#it'll be a minute before I'm willing to take on another project like this

[lucem-stellarum]

After 2 1/2 months, I'm finally done! I'm sorry, Mr. Redacted, but merch is expensive, and thread is cheap. I also like being able to control how subtle a reference I'm making, and some of your merch doesn't fit that vibe. This is about 3 in x 4.5 in across, centered over the left breast of a jacket I've decorated previously.

[Photo ID: cross stitch image of a constellation, the letter "Epsilon" underneath one of the stars, and a large needle & thread symbol /end ID]

(pleaee ignore the fluff. I don't have a lint roller)

I don't blame you if you don't immediately get the reference; constellations can be hard to identify. This one in particular is Carina, and the focus is on a particular star that makes up the constellation, Epsilon Carinae (that's the one above the fancy E)

[Photo ID: image of the constellation Carina matching the first image, with the names of the stars labeled /end ID]

The common name for that particular star, however, ought to be familiar (and not exactly surprising).

It's named Avior.

[ghostlynachopanda]

Warmth

a/n: hey pals, it's me again. I got bored and decided to write something. this can be read as a continuation of that other piece I wrote or by itself. I've decided I don’t know how to do this lmao

Pairing: Wednesday Addams x reader

words: 1.7k

~~~

It's hard to get away from her, Wednesday constantly has her eyes on you. Enid has noticed Wednesday's agog behavior and decided to subtly, or not so subtly, try to help. Both, Enid and Wednesday, take different approaches to get to know you. Enid taking the "making friends" route and Wednesday taking the direct route. Unfortunately for both, you showed animosity. It may not have been long since everyone stopped talking to you but long enough for you to get comfortable in the loneliness.

Neither of them stops though. Wednesday's inquisitiveness knows no bounds, and Enid doesn't stop because Wednesday doesn’t stop. Both seemed determined to get something out of you, what it is you’re not sure, but you're not willing to give them an inch. Whenever you spot them in the hallway you turn the other way, and you ignore them no matter how complex their attempts are. The closest they'll get is in shared classes or waiting for lunch. Luckily for them, all three of you are chosen for a group project. The fun can finally begin.

How you managed to get so unfortunate is beyond you, but here you are. Stuck with the very people you spent all your time avoiding. Sitting on the opposite side of the table to maintain some space. Wednesday is just staring at you, there's an uncomfortable aura that Enid is desperately trying to cut through. You don’t have to speak until the sheets are handed out, right? You can just keep your head down and wait for that ruffle of paper that-

"What's wrong with you?", what? Your head snaps up to meet her gaze. Enid jumps in to defend you, albeit unnecessarily.

"Wednesday, you can't just ask that! I'm so sorry, she didn't mean it like that-" Wednesday cuts Enid off with more irritation in her voice.

"They're here for a reason. I want to know why."

Eyes flickering between your groupmates while they bicker, that's certainly a way to ask someone why they're an outcast. You’re not surprised to hear it worded that way though, it’s blunt, just the way Wednesday is. Debating whether to be vague or precise, you decide on the former.

"I have powers."

Both their gazes snap to you, unwavering and burning into your skin. Wednesday's eyebrows furrow in the slightest while Enid's lips stretch into a bright smile. You spoke. Neither thought they would feel accomplished by simply making someone speak. But, they both knew you had powers, that's the reason you're here. You've only spoken to Wednesday once, saying only two words, she supposes this is an improvement. 

Before anyone gets another word in, the teacher comes around to give the paper explaining the project. That's good, you feel like you spoke too much. Each of you read over the paper and quickly realized that it'll take more than just a couple of minutes to finish the project. Both Enid and Wednesday are elated, they can finally get somewhere with breaking down those thick walls you built. Wednesday looked up just in time to see your shoulders sag a minuscule amount. Why? Is it her or Enid? If it is her, why were you so bothered with the idea of being close to her? She has barely spoken to you, what did she do to make you-

"Hey, why don’t you come over to our dorm tonight?" Enid finally pipes up after reading the paper, "We could knock out some of the project and get to know each other a little! Wednesday and I are roommates and our dorm is pretty big,"

Wednesday's eyes never left you, she saw your shoulders sag earlier and now she watches as you tense. It's not much, she's sure Enid didn’t notice. She can see a debate behind your eyes, another thing she's sure Enid didn’t notice. It's a quick debate, she's sure you didn't want the decision to take long. "Okay, yeah that's fine. Just tell me when and where," it's softly said, almost as if you were hesitant to say it.

You start packing your things while discussing the finer details for tonight, once you're about to walk away Wednesday says, "If you don't show up I'll introduce you to the sharp end of my knife collection.", does she realize the threats don't bother you much? Maybe she just likes to threaten people, either way, you face them to see Enid's distraught facial expression, worried Wednesday would scare you away. Laughing softly you say, "I look forward to it," all your prior animosity is completely gone.

------

You're eager to get this little meeting over with. You'd never admit it, but you're nervous. You check the time to realize you're at their door a little early. Deciding there isn't time to do anything else you knock on their door, it's solid enough to disturb the clacking you hear inside, but it wasn't hard enough to disturb neighbors. You hear quick footsteps before the door is yanked open, revealing Enid. "Wednesday's writing time isn't over yet so we can get started when she's done," with a nod she lets you in and you take in the contrasting decorations. Immediately knowing which side belongs to who, the next thing you notice is the hand.

"Don’t worry about him, that's Thing," he waves at you, you've seen him before. You've never spoken to him though, too busy trying to avoid him or lose him in the sea of students. Simply waving back as a greeting, he seems satisfied and turns his attention to the magazine in front of him. You're quiet after that, not knowing what to do or what to say. Enid takes notice though, inviting you over to her side of the room. Taking a seat on the floor and pulling out a book and just as you're about to open it you hear Wednesday's chair scrape against the floor. Looking up to see her staring right at you, it's slightly unnerving. Deciding now would be a good time to start on the project, you pull out your textbook and put it on the floor in front of you, and open it. The others followed suit, even Thing decided to perch himself on your shoulder and just hang out there.

The night goes by without issues, they don't try to pry into your life even if you can tell they want to. Wednesday's stares don't stop unless she looks away to write something down or to look in the textbook. Throughout the night you learn Thing is quite funny, pointing to things in the textbook that looks funny or saying something not relating to the topic at hand. Every time Thing managed to pull a breathy laugh or a small smile from you Wednesday's eyes would soften just slightly, not enough for you to notice but enough for Enid and Thing. Enid managed to get in on the stuff Thing was doing and was laughing along as well. Enid claimed we did enough for the night, a good portion of the project already done.

 "We made good progress, depending on the speed you'd like to continue the work, we could be done in a couple of days," you said stretching your legs and extending your arms over your head. Enjoying the stretch and the popping in your joints, noticing the balcony you ask, "Is it alright if I step out onto the balcony?" after receiving the affirmatives you head out into the night air.

Wednesday notes this is the most you've ever spoken, even if not directly to her. This is the most she's heard your voice, the most she's been able to look at your face without obstructions, the most she's been able to just soak in your presence. Wednesday would rather cut her tongue out than admit she likes it, any of it. Thing starts to tap on the floor and make wild gestures,

"He's not wrong Wednesday, don't think we don't see it," Enid says in a teasing voice.

"See what exactly?" Wednesday responds, voice tight with annoyance.

"You like her-" immediately cut off by Wednesday, "Allude to anything like that again and you'll be sleeping with one eye open until we're no longer roommates,"

Wednesday walks towards the balcony with the intent to join you. The first thing Wednesday notices when she steps outside is the chill, it's too cold not to have a jacket. The next thing is the fact that you're not wearing a jacket. "You'll get sick if you stand out here without a jacket," slowly turning your head to meet her gaze you nod in agreement.

"I didn't notice how cold it is. It feels nice though."

"Is that part of your powers?" Wednesday asks quickly. You knew it was coming, but you still don't want to answer.

"No," the moon was coming out, signaling you to head back. Turning on your heels, sighing, heading back towards the warm room, "I think it's about time I leave."

"Why?", stopping in your tracks. What? Why what? That's such a vague question. You don’t know how to properly answer. You think about just letting her hear some of your thoughts, you'll be stuck with them until the project is done anyway. 

"I haven't talked to people in a long time, but you guys are warm. I don't think it's something I deserve to be around...", turning to look at her, a despondent look on your face. Wednesday never wants to see that look on your face again. "Goodnight Wednesday.", resuming the way inside to gather your things and say bye to Enid and Thing. That's not what Wednesday was asking, not the answer she wanted, but she thinks you're completely wrong. Wednesday desperately wants to prove you wrong.

You learned a couple of things tonight. Wednesday's warmth will burn you if you're not careful, you think she fits the "Cold hands, Warm Heart" metaphor. Enid's is a warmth that's gentle if you're on the right side of it. Coming to the realization you're cold, too cold to be near people like that. You wonder how long it will take for them to realize you'll suck their warmth right from their chest.

[kellterntempest]

Project I.V.O.

Another snippet: Agent Stone and Android!Robotnik make their attempt to escape from G.U.N. together. Stone has to remove Ivo's shock collar.

Stone let out a shaky breath. "We have to get this damn collar off you. They could remotely activate it at any time now - and keep you paralyzed indefinitely."

Ivo’s face darkened with agitation. "Everytime I have tried, it administers an electric shock to my body."

"Let me see." Stone moved closer, inspecting the collar. It was a smooth metal band all the way around, except for a flat piece on the front with a small digital screen that faintly shone light blue. Stone looked up at Ivo, gesturing to his clothing. "Can you take the upper half of your uniform off?"

Ivo nodded slightly, removing his arms from the sleeves and tied it around his waist, his upper half completely bare. The android stood still, watching the agent’s every move.

Stone carefully brought his hand to the side of the collar, stopping at an inch away. The screen on the front changed from blue to yellow, digits flickering along the display.

Not a good sign. Stone placed his fingertips on the metal, watching for another change. 

The light went red for a second, then electricity shot through both Ivo and Stone. Ivo hissed, twitching violently. Stone yanked his hand away quickly, feeling burning and prickling pain from being shocked. "Ah! God damnit!'

Well, shit. This was going to be more difficult than he anticipated. "There must be a transmitter in there that connects to the remotes - and some kind of touch and motion sensor."

"Obviously." Ivo scoffed, rolling his eyes. "The problem is opening the panel and destroying them.”

Stone frowned as he brainstormed a plan. "I think I can take it out, but…” He looked at the android with unease. ”I'm sorry Ivo, it'll be extremely painful for you if you're still…conscious while I do this."

Ivo clenched his fists, looking down at the floor. "I can't shut down independently like I could before in phase 3. We don't have access or even time to go back to the robotics lab. The risk is too high. We've come this far already, we can't go back."

Stone took a deep breath. He was right, they couldn’t go back, that sector would be crawling with G.U.N. soldiers, and it wouldn’t be long before they caught up to them.

Ivo straightened up with a serious determination. He put a hand around Stone’s arm. "I can take it. Do whatever you have to do. Just get the wretched thing off me, we don’t have a lot of time here."

Stone swallowed his anxiety, and nodded. “Right.” 

The agent raided the nearest utility closet for what he needed. Insulated gloves, hand tools, but found no protective gear for his ears. Shit.

Stone pointed to the chair next to the table. "You better sit down, I need you as still as possible."

Ivo sat down without a word, waiting for the pain to start.

Stone hesitated, a memory flashing in his head of how Ivo had viciously killed the man who had shocked him the first time. "You're not going to... uhm, you won't rip my arms off, right?" The agent laughed nervously.

"If you take too long, I may consider it." Ivo growled back, his hands tensely gripping the arms of the chair.

What a great motivation. Stone’s hands hovered next to the collar, holding two demolition screwdrivers.

"Stop wasting time and get on with it, idiot!" Ivo snapped.

Stone clenched his jaw and started his attempt to pry the panel away. The collar glowed red, sending unyielding volts coursing through Ivo again. The android was overtaken by agony but he fought it hard, willing himself as motionless as possible. His limbs were still shaking wildly, his upper body quivering from the effort.

Seconds felt like excruciating minutes, and Stone faltered as Ivo’s body released screams of pain.

"I swear I'll stick this on you next if you don't HURRY UP!” The android’s voice glitched in and out, deteriorating into something two-toned and metallic.

Stone struggled to dislodge the joint of the collar and the electronic panel. “I’m trying, you’re moving too much, I can’t pry it loose-”

“GET IT OFF!!” The android screeched, the frequency causing glass to shatter around them. 

Stone jumped backwards, nearly dropping the screwdriver. His ears were ringing loudly from the piercing noise, and he wondered if an eardrum could have burst if he hadn’t stopped. The panel refused to budge, and he was just causing prolonged misery for the android. The metal had been welded shut, and he didn’t have enough leverage. He needed a different tool to force it open. “I need a laser cutter, or an angle grinder.”

The android hit both fists on the arms of the chair, denting them. “And where exactly are you going to find power tools like that just lying around?!” His voice had returned to normal, but the pain and frustration remained.

“You’re the damn genius - do you have any better ideas?” Stone shouted back at him.

“Mechanical agitation - hammer and chisel the display - whatever you have available! The electronic display has to be the weakest point.”

Stone felt incredibly stupid hearing that. Why had he not thought of that? “What if I miss? This thing is slim, and I know how hard it is to stay still when you’re bit. And If I tie you down, nothing in here is strong enough to keep you.”

“This shock collar was designed specifically for me. I am only programmed to feel pain from it as a last resort for those military cowards to keep me subdued when necessary. Hits from you are not going to affect me. My skin is bulletproof - and a measly screwdriver won’t pierce through either.”

Right, he wouldn’t be much of a super soldier if he could always feel regular pain like humans. “So, what, if you get throat punched, you can’t feel it?”

A grin crept over Ivo’s mouth. “You will.”

Stone did not feel comforted. But he raised the tools in his hand, leaning close over the android. “Ready?”

Ivo shut his eyes, grabbing the sides of the chair again. “Do it.”

(To be continued)

[taviewritesstuff]

UPDATE - Dec. 16, 2021

Firstly, Happy Holidays, everyone! I hope you're all staying safe during this season! Things can get a little stressful, but it's almost over. You can do it!

Anyway, self-motivation aside, I wanted to give this blog a much needed update! I have been working on some little side projects in both art and writing. I'll get to the art stuff in a few, but I want to let you know about the writing projects I've been working on!

Firstly, my magnum opus (at the moment), The Zula Patrol: Dreamscape Crusade Remastered. I'm still working on chapter 4, and though I have an outline ready to go, I find myself stuck on the beginning section. Hopefully, I can get myself unstuck so I can get an update out sometime in the beginning of the year. I also started working on the outline for chapter 5, and man, that chapter is going to be more of a doozy than chapter 4. I can't tell you much, other than a few side characters are getting some well-deserved spotlight and attention, so look forward to that.

Secondly, my second side project, SRBA Gaiden: Darkness Rewrite. I haven't written stuff for Super Why in a hot minute, but I have had the ideas to keep writing the latest chapter (which, to be honest, is chock full of fight scenes) as well as incorporating a few new ideas that'll probably show up in Chaos' Revenge when I get around to writing the outline. As for the future of my Super Why stories, I am thinking of doing a few more Gaiden stories before I tackle another huge project like SRBA.

Oh, and speaking of SRBA...I have decided that this story will be the next story to get the "Remastered" treatment! The people have spoken, and to be honest, I'm excited to start this story! It won't appear, though, until I get a good ways into TZP:DCR and BT: Redux. So it'll probably be another year or two before that story comes out, God willing. However, I don't want to bog myself down with more projects than I already have. This will give me more than enough time to finish what stories I have, so please bear with me!

As for other projects...I am working on my H-Bx Honkai Impact 3rd crossover (which I still need to title, lol), but I'm keeping that, and most of the Honkai Impact stuff, on my main blog. Haven't decided when I'm going to release THAT, but that'll probably be way later down the line when I get headway into my other projects.

I'm also working on a collaboration with my good friend Vulaan Kulaas, who goes by @blazing-shadows on this site. She's come up with an AWESOME Sonic AU that we've titled Attero Dominatus (Latin for "Destroy Tyranny"). The character profiles (and their corresponding artworks) will be appearing on this blog so it doesn't get lost in the sea of stuff that is my main, lol. Haven't decided when I'm going to release this either, but I'm thinking of doing a short story to see how this goes, once I sit down and get the details down.

At the moment though, I've gotta buckle down, be an adult and take care of bills and school, so a lot of these will be released when I get the chance to do so. I just can't wait for the holidays so I can enjoy a proper rest from all that I had to do leading up to the holidays.

Take care of yourselves, and have a blessed day!

~Tavie

[tyunniverse]

Midnight Crisis

pairing: huening kai x reader

genre: fluff (?)

word count: 1728

synopsis: huening kai gets woken up by his neighbor's alarm every midnight and finally decides to do something about it

There it is again.

Kai lies awake in his bed, eyes heavy and dark circles evident. He stares at the ceiling, trying his best to cancel out the noise that's been plaguing his mind for countless nights but to no avail. He's grown to hate the noise with each passing day. It's been like this ever since he moved in two months ago.

The first night was bearable, he'd assumed that his neighbor had something important to do at midnight. After all, it wasn't unusual for a college student to be up that late to finish an assignment. The first week was excusable. Kai figured that they must be working on an extremely important project that couldn't wait until morning to be finish. The next few weeks were hell. He thought he'd be immune to the alarm blasting through his walls but he wasn't. It sounds off for five minutes and after that, waits another five minutes more to go off again. His suffering doesn't end until it nears 1 am, and if he's lucky, it'll end before 00:30. This became the norm for Kai.

But the alarm had been going off for more than an hour. A hundred thoughts go through Kai's mind. Should he just try to go back to sleep? At this point that seemed impossible. He'd tried a hundred times before and it never worked. Should he just stay up until it ends? He'd be tired by morning but that's the safest possible decision. But what if this goes on until sunrise? He can't risk falling asleep in class when he had a presentation first thing in the morning.

Kai bunches the his blanket in his hands. "Why me?" He groans, shifting to the side to check his phone. His classmate, Beomgyu, had left him a message a few hours ago.

Hyuka, I can't make it to class tomorrow. I'm at the hospital with my roommate. Sorry, but I think you have to do the presentation on your own tomorrow. I promise I'll make it up to you.

Great.

Given the news and the loud pinging of the alarm, Kai decides that he has had enough. He can't deal with the stupid alarm going off every night, especially when he really needed the rest.

He hops out off bed, grabbing a hoodie from his closet and putting it over his shirt before storming out of his room.

—

You were beyond tired.

The classes you had on that day had all conducted tests, leaving your brain fried by the time you got home. You immediately pass out once you reached the comfort of your bed, not even caring to change out of your clothes. Your mind peacefully drifts into sleep, remembering that you had something to look forward to at 1 am.

You never forget to set your alarm. Sometimes, it was hard waking up in the middle of the night when you're having such a good time sleeping, but you made sure that it went off every five minutes until you're forcibly awoken by it's blaring sound.

The drama your best friend, Soobin, had recommended to you had been the highlight of your day since the beginning of the semester. School has been nothing but the source of your stress and you found that watching the new episodes every night helped you get through it and prepare yourself for anything to come. Little did you know that your energy booster had become the bane of someone else's existence.

"Excuse me!"

You were woken up by the sound of loud banging on your door. Having just come to your senses, your eyes wander to you phone that had been blasting your alarm since 12 am. You reach out to it, checking the time and panicking once you saw that it was way past the time slot for your drama. It was about to finish.

"Shit." You scramble towards your laptop, hoping to at least see if there was still hope to watch it until your attention was brought back to the loud banging on your door.

"Excuse me! Is anyone in there?"

You frown. "Who the hell disturbs people in the middle of the night?"

The place was quiet for a while until the banging came back. You take one last glance at your laptop before treading towards the door. You grab anything heavy along the way in case things get a little weird with your unexpected visitor.

Kai rubs his eyes as he waits for his neighbor's door to swing open. His ears perk up when he hears shuffling behind the door. It opens for about an inch wide, raising a few questions in Kai's mind.

"Do you need something?" You speak out from behind the door.

Kai's brows knit as he leaned a little closer. "It's me, Huening Kai, from room 208. I need to talk to you about something but isn't refusing to open your door a little rude?"

"Oh, sorry." You relax once you realize that the visitor wasn't a threat. You'd seen him a lot on your way to your room but you've never interacted before. All you know was that he seemed like a pretty nice guy. "Ah," You look up at him. He looked kinda cute despite his tired look. His messy hair had almost entirely covered his eyes and his hoodie had a molang print on the side. "But isn't it also a little rude to bang at your neighbor's door at 1 am?" You ask him, brows raised.

Kai purses his lips, trying his best to hold off on snapping at you. He was truly at his limit. "Not when that neighbor has kept me up for the past two months with their stupid alarm?"

"What are you— oh." You cut yourself off upon realizing the entirety of the situation. Maximum volume. You had set your alarm at maximum volume to make sure you never missed an episode. It had barely been effective on you but it sure did its work on your neighbor. In hindsight, you should've seen this coming.

Kai watches as you space out and decides to just tell you then and there instead of waiting for you to invite him inside. "Uh, listen." His hands fidget, trying to get through the awkwardness. "You must have something important to do but please be responsible with your alarm. It's ringing has kept me awake since the start of the semester and I haven't gotten a good night's sleep since. I have a presentation later and I really need to get some sleep before that, so can you please tone the alarm down or just shut if off? I don't think I can survive another night like this."

There he had it.

Kai felt a bit better. He should've done this sooner. His problems would've been solved by then. He figured that you'd apologize and stop your alarms since by now, the two of you have probably reached an understanding.

"I understand your side, I really do." You tell him, looking up at his now smiling form. "But I can't lower the volume." His smile disappears.

"What?"

"I can't wake up if it's not at maximum volume. Please understand, I need this in order to wake up." You insist.

Kai didn't know how to react. He'd been so sure that you'd cooperate that any other responses would have rendered his mind blank. "What?" He repeats. "Then, can you at least tell me why it's so important for you to be awake at this hour?"

You cant. You can't tell him.

The moment he finds out that you were willing to sacrifice his sleep for the drama you've been watching, he'd never let you hear the end of it. "I have a project and it needs to be finished by tomorrow."

Kai crosses his arms, frowning. "So you're saying you have an important project every single night?"

You hold your breath. "Yes?"

"Yes?" Kai scoffs. "Please tell me you're joking."

"I'm serious!" You wage him off. "I really do have one!"

Kai takes a peek at your room and sighs. "Then bring it here. The least you can do is prove that you're telling the truth. I can't keep suffering like this, Y/N."

Hearing your name made you nervous. Of course he'd known your name, he had delivered your packages a few times when it ended up in front of his doorstep by mistake. What's worse, he wanted you to show him the project you made up on the spot to hopefully escape the situation. Your mind goes blank, and there's only one thng that passes through it despite being fully aware that this solution was only temporary.

"I'm sorry!"

"Huh?"

Kai freezes in his spot as the door slams shut in his face. He hears you run back imto the safety of your room and he's left standing there, speechless. It takes him a few seconds to register what had just happened.

"Hey!" He reaches out for your door knob, twisting it a few times before giving up and knocking on the door. "Y/N? Y/N! Open up! We're still not done talking!" He knocks a few more times. "Hey!"

You snicker, hellbent on ignoring him and focusing on what's left of your show. Even if it's just the ending of the episode, it was enough to at least get you through tomorrow.

The episodes starts loading after a few clicks and you move to get your headphones. That's when you realize that Kai had finally stopped bothering you for the night. A smile creeps in your face as you feel a mixture of relief and guilt. "I'm sorry, Kai, but I need this."

You plug your headphones in and was about to focus on the episode when a loud alarm starts blasting through the walls of your room. Eyes wide, you check your phone to see if your alarm had beem turned off. It had been dead ever since you got up, which meant that the sound could only be coming from the room next door.

You jump when you hear a rather loud laugh coming from Kai's room, followed by him banging on your shared wall. Your phone buzzes with a notification and you check it.

Hey there, neighbor! If I'm not gonna get any sleep then so are you. Suffer with me >3<

[chiliiscereal]

Here’s the link for the full version ^ ——

Sister dear (Steve x sister reader)

(This is preseason one to show you what the background is on the whole story)

(let me know if you think this should be published as a separate book!)

You and Steve had a rocky start to being siblings.

You were born four years apart.

He was born in a time when your parents actually loved each other. They had time for birthdays and family weekends together. They went out to the park on saturdays. They were a picture perfect family.

It just so happened that when you were born, your father stopped being quite so faithful to your mother. When you came into the world, your father was in Europe on a business trip. And he wasn't only up to business.

Little Steve had adored you at first. He always wanted to hold you or play with you.

But then their parents no longer had time for him.

It was always work... and taking care of you.

It slowly changed over the years to only work, as your mother could no longer trust your father. Steve was left to watch you for weeks on end. He was good at it at first. He used to watch you carefully. He used to make sure you were happy and well...

Until he could no longer see his friends.

He was ten. You were five.

He began to leave you at home. At first it was only for thirty minutes while he went to the park. Then it was an hour every day during his elementary school days while he went to the movies.

You were seven when you began cooking your own meals.

You TRIED talking to him. You really did.

You tried catching his sleeve whenever he breezed past. You tried showing him crafts you made. You tried playing music you thought he might like.

That ended with twelve year old Steve pushing you away.

It ended with your works of art thrown in the trash.

Your music cassettes were thrown onto the road.

Your mother made sure both of you knew to never walk into the middle of the road, so you could only cry as some unknowing stranger destroyed your wonderful music. The music you had saved up all your allowance for. The music that you had thought your older brother would like. The music that you thought might bring you two together.

When your mother and father returned, you tattled.

Steve was grounded for a whole week.

But he always needed to have the last say. So he sold your boom box and spent all the money on comics. He threw your sketchbook in the quarry water. He shoved you to the floor, saying that if you ever tattled again then you would join your drawing book in the cold water.

You stopped trying to give Steve your attention and love. You no longer wished he would spend more time at home. So you began exploring the town by yourself at the age of nine. You didn't really have friends to hang out with so you would browse through stores.

The arcade was your favorite place.

You loved showing up early on Saturday mornings, before Steve was even awake, and leaving behind a new high score on the dragons lair.

Why?

Because it always riled up a group of boys your age. They had no idea who kept beating them over and over. Every Sunday morning you watched them walk in... only to scream a few seconds later about how someone had beaten their score by ONE point. Again.

You loved having some sort of connection to them. Even if they didn't know it was you. Or even who you were at all. They were a weird little group, strictly sticking with only other A.V club kids. Besides, you hardly ever talked. What would be so special about you?

It also didn't help that your older brother had begun to build himself a reputation. When you were ten, he began to be known as king Steve. You knew he bullied one of the kids (wills) older brother while beginning to flirt with another's (mike's) older sister.

You knew this because your father began forcing Steve to drive you home from school. That was the rule he set when he gave Steve the car.

Every day you trekked to the high school, only to watch Steve hang around Nancy Wheeler and push Johnathan Byers. You would have intervened and told him that you really didn't want to wait twenty minutes (out of sight) for him to be done. But the last time he did that he made you ride the way home in the trunk of his car.

When you were eleven, you started hanging out at Melvald's convenience store in the town square. Your favorite time to go there was at 7:00, because Mrs. Byers would always work the morning shift.

Wills mother was really quite wonderful. Every time you walked in she greeted you with a smile and lowered her magazine.

——-

"Whatcha lookin for today, kiddo?" She smiled softly, leaning on the counter to watch you browse.

"Any new cassette tapes." You shrugged, fingering each music case that caught your eye. "Do you have any Clash? I... lost mine." You didn't lose it. Steve broke it when he heard you mutter about how much you hated Tommy H.

"Yeah, we got a new box of cassettes delivered this morning." She hopped up and waved for you to follow her to the back room. "I miiiight have snagged a Clash cassette for you when I saw it." She grinned as she held the door open for the young girl.

"You didn't need to buy anything for me!" You gasped. You knew that the Byers needed all the money they could get. "Can I pay you back?" You immediately began digging through your pockets for spare change.

She placed a guiding hand on your back as you both entered, pulling you away from your search. "Oh no it's fine! It's the least I can do for my most frequent visitor."

She plucked the music case off the shelf and handed it to you. "You go to Hawkins elementary, right? You should talk to my son. Will. He also loves the Clash."

You turned red and clutched the cassette. "I've...seen him around before. I don't know how to talk to him."

"Oh it's easy!" She grabbed the spare paper and crayons you always used when you visited. "You just need to find common ground. For example," she pulled up a stool beside her for you to sit at, "you both like to draw!"

You placed down the paper and got working on your art. "Will it make a difference if I draw cartoons and he draws realistic? What if the difference is too big for him to want to talk to me?"

"It'll give you more to talk about!"

——

So began your quest to pursue friendship.

You attempted to speak to Will and his friends in the hall.

They were talking too loud about their latest campaign to hear you.

You tried asking to sit by them at lunch.

They were too busy launching potato's at the ceiling to notice.

Right when you almost gave up... Will and you were paired together as partners for a history project.

——-

'Don't mess it up, don't mess it up', you told yourself over and over as you moved to sit by Will. 'Don't be weird. See if he'll talk first. Don't be clingy.'

Wills was equally quiet. He just read through the rubric of the project and stayed silent.

'What can we talk about... what should I say?'

A drawing poking out of wills bag caught your eye. It looked like a wizard casting some sort of spell.

"I like your drawing!" You blurted out, wishing you could just shut up.

Wills jumped, startled. "Yeah... umm.. it's from... uh... it's from our last campaign.." he began fiddling with his thumbs, unsure of what to say to a girl. "Our DnD campaign... I mean."

You nodded along. "I like to draw to! I've never... I've never played DnD before... so I like to draw people."

Will cracked a shy smile. "I'll show you my drawing if you show me one of yours."

You agreed hesitantly.

He took your cartoon and you took his master piece. You desperately wished you could draw like him. Your cartoons looked so simple, as Steve always said.

"You're a cartoonist!" Will smiled, holding the paper out in front of him. It was a caricature of Mrs. Byers. "You must be the girl my mom sees at her job!" His eyes were wide with recognition. "This is so good! I wish I could draw cartoons. But whenever I try... they look like potato's." He laughed.

You flushed a deep red. "I... I'm also the one that beats your scores every Saturday." You admit.

His jaw dropped. "No way. We've been trying to figure out who that was for months! We formed a whole list of people to interrogate!" He ran a hand through his hair.

You giggled. "I can prove it... if you want. Next Saturday I could show you and your friends? At the arcade?"

"Yeah! I'm totally down to hang out at the arcade!"

——

Will had brought you to the A.V club after to ask the rest of the party. You had protested at first. What if they didn't like you? What if they said no? You would look so stupid! You tried to use your brother driving you home as an excuse.

But if you brought Steve up... no. You couldn't start a potential friendship like that.

Will proposed the ideas to everyone excitedly.

It seemed that Lucas had a problem with it immediately.

——-

"Sorry Will, but we can't." Lucas shook his head. "We've got plans."

Your heart dropped.

"Wait," Dustin frowned and turned to his friend. "What plans? I wasn't aware of any plans."

Lucas crossed his arms. "Remember? Our campaign?"

"We don't have a-."

Lucas elbowed him harshly and looked at you. "Can you leave for a second? We need to talk. ALONE."

You nodded and stepped out of the room. "Yeah totally! Just let me know when-."

The door slammed in your face.

You know you shouldn't have but you pressed your ear to the door anyway.

"What's your damage?" Mike Wheeler hissed quietly.

"Don't you know who she is?" Lucas accused.

"No... should we?" Will whispered in confusion.

"That's Y/N Harrington!" Lucas spat out.

"Steve Harrington's little sister." Dustin stated, now understanding.

Mike groaned. "The douche bag my sisters hooked on?"

"Yes! What if she's exactly like him?"

"You mean a total mouth breather? A player? An absolute jackass?"

You sunk to the floor. Of course Steve ruined the only chance you might have of a friendship. How could she think that these kids would look past her family's reputation? No one ever did. Even her teachers expected her to be disruptive and rude.

"Guys." Will intervened. "I talked to her in history."

"What?!"

"Traitor!"

"What about the party?"

Will lowered his voice, causing you to lean a little closer to the door. "She doesn't act like him. She never called me any names. She never told me that I'm a freak. She tried to talk to me about art."

"Steve definitely doesn't appreciate art." Dustin mumbled.

Wills continued. "She's a cartoonist. And I think she might be like us. You know who kept beating our dragon lair record?"

"Who?"

"Please tell me it wasn't Troy."

"Y/N Harrington."

"WHAT?!"

"IT WAS HER?!"

"GIRLS PLAY VIDEO GAMES?!"

[oldanatomical-heartt]

Unwanted Wingwoman

Okay this one won’t be the best because I wrote it when I was fourteen so. You get the idea.

Summary: reader likes Peter but from afar. When your best friend finds out about your crush on him, she attempts to set you up. Her plan fails, but she doesn’t know that

Peter Parker. Where could you begin? He was sweet, funny, and you would never admit it but he was absolutely adorkable. He sat one row in front and two seats to the right of you in your honors chemistry class, and just the thought of him made your heart flutter. You snapped back to reality and your friends' eager faces in a circle around you at your sleepover.

"Well? You obviously like someone so who is it?" Your best friend (F/N) asked excitedly.

"I-uh," you started.

"I bet it's that Flash kid, he's totally your type (Y/N)," another one of your friends stated, making an awful attempt at a guess.

"Ew no way, how could you even think he's my type?" You questioned, crinkling your nose in disgust.

"What is your type then?" another asked, a sly smile on her face.

"Uh- I dunno, I mean, he's gotta be nice-"

"-pssh, everybody says that."

“-and he should have a sense of humor too, but not like stupid funny because he should be smart too."

"Yes, yes, we get it what about looks (Y/N)!"

"Oh, I uh- I don't really care... about- about what he looks like," you stuttered.

"Guys were getting way off topic she has a specific someone in mind!" (F/N) said, redirecting the conversation.

"Yeah who is it?"

"Tell us (Y/N)!"

"I will make you extra popcorn for the movie," (other F/N) bargained.

"Guys chill, you probably don't even know him, it's uh- Pete-Peter- Peter Parker," your voice caught in your throats from nerves when you finally said his name.

"I FUCKING KNEW IT!" (F/N) screamed.

"Oh my god (F/N) be quiet or my parents will hear!" You hushed.

Just as quickly as the moment where all the attention was on you had begun, it was over and the small party went back to even smaller groups of two or three chatting, while your best friend turned back to you.

"How could you not tell me? I could've been dropping hints all this time!"

"Because that's exactly what I don't want you to do," you nervously laughed, already pondering what might happen now in chemistry since (F/N) sat directly to the right of Peter.

"Now I know why I caught you looking over at me all the time, it's actually because you were looking at Peter!"

You blushed, thinking about how much you stared at the back of his head. You could probably create a very accurate drawing of some sort from how long the image was burned into your brain.

"Shut up, it's not a crime."

The rest of the night went smoothly, eventually watching a movie but not without (F/N) asking you a question about Peter every ten minutes. When morning came you said goodbye to all your friends one by one as their parents came to pick them up, except for (F/N). As you were saying goodbye to the last friend, you turned around to see (F/N) on your phone, typing away.

"(F/N) oh my god what are you doing now?" You whined, plopping down on the stairs next to her.

"Aaaaaaand sent!" She whipped her head to look at you.

Your eyes went wide in fear as you snatched your phone from her hand to see a sent text message to a number you didn't recognize saying, "Hey Peter it's (Y/N) from chemistry."

"Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god what did you do?" You asked, violently running your hands through your hair, a habit you do when you are anxious.

"I gave you a gentle push," (F/N) said smiling evilly.

"I cannot believe you! What do I say if he texts back?"

"Anything!"

"I can't just say anything (F/N) oh my god what did you do!"

"Relax, it'll all work out! I swear I'm a love goddess," (F/N) replied, suggestively winking at the love goddess part.

"Ew, yeah right," you giggled at your friend's actions.

"Anyways, pancakes? We can find a quick recipe on Pinterest or something," (F/N) said, starting off your day.

—————————

You anxiously grip you backpack straps as you stand at your locker, mentally preparing yourself to walk into chemistry. You still hadn't gotten a reply from Peter, which means he read it but didn't answer since it'd been a whole day.

"Ready?" (F/N) said, coming up behind you.

"Yep, let's go," you said uneasily as you shut your locker.

You and (F/N) walked into class and set your stuff down at your respective seats before you wandered over to her desk, as Peter hadn't entered class yet.

"Okay, just promise me you won't do anything weird, alright?" You pleaded.

"No promises, (Y/N)," (F/N) teased.

"I love you, but I swear to god you'll be the death of me," you sighed.

You tensed as your eyes landed on the doorway that Peter had just walked through. You scurried back to your seat to avoid embarrassment from either (F/N) or yourself. He looked a bit off today, you could tell he was stressed. He put his bag down and took his seat, resting his head on his forearms on the desk. Unfortunately, the bell rang immediately after, forcing Peter to look up and you to pay attention.

“I assume everyone took notes on last nights reading?" Your teacher, Mrs. Hanniack, said as she closed the door and strutted to the front of the room.

A collective yes fizzled from the class as Mrs. Hanniack started up the projector.

"Very well, because you're going to be using that knowledge on today's partner project."

You quietly sighed, taking a quick glance at your lab partner who sat to your right. It wasn't that you didn't like him, well, you didn't, but he never did any of the work because he never knew how which led to you explaining the procedure and the lesson at least twice all the way through to him while simultaneously trying to actually do the experiment.

"Unfortunately," your teacher continued, "some students have been receiving a grade they should not be getting because their partner does all the work. So, for this project, you can pick your lab partner, but choose someone who will contribute to the lab."

Your eyes immediately went to Peter but quickly skipped over him to (F/N) as not to offend her. She was smiling back at you nodding, so you shuffled your papers and made your way over to her, then pulled the chair from the desk in front of her and reversed it so you sat across from her. Peter hadn't gotten up yet and was looking around the room so you held your breath in worry that (F/N) would say something to tease you. Luckily, Peter stood up and walked away so you let out your breath.

"Alright, let's get going, I don't want any homework," you stated, looking over the procedure directions.

"Class," your teacher called, making you turn your head towards the front of the room where she stood.

You saw Peter looking at her with wide eyes and a slightly red face as she continued.

"Turns out we have an odd number today and Peter doesn't have a partner. Anyone willing to have a gr-"

"We'll take him!" (F/N) said, raising her hand and rapidly standing up.

With wide shocked eyes, you stared at (F/N) and glanced back at Peter, whose red face was turning back to normal. Your face, however, probably had a pink tint to it as you felt the heat rush to it.

"Well that sure was embarrassing," Peter chuckled, sitting in his seat.

"It's not that big of a deal, you just didn't have a partner," (F/N) shrugged.

"Yeah, the only one," Peter rolled his eyes and placed his head in his hands, propped up by his elbows.

Slowly, he rolled his head and parted his fingers enough to peer at you through them.

"(Y/N), right?"

Your face flushed red as you fearfully glanced at (F/N), then back to Peter and nodded.

"I got your text, sorry I didn't reply, I was a little... uh- busy."

"It's cool, yeah, sorry."

"Sorry?" He chuckled, "What for?"

You glanced back at (F/N) again, not knowing what to say.

"It's just a thing she does," (F/N) said.

"I dunno, I just felt like I was bothering you? I know I wasn't you don't need to say I wasn't I just feel like that a lot, even with (F/N), and she's told me countless times I'm not so I-I should know by now but I just-" you were cut off from your rambling from (F/N) clearing her throat

"Shall we get going?" (F/N) said, dramatically gesturing to the lab sheet.

"Oh yeah."

The three of you worked quickly, all being good at science, but you were a little less good at vocalizing your thoughts as they were a little jumbled by Peter's presence. You didn't let your silly crush stop you from trying your hardest to finish and maybe impress Peter while doing so. You all were nearly halfway finished when (F/N) abruptly stood up, causing you and Peter to snap your hearts towards her.

"I'm going to the bathroom," she simply stated

"Okay..." Peter replied, drawing out the a.

"You mean, like, right now?" You teased.

"(Y/N) shut up, no not right now!" She glared at you until she seemed to realize something and smiled sweetly, too sweetly.

"Anyways," she continued, "I'm not actually going to the bathroom. I'm just saying that to give you both some alone time. Peter, I know (Y/N) has something she wants to tell you."

(F/N) winked at Peter and your jaw dropped ten feet. You could feel the blood rushing to your face and it was no doubt beet red as you watched (F/N) flounce away to the teacher to ask for a bathroom pass.

"What is it?" Peter asked, breaking the silence.

"What- what's what?" You asked, not making eye contact.

"What that was, what you want to- to tell me."

"It-it's nothing really, (F/N) is just- just trying to start- uh- drama, you- you know how she is."

"No, I really don't."

"Re-really? Start-starting drama is her favorite hobby, I- I can't tell you the number of times she- she publicly embarrassed me just to get a- a story out of it!"

"Jeez, that doesn't sound very friend-like, and aren't you guys best friends?"

"Yeah, we are. She means well, plus it- it's never something to be mad over."

"Sorry to call attention to it, but do you always stutter? I don't mean to offend you if you have one, it's nothing to be self-conscious of, it's just I didn't notice it earlier."

"O-oh! I uh," you took a deep breath trying to soothe your nerves, "N-no, I just stumble over my words a lot when I'm uh- when I'm nervous.

Peter let out a laugh, "Why are you nervous? I don't bite."

Your face flushed at his words, causing him to drop his smile.

"Un-unless you're nervous because I make you uncomfortable. If I make you uncomfortable just say when and I'll try to correct myself because I would never try to make you feel bad, please, believe me."

"No, no, it's nothing like that," you assured him.

"Oh good. Well, are you sure it's really nothing?"

"Yeah," you paused, staring into his dark eyes for a moment, "yeah I'm sure."

(F/N) returned and plopped herself down in her seat.

"So, did she tell you?"

Peter looked at you and smiled, deciding to go along with what he thought was (F/N) attempting to spark drama.

"Oh yeah," he said, "she told me everything."

"Oh my god she did NOT!" (F/N) exclaimed, smiling ear to ear at you, "I didn't think you could do it!"

You face was painted with worry because you had to say something to (F/N) to let her know you didn't tell Peter about your crush without him knowing (F/N) was actually talking about something.

"Uhh (F/N)?" you said, but went unheard by her loud excited tone.

"How did she say it? Was she all awkward and stutter-y? I know she was but I need confirmation from a witness. What did you say back?"

"No actually, no stuttering. She was really cool about it, and I said that I feel exactly the same way on the topic," Peter said, smiling at you, oblivious to your increasingly panicked state.

"(F/N)?" you said again, more worriedly.

"Seriously? I'm so proud of you (Y/N), with how much you stutter when talking about him I was sure you'd be extra bad when actually talking to him."

Peter shot you a confused look, and your face heated up. Was he still oblivious and didn't realize she was talking about you talking about him? Or had he caught on?

"(F/N)..." you said through gritted teeth.

"Oh man, she's gonna hate me for telling you this, but she totally stares at you all the time during class. I always thought she was looking at me though, can you believe she didn't tell me until two days ago? And I thought best friends always tell each other their crushes immediately. Took her so long to tell me about the one on you. Anyways, since you said you feel the same, I'm assuming there's a date coming up?"

Peter's face morphed into a blank look, and his eyes slowly dragged themselves from (F/N) to you, a blushing red mess, and you immediately folded your arms on the table and smushed your face into them.

“(F/N)... I didn't tell him," you sputtered in defeat.

There was a pause, for what seemed like an eternity.

"(Y/N), I am so sorry, I thought you did."

The bell rang, but you remained unmoving, hoping the both of them would leave and you could walk to English alone. The class was filled with shuffling papers and bags, but you could faintly hear Peter and (F/N) talking, but it wasn't loud enough for you to hear. After the room quieted down, you slowly raised your head up and began to put your things together, thankful that they had both left. However, when you walked out of the classroom, you noticed Peter standing just outside the doorway.

"Uh, (Y- (Y/N), can we um, can we talk?"

"Uh, ye- yeah, I guess, but I got to- I got to get to English."

"No problem I can uh- walk you there. It's my lunchtime so it doesn't matter if I'm late."

...Perfect... You had a tendency to run away from your problems, not face them, so you wanted to curl up in a ball and pretend the whole thing never happened, not talk to the boy who just found out about your secret crush on him.

"I uh- so first off- um, is it true?" Peter asked, his voice soft, eyes mostly plastered to the floor, but shooting the occasional glance at you.

You sighed, tightening your grip on your backpack straps, then spoke softly, "Yeah, it's true. All of it."

Peter's face darkened a shade, "Even the staring part?"

"Ye- yeah..."

"Do you- um- would you like to- uh- listen. Are you free this Friday night? We've got a robot showcase for robotics club and at the end, there's gonna be one of those robot-dueling-matches, which I think are really cool, and I'm gonna get to operate the robot, and I thought that- well, since you uh- like me, you'd want to come? It's a recruiting event so non-club members are allowed to come and I thought it would kinda be like a date? I don't know if I'm doing this right, you're the first cute girl to ever like me, of all people, and-"

“Peter?” You cut him off

“Yeah?”

“That sounds amazing. What um- what time?”

“It starts at six I can uh- I can text you about it more, uh later tonight?”

You beamed.

“I’d love that.”

[angellesword]

Silver Dust

Summary: Yoongi proposed to you and you're contemplating whether to say yes or no.

Pairing: Songwriter Yoongi x Gender Neutral Reader

Genre: Fluff, fluff, and fluff.

Word count: 6.7k

Warnings/ author's note: I wrote like a whole ass song using Cypher pt.4 beat lmaooo, kissing, minor smut, mention of rape, abuse, killings, and corruption.

<<< The first meeting >>>

The first time you met Yoongi's eyes wasn't really that special.

There was no sign of your heart skipping a single beat, if there was, you're 100% sure he's not the reason behind it because 1) you pretty much believed it's just the effect of drinking three shots of espresso in one sitting. 2) You were damn nervous since your prelim grades were already out.

You didn't even feel any butterfly in your stomach, nor did your world light up—and this, to be honest, was understandable, especially when Yoongi's eyes were dead as fuck. You figured that if it wasn't for your shared seven am class, he would probably still be lying in bed.

"The professor said you're my partner for this project." Even the first time you heard his voice wasn't special.

If there's one thing that made Yoongi Yoongi, it's his monotonous voice. At first, you thought he just didn't like the idea that you two were stuck together to work on a project. (Again, it's understandable) You also found it ridiculous that your professor actually paired you with a stranger.

Well, it's not like you knew Yoongi. Unless knowing his full name counted. But really, it's inevitable since the two of you went to the same classes since freshman year (you're a senior now) apart from that, almost all your professors never failed to voice out their adoration for him.

You first heard his name when your history instructor made it very clear that Min Yoongi's works would be his "standard" when it came to grading your individual projects. In short, if Yoongi got an A, you and your classmates should also either get an A or an A+ or else, you're considered 'failed.'

It’s kind of fucked up, really. Most of you knew that Min Yoongi was a monster when it came to collecting As. Unfair. All he did during class lectures was sleep and yet, he still managed to be number one.

Huh. It must be awesome to be God's favorite.

There was also this one time when one of your professors, Mr. Bang, cried when he asked Yoongi to read his essay in front. The smart boy was reluctant at first. He despised exposure, that's for sure. However, the professor's so persistent that Yoongi obliged just to make the annoying instructor shut up.

You're actually glad Mr. Bang managed to persuade Yoongi. His speech about finding yourself and being happy made Mr. Bang and almost everyone in your class cry. Yoongi transformed into a completely different person the moment he started his speech. Monotonous Voice? Gone.

You figured that yes, your heart didn't skip a beat when you first caught his eyes, but boy did your heart hurt when those simple words leaving his mouth turned into a piece of art.

<<< Your one brain cell >>>>

The second time you met Yoongi's eyes was in front of his house. The two of you decided to work on your project at the school's library, however the place was loaded with students cramming their paper works and you just couldn't bear to hear another person aggressively typing on their laptop anymore. You were sick of it.

"Uh, hi?" you awkwardly smiled at the blond man in front of you.

You weren't quite sure how to react when he was just staring at you blankly. Yoongi's lips were pursed together and that alone made you uncomfortable.

"We were supposed to meet at the library..." He raised his brow as if he wanted to know how the hell did you know where he lives? And were you a fucking stalker?

"I..." You instantly trailed off when he narrowed his brow more. Man, he sure was intimidating. The lack of spark in his eyes made you wince. The man in front of you had thick, low set brows—making them appear almost completely straight. (Poker face alert)

You swallowed the thick lump in your throat before trying to form a coherent sentence.

"There...people. I mean, the library is packed with uh, people."

"So you just decided to show up in my house?"

His question made you quiver. This was such a wrong move. Of course you couldn’t just knock on his door like this; you two were not even friends!

"I'm sorry. I just didn't know any other place and I..." You heaved a deep sigh. "I saw your friend Jeongguk and he told me where you live—“

"Right." He cut you off by opening the door wide. Of course it had to be Jeongguk. That little shit really knew how to annoy Yoongi.

"Holly peed on the couch so there's no way we can work there. Is my room okay to you?" Despite not seeing his face, you instantly knew that Yoongi's question was directed at you. He was leading the way inside his house and you're behind him, quietly following where he's going.

Yoongi's house was not that big, but it's a lovely and comfortable place. Unlike your dorm, you felt at home here. It's probably the indoor plants that made the place more alive. You suddenly wondered if he's living with someone. Did the love of his life stay here? Or did he have a roommate? You're adamant that he lived alone; otherwise all these plants would probably be dead.

You weren't really a judgmental person, you're rather logical. Yoongi slept during class hours; he couldn't be bothered by moving a single inch, too. You guessed that he hated any form of activity and maybe, that included watering plants.

You were about to ask him if he lived alone when your voice had been overpowered by loud, boisterous bark.

"Oh! Hello there, little guy..." A giggle escaped from your lips when a small dog went your way to lick your exposed legs.

You squatted in front of the puppy so you could pet his furry head.

"Holly, no!" Yoongi called the attention of the brown poodle, but it couldn't care less. The dog named Holly still continued to ask for your affection.

"Holly!"

You almost whined when Yoongi took Holly away from you. You're sure the puppy hated it too. But Yoongi told you that his pet needed to learn his lesson first. The naughty dog really peed on the couch right after his bathroom training. Yikes!

Yoongi let you inside his room after your little encounter with Holly. The vibe of his room contradicted the overall theme of the house, but you had expected it to be this way nonetheless.

His bedroom walls were painted dark blue, too dark it's almost close to black. There's nothing much in his room except a single bed, a study area with lots of technical devices, and oh!

Amusement danced in your eyes when you noticed different manga books on his shelf. You didn't think that Yoongi was the type of person who would dwell on such things, but what really caught your attention was his album collection.

"You like Epik High!?" you couldn't help your enthusiasm when your eyes found the band's album called Shoebox resting on the black metallic shelf near his bed. Damn. Shoebox was your best-loved album of all time! You liked all songs by Epik High, however nothing could ever top the said album for you. Your ultimate favorite song had to be Amor Fatti. That song slapped, though its meaning was often misunderstood by many.

Yoongi only spared you a few glances from the moment you showed into his house, this time, however, he was looking at you intently and for the first time, you saw him smile, a shy one at that.

"Yeah...they're the reason why I write songs..." He whispered, too soft you barely heard it.

You even blinked. Did you hear him right?

"Oh, you're a songwriter?" You flashed a loop-sided smile that made Yoongi's cheeks red.

"Uh, well...it's just what I like to do during my free time."

You nodded and hummed, your eyes were still busy roaming around his room when an idea popped in your mind.

"So why don't we make use of your talent and write a song for this project?" You caught Yoongi's eyes again, but this time, it didn't look dead, truthfully, his pupils dilated when he heard what you just said.

You instantly defended your suggestion.

"I mean, we don't really have a plan, and now we have. I think you're pretty good at it so it'll make our jobs easier. I can sing, don't worry..."

You hated saying that, though you didn't have a choice. You needed to convince him that producing a song would be such a good idea.

Your professor said you needed to make something, anything that would elicit a reaction from him and your classmates. This was a psychology class and your topic for midterm was all about emotions. Mr. Kim Seokjin, your professor, was tired of doing all the talking, especially because your class was unresponsive, so to save his voice (and brain cells probably) he told the whole class that the remaining meeting for midterm would be about his students showcasing their talents that wold, like what you had said, gain extreme emotions from your classmates. It's actually easy except that you're paired with someone you were not close with. On top of that, the presentation of the project shouldn't exceed ten minutes, and lastly, it should be personal.

You spent days thinking about what you and your partner could do, but your brain cells weren't cooperating since you only had two of it, the first one was sleeping and the other only knew the words "Nothing, bitch."

And so now that your former brain cell decided to wake up and save you from your misery of being stupid (even if it's just for good three minutes) you're willing to take it.

Before your 180 seconds ran out, you immediately started blabbing words to convince Yoongi to produce a song with you.

And guess what? Your convincing power must be really good (or maybe you're just as annoying as Mr. Bang and Yoongi just wanted you to shut up too) but hey, at least Yoongi agreed!

<<< Weirdo >>>

The third time you met Yoongi's eyes—well, it's not really the third time. You had actually lost count on how many times your eyes locked with each other. Sometimes, it's a conscious act, but most of the time, it's not. You guys would just find yourselves staring into each other's eyes when you didn't know what lyrics to write next.

Producing a song was not as easy as what you thought it would be. It had been three weeks since the two of you started this project. Yoongi's room had been your workplace ever since. He had the equipment you needed plus it's easier to meet here since your dorm was just meters away from his house.

"My damn throat hurts like hell!" You groaned before collapsing on top of Yoongi's bed.

The past three weeks you spent with Yoongi made the two of you start a beautiful friendship. Admittedly, it's not really beautiful since most of the time; you're bickering at each other. You and Yoongi were so different from each other. He liked starting his work early because he wanted to finish it early. You, on the other hand, were his exact opposite. You're the play now, work later type of person and Yoongi hated it so much. While he practiced delayed gratification, you sat there and ruined everything.

You were always on his bed, cuddling his pet Holly. That's most likely the reason why it's only been two days since you two finished the song. It took almost three weeks because of your procrastinating ass, and now, you suffered. The two of you only had a week before you performed this in front of your class. Yoongi was pissed off at you for the reason that you still hadn't finished memorizing the lyrics and your voice was already strained.

“If I ever see you drinking cold water again, I will fucking drown your ass on that water as I behead you, and then I will freeze your head." Yoongi warned as he joined you in bed.

"Ohhh, morbid. I like that..." You shrugged your shoulders and then you buried your face on his chest—making him groan in irritation.

"You weirdo, get away from me!"

"No..." You laughed because Yoongi was the weird one here. He told you not to touch him or stay close to him, but at the same time, he's wrapping his arm on your waist.

You wondered if this was okay, it's just been three weeks since the two of you had been formally introduced, and yet, you found comfort here. On his bed. In his arms.

You smiled to yourself, yes, Yoongi was a weirdo, but so were you.

<<< Namjoon’s Party >>>>

What you considered as the fourth time you met Yoongi’s eyes was also the first time he called you by your given name.

“You feel so good…” He moaned your name on your neck, his hands were tightly wrapped around your waist—enjoying your body heat.

You suddenly thought if dragging Yoongi into this party was the best idea. Right now, you had no freaking clue how to act. You’re drunk, but not too drunk to not think about the consequences of this night. But damn, you’re just a human. A horny human! How could you possibly stop Yoongi when he’s using his soft lips to paint bruises on your neck!?

You could just push him away and you knew that, though you were also aware that your mind and heart wouldn’t want that, not when you liked what he’s doing to you.

“Namjoon’s party sucks.”

“Just not your crowd, weirdo...” You chuckled. Oh, thank heavens for Namjoon. He was one of your childhood friends and frankly, the song you and Yoongi produced wouldn’t be finished without the help of Namjoon. So when that friend of yours texted you to come to his birthday party, you immediately agreed. Fortunately, you didn’t have to force your one brain cell to wake up just so you could convince Yoongi to go with you.

This wasn’t what Yoongi likesd he hated parties because he didn’t want to talk to stupid people and drunken people were stupid people. Perhaps the only reason why Yoongi was here was because he couldn’t turn down Namjoon—not after all your friend’s genius advice.

“I hate this place.” Yoongi added, he’s now looking at you with sparks in his eyes—or maybe you’re just drunk. Too intoxicated to feel and see anything other than the fact that Yoongi’s already grinding at you.

You huffed; suddenly offended by the clothes you’re wearing. Were you supposed to wear this when all you wanted was to feel Yoongi’s touch on your bare skin?

“We’re here for Namjoon—”

“God, can’t you take the hint?” Yoongi cut you off by pouting.

You blinked. Did this weirdo just pout? And oh, his lips…his lips were hot….hot against your own mouth.

“Yoongi….” You breathed, your eyes were too hazy to see his gummy smile.

“Let’s get the hell out of this place…”

That night, you once again lost count as to how many times you met his eyes. You also figured out that his eyes looked best the most when he’s down on his knees, facing your hips.

<<< The Performance >>>

You were expecting to meet Yoongi’s eyes as soon as you opened your very own one; however panic and fear consumed your whole being that you immediately ran out of Yoongi’s room. You’re too frightened to let him see you that you hurriedly put your clothes on and left his house.

It’s not like it was going to change the fact that you slept with your classmate in Psychology, however, you were scared. Scared to see his eyes back to being dead when just last night, the moon and the stars were there, staring at you like you’re not just a dust in this universe, but the whole universe.

Besides, you had one logical reason: you needed to pick up your costume for your upcoming performance with Yoongi. Taehyung, your designer friend was only available till nine in the morning, so you literally had to run like a lunatic right after you woke up from your cozy sleep on Yoongi’s bed.

Your outfit was perfect. Damn, Taehyung really had a talent when it came to this. Your confidence level was boosted just by wearing the clothes your great friend designed. You thought you’re finally ready to perform the song you and Yoongi produced for one month.

You were so ready, but your heart was not…

Just…where the hell was Yoongi? It had been two days since you last saw him. You hadn’t heard any news from him since you left his apartment the day after Namjoon’s party. Was he mad at you for leaving? Or did he even care?

You had fifteen minutes left before Mr. Kim Seokjin, your psychology professor, marked your grades zero.

“Fucking Min Yoongi, where the hell are you?” You grimaced when your call was directed on his phone’s voicemail.

You had two options: fake death so you wouldn’t have to perform, or kill Mr. Kim Seokjin. (They wouldn’t probably notice if you stabbed your professor on his side since most of them were busy preparing for their own presentations.)

But just as you’re about to resort to your latter option, Yoongi’s familiar scent immediately attacked your nose. You looked back only for you to cancel killing Mr. Kim Seokjin and just choose your former option.

God, how could it be possible for you to still want to stay alive when Min Yoongi was killing you with his looks? Gone was his light blond hair, but you’re not complaining since his now black curly hair was much much better than the previous one.

“Sorry I’m late. Holly peed on the couch again…” His multiple earrings looked too damn good on him. You’re silly; you’re fucking silly because you worried for nothing. Yoongi was still Yoongi, and the sparks in his eyes were still visible.

“It’s okay, we still have time…” You smiled as if the thought of murdering your professor didn’t just cross your mind. Oh well, nothing else mattered when Yoongi was here, right?

Mr. Kim Seokjin said that you and Yoongi would be the last performers for this day, which meant you still had at least half an hour left to stare at Yoongi like a vampire wanting to drink blood. But time flies fast when you’re busy with something. Thirty minutes ago, you were just ogling at your partner, right now, you were in front of the class, spitting fire with your partner.

The first verse of your produced song was rapped by Yoongi. Scratch that, Agust D was in front of you and not Yoongi. Your partner told you that he preferred to be called Agust D whenever he was performing his rap song.

Robber! Robber!

Sorry bae

Killer! Killer!

Sorry bae

Addiction—diction--diction

Sorry bae

“Oh! The court’s case you got away?”

Your partner smirked before proceeding to the next verse. You, on the other hand, stood there to hype the crowd.

You always get away

I’m sorry bae

You smoke cocaine but get away

Justice won’t be served

I’m sorry bae

Everything, everything, everything

Unfair

You were nervous. The next verse was assigned to you. The plan was that you only had to sing the chorus part, though Yoongi had another idea. He wanted you to go out of your comfort zone and try something new. So here you were, rapping.

You commit the same sin

Sorry bae

Your silence they love it

Sorry bae

I see same pigs on the senate

Boring bae

Your vote they bought and they’re not

Sorry bae

Nothing’s new but rich people’s car are

Brand new

Sorry bae

You can’t be illiterate coz they take advantage

Before you know it, you’re one of the reasons

Why innocents are salvage

Politicians know your name

But after the election they act like they don’t know your name!

You and Yoongi both performed the chorus part. It looked like the crowd was enjoying your presentation because they also started shouting and hyping you up.

They love, they love, they love themselves

They know, they know your sufferings

But they don’t they don’t and will never care

Youth wake up, stand up, we should fight the state! Brr!

The following verse was rapped by Yoongi again. You took your time to feel yourself as you discreetly watched the reaction of the people in front of you. A whole month of stress and worry seemed to pay off. You even locked eyes with Park Jimin, one of your most-respected classmates; he cheered for you and that was enough for you to successfully perform the next verse.

I wanna get job (job, job, job)

But I can’t get on the spotlight

Yeah I wanna have a good life!

But my parent’s wings are cozy

I just wanna hide

It’s okay I have time

My trust fund won’t end

So I can still live

And breathe while I finish this game

Called being “dependent”

All night, all day

All night, all day

Don’t care, don’t care, don’t care!

The next verse was easy to execute since you and Yoongi both rapped it. You were facing each other and suddenly, you forgot that there were eyes watching you. Min Yoongi caressed your cheeks once. You smiled as you sensually rolled your body.

Who plays by the rule?

No one!

Who wants to grab a woman's hair?

Husband!

Yoongi slightly pulled your hair this time. You grimaced, but you still continued rapping.

He has mistress so the wife’s depressed

He forgot about their kids but that’s okay

She can cover up for him like how

She can cover her bruise and play cool

As she says “I love him, anyway.”

You moved away from your partner. Your mood instantly changed as you approached the next verse. This one’s challenging to write. Your heart was breaking as you sang.

The other woman on the street has been pulled

By the stranger claiming she’s wet like a pool

She should be thankful since this will feel like

a dream come true

Lick it lick it right, you can take it, right?

She cried and cried and cried, that should be a sign

But “High five!” he told the other man

As the woman cried, her voice is too loud

So they killed her that night.

You let out your frustration by growling and jumping. Min Yoongi was also lost in his own world as he rapped—raising his middle finger from time to time.

They love, they love, they love themselves

They know, they know your sufferings

But they don’t they don’t and will never care

You’re horny, you fucked up! Go on and hate yourself! Brr!

It’s Yoongi’s own verse again. His mood shifted too. If you weren’t part of this performance, you would probably just stare at him. Goddamn, Min Yoongi had his own way of expressing himself.

Back back to the killings!

Your guns check

Call me when you need a gunman I can kill

Even for a dollar

Hashtag no conscience

I don’t believe in God so hell sounds okay

I’ll be with my gang gang

So hell won’t be boring!

The demon you summon

so money won’t be your worry

Payday, paycheck so I can have that rolex

He pointed the rolex on his wrist. It’s not an authentic one, but that’s not the point. Clearly, he just wanted everyone to see that there were other ways to “look cool.” However, many people still chose to listen and be their own demons.

Click clack to the bang bang

Your time has run out.

Click clack here’s my gun

I’m so high on drugs

I see you as a rat

They can control me with money

So you take these four shots

Your life is like a fruit fly

“I can’t understand. Why is it so easy for them?” This was Min Yoongi’s question to you. He asked this while you two were writing the following verse. He hated a lot of things, though he could forgive and tolerate some of it easily. However, he clearly told you that he could never treat someone right if that person used violence.

Click clack to the bang, you and you

Wait your turn

Shit! You little boy

Come here look at the blood

How? You’re asking me?

I don’t know, you’re a man you should know how

He also told you how much he hated this unfair world. He respected women more than ever, but Yoongi was an advocate of both equality and equity. Why can’t boys cry? Are we robots? These were some of his questions too.

If this is the kind of world we live in

I don't wanna live at all

If I exist for your pleasure

then I refuse to accept this call

You joined Yoongi singing the last verse of the song.

They love, they love, they love themselves

They know, they know your sufferings

But they don’t they don’t and will never care

Yo’ human, are you human? If yes then help us save this place!

By the time you finish the song, everyone’s clapping their hands and cheering for you and your partner. You swore you even saw Mr. Kim Seokjin wrote “100” on your paper.

You smiled. The performance was over, contrarily, the attraction you felt for your partner was only starting.

<<< Kimchi and Other Sauces >>>>

The first time you met Yoongi’s pleading eyes was during dinner time. After your performance in Mr. Kim Seokjin’s class, your partner said that the two of you should celebrate this success. Of course you immediately agreed, but that did not mean you were willing to spend money.

“I swear to God, Yoongi…if you ever bring me to a fine-dining restaurant, I will fucking kill you.”

You were not joking. You had student loans to pay so you couldn’t afford to spend a hundred dollar for a fucking spaghetti and sparkling water.

“Chill, you weirdo. We can just—” He stopped mid-sentence because a brilliant idea just popped into his mind.

“What? You’re not planning a yacht dinner date, are you!?” You started freaking out and the uneasiness you felt only intensified when Yoongi smirked.

“Actually, I was planning to…you know…maybe…make you eat my cum.” He simply shrugged his shoulders.

He said it so casually that you just stared at him. Was he serious or were you supposed to be laughing now? You could feel your blood rushing. You were so confused. Excited. Worried.

After what it felt like forever, the staring contest with Yoongi finally ended. He offered his hands and of course, you immediately took it. The both of you rushed toward his big, black motorbike. Yoongi only brought one helmet so he told you to just wear it. The ride to his house wasn’t that far, anyway.

The both of you were in a hurry. Countless profanities were thrown at him for driving hastily; Yoongi even parked his motorbike in a reckless way. Still, you two couldn’t care less, especially Yoongi. How could he? Huh, definitely not after you stroked his cock while driving. That’s really not a smart move, at least not when Yoongi’s mother welcomed the both of you just as Yoongi opened his apartment’s door.

“Eomma! What are you doing here?!” Clearly, your partner wasn’t expecting to see his own mother. It’s pretty obvious since Yoongi’s jaw dropped and his neck was slowly turning red.

“You brat! Why wouldn’t I be here? This is my house!” You knew you weren’t supposed to laugh, however it’s hard to control yourself when Yoongi’s being hit by his own mother while he was trying to cover the bulge on his pants.

“Eommoni! Please! I have a guest!” Yoongi got away from his own mother by hiding himself behind your small frame.

“What—oh!” His mother’s eyes widened when she saw you. She seemed surprised to see Yoongi bring someone. Of course, Yoongi had never brought his friends home. Not even once. At this point, his mother was actually convinced that her son was allergic to human beings.

“I didn’t know that Yoongi is friends with someone as charming as you…” The frightening aura of his mother was completely gone. The older woman engulfed you into a tight, warm hug as she asked your name. You answered her with a smile on your lips.

Yoongi’s mom led you in the kitchen. Actually, you tagged along with her. She wanted to prepare a meal for you and her son, but of course, you couldn’t just sit still and look pretty. As a sign of respect, you needed to help her. Besides, you loved kitchen works, though you’re pretty sure cooking hated every fiber of your being.

The older woman just asked you to set up the table because according to her, she was always in charge of cooking. She also told you to be prepared because you’d surely forget your name once you tasted her award-winning Sam Gae Tang or that chicken soup with ginseng. Hoseok, one of your best friends, made the best chicken soup so your standard was kind of high. For you, nothing could beat Hoseok, but we’ll just have to see.

“Please be kind to my mother…”

Yoongi’s voice and eyes were pleading as he sat beside you. The food was already prepared and the two of you were ready to eat. You were just waiting for Yoongi’s mom to finish washing her hands.

You just raised your brows at the man beside you, clearly not understanding why he’s pleading because really, you knew how to respect elders.

Yoongi sighed.

“My mom is a terrible cook. Her soup tastes like shit, man…” Yoongi shook his head like a traumatized kid. He even bit his lower lip.

You’re about to say something, but you heard his mother’s footsteps, meaning, if you spoke, she might hear you, and so you just kept your mouth shut. You’re expecting Yoongi to do the same, though he just leaned on your shoulders—his eyes were still begging.

“Please, baby? Just put a lot of kimchi and other sauces on your soup to get rid of the awful taste. Can you do that for me?”

You simply nodded. That night, you realized that Yoongi was willing to do everything just to make someone he loved happy. Days, weeks, months, and years passed and you still admired how every time you had dinner with him and his mother, Yoongi would urge you to put kimchi and other sauces on your chicken soup.

At this point, you were convinced you loved Min Yoongi. You had always loved cooking, hell, you were willing to lose your bachelor’s degree if that meant you would be good at cooking, because…

You, just like Yoongi’s mom, were a terrible cook. But Yoongi never complained nor did he ever put kimchi and other sauces on the food you cooked just for him.

<<< Silver Dust>>>>

The first time you asked Yoongi why he liked looking into your eyes was when the both of you were having a staring contest.

The wind was unbelievably cold tonight, clearly, you weren’t expecting to freeze in the middle of a summer night. The annoying weather led you into thinking if climbing on top of your boyfriend’s house’s roof was a good idea. Sure the stars were pretty, but you felt cold. Too cold.

“Do you know the story about the Window and the Mirror?” Yoongi asked out of the blue. He also pulled your body closer to him—making you grimace. The texture of the roof was hard on your back. You shook your head, why did you choose to lay on the roof without any blanket again? Sometimes, your choices in life were really questionable.

“Nah, what happened?” You’re never a fan of stories.

Yoongi sighed. He pulled you closer to him until your face was buried on his neck. Damn. He smelled like smoke and sex.

“Well, for starters, my father left us…”

Yoongi’s words monetarily made you stop breathing. You had known him for years now, but not once did you ever talk about his father. You were aware that his father left him and his mom, though you didn’t know the story behind it.

“My father was a good man and he always tells me he loves my mother more than ever. For the longest time of my life, I believed him. He never looked into anyone’s wife. He never had a mistress, but my father is selfish.”

You just hummed to let him know that you were listening.

He cleared his throat.

“Mom just wants a simple life and that’s why we never left Daegu. This is my home. Our home.” Yoongi’s grip on your shoulder tightened, he looked up in the sky—the stars were prettier when you were in Daegu.

“My father doesn’t like to be here, though. He loves the city. He craves city life. Ever since I was young, he kept telling my mom that they should move to Seoul. Abeonim hates farming. He calls our strawberry farm disgusting. Said he should become a CEO and not a stupid farmer.” Yoongi laughed bitterly. He could still remember the way his father said those words.

“And guess what? He fucking did. Min Hyun Sik, chief executive officer of Bighit Company…” Yoongi cackled and you gasped.

Min Hyun Sik was his father? That guy was like the richest man in South Korea! You wanted to confirm this news that he just dropped, however, you couldn’t move because Yoongi’s grip on your shoulders was so tight.

“He became someone with power by leaving my mother and I.” Yoongi repeated as his eyes darkened. He no longer found the stars pretty. For him they were just lights—shining to hurt his eyes.

“He just left a note like that was going to be enough. He didn’t even say sorry. The only words written on those notes are him telling me to go to University using the money he left.”

You bit your lower lip. His grip was really, really tight…

“He wants me to go to college so I can follow him in the city, and so I went to college. But it’s not because I want to follow him. I enrolled just so I can fucking drop out during my last year.”

You furrowed your brow. If that was Yoongi’s original plan, then how…how come he’s a college graduate now?

“That was the plan before I met you…” Yoongi’s grip on your shoulder loosens, giving you the opportunity to look into his eyes.

He smiled at you.

“So, the story of the Window and the Mirror?” He offered and you just nodded.

“There’s this rich man—”

“Richer than your dad?” You asked. He laughed.

“Fucking richer than my dad…” He left a chaste kiss on your mouth. You giggled. “Anyway, the man went to see a rabbi, some sort of Jewish teacher. Of course the rabbi asked him what he wanted and the rich man said he doesn’t know what to do with his life anymore.”

“Uh, duh? He should give us money!” You butted in again. Yoongi kissed you once more just to make you shut up.

“Unfortunately, the teacher didn’t tell the rich man to give you money, weirdo. The Rabbi just led him over to the window and asked him this.” Yoongi cleared his throat. “What can you see through the glass?”

“And what’s the response of the rich man, Mr. Min?”

“I can see men coming and going and a blind man begging for alms in the street.” Yoongi answered you. “The rabbi seemed content with his answers, so this time, the teacher led him into a large mirror to ask him another question...”

“What is the other question?” You pressed.

“The rabbi asked him this, baby…” Yoongi pressed his lips on your mouth before proceeding to the story. “When you look in this mirror, can you tell me what you see?”

“And?!” You pressed again.

“I can see myself…”

“Obviously.” You rolled your eyes. You just wanted to know the sense of this story.

“And you can’t see the others. Notice that the window and the mirror are both made of the same basic material, glass. You should compare yourself to these two kinds of glass. Poor, you saw other people and felt compassion for them. Rich — covered in silver — you see yourself.”

“Oh,” was all you could say.

Your boyfriend smiled at you.

“My father chose to look in the mirror and I almost did the same. I almost dropped out of college just because I want my father to see that having a degree is useless. But, baby, if I actually chose to drop out, I wouldn’t have met you. I wouldn’t be able to give my mother a better life. I wouldn’t be able to afford to hire a cook and who knows? If I drop out of college, I would probably still be eating my mom’s shitty chicken soup.” You laughed at that.

“I am just saying, I like to look into your eyes because it reminds me of a window. It made me see a lot of things—new opportunities. Because of you, I stopped being selfish. You removed the silver in the mirror; you turned the silver into dust.”

“I fucking love you!” This time, you initiated the kiss.

You kissed Min Yoongi so hard that when you pulled away, he’s desperately gasping for air.

“I fucking love you too.”

<<< The Proposal >>>>

After reminiscing some of your unforgettable moments with Min Yoongi, you finally looked into his eyes.

Yoongi proposed to you and you’re contemplating whether to say yes or no. Your boyfriend despised the crowd, but here he was, down on his knees—shakily holding a ring on his hand.

You examined his face. His lips were quivering, for the first time; you saw how vulnerable he looked. It’s as if his whole life depended on this, and to be honest, it did. Yoongi couldn’t imagine life without you.

“Baby, are you gonna say yes or no?” Yoongi knitted his brows together.

You chuckled. Typical, Yoongi.

“Please stand up…”

Your boyfriend looked at you with confused eyes. His heart started beating so fast he’s very sure it would explode.

“B-But why? Don’t you want to—“ He stammered.

“Just stand up, Yoongi.”

With a heavy heart, Yoongi followed what you wanted. Deep inside, Yoongi was already murdering his friend, Jeon Jeongguk. He just told Yoongi that proposing in a strange, busy city would win your heart.

You two were currently in New York, New York. Strangers were watching you, and Brooklyn Bridge served as your backdrop. Jeongguk said that if Yoongi proposed in a place where no one knew you, then it was a sure win because your mother wouldn’t be able to stop Yoongi. Your childhood crush or ex wouldn't be in the picture too so it was another win for Yoongi. But your boyfriend was starting to regret his decision. He shouldn’t have listened to Jeongguk. What did that dipshit even know about love?

“Yoongi, are you listening?”

“Huh?” Your boyfriend’s train of thoughts were suddenly halted when you spoke.

“I can’t believe you. I just said yes!” You shake Yoongi’s shoulder. It looked like he was still out of his mind and that made you anxious. What if…what if he decided you’re not worth it anymore? What if he didn’t want to marry you anymore?

“Baby, I can’t believe you too. Please give me your hands!” Yoongi exclaimed.

“Oh!” You exclaimed as well. What the hell! You were so apprehensive that you zoned out too!

“We’re both weirdos, do you know that?” Yoongi shook his head after putting the sparkling ring on your finger.

You laughed.

“Oh, just shut up and kiss me.”

“Gladly.”

[chiliiscereal]

(This is preseason one to show you what the background is on the whole story)

(let me know if you think this should be published as a separate book!)

You and Steve had a rocky start to being siblings.

You were born four years apart.

He was born in a time when your parents actually loved each other. They had time for birthdays and family weekends together. They went out to the park on saturdays. They were a picture perfect family.

It just so happened that when you were born, your father stopped being quite so faithful to your mother. When you came into the world, your father was in Europe on a business trip. And he wasn't only up to business.

Little Steve had adored you at first. He always wanted to hold you or play with you.

But then their parents no longer had time for him.

It was always work... and taking care of you.

It slowly changed over the years to only work, as your mother could no longer trust your father. Steve was left to watch you for weeks on end. He was good at it at first. He used to watch you carefully. He used to make sure you were happy and well...

Until he could no longer see his friends.

He was ten. You were five.

He began to leave you at home. At first it was only for thirty minutes while he went to the park. Then it was an hour every day during his elementary school days while he went to the movies.

You were seven when you began cooking your own meals.

You TRIED talking to him. You really did.

You tried catching his sleeve whenever he breezed past. You tried showing him crafts you made. You tried playing music you thought he might like.

That ended with twelve year old Steve pushing you away.

It ended with your works of art thrown in the trash.

Your music cassettes were thrown onto the road.

Your mother made sure both of you knew to never walk into the middle of the road, so you could only cry as some unknowing stranger destroyed your wonderful music. The music you had saved up all your allowance for. The music that you had thought your older brother would like. The music that you thought might bring you two together.

When your mother and father returned, you tattled.

Steve was grounded for a whole week.

But he always needed to have the last say. So he sold your boom box and spent all the money on comics. He threw your sketchbook in the quarry water. He shoved you to the floor, saying that if you ever tattled again then you would join your drawing book in the cold water.

You stopped trying to give Steve your attention and love. You no longer wished he would spend more time at home. So you began exploring the town by yourself at the age of nine. You didn't really have friends to hang out with so you would browse through stores.

The arcade was your favorite place.

You loved showing up early on Saturday mornings, before Steve was even awake, and leaving behind a new high score on the dragons lair.

Why?

Because it always riled up a group of boys your age. They had no idea who kept beating them over and over. Every Sunday morning you watched them walk in... only to scream a few seconds later about how someone had beaten their score by ONE point. Again.

You loved having some sort of connection to them. Even if they didn't know it was you. Or even who you were at all. They were a weird little group, strictly sticking with only other A.V club kids. Besides, you hardly ever talked. What would be so special about you?

It also didn't help that your older brother had begun to build himself a reputation. When you were ten, he began to be known as king Steve. You knew he bullied one of the kids (wills) older brother while beginning to flirt with another's (mike's) older sister.

You knew this because your father began forcing Steve to drive you home from school. That was the rule he set when he gave Steve the car.

Every day you trekked to the high school, only to watch Steve hang around Nancy Wheeler and push Johnathan Byers. You would have intervened and told him that you really didn't want to wait twenty minutes (out of sight) for him to be done. But the last time he did that he made you ride the way home in the trunk of his car.

When you were eleven, you started hanging out at Melvald's convenience store in the town square. Your favorite time to go there was at 7:00, because Mrs. Byers would always work the morning shift.

Wills mother was really quite wonderful. Every time you walked in she greeted you with a smile and lowered her magazine.

——-

"Whatcha lookin for today, kiddo?" She smiled softly, leaning on the counter to watch you browse.

"Any new cassette tapes." You shrugged, fingering each music case that caught your eye. "Do you have any Clash? I... lost mine." You didn't lose it. Steve broke it when he heard you mutter about how much you hated Tommy H.

"Yeah, we got a new box of cassettes delivered this morning." She hopped up and waved for you to follow her to the back room. "I miiiight have snagged a Clash cassette for you when I saw it." She grinned as she held the door open for the young girl.

"You didn't need to buy anything for me!" You gasped. You knew that the Byers needed all the money they could get. "Can I pay you back?" You immediately began digging through your pockets for spare change.

She placed a guiding hand on your back as you both entered, pulling you away from your search. "Oh no it's fine! It's the least I can do for my most frequent visitor."

She plucked the music case off the shelf and handed it to you. "You go to Hawkins elementary, right? You should talk to my son. Will. He also loves the Clash."

You turned red and clutched the cassette. "I've...seen him around before. I don't know how to talk to him."

"Oh it's easy!" She grabbed the spare paper and crayons you always used when you visited. "You just need to find common ground. For example," she pulled up a stool beside her for you to sit at, "you both like to draw!"

You placed down the paper and got working on your art. "Will it make a difference if I draw cartoons and he draws realistic? What if the difference is too big for him to want to talk to me?"

"It'll give you more to talk about!"

——

So began your quest to pursue friendship.

You attempted to speak to Will and his friends in the hall.

They were talking too loud about their latest campaign to hear you.

You tried asking to sit by them at lunch.

They were too busy launching potato's at the ceiling to notice.

Right when you almost gave up... Will and you were paired together as partners for a history project.

——-

'Don't mess it up, don't mess it up', you told yourself over and over as you moved to sit by Will. 'Don't be weird. See if he'll talk first. Don't be clingy.'

Wills was equally quiet. He just read through the rubric of the project and stayed silent.

'What can we talk about... what should I say?'

A drawing poking out of wills bag caught your eye. It looked like a wizard casting some sort of spell.

"I like your drawing!" You blurted out, wishing you could just shut up.

Wills jumped, startled. "Yeah... umm.. it's from... uh... it's from our last campaign.." he began fiddling with his thumbs, unsure of what to say to a girl. "Our DnD campaign... I mean."

You nodded along. "I like to draw to! I've never... I've never played DnD before... so I like to draw people."

Will cracked a shy smile. "I'll show you my drawing if you show me one of yours."

You agreed hesitantly.

He took your cartoon and you took his master piece. You desperately wished you could draw like him. Your cartoons looked so simple, as Steve always said.

"You're a cartoonist!" Will smiled, holding the paper out in front of him. It was a caricature of Mrs. Byers. "You must be the girl my mom sees at her job!" His eyes were wide with recognition. "This is so good! I wish I could draw cartoons. But whenever I try... they look like potato's." He laughed.

You flushed a deep red. "I... I'm also the one that beats your scores every Saturday." You admit.

His jaw dropped. "No way. We've been trying to figure out who that was for months! We formed a whole list of people to interrogate!" He ran a hand through his hair.

You giggled. "I can prove it... if you want. Next Saturday I could show you and your friends? At the arcade?"

"Yeah! I'm totally down to hang out at the arcade!"

——

Will had brought you to the A.V club after to ask the rest of the party. You had protested at first. What if they didn't like you? What if they said no? You would look so stupid! You tried to use your brother driving you home as an excuse.

But if you brought Steve up... no. You couldn't start a potential friendship like that.

Will proposed the ideas to everyone excitedly.

It seemed that Lucas had a problem with it immediately.

——-

"Sorry Will, but we can't." Lucas shook his head. "We've got plans."

Your heart dropped.

"Wait," Dustin frowned and turned to his friend. "What plans? I wasn't aware of any plans."

Lucas crossed his arms. "Remember? Our campaign?"

"We don't have a-."

Lucas elbowed him harshly and looked at you. "Can you leave for a second? We need to talk. ALONE."

You nodded and stepped out of the room. "Yeah totally! Just let me know when-."

The door slammed in your face.

You know you shouldn't have but you pressed your ear to the door anyway.

"What's your damage?" Mike Wheeler hissed quietly.

"Don't you know who she is?" Lucas accused.

"No... should we?" Will whispered in confusion.

"That's Y/N Harrington!" Lucas spat out.

"Steve Harrington's little sister." Dustin stated, now understanding.

Mike groaned. "The douche bag my sisters hooked on?"

"Yes! What if she's exactly like him?"

"You mean a total mouth breather? A player? An absolute jackass?"

You sunk to the floor. Of course Steve ruined the only chance you might have of a friendship. How could she think that these kids would look past her family's reputation? No one ever did. Even her teachers expected her to be disruptive and rude.

"Guys." Will intervened. "I talked to her in history."

"What?!"

"Traitor!"

"What about the party?"

Will lowered his voice, causing you to lean a little closer to the door. "She doesn't act like him. She never called me any names. She never told me that I'm a freak. She tried to talk to me about art."

"Steve definitely doesn't appreciate art." Dustin mumbled.

Wills continued. "She's a cartoonist. And I think she might be like us. You know who kept beating our dragon lair record?"

"Who?"

"Please tell me it wasn't Troy."

"Y/N Harrington."

"WHAT?!"

"IT WAS HER?!"

"GIRLS PLAY VIDEO GAMES?!"