#it’s always look at all these amazing people. and emmeline is here too i guess idk i forgot

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Endeavor

Chapter Update! FFN and AO3

I hope you have a fabulous week because you're a wonderful person! Our next update will be on Friday, October 2nd!

Chapter 12

"Have you been reading my detailed comments?" Ted asked as his thumb drew patterns on the back of Vic's hand. He'd read straight through her novel two weeks ago, then went back and had been spending the last week adding comments to her document.

Vic rolled her eyes as they walked up the drive to the Potter's home and tried to calm the nervous feeling that was trying to overpower her. Nervous because knowing she and Ted had been invited as a couple seemed to put a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach.

"Ted, you're leaving comments on every paragraph. How do you expect me to read that many comments? It's a hundred-thousand-word document! Especially with starting my new editing job on Monday?"

"You're an author, doesn't that mean you love to read every critique of the work you create?" He teased.

Vic shoved his shoulder with hers but smiled.

"You're ridiculous, you know?"

"Yes, but you're the one holding my hand, so where does that leave you?"

"Nervous about being here tonight as your girlfriend rather than only their niece," she admitted quietly.

"Hey," Ted stopped them and pulled her into him, "Harry and Ginny love you and there is no way they aren't happy for us, so please try to trust that they aren't out to get you."

Vic nodded but she couldn't shake the feeling that everyone was out to make Ted see what a bad choice he made in giving her a chance.

Ted rapped his knuckles against the old door and they were both swept into a warm hug once Ginny opened.

"Vicky! Teddy! Come in, come in!"

"Thanks, Ginny," Ted grinned as he kicked off his shoes. "You should know that Mum and Dad are going to be supremely jealous when I tell them I brought Vic here before I brought her home to meet them."

Ginny shook her head at his teasing. "Teddy, dear, Victoire is my niece. I knew her for two decades before you did."

"But you also knew me for the same time before Vic knew me, so I'd say it cancels that out." Ted grinned.

Ginny looked heavenward and laughed. "Why do the Marauders have to leave their mark on every male in this family?" She turned to Vic. "Would you believe that even my sweet Al was trying to be a smart mouth the other day?"

Vic laughed, feeling the nervous pit in her stomach start to ease just a bit.

"Al? Really?"

"Al's better at it than the rest of us." Ted walked with them into the kitchen. "He's more like my dad, and Dad always manages to get the best of the other three brothers."

"Heaven help me, then," Ginny chuckled.

"Why ask for heaven's help when I'm right here?" Harry winked at her as she moved to help him with dinner.

"You're a legacy of the problem, love." Ginny leant over and kissed his cheek.

"Ginny is bemoaning the way the Marauders are rubbing off on Al." Teddy sat down at the table and pulled Vic down with him.

"Bemoaning?" Ginny's eyebrows shot up and she turned to glare at Ted.

Vic covered her smile with her hand.

"I'm a simple man, Ginny," Ted grinned, "I use simple words."

Harry turned and Vic could see he was putting a great deal of effort into not laughing.

"You're in an odd humor today, Ted."

Ted shrugged, "I'm happy."

Then he grinned over at Vic and squeezed her thigh. Vic felt the shy smile break across her face and knew there was no way she could stop it.

"Hands above the table!" Jamie shouted behind them, causing Vic to almost fall off her chair.

Vic turned to glare at her cousin feeling her face heat up, unconsciously directing some of her anxiety into the anger that bubbled at his surprising her.

"Are you going to make a habit of tormenting us every chance you get?" She shot at him. Why couldn't Jamie just leave her alone?

"Whoa," Jamie held up his hands, "I'm just playing Vicky, you know it's all in good fun."

Vic huffed, "You've never done this to me before."

"Yeah, well, Sean was a bit of a prick."

Vic felt like Jamie had just kicked her in the chest. She knew she and Sean hadn't been right for each other, but she hadn't thought he was an awful person.

"James!" Ginny gave her son a pointed stare.

"What?" Jamie defended as he pulled a soda can out of the fridge. "We all knew he was; it just took Vicky a while to see it. But she saw the light in the end and now she's with Ted and we can all breathe easy again."

Vic dropped her eyes down and realized she was wringing her hands. Did everyone feel that she had been dating a prick? Was the whole family talking about her poor choices behind her back, not saying anything because they all believed she wouldn't listen to reason? If everyone knew Sean was awful, why had no one made a point of showing her?

"Why don't you see if Al or Lily needs anything, Jamie?" Harry stepped between his eldest son and his wife, who was staring at the teen with menacing eyes.

Jamie glanced between his mum and Vic and then looked at his dad. "Yeah, good idea."

"Are you going to talk to him?" Ginny turned her dangerous glare to Harry.

"I'll talk him through it, love," Harry soothed, giving her a quick kiss. Ginny pursed her lips before seeming to decide to let it lie for now.

"I'm sorry," Vic kept her focus down at the table. "I shouldn't have goaded him."

"You're fine, Vic," Ted moved his arm to wrap it around her shoulders. "We're all a bit difficult when we're teenagers."

Vic bit her lip and leant into him, trying to take as much comfort as she possibly could in the warmth of his embrace.

"Are you excited about your new job?" Ginny asked in an attempt to change the subject.

Vic smiled, "I am, but I'm a little nervous too. I didn't really think that I'd get this one when you sent it to me. Most people I know write for a long time before they become assistant editors."

"But you have been writing dear," Ginny handed Harry the oven mitts and he pulled out the shepherd's pie that Grandma Molly made him teach her how to make. "You were the sole creator of Ron's initial website for his new company, all that text was put there by you. You handled the blog, you handled the page information, that site was all you."

"Plus your book," Ted added. "That's a lot of writing experience."

Vic started to object again but Ginny held up her hand.

"You'll do just fine, dear. I've known Emmeline for almost as long as I've known Harry, she wouldn't have hired you if she didn't think you were right for the job."

Vic nodded, but she still felt nervous. Why did it feel like everything made her nervous these days? Harry moved the large pie to the table and Vic tried to use it as a way to change the subject. She was done having the conversation revolve around her questionable life choices

"This is one of my favorite meals." She gestured to the shepherd's pie.

Ted hummed his agreement. "Aunt Lily's shepherd's pie is pretty amazing."

"I thought it was Uncle Harry's recipe?" Vic turned to him, grateful that Ted pushed the conversation away from the topics that made her stomach clench.

"Who do you think taught me how to make it?" Harry chuckled.

"I guess I forget sometimes that you and my aunts have families outside of us." Vic felt a bit sheepish. "I'm sure Aunt Hermione and the rest of them have recipes that are their parents' too, huh?"

Ginny laughed loud and Harry smiled at Vic's confused face. "Have you ever noticed that your Aunt Hermione doesn't tend to cook much? Yes, her parents have recipes they've passed down, but they've passed them down to Ron. Hermione hates cooking."

Vic chuckled and was grateful when Ginny suggested she and Ted collect her cousins for dinner. And thankfully the Potter brood managed to keep the conversation spinning well enough that Vic was able to just sit back and enjoy. But her initial feeling of dread seemed well justified when Uncle Harry asked her to help him with getting the pudding out later that evening.

"Vicky," Harry handed her a stack of plates, "How are things?"

"Fine," Vic took the plates and set them out on the table, trying for all the world to look unconcerned as she pointedly ignored the clenching feeling in her stomach and the way her heart beat harder in her chest.

"Vic, we love you, you know that, right?"

She nodded, still refusing to look her uncle in the eye.

"Then what's going on? You've been really reserved and jumpy tonight."

Vic bit her lip and tried for boldness, but when she met Uncle Harry's gaze, she realized how foolish an idea that had been. She was not strong enough to shrug this off while looking him in the eye.

"Are you unhappy with Teddy?" Harry pressed.

"No!" Vic felt the air rush out of her.

"Well, then what's going on?"

Vic bit her lip before falling into one of the chairs and wrapping her arms around her waist.

"You know what happened before we got together. Aren't you worried about Ted being with me?"

Harry stared at her blankly. "I'm sorry, that one completely missed me."

"Harry, I was encouraging Ted's flirting while I was dating and engaged to Sean. Wouldn't you be worried if Jamie started dating someone you knew wasn't faithful to their previous relationship?" Vic didn't dare look up at her uncle. She almost expected him to go talk to Ted then and now and convince him to wash his hands of her.

"What does Teddy say about what you're getting at here?" Harry came to sit across from her.

Vic shook her head. "He keeps telling me that I'm crazy."

"Then I'm going to side with Teddy."

Vic squeezed her arms tighter around herself. "You mean how everyone sided with me while I was in a relationship that I shouldn't have been in?"

Harry sighed. "Vicky, we love you, and if you had decided you did love Sean, then we would have done what we could to support you in that relationship."

"Even though everyone thought he was a prick? Even though it would have been bad for me to stay with him?" Vic finally looked up at Harry.

"Vicky, one of the things that come with being an adult is that the grown-ups that raised you have to back off and let you make your own decisions, and let you deal with whatever those consequences happen to be. We all still want to help you, and we may make suggestions along the way, but we can't dictate your lives. How else will you learn other than having to make your decisions and live with the consequences of them?"

"So, even if being with me is bad for Ted, you'll not try to stop him?"

Harry chuckled, "I've not seen Ted happier than I see him now with you, but yes, even if he was unhappy, I wouldn't try to sabotage your relationship with him. If he came to me for help, I would definitely try to help him find happiness, but I would never tell him to break off a relationship. Those sorts of decisions are personal ones, and they have to come from the individual."

Vic took a deep breath and forced herself to ask one last question. "What about the rest of your family, would they do the same thing?"

"Who do you think taught me that when a kid becomes an adult the grown-ups have to let them learn from their own choices?"

"So, no one is going to try and talk Ted out of being with me?"

"No, Vicky, I think the only person you need to be concerned about in that area is yourself."

Vic blinked, "What?"

"If you can't believe that you're worthy of being loved, then sooner or later, you'll be the one to walk away."

Vic sat in stunned silence as her uncle's words washed over her, but before she could respond, Lily came bounding in asking if it was time for dessert yet.

Uncle Harry's comment felt an awful lot like the list that her mum had written several months ago. She really wished that everyone would stop trying to vaguely point her in the right direction and just tell her what she needed to do. But Harry's comment about loving herself made her feel suddenly exposed in the worst way. She wanted to put on a sweatshirt and curl under a blanket. Why did the concept of loving herself make her want to find a rock to hide under? Vic realized it was probably close to the same reason that her mum's list made her want to tear the page out of her notebook and burn it.

"You ok?" Ted pulled her into him as they walked from the Potter's to his car. "You've been pretty quiet tonight."

Vic rested her head against his shoulder and sighed, "I'm starting to realize that I might have farther to go than I think I want to."

"You missed me," Ted leant back against his car and pulled her close to his chest. Vic let her arms snake around his neck and tried to enjoy the feeling of being wrapped up in Ted's embrace.

"My mum, and Uncle Harry, both seem to think that I've got some personal growth I could be doing, and I'm feeling like what they're suggesting is more than I might be able to handle."

"How can I help?" Ted dropped his face and nuzzled her cheek with his nose.

"I don't even know where to start, Ted, let alone how you could help."

Ted pulled his chin down her cheek, his five o'clock shadow pulling a giggle out of her.

"Well, maybe we sit down together, look at where you are, and see if between the two of us we can find a way forward, along with how I can help."

Vic bit her lip and pulled back to look at him. "This is scary."

"My mum says that most things that are worthwhile are scary." Ted soothed as he rubbed his hands up and down her back. "But you don't have to do it alone. Scary things aren't so bad when we do them with other people."

"Are you some self-exploratory expert then?"

Ted laughed and brought his lips to hers. Vic pulled closer, pressing up on her toes to deepen the kiss.

"There's the real Vic, I knew she couldn't have gone far." Ted murmured against her.

"What does that even mean?" She chuckled.

"You go get things, Vic. I'm not a self-help expert, but I know that you go get what you want, and that's the only thing you really need." Then he nipped at her ear. "And I'm never going to turn down excuses to spend more time with you."

He kissed down her neck and Vic hummed as her fingers moved through his turquoise hair.

"We should probably stop snogging out here," she sighed as he slowly moved his lips closer to hers. "I'm waiting for Jamie to come out and yell at us to stop."

Ted smirked as he pulled back, "You're probably right, but this is why I have a flat of my own."

"Why don't we take advantage of that before you take me home?" Vic finally started to feel more herself as Ted's appreciative hum vibrated in his chest against hers.

"See every now and again you have these amazing ideas and I end up wondering how I ever managed to make it this far without you."

"You're ridiculous," she pressed forward again, running her tongue against his lips.

"And you're kissing me," Ted murmured, pulling her flush against him and moving a hand to her hair.

"Will you two get a room!?" Jamie yelled from his bedroom window, looking down at the two of them in the front-drive.

"We were just on our way out, Jamie," Ted called back up to him as he reached behind him to open the car door.

When she finally made it home, Victoire opened up the notebook that had her mum's notes in it and read them again.

You and your desires are important.

You are a good person.

You are brave.

You must decide your life's story.

A few lines underneath them she added Uncle Harry's advice.

If you can't believe that you're worthy of being loved, then sooner or later, you'll be the one to walk away.

She didn't feel any closer to finding herself, but seeing it all laid out in front of her, she realized that Uncle Harry's words had given her a bit of direction. Maybe if she could just believe these things, then maybe it would help her see the way forward. And knowing that Ted was going to try and help her made her feel a little less like she was floundering.

Vic was pulled from her internal struggle by the chime of her text message notification.

Ted: Have you read my comments yet?

She laughed and pulled her laptop to her.

Vic: I was just about to start.

Ted's typing bubble made her giddy.

Ted: Good. I think you're going to like what I've put so far.

Vic typed in her password and waited for her computer to log in.

Vic: I'm sure that I'll wonder if we're reading the same document.

She bit her lip and smiled. Teasing Ted was almost as much fun as kissing him.

Ted: Stop that. Go read my comments and you'll see this story of yours is going to be big.

Vic rolled her eyes and opened her browser.

Vic: You have to say that, you're my boyfriend.

Ted's response was almost instant.

Ted: No, I have to say it because it's true. Now stop texting me and start reading. ;)

Vic opened the document and sighed. She hadn't read through her story in almost a year now. It felt like going back to an old childhood favorite food and it made her nervous. She'd liked some pretty awful things when she was a kid, some good things too, but a lot of things that now she found repugnant. Was she about to find out that she had spent three years on something that she now hated? Vic tried to breathe through the anxiety and took a deep breath.

"Let's get this over with." And she started reading.

[imyourliquor-youremypoison]

A Girl’s Best Friend (Peter Parker x OC) - Part 9

Synopsis: Diamonds are man’s best friend- or dogs are girls’ best friends, wait… how does the saying go again?

Warnings: Family issues; Peter has a crush and it’s complicated; mention of assault; good dogs; College AU; aged up! characters; TONY STARK IS ALIVE AND WE ALL LIVE IN A HAPPY PLACE CALLED DENIAL

A/N: In this story, Peter has Tom’s dog, Tessa.The dogs in the story play a minor but key role.

Word count: 2.5k

Part 8 <<< >>> Part 10

MASTERLIST

Come Thursday, Emmeline walked into the library, reveling in the silent early hours when it was nearly empty except for Peter and her. This was even more true now because the Christmas holidays would start in two days, and most people had already gone back home to avoid the rush at the airports the weekend before Christmas.

                She looked forward to these study sessions, they became part of her life in that sneaky way that things you start doing on a regular basis do. Sometimes they didn’t even talk much, but it was nice and comforting to be with Peter. He had a good aura, one that drew her to him. Emmeline wondered if the feeling was reciprocated – she thought he liked her, but it was always hard to tell, he was a bit on the shy side. At least, he never gave her reason to think otherwise. He never cancelled their plans, never said no when she suggested something, he was always on time when they agreed to meet somewhere.

  Peter was always at the library before her, waiting at their usual table. Waiting or… sleeping.

                With a wicked smile, Emmeline approached, finding Peter fast asleep on his open notebook, snorting lightly. She couldn’t help it, she slammed her books on the table next to him, startling him awake.

“I’m awake! I’m awake!” he exclaimed, shooting up and looking around him, panicked eyes. Emmeline laughed. “Oh, hi, Em. I was just… resting my eyes.”

“Oh, is that what they call it these days?” she asked, sitting down and placing a coffee in front of Peter.

She had stopped at Starbucks on her way here, and she was right to do so. Instead of commenting Peter’s state of dishevelment and obvious exhaustion, she let him take a sip and took a mental note to keep an eye on him.

“’m sorry,” he mumbled, pushing back his hair with a sigh after setting down the cup. “Long days, short nights.”

“I brought the notes you asked for,” she told him, pulling a pile of papers out of her bag. She had printed them for him and changed the layout to make it easier to read. “We can go through them together if you're up to the task,” she said, eyeing him carefully. He looked a total mess.

He rubbed his face without looking at her, eyes focused on the papers already.

“Of course, I'm up to the task, that's why we're here.”

                Emmeline furrowed her brows but nodded nonetheless, thinking it was better not to argue. Peter made an admirable effort to stay awake and concentrated on their work, she gave him that, but there was no ignoring the way his head dipped and his eyelids fell a little as though they weighted a ton. But what pushed Emmeline to speak up was the bruise she saw on his arm, peeking out of his sleeve when he reached to grab the book to her right.

“Peter, what's this?” she worried, yanking back the sleeve to uncover the big purple bruise. It covered his entire forearm; it must hurt like a motherfucker. “How did you get this?”

He shook her hand off and pulled the sleeve down before she could take a good look at it, immediately denying that it hurt and stuttering out some lie about falling in the tub. She knew he didn't have a tub. The knot of worry forming at the back of her throat wasn’t new; she had spotted bruises before. She never said anything because Peter didn’t look in pain, and she knew some people just bruised easily – but this one was bad.

“We should take a break. You should go back to your room and get some more sleep; we can always meet up this afternoon.”

“No, I made you come here early, I can't ask you to come back tonight. And Tessa will be wide awake and think it's time for her walk.”

                That last part sounded like an excuse; they both knew Tessa was a huge couch potato.

“It's not your fault if you're tired, Peter. Anyway, I offered, you didn't have to ask. I can dogsit Tessa this morning. I don't have class until noon.”

It was obvious she was going to win because Peter clearly did not have the energy to argue. He relented after another minute of protesting. The dark circles under his eyes causing lines of worry to appear on Emmeline's forehead. Something was wrong. Something has been wrong for a while but she thought he would sort it out eventually.

“You seriously look like you’re going to pass out. I’m walking with you,” she told him, not accepting no for an answer.

She put his belongings into his backpack and wrapped a hand around his elbow, the way she usually did. She knew he liked it: he always sported this look of pride whenever she walked at his arm. She liked it too.

                They walked out of the building arm in arm.

“I feel so dumb for making you come here for nothing,” Peter grumbled, rubbing his eyes to stay awake.

“It’s okay, I don’t mind. With Bella still at the vet, there’s not much to do at my place. I’d rather hang out with you and do nothing than stay there all alone,” she confessed, offering him a heartfelt smile.

                Peter’s knees almost buckled.

“Why are you so tired though? Is something the matter?”

                A flicker of hesitation crossed his eyes and he looked at his feet, but Emmeline’s grip on him didn’t waver and the steadfast support she provided prompted him to open up to her. It was only fair after all, he had been trying to get her to be more honest about her feelings for months, it would be hypocrite of him to not do the same.

“I have nightmares. I wake up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat and can’t fall back asleep.”

                Not even Ned knew that. He wanted to be honest about why he had those nightmares, but she didn’t ask, probably having sensed that it was personal. Private people tended to not pry into other people’s lives, and that was a huge relief at the moment.

                Truth was, he didn’t really want to talk about the fact that this time of the year reminded him of his uncle Ben. He died shortly before Christmas when Peter was 16. It was always difficult for him, this time of year. It would always be. Coming back late from his missions didn’t help either.

                However, Emmeline was smart enough to figure it out on her own. He had told her about his dead parental figures and if she gave it a bit of thought, she would guess why he couldn’t sleep these days.

                They finished their walk in amicable silence, and Emmeline took Peter’s keys to open the door. Tessa was still asleep, not even waking up when they walked inside.

“Looks like you won't need my services after all,” Emmeline chuckled, watching Tessa sleep quietly. Bella tended to snore, which was why she didn’t sleep in Emmeline’s bedroom.

                When she turned around, Peter was already lying on his bed, arms spread open, sighing in content.

“I’m never getting up again,” he vowed, making her laugh.

                Feeling playful, Emmeline dropped her bag and kicked off her shoes before lying down next to him, her head resting on his arm.

“I admit it’s pretty comfy,” she hummed. “Is that how you lure girls into your room, Parker? I’m amazed it works!”

“Shut up!” Peter scoffed and wrapped his arm around her head, trying to cover her eyes. He only succeeded in making her giggle as she wriggled away. He dropped his head on the pillow again, thinking that he liked hearing her laugh. He wanted to make her laugh more. “It only works on the really gullible ones.”

                She snorted this time, and he felt her body rumble with laughter.

“Aren’t you going back?” he eventually asked, having stopped bothering her and let his arm rest on the bed again, allowing her to lie on it if she wanted.

“What for? I quite like it here,” she hummed, closing her eyes and making herself at home.

“I don’t know. Study? That’s why we meet up every week,” Peter mumbled, feeling himself slip into unconsciousness.

“Maybe I’m just using it as an excuse to spend time with you.”

Peter’s tired brain barely processed what she said before he dozed off. There were no more words exchanged between them, only peaceful silence, and the delicate touch of her fingertips on his open palm. Peter fought to stay awake just a while longer to enjoy this fleeting moment with her, but his eyelids were too heavy. He drifted off to sleep with Emmeline still lying beside him, wishing she were closer.

  *

                  Emmeline was happy to have Bella back, the reunion was an emotional one. It was now the last weekend before Christmas. Columbia was empty, the shopping streets were buzzing with people. This year she bought a tree. She didn’t really know why, she wasn’t much into celebrating Christmas, but this year she wanted to try something different.

                And maybe it did have something to do with Peter, maybe not.

                There were only two things tainting her mood. The first one was silly, really. She hadn’t seen Spider-Man in a little while although he hadn’t said anything about not visiting anymore. Then again, perhaps he was busy this time of year, like everyone else. Everyone else except for her, it seemed.

“Do you miss him?” She turned to Bella who lifted her head when she was being talked to. Sometimes Emmeline wondered if she understood what she said. “Yeah, me too.”

                The second stain on her lighthearted mood was the customary Christmas speech given by mister mayor himself, live on TV, and which required the presence of the entire family apparently. Emmeline loathed these occasions, where she had to play pretend, act like the perfect little daughter. Her parents even hired a stylist to make her look the part.

                Her skin crawled just thinking about it. One of these days she would have to rebel and not come. But not this year – her father was trying to her re-elected, and if she did anything, anything at all, to jeopardize his chances, there would be hell to pay. She still hated this masquerade, and she hated herself for playing along too. There was no solution that satisfied everyone in this scenario.

                She was saved from her own thoughts by her phone.

From Peter: I just finished my part of the assignment. Can I send it to you for proof reading?

                She smiled, already typing out an answer when she received a follow-up message.

From Peter: and to make sure I didn’t completely bullshit it. The chapter about boundary value problems is still a bit obscure to me.

To Peter: Gotcha. I’ll send you my part too so we can both give each other feedback.

                He sent her a gif of Jake Peralta saying ‘noice’ as an answer, and she shook her head, putting down her phone. Emmeline went to her room and opened her laptop to send him her work – it should be ready to send at this point, she had a fairly decent grasp of the subject and had proofread it a couple times already.

                She did not want Peter Parker to think her stupid and refused to leave a single silly mistake in her work, and that was the truth. Emmeline liked Peter, more than she anticipated and perhaps more than she would like to. Her life was complicated, and she was complicated, it didn’t feel right to drag him into it.

                Bella barked to get her attention then. When her eyes landed on her alarm clock, Emmeline realized it was already half past lunch time for Bella. She stood up to fill Bella’s bowl while her phone buzzed away on her bed.

From Peter: hey, what do you say we go out later? For coffee or whatever you’d like?

From Peter: Do I sound desperate? Be honest. I feel like I do. Please say yes though

                Another moment later, it buzzed once more.

From Peter: It’s a date btw

  *

  “What do you want me to say?” Ned asked Peter, sighing through the phone for what felt like the hundredth time since the beginning of their conversation. It wasn’t without reason either, Peter was quite the rambler when he was anxious. “I know you’ve been friends for a while now and she’s cool, but if she hasn’t answered by now, well… you’ve got your answer dude.”

                No, he refused to accept that explanation. As long as she hasn’t answered, there was still a chance, right?

“Maybe her phone died, and she didn’t see the messages,” Peter argued, full of hope and denial. He had been telling himself just that for three hours now, nearly convincing himself too.

“Get yourself together, man!” Ned shouted. “Have some pride! Chicks don’t want no sissy!”

                Peter held the phone away from his ear and looked at it with a perplexed frown before putting it back to his ear.

“Did I hear correctly? Is this the way you talk now?” Peter asked, frowning to himself, amused though confused.

“Trying something new.” Peter could practically hear his friend shrug.

“Stop then. It doesn’t work for you,” Peter told him. Better to be honest, Ned would thank him later.

“Noted. But I stand by my word, girls like confidence, be confident! You’re freakin’ Spider-Man, the chicks dig it! Girls have posters of you!”

“Still not working,” Peter groaned, rubbing his face with his free hand. “But I hear you and I’ll try.”

“I’ll get it right, you’ll see,” Ned laughed. “Alright, gotta go, Noobmaster69 is back online. Got ass to kick.”

                They both hung up and Peter slid his phone back into his pocket, shaking his head after this weird conversation.

“Noobmaster69?” he repeated, still a bit confused about… well, everything to be frank.

                He just spent the whole afternoon trying insanely hard not to look at his phone and focus on the work she had sent him for review. It was good. Like, it was solid, they won’t have to worry about passing this class, and no thanks to him. It was too late to take back what he had sent her though, and even if it were possible, he wouldn’t know how to make it better.

                If he had paid attention in class instead of alternating between sleeping and staring at her in awe, maybe he wouldn’t be in this position? He only had himself to blame. Then again, time spent looking at her wasn’t wasted in his opinion.

                The second his phone buzzed in his back pocket, Peter whipped it out so quickly he almost dropped it – and wouldn’t that just be his luck?

From M: Alright, it’s a date. Nothing comes to mind but I’m not difficult. Meet me at the fountain in Central Park at 6pm?

                In a bout of joy, Peter jumped to his ceiling, scaring Tessa in the process. He stayed upside down while typing his answer and wondered if it was the blood rush that made him dizzy or something else.

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Reblog to save a writer

Tag list:  @justanothercynicalgenzkid @of-virtuoso

[wotcherpotter]

@hpwritersnet | PROMPT TWO: JAMES & LILY

SUMMARY: Lily is out for a night of celebrating the end of the semester with her friends at their favourite bar OR “That asshole stole my song at karaoke night” AU

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Lily was admittedly already slightly tipsy. To be fair, she had been drinking since two in the afternoon and it was now seven. Really it was amazing she was only tipsy and not at the other end of the sobriety scale. She would have been proud of that fact had she not been trying to wing her eyeliner in the bathroom mirror for the last 15 minutes. As such, she was growing increasingly frustrated and her short temper was rearing it’s ugly head. She heard footsteps growing closer down the hallway, and was relieved to see Emmeline poke her head through the bathroom door.

“Everything okay in here?” Emmeline asked her.

Lily glared at her reflection in the mirror. Emmeline’s mouth was turned up in a smirk, a straw connecting her mouth to her vodka lime and soda. She was the last to arrive back at their shared apartment - her final exam had finished at four - and the only one who had the sense to get ready before consuming any alcohol. Lily’s face scrunched up when she saw the perfection that was her best friend’s own eyeliner.

“Clearly not,” Lily grumbled.

Emmeline’s laughter echoed off the walls of the bathroom. Lily turned to face her so she would receive the full power of her glare. Emmeline put her drink down on the sink and picked up the eyeliner Lily had thrown on the floor in anger. Emmeline maneuvered her body so she was standing under the right lighting and Lily closed her eyes in order to let her fix it.

“Stop fluttering your eyes,” Emmeline muttered.

“You’re poking a stick at my face, what am I s’posed to do?” Lily retorted.

“Alright I’m done, quit whining already,” Emmeline laughed, and she spun Lily to face the mirror again.

Lily inspected the job her friend had done, though she already knew it would be perfect.

“Thanks Em, you’re a lifesaver,” Lily said with an apologetic smile and a kiss on the cheek.

The exchange between them was a regular one even when they were both sober, and Lily smiled back at Emmeline guiltily. Emmeline rolled her eyes and smiled as she turned to leave and Lily followed, eager to get out of the cramped bathroom so she could breathe again. They walked back down the hallway to the kitchen where their third best friend (and housemate) Marlene was munching on the last of the cheese cubes from earlier in the afternoon. Lily snatched the last one out of her hand and threw it into her own mouth with a grin.

“Oh good, you’re finally ready,” Marlene teased.

“Not all of us can pull off effortless chic like you do, Marls,” Lily said with her mouth full.

“Ah, Lily my dear, you have no idea of the power you possess,” Marlene responded.

All three girls burst into a fit of laughter. They stopped only when Marlene’s phone began to ring from where it was plugged into the wall charging. She shushed the other two and answered the unknown number. The conversation only lasted a couple of seconds and Lily was completely baffled about what could have been said in such a short time.

“Uber’s here,” Marlene declared.

The three of them scrambled to grab their bags and down the last of the drinks. They made sure one of them had a key and then ran out the door of their flat and into the elevator. They only lived on the third floor of the building but they hadn’t been able to work out where the stairs were since they moved in. It didn’t bother them too much.

Their drive to the bar was short, a distance they probably could have walked but as Marlene had pointed out that would mean less time for celebration. The bar was busier than usual, even for a Friday night. Nevertheless, they were still able to get their favourite booth that was the perfect distance between the bar and the karaoke stage. Hestia, their favourite barmaid had put a makeshift reservation sign on the table for them. As her best friends slid around the booth, Lily went up to the bar to seek out the barmaid in question. She had to weave through a few groups of people, but one of the only positives about her short stature was that it was much easier to squeeze through to the front.

“Hestia!” Lily called over the music.

Hestia looked up from the other end of the bar where she had just finished pouring someone a pint. She spotted Lily in an instant, the flaming red of her hair hard to miss even in the dim lighting of the pub.

“Hi lady, how are you?” Hestia asked her with a smile.

“Forever grateful for your service and blatant favouritism of your patrons,” Lily responded with a giggle.

“You’re everyone’s favourites,” Hestia explained.

“Mmmhmm, sure. I see the way you look at Emmeline every time you come clear our table,” Lily said with a wink.

It was hard to tell in the light, but Lily swore she saw a blush form on Hestia’s cheeks. Hestia finished pouring their usual order and placed the last drink on the bar top. Lily gave her a tenner and told her to keep the change, carrying the three drinks carefully back to their table. She managed to arrive without spilling a drop and a breath of relief escaped her as she squished next to Marlene in the booth.

“Hestia was checking you out again, Em,” Lily said innocently.

Her facade broke as soon as she finished her sentence, and giggles erupted from both her and Marlene. Emmeline sipped on her drink quietly, and Lily was certain a blush was rising on her cheeks.

“When will you two bone already?” Marlene joked.

“Marls!” Emmeline said, whacking Marlene on the arm.

“Is it even boning when it’s two girls? There’s no bone,” Lily pondered.

“An incredibly good point there Lils, although maybe if one of them had a strap on?”

All three of them burst into laughter at the question Marlene posed. Lily had managed to spit out half her drink onto the table which caused them all to laugh even more, and droplets of rum and coke were falling onto their laps.

“Eeew, Lily, I wasn’t supposed to be sticky and wet until later tonight,” Marlene joked.

Lily cackled beside her and almost choked on what was left of her drink. Marlene patted her on the back and Lily wiped a tear from her eye. She could already tell it was going to be a good night. Hestia brought over a basket of wedges and said they were on the house, and Lily almost inhaled half of them. It felt like hours since she’d last eaten, and her stomach was begging for something. Marlene whacked her hand away when she was on her tenth wedge in two minutes, reprimanding her for hogging them all.

Lily huffed but was soon distracted by the first karaoke singer of the night. The hook for Ice Ice Baby started to play and Lily rolled her eyes, turning back to her friends. When she turned back to the table, both sets of eyes of her friends were looking at her with identical knowing smiles.

“What?” she said slowly.

Marlene’s eyes gave them away when she looked down at what was the basket of wedges.

“Hey!” Lily complained when she realised. “How did you even manage to finish them all so quick?”

Her best friends burst into fits of laughter and Lily couldn’t help but join them. Emmeline offered to get the next round of drinks and Lily and Marlene both teased her about Hestia again. Emmeline walked off with a blush forming on her cheeks again, and Lily downed the dregs of her rum and coke. Marlene had pulled her phone out of her pocket and was messaging someone on Tinder, and Lily was left to people watch.

Most of the people in the bar were familiar faces from her university. Though she had no idea who any of them were, she’d seen them on campus multiple times, and some she even shared classes with. There were groups of people crowded around standing tables all throughout the small space in the bar. She couldn’t lie to herself, she was scanning the crowd for someone in particular. She couldn’t see him anywhere, and though she tried not to feel dejected Marlene could sense it without even looking at her.

“Who are you looking for?” she asked, without even looking up from her phone.

“How do you even know I’m looking for someone? I’m just looking,” Lily tried to cover up.

Marlene locked her phone with a click and put it down on the table in front of her. She looked at Lily with an eyebrow raised. Lily was not an easily intimidated woman, but the look Marlene was giving her right now would have made anyone spill their guts on sight.

“Alright, alright! It’s just this guy I sat next to in my exam today. I’d never met him before even though we both had the same class all semester and he - well we connected I guess,” she confessed.

“Lily Evans! Are you saying there may be a suitor on the horizon?” Marlene questioned, dramatic as always, with a hand on her heart.

“This is why I didn’t want to tell you,” Lily pretended to grumble, but the smile on her face betrayed her.

Emmeline arrived back at the table with their second round (or seventh, if you counted all the ones back at their apartment).

“Lily has found herself a male suitor,” Marlene shared.

“Our darling girl, all grown up!”

“I’m older than both of you!”

“Technicalities,” Emmeline dismissed with a wave of her hand.

Lily looked at her shrewdly and noticed a napkin with something scribbled on it in her other hand.

“What’s that you’ve got?” Lily asked, pointing at the napkin.

“Don’t throw me under the bus just because you’re getting grilled!”

Marlene leant over and yanked the napkin out of her hand. Emmeline shrieked in surprise and both Marlene and Lily cackled in response. They studied it together and both their jaws dropped when they read it.

“I can’t believe you finally got her number,” Marlene said in shock.

“Give it back,” Emmeline whined.

Emmeline snatched the napkin back and pulled out her phone to store the number before it was lost again. Lily sipped her drink with a smile stretched across her face.

Marlene sighed. “I can’t believe Em is out here getting numbers from real people, and I’ve resorted to the scum of the Earth on Tinder.”

Lily snorted at her complaint. “You were just messaging someone on there.”

“It wasn’t really a stimulating conversation Lils.”

“Oh you like to be stimulated do you Marls,” Emmeline giggled.

“I wouldn’t mind it, yeah, but I don’t think any stimulation whatsoever can come from a Tinder hook up,” she complained again.

Lily spun to face her friend, her mouth forming a small ‘o’. “When did you hook up with someone from Tinder?”

“Oh Lils, it was dreadful! I went over to his house after my statistics exam on Wednesday, I thought it would be a good stress release.”

Emmeline snorted at that and Marlene glared at her.

“Anyway, we were kissing and he was so good at that but when we actually started to have sex it was like - like a rabbit trying to procreate.”

Lily and Emmeline screeched with laughter at her description. Marlene couldn’t help but join in, and they laughed for a good five minutes at least. Lily felt abs forming in her stomach it hurt so much from laughing and she saw tears rolling down Emmeline’s cheek. Lily tried to pull herself together to ask how Marlene had managed to get away, but every time she tried she saw the rabbit man again and a wave of laughter bubbled through her body.

“How can someone be so good at kissing and so - not at the dirty deed?” Marlene finished.

“The dirty deed, what are we, 40?” Lily teased.

Marlene whacked her on the arm in retaliation. She was about to get her revenge when the song playing over the speakers caught her attention. The start of a very familiar song, her go to karaoke song, had begun to play and she spun around in the booth again to see who was up on stage. Stealing her song. Her eyes bulged out of her head.

“Lily? What’s going on?” Emmeline’s voice was was tinged with concern at seeing the look on her face.

“Is someone singing your song?” Marlene said in confusion.

Marlene climbed over her to get a look at who was on stage, then looked back at Lily’s face. Lily blushed slightly, giving herself away.

“Shut up!” Marlene cried.

“What? What did I miss?” Emmeline asked, looking between them both.

“Lily he’s singing your song! You’re meant to be, I just know it!” Marlene cried.

“Is that the guy you were talking about?” Emmeline was still lost.

Lily’s face was burning by now. She swatted Marlene from off her lap so she could try and breathe again.

“Lily you have to go talk to him once he’s done murdering this song,” Marlene pleaded. “Even if it’s only to tell him never to sing again. For the good of the people.”

“Fine! Fine. I’ll go.”

Lily got up from the booth and her head spun a little, that way it always did when you drank sitting down and were more drunk than you thought. She heard her friends snicker behind her and turned to glare at them for what had to be the 18th time that night. Marlene nudged her forward encouragingly, and Lily tripped over her feet slightly. A blush formed on her cheeks against her will, but she managed to get to the side of the staged without further incident. She stood by the side and waited for him to finish.

“Once upon a time I was falling in love, now I’m only falling apart…” he was whispering into the microphone at this point. “There’s nothing I can say, total eclipse of the heart.”

He was on his knees, and Lily had to admit if he didn’t sound like a dying cat he might have been better than her. Might being the operative word. She watched him bow to raucous applause from a table near the back of the room, presumably his friends. He put the microphone back on it’s stand and turned to walk off stage, and the look on his face when he saw her was comical. Probably the same look she had on her face when she saw him earlier.

“Lily?” he questioned.

She waved, and he smiled so big and so beautifully she felt a weakness in her knees that wasn’t caused by the alcohol.

“What did you think?”

“You want my honest opinion?”

“Erm…” His right arm stretched up to mess up the already untameable mop on his head. “Do I want to hear it?”

Lily laughed at that, a proper cackle. She noticed he was still waiting for her answer, and she pondered how to put it nicely, a finger tapping her chin.

“I appreciated the dramatic flair you performed it with.”

“Thank you! No one ever appreciates the theatrics,” he said exasperated.

“My friend Marlene said we’re meant to be because that’s my go to karaoke song as well,” Lily said conversationally.

Only she realised too late what she said, and felt her cheeks warming up, certain they were now the same deep red as her hair. The man in front of her tried to hide his grin, but he was failing miserably.

“I just meant - I - oh, shut up, James,” she said, whacking him on his arm.

“Ow,” he said, absentmindedly rubbing the spot on his arm where she’d made contact. “That’s going to bruise. I think I’ll have to call security to escort you out for starting a brawl.”

“A brawl? I think I’m beginning to understand why your friends don’t appreciate your flair for the dramatics,” Lily teased.

“You wound me, Lily,” he said, a hand on his heart.

She rolled her eyes, but her smile was still there.

“What say I buy you a drink to make up for it?” she suggested.

“My love can’t be bought,” he declared.

Lily ignored him and instead started walking towards the bar. She turned to make sure he was following her, and was relieved to see him right behind her.

“I thought you couldn’t be bought?” She asked, as he fell into step beside her.

“It can’t hurt your chances,” he winked.

Lily turned away to try and hide the blush that was involuntarily creeping across her cheeks again. She weaved between the crowds again, though this time with more alcohol affecting her stability. She tripped on something and fell into someone at a nearby table. James reached out to steady her, his hands strong and warm around her shoulders. She thanked him for saving her life.

“And I’m dramatic,” he muttered.

He meant her to hear it though, and she knew that. What he didn’t mean for, was the person she bumped into to turn around at the sound of his voice and sneer.

“Watch where you’re fucking going, curry muncher,” the person jeered.

James chuckled uncomfortably next to her. She stood in front of James as tall as she could (which was still almost a foot shorter than him).

“Oi, wanker, it was me that walked into you,” she shouted.

Not giving him a chance to respond, she pulled her right fist back and punched him squarely in the jaw. Her dad had taught her how to punch properly when she was younger in an attempt at self defence. Thumb on the outside, between your first and second knuckle; fist tight and follow through. She had never actually thrown a proper punch before though, and her hand ached where it made contact with the stranger’s jaw.

“Holy fuck,” James whispered from behind her.

The stranger was in shock, and it gave Lily enough of a head start to drag James with her the other side of the bar and into the bathrooms. She tugged him inside a cubicle with her and locked it. The adrenaline bubbled up inside her and released itself as laughter, infectious, and James joined her. This laugh was so much better than the awkward chuckle from earlier; it was warm, and full and felt like sunshine dancing on her skin and she didn’t care in the slightest that she waxed poetic about it because it felt so damn good.

“You didn’t have to do that, you know,” James said so softly, she wasn’t even sure he had actually said it. “It was fucking wicked though.”

“I’d do it again,” Lily admitted.

Somehow she only just realised how much of a tight squeeze it was to have both their bodies in the one cubicle. She could feel heat radiating from James’s body. Something in the air changed, charged it with electricity. She looked up at his face to see he was already looking down at hers. She leant back against the wall of the stall as he leant forward. One of his arms was to her right, the other fiddling with the ends of her hair. The wait for him to lean in was agonising but when his lips finally met hers it was well worth it. Her lips burned where he had touched her. Maybe it was the alcohol, but maybe it was something a bit more than that as well.

It was definitely the alcohol that gave her the courage to deepen the kiss. Her hands had made their way up to cup his jaw. She felt his right hand move down around her waist and she smiled at the attempt to be gentlemanly while they snogged in a toilet. She bit down on his bottom lip and he gasped, but he got the message. His hands travelled further down her body, over the curve of her bum and hoisted her up. Her back leant against the wall of the stall and she wrapped her legs around his waist. His lips chased her pulse down her throat, and he found a sweet spot just behind her ear. A small moan slipped past her slips, and though she willed them not to her cheeks burned red. She felt him smile against her throat; it seemed the heat from her cheeks and made its way down her body as well. She opened her eyes reluctantly.

“Shut up,” she mumbled.

“I didn't say anything,” he teased.

She rolled her eyes, and it was then she noticed the toilet paper stuck to the bottom of her shoe. The poorly lit bathroom was filthy, and she didn't want to think what could be seen with properly functioning lighting. She felt slightly queasy over it. James’s mouth was still at her throat, but she couldn't continue this, not here.

“James. James, stop,” she urged.

He looked back at her in confusion.

“We can't do this here, it’s not-”

“-Romantic, of course,” he finished

“I was going to say hygienic but… I suppose you're right as well,” she said with a smile on her lips.

“Erm. Right, that too,” and this time it was his turn to blush.

Lily kissed him quickly before hopping down from where he had held her up. For the third time that night, she grabbed his hand and lead him out to the booth where Marlene and Emmeline were still sitting. Upon her return they both wiggled their eyebrows at her.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?” Lily said to them.

“Bit presumptive of you, Lils,” Marlene chided her.

Emmeline snorted beside her, and Lily was glad she had worn her hair down so that her blush blended into it. She dared to glance at James to her left and thought she could see a faint pink on his cheeks as well. Lily pulled the key to their apartment out of her back pocket and threw it at Marlene as a retort. She was following James out the door when Marlene called out to her again.

“Remember Lily: before you tap it, cap it!”