gotta clean up in the back. Keep an eye on the place for me. Especially the little lady, I’m leaving both in your capable hands.”

Ethan quirks an eyebrow at Reggie as he takes another swig and asks

“What are you getting at Reg?”

Reggie smirks to himself and shrugs his shoulders before he turns to leave Ethan alone and enters a side door near the shelves of alcohol. Ethan scoffs and continues to drink his glass of scotch enjoying the the burning sensations that slide down his throat. His thoughts lingers to earlier in the night when talking to Katrina.

“She definitely is different in the real world but on the hand not so much.  I don't quite understand why this intern is different from the others. Other than  proving herself capable so far but outside  EdenBrook I notice that my thoughts have dawdle on her more  trivial attributes. Such as her underlying fierceness or perhaps her vivaciousness. Well I suppose I can’t say I truly recognized these qualities more so I overlooked them, one such as her beauty. She truly is stunning. It makes me wonder why a woman like her spent time near me when the place was swarming with younger men. Especially asking if someone was waiting at home for me. It can’t be what I think… no I probably need to ease off the alcohol right now. Besides who would wait around  for me anyway? Edie surely doesn’t anymore.”

As he sets his glass down back on the counter he hears a soft voice calling his name which removes him from his thoughts. Without turning around he says

“Hello again, rookie.”

“I’m surprised to see you still here Dr. Ramsey.” Katrina Michaels murmurs.

He turns to face the intern and replies

“I’m surprising in a lot of ways.”

She smiles and delicately places herself  onto the stool that’s next to Ethan.

“You’ll have to  prove that you know.”

Despite himself he smirks at her. His gunmetal blue eyes piercing into Katrina’s hazel ones. Their gazes seem to challenge yet captivate the other. There’s a comfortable yet tense air between the two until the smooth vocals of Otis Redding play from the jukebox.

“These arms of mine, they are lonely. Lonely and feeling blue. These arms of mine are yearning, yearning  from wanting you...”

The song continues to play as Katrina speaks.

“You know he’s is one of my favorite artist. I used to...”

As she speaks Ethan watches the woman in front of him. He observes the way her eyes are lit up to how a rogue strand of her curly hair hangs, and even how in the dimly lit bar her smile radiates and contrasts with her beautiful coffee-hue complexion. He tries to listen to all she’s saying, now beginning to tell him about much of a fan she is. But he’s beginning to distract himself with his thoughts once more.

“Of course this song plays. Very convenient timing, I’d say. I bet Reggie had something to do with this. It’s been so long since I had someone. At this point other people would take anyone. But I could never at my stage in life. That’s why I’m here at almost one in the morning. I wonder why she’s here too, besides being young.”

Ethan breaks away from his mind to refocus back onto Katrina whose finishing up a compliment about his research.

“Katrina, may I ask you a question?”

“Of course, Dr. Ramsey.”

“First, outside of EdenBrook you may call me, Ethan.”

Katrina runs her hand through her hair before replying

“Are you sure, Dr. Ramsey?”

He rolls his eyes briefly before turning to look at his glass to take another sip of his scotch.

“Yes, rookie. You referring to me as doctor outside of the hospital makes me look a bit pretentious.”

“I think that’s your own doing, Dr. Ramsey.”

He pauses lifting his glass to meet his mouth in midair and turns to glare at her but it falters once he hears the bubbling of laughter escape her plump lips. He goes back to take a swig and places his glass back down gently.

“Sorry. I couldn’t pass that up...Ethan.”

“Now, was that really that difficult?”

“Not exactly, but it’s a bit strange. To be on first name basis with your idol.”

“I’m just a man, rookie. Not a celebrity or some god.”

Katrina turns her face away from Ethan and averts her eyes from his as she whispers

“Maybe, but you sure do have god-like looks.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t make out what you said?”  curious of what she said.

“It’s not important. But you wanted to ask me something?”

“Yes I do. I happen to be thinking of what you asked me earlier in the night and wondered the same.”

“Is that so? Is there a reason why you liked to know?”

Her tone so playful with a hint of flirtation that he couldn’t decipher if he imagined it or not.

Instead of speaking he shrugs his shoulders in response.

Smiling to herself and looking down before meeting his eyes again.

“I’m just like you. No one awaiting my return.”

“Interesting.”

The fading music is more audible as the two stop speaking momentarily

“...I need somebody. Somebody to treat me right, oh. I need your arms. Loving arms to hold me tight. And I, I, I need your, I need your tender lips to hold me.”

A chime from Katrina’s cell phone breaks the silence before either one of them could.

“That’s my Lyft. It’s two minutes away so, I’m going to waiting outside.”

Ethan nods in understanding, she begins to remove herself from her seat, but still slightly tipsy she slips and falls into Ethan’s body who reacts immediately.  He grasps firmly yet gently ahold of her,  keeping her steady. Both freeze from the sudden contact and close parameters they are from the other.

Katrina can see Ethan’s adam’s apple bob up and down in his throat and he thinks to himself while staring at Katrina.

“I suddenly have the urge to gently brush the curls away from her beautiful eyes and...I need to stop this instant. It’s late and I am feeling a bit lonely but I’m beginning to enter a dangerous area. This would lead to an H.R. nightmare. I can’t let myself get tangled with the matters of the heart. Especially with my, ahem, the rookie. God, I need to lay off the sauce for a while.”

He’s pulled from his thoughts when Katrina removes herself from his arms.

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it, rookie.”

“Is that going to be a permanent thing? Even outside of work?”

“What?”

“Rookie. I mean you’ve called me by my first name earlier tonight even when I thought you didn’t even know it, much less remember it nor care to.”

“I’ve told you. I’m observant...rookie. Does that answer your question?” He says smirking at her.

Rolling her eyes she moves to make her way to the exit.

“Yes it does. And you deny that you’re favoring me.”

“I’ll let you believe what you want. Even if it’s a silly notion.”

“Whatever you say, Dr. Ramsey” she purrs.

Ethan feels his heart rate increase briefly. Before he can respond, she speaks up.

“My ride should be here now. I’ll see you around Dr. Rams- I mean Ethan.”

She rubs her hand obsessively through her hair before giving him a quick wave as she inches closer to the door.

“For whatever reason my name leaving her lips sounds right. As the same for hers. Katrina. Ka-tri-na. I’d like to say it more than just in my...Okay enough. I must stick with calling her  rookie. That’s what's...what’s safe.

Katrina opens the door which pulls Ethan out and he speaks for the final time

“Have a good night...Katrina. Get home safe.”

She stops at hearing her name being used and turns back around and grins wide at Ethan.

“You too.”  she steps outside and calls back to Ethan.

“Maybe once I’ve graduated from rookie or you tire of it, you can call me Kat. Whichever comes first.”

Without another word or glance she walks out the door.

Ethan is left staring at the spot she was occupying before turning his attention back to his glass. He drains the rest of his drink and retreats into his thoughts.

“So much for playing it safe. Then again, what’s life without a few risks.”

[ceterisparibus116]

The claire meeting stick oneshot that you wrote was amazing, could you do one with foggy interacting with stick if you havent already. You dont have to if you dont want to

*hugs* of course I want to! This is probably not complete yet, but here’s a start. Set before Season 2.

Foggy was having a good day. Mrs. Smirnov paid them indonuts and actual currency, he foundsome smoking hot precedent to save the day for their client accused of robbery,and Karen turned up some new facts in their controlled substance case thatproved their client wasn’t engaged inwillful blindness—and yes, that prompted a lot of very unprofessional jokes atMatt’s expense when no clients were around.

Speaking of Matt. Things were good with him, too. It wasn’tquite like the old days: once you find out your buddy can hear your heartbeat andsmell your sweat, there’s really no going back. But he seemed to be bendingover backwards to not rock the boat.

(Because Karen didn’t know. Because Matt was a coward.)

Which, unfortunately, often meant hiding injuries. He didn’tseem to understand that Foggy got just as upset from knowing Matt was hiding injuriesas from seeing the injuries themselves. Foggy made a subtle game out of forcingMatt to reveal them, usually by poking him in any suspicious locations. Orthrowing things at him, when Karen wasn’t watching.

Was it nice? No. But there were worse coping mechanisms.

Like Matt’s coping mechanism, for instance, which apparentlyinvolved picking a fight with a sentient crowbar. Now he had a broken finger toshow for it, and probably a bunch of bruises. Most likely some kind of head injury too, although he successfully convincedKaren to go on a coffee run instead of making the coffee herself, so Foggywasn’t about to accuse him of being concussed. Yet.

But he was definitely not above throwing things at Mattwhenever he walked past Matt’s office. Matt had to choose between moving, whichapparently hurt, or getting hit in the face with stress balls. He consistently optedfor the stress balls.

“That one has a baby hippo on it,” Foggy informed him as theball bounced off Matt’s cheek. He’d taken his glasses off after the first roundof attacks.

“I don’t think that’s true.”

Foggy leaned against his doorframe. “Why? Because of myheartbeat?”

Matt looked mildly uncomfortable. Maybe at the edge toFoggy’s voice, maybe because he actually felt guilty for reading people’sheartbeats without their permission, maybe because he was just super beat up.Who knew? “Your heartbeat doesn’t usually give you away when you’re jokingaround. You’re not worked up enough about the lie. So, no, I just find itunlikely that this particular stress ball has a baby hippo.” He threw it backwith considerably better aim. “If you said it was a giraffe, maybe I’d buy that.”

“What makes a giraffe more reasonable than a hippo?” Foggydemanded, relaxing a bit at the idea that Matt’s polygraph thing wasn’tinfallible.

Matt looked thoughtful. “I don’t know. They just seem morepopular.”

“Ridiculous,” Foggy declared. “Hippos are both deadly andadorable. Not unlike you.”

“They—wait, what?” he spluttered.

“You heard me,” Foggy said serenely, tossing the ball backat him.

Deadly and adorable and a lying liar and also Foggy’s bestfriend. How was this his life?

But Foggy was resolutely making the best of it.

Rolling his eyes, Matt opened his mouth for some retort thatwas certain to be zinging, although the joke was on him. Goading Matt intoretorts was all Foggy wanted, just a little way of pretending everything was stilllike it used to be.

But the retort never came. Instead, Matt’s whole bodystiffened.

“Buddy?” Foggy asked cautiously.

Matt was on his feet so fast that Foggy thought backwards toremember if he’d blinked. He hadn’t. Anyway, Matt was already brushing pasthim, heading for…what, the door?

“Matt!” Foggy grabbed his arm. “This is not the time for crimefighting.” It was broad daylight and he wasin a business suit and he’d left his glasses in his office, what was wrong with him?

“Fine,” Matt said shortly, but before Foggy could celebratethe acquiescence, Matt twisted until he was grabbing Foggy instead of the otherway around. “Then you need to leave.”

There was something weird in Matt’s voice that Foggy wasn’tused to hearing and couldn’t quite pin down. “Uh, no. I’m in the middle of—”

Matt turned his head as if he could look straight at Foggy.“I’m serious.”

“Yeah, I’m getting that,” Foggy said unsteadily. “What’sgoing on?”

“Foggy, please, just—”

The door opened, but the first thing Foggy saw was a long,thin stick. Like Matt’s. It was accompanied by an old man in dark sunglasses. Fromthe way Matt reacted, it might as well have been accompanied by a swarm ofhornets.

“So this is it, huh?” The old man swiveled his head, notlike he was looking around—because duh—butlike he was…breathing the place in, or something equally weird. “The fancy job?”

“I told you,” Matt said tensely. “The job’s not that fancy.”

“It’s got, what, two separate offices? And a kitchen?” He sniffed loudly. “With donuts. Hell, Matty. No wonderyou were such a wreck when I found you.”

“Which time? When I was a kid, or twenty years later?”

Stick rolled his head on his neck towards Foggy. “He keepsdoing this,” he drawled in a fake whisper. “Bringing up how I left him like hethinks it’ll get him pity.” He cocked his head back at Matt, who lowered hishead ever so slightly. It made Foggy furious. “I found you crying in anorphanage, kid. Don’t see why you think there’s anything that’d make me feelsorry for you.”

“You’re him,” Foggy burst out. “You’re that guy.” The guywho trained Matt and who, according to Karen (murmured guiltily over beers,like they both knew Matt would hate it if he knew they were talking about him)told Matt that he’d have to cut people out of his life to be effective.

“Foggy.” Matt’s voice was a warning, but it wassimultaneously somehow small.

“What kind of a name is Foggy?” Stick asked scathingly.

Bit rich coming from a guy called Stick. For better orworse, Foggy kept that thought locked up in his head.

“You’re the partner,”Stick deduced, tilting his head towards Foggy, and it was such a Matt-likegesture that it looked so wrong on his wiry old body. “Lived together inColombia.”

A shiver ran down Foggy’s spine. “How do you—”

“I know a lot, kid. More than you ever will, that’s forsure.” He tapped his cane on the floor. “All the books and shit you’ve gotpacked in here, it doesn’t mean anything. Not in the real world. None of itcounts.”

“We’re helping people, Stick,” Matt said tightly. “Thatcounts.”

“Saving ’em from a couple years in jail won’t do much for’em when this whole city gets turned upside down. But I know you won’t listen,Matty, no matter what I say.” He almost—almost—soundedsort of sad. He jerked his chin at Foggy. “You tied yourself down to him. I’mnot surprised you’ve gone soft.”

Matt said something back, something argumentative that Foggydidn’t think would make any difference at all, but Foggy was distracted tryingto unravel everything Stick just said. About soft, and tied down. “Hang on,” heinterrupted.

Matt visibly gritted his teeth, but Stick looked delighted.“You thought of something?”

“Yeah,” Foggy said defiantly. “Lemme know if I’ve got thisstraight. You’re saying Matt wants to help people because he’s soft, right?”

“He wants to help people in whatever useless way will soothehis baby feelings,” Stick corrected.

“Because he’s soft,” Foggy insisted, while Matt opened hismouth, then closed it. “And you think he’s soft because he got tied down to me.Correct?”

“Wow,” Stick drawled, cocking his head back at Matt. “I seewhy you keep him around.”

Foggy actually laughed. “You don’t know Matt at all if youthink I’m the reason he cares aboutpeople. He does that all on his own.”

He’d meant the words for Stick, but hearing it seemed tomake Matt stand up just a little straighter. “Listen, Stick, whatever you’re hereabout, I don’t care. I have a life, one that I—”

“Not for much longer.”

Foggy started calculating his odds of getting to his officefor his softball bat, because for some reason he didn’t want to try to take onthe old man via fisticuffs.

Matt shifted in front of Foggy. “Is that a threat?”

“Observation,” Stick countered. “It’s inevitable. Although,yeah, if I have to rescue you from the softness myself, I’ll do what it takes.”His voice sort of softened. “I’m not gonna lose you, Matty.”

“You already have.” Matt’s head suddenly twitched up a waythat was now familiar. He was picking up on something. “You need to leave.”

From the look on Stick’s face, he’d heard it too. A smilespread slowly, wickedly across his face. “We’re just getting started.”

“Stick, I’m serious.”

“So’m I, Matty.”

Matt stepped forward, right up in front of Stick. The toesof their shoes were almost touching. “I won’t ask again.”

Stick’s sightless eyes flicked in Foggy’s direction for aninstant. “Or what?”

Before Foggy could even gasp, Matt’s fist snapped out. ButStick had already shifted to the left. He punched back. Matt dodged and grabbedStick’s lapels; Stick kicked out and Matt sidestepped. Then Stick threw an elbowthat caught Matt across the face.

Foggy winced, but the pain seemed to ignitesomething in Matt. He shoved Stick up against the wall with Stick’s lapelsbunched at his throat. “Get out.”

“You’re gonna wanna take your hands off me, kid.”

“Get out.”

“Too late,” Stick murmured.

Shockingly, Matt seemed to agree. He dropped Stick the waysomeone might drop a bag of dog dung and stepped back, running a hand—was itshaking?—down his tie. Before Foggy could process that, wait a second, theyjust had a fight in the office, the front door was opening.

Karen walked in. “Oh, hi.”

[alkalinerock]

50 questions air

thank you @kisamas i love talking about myself

1. What takes up too much of your time? im double fisting ffxiv and three houses rn im swear im gonna beat nier one day and i recently got bloodstained so i might fuck around with that :)

2. What makes your day better? eating something tasty and then im happy :) i also like it when i talk w/ the pals makes me feel good

3. What’s the best thing that happened to you today? I am thinking about making mashed potatos i will i promise and it will b the best thing today

4. What fictional place would you like to go to? if i could visit some ffxiv maps like crystarium would b cool. n like, id visit inkopolis (i wanna b squiddo) and ryme city would be dope as hell would love a shinx buddy

5. Are you good at giving advice? i feel like i am but i feel like i still have so much more to learn about imparting wisdom. i was thinking about this the other night n as funny as this sounds i heard a lot of good advice on tumblr. mainly realizing how simple but important the small things are. “i’m proud of you” or “you did really well”. and i like giving advice i think it makes people feel less alone when theyre dealing with situations. if nothing else thats what i want to accomplish

6. Do you have a mental illness? idk i feel like i do but i never officially got diagnosed we got no health insurance. a lot of ppl tell me that im depressed and i think i believe it too but i always tell them im gonna remain impartial about it until i (finally) get a chance to talk to a profreshinal 

7. Have you ever experienced sleep paralysis? ya a few years ago after class id take like, a nap daily. and most of the times i wake up unable 2 move. sometimes im in like, a bad position where my face is a little too close to my pillow and its hard to breathe. i havent gotten it in a while but it sure does stink. 

8. What musician inspires you the most? i dont think any musician INSPIRES me but octopath’s composer yasunori nishiki really makes me wanna be like “quit your job join my octopath band” 

9. Have you ever fallen in love? yeah it rocked but things didnt always work out but i learned a lot in the end 

10. What’s your dream date? never rly thought about this kinda stuff i dont really fantasize about my ideal date. i think the best things in life happen spontaneously. i think. 

11. What do others notice about you? i like 2 talk about myself and that im cute and smart funny and handsome and my meat is huge :) 

12. What’s an annoying habit you have? i play a lot of osu!taiko so i have this finger tapping habit and a lot of like anxious tics like shaking my leg i bite my nails n whatever i do this n that a lot

13. Do you still talk to your first love? yea we’re like still best friends 

14. How many exes do you have? two too

15. How many songs are in your playlist? i have many playlists i have soundcloud playlists for like. anime music/future funk/game music/etc. my spotify playlists have like. hundreds of songs. my youtube playlist also have like. hundreds of songs. some things i listen to on a daily basis i havent even saved so it just keeps growing. 

16. What instruments can you play? i used to b able to play geetar, piano, clarinent but ive forgotten everything since

17. What do you have the most pictures of? animals n other stuff

18. Where would you like to go before you die? oh wow uhhh like. i have general locations but nothing specific. it’d be nice to visit japan and see korea (finally) n then like new zealand. i know it doesnt sound exciting but i’d be happy to be anywhere. 

19. What’s your zodiac? tavros

20. Do you relate to it? sometimes but i take astrology with a grain of sand anyways 

21. What is happiness to you? chillin

22. Are you going through anything right now? tryin 2 get a job. get my AA. 

23. What’s the worst decision you ever made? hmmm i have made many bad decisions but nothing stands on top as my worst. i think anything that falls under the category of “mistreating my friends because of my short-sightedness” is considered the worst. 

24. What’s your favorite store? food stores 

25. What’s your opinion about abortion? pro

26. Do you keep a bucket list? nop

27. Do you have a favorite album? no lol

28. What do you want for your birthday? uhm. better earphones?

29. What are people’s first impressions of you? im silly maybe

30. What age do you seem according to most people? a little younger than i am. 

31. Where do you keep your phone while you’re sleeping? on the dresser next to my bed or like. on my bed next to me in a safe corner 

32. What word do you say the most? idk maybe like. epic. or. legit. or fuck. 

33. What’s the oldest age you would date? i donno lol maybe like. 1000. 

34. What’s the youngest you would date? my age and above lol wtf 

35. What job/career do most people say would suit you? any job that requires, like, talking. on two occasions ive heard ppl say that i have a voice suited for customer service (like, ehh?? i just talk politely lol) but like. counseling too i guess. 

36. What’s your favorite music genre? most genres but lately ive been listening to anime op/eds and bideo game music and bandori songs and like. brockhampton or like. outrun. this n that.

37. If you could live in any country in the world, where would it be? i donno... i don really think about this stuff 

38. What is your current favorite song? fire bird by roselia (lol)

39. How long have you had this blog for? for a while idr how long maybe like. 5 yrs

40. What are you excited for? these maybe mashed potatoes im gonna make LOL

41. Are you a better talker or listener? i think im both. i prefer to listen and i think depending on my conversation partner i think listening is more important 

42. What was the last productive thing you did? i got out of bed brushed my teeth and got something to drink. i know its not much but ive really been makin an effort to improve my....””””mornings””””. ive been waking up at like 1-2pm these days so the least i could do is get my day started right

43. What do you want for Christmas? something rly good to eat!!

44. What class do you get the best grades in? i dont look at my grades LMAO i do like. OK on most of my classes but somtimes i make an oopsie whoopsie and lose a lot of points becuase im forgetful and stupid

45. On a scale of 1-10, how are you feeling right now? like. 7. 10 being like, i just ate something really great and im chillin w/ the homies. im 7 becase i ate something sorta tasty and im chillin but no homies. n im thinkin about the mash potatoe im going to maybe make

46. What can you see yourself doing in ten years? uhm. maybe teaching? doing something like, being sillay with my pals. i dont think about the future i just kinda just. Do.

47. When did you get your first heartbreak? never rly the breakups were my responsibility becos i was mentally immature so i tend to like, think about what i did wrong. 

48. What age do you want to get married? ahh im not rly thinking about this but itd be nice to have a gf first LOL these future oriented questions be like. “idk!”

49. What career did you want to have as a child? yuusha

50. What do you crave right now? despite what ive been saying about thos mash potatoes i really want like. a good burger or somethin. i just wanna eat something free and tasty!!

@gurmza @learnosaurusrex @advancewars2 do it and please read over my answers very carefully i will test you on this on discord without warning