#it’s really interesting to me that Carol's emotions/the open expression of them is framed as dangerous here

[daydreamerdrew]

Captain Marvel (1968) #13

[deathvalleyusa]

sugar, sugar.

Summary: Chrissy tries not to expect anything from Billy on Valentine's Day. Billy manages to surprise her.

Pairing: Billy x Chrissy (OC)

A/N: Just some sweet fluffy goodness for Valentine’s Day. Takes place during SATC after Billy and Chrissy’s date. Y’know, while she was grounded.

Warnings: Swearing, smoking, teenagers being their asshole selves.

She felt like a complete idiot.

In the day after being grounded, Chrissy knew she wouldn’t trade her freedom for the night with Billy. Finally knowing him so intimately, getting what she had put off for weeks, felt like a rebirth. She was addicted to his hands on her now, and getting her next fix was the only thing on her mind.

But now, realizing that Valentine’s Day was soon approaching and she was imprisoned in the lovely craftsman on Elm Street, she was regretting everything said to her parents. Her defiance in the face of new rules felt warranted at the time. Now, it felt like she had signed her death warrant.

Chrissy had never gone a Valentine’s Day without a boy on her arm, a bundle of cheap flowers, or a date. Apparently, 1985 was her year to break that streak. No plans, no flowers, and the boy she had attached herself to couldn’t seem to care less about a pithy holiday like this. 

Perhaps it was for the best, she thought. It was an excuse for both of them. For Chrissy not to get excited and later disappointed, and for Billy to not have to cater to her whims when they weren’t even going steady. 

Valentine’s Day landed on a Thursday that year. Hawkins High was fully decked out in pink and red, paper hearts and crepe streamers plastered on walls and door frames. The annual candy-gram was going on. Little bags of candy hearts and chocolates painstakingly made by the student council could be purchased that week to raise money for upcoming dances. Chrissy knew the drill: students would flock to the table to buy a bag for another student, choosing to address it from themselves or a secret admirer. She’d gotten her fair share from both, but this year she wondered if she’d get any from a certain blonde.

Nah, she thought, scrunching her nose as she tapped a pencil on her notebook. He’s too macho for that kind of thing.

This year was no different than the others in that respect. Second period she had gotten her first bag. Quickly, she checked the tag. 

From: Dan W.

Chrissy screwed up her face in disgust. He seriously still had a torch lit for her after all the shit she had said about him? That baggie had gone straight in the garbage, Chrissy knowing full well he sat on the opposite side of the classroom to see it. Get a fucking grip, Dan.

The second and third bags came during Spanish. A secret admirer and some boy she could barely place from last semester. Her frustration was beginning to grow.

It was hard to not be cold towards Billy when lunch rolled around. He was all hands, now the norm after she’d given him access to what he had been waiting for. She was passive, allowing but not returning the affection. After a bit, he seemed to give up in frustration, instead focusing on his food and the banal conversation from Tommy and Carol. Chrissy secretly wished Annette was at school; she had come down with the flu and missed the last couple days.

“So, I got three candy-grams so far,” Chrissy said, casual as she picked at her food.

Billy made a noise to acknowledge her, busy with the taco bowl in front of him. Tommy tried to swipe the holiday-themed cupcake from his tray, only to get a smack on the arm.

“Hey, fuck off,” he scolded. “Eat your own food, you spaz.”

“Three already?” Carol asked, obviously interested in Billy’s lack of concern and Chrissy’s now dour face. “Wow, aren’t you Miss Popular? They all secret admirers or did some of them have the balls to say who they were?”

“Oh, they’re getting bold this year,” she said, snickering. “Only one secret admirer. One was this guy named Taylor and the other was Dan.”

“No.” Carol’s voice was hushed. “Dan? Like Dan Weiss?”

“The one and only,” Chrissy replied, sitting back in the plastic chair.

Tommy started to cackle. “He really thinks those chalky candy hearts are gonna make up for his ‘premature’ problem?”

She snuck a furtive glance at Billy. He was still eating, taking in the conversation with calm eyes. The lack of emotion on his face only served to frustrate her more.

“Looks like you have competition, Hargrove,” Tommy continued, a smarmy grin on his freckled face. “You get her a candy-gram? ‘Cause Chris here’s very fickle. Easily swayed by presents.”

“Shut up, Tommy,” Chrissy and Billy said in unison.

“Did you get me a candy-gram?” Carol piped up, nudging at Tommy expectantly. “You should worry about yourself because I’m still empty-handed.”

“Day’s not over, toots,” Tommy replied, peeling the wrapper off his own cupcake. “Little patience would do you some good.”

All the while, Chrissy noticed Billy’s lack of reply to Tommy’s question. Perhaps he hadn’t bought one for her. The week and a half after their date had yielded some surprisingly sweet gestures, and part of her had hoped this would be another one for the books.

Billy let out a sigh through his nose, gathering his tray up. He gave Chrissy a nudge.

“You wanna have a smoke before lunch is over?” he asked, expression bored.

“Sure.” She stood to join him, giving Carol a tiny wave. “See you guys.”

><><><><><><><><

“So,” Billy said slowly, “you gonna tell me why you’ve been acting like an ice queen all lunch?”

“Give you three guesses.” She watched as he took a deep drag, looking down at his feet before those baby blues tried to read her face. 

“Jesus,” he sighed, rubbing at his nose. It had gone rosy in the cold, as had his cheeks. He had finally learned to layer up since the snow had picked up, but it wasn’t enough to stop the cold from making him look like a little doll. 

“What?” Chrissy asked, irritated by the lack of follow up. She watched as the ash on the end of his cigarette grew, blowing away with a small gust of wind.

“You’re really that fixated on that stupid candy shit?” he huffed. “Why do you care?” 

“I just want to know you care!” she shot back, annoyed. “God, boys are so stupid. It’s not that hard to buy a dollar bag of candy to make someone happy.”

“You got three today. How do you know the secret admirer one wasn’t from me?”

“Was it?” Chrissy’s eyebrow quirked up.

“No,” he said, a smirk starting to form on his face. “I think that’d be worse than not getting you one.”

“So you did get me one?”

“No.”

And even though she had told herself a thousand times today to not be disappointed, something in Chrissy sank. Billy must have noticed the change in her demeanor; his arm draped around her shoulder, chin resting on the top of her head. He muttered something too quiet for her to hear.

“What?” she asked, flicking the ash off her cigarette.

“Got something better,” he said, a little louder. Almost embarrassed. “I was gonna give it to you when I drove you home, but since you’re being a crybaby about it, I can give it to you now.”

Chrissy bounced a bit on her toes, trying to bring warmth back into her body. Lunch was almost over, and she had skipped 5th period too many times the past week. If Wes heard, that could be another week on her sentence. She let out a distressed noise, staring up at the nearly whited out sky.

“I can wait,” she finally said, sliding her hand up her shoulder into his. “Promise.”

><><><><><><><><

The rest of the day was pure torture. Billy had gone out of his way to steal a couple of steamy kisses before their last classes, prompting her to wonder what the gift could be. The more Chrissy thought about it, the more she realized it could just be a sexual favor. God, she hoped it wasn’t. There was nothing remotely romantic or sentimental about getting fingered in the back of his Camaro with stolen time after school.

When the last bell rang, she shot out of her desk, nearly slamming into another student as she made her way out of the classroom. Chestnut hair bounced against her back as her gait quickened, locker in sight. The locker combination she knew by heart was somehow harder than it had been in days past; she tried twice before getting it open. 

“Hey,” came a gruff voice to her side. “You ready to bounce?”

There stood Billy, beautiful and slightly amused by the hurried pace Chrissy had set for herself. Lidded eyes watched as she grabbed the last of her things.

“Yeah,” she breathed, “I’m all set.” 

There was no wait outside the car today, cigarette smoke billowing in the wind as they watched for ginger hair amid the sea of middle schoolers. No, today Chrissy had plopped herself down in the passenger seat, brimming with excitement as Billy took his damn time getting in the car. Impatience started to bubble up in her.

“So?” Chrissy asked, leaning towards him expectantly. “Do I have to close my eyes? Are you gonna take me somewhere?”

“Jesus, calm the hell down,” he laughed. “And no. it’s in the glove compartment. You got hands, grab it yourself.”

She rolled her eyes. “Such a gentleman.”

“Never said I was one.”

The metallic click filled the car before Billy turned on the stereo. Inside the glove compartment was a small white paper gift bag, Billy’s blocky handwriting scrawling her name in Sharpie on the side. Inside was a box of Milk Duds, a pack of bright warm-toned scrunchies, and a mixtape with the words REAL MUSIC written on the case. 

Chrissy sat quietly, eyeing up her gift. Next to her, Billy shifted uncomfortably. 

“It’s just stuff I thought you might like,” he explained with no prompting. “And the music is a bunch of stuff I like that, y’know, you should listen to. Play it real loud to stick it to Wes.”

She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug. Billy didn’t seem to know what to do at first, but returned the hug with a bit of hesitation. Lips met each other before Chrissy started to beam.

“Thank you,” she said happily, staring again at the mixtape. The back had a neat list of songs and artists written in his penmanship. Mercyful Fate, Krokus, Accept. Names she was vaguely familiar with from Billy’s mess of tapes in his car but had never heard.

“Better than that shit candy?”

“Way better.” Ripping off the laminated holder, she tied her hair back with one of the scrunchies. “I can’t believe you bought things for my hair.”

Billy shrugged. “Yellow’s your favorite, couldn’t pass ‘em up while I got the Milk Duds and smokes.”

She planted another kiss on his cheek, moving to his lips. They lingered together for a second, Chrissy deepening into another kiss before tugging at his lower lip with her teeth.

“So, do I get a Valentine’s Day present?” he asked, voice raspy. 

“Is Max getting a ride today?”

A frustrated sigh blew through his nose. Taking a quick glance down, Chrissy could already see the strain of his erection against the light denim of his jeans. 

“Yeah,” he grunted, a sour look on his face. 

“Then you only get part of it,” she said sheepishly. “Sorry.”

Billy’s eyebrows raised as he leaned back into the leather of the seat. “You got me something?”

“Uh, duh? ‘Course I did.”

“You sneak out of the house to get it or what?” he teased, leather creaking beneath him. “Or did Wes give you a free day?”

“Annette helped,” Chrissy admitted as she dug through her backpack. “Just thought it was something you’d want.”

The package, wrapped in shiny red paper embossed with hearts, traded hands. Billy stared at it, clearly unamused by the girly wrapping. He tore it open, eyes lighting up at the sight of a new set of headphones.

“You said yours broke,” Chrissy smiled, shifting to take in the glee in his face better. “They aren’t, like, the highest quality but they should do until you can get better ones.”

“Shit,” he said, smiling with such genuineness it made her heart thud against her ribcage. “Thanks, Chris.”

“I’m the best, I know,” she said, puffing out her chest. 

Billy took her close, taking a hungry taste of her as she giggled. His happiness from the gesture was unexpected, but lovely all the same. Any time he was unguarded like this it felt like another piece of the Billy Hargrove puzzle fell into place. 

A rapping came from her side of the car. Max stood outside, bundled up and red faced from the cold. Chrissy gave her a sheepish smile and a wave. 

“The other half of your present is gonna have to wait till tomorrow,” she said to Billy, unlocking the door.

“Tomorrow?” he said, giving a small smile.

“Yeah,” Chrissy grinned back, shifting to get out of the car. “If we cut early, I know how to get into the auditorium. Nice and private for your gift.”

[quxntumvandyne]

pier pressure // ch. 3 discovery

words: 3.8k

warnings: classic dorky peter and cuteness, some mentions of anxiety

summary: It was finally summer vacation and you were spending it all summer in California. You and your five best friends had been invited to the Stark STEM Summer Program and couldn’t wait to start, but of course, it got off to a rough start. You met someone and quickly hit it off but when disaster strikes, he disappears. But where to?

a/n: ch. 3!! a lot happens in this one and it moves fast so get ready!! i hope you all love it and if you didn’t know, i update this story every friday! i cannot wait for more upcoming chapters, things are getting crazier. also, ages are kinda funky in this story so i tried to match characters with other characters from movies they were in together regardless of age. tony is pretty much the only one (exception of a couple others) who are their actual age. love you all!! lena

MASTERLIST // pier pressure masterlist // join my taglist!

previous chapter

.  .  .  .  .

Okay, you knew you sounded a little bit crazy, but the past 5 minutes just kept replaying in your mind over and over again. The Pacific Blazers had just broken into a restaurant right when you and Peter were having a moment and he disappeared in the blink of an eye, only to have Spiderman show up and save you. But it wasn’t that that you were freaked out by. 

Spiderman knew your name. 

It wasn’t some sort of fangirl moment where a celebrity knows your name, but how did he just appear in California at exactly the right moment to save you and everyone else and he knows your name? You were more than suspicious; you knew something more was happening here. 

“Are you sure you weren’t just hearing things? Maybe someone else said it,” Val said, unsure of your acclaims. 

You weren’t exactly sure what had happened that night and why but you did know one thing and it was that he somehow knew you.

“I’m serious, Val. I’m not making this up, I know he said it.”

“What did he do after he said it?” Carol asked.

You thought about it, remembering that he almost knew he made a mistake by saying it and then took off again. Little clues started being put together in your head but you didn’t want to freak anyone out so you kept them to yourself. Hopefully, you weren’t making any obvious facial expressions to show that you were unraveling an interesting theory, but didn’t want to get your hopes or fears up that it might be true.

“He just dropped me down and took off, and then I came out here,” you lied, feeling bad for doing so but not wanting to cause unnecessary drama. 

You were walking down the sidewalk towards Carol’s Volkswagen van and saw multiple police cars and ambulances around the restaurant, taking the injured to hospitals and arresting all the gang members they managed to catch. 

Some were webbed up onto walls and the ceiling by Spiderman and others were held down by brave restaurant goers, but Mendez and some others escaped. Before piling into the van, you heard someone shout your name in a strangely familiar way. 

“Y/N!” You turned around to see Peter Parker in the distance, walking towards the van with Ned and MJ not far behind. 

“Peter?” 

You saw him jogging towards you and you threw your arms around his shoulders, with him hugging you back. Neither of you knew that you’d hug for the first time in this moment but it felt nice to know both of you were ok.

“Where did yo- oh no, what happened to your eye?” You looked at his eye, which was already swelling a bit and he had a large cut on his left eyebrow that stopped bleeding recently. He had blood on his clothes and his shoes were untied, hair all over the place. 

“I’m alright, just a little bloody. It’ll be okay.” You took a hand to brush the hair out of his face so you could see the cut better in the awful street light-lighting, not knowing how romantic it looked to everyone around you two. Okoye and Wanda both looked at each other knowingly, and Val was shrieking on the inside because her best friend was falling for this guy she barely knew but was such a sweetheart.

“I need to clean that up, Peter-”

“It’s fine, you don’t need-”

“Yes, I do.”

You two looked at each other, both cocking an eyebrow before Peter discovered you were the more stubborn one and he gave in, letting you come to his hotel room again to clean up his face. 

“You’re annoying.” 

“I know,” you said, knowing that you managed to have him wrapped around your finger. 

You looked back at your friends with Hope giving you a wink and you rolled your eyes, knowing they were turning this into something way larger than it was.

At least you thought.

.  .  .  .  .  .

“Peter, this doesn’t get easier if you keep moving.” 

“But it hurts!” You stopped, removing the alcohol pad from this face and glaring at him. He smiled sheepishly at you and you couldn’t help but smile back at how much of a dork he was. 

The cut was a clean swipe of what may have been a knife across his forehead and eyebrow and it must’ve hurt like crazy but it wasn’t very deep. You cleaned it up as best you could while Peter was jittering around while you tried to put a bandage on the cut. 

You were sitting on the counter next to the sink in their bathroom, still wearing your swimsuit underneath your other clothes. It had been such a long day and you were both so tired, you almost forgot tomorrow was Day 1 of the program. Orientation was at 8 a.m. and here you were, at 11 p.m. the night before cleaning a cut from a gang member on Peter’s forehead, a guy you met literally two days ago. Time flies. 

“Who did this to you?” you said, snapping out of your self rambling. 

“One of those gang members. I was trying to help out in the fight but one got me good.” He seemed nervous talking about it, which made sense since it all happened quickly and it was terrifying. He winced as you put a bandage on it as he looked in the mirror at the obnoxious large bandage on his face. 

“Yeah, that will leave a scar,” you told him. He sighed and seemed exhausted and you looked over and his eyes were sunken in. He hadn’t been getting much sleep since he discovered that there was a gang looking for him in Los Angeles but he didn’t want to worry anyone, especially you. Things were moving quickly between the two of you but it didn’t occur to either one of you that it happened in the first place. This unspoken thing escalating made it easier for you both to not notice it but everyone around you knew you were both too much of awkward idiots to realize it. 

You were fixing up another cut on his arm that he didn’t want to tell you about but you saw when he took off the long sleeve that he was wearing from the restaurant. By the time you finished cleaning that up, you both desperately needed sleep so you went back to your room. Before going to your door, you stopped in his door frame looking at him. You leaned on the side and crossed your arms, obviously admired him from behind but Ned could see you and raised his eyebrows at you. Peter saw this and looked at you, making you both blush and look away from each other. 

“Peter,” you said calling his attention.

He turned around with a new shirt on that he winced putting on from being sore and cut up from tonight. 

“Yeah?”

“Try not to get into another fight so soon.”

“I’ll try my best but at least I know that I have someone to stitch me up.” You smiled at him and started to walk away hearing him say “Goodnight!”

Using your key you opened the door and before closing it you replied, “Goodnight Peter.”

When you closed the door, Val was already asleep and you don’t blame her. It was the second attack that she was a part of this weekend and you knew she was terrified but wouldn’t tell you. Knowing your best friend hid her emotions because she thought she was a burden, you tried to not bring it up until she was ready to talk about it. 

You walked into your bathroom and never realized that you two had some cuts on your hand but only requires some bandaids. It must’ve been when that member hit your hand to make you stop fighting back. You bandage them quickly with now only 7 hours left to sleep by the time you showering and cleaned up as best you could and went to sleep for the night. 

Monday morning arrived and it felt like you’d only slept for ten minutes before it was time for Day 1. 

You couldn’t have been less prepared. You couldn’t find the shirt they had sent you to wear on Day 1 to find your team for the summer and neither could Val. You both woke up 15 minutes late and were scrambling to look presentable since you needed to be there in 30 minutes. You were in the bathroom fixing your hair and putting on minimal makeup, a little bit of concealer and mascara but that was the extent of what you had time for. 

Val found both your shirts somehow tucked away in her suitcase pocket and quickly ironed out the wrinkles. Throwing on some jean shorts with your red shirt, you looked in the mirror and ran a couple fingers over your left hand, sore and stinging still from last night. 

This entire weekend was such a whirlwind, that almost didn’t seem like it all happened. But there was no time to dwell on it now, you had to get going with your friends who were waiting on you two. You put on your sunglasses and kept your hair down, with Val putting hers up in her signature ponytail and wearing some white shorts with her purple shirt. 

In the hallway, you saw Wanda, Hope, and Okoye waiting for you wearing their green, yellow and blue shirts. Sadly you were all in the five different groups, but that meant you could all meet new people and talk about the day together afterward. 

“We only have 10 minutes, we need to go!” Hope said, already running toward the elevator with Okoye and Wanda said behind them. 

“What took so long?!” Wanda shouted, looking behind her at you two as you all ran down the long hall. 

You looked at each other and then back at Wanda, both saying “Long story,” knowing it wasn’t really that long but didn’t want to admit that you both slept through your first alarms.

.  .  .  .  .  

You found your seat in the auditorium around other students with red shirts on and sat down. Your hands were clammy and you clenched them on the edges of your seats, the next five minutes dragging on as you waited for Tony Stark to come out and begin his welcome speech. You looked around the room and saw your friends in their areas, already talking with new students as you were sitting down alone and more nervous than you had been in a while. 

There was an empty seat next to you and it stayed empty up until the last second when Peter sat down next to you, wearing a red shirt and it never occurred to you that you might be in the same group.

I just can't get away from this guy, can I? Not that you wanted to, but seriously. 

“Hey,” he whispered nonchalantly, seemingly knowing that you were in his group the entire time.

“Hey.”

“You look tired.”

You looked at him raising an eyebrow and said “Thanks?”

You knew what he meant but wanted to see his reaction. You’d been embarrassed in front of him too much these last couple of days, now it was your turn to not be blushing and stumbling over every word that came out of your mouth. 

“Oh wait, that’s- I meant, uh-” You started to laugh as he turned bright red but was confused as to why you were now laughing. 

“Peter, it’s fine. I-” You were cut off by quiet music that started to play and the auditorium lights blinking, signaling for everyone to sit down and for Mr. Stark to come out and introduce himself, talking about this summer and the itinerary. 

A shorter bald man in a suit walks out and introduces himself as one of the professors at UCLA, giving a short introduction and leaving the floor to Mr. Stark. He walked out and everyone erupted in applause, everyone standing up to clap for the man they were waiting to see and meet. He clasped his hands together and thanked everyone for the generous applause. 

“DAY 1!” he said, raising his voice and getting shouts from the audience in response. 

“I’ll tell you what, if I had this kind of opportunity at your age to learn from people like the ones you will this summer, I’d be making more money than I am now which may not be possible.” Everyone laughed as he continued, and he talked for about 20 minutes, going on to talk about MIT and his experiences as Iron Man and the Avengers. 

Once he said his final words, the professor came back on stage and said where each group would be going first and what the rotation would be like. You and Peter’s group would be visiting Dr. Banner, who would only be here this week. You’d be working with his scientists and in a custom lab, they designed for you all to learn about gamma radiation. You’d also be working closely with Mr. Stark himself to learn about arc reactor technology and would be pairing up with people in your groups to create your own project to work on ways that would improve the lives of the ecosystems and save Earth’s natural life through AI and technology. 

Then, at the end of the summer, Mr. Stark would fund three of the projects himself and put them into actions around the world. Hearing this on your second stop, you immediately thought about being Peter’s partner. You were close to each other in the hotel and seemed to be around one another all the time whether you wanted to or not. As you moved on to group 3, you and Peter were walking about the back of the group before you heard Mr. Stark call out Peter’s name. 

You turned around to see Peter run over to Mr. Stark like he was a good friend and they started talking but you weren’t listening, a bit starstruck just seeing Tony up close and having a conversation with Peter. You were watching the two of them interact and Peter looked nervous but not awkward, remembering that he’s known Mr. Stark from the internship he did in high school with him. Mr. Stark then waved you over and you quickly walked to the two men, leaving your group to go ahead to the next station. 

“You must be Y/N,” he said, causing Peter to look at him like he just said the wrong thing. You could tell they had a father-son type relationship since they’ve known each other for years but apparently, Peter has mentioned you to Tony before. 

“Yes, sir. How do you already know me?” you said while shaking his hand. You wish you’d wiped the sweat off them first, forgetting them were still clammy from not only the heat but nerves. 

“Oh, Petey here has told me all about you but I remember your name while going through applications. Columbia University, right? Impressive, we’d love to have you at MIT and I could offer you an internship.” You could’ve passed out right then and there and it almost seemed like Peter could’ve as well, but you didn’t want to have this opportunity just because you were friends with Peter. Wait, now you were friends with him? Okay, this is moving very quickly. 

“Thank you, Mr. Stark, but I don’t want to be offered opportunities because of Mr. Parker. I would like to prove myself on my own terms, if I may.” He crossed his arms and cocked an eyebrow with Peter looking like he would throw up but also a little hurt by what you said. You tried not to look at him and put your arms behind you, rocking back and forth in your Converse anxious to hear his response. 

“You remind me of Pepper. A lot, actually. Note taken, Miss Y/L/N. I look forward to working with your more this summer and do me a favor and keep Parker here out of trouble. He’s a master of getting himself into it.” 

You had a small laugh and crossed your arms, looking at the bandage that he had put on his eyebrow this morning from last night. 

“I’ll do my best but he’s a handful.”

“I hear that, kid. A pleasure,” he said, walking back into the lab to chat with Dr. Banner. Peter watched him walk away and turned back to you. “Rude.”

“What?” you said, laughing because you already knew he was upset that you embarrassed him in front of Tony. 

“I cannot believe this, my boss and my friend are making fun of me together.” He put his hands on his face and you walked together to catch up with the group for lunch, not forgetting that he called you his friend too

.  .  .  .  .  

At the final station, you found out you’d be learning about all different types of waves; sound, electromagnetic, surface and many more that you were excited to learn about. You’d be tested on all this at the end of the summer to get your official certificate and scholarship from Mr. Stark. You knew you had to focus on all the classes and on your project, which you had yet to ask Peter to work with you on. 

After a long day, you met up with all of your friends and realized that all of you were starving so you decided to go back to the hotel and order pizza, inviting Peter and his friends all over to you and Val’s large hotel room to fit everyone.

You all changed out of the day’s clothes and rented Men In Black to watch while eating pizza. While watching the movie, you sat between Val and Hope but you were distracted, thinking again about everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours. 

There were many things pointing in the direction that he knew Mr. Stark for some other reason. You never saw him at the fight last night but as soon as he left, Spiderman showed up. And Spiderman is an Avenger. But so is Iron Man, which means- you dropped your slice of pizza on your lap and made a mess of your pajama pants before rushing off into the bathroom. 

“Oh my gosh.”

“You okay?” Val asked. 

“Yeah, I-um just not feeling well.” You hated lying but didn’t want to give any indication that you were Your vision was blurry and you felt nauseous, but not from the pizza. Maybe you were right, maybe you were wrong but this only made one thing clear. If you were right, you could not get any closer to him. You’ve already been involved in one dangerous situation, and your friends have been in two. The only common factor in both of those that made sense was Peter but you could not tell anyone what you thought. This had to be kept a secret, especially from Peter. 

You sat on the toilet seat and put your head in your hands, thoughts going a mile a minute. That’s how this all works, you thought. The Stark Internship is Peter being Spiderman. That’s how he knew your name.  But you had no real proof, only theory except for Spiderman recognizing you. You had to find real evidence, but part of you wanted to forget about it and not get involved at all. If he is Spiderman, that means you’d only be putting yourself in danger too and the last thing you wanted to miss out of your scholarship because this Mendez guy got his hands on you or Peter. 

After about ten minutes of your brain going on overload, you walked back into the room and sat back down. Val could tell something was wrong but you both knew that you didn’t want to talk about it in front of everyone. 

You really didn’t want to talk about it at all and Val understood that, so you didn’t. 

Everyone had gone back to their room except for Peter and Ned as they finished the pizza that night and then went back to get ready for tomorrow’s first day of classes and finding partners for the project. 

“Do you know if we get to choose your partners for the project?” you asked Peter, sitting on your bed criss-cross applesauce ready for bed. 

“I think we pick them randomly, like out of a hat or something,” he said, talking through his pizza. 

“Oh okay.”

Val and the two men looked at you suspiciously due to your comment, all noting that you might want Peter as your partner. 

“Looking for anyone in particular?” Ned was obviously teasing you with Val joining in by nudging you and you blushed and smiled at her. You and Peter avoided eye contact until they went back to their room for the night and you went to sleep, ready for the big week still ahead and choosing partners tomorrow morning. 

.  .  .  .  .

“Alright, may I have Ms. Maximoff come forward to pick her partner?”

It was Tuesday morning and Wanda headed up on stage to pick her partner for the environmental cleanup project. The professor was calling out 10 people from each group to pick their partner and Wanda’s group was going first, then Hope, then Okoye, then Val and your group was last. 

Wanda was partnered with a guy named Paul, a taller blonde guy with glasses who she seemed to be excited to work with. Okoye was paired with a girl named Nakia from her group and Hope was paired with a goofball named Luis. Val was paired with Carol and she was blushing madly on stage when Carol smiled after reading her name off. Something was definitely happening between those two and you were excited to see Val act this way. 

Then it was on to the final group, the red group. It didn’t take long to pick partners since there were only 100 people and 20 on each color team, and Peter was called out first to pick a partner. You watched as he got up from the seat next to you and walked up to the stairs to the glass bowl with names in it. 

Your heart was pounding, not sure you if you wanted to be his partner or not, now knowing what you’d be getting yourself into. Peter twirled his hand around in the bowl and picked up one name. He looked at it and smiled, glancing at you. 

“Y/N,” he said, walking back down the stairs in your direction.

So much for no distractions. 

.  .  .  .  .

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[arabgoldenstars]

[trans] 181214 Jessica Interview With일간스포츠 (Ilgansports)

181214 JESSICA INTERVIEW WITH일간스포츠 (ILGANSPORTS)

Jessica, who is expanding a solo singer and as a business woman, said “I have a big picture. It’s not like I’ve engaged on something in particular, instead, it’s a work I’m progress that I’m painting little by little each year. I think I’ve drawn one third of it, but thankfully up until now I think I’m filling my painting in a good way. When years pass, I, too, wonder how this picture will be completed. For now, starting next year there will be many interesting things.”

– You said you are a work-aholic

J: I’m so lucky to work while enjoying it. It’s fun because I’ve chosen a job I like to do, and because it’s fun I can carry it out gladly. Because I enjoy what I do, the quality improves, and because I get along well with my staff I can work hard.

-It’s been a while since you released a single.

J: It’s an event song. Honestly, although I’m constantly working on an album, because there has been many projects I was a bit busy this year. When I’m preparing for an album, I like to dedicate my entire time to it and immerse myself, this year I didn’t have time to do that. But because I’m constantly working on music and receiving demos, I talk a lot with the composers as well. I must release an album next year.

-Is it the first time you challenge yourself with a carol song?

J: I’ve always wanted to sing a Christmas song. When I first heard ‘One More Christmas’ I thought “this is it”. With a youthful vibe, it’s a song that makes your holiday happier. Since it’s an exciting and lifting vibe, I hope people who listen to it spend their holidays happily.

– Do you have any plans for a holiday party?

J: I really wanted to do it. Luckily, my sister Soojung’s and my schedule matched so we are going skiing to the United States. When our times match we go on trips.

– I heard that you went on a vacation with your family recently.

J: It had been a really long time (since the last vacation). It’s hard to gather all of us so when we can we must go on a trip. This time I went right after a schedule but it was really fun. My family and I went to Athens and Vienna, which he hadn’t been to before. Because our parents came it’s different than when it’s just my sister and I, but we still had a great time.

– It seems you’re very relaxed being solo for 5 years.

J: It’s always hard to adapt. Whenever something is new, everything seems harder. Of course, there were many setbacks because it was a new start. I’ve had a lot (laughs). There’s times of despair, and there’s times when you become so discouraged you wish to give up but thankfully my personality isn’t like that. Instead, I’m the type to strive to win. I’m very competitive, and I’m not shaken up by other people’s words. I think ‘Let’s see who’ll win’ and I push myself more. It’s a process that must be done carefully and consciously, not recklessly. I’m following my choices and I’m moving forward towards my future to see how it changes.

– Who or what do you turn to?

J: I talk a lot with the company’s president and our team leader. They give a lot of support to the people around them, it’s not that they cheer for you particularly, but just by sitting by their side I gain strength. I think it’s good that I’m surrounded by people with good energy.

– Isn’t it hard to work as both a singer and a business woman?

J: I think it’s all right. If singer Jessica can express herself through music, brand creative director Jessica can eventually show my identity through products. People ask “Which job do you like the most?” but I’m doing both because I like both. These days there’s many people who do different things too. Of course, I don’t want to do only one thing. What is obtained through various activities is great.

– You have your own brand and you are constantly desired in the fashion industry.

J: I think they are different. People who give us suggestions also say “You are the one who this this, let’s do this together”. Because we understand each other we don’t really collide. And since different regions have different contracts and time periods, it’s good to be able to show different brands in my own way.

– You’re a CEO-like fashionista, but do you personally think you dress well?

J: I don’t particularly think I dress well. I’m the one who knows me the most. Face, body, frame, I know it all very well so I know what looks good on me. Of course I know I have to switch things up. Since I’ve been active for a long time I’ve had many opportunities to try different types of fashion. As I’ve worked with different brands and media, I naturally learned how to dress myself.

– If you had to pick between warm-tones or cool-tones?

J: It depends on my mood. It’s a bit embarrassing to say it myself, but makeup artists say that my face isn’t fixed to a single tone and goes well with any tone. I’m not sure what looks good on me but I like that I can show different emotions based on the color scheme.

– Fans say they want to see you with blonde hair.

J: I want to go blonde but it’s hard because my hair is weak. My hair is really thin and it looks healthy right? But when you try touching it like this you can feel how frail it is. I want to go blonde but I’m scared of bleaching it and I’m worried about how damaged it would get if I dye it, so I can’t. I hope the fans can endure it.

– You have a very honest and realistic personality.

J: I’m very down-to-earth. If it doesn’t seem plausible I give up and do something that can be done. I’ve been like that since I was young. When I was a trainee too, if there was a song I couldn’t sing I’d say “I won’t sing it. It doesn’t suit me.” and find another song. I’d rather show the things I can do with confidence. I think it’s a constant trait. People usually put in effort into the things they can’t do, right? In my case, because I know myself well, I think it’s a waste of time and get over it quickly. I’m not always in the right but I trust myself.

– How did you come to sing a contract with the American agency UTA?

J: We held many meetings with different companies but I felt that UTA was different from other companies. It was a company that cared more about my career than business. They considered the future and made a plan, and gave me support. More than anything, they tell me I am young. In Korea, I feel the issue about age because I’ve been active for 12 years, but they tell me “You are still young so let’s take things slowly. There’s many things we can do.” They feel like a warm family.

– Is there a reason for picking a big company?

J: I think there is a leader for every industry. There is a leader for every place in the world, the same goes for the entertainment industry. It’s not something I’d join recklessly out of spite and because I know that country well I wanted to be with the best people in the industry. Thankfully, joining UTA was a win-win situation. They said were also looking for people like me. They told me “You’re a unicorn” because they thought I was perfect.

– I think the expansion of K-Pop is also a huge factor.

J: Yes. I think seeing ‘K-‘ in music, fashion, beauty, etc. is a heavy influence. When I go to a foreign country I hear the word ‘K-Pop Star’. I can’t deny it. Sometimes I hear that people know of me. Not just towards me, but I think a global door towards Asia has been opened.

– You also went to Cannes Film Festival this year.

J: It was a new experience. I went as a guest of a jewelry brand and I was also surprised. When the liaison first arrived I asked ‘Why should I go?’ ‘What I’m I supposed to do there?’ but they told me it was one of the usual events of the brand. I also didn’t know that at Cannes Film Festival important brands held a party and they even invited several people who aren’t movie actors, like influencers, to attend the red carpet event. I was invited to be at the red carpet for 10 minutes but because it’s so wide I thought a lot about how I should stand there. It was a new atmosphere.

– Seeing the actors, did you think of challenging yourself with acting?

J: I have plans of acting. When singing the contract with UTA, we discussed various areas. I hope I get a good opportunity (to act). It’s a time where Asian people are getting attention overseas so I think the response would be good.

– What do you do on days when you don’t have a schedule?

J: I don’t do anything (laughs). I don’t really like exercising. I put resting first and only when I have a trainer I exercise. I really love eating so I just eat well and rest.

– The pictures you took with actress Park Min Young became a big topic.

J: We’ve been friends since pre-debut. We met when I graduated from 3rd year of middle school to my first year of high school (T/L: In the US that would be going from freshman to sophomore in high school). We have a 3 year difference and back then she was a big unnie. When you’re a kid you feel the age difference more strongly, you know. If unnie asked me to dance I would dance. If I came from Korean class I would use what I learned with unnie, when I learned a new word I really wanted to use it. I still remember when I learned the word ‘straight hair’ and I told unnie, she’s someone who has seen me grow up.

– You’re in an open relationship with the company’s president, is it going well?

J: Yes, it’s just that I don’t want my fans to be upset and I don’t want to be loud about it.

– Is there a secret to self-care?

J: Watch the amount of food you eat and drink water. Those are the two most important. If I want to each chicken I only have two pieces. I usually eat half the chicken but if I need to regulate the amount I refrain from it.  I’ve never been able to stop eating. Instead I drink a lot of water. It helps digestion. I can’t even measure how much water I drink. My mother calls me a carp (type of fish).

– Did you fulfill the plans you had for this year?

J: I had the goal of being healthy and I’m very healthy right now. I wanted work to be more fun and I had a lot of fun working. Luckily, I had the chance to visit many countries. I said I wanted to have many encounters and I learned from meeting with many cultures and speaking with others. There’s something you can learn in every country. Isn’t it wise to have those kind of experiences?

– Is there something you want to try next year?

J: To mature accordingly to my age. I hope I can expand more and I become the kind of person that expands their horizons. Next year I’ll be 30 and I think I’m ageing naturally. Next year, too, I want to raise B&E a bit more and to deliver a lot of music.

– Is there any content you are preparing?

J: I’m thinking of trying fun things with my sister. Starting from the photoshoot on January, I think we’ll be able to make fun contents. These days we have YouTube, Netflix, and other platforms so now that I think about it there’s many fun things I want to do with my sister.

– We’re also anticipating a new album.

J: This year there wasn’t a lot music schedules but I want to release an album next year. I want to try to concentrate on music a little more for those who are waiting. I hope they can anticipate me next year.

English trans cr;  gldn_star translations

[wanderleave]

My contribution for @jancyficweek, which, in an extremely on brand move for me, is not finished, but! I wanted to get it up for AU day, of which this is most definitely. Parts two and three coming, hopefully, soon. I know my blog text is tiny, so if that isn’t your jam, you can also find this guy on AO3.

As always, this is @stoprobbers‘ fault.

Attending her ex-boyfriend’s wedding alone may not be the stupidest thing Nancy Wheeler has ever done, but it’s close.

It was meant to be a statement, attending the wedding at all, crossing out the plus one on the invite, traveling all the way back to Hawkins, where her parents don’t even live anymore. But as Nancy steps off the plane, she can feel the pit in her stomach, the one that says, this is the worst idea you have ever had.

She pushes the pit down, takes a deep breath, and goes to find her luggage.

For some inexplicable reason, she’s been invited to the rehearsal dinner, a tiny slip of a note in her invitation, perhaps by virtue of arriving early from out of town, or maybe Steve just wants to get the introduction out of the way before the actual wedding.

She’s never met his fiancée, but it’s a wedding. Nancy’s going to have to meet her eventually.

Might as well get it over with.

The first person she sees (of course) as she walks into the restaurant is Carol, who mutters something to Tommy before walking over with what Nancy knows to be a fake smile on her face.

“Nancy Wheeler, what brings you back to Hawkins? I thought you were too big for our little town?”

Nancy plasters a matching smile on her face, even as she remembers exactly why she left Hawkins in the first place. “I was invited, Carol. Although I didn’t realize you were close enough for the rehearsal dinner?”

Carol lets out a simpering laugh. “Tommy’s a groomsman, I’m just tagging along. Are you bringing anyone?” she asks, looking around, her tone implying she knows Nancy’s here by herself.

“Oh, um,” Nancy begins, but Carol cuts her off.

“I mean, it must be so hard finding someone who can live up to all of your demands, I mean, dreams.”

Nancy blinks, the smile on her face turning brittle. She knows Steve would have unburdened himself after the breakup, but she should have expected this, should have realized there would be an ambush. She shouldn’t have come alone.

“It was great to see you again, Carol,” she says, cutting off the conversation, only sort of trying to hide the sarcasm as she walks away.

It doesn’t end with Carol.

Steve’s mother, his grandmother, his cousins, everyone mingling, all incredibly interested in Nancy and how she’s doing, and if she brought anyone, Nancy stammering out vague responses.

She should have prepared for this. Made up a boyfriend sick with the flu back in New York, or in the Peace Corps, or Canadian, unable to cross the border for some reason. Anything would be better than having to admit that she came alone to her ex-boyfriend’s wedding, as a matter of principle, yes, but also because she hasn’t dated anyone since she broke up with Steve last year.

And then she sees Steve.

Their eyes meeting across the room, his arm wrapped around someone that has to be Robin.

It’s easier than she thought it would be.

And harder, all at the same time.

Nancy manages a weak smile, one that Steve returns. The hand resting on Robin’s waist lifts in a wave.

She needs some air.

It’s started raining.

Of course it has.

Nancy stands just under the awning to the restaurant, letting her hair frizz up, letting the raindrops splash onto her toes. Breathing in and out, wishing she hadn’t left her wine inside, or that she’d stopped after the fourth glass, she’s not sure which.

“Fuck,” she half-shouts, at life, at her choices.

Maybe she shouldn’t have come at all.

“Everything okay?” an unfamiliar voice asks.

Nancy turns to find a stranger tucked into the shadows, smoking a cigarette, looking at her with concern.

She blinks, flustered. “Oh, no, yeah. Everything’s . . . ” She pauses, trying to find a way to describe her situation. “Fine.”

The stranger smiles wryly at the emotion she packs into the word. “Anything I can do to help?”

Nancy begins to turn him down, then reconsiders. Nodding at his cigarette, she says, “Can I get one of those?” She’s not normally a smoker, but if there was ever a time, it’s now.

He frowns, his nose wrinkling. “It’s, ah, my last one. But?” He holds it out to her.

Nancy looks at him, considering.

Finally she breathes, “Fuck it,” and takes a drag. Lets out a deep sigh of relief.

The stranger laughs.

“Thanks,” she says, handing it back to him, and as he leans back against the wall, gestures to herself. “Nancy.”

“Jonathan.”

She nods at him, looking back out at the parking lot. The rain starts to fall harder.

“Should I ask?”

Nancy huffs out a mirthless chuckle. “Probably not.” She puts her head in her hands. “Oh god, what am I doing here? I shouldn’t have come, I should have never come back, I can’t believe I have to deal with these people all weekend.”

“Bride or groom?” he asks, and the perfunctory curiosity of someone who doesn’t know her history with Steve—with this town—is so refreshing that Nancy laughs out loud.

“Groom,” she tells him. “About as groom as you can get. What about you?”

“Neither,” Jonathan shrugs. “Or, both. Kind of? I don’t actually know anyone in there, except for the bride, and I’ve only met her once. I’m just waiting until they need me.”

Nancy tilts her head in confusion at the statement, but before she can ask him to clarify, she hears from behind her, “Nance?”

Nancy swallows. Turns.

“Hi.”

Steve looks good, better than the last time she saw him in person, although that wouldn’t take much—almost anything is better than tears and screaming.

He pauses for a second, a vague smile on his face, almost rueful. “I didn’t think you were actually gonna come.”

Nancy shrugs. “Here I am.”

Steve nods. “Yeah.”

They stand in silence for a few moments, Nancy breaking it before it goes on too long. “Everyone’s told me you’re doing really great—she’s really great—I’m . . . I’m really happy for you.”

Steve smiles, a real smile this time, one that lights up his entire face. “Yeah, she’s . . . yeah. She’s amazing.”

Nancy smiles back. “That’s great,” she says, meaning it, and even though it’s awkward, so awkward, it’s manageable. She thinks maybe coming back was a good idea, that the closure provided was, in the end, worth it.

Until Steve asks the question, the one she’s been asked too many times to count.

“And what about you, how are you? Are you uh, seeing anyone?”

Later, Nancy will blame many things for the words that come out of her mouth—the wine, Carol, her precarious emotional state—but even as she says them, she knows they will be impossible to take back.

“Actually yeah, I am.”

What has she done?

“Oh.” Steve sounds surprised. “My mom—she was saying . . . ” He shakes his head. “That’s great, Nance. I’m . . . happy for you too. I’d love to meet him.”

Just kidding, Nancy wants to say. Just wanted to see your reaction.

Instead, what comes out of her mouth, even as she thinks stop, what are you doing, is, “Well, you won’t have to wait too long.”

She watches as her hand extends toward Jonathan, the man she met literally minutes ago, hears herself say, “Steve, this is Jonathan,” makes herself meet his eyes as Jonathan’s head cocks in confusion, pleading silently, please, just go with it.

To his credit, Jonathan barely skips a beat. He drops the cigarette on the ground, grinding it out as he leans forward, placing his arm around Nancy’s waist in the same movement as his other hand extends towards Steve. “Jonathan Byers.”

“Steve Harrington,” Steve replies automatically, before his eyes narrow and flick to Nancy and then back to Jonathan, shaking his head from side to side, once, twice.

His eyebrows knit together.

“Wait,” he says, slowly, and Nancy holds her breath, sure the ruse will end before it even begins.

“You’re dating my photographer?”

Nancy feels like she’s going to faint.

She feels Jonathan’s hand tighten around her waist, almost like he can tell, like he’s trying to hold her up.

Or he’s warning her that he’s about to walk away, she’s not really sure.

Steve is still looking at her expectantly, and after the silence drags on for far too long, Nancy says, lightly, hesitantly, “Yes,” her tone landing somewhere between statement and question.

“That’s so crazy.” Steve shakes his head. “How did you guys even meet?” But before Nancy can even try to come up with a plausible explanation, Steve answers his own question. “Oh, New York, of course.”

Nancy presses her lips together, turning her head to meet Jonathan’s gaze, and this time Jonathan’s the one to answer, his “Yes,” even less confident than Nancy’s, his eyes locked on hers.

“Great, that’s great,” Steve repeats. He seems to mean it, and Nancy feels a twinge of guilt at her subterfuge, but her sense of self-preservation keeps her tucked into Jonathan’s side.

“So I’d better, uh,” he nods toward the door, “get back, but, uh, good to meet you.”

Jonathan nods.

Nancy does the same, counting the seconds until Steve leaves, even as she knows that the conversation she’s about to have will be one for the ages.

“And,” Steve turns back, hanging onto the door frame, saying to Jonathan, “I think we’re gonna start the speeches soon, so . . . “

“Got it,” Jonathan confirms, waiting for the last glimpse of hair to disappear, before turning to Nancy, stepping back, his steadying presence at her side disappearing, Nancy strangely finding herself missing it, even as she knows she doesn’t deserve to feel that way.

“Okay—”

“I am, so, so sorry,” Nancy breathes.

“Yeah . . . ” he trails off, and she blanches, her anguish swallowing up the rest of her apology. “I mean . . . so that’s clearly your ex, right?” he says, offering her an opening.

“Yes.” Nancy swallows. “And you’re the wedding photographer.”

Jonathan nods at her, an expression on his face that could be apprehension or amusement. “So, what—”

Nancy cuts him off. “I’m so sorry,” she says again, because she can’t say it enough times. “I don’t know what I was thinking, it’s just that his mother, and everyone in this fucking town, it’s like they were all waiting for me to come back, tail between my legs for dumping him, and I just . . . with everyone else I could fake my way through it, but then he was right there . . . and you were right there, and I’m so sorry and if you give me five minutes I will march in there and pretend you dumped me because I didn’t tell you about Steve, just give it a second for it to spread around so people won’t get confused, because it will, I promise you, and then you can spend the rest of the evening taking truly awful pictures of me, which I absolutely deserve.”

Jonathan blinks as she catches her breath. His gaze is sympathetic, and Nancy hopes against hope it means the photographs taken of her won’t be too unflattering.

“I think you would have told me about Steve, though, right?” he muses. “If we’ve been dating for—how long have we been dating?”

Nancy’s mouth drops open. She stammers for a second, before finally choking out, “What?”

He shrugs. “I did offer to help.”

“Yeah, but this is—this is beyond . . . are you serious?”

Jonathan laughs at the expression on her face, shrugging again. “I’ve been there, trust me. And like I said, I don’t know anyone here, so it’s not like I’ve got anything to lose—and it seems like you do.”

Nancy feels tears prick at her eyes, perhaps from the wine, or perhaps because someone she just met is being kinder to her than all of the people inside the restaurant, people she’d grown up with, people who, before she left, she’d considered almost family.

“Plus,” he goes on, hurriedly, as Nancy blinks the tears away, “weddings are boring. I could use someone to talk to.”

She frowns at him. “Is there lots of time for conversation? Shouldn’t you, I don’t know, be taking pictures or something?”

“My contract doesn’t officially start until 8, and it is,” he checks his watch, “7:55 on the dot. So, no.” His head tilts. “I’ve got nothing better to do for the next five minutes. Except talk to my girlfriend of . . . five months? Seven?”

Nancy eyes him warily, but his face is open, genuine, and she thinks he may actually want to help her, for no other reason than she needs it. For the second time that evening, Nancy says, “Fuck it,” but this time it’s accompanied by a grateful smile. “How about six?”

Jonathan grins. “Six months it is.”

They stand in silence for a few moments, Nancy letting the enormity of what she’s about to embark on wash over her. She’s going to lie to everyone she knows. And she’s going to have help doing it. She thinks about telling Jonathan forget it, I changed my mind, but the thought of having to walk back her lie to Steve, to his entire family is far too daunting.

Better to just have a fake boyfriend.

Nancy sees the door to the restaurant opening and moves toward Jonathan, almost instinctively. He frowns at her sudden movement, but picks up on her intentions quickly, wrapping his arm around her once more, solid, steady.

Tommy’s head appears around the door.

“Hey Nance, heard you’re banging the photographer.”

“Hello, Tommy,” she says dryly.

If Tommy knows, everyone knows.

“Anyway, best man duties mean I’m here to tell you to get your asses inside. Speeches, and all.”

Nancy frowns. “I thought you were just a groomsman?”

“Whatever. Just . . . get in here so he can take the pictures.”

“We’re on our way,” Jonathan says pleasantly, as Tommy rolls his eyes and disappears inside.

“Sorry about him,” Nancy apologizes, “he’s always been—”

“A dick?” Jonathan guesses.

Nancy shrugs, “I was going to say asshole, but, yeah.”

Jonathan laughs, and then walks away, back to the shadows. Nancy feels a sharp stab of alarm, but he’s only slinging a large bag she hadn’t noticed before onto his shoulder.

Photographer. Cameras. Of course. He’s not just here to prop up her ruse.

“Hey,” she says, waiting for him to turn to her, giving him one last chance to back out. “You’re really sure you want to do this? Because I can—”

“I’m sure.” He looks at her sideways. “Six months?”

She lets out a grateful laugh, and instead of answering, says, “Thank you.” Nancy tries to put everything she’s feeling into the words, the gratitude, the relief, and as he looks back at her, she thinks he understands.

He raises his eyebrows. “Don’t mention it. Literally. Or everyone will know.”

“Right,” she says, nodding solemnly. “Six months.”

He nods back at her. “Exactly. Shall we go in, honey?”

Nancy makes a face at him.

“No pet names. Got it,” Jonathan says with a grin, and offers her his hand.

Nancy takes it, and holds on for dear life.