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starlightrows · 3 years

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3 — The Pariah

The Queen of Tatooine Masterlist

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Pairing: Boba Fett x reader

Word Count: 2.2k

Warnings: Non graphic violence, fire, hypothermia

Summary: Tempers rage in your small town, you are blamed for the less than savory change in patronage

Eventually the storm blew itself out, and your steady flow of patrons returned to eat, drink, stay the night, and move on. As autumn turned to winter, the storms and rain became more frequent, and began getting colder. Frost settled over the ground each night and melted by mid day.

A few weeks after Boba Fett had left your inn, on a chilly morning, you noticed a shift in the townspeople’s attitude towards you. Instead of quiet resentment or unspoken distaste, now they glared at you in the market. You were just trying to pick up some things you needed. More flour, a replacement pitcher for the one you knocked off the bar and broke, soap, and sewing needles. Many of the vendors would not speak to you, one of them wouldn’t even let you look at her wares. Confused and offended you tried to ask what you had done to have service refused, she met your gaze

“Your business is turning our town into a trading post for criminals and mercenaries” she spits “you can buy your soap somewhere else”

“I don’t choose who comes through this town” you point out

“Doesn’t matter, you let them stay” she snaps the box of cut soaps shut and gives you a look, trying to intimidate you into leaving

When you turn around, many of the other vendors at the market, and citizens of your town have gathered around the soap stall. Their voices rise up from their whispers to angry shouts and accusations.

People begin blaming you for their loss of profit, their stolen property… then the accusations get more and more fanatical. The storm that knocked over a large tree and damaged someone’s speeder, another man’s daughter running away to the next town for a boy, the town children’s new interest in playing “bounty hunters and thieves”.

You back away, try to leave the market and get back to the inn. But the crowd follows you, calling out horrible names and slurs. You pick up the pace and try to block them out, but the faster you go— the faster they get.

You’re running now, running to get away from the mob that seems to be growing with each house or business you pass. You’re almost there, if you can just get to the door. The head of the mob catches you by the fabric of your shirt and yanks you back. To your horror, the rest of the mob surges forward and breaks down your door.

Several men shove you and kick you to the ground every time you try to get up. You beg them to stop, to let you go, to make the rest of the townspeople stop what they’re doing.

You can hear them inside. Smashing your glasses, using rocks to shatter the windows, flipping the tables, ransacking the kitchen, probably stealing your money and your food.

Then there’s smoke rising from the back window. Someone must have knocked coals out of the hearth. People come pouring out of the inn, disappearing back into the town and surrounding woods carrying armfuls of your stuff and coughing as black smoke billows out of your home.

The men who had been keeping you down scattered off with the rest of the crowd. You got up on your knees as the flames overtook the inn… your business… your home… burning before your eyes, and you were powerless to stop it.

The sky darkens as ugly grey clouds mask the sun. You drag yourself away to the edge of the forest just in time for the rain to begin falling. Luckily the rainfall helps to beat back the red hot tongues of fire that have engulfed your home.

You sit for hours, half waiting for the mob to return and continue beating you with sticks. But there is only you, the rain, the ruins of your inn and the smoke that begins to rise into the sky. Rain comes and goes, and the sun begins to set behind mountains. The fire seems to have gone out. You know it’s dangerous to try to poke around in the wreckage, but you have no choice.

You haul yourself up, shivering on unsteady legs and step over what used to be the front wall. Blackened wood, melted and misshapen silverware, the hearth and chimney still stand. The entire upstairs has collapsed. It’s jarring to see burnt bed frames with charred mattresses covered in ash. There’s nothing left. What little you had that actually belonged to you was gone or burned beyond saving.

Night is falling and you’ll freeze if you don’t figure out some way to get warm or have shelter. You’ll figure out what to do tomorrow if you live to see the dawn. You continue to pick through the rubble until you find something you might be able to use. The wash basin you kept in the back and used to bathe and do your laundry. It’s made of metal and miraculously intact.

Dragging it away is more effort than you expected, it’s always been an awkward item to move around. But nevertheless you drag it away from the wreckage, just inside the treeline. Using two sturdy y-frame tree branches you prop it up against the wind, and set about making a small fire to stay warm.

Thank the Maker, it didn't rain again that night. And the fire reflected back against the bottom of the tub and kept you warm all night. At first light you’re up, putting out your campfire and picking through the rubble again to find anything that could be useful. You don’t find much… just an old hunting knife your father had left to you and an iron cup.

You decide your best course of action is to walk the 45 miles to the next settlement and either seek justice for what’s happened to you… or disappear and not make any trouble. The trek to get there will take three or four days, and that’s if you make good time. Might as well get a head start.

————

Word traveled quickly about what had happened. Many mercenaries, bounty hunters and their quarries alike arrive in town to stay at the inn and find that it’s been burned to the ground and the innkeeper has been driven out of town.

The desired effect of reducing criminal activity and foot traffic through the area does occur. But not before they’ve pillaged, vandalized and reaped havoc upon the entire settlement.

The one person in the criminal underworld who seems to miss out on this information is Boba Fett. He returns to your settlement to find the entire town struggling to pick up the pieces of their lives. Your inn is nothing more than a scorch mark on the ground it once sat on with a blackened brick hearth in the center.

His heart aches and his mind turns to dark thoughts of what could have happened to you, and who was responsible for it. He storms back into the settlement, and finds the nearest groveling peasant. It just so happens it was one of the men that kicked you down while your home burned.

“What happened here?” Boba demands. The man cowers from him and doesn’t answer. “I asked you a question. What happened?”

“It was the innkeeper” the man says hastily “She let all the criminals and mercenaries in the galaxy stay under her roof… and they ransacked the town”

He doesn’t buy it… something here doesn’t add up “I don’t believe you” growled pointing a blaster at the man “Either convince me, or tell me the truth”

“No no it’s true I swear! We drove her out of town hoping the crime in our settlement would stop”

Boba nods and lowers his blaster “Thank you”

The man looks relieved for a brief moment before he sees Boba raising his blaster again. Boba dispatches him quickly without so much as a word.

We drove her out of town, the man had said. He had no remorse for what happened. No concern for you, your livelihood they had uprooted. Boba was disgusted by it.

Boba returned to the ruins of your home and began to search for any signs of you, and where you might have gone. It doesn’t take him long to find the remnants of your smaller camp fire and the metal tub you used for shelter. A good sign that you were thinking on your feet and likely survived the fire.

He thought about you, put himself in your shoes and went through what must have been going through your mind. Where to go? What to do? Obviously remaining here would not be an option. So what’s the next step? Finding somewhere safer to go.

He knows of two other settlements in this region of your planet. One is 45 miles northeast and the other 62 miles southwest. Both are long trips to take on foot with no supplies. But if you were thinking strategically you would have chosen the 45 mile hike. There’s water sources in that direction and it’s a shorter distance. So that’s the direction he takes off.

————

It’s been three days and you’re not making good time as you hoped you would. No food and cold weather makes your movements slow. You’ve been drinking water but you can only trick your stomach for so long. Plus you’re traveling in the forest just within eye sight of the road because you don’t want to be seen by other travelers. The last thing you need is another angry mob.

Your head hurts and your stomach is bloated from drinking so much water, but you’re so hungry and exhausted from walking. You sit beside a tree near the stream you’ve been following up higher into the mountains.

You wonder what the new settlement will be like. You wonder what you will do there given that you have no money and nothing to trade. You wonder if they would help you take your money and land back if you explained what happened to you. Or would they too cast you out and leave you to fend for yourself. Winter is well on its way. If they don’t help you, you’ll be dead in a matter of weeks. If not from hunger, then exposure to the cold.

These are dark and scary thoughts. Normally you would push such thoughts away and busy yourself with work, but that’s not an option now. You have nothing but time, and your mind races with all the things you’ve lost.

You’ll never get married or have children. You’ll never get to expand your garden. You’ll never start the projects you’ve always dreamed of doing. Making your own clothes. Learning to paint. Writing stories. None of it. All your hopes and dreams will fade with you into the icy cold winds that will take you.

You have to try your inner voice urges you, you have to try to make it

That thought propels you forward. You force yourself to get up and keep walking towards the next settlement. You have to pause every 50 yards or so to rest against a tree, but you don’t let yourself sit back down. You have to keep going.

Meanwhile Boba takes a speeder and begins tracking you. He can tell you’re slowing down. Good because he’ll catch you soon, but bad because that definitely means you’re getting weaker. Suddenly he can see you on the tracking system in his helmet. He can see how slowly you’re moving. He gets off the speeder and goes on foot to catch up with you.

Switching off the tracking system he follows you from a distance for a moment or two. He calls out your name as gently as he can. You whip around and stumble sideways clinging to a tree to hold you up right. There is fear in your eyes. Usually when he’s hunting a bounty that is a mark of satisfaction for him, to strike fear and command respect. But you are not a bounty. He calls out your name again and removes his helmet and hopes you’ll recognize him.

He’s too far away and your vision is too blurry. In your sleep and food deprived mind he’s one of the people that burned down your inn and beat you on the ground. But you’ve poured all of your remaining energy into pushing forward, and have nothing left to put up a fight. You lean against your tree and stare blankly at the figure that you’ve decided is definitely here to kill you.

Boba approaches you slowly with his hands raised to show you he’s not going to hurt you. His face becomes more and more clear to you as he gets closer. You search your mind for the name that goes with his face you recognize. It’s not until he’s right in front of you, catching you by the arms as your knees buckle under you, that you find the name you’re searching for.

“Boba?” Your voice is small and weak, you barely recognize it “You came back?”

He takes you into his arms and pats your back “Of course I came back”

Tag List: @cannedsoupsucks @otterly-fey @paige6768 @littledragonlady

#Boba Fett #boba fett x female reader #boba fett x f!reader #Boba Fett x reader #The Queen of Tatooine #QT

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buttterknifeee · 3 years

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Final Exam- Teen Titans x Aquagirl! Reader

Masterlist

Request: Helloooooo! I have an Episode request “Final exam” (Season 1 ep 3) with Aquagirl!reader please and thank you very much!

Summary: It's a good thing you have junior life guard training as you face a new force of evil. Will you and your teammates defeat these foes or will you drown in the pressure?

Pairings: Robin x Reader (nothing serious, just some blushing lol)

Word count: 3192

A/N: hey!!! sorry this took a while I was just doing other things lul. Reminder that I'm now on AO3 (username is butterknifee) and that requests are always open! Hope you enjoy!!!

It was an uneventful day in the tower. Cyborg and Beast Boy were rummaging around the living room looking for the TV remote, Raven was reading silently and you were practicing your water skills, balancing an orb of water in mid air.

"It's gotta be around here somewhere!" Cyborg says, rummaging through the whole room. He lifts up the whole couch as Beast Boy sniffs around in dog form.

“How could you lose the remote?” Cyborg glares at Beast Boy.

“What makes you so sure I lost it?” Beast Boy asks, turning back into a human.

“Uh...'cause you're you.”

“Hey! Just because I lost that video game--”

“--And the toothpaste, and my football, and the waffle iron--”

“Things disappear. How am I supposed to know where they go?”

You continued to focus on your bubble, but couldn’t help but notice Raven lowering her book. You peeked over to see her annoyed expression, obviously caused by the two boys.

Cyborg huffs. “Well how am I supposed to watch TV without a remote?” Suddenly, Raven slammed her book, breaking you out of your focus and causing the water you were balancing to drop into a puddle. You stared wide-eyed at Raven as she stood up.

“Simple. You can just get up and change the channel.” she says with a stone cold expression.

“Don’t even joke like that.” Cyborg says. You hover your hands over the puddle, trying to pick it up with your hydrokinesis.

“Do you think you guys could argue in like, the bathroom or something? Cause-” you start, but Raven interrupts you.

“I wasn’t joking”

“Good, 'cause it wasn't funny!” Cyborg says. “Now either help us look for the remote or go back to your nasty old book and--”

“This is a pointless argument over a useless device.” she snaps, her face red from frustration.

“You know what, I'm just gonna get a mop or something,” you mumble. You consider actually getting up to get a mop as they continue to argue.

Robin and Starfire walks in to the three teens arguing and you sitting to the side. You make a pained expression at the two, your way of saying go back, before it's too late.

But Robin steps towards the bickering Titans. “Whoa! Take it easy, Titans! Combat practice is this afternoon!”

“We must mend your dispute by the sharing of unhealthy junk foods. I shall fetch them.” Starfire adds, happily flying towards the kitchen.

Cyborg continues to argue. “I don't need food, what I need is a time machine, I didn't--”

Beast Boy cuts him off. “Back me up here, Robin!! Have I ever lost any--?”

“Ok, ok!” Robin puts up his hands to stop them.

“To stop him from taking the REMOTE!!!” Cyborg yells.

“Hey! Come on!! Settle down! ENOUGH!!!” Robin starts yelling too. You start to cover your ears when a loud noise causes all of you to look up. You see Starfire staring wide-eyed at the fridge, her hands glowing green. Blue mold had exploded from her starbolt, causing it to land all over the kitchen. You made a mental note to start cleaning the kitchen more often.

“Maybe we should go out for pizza,” Robin decides.

The arguing does not stop at the pizza place.

“Can we please just order something?” Raven groans.

“As long as its vegetarian.” Beast Boy says.

“Come on, man, how can you deny me the all-meat experience?” Cyborg whines.

“Dude, I've been most of those animals!”

“Just no anchovies for me,” You say.

“I suggest a large pizza with pickles, bananas, and mint frosting.” Starfire says with a smile. You shudder at the thought of eating something like that. Robin leans over.

“Uh, Starfire? Not everything on the menu is a pizza topping.” She blushes at her mistake, Beast Boy and Cyborg going at each other again.

“Double pepperoni!!”

“I'm not eating meat!!”

“There's no meat in pepperoni!!”

The sound of a vehicle horn finally ended their argument. You all look up to see a bus barreling straight towards a baby carriage, a baby screaming from inside.

“Titans go!” Robin yells. You, Cyborg and Raven ran to stop the bus while Robin, Starfire, and Beast Boy ran to save the baby carriage. You summon a jet of water from a fire hydrant and shoot it at the bus, slowing it down. Cyborg planted himself in front of the bus, his bulky arms holding it back. Raven uses her magic, pulling the gearshift inside the bus to “park”. When the bus finally skidded to a stop, you three looked inside. No one was there.

“Um… don’t buses normally have drivers?” Cyborg asks.

“And don’t carriages normally have babies?” Robin says nearby. He, Starfire, and Beast Boy were staring at a teddy bear that was inside the carriage. A voice suddenly projected from the stuffed animal.

“Are you pit-sniffers normally this stupid?”

Suddenly, the teddy bear shot lasers out of its eyes, sending the three teens flying into an alleyway. You turned to see the bus next to you be lifted up by a large, hairy man in black and yellow. He smiled and threw the bus on top from the three of you, trapping you under it. You grunt as the weight of the bus begins to press down on your chest. You hear a voice from outside the bus.

“That was too easy. What a buncha cludge-heads. You guys want to get pizza?” The voice matched the one from the teddy bear. You gritted your teeth as you heard Cyborg’s sonic cannon warm up.

“This isn't over!” you hear Robin yells. Cyborg blasts his cannon, sending the bus in the air. You got up with the other two titans.

“We’re just getting started!” Cyborg yells.

“Who are these guys?” Beast Boy asks, stuck in a trash can. “And what’s a cludge-head?”

“We are the HIVE!” the villain who called you ‘cludge-heads’ said. He was a short kid, wearing a green jumpsuit and goggles. He basically looked like an evil Caillou.

“Your worst nightmare!” said the guy who crushed you with a bus. You noticed that he had a large amount of hair on his whole body.

“And this is attack pattern Alpha!” said the last villain, a goth looking girl with pink, hornlike hair. They jumped out of their poses, and towards you. The small guy in green flew forward in a jetpack, shooting lasers at Robin, Starfire and Beast Boy. The lasers hit the alleyway around them, causing a pile of rubble to fall on them.

Cyborg immediately started brawling with the large guy, Raven and the pink-haired girl attacking each other with their magic, and the smaller kid flying around your head. You tried to shoot him down with your blasts of water, but he wove through your shots. He then flew towards Cyborg, holding something metal.

“Cyborg watch out!” you scream, but it was too late. The green kid attached the metal object to Cyborg's back, and at that moment you realized it was a rocket. Starfire recovered from being crushed by rubble just to see him flying through the air.

"Cyborg!" She yelled, flying after him and out of sight. The two leaving so abruptly caught you off guard, so off guard that you didn't notice the burly guy sneaking up behind you. You turned just as he went to kick you, kicking your stomach and causing you to go flying. You hold your stomach in pain and try to run back towards him, but Raven being thrown towards you sends you crashing back towards the ground. You groan in pain as you hear Robin and Beast Boy meet a similar fate. You see them laying next to you.

"Is it just me or are we getting our butts kicked?" Beast Boy asked, the rest of you standing up.

"It's just you," the three of you say at the same time.

"Listen up team, I have a plan," Robin begins, but is cut off by 3 blasts from the short boy's jetpack. Those 3 blasts ended up hitting you, Beast Boy and Raven. You landed behind the Boy Wonder, leaving him to face the HIVE alone.

“Gee, scrum-buffer.” the jetpack boy jeered, lowering himself to the ground. “Sure hope your fancy plan includes getting fried!”

“You’ll just have to find out the hard way.” you hear him say. You watch him stand in a fighting position, beckoning them to fight. However instead of fighting, the three villains stood with a smile on their face. Then, one by one, they hit the ground between them and Robin. You were confused at first, but then realized in horror that they had created a crack in the asphalt, it getting bigger with each hit. The crack traveled up towards Robin and the area around him crumbled. A look of fear set in his face as he fell with the asphalt into the ground.

“Robin!” you yelled, running up towards the hole with Beast Boy and Raven. Through the crumbling hole you saw a stream of dark, murky sewer water. Water, you realized. You turned to the other two Titans.

“There’s water down there. I’ll go get Robin, you two go back to the Tower.” Before they could reply, you dove into the hole, landing into the water.

“Aquagirl!” Beast Boy yelled, but you were gone.

The cold water shocked your body, but you forced yourself to shake it off. You floated on the surface of the water, looking for any signs of Robin. When you didn’t see anyone, you dove back underwater and took a deep breath (yes, you can breathe underwater). You shoot through the water, swimming as fast as you can. Up ahead, you saw blurs of red, yellow, and green. It was Robin. You swam up to him and grabbed onto his unconscious body. Then with all your strength, you pulled him out of the water and onto the concrete surface of the sewer.

You laid Robin on his back and started to inspect him. You check for his heart rate by pressing two fingers against the area under his jaw. It was beating, but very slowly. You placed your hands on his chest and started pumping. After 30 seconds, nothing was happening. Tilting his head back, you pinched his nose and took a deep breath. You gave mouth to mouth once, then twice, then-

Robin’s eyes opened while you were giving the third. He jerked his head up and crashed his forehead into yours.

“Owwww” you whine, rubbing your hand on your forehead. Robin backed up from you, holding his lips.

“Hey! why did you-” He was about to finish his sentence but started coughing up water. You roll your eyes.

“Woah, calm down Robin, I’m not trying to make a move on you. The only move I made was saving you from drowning.”

“Oh- I’m sorry,” he says, his masked eyes staring at you apologetically.

You waved your hand. “Don’t worry about it, you had a pretty bad fall.”

“What happened to the others? Where are they? Where are we?” He asked, frantically reaching for his T-communicator, only to realize that his whole belt was missing.

“Oh man, your belt must’ve fallen off when you fell. Last time I checked, Raven and Beast Boy were injured, but fine. We’re currently in a sewer, I’m not sure if Starfire and Cyborg are ok, but maybe we can check.” you pulled out your own T-communicator and flipped it open. Water gushed out and formed a puddle under your hand. You both stared at it as you flipped the communicator closed and slid it back into your belt.

“We need to get back to the others, before the HIVE strikes again,” Robin says, standing up. He doubles over, falling to his knees, clutching his abdomen.

“You’re hurt. You need to rest before we find the other Titans,” you say, sitting next to him. “Here, I can help.” You beckon him to let go of his chest and you sit down with you, which he reluctantly does. You summon a bubble of the murky water and allow it to soak into his shirt. You concentrated, and the water began to glow blue.

“Hmmm… I only feel a rib fracture… this may take a while…” you mutter, hovering your hands over his chest. You were focusing so much on healing Robin’s wound, you didn’t notice the frown on his face, more stern than usual.

“Something on your mind, Robin?” you asked, looking up from your work. He furrowed his eyebrows and stared at the ground.

“It’s just that…” he began. “I really thought that I could take on the HIVE, you know? But they took me out so easily; they took all of us out so easily. How am I supposed to be a leader if I get hurt so easily, if I let all my teammates get hurt-” his rant is cut off by your finger being shoved in front of his mouth. You both stare at each other in awkward silence.

“When I was a kid, I knew all about you and your adventures,” you began, staring at the stream of water flowing next to you. “You were the boy wonder. The Hero of Gotham. The Sidekick. But now look at you; you’re the leader of a whole team of superheroes, who trust you and are here for you, Robin. We know the dangers, and hey, if I would be a superhero on any team, I’m glad I’m on yours.”

He gave you a small smile. “Thank you Aquagirl,” he said.

You nodded and smiled back. “Anytime, Robin.” You looked at his chest again. “How do you feel?”

“I feel great, both inside and out.” he said, standing up with ease. “I think it's time to find the other titans.”

“Great idea, and I know just how to get out of here.” You stretch out your arm and the ground starts to rumble. A giant geyser shoots up from the stream and punches a hole in the roof of the sewer, allowing the setting sun to peek through. You grabbed Robin’s waist and jumped into the water, another smaller geyser pushing you up and out of the sewer.

“Ugh, gross! I’m definitely taking a shower after this,” you say, looking back at the sewer you jumped out of.

“Ok, let’s go find the others,” Robin says, heading in the direction of the Tower, which was peaking out in the distance. “And, I think it’s time to come up with a plan.”

You finally get closer to the Tower when you notice something.

“Ummm Robin?” you say. “Doesn’t the tower usually look like a T?” You both stare at the tower, its original shape now being built upon to look like a ‘H’. The HIVE… you thought. You and Robin eventually find the rest of your friends, who were all arguing on the beach. You were about to announce your presence but Robin stopped you, putting his arm in front of you.

“We need to control our emotions,” you hear Raven say.

“Or What?!” Cyborg yells. “Our bad vibes will keep you from meditating??”

“I wish Robin were here..” Starfire mumbles. You see the slightest tinge of pink dust across Robin’s cheeks.

“Well he’s NOT! And neither is Aquagirl!” Cyborg continues to yell. “Don't you guys get it?! They won, we lost! IT'S OVER!!”

Beast Boy looked at him. “Then are the Teen Titan’s finished?” Robin looks at you and nods, you nod back. The two of you step forwards.

“We’re not,” Robin says. The other four Titans turn in shock to see you and Robin, both seemingly fine, standing before them.

“Not if I can help it,” he said, arms crossed.

“Told’ya I’d get him back.” you said. “Now who wants to hear our plan?”

You waited on the roof as Cyborg, Raven, and Starfire infiltrated the Tower. You sat on a ledge of the (hideous) HIVE add-ons, swinging your legs as Robin stood next to you, staring out into the distance.

“You ready, bird boy?” you ask, raising an eyebrow.

He smirked. “With you here, I’m more than ready.” He jumped down from the ledge, leaving you flustered above him.

Suddenly, The three villains come tumbling onto the roof and crash into each other, much more uncoordinated than they had seemed earlier today. The belt the pink haired girl had most likely stolen from Robin’s wardrobe goes flying, and Robin catches it midair.

“Sorry to interrupt your victory celebration,” Robin says, clicking his belt back on around his waist. “But like I said, this isn’t over.” The five of you join him, looming above the HIVE.

“It’s just getting started,” Cyborg said.

The trio of villains quickly recovered.

“Attack pattern alpha!” The pink haired girl yelled, sending waves of magic in your direction. You all jumped out of the way, splitting up.

You saw the large guy swing at Beast Boy, so you rushed in to help him. You summoned a long tendril of water from the ocean and used it like a third arm, with whipping the villain in the face. He turns towards you and grabs your wrist, but with a swift kick in the stomach he goes flying across the roof. You see Raven approach him, so you go to assist in taking down the other two.

Soon, the HIVE laid defeated at your feet. The smaller boy was holding a transmitter device.

"Cram it. I'm calling Slade." He groaned. Slade? You thought. Robin lifted the boy by his green jumpsuit.

"Who is Slade?" Robin asked quite aggressively. The boy scoffed.

"Wouldn't you like to know barf-brain?"

After you dealt with the villains, you finally came in the Tower after a long day. You flopped on the couch as the other Titans inspected the damage the HIVE had caused in the tower, which apparently, wasn't much. Beast Boy crouched at his music collection, head in his hands.

"My tunes! They've been… alphabetized!" He whined. "How am I ever going to find anything?"

Raven came out of her room holding one of her cloaks. "They went into my room. No one should ever go into my room," she said coldly.

"Someone has disposed of all of our blue furry food!" Starfire gasped. Cyborg lifted the whole couch like he did earlier today.

"You gotta be kidding me! The whole place gets cleaned and I still can't find the-" his rant is stopped by Robin, who points at the coffee table. There, the remote lay in plain sight.

"Ha!" He cheered, flopping down on the couch next to you and flipping through channels.

"Maybe we should let the HIVE take over the tower every once in a while, I think this place needed a good clean," you joke, still strewn across the couch.

"I guess we really oughta be training for battles, tracking down clues, and trying to figure out who Slade is, huh?" Cyborg said, looking at Robin.

"We will. But right now, I'm just happy to be part of the team." He looks at you while saying that and you smile.

"Me too"

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schmergo · 3 years

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Weird obscure little rant here: There's this one particular conspiracy theory I've seen floating around the internet a lot lately that's a minor pet peeve of mine. There are a lot of more famous, major, and dangerous conspiracy theories going around right now, ones that are clearly anti-Semitic, anti-science, and doing genuine measurable danger to families and communities across the countries. But those have been extensively covered and analyzed by way more knowledgeable people than me (those articles are very much worth reading), and I don't think there's anything new I can bring up there.

The one I'm talking about is just skirting mainstream discourse and starting to become more widely known. It's the Missing411 'conspiracy.' The reason I put 'conspiracy' in quotes is that this isn't a traditional conspiracy theory with a clear bogeyman or scapegoat like some of the others. A traditional conspiracy theory usually goes something like, "[Group of people] are secretly [doing bad thing] so that they can [accomplish sinister goal]. but they control the [powerful organization], so nobody knows about it!"

By contrast, Missing411 is super vague. It basically boils down to, "Mysterious disappearances are taking place throughout America's national parks and protected wilderness lands, and they fit a pattern!" There are hints among fans of this theory that the National Park Service knows more than they're letting on, but the extent of their 'involvement' doesn't seem really central here. The 'theory' doesn't come right out and explain any root cause for this pattern of events, just drawing attention to the pattern itself, though, once again, there are hints as to a deeper meaning.

Here's the thing: "Missing411" is the brainchild of one guy named David Paulides who wrote a bunch of expensive self-published books compiling these cases. He's an ex-police officer (either retired or fired, depending on who you ask) who also happened to be super invested in Bigfoot hunting before he started with "Missing411," and, indeed, a lot of Missing411 stories do seem to point toward something... sasquatchy without ever coming right out and saying it. The other thing is that Paulides is the only one who can officially label a case a Missing411 case. A lot of people on the internet will say, "Oh, this sounds like Missing411," but Paulides is the one authority on which cases count and which don't.

Turns out a lot of 'missing person' cases in the national parks don't fit these criteria, and others that Paulides claim do are stretches. The criteria themselves are loose, and a missing person doesn't need to fit all or even most of them to be considered a Missing411 case. Missing411 cases include people who were never found, people who were found dead, and people who were recovered safely. Common factors in these 'patterns' include such vague terms as berries or berry bushes playing a role, being found near or in bodies of water, bad weather shortly after the disappearance, someone who is sick or disabled going missing, and someone being with a group at first but becoming separated from them after a surprisingly short period of time. And, of course, the fact that these disappearances take place in National parks and protected wildernesses.

Humans naturally seek and recognize patterns and make connections, but are categorizing cases in a way like this really helpful? I've seen people on the internet gleefully jump to this explanation whenever someone goes missing in a national park. Comments of "Google Missing411!" are common on news articles about this topic. I honestly think it's insensitive to the family members of the missing people who are looking for answers-- and misleading to those participating in the investigations. Currently, there's an incident going on in which a young couple was traveling cross-country in a van and visiting many National Parks. The man returned home with the van but without the woman, who hasn't been heard from in a few weeks, and isn't talking about what happened. Believe it or not, I've seen internet posters comment, "MISSING411!!!!" in response to this tragic story. A few months ago, a young man disappeared in Shenandoah National Park and his body was later recovered. I followed the case closely and the posts by Shenandoah National Park were full of "MISSING411!!!!" comments, despite the fact that it was very clear what led up to the disappearance: according to family members, a new medication caused psychosis and led to him driving in his pajamas from his home to Shenandoah (his family followed him there), crashing his car, and running into the woods, unprepared to deal with wilderness and not in good mental health.

Like I said, I think this gleeful pattern-recognition is a little distasteful, but more than that, I think Missing411's eagerness to spot sinister causes behind disappearances in the wild is problematic for another reason: I think the average American has a difficult time grasping the concept of 'wilderness' and its dangers. We're used to everything being safe and convenient for us in our towns and, because national parks are popular tourist destinations, it's easy to forget that there are many dangers that exist in wild public lands.

Inexperienced hikers often misjudge their skills and set off on trails too challenging for them and with inadequate water and supplies. Even experienced hikers can easily get lost or turned around-- and cell phone signals are usually nonexistent in national parks. Falls from cliffs, ledges, and waterfalls (mossy rocks near waterfalls are often lethally slippery) can mean injured people end up in inaccessible areas where they're not visible from the trail. A sudden health emergency like a heart attack, stroke, or even a broken leg can occur during vigorous physical activity. Abrupt changes in weather can change a pleasant stroll into deadly freezing temperatures in the blink of an eye. Dangerous wild animals like bears do live in the national parks. Although national parks are popular tourist destinations, these dangers are very, very real and can happen to anyone, and the parks themselves emphasize the importance of being prepared when entering wild areas.

On a darker note, remote hikes and camping trips in national parks are often a convenient way for people to cover up foul play (a few of the high profile Missing411 cases seem to fit this narrative). And, like the young man who disappeared in Shenandoah, many people who disappear in the wilderness alone are mentally unwell and, in many cases, disappearing on purpose. (National parks are sadly a popular place for people to take their own lives.)

Some of the common Missing411 traits, like people being found without clothes on, could be explained by foul play but, more likely, it's a phenomenon called 'paradoxical undressing' that happens when you have hypothermia to the degree that you actually feel warm. Family members will talk about how a missing person is an experienced outdoorsman and unlikely to go missing, but 60 years of experience in the woods also comes with the health limitations of advanced age-- the 'mysterious' disappearance of a partially-sighted man with notable mobility issues might not be a huge mystery. Others, like the presence of berry bushes and bodies of water, points to basic survival instincts. Why so many disappearances in national parks? Well, it's a lot harder to be found in dense wilderness than in, say, an Arby's parking lot.

I've watched two Missing411 documentaries, which are easy to find on mainstream streaming services, and, while many of the cases covered are truly strange, some seem easily explainable by Occam's razor, and the selection of why some cases are included and others aren't seems bizarre to me. Some don't even involve a disappearance at all but hearing or seeing strange things in the woods. Some don't involve national parks or public lands. There are very vague hints throughout that 'Bigfoot type creatures seem to exist in the woods and use outer space or interdimensional technology to hide themselves from people or spirit people away, and the government might know about it' but nothing more than vague hints.

Like I mentioned, some of the cases they profiled point toward foul play. The most prominent case featured in the original Missing411 documentary was about a little boy named Deorr Kunz Jr. who disappeared on a camping trip with his family... but there's also no proof that he actually was on that camping trip with his family... and the family's stories have some discrepancies... and even if it really was a disappearance from the campsite, the stories are that the grandfather thought he was with the parents and the parents thought he was with the grandfather.

Life is often boring and repetitive and it's totally normal to use stories to make ordinary life more interesting and exciting, but the almost... gamified way that I've seen internet dwellers react to real-life stories of heartbreaking disappearances and deaths in dangerous and remote locations is kind of disturbing, and similar to the over-the-top fanciful theorizing I've seen from other, more insidious conspiracy theories. The idea that there's a secret 'other world' being hidden from us behind the curtain of society is enticing, but it can lead down paths as confusing and dangerous as the ones that real travelers get lost on in the wilderness.

#national parks #nature #conspiracies #conspiracy theories

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lovesanmotion · 4 years

Text

yandere!fanboy!ateez reacts: s/o writing a song about them

This is: requested | I guess....the yandere!ateez as fanboys are a success from what I can see. I only uploaded them without thinking. Also, don’t hesitate to blow up my request box! I’m jobless like Hongjoong, Yeosang and Wooyoung. Also, to the sender who requested this, thank you so much for appreciating my blog and writing!

Lyrics I placed in order: Love Battery - LOONA (Immortal Songs) Shadow - F(x) Going Crazy - Secret Jieun ft. BAP Yongguk Peekaboo - Red Velvet Shampoo - After School Babe - Hyuna Into You - Yuri Love Foolish - TWICE

Hongjoong:

“Even if you are not handsome, I like it. Even if you’re not buff, I like it. You are just for me, to me, you are the best.”

Hongjoong stood among the crowd with a foolish smile painted on his lips. His hands placed on top of his chest as he listens to your new song that you are performing at your comeback concert.

“Hold me one more time. Hold me tightly until I burst. Love’s effect must be fading. I need you.”

A soft sigh escapes his lips dramatically. Lovestuck as he watches the love of his life sing a song about him and how she constantly needed his touch or else she’d die from his lack of attention on her.

“Fill me with love. Love battery has drained. I can’t live without you, I really can’t live without you. You are my battery.”

He clutches his chest tightly, his heart beating loudly inside. He didn’t cared how wild the others were cheering for your comeback stage, all that matters to him is that this song was made for him. Just for him. Normally he would promote your songs by requesting them on radio stations, but he hesitated on the idea of promoting it. This was his song. And only he gets the full rights to enjoy it. The others are just listening to it, he thought that you were kind enough to let everyone hear the song you made especially for him.

“To me, you are everything. I like you so much, I totally like you. My only love, there’s no other, my love. You are the best.”

As the comeback concert ended, everyone inside the concert hall talked about how your comeback song is a hit and promised to get you another music show win. The others gushed how you must be in love that you wrote a song about affection.

Hongjoong could only chuckle to himself as he walks out of the venue, hands filled with your individual merchandise and a wallet almost empty after emptying the shelves of your concert goods.

“Stupid fools think that the song is for them when in fact the song is about me. Me! Only me! Why would Y/N ever notice all of you when a whole me exists?” Hongjoong thought to himself as he walked alone late that night.

Seonghwa:

“Everyday, I secretly chase after your footsteps. I’m always careful so you won’t notice. No one says it but our date has started, our own date.”

Click click! Seonghwa focuses his camera on a different angle before taking another shot of you. Click click!

“Where are you going? Step by step, I follow you. Without a word you lead me. Step by step, did you notice me? I have nowhere to hide anymore.”

Yesterday, Starlight made a comeback and today, they are performing their comeback song at a radio station. For this comeback, Starlight’s Y/N participated in the song writing, having been credited two songs in the mini album. She partook writing the comeback song!

“When the sun rises, I walk in sync and together with you. I am really really into you. When the moon rises, you fall asleep in my arms. I really really like you.”

Seonghwa’s parents had been praising him for landing a wonderful job in the corporate world. When in reality, he was only hired by a fellow sasaeng that gave him much flexible work hours so he could still manage to slip out of his work and follow your every footstep in the country or out. He was being paid fairly well even when all he did was just to follow you around.

“Day by day, we resemble each other more and more. Your laughter and tears, I know it all. Don’t be scared, were a fate tied by the sun, its our destiny to be together.”

As the performance ended, the girls sat back down on their seats and the interview rolled in. Fansites can only hang outside of the studio, and of course, Seonghwa is up close, nearest to Y/N.

“Congratulations to Starlight! This is their third comeback and the song is really catchy!” The MC remarked.

“It’s sounds like a summer song! I heard Y/N took part in the production?” The second MC asked, the cameras then turned to face Y/N. Y/N who was flustered, nodded her head. “Yes”

“Can you tell us the story behind the song? Your fans are dying to know the meaning behind such a good song.” The first MC says.

Y/N held the microphone in her head, smiling, she explained: “This is a true to life song. I made a song about a guy who was really handsome and captured my heart. We were always going in the same direction and one time, his hand brushed into mine. And I felt so happy by the small connection.” Y/N chuckles.

When Seonghwa heard about it, he lowered his camera and stared at Y/N. The song was about him. He remembered how he would spend his vacant period at work to follow Y/N when they were shooting an ad around Namsan because of the newly built skywalk. His hand brushed on hers when they were buying food at the convenient store. Seonghwa was so moved by the explanation that he felt like his feelings grew more for you.

“My sunshine likes getting attention. My attention. That’s right, my sunshine, bathe in my attention only. ”

Yunho:

“It’s not love, this isn’t love. It’s just your obsession. Wherever, Whatever I do. It’s frightening. The you who watches me.”

Yunho watched as Y/N practices for her upcoming comeback stage at The Show next week. He admired how she dare approached a bold and mature comeback. And he was so happy to see this new side of his girl. However, he felt like he needed to be more protective of her since she was going for a more risque concept.

“Have you gone crazy? Why are you like this? Please just leave me alone now. Seeing you is suffocating. Please disappear from my sight.”

Yunho stood behind the cameras as he watches Y/N and the featured artist practice. He heard a few staffs make a comment about how the featured artist looks like him. And maybe how you might’ve fallen in love with him. Yunho’s feeling swelled when he heard of those comments. In fact, he was so happy that he heard it from them. But you on the other hand, why do you still deny your feelings for him? Why was it so hard for you to be up front and honest with what you feel? Is it because he works as your manager? You’re in the same company as he is? And that you kept insisting to be professional? At this point, Yunho would resign if that was the case. If he can’t have you because of his line of work, he would be more than pleased to resign and be in your arms everyday.

“Get lost. Just back off. I really can’t breathe. Wherever I go, wherever I am. It’s frightening. The you who follows me.”

Yunho managed to lift the debts off his family. After paying the debts, he was able to even buy a new home for them around Gangnam area. His parents hesitated on the idea at first since owning a land in Gangnam costs way more than renting, Yunho told them not to worry. Not to worry since he is being paid royalty in his job. After that, he was able to spoil you with luxurious gifts and live with you in your apartment. More like forced himself into your home.

“This ain’t right, this isn’t love. It just hurts me, don’t be like this. I loved you. But I don’t now. Erase me from your memory.”

And when the song was released, Yunho was all up for promoting it. He made everyone he know listen to the song in various streaming platforms and watch the MV as well. Whether you would like it or not, Yunho is here to stay in your life. Permanently.

Yeosang:

“Peekaboo! This is new, is this love? All my friends yell at me, they say I have a problem. I’m fine fine fine fine fine fine.”

A small painted Yeosang lips as his eyes followed you on stage. He watched you as you danced in a tight red dress. That was his gift for you last Christmas to be exact. The designer brand didn’t really put it out for sale. They only made one and had it up for auction. It was a dress that accentuated your curves and complimented your skin. Yeosang won the auction and had it included in your next comeback.

“Tag you’re it! It’ll be fun! I’ll include you here. Til the moon hangs on the jungle gym, let’s play”

Since Yeosang is someone who holds a high position in the company, he made a proposal to be your sponsor. At first, your members didn’t like the idea since sponsors have a bad reputation attached to it. But you were naive and still proceeded with the sponsorship. You thought it would go bad, but Yeosang made you feel comfortable in his home and gave you all the fame that you wanted. Never did he once ask anything that was against your morals.

“Peekaboo! It’s strange, you’re different. I stop this game and I look at you again. I’m not a fraid, because I just felt that a new story will begin”

Your members were still cautious about Yeosang orbitting around you. There was something about him that they could not lay a finger on. Scared that they would find their contracts terminated the following day. But seeing you happy, they felt like they needed to stop. As long as you are happy, they are happy. Yeosang included.

“Don’t worry, my love. You’re safe with me. Anyone who accuses you will come to me first.”

San:

It was 9pm when you made a surprise V live alone in the recording room of your company building. San was actually nearby, he was hid inside the convenient store where he bumped into you before.

“Hello everyone! Have you all eaten? I missed you alot.” He watches his Y/N pout in the screen. His heart raced a bit,

“I ate already, my love. Don’t worry.” San responds, as if it was only him that you were talking to.

“I made a new song and I’m in the recording room. Apparently, I was given permission to spoil the song for you!” Y/N happily takes her phone and draws it closer to the company phone of where she is doing her live.

“I wanna be shampoo Trickling down your hair I wanna embrace you With my strong fragrance I will wrap around your entire body With white foam So even the mirrors can’t see you I will cover you So no one can have you You won’t ever get rid of my scent”

“That’s all the spoil for now.” Y/N stops the recording and turns the camera to her face again. She leaned her face closer and read a few comments about how would the fans think.

“What is your inspiration behind this song?” She read aloud. She leaned back in her seat with her lips pursed. “In all honesty, I met a male fan last week. I actually bumped into him and I was able to smell his perfume and...” Y/N paused. “He smelled so good that...was it possible to fall in love just by smelling their perfume?” Y/N chuckles softly.

San had his eyes wide. The song was about him. He felt like bursting from his seat but he refrained himself from doing so.

“I hope he isn’t a weird fan. I also have a fan who constantly bothers me even at the late hours. It’s bothering me. And I hope the person stops soon.” Y/N said. Double jackpot! He got mentioned twice by you. He couldn’t wait until the song releases, he was already booking train station platforms in honor for the release of your song.

Mingi:

Was it possible to fall in love with just a touch? Ever since the incident at the Incheon Airport, your company has become stricter and hired more bodyguards when it comes to outside activities. From what you heard, VS Media is even rewriting their rules when it comes to fan and idol gift giving.

“Come on, let me play some more. Why treat babies gently, I cannot count on you, my age. You’ve walked in any magic. I am the one for you. Everyday I wake up. This is mine.”

Ever since the incident at the airport, you slightly became uncomfortable with the idea of leaving the dorm. Despite your feelings, rest assured that your members were always there for you.

“I am not sleeping today. I remember my eyes. I’m not sleeping.”

It’s been a month since you stepped foot inside the airport again, things were going okay. You were able to walk inside and through the gates without any problem. The fans still following your footsteps, you tried to loosen up yourself a bit - smiling and waving at them. Nothing could go wrong.

Until, you saw a figure from your peripheral vision. You turned your head to take a look, but no one was there. Strange. As you and your group were able to board the plane, you took a seat near the window and pulled out your lyrics notebook. Flipping through the pages, you stopped at an unfinished work. The unfinished work is your solo song used as an outro for Starlight’s upcoming full album.

“Babe babe babe in your eyes. Babe babe babe in your hand. My appearance is babe babe babe babe. I want to hear it again.”

“Are you writing a song?” You were startled with the question. You turned your head and didn’t noticed how a man with a mask and cap sat besides you already.

“Yes I am” You spoke softly. “Can I read it?” the man besides you asked.

You hesitantly gave him the notebook, the man took it and read through the lyrics.

“I like how you composed the song. It’s still in its raw form too. You’re a genius.” The man complimented. You smiled and thanked him for the compliment. The next thing you knew shocked you.

The man placed a hand on your knee, his other free hand removed his mask and cap. Song Mingi. At that moment, you couldn’t process what was happening. All you knew was that your mind kept telling you to tell at least your members. But your body started heating up at his touch.

“Did you miss me?”

Wooyoung:

Wooyoung had disguised himself as the photographer for your album. The night before it came, he worked on creating his fake ID and borrowed a spare camera to use for the production.

“At that smile that sees my eyes. For me, the whole world is bathed in light. Hold my hands and I close my eyes. I hope this time stops here.”

Wooyoung’s breath almost took away as he saw you in black under shorts and wrinkled and almost unbuttoned white button down. He didn’t know what the concept was but his eyes were already feasting on your body, not ever feeling full.

“Fall in love more deeply, you and I. Let’s fall in deeply, you and I together. The one thing that I want. You seep into me, you spread inside of me.”

“Ms Y/N taking the bold move of doing her first sexy concept.” Y/N’s manager teased her. Wooyoung knew everyone who was on set. Him, Y/N, Y/N’s manager, stylist, make up artist and a few production crew that wasn’t part of VS Media.

“What’s the story behind this concept?” Y/N’s manager asked, Wooyoung could only stare in awe at Y/N. Never did he see this side of her. He always knew of Y/N as the sweet and bubbly girl in soft concepts. But of course, Wooyoung love to break the types.

“I actually like to search my name on the internet. And I came across fanfics of myself.” Y/N chuckles. Oh that sweet sound that made Wooyoung’s heart beat fast. The audio recorders can never outdo it.

“There is a certain blog that possibly does a lot. That blog posts photos of me, writes fanfics and posts my schedules too. He’s doing god works for my other fans.” Y/N chuckles. As the production of the photoshoot started, Wooyoung did his best to capture the real beauty of this side of Y/N.

“What a hardworking fan. What’s the name of the blog?”

“ForY/N”

Wooyoung’s eyes widens as he heard the name of his blog. His blog inspired you to make a song....about him?

“Filling my whole heart. With you, I feel my heart. Fall in love more deeply, you and I. Let’s fall in deeply, you and I together.”

“The way that person writes really amazes me. I’d like to get to know the person.” Y/N explains. His mind fell into a spiral. Part of him wanted the song to be released already but there was also a part of him that wanted the song to be released for him only.

“Wish will soon become tomorrow. Today is more heart fluttering than yesterday. I want to go together with you. Closer to the place where my dream reaches.”

The bonus thing about what Wooyoung did today is that as a photographer, he was able to keep some of the photos. Running away even with some.

Jongho:

Jongho fell in line for the release of your album. He was actually second in line as he was actually camping outside of the building of your company.

“Everyday I called out your name, about a thousand times, about ten million times Before you finally heard it Cut and rewind, why can’t you be mine? Ooh the one who spins my head like this It’s you, just running running running around you My repeatedly-midnight promise I don’t know what to do”

Jongho, who had his arms crossed over his chest, looked up and down to turn around where that song was coming from. He hasn’t heard of this song but he knew that was your voice.

“Crazy love! I love you, love you, hate, foolish Crazy love! I love you Make me feel so high Love! I love you, love you, hate, foolish Crazy love! I hate you Make me so bad It’s weird, the more I fall for you I’m sorry, I’ll hate you I don’t know, I can’t explain this I’m trapped in a labyrinth of strange emotions”

The whole room was adorned with your own merchandise and on the TV display was actually an MV of your b side. Jongho took a basket and grabbed a handful of your limited and regular version of your albums, along with a packet of your photocards and a griptok.

As he was in line to pay for his orders, in which his basket was filled as he actually bought more of your items. You made a sudden appearance into the room. For Jongho, he felt as if the room got brighter when you suddenly stepped inside. When it was his turn to pay for his items, the people behind the counter were amazed at how many he was able to fit into his basket.

Tapping his feet impatiently, he wanted to be able to greet you before you left the room. When his bag was handed to him, he immediately took it and sped walk towards your direction, talking to a few.

He felt as if the gods were with him. As he drew closer to you, the ones you were talking to left and it just you and him now.

“Hello Y/N!” Jongho greeted. You turned to him happily. “Hello!”

“I really really like this song of yours!” He gushed happily. “Can you tell me about it?”

You nodded happily. “The song is actually about someone who makes me feel happy, the idea of love in a dangerous way? The idea send me thrills.” You chuckled. Jongho felt ecstatic. Beyond the moon even. You wrote a song about him!

That afternoon when he got home, he made sure that everyone in Seoul would be able to hear the song that you made. It was for him so he had full brag rights to do so.

#ateez #Ateez hongjoong #ateez mingi #ateez scenarios #ateez x reader #ateez yunho #ateez smut #ateez yeosang #ateez jongho #ateez san #ateez seonghwa #ateez wooyoung #ateez yandere #kpop yandere

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the-gay-prometheus · 3 years

Text

(AU Segment) “Second Chances”

Ok so- after almost two weeks I finally freakin finished it. It might be a little messy because I have done absolutely zero proof-reading on it because I’m just happy to have finally finished it 🙃

Anyways...

This is another little segment of my work-in-progress Frankenstein AU that still has yet to have a solid plot other than “Victor agrees to live with the creature on the mountain they meet on as an alternative to creating a companion for him. And also Henry comes to live with them too because he can’t stand to be without his boyfriend™.” An actual plot is in the works but... I’m currently thinking about revamping all that I have of it so far and also completely changing the setting of it.

No warnings needed for this segment to my knowledge! Just a nice moment of interaction between Henry and the creature with a little bit of clervenstein toward the end. It’s not super long but it is 5 google docs pages single spaced so uh- it’s also not super short - just a lil heads up.

Likes, comments, reblogs appreciated as always if you feel inclined to do... any of those things.

Oh! Also- before getting into it - I still need name ideas for this AU. I want to do something like “The <blank> Prometheus,” but I don’t know what word I want to put there so uh- if anyone has any ideas... send them my way ;~;

Henry pulled his coat tightly around him and shuddered as he stepped out into the frigid night time mountain air, clouds of mist drifting away from him with each breath. He glanced around, searching the moonlit ledge until his eyes set upon a cliff just a short climb above. On that cliff sat a familiar tall figure, staring upward into the starry sky as his long hair drifted in the chilly breeze. Henry rubbed his hands to let friction warm them, then made his way toward the cliff. He took his time to carefully climb up, then sat down beside the figure - his lover’s creation - who leaned away as soon as he sat beside him.

“You should not be out here,” the creature mentioned. “It is far too cold.”

“Neither should you,” Henry answered, trying to keep his teeth from chattering.

“The cold does not affect me in the same way that it affects you,” the creature countered simply. “I am fine - you should be inside with Victor.”

“Actually, I was just talking to Victor. He agreed that I should come out here and try to talk to you.” The creature glanced toward him, his yellow eyes ever so slightly glowing in the dark of the night, but turned his face away after only a moment, pulling the hood of his cloak over his face. “You don’t have to hide from me, you know. I’m- I’m not afraid of you.”

“I do not doubt that you are not afraid - I cannot imagine you would be out here if you were,” the creature replied. “I am merely sparing you from the sight of me. I know well that I am a hideous wretch.”

“I don’t think of you as a hideous wretch.” Henry paused, looking up toward the sky. “I think you are… fascinating, really.” The creature pulled some of the fabric of his hood away so he could look back toward Henry.

“Fascinating is not a word I think many would use to describe me.”

“Well - I’m not ‘many,’ now am I?” Henry glanced toward him with a smirk, but the creature simply turned away with a shaky, labored sigh. Henry’s smirk turned to a more solemn expression as he returned his sight to the stars. “It’s true, though. I think you are… incredibly fascinating.” The creature didn’t reply, except to shrink away from him and cling tighter to the edges of his cloak. “I mean, think about it - how many people get a second chance at life?”

“Victor can argue whatever he wants, but that doesn’t change the fact that you are very much a person. Sure, you may have been made rather than born, but what difference does that make? After all, there are plenty of people who would argue that regardless of birth, all of us are intelligently made. And just think - how lucky you are to know your creator while the rest of us are all destined only to wonder,” Henry explained. He turned to look toward the creature with a sympathetic smile. “Of course, unlucky for you it happened to be Victor, who can barely take care of himself let alone an entire other person,” he joked. The creature couldn’t help but smile a little - it was true, comically true, in a way. His creator was no god, he was just a young man searching for answers and glory, but who left himself and everyone else behind along the way. “Anyways, with regard to your first question, I would say it is. In fact, I would say that’s the best kind of second chance. You’re not burdened by any preconceived notions about what life is or about how the world works, you started your new life with no worry of money or the trivial squabbles of man; you just existed as you were and as you are, perhaps a bit confused and a bit lost, but when you emerged into the world what you saw first shaped you in a way that most people have not been exposed to.”

“Is it a second chance if I cannot even recall the life… or perhaps I should say lives I had before?” the creature began, tracing over the scars on his arm as though he were trying to find memories within each graft of skin that existed there. “For that matter… am I even a person?” He paused, his hands dropping to his knees. “Even my own creator would argue that I am not.”

“Most people awake in their first moments to find a mother’s embrace or a father’s kind smile. From the moment I took my first breath I was not just miserably alone, but actively feared and hated, Henry. This is not the kind of ‘second chance’ I would wish on anyone,” the creature said quietly, staring down off the cliff’s edge into the dark valley far below. Henry sighed softly with a shiver from the cold.

“I… I am afraid I do not understand your meaning.”

“You know that now, but did you know that then?”

“I mean - did you know that the reaction you saw was a reaction of fear?” The creature thought long and hard about that statement, trying to recount the memory he had chosen to repress.

“I suppose not,” he replied at a length. “I was… confused, and somewhat afraid myself, but I did not understand the meaning of his reaction. I thought it was normal. How should I have known any differently?”

“So what did you do? How did it affect you in that moment?”

“I tried to follow him but I was… still unsteady. He was far too nimble-”

“Ha! Victor? Nimble? That’s funny,” Henry interrupted with a laugh, though he quickly stifled himself and cleared his throat. “...Go on.”

“For my unsteadiness, he was far too nimble,” the creature restated, giving Henry somewhat of a disappointed glance before returning his gaze to the valley below. “So, assuming that I was simply not meant to follow him, I decided to wander elsewhere.”

“Which means in that moment, you had no assumptions of mistreatment, correct?”

“In that moment, yes, that is correct.”

“And where did you go, then?” The creature looked up to him, brow slightly furrowed from confusion.

“I have… already told you this story before, Henry,” he mentioned with uncertainty. “Why must I tell it again?”

“Because I want you to hear yourself tell it. And this time, I want you to actually think about how you felt in each moment,” Henry answered with certainty. The creature stared for a moment, then dropped his gaze downward once again.

“I found myself in a nearby forest,” he began. “It was cold, and dark, and I was still afraid, but I looked upward and saw the moon and the multitude of stars against the night sky. For some reason this sight gave me… comfort. I had no words with which to describe what I saw or what I felt, but it was a moment of serenity. The days following as I learned more about my surroundings were much the same. My fears were allayed by a sudden sense of curiosity and wonder at the life which surrounded me - and everything was certainly alive. Yes, the flora and fauna, but also the stream as it rushed along its way, and the stones in their cold stillness. I felt…” He paused, lifting his gaze to the horizon. “Connected; to all of it. I did not know who or what I was, but I knew I was alive, and for the time being, that was all I needed to know.”

“Those were your most formative moments. Unbound by the values and traditions of our time, blissfully unaware. The rest of us may have had people in our lives from the moment we were brought into this world, but for many, that isn’t necessarily a good thing. We become biased from the very moment we learn how to speak, taught and told how to think or act. Yet there you were, untethered, and instead of finding your sole connection in the eyes of mankind, you found yours in the purity of nature itself.”

“What good has that brought me, though? I happened upon mankind regardless of my contentedness within the woods, and promptly yearned for a place among them, only to be beaten and shunned away for no cause other than my appearance alone. Mine is a miserable existence.” The creature turned away after he had spoken, clenching his eyes shut and gritting his teeth at the sudden pang of sorrow that throbbed deep in his scarred chest.

“Tell me how you see the world,” Henry answered, resting a shivering hand gently on the creature’s arm. The creature heaved with a breath, holding back tears as even a simple comforting touch such as this was so rare and so precious to him.

“It is,” he began, taking a moment to think. “a cold, dreadful place full of hatred and malice.” His voice, though clearly wrought with pain and some slight sense of anger, sounded uncertain. Henry looked to him.

“You’re describing the world of men. Describe the world itself to me,” he insisted. The creature didn’t respond for a length of time, instead shuddering as he held back tears, but then finally breathed a heavy sigh and opened his yellowed eyes and stared off into the distance beyond the peaks that rose and fell across the horizon.

“The world is…” He paused as he gathered his thoughts again. “The world is a dawn chorus, each bird singing sweetly in its own tune, somehow both melodious and cacophonous all at once. It is... the painted sky as the sun sinks down to dusk, the way each color blends and shines, and the way the clouds glow with golden light, a fleeting work of art that fades into darkness and is never the same twice.” He breathed deeply, slowly closing his eyes as his expression of concentration and contemplation turned to a contented smile. “It is the way the stars shine brightest when the moon hides itself away, and the pale silver gleam that all things acquire when the moon is at its fullest. It is the silence of a heavy snowfall and the deafening roar of thunder, the glitter of ice and the blinding sight of lightning. It is the lonely shriek of the fox and the communal cry of the wolf, the powerful bellow of an elk and the gentle bleat of a deer.” His eyes reopened and he turned toward Henry, who was now staring up at him with a look of astonishment on his face. “The world is wonderful and terrible, familiar and strange, lovely and frightening. It is like fire, which both warms and burns, dances and destroys. Though it is not always kind, I am inclined to search for the beauty and kindness that does exist within it.”

“Incredible,” Henry breathed, dropping his hand from the creature’s arm to wipe away the tears that had welled in his eyes. The creature flinched and turned his gaze away as Henry’s hand fell away, instinctively reaching up and placing his own hand in the open space that Henry had left as though he just needed to feel something there, as though he wasn’t quite ready to exist alone again. “That’s what makes you a second chance worth taking,” Henry continued, smiling as he put a hand over the creature’s. “I am absolutely sure that none of those who were used to make you saw the world in such an awe-inspiring, beautiful way.” The creature turned to him with a curious tilt of his head.

“How can you be so sure?” he asked, slowly pulling his hand away and bringing it up to his face as he inspected each stitched-on piece of skin that covered it.

“Well… People tend to take on the views of whatever surrounds them for their first true moments of consciousness, I’ve found. It leaches into who they are. When we are surrounded by the life we’re meant to have - a life free from the confines we created for ourselves in the name of ‘civility,’ - we open ourselves to exactly what makes us human to begin with.” The creature opened his fingers, gazing at Henry from between them.

“And what is it that makes…” He hesitated, eyes shifting from side to side as he considered what he was about to say before locking with Henry’s once again, “us human?” Henry grinned, warmth filling him despite the cold for the joy of hearing the creature speak of himself as one of them rather than as some horrible thing.

“Curiosity,” he replied simply. “Curiosity is what makes us human, but far too many of us have lost our sense of it. Yet here you are, curious and full of wonder. How many of those whose parts made you can say that they felt the same in their lifetime? I’d hazard to guess very few, if any.” He lifted a shaky, shivering hand and gently pushed the creature’s hand down so they could see each other truly eye to eye. “You are their collective second chance. Yes, it hasn’t been easy. Yes, you have done things you have come to regret. Any other man would have become all but lost to his misery, but you, in your endless search for the good and beauty you found in your most precious moments of life, have chosen not only to try to be better, but to never lose sight of that same inspiration that made you who you are. I can’t imagine a better second chance than one such as yours - regardless of the hardships you have endured and have still yet to endure.” The creature stared at him, mind reeling with what he had just heard. Leave it to Henry Clerval to once again make him feel not just like somebody worthy of life, but somebody worth celebrating. He blinked away tears, retracting his hand to wipe away those which had already fallen upon his pale yellowed cheeks, and was just about to speak when a new voice took both his and Henry’s attention away.

“Do you… mind if I join you both?” Victor stood behind them, wrapped in a large, heavy wool blanket. Henry smiled, moving over to make room for Victor beside him.

“Not at all. I could use the extra warmth,” he mused. Victor smiled slightly, shakily walking over and sitting close to Henry. Henry took one end of his blanket and wrapped it around himself, making sure the other end was also fully covering Victor so the two of them were snug within it. The creature watched them for a moment, then turned his eyes toward the stars.

“Long enough,” he answered softly, pressing himself closer to Henry and laying his head on his shoulder. There was silence between the three of them, Victor slowly closing his eyes and breathing a soft sigh as Henry wrapped his arm around him and held him close.

“How long have you been standing there?” he asked suddenly. Victor glanced up at him.

“Henry says I am… incredible,” the creature mentioned, breaking the silence for no reason other than that he was still processing all that had just been said. Henry looked to him with a smile.

“And he’s right to say so,” Victor answered after a long pause. Both Henry and the creature looked to him simultaneously in shock. Victor opened his eyes and looked up at them both. “I’ve just been too blind to see it.”

“That almost sounded like an apology,” Henry remarked with a smirk. “I thought you didn’t do apologies.”

“I don’t,” Victor grumbled defensively. “Not usually, anyways. And that wasn’t an apology, it was… an observation.”

“I appreciate your… observation, Victor,” the creature murmured, unsure of what else to say or how else to respond. After so many months of hearing his creator berate him and call him such horrid, disgusting names, it was still always a shock when those rare moments came that Victor acknowledged his existence in a positive way - much less rare now that Henry was here, of course, but still rare all the same. Victor, also unsure of how to respond, simply glanced up at him and muttered,

“Your appreciation is duly noted.” Henry chuckled softly at the awkwardness between the two of them, and gently tapped Victor’s shoulder.

“I think it’s time we get some rest,” he said quietly. He turned toward the creature. “As long as you’ll be alright, that is.” The creature nodded.

“Thank you, Henry. You have been very generous. I believe I will be well.” Henry gave a curt nod in return, and pulled the blanket off of himself to drape it back over Victor before standing and extending a hand. Victor gripped the blanket around himself as he reached out and took Henry’s hand with the other, the two walking off and disappearing as they helped one another climb their way back down.

“Did you mean what you said just then?” Henry inquired as they walked back to their cabin home on the ledge, hand still firmly gripping Victor’s own.

“I did,” Victor answered with a nod. As they approached, Henry reached for the door, and Victor’s hand slipped from his as he hesitated. Henry stopped just as he opened it, turning toward Victor with a curious expression. “As I listened to him speak I realized something I hadn’t quite realized before.”

“Oh? What would that be?”

“He’s a lot like you - in the way he thinks and speaks, that is.” Henry was about to respond, but Victor took him by surprise as he suddenly wrapped his arms around him and embraced him tightly. “And you’re the most incredible person I know.” Henry was shocked, as Victor was rarely the one to initiate physical contact, but hugged him even tighter in return.

The creature sat alone on the cliff, listening intently to the two voices below as he stared up at the sky. Brushing a lock of hair that fell over his face behind his ear, he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. His eyes followed a comet as it passed through the stillness of the stars, and smiled as he continued to recount all that had been said. As he heard the door of the cabin click closed, he rested his hands on the stone of the cliff and leaned back to look up at the moon. “How delightful, dear moon,” he began as though speaking to it directly, “to be given the second chance to be something incredible-” He paused, and slowly closed his yellow eyes with another soft sigh. “to be something human.”

#frankenstein #frankenstein au #henry clerval #the creature #victor frankenstein #clervenstein #i am once again pausing my usual angst to practice my wholesome writing #idk how that's working out for me but #hey i mean- i'm trying ;~;

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cora-vizsla · 3 years

Text

The Broken Jedi

Every Choice Has A Consequence

For those of you that are used to my writing, this story is a bit darker. I do have an authors note* if you’d like to read that first. If you have any questions about triggers feel free to message me and I'll be happy to let you know what may be coming up. <3

I was running as I laughed. There was something about being able to run freely that cleared my mind. It was one of my favorite things to do, even if I wasn’t very coordinated. The moon lit up the tall grass, but I knew that I would end up tripping and falling. I always did even when I was focused, and right then I was laughing too hard. I could hear the footsteps following me, which only made my laughing fit even worse. I turned my head back, which was a mistake, and I was falling to the ground. I caught myself with the force right before my face hit. I turned my head to the side as I heard a thump next to me. I pushed the grass down that was blocking my view and was instantly greeted by a smiling face.

“You need to learn to use the force more. You would be less likely to fall.”

I continued to laugh as I let myself fall down to the ground the rest of the way. I kept my face turned towards him, watching his face in the moonlight. He was still breathing heavy after out impromptu run. His raven hair was splayed out across the ground around him.

“I was being chased. Kind of hard to focus.”

His face became more serious as he rolled to his side to look at me.

“You could be chased during battle, Aurora.”

“Me? No.” I laughed. “I’ll always face my enemies. Square on. No running needed.”

The end of this memory was supposed to be him smiling and telling me that I was beautiful when I was stubborn. He then reached forward and gently brushed the hair out of my face as my cheeks flushed. Suddenly things started to change in a way that was new to me.

His eyes turned red and a sick smile spread. His energy turned sickly and wrong. I started to scramble away from him, unable to unlock my eyes from his.

“You’re wrong, Aurora. You will run, but I’ll catch you. And when I do...”

I tried to get up and run, but I felt his hand pull my ankle out from under me. He climbed on top of me, pinning me down.

“I’ll kill you.”

He growled it in my ear as I felt my sight go black. I let out a scream as the pain overwhelmed me.

The scream carried over into my consciousness, waking me up. I groaned as my muscles contracted from the effort of trying to jump. I wiggled my fingers trying to get some type of relief. The straps on my wrist were tight, but I was still able to wiggle a bit.

XXX

Every time I woke up, I made an effort to get the blood flowing. I didn’t think that I would be able to walk after being strapped down for so long, but I didn’t want to lose use of my extremities either. I lost track of the cycles that I was strapped to the damn table, but I wouldn’t ever give them the information they wanted. It didn’t matter how many beatings or torture they put me through.

I was almost thankful for the strap holding my head in place. It made my neck sore, but it meant that I couldn’t actually survey the damage done to me. They had droids, troopers and officers all in there trying to get information. I was sure that every bone in my body had been broken at some point.

I laid there focusing on the pain instead of how shaken up I was over the dreams. It had been at least fourteen cycles since anyone had been in to harm me, but that was when the dreams started. The dreams made it easy to remember the cycles, because they left me shaking. I couldn’t ever seem to forget them, and each one added onto the fatigue. I figured that was a new way to try to break me. My body didn’t matter to me. Pain didn’t phase me. I had learned at a very young age to work through the pain.

I was rubbish at working through my mental torment though.

The only thing that I could focus on was just how damn tired I was.

My eyes had started to flutter shut, despite my attempt to keep them open. It felt relieving to move what little parts of me that I could, but it also made me exhausted. My captors had hooked me up to tubes for nourishment and hydration. It kept me alive but weak enough that even if I found a way to get out of the straps, I wouldn’t make it very far.

“You are a particularly strong being, you know. Most of those we capture give up information within a few hours.”

I opened my eyes to see the red headed man that usually watched my beatings standing above me. I blinked and licked my chapped lips, trying to prepare to speak. It had been so long since anyone had spoken to me.

“I to-told you. I won’t tell you anything. I won't do anything you command either.”

“Hmm. Yes. You did say that.”

He crossed his arms behind his back and looked at me almost as if I were an experiment.

“Then why is it so surprising that I have yet to crack?”

“Oh, you have started. Our Supreme Leader has made sure of that.”

I let out a painful scoff as he moved down towards my feet.

“Only children are bothered by nightmares.”

“Ren seems to think the particular route that they will be using is going to work.”

“Ben has always underestimated me.”

He let out a laugh as he moved back to my side.

“Don’t let him hear you calling him that, child.”

I grit my teeth. The man staring at me couldn’t have been much older than myself. Probably born into a rich family and appointed as a leader because of his last name.

I resented him calling me a child.

“Ah, did I touch a nerve? Would you prefer I call you prisoner?”

“Yes.”

“Unfortunately, for you, I am not in the business of making you comfortable.”

“I can clearly see that by the straps digging into my skin. I mean I understand keeping a prisoner uncomfortable, but did you need to have your men strip me down first?”

“You are an obstinate little thing, aren’t you?” He grinned. “Some would find that endearing.”

“I am not one to find much endearing. Unless you wanted to answer all my questions right now. That may possibly be considered endearing.”

I let out a soft laugh and moved my eyes back up to the ceiling. “That is what I figured. I would wish you a good evening, but I doubt that will be possible.” “Thank you for the kind words.” I snarked.

I heard his footsteps as he walked out, leaving me alone again. I wiggled my body, wincing as the straps dug into my skin. I figured that the more I moved the tighter they got, but it was hard to not try to shift and move. Meditation had gotten me through the beginning, but I couldn’t afford to fall asleep anymore.

As I fought to keep my eyes open, all I could think about was just how damn tired I was.

I was tired of the straps digging into my skin. I was tired of the beatings and torture. I was tired of the masked man that used to be my rock standing by as I was ripped to pieces. I was tired of waiting to be saved.

I was honestly just tired of existing.

It didn’t matter though. I had to continue fighting. I had to keep pushing forward and holding strong. I had no idea what was going on in the rest of the universe, but I knew right then my purpose was to stay strong.

I just had to stay strong.

XXX

I was running as fast as possible as my chest heaved. It felt like I had been running forever. Normally running had been exhilarating for me, but I felt nothing but terror. I was tired of running, but the darkness following me kept me moving forward.

I ran down the hallway that seemed to stretch on forever. I pushed through the pain and my lungs that I was sure were literally on fire at that point. The further I ran, the more I noticed that there was a light up ahead. I pushed myself even harder, knowing that the light would always be able to fight the dark. Even if small battles were to be lost, the light would be my saving grace.

I felt a smile spread across my face as my body found its second wind. The darkness was falling back as I moved forward. The light was almost blinding as I got closer. I felt a laugh bubble out of my chest, out of relief. I started to slow, knowing that it was almost over. I wasn’t sure if it meant death or salvation, but anything was better than the black tendrils trying to pull me back.

I saw a hand reach out, finally, to help me the rest of the way. I reached out, letting joy wash through me as our fingertips touched. I blinked into the light, trying desperately to see my savior. I smiled as I tried to still move forward.

Suddenly, the hand gripped tightly onto my hand as I felt another grab my other wrist. I winced as the grip tightened onto me, crushing me. I cried out as I felt my bones start to bend.

“You thought you could get away from me so easily, Aurora? The light can’t save you. There is nothing but darkness.”

My heart sank as I heard the words come from his voice modulator. His towering frame came into view as he walked me back towards the tendrils that were now dancing around my ankles, getting tighter and tighter.

“Just give up. It’s so much less painful if you would just give up.”

“I can’t!”

He paused briefly before he pushed me back. I clawed in the air, desperately trying to hold onto him to stop my descent. I cried out in pain as the tendrils pulled me deeper and deeper. The dark was suffocating but all I could see was Kylo Ren watching me fall deeper.

Give in child. Just give in.

“I can’t! I won’t!”

The pain will stop as soon as you give in.

Before I could answer, the tendrils pushed into me deeper. I screamed out in pain, just wanting it to stop. I begged for it to stop but it just hurt more. The more I struggled the more it hurt.

XXX

I woke up to tears streaming down my face. My whole body was on fire and I could feel the blood running down the now open cuts from the straps holding me down. I let the sobs wrack my body as I tried to calm myself down.

The nightmares had been relentless no matter how long I tried to stay awake. The moment I would let my eyes shut, I would be thrown head first into pain and torment. I was trying to stay strong but the exhaustion was finally getting to me.

I heard the door open and knew I should try to stop crying. The tears just kept streaming down my face as I stared up at the ceiling. The footsteps stopped as soon as they got close to me.

“Get her up.”

“Yes, Lord Ren.”

I felt the straps fall off me as the troopers released them. Sobs continued to escape me, no matter how hard I tried to stop them. I screamed out in pain as the troopers dragged me off the table. All the blood flow was returning to my body just as much as the cuts were being aggravated.

“Bring her to the Supreme Leader immediately.”

“Yes, Lord Ren.”

My hair fell in my face as they dragged me forward. I tried to move my feet to keep up, but I couldn’t get them to work.

“Supreme Leader wants to see her bleeding and naked?”

I turned my head to the side to see the ginger standing there next to Kylo Ren. I shuddered, having the memory of my nightmare flash through my head. I couldn’t shake the feeling of his hands crushing mine.

“She isn’t a doll, General Hux. She is a prisoner and will be treated as such.”

“Very well.”

The troopers dragged me down the hallway, pausing just long enough to let the Monster and General lead the way. I gave up trying to move my legs, opting to just let them drag me. We got to the door and I realized that we must have been moving slowly, because we were being waited on. I almost felt ashamed for being waited on, although it was their fault that I was in that condition to begin with.

The doors opened and Kylo Ren grabbed my arms, taking me from the troopers. I flinched, still reeling from the damn nightmare. I felt as if I were being dragged to hell by the creature all children were told to fear as they sat around a fire. As we moved forward, I heard Snokes laugh ring out into the room. I picked my head up as much as I could, though it wasn’t much to be proud of. He still looked just as hideous as I remembered, if that was even possible.

“Drop her there, apprentice.”

I crashed to the ground, barely able to catch myself with my hands and knees. My long hair was matted but still somehow fell around my face. My whole body was shaking with all of the effort I was putting forward.

“You walk among the living, Aurora! Well, barely I see.”

If I could have spit venom at that point, I would have.

“Are you feeling alright? You seem a little.. weak.” He sneered.

“I am.” I said quietly.

“You are what? Weak? Tired? How have your dreams been treating you?”

I forced myself to pick my head up to look him in the eyes as a sick smile spread across his face.

“Oh, if looks could kill. There is still so much fight left in you, child.”

I grit my teeth at the name. I was a fighter, and here I was reduced to nothing but a bleeding mess.

“Oh, dear Aurora. You came to me so strong and full of life. Now you look as if you’ve fought off an entire army. What happened to you?”

I grit my teeth, not wanting him to ever see me that weak. I felt tears sting my eyes from the pain and embarrassment. It wasn’t bad enough that I had been tortured, but now here I was absolutely exposed as well. I wondered what Master Skywalker would think of me, seeing me so low.

“He would think that you gave it your all. But I am sure that he would still ask for more of you. The Jedi never seemed to be understanding of pain and anguish. It’s always about their order and their code.”

I looked back up at him, letting the tears stream down my face. The salt stung the wounds, but it was honestly nothing in comparison to the shame I was feeling.

“I know it hurts. I know every part of your body is screaming in agony. You yearn for a bed and a good nights sleep. You wish you could smile and laugh again. You miss your darling Ben and the future you dreamed up.”

I dropped my head back down, afraid to look at him more. “I can give you proper food and a bed.”

“I need nothing from you.”

“Clothes? A shower?”

“And what price would I have to pay? How many innocents would I need to slaughter in your name?”

“Just do as you’re told. You do whatever Kylo Ren tells you to do. Renounce the Resistance, Master Skywalker and the Jedi. Submit yourself to your new master and the First Order.”

“You’re asking me to be a slave? To give in to the Dark side and be a slave to your.. your lap dog?”

“I’m telling you it’s how you will survive.”

I growled in frustration, trying to will my body to stand up.

“Think of it as being a guest here.”

“A guest with chains.”

“Our slaves live better lives than our prisoners. Aurora, anyone with an ounce of self-preservation would do what I am telling you to.”

“I won’t give you any information. That hasn’t changed.” “You don’t need to. You have other ways of being useful.”

He was promising me a shower, clothes and even a bed. Real food. I hated the fact that it even sounded remotely appealing.

“The nightmares will stop.”

“How can I believe anything you say to me?” I whispered.

“You don’t have any other choice. Either choose to go back to the table, or to a warm bed. It is your decision and you must live with the consequences.”

#kylo ren #original female character #general hux #star wars #starwars #rework

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withabackpackandcamera · 3 years

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June 30th, 2021

Day 5: A Day in Myvatn… And A Night in Myvatn…

Having a home base in Akureyri the last few days was amazing. It’s always so nice to be able to stay somewhere for more than just a night. You get to spread out, get comfortable, drive less, and not have to keep moving your stuff. So this morning, it was slightly disappointing to have to pack all of our stuff again and pack the car for the long road trip ahead to Seyðisfjörður, where we’d only be staying for a single night before packing up and leaving again. But before leaving Akureyri, the family and I walked downtown to purchase some pastries and baked goods for the road from Kristjan’s Bakari. We briefly walked through downtown and took some photos before we turned back toward the house to grab the car and start our very full travel day.

The first stop on our itinerary for the day was the Myvatn geothermal area, a place I had visited very briefly the last time I drove around the entire Ring Road. We stopped by the pseudocraters at Skútustaðagígar and briefly hiked in to see the windy views from there before driving on and making quick pit stops at the Myvatn Panoramic Viewpoint and Dimmuborgir. At Dimmuborgir, we actually left the car for a short stroll down a paved walkway through the lava rock formations before circling back out to the parking lot to continue our drive.

Next, we accidentally drove out to Hverfjall, an old cone volcano, because the GPS led us there thinking the area was the stop for Grjótagjá, a hot spring cave that is famous for some love/sex scene in Game of Thrones (which I have never seen). But after finding the right location for Grjótagjá, we turned out of the Hverfjall area (without hiking or doing anything memorable) and drove over to the original destination of the hot spring cave. The Grjótagjá cave was a pretty neat area to see. The cave was dark but had lots of little cracks for lights to seep through. The scene created by the incoming streams of light in conjunction with the blue-appearing spring water in the cave was pretty cool. Minh and I spent some time here trying to take photos of the cave but gave up before long as all the photos started to look the same.

As we approached the mountain pass out of the Myvatn area, I took my family over to the Myvatn Nature Baths to give them a brief window tour of the bathing area that I enjoyed with some friends back in 2017. Because we were short on time and no one was particularly excited about paying to jump into a hot spring, we decided to skip soaking in a hot bath this trip and reconsider it again if we had time later on during the trip. But it was a good thing we didn’t bathe today because the wind was crazy and that would’ve made for a subpar bathing experience.

After we left the Myvatn Nature Baths, we made one last geothermal stop at the Námaskarð Geothermal Area, an rotten-egg-smelling area well known for its geothermal activity expressed in the forms of colorful landscapes, bubbling mud, and natural vents of sulfuric gases. Because it was so ridiculously windy and sandy in this area, we didn’t stay for very long. At first, the family wanted to skip the area and move on with our trip given the wind conditions. However, because of the uniqueness of the site, I made a very real effort to get Cynthia and my dad out of the car to quickly view the area. And I was successful in doing so. With the wind howling and throwing sand and dust everywhere, we quickly ran through the area as we shielded ourselves from the violent wind and the sand it was pelting at us. But it was worth it as my dad and Cynthia got a chance to see some very unique sights. It wasn’t long before we ran back into the car to get away from the elements and braced ourselves for the start of the long leg of the day’s travels: the 3.5 hour drive to Seyðisfjörður.

With a big dust storm slowly blowing across the landscape in front of us, we drove for about 10-15 kilometers from Námaskarð before the unthinkable happened. Our car started to go haywire before breaking down completely… in the middle of the road… in the middle of nowhere.

So, let me paint the picture of the situation for you. About 30-60 minutes prior, while driving, I noticed that some random warning lights (namely an A symbol with a circle arrow around it) on my dashboard had started blinking and I couldn’t figure out why that was the case. So after some quick troubleshooting (and not figuring it out), I didn’t think anything of it and continued to drive. Then, after we left the Námaskarð area, I noticed that the engine light had turned on, which is a very, very strange occurrence for a brand new car with just over 2000 kilometers on the odometer. And that was slightly concerning. But after consulting my handy-man dad, we carefully continued our drive.

Until I started hearing not-normal sounds coming from under the hood of my car. Something that sounded like it was not spinning the way it should under the hood of the car. Like, in the engine or something. At this point, I got very concerned. And things only got worse when, in conjunction with the weird spinning sound, I saw more dashboard warning lights start to light up and blink. Not good. That then quickly spiraled into an actively malfunctioning car. First to completely go nonfunctional was the gas pedal. Oh no, not good. Because the gas pedal died while we were cruising at a speed around 70kph, the car just slowly and surely lost its speed as it kept rolling along on the highway. 70…60...50...40...30...20...10… Zero.

At one point, as the car was slowing down due to the road’s friction and its nonoperational gas pedal, I looked out to find a safe gravel turnoff to steer the car into. The first turnoff I noticed was slightly dangerous and not ideal given that it was sloped down from the road into the lower area beside the highway. Wouldn’t want to get a dead car stuck facing downhill. So I pushed our luck and kept waiting, since we still had some momentum left. But eventually, the car died JUST before we reached a safe, spacious gravel turnoff/lot that was a much better option for parking a dead car. Because we didn’t make it there with just our momentum, my dad and brother had to quickly jump out of the car and push the car 20-30 meters while I steered it off the road. Once we were situated in the gravel lot, the car, for the most part, died on us. The engine no longer worked and the steering wheel no longer turned.

But the family and I stayed very calm under these distressing circumstances. Everyone kind of knew what needed to be done. We briefly checked under the hood of the car to see if there was anything we could diagnose. Nope. Then Cynthia quickly called Blue Car Rental with our (luckily strong enough) 3G cell signal to notify them of the situation and get directions on the next steps we should take. All the while, the dust storm in front of us was blowing by and, fortunately, not toward us.

Once the rental company was contacted and our screenshotted location was emailed over to them, all we could do in the car was sit there and wait for a mechanic and tow truck to make their way out to us in the middle of nowhere next to a dust storm. And given combination of the protocol of needing a mechanic to first diagnose the car problem, the lack of a Blue Car Rental office anywhere outside of Reykjavik/Keflavik, and the fact that another car could not quickly be made available to replace our car, we weren’t sure how long it would take to get things resolved so that we could hit the road again. So we sat there. We waited in the car. We briefly spoke with one random passerby who had stopped by to make sure that we were OK. We took some hilarious modeling photos with the car. And we watched the sandstorm blow by.

Then, Martjin the Polish Mechanic came to our rescue! And it was unexpectedly fast! Within about 30 minutes of our initial contact with Blue Car Rental, they were able to get in touch with Martjin, who works/owns a car shop (Six60?) on the edge of Myvatn near the Myvatn Nature Baths and was contracted by the car rental agency to help out in these situations, and send him over with his excessively huge (and fittingly American) Ford truck with a tow bed behind it. It was while I was photographing Minh modeling next to the dead car that we saw the big truck and big, burly mechanic approach.

Once he was out of his car, we introduced ourselves and I explained the situation to him. And the first thing he (basically) told me as he was assessing our red 2021 Kia Sportage was….”This is the fourth car of the same make and model from Blue Car Rental this week alone that I have had to tow for similar reasons.” It was the fourth car that he had towed because the car (a brand new Kia Sportage in all instances) had died all of a sudden despite a full fuel tank, good oil, and with everything else checking out OK on initial investigation.

It was only while he was preparing to tow our car that he received a call from Blue Car with the answer to the car problem he had been stumped by for the last week. The crankshaft sensor in the car was not working in these models and that it was a manufacturing issue, an issue he himself could not figure out, solve, or fix with his mechanic skills alone. With that new information, he pulled our car onto his tow bed and loaded us into his car to take everyone and everything back to his shop.

Along the 30 minute drive back to Myvatn, he presented us with several options (some doable, some not so doable) for how to proceed with our situation. Normally, Martjin has two spare Blue Car rentals at his shop for these exact situations. But unfortunately, given that this was the 4th issue this week with Blue Car Rental, there were no spares left to offer. So that wasn’t an option. The other options were to try to get a car rental here as soon as possible (and it wasn’t going to be that soon since Blue Car had to find a replacement car, load it up, find a driver to tow it out to Myvatn, which was 6-7 hours away) to continue the trip later this evening (but actually, in the wee hours of the morning) knowing we had an AirBnB already booked in Seyðisfjörður OR to stick around the Myvatn area for the night and restart our trip in the morning with a new rental that would be towed ALL THE WAY from Reykjavik and arrive by morning. After he made some quick calls to assess all other options and my family and I had discussed the options, we ended up making the safest decision, which was to stay the night in a hotel in Myvatn, take it easy, and make up lost ground once we had our car delivered tomorrow morning.

Once that decision was made, Martjin made a ton of calls to all of his contacts and quickly made a three-room booking with the relatively fancy and expensive Sel-Hotel Myvatn for the night. We made a pit stop to pick up his “little blond devil” of a son from the nearby kindergarten and then stopped by his shop to wait for him to finish up some things before he dropped us off at the hotel. While waiting at the shop, we met a nice couple, Will and Mary, from Miami who had also run into some car issues and were also on their road trip around Iceland but driving in the opposite direction of us. We had a nice conversation with them and even shared our trip experiences and trip tips as we passed the time.

Before long, Will and Mary were ready to hit the road again after their flat tire was replaced, and we were ready to head to our hotel with Martjin. A short ride later, we were dropped off at Sel Hotel Myvatn, where we spoke with and checked into our hotel with the very nice and welcoming front desk lady named Kate. After we were given the keys to our three rooms, we moved upstairs to our rooms to get situated and get Cynthia ready for her work day. We hung out for a bit in the hotel rooms before heading down for a relatively early dinner in the nice hotel restaurant downstairs.

At the hotel restaurant, we treated ourselves to a nice and relatively expensive dinner (assuming that we’d get reimbursed for it by the rental car agency as part of the hotel stay). We ordered their Northern Diver Pizza with bacon, ham, and pepperoni, tiger shrimp scampi style scallops starter, lasagna, trout dinner, and pulled pork sandwich. It was so yummy! Though I wish we had gone haywire and ordered even more yummy food to fill up on! I guess we did the responsible thing… for the car rental agency, hahaha.

With stomachs filled with delicious food, we went to chill upstairs while waiting for our hotel sauna shed/room to be prepared. It took about 30 minutes for the hotel staff to ready the sauna room but once it was ready, the family minus Cynthia sat in a steamy, hot, humid, and very uncomfortable indoor sauna for about 30 minutes or so. My dad and I were the first to exit since we couldn’t deal with the heat and steam anymore. I guess it was slightly cleansing… Once everyone was done with the sauna, Minh and I headed to the hotel lobby to play a couple games of pool before my dad and I did the same. And funnily enough, in-between games with my dad, a little Iceland kid on his way to the Westfjords with his family wanted to jump in and get a game with me. So we played a couple of turns before he had to leave with his mom. Funny kid. By this point in the evening, the family was getting tired. So everyone except me and Cynthia headed upstairs to turn in for the night and get some much needed rest.

As for me, I hung out downstairs with Cynthia while she worked before going out and exploring the area right across from the hotel that we had briefly stopped at earlier called Skútustaðagígar, where all the pseudocraters were located. I left the hotel around 10pm and hiked along the different paths leading around the pseudocraters before I came across a nice wildflowery slope with the sun setting in the background. With very few, slow-paced moments to do landscape photography on this trip, I wanted to make the most of this particular scene. So I ran back to the hotel to grab all of my photography gear and headed right back out to the flowery slope where I spent an hour watching the sunset while attempting to capture a photograph worth writing home about.

After freezing outside in the Myvatn wind for an hour or so, I headed back into the hotel to clean and wash up before going to bed. Cynthia wasn’t yet done with work by that time so I went to bed first because I knew that recharging for tomorrow would be a smart thing to do given the ground we had to cover due to the unfortunate circumstances we ran into today.

Looking back at today’s debacle, our impromptu back-up plan wasn’t too bad! But here’s to a more reliable car and a more productive day tomorrow!

5 Things I Learned/Observed Today:

1. The Myvatn area is named after the large lake in the area and there is no associated town called Myvatn town.

2. Lake Myvatn is a bird-watching haven for tons of tourists. If you see heavily-armed photographers with huge lenses and camouflage, they’re probably there to take photos of birds.

3. Much of the Myvatn area is formed from the interaction of lava and water. For example, the lava rock formations at Dimmuborgir formed when lava spilled over water-filled depressions or marshlands forming a lava lake. Due to the overlying magma and lava lake, the sub-surface water layer heated up and created steam that escaped to the outside through vents that eventually became surrounded by solidifying magma. Over time, the results of this process were lava pillars, columns, and ridges like the ones at Dimmuborgir, which are the remnants of the steam vents of old. Similarly, you have the pseudocraters of Myvatn which were formed from a similar process. When molten lava flowed over water or wetlands, water became trapped underneath the lava field and started boiling. The pressure caused explosions where the steam escaped to the surface. Over time, the repeated explosions ripped apart the lava, which piled up around the steam vent, forming a pseudocrater (per the infographic sign at the site).

4. Brand new car rentals are not fool- and fail-proof. Always be on the lookout if your engine light turns on randomly and unexpectedly. It’s never a good sign for a new car. And when things like that happen and the car company needs to send a mechanic out to inspect it and tow it, it’s really expensive for the car rental agency. Per Martjin, it costs about 1000 Euros to send him to check out and try to diagnose the car issue at hand. So that’s for the service. On top of that, it costs approximately 3000 Euros to tow a rental car from Myvatn back to Reykjavik. VERY VERY EXPENSIVE. Luckily, if it’s a manufacturing issue, it’s not on us, the customer, to pay any of that. Thank goodness!

5. Lake Myvatn is considered the land of midges. They are everywhere. And they are a nuisance. Luckily, when it’s super windy outside, they pose no problems at all because the wind sweeps them away. Per the hotel, if the midges fly into your rooms due to open windows, just leave your windows open as they will attempt to fly out right away, thus causing little issues. An issue only occurs when you close your windows and they’re trapped inside.

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spookyspaghettisundae · 3 years

Text

Let's Not Go There

The reason it is hard to believe in the fantastical and unnatural is because you either always only hear of bizarre phenomena that other people experienced, or whatever you experienced was so strange that it is easier to bend over backwards in the effort of coming up with a rational explanation.

My experience defies every possible explanation, and it is why I have developed such a fascination with the concept of other-worlds, astral travel, and parallel dimensions. And I am not alone in this. I cannot chalk it up to mere hallucination. I cannot consider it a case of my mind breaking, for I have no history of mental illness diagnoses, nor have I ever experienced anything like it in the decades that followed.

It all happened in the 1990s. In a place that already feels surreal and otherworldly to begin with.

Of all possible places, it happened in a shopping mall.

Abundant optimism was something you could taste in the air back then. It smelled like bubblegum and stale air-conditioned air and tasted like buttery popcorn. Maybe this is just nostalgia blending with the idiocies of being a teenager, but these are the scents and sights as I remember them back then.

Gentle music underlined by mellow saxophones and sleepy guitars playing in the distance, escalators rolling along at a plodding pace, aesthetically pleasing fountains with their hypnotic water streams, and strategically placed plants that laminated an otherwise cool and heartless architecture, consisting of shiny floors and cubic intersecting spaces occupied by temples of commerce.

The internet was still around the corner, waiting to be discovered on a wide scale, and computers dwelling in blissful isolation of networks stood on display in electronics stores like some sort of technological marvel, even though they chugged and struggled just to spit out pixelated screensavers. While we are at it, try to imagine how almost nobody had a cell phone back then.

Storefronts displayed flashy fashion, an announcement in a melodious voice that I completely ignored echoed from loudspeakers every now and again, and the palette of garish colors and exotic shapes overwhelmed my senses but also always drew me back, luring me to return every week when I had time outside of school and homework.

A texture of voices and motions constantly thrummed in the air, somehow soothing and always vibrant; of many people speaking just loud enough that you could catch a word but never the meaning, and shuffling through these seemingly infinite hallways, in and out of shops, loitering around on benches, or where the smells of ice cream or pizza drew them in like flies to honey.

As much as it was a ritual to visit this wondrous world once a week, my allowance was limited, so I had to save towards certain things and just spent time here with friends, strolling about and admiring things and dreaming of owning items I would never need, but desired, nevertheless.

One of the bookstores at that mall belonged to my personal highlights. Something about the soft carpeted floors that swallowed loud sounds, the muted warm light, the red velvety chairs to sit upon, the rustling of pages, and the smell of freshly printed paperbacks and hardcovers alike, sliding in and out from shelves as people inspected their covers or flipped through their contents.

On that day, my friends and I—because I never went here alone—had already spent hours wandering through the mall, window-shopping, and staring dreamy-eyed at its many meaningless wonders, and our legs were all wobbly from all the walking about.

They had decided to spend the rest of our time at the arcade to get some pizza and play some video games, and I fully intended to rejoin them once I had doubled back to said bookstore to pick up a novel I had been thinking of plunking down my meager cash for.

A rare time and circumstance to be alone here, like this, but there it was. That was when it happened. Creeping and unfathomable, I felt my stomach knot for no apparent reason.

Bought the book I had been eyeing for weeks now, for a collection from the same author I had started reading almost a year ago, eager to uncover the secrets that would unravel once reading it, page by page.

Handing over the cash, hearing that register churn and clink as I received a few coins as change, the smile of the cashier’s friendly beautiful face smiling at me in a rehearsed but pleasant manner. Nothing out of the ordinary. All as it should be.

Yet some inexplicable tension remained even as I exited the bookstore. As always, I felt a little pang of buyer’s remorse, thinking that I might have saved every penny for something better, something more practical. As such, I stopped right outside the entrance to the shop, without apparent reason. Dead in my tracks, pondering if I had done the right thing.

With the water fountains nearby sparkling, people walking past me wrapped up in idle conversation, and the dreamy elevator music reaching my ears, I dug around in the thin plastic bag from the bookstore. Crammed around in it until I found the receipt and looked at it.

And that—that right there was what was wrong.

Only now did I realize how I had bought the book almost blindly. I stared at the flimsy piece of paper and ink in disbelief. The printed symbols on the receipt did not look like numbers or words I could comprehend. Or, hell, like any human being could understand. Just like alien writing that did not belong. The more I stared at it and tried to decipher any meaning, the more my vision blurred and a sharp pain, like a knife sliding right into the back of my head, started to split my skull.

A shopping mall being what it is, you can see motion all around you but just organically tune it out without thinking about it. Something needs to be special or highly unusual to grab your attention, but exactly that happened to me just then.

I saw motion behind me—right behind me—in the reflection of the bookstore’s front window. Eyes. Before I could identify any face to go along with it, the figure melted into the blind spot exactly behind me and only then did I feel a gust of warm breath against the back of my neck.

Terrified, I swiveled and found nobody to be standing immediately behind me. People passing me by gave me funny looks as I kept swiveling, and I am quite sure that I must have looked like I had lost my mind.

When I beheld my reflection in the storefront window again, as if I could possibly see that non-existent mystery person there, something else caught my eye.

The store brand logo on my plastic bag looked different. Similar enough in all key ways to not immediately pay attention: similar shapes, similar color, a typography that resembled the way it should look. But the words were all different. Instead of the name of the bookstore chain, it read, “Look closer.”

Shooting a glance at my bag—not in the window’s reflection but at the actual bag—it looked normal. Just like the logo should, reading the chain’s name as it should. I could feel the blood draining from my face once my gaze wandered back to the window and I could only see that phase again.

Look closer.

The saxophones leading the elevator music in the background seemed to swell while I stared. My own heartbeat in my ears drowned out the idle chatter of any people nearby, and I knew what I had to do.

I stepped up to the storefront window, oblivious to anything on display beyond its glassy surface. Focused only on the reflections, I held up that receipt to it. Sure enough, I could read something on it now, as if the window and its reflections served somehow as a decoding lens.

Look to your right. Step through the exit.

I had to read it multiple times to know I was not dreaming or hallucinating. But I remembered how I could never read in my dreams, and everything else around me just felt and sounded so normal. So real.

The sweet perfume of someone passing me by, the squeak of someone’s sneakers streaking against waxed floors, and a fuzzy something that resisted being compartmentalized into any of the five senses.

Real.

Look to your right, the message read.

As I followed that instruction, I saw the glowing “EXIT” sign, nestled in the wall in between two stores. It looked so unfamiliar in that moment, but also like it perfectly belonged. Had it always been there, and I never paid attention to it? Probably.

Step through the exit, the message had continued. Its words echoed in my mind, riding on the idealized reflection of my own voice.

I looked around but anybody nearby just went about their lives, ignoring me. So, I pushed, and the door emitted a chunky metallic sound as it yielded, letting me enter the fire escape hallway. Another chunky sound accompanied it closing behind me as I entered.

That dreamy texture of mall music and a multitude of people wandering around was muffled by the door, insignificant in comparison to the echoes of my shoes tapping against a rough concrete floor. This hallway in and of itself already felt like another world entirely, one that bled into the world of the shopping mall and vice versa.

Everything was much brighter in here, illuminated by fluorescent tubes running along the entirety of this narrow hallway. A cool air breezed past me as I wandered deeper down its length.

Just like in the fantasy and science-fiction adventure stories I loved so much, I felt like I was fulfilling some sort of prophecy and, hell, my dumb teenaged brain told me that I was born to do this. Meant to do this. Not once did I stop to question the madness of any of this.

Somehow, against all reason, it all made sense.

Yet even as I believed to be feeling the draw of destiny, suffused with purpose, my heart raced. Some other part of me instinctively knew that something was deeply—utterly—wrong.

As I turned a corner, I gazed upon my horrid destination.

A door, covered in black vines with leaves so thin and sharp in definition that they could have been razors. Worms wriggled on the floor around it, near where a crack should be. No handle or knob adorned the portal’s face. But it throbbed with a pulse of its own, out of sync with its own heartbeat. Vein-like tendrils, black, and pulsating, ran from the epicenter of this otherworldly door, entrenched in the wall around it, as if it had infested the plaster like a disease, spreading slowly.

I turned to run, but the lights on the ceiling at the end of the hallway where I had come from now flickered out, dead. One by one, they plunged the hallway into a growing pool of darkness, speeding up as they approached.

Any courage to explore the thin veil between worlds or whatever lay beyond, it now all melted away instantaneously.

Darkness, from which I could hear the mall no longer, and only imagine what things now lurked inside of it.

Or that dark door.

I fled forward. Nearly cried as I scrunched my eyes shut and heard the squelching sounds of things getting squished underneath my shoes, as I felt the delayed burn and sting of many little cuts—like papercuts—flaring up as I pushed against that black door with all my might.

It gave way more easily than I had expected and I stumbled forward into the unknown.

Still blind by own volition, I sensed far softer grounds underfoot, where grass rustled with each of my steps and wind whistled through alien leaves all around me.

When I dared open my eyes again, I found myself in a gloomy clearing, underneath a low, dense canopy of trees, with no door or any mall in sight. Another world. Pink birds chirped with foreign sounds, and insects I never would have dreamed of crawled in the dark dirt between plants.

Panic fully gripped me and dulled my senses to the point where my gaze swept all around me, full circle, multiple times, until I spotted a pair of eyes staring at me from beyond the gloom, swallowed by shadows cast by the foliage. Glowing yellow, and curious. Unblinking and oh-so-hungry.

“Do not look at me,” a hissing whisper came from those eyes.

Though I could see no mouth, I could hear the rows of sharp teeth through which those words traveled to reach my ears.

“Do not look at me,” it repeated. “Or I will eat you alive.”

More than anything, I tried to hold back tears, but they flowed despite my effort.

“I just wanna go home,” I pleaded with Yellow-Eyes.

Although I averted my gaze, I could feel a sinister smile creeping across its face as it replied, now adopting a melodious and mocking tone that seesawed between idle amusement and deadly threat.

“You look like a plump little beanstalk, yet you talk like one of us.”

I looked for places to run, but knew in my heart of hearts that Yellow-Eyes could run faster than I. And that no matter where I ran, I could never hide from such an abomination.

“You are not so pretty yourself, you know,” it said, as if it could read my mind. “But no matter. You fit right in with us. You could carve your own little kingdom from the mountains and the trees here.”

The tree trunks here all looked thick and ancient, yet they presented gaps in between them, wide enough for me to flee through. Not that I harbored any hope of making it. Every time Yellow-Eyes spoke to me again, it crushed every shred of anything even so remotely resembling hope inside its hoary maw.

“But you are afraid, which I understand. I have passed through that same door, before. Of strange steel, and cold, sleek surfaces; where odd squeals travel through the glass to meet my ears and mock me. ‘Open me,’ they screech! ‘Explore the other side,’ they demand.”

To blot out its damnable rambling, I covered my ears, but it was too late. The voice of Yellow-Eyes had entered my mind. I have a hunch as to why, but at the time there was no understanding why I suddenly felt like we were kindred souls, Yellow-Eyes, and me.

Averting my gaze for so long, and with the circle of trees spinning around me as I grew dizzy, I lost track of where this entity prowled. Another gust of warm breath hit the back of my neck, provoking every hair upon it to stand.

“I have glimpsed your world, and you have now glimpsed mine,” said Yellow-Eyes. “I can show you the way back if you invite me across the threshold.”

I wanted to deny it. Turn it down. Its words rang hollow, dripping with venom. In between the lines it spoke, I felt something dark and old and wicked.

“Thus, you need not deal with the things that dwell hither, like the Way King, or the Red Carpenter, or the Unbirthed Paddock-Watcher. The River of Lions, the Green Cairn, or the Castle of Thorns. I could show you such wondrous place, but would you resist their call? Would you survive their grinding teeth, their toxic breath, their maddening words?”

Maddening words Yellow-Eyes provided plenty of already. My heart raced, but those names and those places, they somehow beckoned me. I yearned to explore this world, to uncover its mysteries. It fascinated me as much as it instilled pure dread in my heart.

How alien it all felt, how wrong. Underneath it all, I did just want to go home.

“Please,” I whispered.

That whisper sliced through the air like a blade. The strange forest went silent. All I could hear was Yellow-Eyes breathing, faster. More excited.

I said, “Come with me, across the threshold. Just help me find home.”

That warm breath brushed across the back of my neck again.

“Oh, my pleasure. My leisure. Let us depart with haste, lest the Blighted Sparrow of Shadowy Waters return here to roost and interfere.”

Rubbing the tears from my eyes until my vision had cleared enough to see, the door stood there again—in the middle of the eerie clearing. Worms wriggling beneath it, the solitary door connected to no building, no walls, just wreathed in black vines, as before. Throbbing and pulsating as if alive.

Or had it been there all along? Had Yellow-Eyes hidden it from me somehow?

“Waste no time! Go! Open that door,” Yellow-Eyes hissed, making no effort to sound enticing anymore. Just exuding malice with each syllable.

And I did.

Once more, I cringed at the disgustingly soft grounds where worms squished under my shoes wherever I stepped to near the door, but I kept my eyes wide open this time. I gritted my teeth as I could watch the edges of those bladed leaves, almost translucent, cutting the surface of my exposed skin as I pushed against the door.

A dark void yawned at me from beyond the portal, not a gloomy clearing. I sensed something even worse than Yellow-Eyes, lurking in that deeper shadow. Then it retreated. Fluorescent tubes sprung to life, one by one, and bathed in light a long hallway of white plaster walls and concrete floor before me. I fled inside before the final lights flickered on and despite not hearing any sound to indicate it, passing that threshold of worms and razorblade vines, I knew the door closed behind me on its own.

And with me, this time, traveled Yellow-Eyes.

Greeted again by the chunky sound of the handlebar opening the fire escape door from the narrow hallway, I emerged into the shopping mall again.

Muddy brown discoloration clung to the edges of my sneakers, and I saw tiny streaks of crimson upon the sides of my hands where the leaves had cut me. The bag with my new book drooped lazily from my wrist, but the logo on the plastic looked normal now.

Had it ever appeared otherwise?

Of course, as I wandered through this temple of commerce in a daze, slowly shuffling my way towards the arcade to meet back up with my friends, I questioned my sanity. I wanted to tell them what had just happened, but I also did not want to.

I am surprised I am even telling you, now.

But someone needs to know. Because what you described—it reminded me of this. I can see the signs.

It reminded me that every time I look into the mirror, I see those yellow eyes flash. I see my own lips curl into a sinister smile that it is not my own but inhabits my face against my will. Well, that is not entirely correct, because I did invite Yellow-Eyes along.

And my fascination with the concept of other worlds is not some idle hobby.

It is an obsession.

So, if you know something I do not—if you have an even inkling about how you might cross over, then you need to tell me. Try to remember what exactly you were doing, what time of day, even what you were smelling or thinking. You need to tell me.

Right now.

Because both old Yellow-Eyes and me, we want to return there. See how much has changed in the past decades.

And if you don’t want to talk, well…

Let’s not go there.

—Submitted by Wratts

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kpop-zone · 5 years

Text

By your side | Irene

Warnings: physical injuries

Genre: angst, fluff

Wordcount: 2,575

Request: I'd like to request an Irene scenario where the reader gets hospitalized because of a car accident and it's all a little angsty at first but gets really fluffy at the end

Irene was completely focused. In less than an hour, Red Velvet would take the stage to perform in front of 20,000 people as part of their arena tour in Japan. Nevertheless, she couldn’t turn off her instincts. She could feel that the staff was behaving weird around her. They would talk completely normal with the other members, but as soon as she joined the conversation, they sheepishly looked to the floor and rushed to leave.

She tried to not think about it too much. She couldn’t allow herself to get distracted. She needed to be 100% concentrated in order to give the perfect show. But when even her makeup artist, who normally chatted with her relentlessly, was all quiet, she had enough.

“Ya, unnie. What is wrong with all of you?”

She had a stern look on her face and the staff around her seemed to be even more intimidated than before.

“Is someone going to say something?”

Irene turned around to look directly into her makeup artist’s eyes who instantly wanted to flee the scene, but Irene grabbed her jacket to hold her back.

“Joohyun-ah, we’re not allowed to talk about it.”

Ashamed her makeup artist looked to the floor and Irene let go of her jacket in confusion.

“Talk about what?”

She was completely puzzled. But everyone avoided to look at her, so she decided to search for her members to ask them if they knew why the staff was avoiding them.

But when she entered the dressing room, her members were sitting in a circle, hectically whispering with each other before completely falling silent when Irene entered the room.

“Are you ignoring me too?”

Irene was clearly upset now. She didn’t like to be left out.

“I’m not leaving until one of you tells me what is going on.”

Sternly she shifted her gaze from one member to the other with her hands on her hips.

All of them looked at each other with guilt in their eyes, but Irene fixed her gaze on Seulgi because she knew that she broke the easiest. Nervously Seulgi tried to look everywhere but at Irene, but eventually their gazes met and Seulgi let out a shaky breath.

“Unnie, I think it’s better if you don’t know...”

Normally Irene would have been grateful for the concern, but the fact that everyone seemed to know something but her, made her extremely frustrated.

“I’m an adult. I think, I can decide myself what I want to know and what not.”

Helplessly Seulgi looked at Seungwan who sighted loudly.

“Joohyun-ah, I think it’s better if you sit down for this.”

Confused Irene sat down beside her and Yeri immediately laid her hand on her leader’s hand, giving it an encouraging squeeze. Questioningly Irene looked back at Seungwan.

“You have to promise me to not freak out. We will get the concert over with and then we can take care of the rest.”

Seungwan sounded as serious as never before and concern washed over Irene. She nodded her head hardly visible, too anxious to speak out loud.

Seungwan looked at the other members one last time, who all nodded before she took a deep breath.

“Y/N is in the hospital.”

She simply stated, looking for Irene’s reaction. But Irene just stared blankly at her. This couldn’t be true. They all must have agreed on a very tacky joke. She chuckled lightly.

“What?”

She asked almost snippy and Seungwan started to stroke her back.

“The hospital called our manager, because Y/N listed your company phone number as emergency contact. Y/N was involved in a car accident. We don’t know the details, but apparently another driver ran a red light, hitting Y/N’s car right in the driver’s side.”

Irene started zoning out. You had been involved in a car accident? In her head pictures of you streaming with blood popped up and she could feel tears welling up in her eyes. The other members spoke to her, but Irene just stared at them, not being able to understand what they were saying.

“H-how bad is it?”

Irene stammered and all the member’s fell silent. She immediately got the sign. It had to be bad.

A sob left her throat and Irene covered her mouth with her hand, feeling the arms of her member’s wrapping around her.

The door of the dressing room opened, however, revealing their manager.

“It’s time to finish up girls. It’s showtime in 15 minutes.”

With concern in his eyes, his look lingered on Irene, but the manager chose to let the members settle this between them.

“Ok, let’s get you ready.”

Sooyung tried to sound as enthusiastically as possible, clapping her hands one time before standing up to get some makeup removing wipes.

Irene knew that she had to pull herself together now. She had a group to lead and fans to satisfy. She tried as best as possible to choke back her emotions, only losing a few tears while the girls touched up her makeup. But the pictures of you sitting lifelessly in your car didn’t leave her mind.

Seulgi and Yeri took her hands while they walked to the stage and Seungwan gave her a last encouraging nod before they let themselves be revealed to the audience. The ReVeluvs went wild, but today Irene could feel no joy at their excited chants. She forced a smile on her lips, but not even that seemed authentic, so she focused on not starting to cry instead.

Her movements were tired and between the songs, Irene had to take deep breaths to gain back her composure. But all she could think about was you laying in a hospital bed. Alone. Hurt. Was someone with you? Were you suffering? A tear spilled down her cheek again during their performance of Psycho. She just prayed that the concert was over soon.

You didn’t remember a lot. You remembered driving, when suddenly bright lights appeared to your left and a second later there was deafening noise, before everything went quiet. You lost your conscious due to the collision. Since then you had been drifting in and out of consciousness. You remembered the firefighter that had to cut you out of your car, because your door was too dented to open.

The next thing you saw were two other pair of eyes hovering above you, asking you to stay awake. And you tried to, but the force pulling you back into the nothingness was too strong. You could hear the sirens of the ambulance getting quieter and quieter, before you could hear nothing at all anymore. After that you were jolted awake by a wave of pain shooting through your body. You ripped your eyes open in panic, seeing lights flying past your eyes above you. You assumed that you had arrived in the hospital.

The doctor leaned above you, telling you something about fixing you before pressing a mask into your face and you drifted off to sleep again. You could not remember what happened afterwards. Now, however, you heard an annoying beeping, but your eyelids still felt so heavy. You wanted to lift your left hand to your face, but you grunted in pain instead.

You suddenly realized how sore your body felt. It was feeling like it was on fire. Collecting all your strength, you finally managed to open your eyes, instantly being blinded by all the light surrounding you. Everything was white. This definitely wasn’t your bedroom, meaning that you hadn’t been dreaming. Looking down on yourself, you could see that your left side was covered up in bandages and casts everywhere. Every movement hurt.

The narcotics still hadn’t left your body completely. You felt tired and so cold. The bed next to you in the room was empty and a wave of loneliness washed over you. Tears started to stream down your face. Why did this had to happen to you? You just wanted to go home.

Suddenly the door to your room was opened, but it didn’t reveal the person that you wanted to see. Because you knew that she was hundreds of miles apart from you. Instead, it was a cheery looking man that seemed to be your doctor.

“Oh good, you’re awake. How are we feeling?”

He sounded way to cheerful, but you didn’t want to be rude, so you tried to smile back.

“Awesome.”

You tried to chuckle, but instead, a fit of coughs left your throat, because your chest felt like exploding from the pressure caused by your laugh.

“Easy there. Do you know what happened?”

He asked you and you were glad that you actually did, meaning that you didn’t have any head injuries.

“Yes. I had a car accident.”

Your voice sounded hoarse and more awful than usual.

“Excellent! Apparently, you didn’t suffer from any memory losses. You will still have to stay in the hospital for a while though. Your lower arm is fractured, you have a lung rupture and some nasty contusions and swellings.”

That sounded fantastic, you thought sarcastically.

“You won’t have any permanent damages though, but your body is going to need a while to heal. Is there anyone you would like us to call for you? Any family or friends? Your emergency contact of course has already been informed.”

You didn’t know whether you should cry or be relieved because of his words, but what you did know, was that you needed to contact your girlfriend as quick as possible. She was on tour right now, meaning that she did have enough on her plate even without your accident. You needed to calm her down.

Internally you cursed the hospital for calling Irene in the first place. You wished that you could keep it a secret from her, so she didn’t need to worry. But it was already too late for that.

“Could I call someone?”

You asked panicked, knowing that she was probably dying of worries.

“Of course, you’re in a hospital, not a prison. Your phone is in the bag on your nightstand. Its screen is cracked but I’m pretty sure that it still works. The nurses will check in on you in a few minutes.”

The doctor smiled at you before turning on his heel and leaving the room.

Hastily you pulled out your phone, dialing Irene and anxiously waiting for her to pick up.

“Come on. Pick up.”

You mumbled to yourself, but you didn’t get through. You remembered that she had a concert today. She probably couldn’t pick up her phone.

Irene was nervously tapping her foot. She had left the arena right after the concert, not attending any fan meetings. This would probably cause rumors, but she didn’t care. Everyone had probably already figured out that something was wrong because of her miserable performance.

She was sitting in the first flight back to Korea, making it clear to her managers that she had no intention to stay any minute longer. She had attended the concert out of respect for the already waiting fans and her members, but she didn’t care if she would miss the next concerts. All she needed to do, was to be by your side.

As soon as the plane landed, she sprinted to her driver. Gladly no one had expected her to return yet, so only a few fansites and photographers spotted her. But she didn’t bother to pose for the pictures. She immediately got into the car, letting herself be driven to the hospital.

She had already wasted enough time. You had been alone in the hospital for several hours now. She couldn’t imagine how awful that had to be. With no distraction whatsoever, completely focused on all your pain.

The woman at the reception was staring at her in shock and Irene almost yelled at her, because she wasn’t telling her where your room was because she was so starstruck. But Irene pulled herself together, asking a second time politely, immediately sprinting down the hall after the lady had told her your room number.

Realizing that you might be sleeping, she silently opened the door, slipping inside of the room without catching your attention. Although you were covered with a blanket, she could see the many wounds you had. She assumed that your arm must be broken, because it was resting in a cast on your stomach and you face had several cuts and bruises. Irene tiptoed to your bed, thinking you were asleep, because your head was turned to the side.

But when she came closer, she saw that your eyes were open and that tears were streaming down your face.

“Y/N?”

She asked barely above a whisper and you turned your head in shock. As soon as you had taken in Irene’s figured, a loud sob left your throat and she lunged forward to carefully wrap her arms around you.

“Sh... It’s ok. I’m here now.”

Irene tried to calm you, because she could feel your body shaking in her arms.

“I felt so alone.”

You stuttered between sobs and Irene felt a twinge in her heart.

“I’m here now. And I’m not going to leave.”

She assured you while stroking your back and kissing the crown of your head.

It needed a while for your shaking body to calm down, but eventually you pulled back, apparently being able to finally think clearly again.

“Joohyun... What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be on tour!”

You exclaimed with wide eyes, but Irene just smiled softly, stroking your hair out of your face.

“The only place, I’m supposed to be, is by your side.”

Irene could see that you were about to protest, so she put her finger on your lips.

“You don’t have to worry about me. Your main concern should be to get healthy as quickly as possible. And I will help you as best as I can. I will talk to my managers. There are only two concerts left. The girls can manage those without me.”

She had already figured everything out. Therefore, she didn’t want to discuss with you. Of course, you wanted to disagree, because you didn’t want to be a burden. But you could never be a burden for Irene. She knew that she couldn’t focus anyways during the concerts while knowing that you were fighting your injuries without any help.

Silencing your objections before they could even leave your mouth, Irene pressed her lips on yours, softly putting her hand on your cheek. It didn’t take long till you accepted your defeat, opening your mouth to let Irene guide your kiss. The first smile of the day played on your lips once Irene pulled away and she was glad that you didn’t seem to be in too much pain.

“You know that I’m going to have to kill that other driver.”

Irene said with a stern face and you had to laugh, although it more resembled heavy breathing.

“Stop, I can’t laugh.”

You pouted and Irene covered her mouth with her hand in shock. It wasn’t her intention to hurt you more. But at the sight of your girlfriend, you had to laugh even more.

Irene squeezed into the bed beside you and you spent the rest of the time chatting until both of you couldn’t keep your eyes open anymore. Your eyes fluttered close first and Irene softly drew the outlines of your face with her fingertips. She smiled to herself, knowing that she had made the right decision. There wasn’t any place on earth where she would rather be than here.

By your side.

#red velvet scenario #red velvet #irene scenario #irene #girl group scenario #girl group #kpop scenario #kpop

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alison-anonymous · 4 years

Text

flawsome bandits pt. 8 ♡ sonic

Flawsome Revivals

Very important note that I would love for all of you to read at the end ♡

Warnings - much angst! Mention of death, FLUFF FLUFF FLUFF

♡♡♡

This couldn’t be happening. It was insane how Y/n’s worst fear was something tangible. Something that she could feel as she pressed her fingers against Sonic’s slowing pulse.

She was losing him… again.

Because she was a coward.

The tears refused to stop. Even when a crowd of concerned Green Hill citizens began to abandon their late night dinners and see why this glowing ice blue hedgehog was crying over another one that they could only identify as Crazy Carl’s Blue Devil. Even when Tom and Maddie finally made it back to the scene and felt their own hearts begin breaking as they watched their daughter begin to sob over Sonic’s body. Even when the Egghead responsible for all of this began to make his dramatic descent out of the portal and took a moment to bask in the glory of their defeat. Her tears dripped onto Sonic’s fur as he tried his best to work his way out of unconsciousness, to let his crush know that he was alright, but his limbs felt like jello.

“P-please, Sonic…” Y/n sniffled. “Ge-get up…”

“Well, looky here! Bonnie lost her Clyde, oh, the humanity!” He let out his signature evil chuckle, raising his goggles on to his forehead. “You are such astonishing creatures, aren’t you?” On the ground before him, Tom caught sight of the bag of golden rings. He slyly picked them up and kept a close eye on the scene taking place before him as Y/n slowly raised her head up from Sonic to stare at the evil man in the drone.

The tears continued to stream endlessly down her face as her gaze hardened.

“It’ll be amazing to take you back to the lab to perform some exploratory procedures. Any last words, Bonnie? Clyde?” He waited for a moment as the ice blue hedgehog’s grip on Sonic’s side tightened.

“Go. To. Hell.” Y/n snarled, somehow managing not to choke on her tears. Her e/c irises began to glow a mystical blue as her emotions began to take a toll on her. Eggman’s eyes raised a little in surprise. Funny, he thought Sonic was the only one whose powers were affected by emotion. He shrugged and plopped his goggles back on.

“I can’t tell you how many procedures have been made possible by animal testing. And how am I supposed to one-up others in my scientific discoveries if I’m in hell, hmm?” The whole time he was bragging, he didn’t notice Tom appear behind him and jump onto his drone. Y/n watched from her spot next to Sonic, putting her acting skills to the test. Tom was quick to punch Eggman in the face mid-sentence, initiating a very brave mini-battle between the two until Tom got thrown out onto the ground, groaning in pain. Watching Tom get shoved onto the pavement like that only made Y/n’s emotions grow more fierce as her body began to hum without any use of her vocal chords, an electric light blue pigment beginning to radiate off of her.

“Why would you throw your life away for such useless things? You know, that’s why I don’t have friends.” Eggman rolled his eyes. Y/n’s eyes arched into slits, but for once she actually didn’t have to say anything as the townspeople began to gather around in an attempt to fight off the man. Apparently Tom had somehow gotten the word out already that the second hedgehog was his daughter, as even Crazy Carl was pulling out a chainsaw in order to defend the two.

“You leave those kids alone!” He revved it up.

During all of the ruckus, Y/n had been keeping one of her hands on Sonic’s neck in order to track his pulse, and her heart stopped dead once she realized… it wasn’t there anymore. Panic began to set in as she quickly turned him onto his back, shaking him roughly by the shoulders.

“Sonic? Sonic! No, no, no, no, no, no…” The tears began to spill down even faster as she shook him, every second with no response causing her heart to shatter a little more. “Please! I can’t lose you again…”

Tom, Maddie, and the Green Hills citizens felt their own hearts break as they watched the scene unfold. Y/n’s body practically toppled on top of him as she pressed her forehead against his, her back racking with the sobs.

Sonic… was gone.

“I don’t mean to be indelicate here, but someone should gather up a tub of ice. Keep the body fresh.” Eggman just had to chime in. His words only made Y/n cry worse, in her fit not noticing how her body began to hum the tune she usually sang. Her tears got soaked up into Sonic’s fur, in turn beginning to make his fur hum in return. Were her abilities… healing him? But how could that be possible? Could her powers be deterred due to the emotions she was going through?

“I’m so sorry, Sonic…” She whispered, just quietly enough that he would have been able to hear. “I’m such an idiot…”

“Oh please, he was just a silly little alien! And so is she, regardless of pre-biology! They don’t belong here!” Robotnik cried out in frustration, angered that a death was getting involved in his plans to take the two and go. His insensitivity struck a flame in Tom as he turned towards the man, jaw clenched.

“Those little aliens know more about being human than you ever will. And they aren’t Bonnie and Clyde, their names are Sonic and Y/n. This is their home.” All the while he was talking, Y/n was finally finding a way to say what she had always wanted to say to him, her words coming out as soon as Tom had finished his.

“...I love you, too.”

Sonic’s eyes burst open, supercharged with energy. Electric blue bolts of lightning shot furiously out of his body, enveloping him in the light as he slowly began to rise to his feet. Y/n broke out into a tearful grin as she quickly scrambled to her feet, watching in amazement as the lightning cast brilliant blue shadows across her face, her own body becoming luminescent with her own light, the hum growing louder by the second. Through the midst of the dramatic moment, Sonic’s electrified gaze met Y/n’s luminous one, and he winked.

Shit was about to go down.

“He’s all yours,” Tom spoke to the two, smiling thankfully as he pulled Maddie along with him to the sidelines, getting everyone to back up. Y/n turned back to her rightful side next to Sonic and they exchanged a small smile before turning back to the doctor, gazes hardening and powers maxing to the top. They saw a look cross over Eggman’s face that they hadn’t seen before as he calculated the effects of the two. They were both much more powerful than he had ever anticipated, super fueled by their emotions for one another and for the situation. One on one, he could have taken them. But combined?

Was he… intimidated?

“I think you have something that belongs to me,” Sonic spoke, forming a fist before him as it became supercharged with a clash of lightning. Y/n couldn’t help but swoon next to him, trying her best to recover from it before he noticed. Their combined electricity made Eggman’s drone begin to malfunction as he swerved in an attempt to regain control, Sonic’s bolts eating away at the control panel.

“These are our powers, and we’re not going to use them to run away anymore,” He glanced over at Y/n for approval, who responded by grabbing onto his hand. Another clash of electricity gobbled up their physical touch as Y/n’s abilities began to merge with his, making the adrenaline go through the roof for the two. “And we’re using it to protect our friends!”

Choosing to take the silent route, Eggman slowly began to ascend, pulling on out the lasers as the tension began to increase like crazy. The lasers slowly found their way to Y/n and Sonic’s body, beginning to line up on every single spot of their electrical fur, especially near the heart. Any normal person would have ducked and ran for cover. But instead?

They stood their ground, a slow smirk beginning to make its way across Y/n’s lips.

Sonic gently let go of her hand as he began to get down into a runner’s formation, the lasers following his every move. Y/n squared her feet, placing her fists out before her and channeling all of her power (supercharged with Sonic’s) into her body, beginning to hum her signature tune slowly and methodically. The second that he launched his missiles, the two took off, racing and flying through the air. They had been practicing communicating without words for years and learning body cues, so the second that Y/n saw Sonic jump from the wall of a building to Eggman’s ship, she knew exactly what to do. With their combined forces, they began to pummel the ship by jumping from the walls and onto the ship and back again so quickly that they became nothing but electrical blurs in a moment, setting the whole city up with light. Robotnik did his best to take cover as the windows began to break from their impact, trying not to admit that fear was rising in his chest.

Finally, the two skidded to a stop a couple meters away from him, making quick look-overs to assure that they were alright.

“Oh, now you’ve done it!” Robotnik scoffed angrily.

“News flash, Egghead! We’re not leaving earth. You are. Star Chaser?” He looked over at his partner in crime, who flashed him a knowing smile.

“But of course! Donut Lord?” She turned to her father just as he pulled out one of the rings. He sent them a wink and threw the ring straight behind Robotnik’s ship. Robotnik fueled up his ship and launched it forward with just as much flame as his fury at the same time that Y/n and Sonic began racing towards it. In slow motion, the two began to form the position that Longclaw had taught them a very long time ago in order to use both of their powers to the fullest extent. While Sonic curled up into a ball, Y/n used her powers to float behind him, and used all of her might to give him a super charged push, sending him flying into Robotnik’s ship. As time fell back into place, Sonic burst into the nose of the ship, their combined power causing the entire drone to crumble into pieces, sending Robotnik’s screaming figure straight into the portal to Mushroom Land. The portal closed with a blinding bright light and Sonic and Y/n gradually powered down as the city erupted into applause.

Sonic turned to his partner and gave her the cutest heartfelt smile she had ever seen, holding his arms out wide. She let out a tearful chuckle, e/c eyes returning to normal as she crashed into him, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist and burying her face into his shoulder.

He was alive. And he was okay.

Tom and Maddie jogged their way over to the two just as they reluctantly pulled away, cheeks beginning to turn a bright red as they realized they were going to have to talk soon.

“You did it!” Tom cheered ecstatically.

“No, WE did it,” Sonic corrected, smiling at the two. Tom held up his hand proudly, and Y/n and Sonic jumped up and had a classic Three-Musketeers-inspired high five. A huge smile spread across his lips, and in his ecstatic happy fit, he did the only thing he could think of.

He picked Y/n up by the waist and spun her around.

Y/n was shocked at first, but gradually began to relax into it, letting out a gleeful giggle until Tom cleared his throat and they both froze, Sonic holding Y/n up and her hands resting on the top of his head. Tom raised an eyebrow and Sonic quickly set her down, sheepishly putting his hands behind his back and smiling innocently.

“Ugh, Dad,” Y/n rolled her eyes, but smirked at her father. He simply shrugged.

“Just doing what dads do, kiddo.”

♡♡♡

A few days after the showdown, Tom and Maddie were enjoying a nice, quiet Monday when a loud knock came at their front door. The couple approached the door with caution, glancing at each other skeptically. Who would be coming to their door this late in the afternoon? They swung the door open to reveal a man in a very official looking uniform holding an envelope with two men in military uniforms standing guard by his vehicle. The man gave them a warm smile, causing the skin around his eyes to wrinkle.

“Good day. Are you Mr. and Mrs. Wachowski?” He asked in a deep voice.

“Uh, yep, that’s us,” Tom replied. The man held out the white envelope to the two.

“A token of appreciation on behalf of your keeping quiet about recent incidents that never occurred.” A bit condescending, but who were they to decline a free compensation from the government, am I right? The two chuckled in surprise, Tom taking the envelope from the man and smiling at his wife.

“Wow, wonder what it is?”

“Money to fix the house?” Maddie suggested, her mind instantly going to the wreck that had been left in their place after their first run in with the crazy doctor. Tom nodded.

“Or a letter from the president?” He asked. The man simply smiled.

“You’ll see.” Tom finally ripped the envelope open and pulled out a slim piece of folded parchment. He smiled excitedly at his wife and flipped it open to reveal…

“A… fifty dollar gift card to Olive Garden?”

“Have you tried the Never Ending Pasta Bowl?” The man asked, paying no mind to their obvious dejected expressions. “It never ends!” The two nodded awkwardly until Maddie finally broke the silence.

“Yep, well, thank you! We really appreciate the gesture.” The man nodded and turned to leave right before a question popped into Tom’s head.

“Oh, hey, I guess we can close the file on that Robotnik guy, right?”

“I’m sorry, sir, but no such person exists or ever has existed.” He said blatantly, adding an emphasis to the final part.Tom nodded, clicking his tongue.

“Wish that were true.”

“You haven’t by any chance been in recent contact with two, oh, I don’t know, exotically colored alien creatures, have you?” The man asked, using small hand gestures as he spoke. It was quite obvious who he was talking about. “We would love to have a chat with them sometime, very casual. Maybe a brunch, perhaps.”

Yes. Yes. They would take two very powerful alien hedgehogs who sent an evil doctor to another dimension to brunch. Totes casual.

Yep.

“Oh, you mean the Bonnie and Clyde hedgehogs?” Tom finally asked, allowing the images of his foster daughter and Sonic to pop up in his brain. The man excitedly nodded. “Oh, no, no. Haven’t spoken to the two of them since the incident and probably won’t ever hear from them again.” The man stayed silent for a moment, not doing a very good job at hiding his skepticism as even when they bid their farewells and closed the door, he remained staring through the cracks until the door was shut in his face.

“To be honest, I’m pretty pumped about that Pasta Bowl,” Tom chuckled as the two began to walk back into their living room where their dog rested on the couch next to a certain ice blue hedgehog.

“Not if I eat it first,” she teased, e/c eyes glittering at the mention of food. Sonic’s head popped up from behind the couch and he folded his arms across the top of Y/n’s head, making her ears go to the sides.

“So, you guys wanna watch a movie, or what?” He asked.

“Sorry, bud,” Maddie sighed, leaning into her husband’s side. “But it’s a school night. Time for you to go back to your cave.” Both Y/n and Sonic’s jaws dropped open, the defenses piling onto their tongues.

“What? Mom, come on!” Y/n protested.

“Yeah, it’s only three in the afternoon!”

“You know how you get when you’re tired. And besides, Y/n has some homework she needs to get done without any distractions.” The icy hedgehog’s cheeks burned a deep crimson as her mouth clamped shut. Maddie giggled at her daughter’s reaction, watching as Sonic sighed in defeat, and slid over the couch to begin walking towards the door. Y/n was quick to follow after him.

“I’m not like anything! You guys are so uncool! And I’m not distracting! Right, N/n?” He looked towards his partner in crime only to find her staring dreamily at him with her hand supporting her chin. She quickly snapped out of it once she realized he was staring at her.

“What? Oh, no, of course not! I concentrate just fine around you!” She lied like a sinner in church. A smirk formed on Sonic’s lips as he turned to grab on to the door handle.

“Hey, buddy, where are you going?” Tom asked, a knowing smile on his face. Sonic turned around and looked at the family in confusion.

“You said I have to go back to my cave.”

“We did,” Tom looked over to his daughter and gave her a warm grin. “Y/n?” She took her que with great excitement as she rushed over to her crush and grabbed his hand in hers, practically dragging him all the way up to the attic. As they entered the room, Maddie switched on the lights to reveal an (almost) exact replica of Sonic’s cave back in the woods with some personal touches like a racecar bed, some holiday lights, and some pictures that someone had taken on the great escapades of the Blue Blur, Star Chaser, and Donut Lord. Sonic’s jaw dropped open as he raced across the room, taking in the grand gesture with a pure heart.

“Oh my god… you guys did this?”

“Yep,” Tom and Maddie grinned next to their daughter. “You’re part of our family now, bud.” Sonic felt his heart melt at his words, it was all that he ever wanted. He jumped up onto his bed as the other joined in, Y/n and Sonic in between Tom and Maddie. They all exchanged a big group hug, savoring the sweetness of the moment.

“And Y/n’s room is right down the hall if you need anything,” Maddie chimed in.

“BUT don’t get any ideas,” Tom quickly burst in, making Y/n snort.

“Dad. Don’t make it weird.”

“It’s my job to make things weird.”

♡♡♡

What’s that? No? Flawsome Bandits ISN’T over yet? Even though Alison already reached the end of the movie plot line? That’s right, you incredible darlings, you! Flawsome Bandits is not ending at just 8 chapters! Now, I’m going to explain a little bit so please take the time to read this message. This next part of the story is going to revolve around what I am imagining a sequel to be like by analyzing the post-credit scenes of the movie and what I know about the very messy Sonic the Hedgehog plotline. That being said, it is NOT a sure thing that my ideas will become the very potential sequel. My main idea for the sequel is for Doctor Robotnik to be making his return to plot revenge against our favorite Bonnie and Clyde hedgehogs, but he can only make it back to the realm where Y/n and Sonic grew up and this will be how I introduce Knuckles into the story. I also plan to include Tails as well, and I’m still debating on whether or not to introduce Amy. Metal Sonic may or may not happen, but please let me know if you have any ideas of people or concepts you would like to see in these next chapters! I would love to have some suggestions as I’m looking for a love rival for Sonic (another character that falls for Y/n) and just to help bring more action to the plotline as a whole. There will also be TONS more fluff between Y/n and Sonic, so don’t worry, the gradual buildup was very necessary to prep you all for what’s coming ;) Needless to say, the next update might come a little later than how often I’ve been updating due to me still trying to figure out where I want to take this story. Like I said, suggestions are very welcome! I’ve been experiencing a little burnout, too, so perhaps taking a break to brainstorm with all of you is a good idea. Stay safe and bless all of you little darlings for sticking with me and supporting me through this flawsome journey. It is far from over yet! ;)

♡ a.a.

#sonic #sonic x reader #sonic imagine #sonic the hedgehog #sonic the hedgehog x reader #sonic the hedgehog imagine #sonic the hedgehog movie #sonic the hedgehog movie x reader #sonic the hedgehog imagines #sonic the hedgehog 2020 x reader #sonic the hedgehog 2020 imagines #sonic the hedgehog movie 2020 #flawsome bandits

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ayatosmlktea · 5 years

Note

I saw your post about Crazy Levi can I make a request on when reader and Levi has been dating for more than 3 years but one day they get into a horrible car crash and Levi smashed his head making him bipolar and reader did everything in their power to help him but nothing was working and he had to go to a mental hospital. Angst plz 😂😓

TW: Self-Harm, Mentions of Suicide, Depression, Mania, Bipolar disorder. Please read at your own risk.

𝑵𝒐 𝑯𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝑬𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈

The accident had changed their lives completely, it just had to happen on one of their worst days. They had been so busy yelling at each other, fighting over something that was now so stupid and insignificant that Y/N hadn’t been focused enough to avoid the oncoming collision due to another driver running a red light. The crash hadn’t really been her fault, but her attention had been so focused on proving Levi wrong that she felt like everything that happened after was because of her petty tantrum. It was the universe’s way of saying that her habit of fighting over nothing was going to come back around to wreak havoc and destruction in its wake.

Y/N had managed to walk away with a minor concussion and a few broken bones but Levi had been less lucky. It had been three weeks since their accident and he still hadn’t woken up. She had cried until all that her body could do was feel like it was collapsing in on itself. Her eyes were constantly bloodshot and to anyone she might have seemed high, but she was preparing for the day the doctors would tell her that Levi would never walk up again. She never left his bedside unless absolutely necessary and even then the nurses would have to drag her out of his room.

“I’ve never prayed in my life and I must seem like the biggest hypocrite ever but if there’s anyone up there listening…please just give him back to me. I swear I’ll never start stupid arguments again just let him wake up” She had lost count of how many nights she’d spent pleading to whatever omnipotent being was listening to her desperate cries for help. All she wanted was to see his beautiful stormy eyes open again so she could apologize and beg for his forgiveness.

Her prayers were answered shortly after, it was a miracle! That’s what the doctors had said, and Y/N would take it. Whatever conditions were attached to him waking up didn’t matter, Levi was finally back.

“There’s been significant damage to his frontal lobe. You might start noticing some changes in his personality, if it gets to a point where he becomes a danger to himself or you give this number a call.” Levi’s primary doctor handed her a small black business card. Sina Institute for Mental Health. The words settled in her stomach uncomfortably. She really wanted to believe that Levi wouldn’t change, maybe with time he’d recover from the trauma. Maybe the doctors were over-exaggerating, Levi was resilient he’d pull through!

____________________________________________

“Welcome home Y/N! I missed you so much, you’re not going to leave me are you?” The sing-songy voice that greeted her as she walked through the front door didn’t make her feel welcome at all. Levi’s recovery was going worse than she had ever expected. The man living with her was not someone she recognized at all anymore. She never knew which Levi she was going to come home to and it was starting to make her feel anxious as soon as she started her trek home. On top of their already pricy rent and other costs their expenses had quickly skyrocketed due to their medical bills and Levi’s medication. Levi was on sick leave from his job, still not at a satisfactory level of physical or mental well being to return to work fulltime meaning that Y/N was shouldering the majority of their bills.

“I’m not going to leave you, you know I’m doing overtime at work. I called you earlier to let you know I’d be home late.” Putting her bag on the counter she walked over to the fridge to pour herself a giant glass of wine.

“I was thinking that our place could use some new furniture don’t you think? So I ordered a bunch of stuff online! Isn’t that great?” Y/N had to fight the urge to vomit while her fingers gripped the neck of her glass tighter. The stress of having to juggle all of their bills was already stressing her out to the point of not being able to sleep at night and now Levi’s habit of impulsively maxing out their credit cards was becoming too much.

“Levi we talked about this, you’re not supposed to use the credit cards unless it’s an emergency” Y/N couldn’t hold back the long sigh that left her lips, everything was just becoming so pointless.

“I know but I was cleaning before and it just didn’t feel right.”

“What didn’t feel right?” She asks not really wanting to know the answer.

“I don’t know! I just feel like something big is going to happen soon and we need to clean this dump up” His cheerful words clawed at her gut, Levi was never one to spend money recklessly. While she wasn’t as much of a neat freak as he was; she still tried her best to keep their shared space as clean as possible knowing that his mania was easily triggered by the slightest mess.

“Did you take your medication today?”

“I don’t need them! I feel better, honestly!” Her eyes began to burn with tears of helplessness. She had thought she could help him work through the mess his head was in. Researching for hours on the internet for ways to make it easier on adjusting him to being on his own without throwing himself into a depressive fit.

She’d anonymously called the number the doctor had given her asking for possible diagnosis based on the symptoms Levi displayed within the past three months. While they weren’t able to give her an accurate diagnosis without actually talking to Levi they’d been fairly sure his symptoms were similar to that of Bipolar disorder.

Y/N didn’t want to accept it at first, the Levi she had fallen in love with was stubborn and strong-willed. If anything, he was the one who had held her together. He was always rational and now the tables had been turned, Levi was not Levi. His manic episodes made him jittery and impulsive. His depressive episodes had her on edge constantly, normally she could talk him down from doing something irreversible but it seemed like their luck had finally run out.

____________________________________________

Y/N had come home later than she had intended, it was well past midnight and she knew Levi was going to be up waiting for her to come back. She had tried calling his phone but he wasn’t picking up. She bit her lip nervously, it was never a good thing when he didn’t answer his phone. Her hands were shaking with anxiety when she unlocked the door. The apartment was dark and quiet yet something lurking in the darkness was screaming at her to turn away and walk away. Flicking the lights on the sight of drops of blood trailing from the kitchen into the hallway had the hairs on the back of her neck standing.

“Levi!” She called out not bothering to remove her shoes as she followed the trail leading to their bedroom. Holding her breath she pushed open the door that was already ajar. Levi sat on the edge of their bed, his face covered with his hands and his shoulders trembling slightly.

“Levi?” Cautiously she approached him, her fight or flight response ringing like a siren in her ear to get out. His head shot up at the sound of her frightened voice, eyes red and wet with tears.

“You promised!” His tone was accusing and all too loud for her to feel remotely safe.

“I’m really sorry! I didn’t mean to get home so late! Did you hurt yourself?” Trying to stay calm enough to let him allow her to get close to him was proving to be more difficult as each second ticked by.

“I don’t want to live if you’re going to leave me! Tell me you aren’t going to leave me!” The crimson stains on his shirt and their bedsheets had Y/N on the verge of a panic attack. She couldn’t help him on her own anymore.

“I’m not going to leave you. Please let me help you, you’re bleeding everywhere!” Hysteria was creeping into her throat, every minute that she watched the shell of the man she used to know made her heart pound uncomfortably in her chest.

“I don’t need your help! I don’t need anyone’s help! You think I don’t see the way you look at me? Like I’m some kind of monster? Like a fucking freak!” Tears streamed down her cheeks as he began screaming at her.

“I don’t think you’re a monster” she choked out in between sobs trying to catch her breath. Her hands reached out to him hoping that physical affection would help calm him down. Instead Levi violently shoved her out of his way to lock himself in the bathroom.

“Levi let me help you please!” She shouted banging her fists against the door uncaring of how loud she was being. Her head started to feel light headed as she began to hyperventilate. Through blurry eyes and with shaking fingers she called for an ambulance.

____________________________________________

Levi had screamed that he hated her several times that night before the paramedics had given him a sedative. His voice infiltrated her dreams, every night she’d wake up to the image of his blood on her hands. It had been a few weeks since she’d admitted him to the psych ward, as much as she loved him she couldn’t bring herself to face him. Y/N was consumed by guilt, she’d sit in her car for hours outside the institute before going back home. There wasn’t anything she could say that would make up for her failed attempts at helping him. She had promised Levi that she wouldn’t leave him but it seemed like sometimes promises had to be broken.

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streetlightyeri · 5 years

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you’re looking at me like you don’t know who i am ; damon salvatore [part 1]

part 1 to house of cards

prompt: a girl shows up at the door of the boarding house looking for directions, and somehow manages to find her way into the elder Salvatore brother’s heart, only for her to see what he truly is

word count: 10,007

“blood on my shirt, rose in my hand, you're looking at me like you don't know who I am”

A knock on the door brought Stefan out of his thoughts; he listened to see if Damon would get up and answer it, without a doubt close to the door than he was. No sounds of movement came to his ears. He sighed and pushed his chair back. As he walked down the stairs, he saw Damon reading a book. “Really? You couldn’t have answered the door?”

He shrugged, smirking, “Couldn’t hear it.”

Stefan sighed once again, opening the door to see a girl he’s never seen before. Her beachy blonde hair was pulled into two buns on either side of the top of her head with two red scrunchies, two small pieces of hair hanging by her face. She was wearing a yellow graphic tee tucked into a pair of jeans that were held up by a black belt, bringing attention to her socks and shoes. Her eyes were complimented by a light taupe eye shadow and long winged liner; the fading sun caught the white highlight on her cheekbones. She had a confused look on her face as she looked up to Stefan, her hands grabbing the straps of her booksack.

“May I help you?” Stefan asked, holding the door in his right hand.

“Uh, hi, my name’s Angel, uh” she gulped, “Do you know the way back to town from here? I’m really sorry to just knock on your door, but I went on a walk and I got lost. I’m knew in town.” At the sound of a voice he didn’t know, Damon put his book down and walked up behind Stefan, seeing the short girl at the door. The two brothers looked for any sign that she was a vampire or anyone working for a vampire, but she really just seemed to be a lost girl.

Damon began talking before Stefan could, pointing down the street where the lamps were beginning to turn on, “It’s that way, but it’s kinda dangerous around this time of night. I can walk you back to town, if you’d like.”

“O-oh, I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you,” she spoke, her right foot on its toes on the other side of her left foot.

“Not a problem,” he opened the door more, “Want to come in while I go grab my jacket?”

She hesitantly walked into the boarding house, her eyes filled with wonder at the sight of the enormous living room. While she sat on the couch, looking around in awe, Damon had went upstairs to grab his coat, followed by Stefan after he got her a bottle of water. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Oh, relax, I’m not gonna bite her,” he paused, looking back at his brother and giving him a wink, “yet.”

“Don’t try anything Damon; she seems like she won’t interfere with us later on.” Stefan warned, before going back to his room to finish what he was doing earlier.

Damon rolled his eyes before taking one last look at himself in the mirror and popping his jacket collar. He walked downstairs to see the girl standing and looking at the pictures on the wall, her booksack leaning against the couch where she had been sitting earlier. He cleared his throat, making her jump and turn around; she nervously tucked one of the free pieces of hair behind her ear before speaking, “I’m sorry for looking! I was just amazed by how nice everything in this house is . . .”

Damon let out a breathy laugh, “You’re fine. You ready to go?”

She nodded, putting her water bottle in her booksack and putting it on once more. Damon walked to the door and held it open for her, sending the back of her head a short questioning look once she walked passed and gave him a “thanks.” There was something about this girl that he didn’t understand . . .

As the two were walking to the end of the boarding house’s driveway, she began to make conversation, “How long have you lived in Mystic Falls, uh, what is your name by the way?”

Damon blew out a breath, “Jesus . . . uh, a long time. However, I just recently came back again. And it’s Damon.”

“Missed home?” She looked up to the side of his face, his sharp facial features causing sharp shadows to cast across his face from the street lamps. “Sorry for prying, I’m just super new to this town. Trying to see if it’s worth it.”

“New as in . . . ?”

“Moved in yesterday!” She said with a laugh.

“Why Mystic Falls?”

“Well, I think my brother chose it because he wanted me to finish off my last year of high school quietly.”

“Your brother?” Damon gave her another questioning look, except this time she could see it. His eyebrows came together and his head tilted. His hands were in his pockets as they walked.

Angel sucked in through her teeth, “Yeah, our mom died right before the end of my junior year and we never knew our dad, so, Mystic Falls it was once I turned 18 and we got all the legal stuff figured out.”

Damon’s eyebrows shot up as he looked ahead, “Sorry for asking.”

“You’re fine, there was a lot of free therapy back in Baton Rouge. For some reason they gave out therapy appointments like people in other towns give out casseroles and stuff.” She laughed, taking the piece of hair out from behind her ear.

Damon let out a low whistle, “Louisiana? That’s a far way to come from.”

“We both agreed it was just time to kinda get as far away as possible without actually having to freeze our asses off. This is even kinda cold.”

“Yeah, it is pretty cold compared to what it normally is like around this time of year. What do you think you’ll miss most about Louisiana? The weather?” Damon asked as the two stopped at a bridge with a stream running under it.

Angel propped herself against the railing with her forearms, looking down at the river, “I’ll miss that, of course, but, and I know this is gonna sound weird, but I think I’ll miss the little stuff like the way we speak the most.”

“What do you mean?” Damon was leaning against the railing with his back, facing the opposite way Angel was, allowing him to she her whole face when he looked down.

Angel thought for a moment, “Like . . . when we put away dishes, we say ‘save the dishes’ or instead of ‘going grocery shopping’ we say ‘making groceries’. It’s just something I grew up with and didn’t know other people didn’t say the same things when I went on vacation to Colorado with my family one year and I asked the hotel desk worker where I could save the pens and he just stared at me and asked what the pens were in danger of.

“It seems weird, but I think it’s a comfort thing. My grandma’s first language was Cajun French, so it just makes me feel connected to her. And - sorry,” Angel let out another laugh, “I’m rambling.” She stood up straight and gave an eye smile to Damon, before letting out a shiver.

Damon’s gaze never left her face as she spoke, and when she smiled he felt something deep in his chest twitch, something telling him he had to protect this girl. So, when he saw her body shake from the breeze that passed against the pair, he didn’t hesitate to take his jacket off and hand it over to her. She gave him a thankful look before taking her booksack off and slipping it back on. He noticed that his jacket completely swallowed her, her hands no where to be seen and it went down to the middle of her thighs.

“Oh, it’s really warm. Thank you,” Angel smiled up at him once again.

The two fell into a comfortable silence as they continued walking, the sound of Damon’s boots hitting the sidewalk was an odd comfort for Angel and the sound of the different charms on her booksack’s zipper rings hitting each other was an odd comfort for Damon. They began to enter the city, obvious by the increase of cars going by them and the decrease in the noise of the cicadas. Damon was walking on the outside, near the road. “Can you tell how far you are, yet?”

“Uh, I’m pretty sure it’s the turn up there. If you want to turn back home, you can. I’m sorry for making you walk all this way with me.” She looked up to him, her hands in the pockets of his jacket; it smelled like bourbon and sophisticated men’s cologne.

“Came this far, might as well see you home.” Damon said, looking back and forth between houses, getting an uneasy feeling. Someone, or something, was there, and it was hungry.

As the two finally set foot on Angel’s porch, she unlocked the door and opened it, allowing Damon to see a sliver into the house that was filled with boxes. “Hey, why don’t you let me cook you dinner? As a thanks and as a I-don’t-really-know-anyone-else-in-this-town-and-would-like-a-friend thing . . .”

Damon agreed and soon he was sitting in her kitchen, the only room that he could see that seemed to be unpacked and moved in. “What are you in the mood for?”

Damon pretended to think for a second, “How about you teach me how to make something you would eat in Louisiana a lot?”

Angel smiled at the fact Damon was trying to get her more comfortable in Virginia. “How about breakfast for dinner? I didn’t really trust Virginia seafood; feels wrong morally.”

Damon nodded, and as she turned around to go back into her fridge he hit a realization. He neck was out, completely for the taking, yet he felt no desire to bite her. She was too sweet; he was more into random-teenagers-making-out-in-a-graveyard type. Something about her turned off his vampire, and he couldn’t deny that he sort of liked it.

When Damon came back to reality, he noticed the counter was now filled with half a loaf of bread, vanilla, sugar, eggs, butter, and some milk all next to a deep glass pan. He shot her a quizzical look, “What is this?”

“Pain perdu. It’s a childhood favorite. My grandma used to make it for me all the time,” she said with a reminiscent smile on her face, and pointing to Damon for the rest of her sentence, “It’s time you northerner figured out what good Cajun food is. Now, I’m gonna go change, and then I’ll be back!”

“What if your brother gets home and I just look like a creep who wants to steal you guys’ food?”

“He told me he isn’t getting back until around midnight. The only job he could score on such a short notice was graveyard at a convince store nearby.” Then, she disappeared up the stairs.

When she returned, she was dressed in a pair of Adidas shorts and a loose white tee shirt, with her hair pulled into one bun instead of two and her makeup wiped off. Damon felt his heart stop for a moment. “Ready?”

The two proceeded to make pain perdu, something Angel didn’t know made the house feel more like home. It felt like Louisiana, but yet Damon made the idea of Virginia a lot less scary. The two were laughing and having a good time with her speaker blaring Cage the Elephant and Paramore songs. By the time Damon left, it was nearing 10:30.

When Damon closed the front door to the boarding house, Stefan was at his side in a second and his voice sounded venomous, “Did you kill her?”

Damon rolled his eyes and went to take off his jacket, before realizing he didn’t have it. His shoulders fell in an attempt to hide it as he walked to the library, “No, calm down. Just, went inside for a bit.”

“Inside? Damon, you know if you even attempt to kill that girl, the whole town will be on alert again.”

He rolled his eyes again as he filled a glass with bourbon and downed it, “I’m not gonna kill her. Like I said, calm down.”

Over the next few weeks, Damon found himself outside of Angel’s bedroom window more nights than he’d like to admit. He’d toss a rock until she’d open it; he loved the way she leaned against the window on her forearms and peak her upper body out the window and how her freshly washed hair would fall in front of her shoulders and blow in the wind. Her smile when she would see him would go up to her eyes, and each time it caused the pang in his chest that he didn’t know what it was. He just knew that he wanted to be around her as often as he could and he wanted to protect her from everything that was out there.

He would always tell her to jump down and that he’d catch her, but she never believed him until one day where she decided that if someone was going to get hurt, it was going to be him, so what did she have to lose? And lo and behold, he caught her perfectly fine.

When she jumped down today, he didn’t immediately put her down like he usually does, but rather carried her to the edge of the woods behind her house where there was a group of benches next to a creek. She wrapped her arms around his neck and lay her head on his chest and he swore that his heart stopped beating for a few seconds. Everything she did made his heart do that.

When he placed her down on the bench, he wrapped her in his jacket that he had only just recently gotten back. She pulled her knees up to her chest and put her arms through the jacket in order to turn the jacket into a cocoon. Damon took the empty spot next to her and she scooted closer to him so that she could lean her head against his shoulder while he had his arm wrapped around her, rubbing her upper arm ever so slightly. She trusted Damon with her life, which was a weird thing to think about in the long run. After a while of the two enjoying each others presence, he pulled his arm back and reached into his pocket, making Angel get on her knees and sit on her heels as she waited to see what he’d pull out. She sent him a confused look as she saw him pull out a thin bracelet with a glass stone that had a purple plant pressed inside of it.

“I wanted you to have this,” he explained, taking her arm and pushing her jacket back to put it on her.

Her eyes had the same light in them that they did when she walked into his house the day they met, “Damon, it-it’s beautiful . . .”

She looked up at him and they made silent eye contact for a few second before she reached up and pulled him down to meet her lips. The two felt like they were in Disney and the fireworks were going off; it felt like they were water in a lightning storm. By the time they pulled apart, they had no clue what time it was or how long they had been kissing. Damon’s thumbs were in front of Angel’s ears and the rest of his hands behind them; he kept their foreheads connected after the kiss, her arms resting on her knees.

“Angel Robicheaux, will you be my girlfriend?” Damon whispered out, to which she responded with a kiss.

Most people were surprised to find out that it didn’t take a lot of pleading on Angel’s part to convince Damon to go to the Founder’s Party, but most people didn’t know how completely whipped he was for this girl he had met a mere month and a half ago.

“Please? I feel like it’s a way to get to know the people of the town.”

“Trust me, you do not want to get to know the people of this town,” he dismissed. Damon knew that he couldn’t say no to her if he made eye contact with her, so he didn’t. But he could feel them. He could feel her puppy dog eyes baring into the back of his soul. And the ever-strong Damon Salvatore gave in. “Fine, but don’t expect me to be happy about it.”

When he looked back he saw her eye smile, making him look away in order to stop himself absolutely melting to be wrapped around her finger more than he already was.

At the sound of her doorbell ringing through her house, Angel walked downstairs as she put her long earrings in. When she opened the door, Damon nearly passed out; something about her fiddling with her earrings with her tilted head and her glittery eyes that got covered when she smiled matched so well with the light blue dress she was wearing. She looked like she came out of an old magazine. He took a deep breath as he looked her over, “You look . . . beautiful.”

“You don’t look half bad yourself,” she opened the door more as a signal for him to come in as she walked away. He leaned against the door as he shut it, wondering how this girl from Louisiana managed to get him so crazy for her so easily. He would kill to protect this girl.

Angel immediately wrapped her arm around Damon after he went around the side of his convertible and let her out. Her heels added an extra five inches to her height, but the fact she stood at a measly 5′0″ meant she still didn’t even fully reach his shoulders. She leaned into his side, not seeing anyone she really knew yet. Elena, Bonnie, and Caroline promised to be there; the only problem was where they were hiding. Damon leaned down to her ear, “You know, if you ever get bored when we’re here, we can always leave and go have fun elsewhere.”

She gave him a small nudge and eye roll, no longer as close to his side as she had been. He pulled her closer to him again once they got to the “Hello, Mrs. Lockwood.”

She gave Damon a smile and Angel a surprised look, “Come in, come in. Hello Mr. Salvatore. And you must be Miss Robicheaux, my son, Tyler, has talked about you quite a lot, by the way.”

Damon raised his eyebrows at her claim, unable to stop the anger beginning to rise in his chest, “Really? Has he?”

Angel smiled and thanked her, pulling Damon inside before anything could happen. She gave him a look, telling him to let it go before she got on her toes to give him a short kiss, “I only have eyes for you.” He was significantly more calm than he had been prior and her arm once more found itself wrapped around his as they walked through the party.

After a short while of walking through the party, Angel caught eyes with Elena who was standing with Damon’s brother and began leading Stefan in their direction, meeting up with the two at the same time as Caroline and Bonnie and their dates. As the three girls chatted, saying hi to Caroline and Bonnie’s dates, Angel didn’t even realize as she rested her head on her boyfriend’s shoulder. The four didn’t take notice of the unbreaking eye contact between the Salvatore brothers. In minutes, Angel found herself with Stefan, Elena with Damon, and Bonnie and Caroline switching dates.

“Drink?” Stefan offered up.

“I don’t understand how this happened,” Angel stated, taking a sip after letting out a small scoff.

“Caroline’s a sucker for a dance, I guess,” Stefan stated. It was awkward, the two had never really talked before; she wasn’t even sure if Stefan knew she was officially dating his brother. His next question confirmed that suspicion.

“Angel, how serious are you with Damon?”

“Pretty serious for someone I’ve only known for about a month and a half. He asked me out around two weeks ago.”

“He-he asked you out?”

She sent him a questioning look, “Is that surprising or something?”

“Yeah, well, uh, let’s just say Damon isn’t quite over his ex just yet. I’d ask Caroline; she seems to know him . . . well.” He raised his glass to hips lips as she searched for something to say, but was interrupted by Damon and Elena returning.

He wrapped his arm around Angel’s waist, staring Stefan down. Stefan was doing the same. Angel and Elena looked at each other, confused.

“Damon, do you by chance want to dance?” Angel asked, breaking the awkward tension of the group. When he looked down to see her gazing up at him, he gave his first real smile since he had gotten there. He couldn’t look away from her as they danced. Dance was a strong word, it was more of a sway, with her head on his chest and her arms around his neck and his arms wrapped around her. When the slow song ended, she looked up to see him already looking down at her. She had the world in her eyes and he wanted to tell her he loved her at that moment. She lifted her hand to bring his head down once more, but when their lips touched, he pulled back, wincing. A healthy amount of fear covered Angel’s face, and Damon felt bad for making her worry. But he knew that pain: vervain.

“Babe, did you drink something?” He asked.

“Um, yeah, I drank a little bit of champagne with Stefan when Caroline made us all split up for whatever reason. Why? Are you okay?” The two had stopped dancing, standing like stones in the middle of the moving bodies.

He pretended to wave it off, not wanting to ruin her night, “It’s fine, I’m just allergic to champagne, I think.” He smirked and his voice lowered as he raised his eyebrows and moved to kiss her neck. “Just because I can’t kiss you on the lips doesn’t mean I can’t kiss your elsewhere . . .”

She giggled and pushed him back, but almost screamed at the sight of her boyfriend with dark veins around his eyes and his eyes that held a murderous look. “Not here, Damo - oh my God what happened to your face?”

He glanced passed her and into the mirror, seeing his face. He was getting hungry, and his body didn’t like the fact he was so close to her neck and wasn’t biting. He looked down, rubbing his face as he began to push his way outside, “That champagne must’ve been really strong . . . need some air. Stay here.”

Just like that, she was alone on the dance floor. Her shoulders fell as she watched him leave, only to be intercepted by a seemingly-angry Elena for a few seconds before he walked off once again. Tyler Lockwood walked up to her, seeing the whole scene go down. He held out a drink for her, which she took, downing it quickly.

“He’s an asshole,” Tyler began, only to be stopped by Angel.

“Look, I get what you’re trying to do. I’m sure you’re a cool guy,” Angel whispered before walking off, “but please, don’t.”

She began walking by the edge of the river once her head began to hurt; she hoped fresh air would help her, and maybe she could find Damon. The sound the the water spout in the river helped her block the sounds of the party out and focus, trying to ignore the throbbing pain she felt behind her eyes. What could Stefan have meant? What did Caroline have to do with this? Then she saw it. Caroline being held from behind by a guy; a guy she knew all too well.

“Damon?” She couldn’t believe her eyes. “Caroline? What is going on?”

No response. The two looked at her like deer in headlights.

“Are one of you going to explain? Or are you just going to stare at me like I’m fucking stupid?” Damon had never heard her this angry before - hell, he had never even heard her angry before.

Elena’s voice saved Caroline, “Caroline, come see.”

The blonde girl took the escape option, Stefan sent his brother a warning glance before turning to take Elena and Caroline home. Then it was just the couple left.

Angel crossed her arms, her words beginning to slur because of her pounding headache, “When Stefan told me you weren’t over your ex, I assumed he was just giving me a warning or something, and when he told me to ask Caroline about it, I was just confused. But now I see, your ex must be Caroline and you must really not be over her. Damon, I thought we actually had something, but I guess I really was just fresh bait to rebound on.”

Damon moved to grab her shoulders, but Angel went to move away. As she tried to move her foot behind her, her whole body gave out. She fell like a bag of bricks, her eyes rolling back in her head. She would’ve hit the ground had it not been for Damon catching her. He tried waking her, calling her name, shaking her, but she was unresponsive. He picked her up bridal style and hoped that she would wake up, just not in the next few seconds that it took for him to get to the boarding house. When he lay her down on his bed and placed a cold washrag on her forehead, he wrapped her small hand in his large one, rubbing his thumb over it. Before he could whisper “please be okay,” she began to stir. She rubbed her eyes and tried to sit up, but Damon shushed her and made her lay back down. “Hey, hey, baby, be careful.”

“Damon?” She asked and when she received confirmation she groaned, “My head is killing me. I didn’t know vodka could do that to someone. Tyler must buy the pure stuff or something; I don’t even know why I accepted it.”

It couldn’t, but Damon kept that to himself. He would deal with that kid later. Right now all that mattered was her. “What do you remember?”

She groaned again, signaling him to turn off his lamp. “I remember us kissing for like half a second and then you left and then Tyler handed me the drink and then I saw you and Caroline, but I don’t even remember what was happening with that. I just remember I was so angry, something I’ve never really felt before, and then I woke up here. I’m sorry if I said something mean.”

Damon swore he was ready to marry her at that moment, “No, you’re fine. Caroline and I were just, looking for something she dropped.”

Angel nodded as he stood up from his spot next to her hip on his bed to close the windows and the curtains. “Babe, can you do me a favor?”

“What is it?”

“Can I borrow some clothes to change into? And another wash rag? I feel like if I stand up I’ll puke.”

He silently snorted, “I was hoping that I’d see you in my clothes under different circumstances, if you get what I’m putting down.”

“Damon Salvatore, you may be my boyfriend now, but that doesn’t guarantee you will be forever if you keep talking like that.”

His eyes widened and he turned back to his drawers, puling out an old tee shirt and shorts and handing them to her. When he returned with another washcloth, he saw the original one covered in makeup, sitting on top of her clothes. He also noticed that his shorts were still there, only the tee shirt on her. It’s like she loved to drive him crazy. When he went to pester her about it, he noticed she was asleep; he opted to place the new washcloth on the bedside table and placed a kiss to her forehead before going to track down his brother.

Stefan looked up when he heard his door nearly slam open; Damon was standing there, murder in his eyes. He moved to be in front of Stefan and once he was, his chest heaving from angry breaths, he raised his hand and gave him a firm right hook. Damon took a grip of his brother’s collar, bringing his mouth to his brother’s ear. “If I wanted to bite her, don’t you think I would’ve done it by now? If I wanted to kill her, don’t you think I would’ve done it by now? I’m not one to play with my food. If you even think about doing something like that to her again, I swear to God I will kill you myself. You better count your blessings that she was drunk.”

When Damon let him go, Stefan fell to the floor but quickly picked himself up. “You realize you’re going to have to tell her about everything eventually right? She saw the desire on your face, and you knew you were close to biting her. You only didn’t because of the vervain and the people.”

“You’re one to talk,” Damon scoffed, “Tell me how it goes when Elena figures out what you are. Also, the difference between desire and actions is large: actually doing it. The day I put my fangs in that girl is the day I put a stake through my own heart.”

Damon slammed the door behind him. When he went back into his room, he saw Angel was still asleep; he made a move to grab a blanket off of his bed so he could sleep on the couch in his room, Angel let out a sleepy mumble of “stay, please” and grabbed his wrist. When he got in bed next to her, she immediately moved to lay on his bare chest, and she fell asleep once more to him running his fingers through her hair.

He didn’t expect this to go this far. He didn’t expect himself to be head over heels in love with this girl after a month and a half of knowing each other and that ‘half’ was their only two weeks of actual dating.

Damon was lounging in his bed, watching TV as his girlfriend did homework at his desk. He was in need of attention. He rolled to look at her, “When will you be done?”

She sent him a raised eyebrow, looking back down to her calculus, “After however long it takes me to finish it.”

“Can’t you take a break? Or at least do it in bed?” He asked, wanting her to be closer to him than she was. She let out a playful sigh as she gathered her things and moved to sit to the left of his laying figure. She leaned on her right hand to look down into his eyes, and her words came out without her thinking about them.

“You’re lucky I love you, Damon Salvatore.” The second the words left her lips, her eyes widened in realization, as did his. “Sorry, I- uh-”

Damon had never moved so fast; his lips connected to hers to stop her apology. They once more found themselves forehead to forehead, “I love you, Angel.”

The smile he loved oh so much found its way to her face as her cheeks turned red and she slumped down to hide her face. Damon pulled them away and began peppering kisses across her, only stopped by the sound of her notebook hitting the floor, causing her to place her finger over his overactive lips. “Go shower, we’ll see what happens after.”

Angel didn’t think she had ever seen someone get in a shower so quickly. By the time she had reopened her notebook, the bathroom door was closed and the sound of water falling filled the room.

When Damon got out of the shower, he exited with only a towel around his waist, only to see his girlfriend halfway laying down, sound asleep with her homework open on her lap. He sighed lightly, half smiling at how peaceful she looked. He picked up her book and placed it in her booksack and got dressed. Once he had some amount of bottoms on, he took a large, soft gray blanket and threw it over the two of them since she was laying on top of the comforter. He wrapped his arms around her and she sleepily turned around and burrowed herself into his bare chest. He didn’t understand how he had gotten so lucky.

“Do you guys know if you’re doing anything for Halloween?” Elena asked Angel asked the group. Angel was sitting on her bed, painting her toenails with her foot propped up on her bedside table, Bonnie was sharing the large beanbag on the floor with Caroline. Elena was sitting at Angel’s desk, slyly looking at the pictures of Angel and Damon that were pinned to the cork board. She wanted to tell Angel what Damon really was so badly. Elena felt nothing good could come out of the relationship between Angel and Damon; he had to have an alternate motive. There was no way he just genuinely liked this girl; Damon wasn’t capable of that . . . right? Elena and Bonnie never brought up the night of the Founder’s Party, assuming that Damon had compelled her to not remember anything; as for Caroline, they convinced her that it wasn’t a game she wanted to play.

Angel shrugged as she continued painting her nails, “I was gonna see if there was like a haunted house or something around. I was gonna ask y’all actually. Don’t really know what the Halloween scene around here is like.”

Caroline got excited, “There’s a haunted house, we should all go. It’ll be fun.” Then she took a long look at the Elena and Angel, “No boys though. Ladies night!”

Angel laughed as she closed up the nail polish bottle, “Sure. But you can explain to my boyfriend that the reason he can’t see me dressed up as hot Cher from Clueless is because of ‘ladies night’.”

A nice silence fell over the group before Angel broke it, “Hey guys . . . do you think they’ll ever find Vicki? It’s scary to think about. Like, she just . . . vanished.”

Damon went to answer his phone, only to have it snatched out of his hands by Stefan. “Really, Damon? You want to talk to Angel while you have someone who you just turned into a vampire in the house? Not gonna let it happen.”

Stefan let the call go to voicemail, and played it for Damon to hear before placing the phone in his pocket, “Hey, babe, uh . . . I’m going to the school for the haunted house thing. I’ll swing by if I’m not too tired afterwards? Call me when you can, love you.”

On the other side of the call, however, was a dressed Angel. She placed her phone down and took a sad breath as she looked into her mirror; her hair was straightened, going down to just under her breasts, which were covered by a white tube top and a yellow and black plaid blazer. Her skirt matched her blazer and she had white knee high socks on that led to her white Keds. Bonnie came up to Angel when she exited the bathroom, resting a comforting hand on her shoulder, “I’m sorry.”

“No, no. This is ladies night. I am not going to let my dense boyfriend ruin it.” Angel tried to reason, but Bonnie knew there was something else, and Angel knew she couldn’t keep it a secret once the tears began to fall as she sat on the edge of her bed, looking up to her friend, “Damon, he - he hasn’t called me back since we slept together. And I keep remembering this stuff from the night of the Founder’s Party where Stefan told me he wasn’t over his ex and I only remember him mentioning Caroline, but I don’t know what he said about her. I can’t remember anything from that night besides vague details. Bonnie, am I just a rebound? Did I really let myself believe that he saw me as something other than a dumb high schooler?”

Bonnie sat next to Angel wrapped her in a hug, her witch costume not the most comforting material in the world, but Angel didn’t care. After only a few seconds of her comforting, the two were interrupted by Caroline bursting into the room, “Have either of you seen, or even heard from, Elena? Oh . . . oh Angel, what happened?”

When Caroline heard the story, she couldn’t help but glance over to the pictures Elena was inspecting just the other day. She knew she couldn’t tell Angel what was happening between her and Damon, both for Angel’s safety and for the sake of her heart. Caroline took a seat next to Angel and took a hold of her hand, “Listen to me, Angel. I don’t how, or what all happens in his head, but when he sees you, there’s like a button in Damon that changes. We had a . . . thing, but it’s over. There’s something about you; I don’t know what, but you turn him into a different person. Look at your cork board. I never saw a side of Damon like that, he never would’ve agreed to go into a photo booth with me, let alone kiss in one. I think you just need some time away, which is why you’re going to leave your phone here and we are going to have the night of out lives. Now, where’s your makeup bag? We need to touch up your mascara.”

Angel smiled as Caroline pulled her and Bonnie up, taking her to her vanity and sitting her down. Neither of the girls noticed when Angel took off her bracelet from Damon and didn’t put it back on.

As the three entered the school, they were met with Tyler Lockwood immediately, offering drinks. Caroline took one before Angel could protest, and Tyler tried to push one on the other two girls. “No, thanks,” Angel stated, not breaking eye contact, “I think we both know how it’ll turn out.”

“What happened there?” Caroline laughed as she took another sip of her drink before pouring it out into a nearby plant at Angel’s next words.

“I’m pretty sure he tried to roofie me at the Founder’s Party.”

As time passed, the girls began giving up hope that Elena would show. They were slowly descending into a drunken stupor, making sure to check that Tyler was no where near the drinks they got. “Hey, Matt, how’s the party?”

“Great, uh, just feel a little confused,” his voice lowered, “Vicki’s here, so could you guys keep an eye on her if you see her? It took all the power she had to convince me to let her come.”

The girls agreed, a wave of unspoken relief washed over the girl at the news Vicki was safe. They wandered into the haunted mansion, each taking bets on who could get out the fastest and proceeding to slip into different paths. When Angel was running through, trying to beat her friends, she felt a pull at he wrist, only to come face to face with Vicki. “Uh, hi Vicki, are - are you good?”

Angel had never really spoken to the girl alone before, but rather in a group. She didn’t really know how to start a conversation with her normally, let alone after she returned from a stint of being gone from home after she witnessed her friends being murdered. Vicki didn’t respond, but rather grabbed Angel by the shoulders and looked her dead in the eyes before muttering a “hope this works.”

“Go to the exit and wait for me and Jeremy. If Stefan or Damon comes, don’t let them touch me or him.”

Angel nodded and walked off to the exit, taking her outside, where she waited. She stood with an empty look in her eyes, waiting, waiting, waiting.

Damon was sitting at the Grill with Mrs. Lockwood; he didn’t expect his night to be this way. He more expected a Halloween party with his girlfriend, who was without a doubt, dressed hot as hell. Instead, he was holding out on those thoughts so that he could talk to this woman who was 8 martinis in and was revealing way too much about the Founder’s Council. His fingers played with the rim of his glass. “Didn’t you come to the party with a girlfriend? The high schooler?”

Damon mentally apologized to Angel for what he was about to say, “I was just entertaining her for the night. New in town, so what better way to meet the right people of Mystic Falls than to go to the Founder’s Party with a member of a founding family?”

Later, when he was at the school, he walked up to Bonnie, looking down into a cauldron filled with juice. She gave him a sour look, letting him know he wasn’t welcome.

“Why the harsh look? After all, I’m just here looking for my girlfriend,” he said while filling a cup, “And of course, to get that crystal that’s around your neck.”

Bonnie shook her head, narrowing her eyes up at the elder Salvatore, “Which girlfriend are you talking about? Because as far as I’m concerned, leaving a girl in the dark after sleeping with her isn’t the best way to show your affection. Nor is kissing her best friend and turning her into a snack. Angel will find out eventually, and at that point, it’ll be too late to apologize. But you know that, don’t you? Here’s a thought: why don’t you stay away from both of them? And you’re never getting this necklace back.”

Damon tried to grab the necklace off of her, causing it to burn his hand and give Bonnie the chance to run away. As he focused on the burning sensation of his hand, he heard a scream from far behind the school. However, the scream belonged to a voice he knew all to well: Angel.

As Angel kept watch for Vicki and Jeremy, she tried to ignore the sounds of them making out and Jeremy’s confusion as to why she bit his lip. Then she heard Jeremy’s exasperated huffs as Vicki began to become dangerous, yet her body wouldn’t allow her to run or even move. She saw Elena throw open the door to the gym followed by her running to find her brother amongst the school buses, only giving Angel a few seconds to explain why she wasn’t doing anything.

Angel’s response was quiet and calm, “Vicki told me to keep watch for Stefan and Damon.”

Elena knew she couldn’t do anything about the fact Angel was acting under compulsion, so she just had to hope that she would be able to run when given the chance again. Elena moved to pull Vicki off of Jeremy, throwing her into the open space between the buses and the gym; Elena’s hopes for Angel’s safety were immediately thrown out the window when Vicki realized that she hadn’t told Angel to stop Elena also. The next thing Elena and Jeremy saw was a flash of yellow plaid as Angel screamed and landed in a pile of glass. She struggled to stand when Stefan exited out the same door Elena had earlier; when Angel pulled herself up, she hobbled over to Stefan, glass still in her hands, legs, and side causing blood to pour from multiple areas on her body, staining her socks and blazer. She tried to push Stefan back, but he easily stopped her, but couldn’t override Vicki’s compulsion. He pushed Angel out of the way and made his way to Elena and Vicki; Angel went to follow after Stefan, but stopped when she saw Damon. Unaware that she was under compulsion, he moved closer to her, only for her to attempt to push him back, her blood getting on his shirt. “You can’t go, you can’t help Stefan. Vicki told me to stop you. I’m sorry.”

Damon grabbed her wrist and lifted it to his eyes, pulling her blazer sleeve down to see the bracelet he had gotten her was not on her wrist. Damon pulled Angel’s chin down to make eye contact with him, “Don’t listen to her. Listen to me: go find Bonnie, have her take you to the hospital, and forget what happened out here.”

Damon watched as Angel walked away, not looking back. When he looked down he saw that there was blood on his hands, no doubt from Angel’s wounds, he couldn’t stop himself from lifting his hand to his mouth. He was only stopped when he turned around to see a dead Vicki on the ground, Stefan leaving him to deal with her as he went to bring a mentally scattered Jeremy home.

Damon walked over to Elena, who was standing over Vicki. She began hurling her disbeliefs at him, asking him how he could do something like this, just for his own fun. Damon could handle her anger; it didn’t phase him, he truly meant it when he said nothing about Vicki mattered to him. It wasn’t until Elena brought up Angel that he snapped. “What about Angel? Does she really not matter at all to you? What about Caroline? I should’ve told Angel about you before she went off the deep end and fell in love with you. What happens when she find out about the fact you’re a vampire? What happens when you can’t control yourself around her anymore? I saw what you did after she left. Your lies are a web and they will catch you one day, and that day is soon. You’re only going to hurt her and you know it.”

He grabbed Elena by the neck, his eyes filled with fire. “Mention my girlfriend’s name again with the subtext that I won’t protect her and I won’t hesitate to make you regret knowing the Salvatore brothers’ secret. You need to leave.”

“Just stop hurting my friends.” Elena spit out before leaving.

“Hey, Angel, you should come to my party tonight! It’s at the Grill and your boy is gonna be there!” Caroline sung over the phone.

“I would, but I have a lot of college stuff to do. I’m sorry Caroline.” Angel responded, sighing.

“Oh come on, please? Just for an hour? I’ll take you home myself. when you’re ready to leave. You need to have some fun, all you’ve been doing recently is college stuff.” She pleaded.

“Fine, Caroline, just for you.”

Caroline giggled through the phone, “Sure, ‘just for me’.”

“See you later, Caroline,” Angel laughed, hanging up.

Angel once more found herself answering the door to see her boyfriend standing there, dressed in his usual white shirt, black pants, and leather jacket. His mouth nearly fell open when he saw her dressed in a pink cropped sweatshirt over another pure black crop top paired with jean shorts with suspenders attached and two different pairs of fishnets. “Whew, Virginia has changed you. You know every time I see you, you just get hotter, right?”

“That’s the goal.”

“Not gonna wear anything warmer?”

“That’s your job.” She winked at him, making him groan as she leaned over and tied herself into a pair of black Vans before exiting her house and locking the door behind her. “If you can see it from the front wait ‘till you see it from the back.”

He stopped her from walking down her porch stairs by grabbing her and wrapping his arms around her, her back to his chest. He leaned down to her ear, his voice low but still powerful enough to make a shiver run down Angel’s spine, “If you keep acting like this, I will not hesitate to bring you behind the party and make you forget every name but mine.”

She smirked, and something about her glossy lips shining in the little light from the moon drove him crazy as she whispered back, “Well, then don’t do anything to mess up your chance then.”

With that, she headed to his car, leaving Damon there to take a deep breath and look down to hide the desire on his face. He was glad she wasn’t looking at him; he couldn’t hide behind the excuse of champagne anymore. He didn’t look up until she called out for him, “Are you gonna come or will I have to drive myself?”

He shook his head, smiling to himself; she was so perfect. He wanted to live in this moment forever. Her smiling, sexy figure standing by his convertible, waiting for him in the cool autumn night.

When the two arrived to the party, nearly every male in the bar turned to look at Angel with crazy eyes; it was undeniable that she was extremely attractive, especially dressed to the definition of sex appeal. Damon wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pressing his lips to hers before the two separated.

Caroline’s jaw opened when she saw Angel walking up to her and Bonnie, causing Bonnie to turn around and do the same. “Oh my God. You look . . . hot.”

Angel looked confused for a second, “Thanks. I think?”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s a compliment . . . it’s just you normally dress so . . . not dark.”

Angel laughed, taking the empty seat at the table the two were at. “Let’s just say I thought about what you said, Caroline, and you were right. I’m gonna have some fun.”

Bonnie rolled her eyes, “Oh no, don’t tell Caroline Forbes she’s right. She’ll never let you live it down.”

“Well, I’m gonna go get us some drinks. How’s that sound?” The two girls nodded and Angel found herself once again standing. As she was walking to meet Damon at the bar to con him into getting the group shots, she was stopped by a female voice, “He’s not the type you want to mess with.”

Angel turned to see a blonde girl with a round face standing at the the pool table, staring at her. When she gave her a questioning look, the girl motioned her over. When Angel stood next to her, Damon took a look behind him, scanning the crowds, looking to make sure she wasn’t being bothered by anyone. Then he saw her with the crazy, and tuned in.

“My name’s Lexi, by the way. I’m a friend of Stefan’s. The Salvatores and I go way back. I just wanted to warn you about Damon; I saw you walk in with him, please don’t expect more out of him than a night. I’ve seen a lot of girls do it.”

Angel had never been so confused. Why was everyone so cryptic about Damon? What was everyone not telling her? “You mean my boyfriend? Damon and I have been dating for a month.”

Lexi’s eyes widened, “D-Damon asked you out?”

“Yeah, uh, is that weird. Is there something you want to tell me besides that you don’t like my boyfriend? I don’t want to sound mean, but I just don’t understand what this is about.”

Lexi shook her head, looking down in confusion before looking back up and making eye contact with Angel. “Tell me, has Damon ever tried to hurt you?”

Angel squinted at Lexi, “No? Are your eyes okay? Your pupils are like, freaking out.”

“Sorry, just noticed your bracelet. Who got it for you?”

“Damon . . .”

Lexi cursed under her breath, “So you truly like Damon?”

“Yeah? I love him, he treats me like a queen, honestly. Can I go talk to him now?” Angel answered, leaving immediately after Lexi gave a small ‘sorry, yeah, of course’.

When Angel finally got to Damon, she noticed his grip on his glass of scotch was deathly and his jaw was locked so hard it seemed almost painful. When her hand touched his shoulder, his body relaxed. “Hey, baby, you okay?”

He turned on the stool to face her, grabbing her and bringing her closer, whispering in her ear. “Now that you’re here, of course I am. Gonna let me shoot my shot, yet?”

“Too early in the night. I promised Caroline I’d at least stay an hour. After than, we can have as much fun as you’d like. For now, why don’t you entertain my group and buy us some drinks?” She teased, her elbow resting on the bar and her head propped up on her fist.

He groaned, “You’re gonna make my pockets hurt.”

She sent him a wink before taking the drinks back over to the table, “That’s the point.” When she arrived to see a peeved Bonnie and no Caroline, she sighed and handed Bonnie the extra shot that was meant for Caroline.

“She tried to rip my necklace from my neck.” Bonnie explained, “She wanted it for Damon.”

This night was never ending confusion for Angel, “Why does Damon want some crystal necklace? Why didn’t he ask you himself?”

Bonnie gave Angel a smile, but there was pity in her eyes, “Angel, how much do you actually know about Damon? Have you seen him around others, like, truly, not just in passing? Have you seen him interact with Caroline, ever, not when you were drunk? He’s bad news; I don’t know what’s up with him around you, or if it’s even real. I don’t know how you fit into the bigger picture. But you need to be careful around him.”

Angel couldn’t respond before Bonnie got up and walked to meet Elena, who was taking her turn with Lexi, but her conversion seemed to be going a lot better. Angel took a deep breath and downed her shot, heading to the bathroom.

The bathroom door closed behind Angel, and she went to make the corner, but she saw Caroline talking to Damon at the end of the hallway. She stopped and moved out of sight, but luckily she was still in earshot. She heard everything, all the insults he hurled at her, but shallow was the one that hurt the most. He didn’t know Caroline like that. She seemed shallow on the surface, but she really just wanted the best for her friends. When she heard the sound of Damon’s boots beginning to walk away, she couldn’t help the anger inside of her that caused her to walk up to him and grab the back of his jacket, causing him to turn to see what idiot was doing that. His eyes widened when he saw that it was his girlfriend; he had never seen such fire in her eyes. Caroline used the altercation as her chance to get away, but not before she heard Angel defending her.

“Are you fucking crazy? Is that what people mean by how much of a dick you are? This is how you treat other people? Really? I can’t believe I was so fucking blind! You dare call Caroline shallow, but it’s you who’s shallow! You use me as a fuck buddy and tricked me into falling in love with you,” Angel grabbed his jacket and pulled him down to ensure that only he could hear her last sentence, “If you dare insult anyone else ever again, I swear you;ll hope you never see me again.”

Angel tried to walk off, but Damon grabbed her wrist, trying to get her to listen to him, but she shook him off, her bracelet coming off into his palm. Her words were venomous; he had never seen her like this before, “Let go of me or I will scream.”

Damon watched as she stormed out the Grill through the back exit. He heard Lexi behind him, warning him to not go out after her, “You don’t want to play that game right now.” It took everything in him to not kill her right then and there; that was for later tonight. He pushed passed her and took his seat back at the bar, ordering the strongest thing they had three times over.

Angel’s star gazing session behind the Grill was interrupted by the sound of a commotion happening up front. She walked up the side of the building, confused as to what was happening. When she heard a scream, she began running towards it. She couldn’t just stand there while someone could need help. She ran through the overgrown pathway, landing in front of a tunnel to the right of the Grill. She took a glance down to see Damon standing there, his teeth sunk into a sophomore, forcing his girlfriend to watch. She screamed, causing Damon to look up and blood to spill from his mouth onto his shirt. Damon dropped the boy and began to approach Angel, but she ran as fast as she could, but she wasn’t fast enough. He stopped her on the sidewalk, grabbing a hold of her from behind; he kept a hold of her as she began crying and begging him to let her go. “Please, Damon, let me go, please. I promise I won’t tell anyone what I saw. Please. I’m sorry for what I said earlier, please don’t kill me. Please let me go.”

He had never seen so much fear in anyone’s eyes. Her sobs hurt to hear and her struggling hurt to feel. It pained him to know she was like this because of him. “Shhh, shhh, I won’t hurt you.” He tried to move the hair out of her face, but it proved to be a bad choice on his part. She moved to cover her neck with her hands, fer face covered in tears.

When she realized he wasn’t letting her go, she seemed to accept death and began challenging him, thought she still thrashed in his grip. “You killed that boy. Did you kill Vicki? Did you kill those people in the graveyard? How many other people have you killed? Have you ever thought about how they felt, or how their families felt? Not knowing what happened? You’re a killer. A murderer.”

Damon grabbed her face and brought her eyes to meet his, his pupils moving; the fear was now mingling with anger and hatred. Those were the three things he hoped he’d never see in her eyes; he had promised himself at one point to kill whatever caused that pain, but right now, he had to accept that it was him and all his lies that caused her pain. “Listen to me. Stop thrashing.” Her body went limp, and he hated himself for it. He also promised himself that he would never compel her for his own gain. His heavy breathing didn’t let him feel as she reached her bracelet that was peeking out of his jacket pocket, thinking of Lexi’s comment about it earlier when her pupils did the same thing. “Go home. Forget this happened.”

He watched as she walked down the street, headed towards her house. He almost missed the small clink of something hitting the pavement next to her. Her bracelet.

She didn’t forget. She knew; she knew too much.

#damon #salvatore #damon salvatore #the vampire diaries #stefan #stefan salvatore #imagine #damon salvatore imagine #damon imagine #one shot #damon salvatore one shot #teeth 5 seconds of summer #5sos #teeth #teeth5sos #5 seconds of summer #song fic

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toothpastecanyon · 4 years

Text

Noie’s Brother, Chapter 19

Thank you so much to @feferipeixes for betaing this story!!

Fate sometimes rhymed, but Alcor felt like this one was a little on the nose. A newborn Mizar fading away in the hospital and a loving father pleading to him from behind a circle of candles.

Fate sometimes rhymed, but Naomi Argenta just wants this stupid vampire to stop harassing her brother. It’s making him go… weird.

See most updated version on Archive of Our Own.

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Noie was lost. Her thoughts were on fire. She stood in the hall, trembling with the need to run, to scream, to do anything to escape this.

What was she going to do? What the fuck was she going to do? Oh, stars, oh stars, oh, stars…

Noise filtered through her ears. She stood, frozen, as Dipper’s quiet sobbing leaked through the door behind her. Down the hall, David and Allie were talking - it sounded like they were still having dinner.

“Oh, this pasta is, is lovely, David. Do we have to go shopping today?”

“You don’t think it’s to do with me, do you?”

“Huh?”

“You don’t think she’s mad at me?” Cutlery clinked against the plate. “Is it still because of that movie thing? I don’t understand…”

“Who’s mad at you?”

“Naomi.”

“Naomi who?”

“N- what? Oh, for god’s sakes, Allie!”

“What!”

“Ugh…”

“David? Why are you angry at me?”

“It’s… don’t worry about it.”

“Da-”

“Don’t worry about it. Just eat your st- just eat your dinner.”

Naomi found herself backing away from the kitchen, ears buzzing, throat tightening. She needed somewhere quiet. Somewhere to clear her head.

She glanced at the living room where the TV was still on, playing an advert. Not there.

She backed up a little more, then set her jaw, whirled around, and shut herself into Allie’s study.

Noie breathed. She breathed. She breathed. She pressed her face against the door, and stared into the darkness.

Her thoughts wouldn’t stop racing. It was like… like a bomb had been set off in her mind.

She didn’t know what to think. She’d been putting off thinking about this so long that her only thought was what now?

Dipper was a demon. Dipper killed their dad - her dad.

What now?

What was she supposed to do now? Carry on like it didn’t happen?

Noie gulped. She… she really wanted to do that, but she couldn’t, could she? Dipper killed somebody, and not just anybody, her dad! Her actual dad! You gotta hate somebody for that!

So… she hated him, maybe? Then why did her gut still drop at the thought of him leaving forever? Did she really want to hang around some kind of murderous, demonic, angry, violent… Dipper?

Noie banged her head against the door. She didn’t want that. She couldn’t want that. With everything Dipper confessed to her, how the fuck could she call herself a good person if she knowingly hung out with a murderer!

A gasping sob escaped her mouth, and she covered it. Her shoulders shuddered, and she just slid down the wall, shaking her head. Through blurry eyes, she turned to look at Allie’s desk, and found herself in its looming shadow. It stood tall, so much taller than her, and the shining pictures of Leon and his happy fucking family glared down from on high, watching her, judging her. She curled up into a ball, but she couldn’t escape them, couldn’t stop thinking about the terror she felt as Alcor pinned him down, claws digging into his shoulders, teeth bared, voice bellowing… like a monster.

Your brother is a monster. He killed me. He killed this.

What now?

Noie gripped her head until it hurt. “I… don’t… know! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I don’t know!”

She sobbed into her hands, and the air was filled with guilty silence. She sobbed, and she sobbed, and she sobbed, until those sobs turned to sniffles, turned to stillness.

In the darkness, curled up with her forehead pressed to her knees, Noie’s thoughts were finally still. She took in a breath, and let it out, slow.

…

She needed that.

She still didn’t know what to do about Dipper, but she could at least think about it without the very notion of his true nature sending her into a panic.

Slowly, she lifted her head. Her eyes had finally adjusted to the dark, and she looked around and saw everything in shades of grey. The carpet was brighter than the walls. The desk still loomed, but she could pick out the detail in the wood; it wasn’t featureless. A slit of moonlight fell just short of her feet, and she moved her leg to catch it.

Noie spread her toes, then clenched them. She flattened out her foot, and dragged it slowly through the carpet. She watched this for a while, and then she drew herself back, and rose to her feet.

She walked to the desk. Her eyes were trained on the shutters, and the moonlight streaming through them, and she didn’t look down at the desk when she reached it. She didn’t look at the picture frames that crowded around her.

She clasped her arms before her, and hesitated.

Finally:

“Dipper?”

Her voice sounded remarkably clear; she expected it to wobble. After a moment of silence, she opened her mouth again.

“Dipper. Please come here.”

Nothing and no one answered her. She waited, and waited, and waited… and then she sighed. Dipped her head. One of her hands wrapped around an empty ring finger, and she closed her eyes.

“Dipper…” Naomi took a deep breath. “Stella splendida, vos invoco. Vos invoco ut faciatis voluntatem meam. Dico nomen vestrum: Alcor.”

The chant rolled off her tongue… surprisingly easily. There felt like there should be some kind of change in the air, some kind of difference after the words left her lips, but nothing happened. Nothing happened.

Then, there was a sound from behind her. She turned around, and came face to face with her brother, Alcor the Dreambender.

Her heart still stopped at the sight of him. Wow, he towered over her, and the pitch black wings folded behind his back ate the moonlight; she could only make out a void. His suit, and bowtie, and black gloves - they looked nothing like what Dipper would normally wear, and his face…

His face was bowed. It was hard to make out, but it may have been a little blotchy, too. His eyes were closed, and if she looked at nothing else but them, she could maybe see something of Dipper in him.

But she couldn’t help but look at everything else. After everything that had happened, it was all too much, and maybe she didn’t want to talk to him, maybe she was making a mistake-

“Hi…” Noie struggled to name him, then gave up. “Hi.”

“Hello, Naomi.”

His voice: it rang out with a faint, but noticeable echo. It also shuddered a little, like Dipper’s always did just after he finished crying. Noie didn’t know what to say to that.

“Uh…” she pressed herself against the desk, staring down at his shoes. “Do they sell those?”

He paused, at that. Then he looked up at her with the strangest expression. “Wh-what?”

“Demon shoes.” She tried not to shudder at his gold-on-black eyes. “Do you, like, go into a store and try a bunch of those on, or-”

“No, no. they’re part of my form.”

“Part of your…?”

“It’s- um, complicated. Basically, I just… imagine what kind of shoes I want and then they’re, uh, there. They’re just there.”

“So you’re wearing imaginary shoes.”

Alcor rubbed his neck. “I… guess? Heh, uh, I hadn’t really thought about it that way, but yeah? My whole form’s kind of…” He looked over at her, and his voice dropped to a mumble: “imaginary…”

Noie just stared at him.

“Uh, Noie?”

There was something so strange about seeing her brother’s nervous mannerisms on the demon that pinned her down and reached inside of her…

“Naomi?”

She was laughing, now. Or maybe she was crying - it was hard to tell.

“Wh-what’s wrong? Naomi?” He tried to reach for her, then drew back. “I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’ll just-”

“No, wait!” Noie tried to get a hold of herself. “I’m sorry, it’s just… stars, this is so messed up. This is so messed up.”

Dipper flinched back at this. “I know. It’s my fault, it’s all my fault-”

“No, not you!” She hesitated, then broke out into a giggle. “I-I mean, yeah, you, kind of? Actually, a lot… yeah, you, uh, did some weird shit, my dude! Kinda, kinda dropped the ball there! Screwed the pooch. Killed the dad.”

Dipper stared at her like she’d grown a second head. “Uh-?”

“But if you’re so messed up, what the fuck am I doing?” She gave him an angry shrug. “Why the fuck am I talking to you? That’s the real question here!”

“I-I don’t know, why are you-”

“I’m asking you that!” Naomi snapped. “I’m asking you that because I don’t fucking know!”

He jumped back like she’d struck him. She stared down at him, and felt something break in her chest, and all of a sudden she couldn’t stop yelling.

“You told me all these things about Leon, and how you killed him, and you showed me - you put me inside his fucking head while you were slamming it against the ground!” She pulled at her hair like she wanted to rip it out. “You show me all of that, all of that, but you’re not gonna tell me what you think I should do about that?!”

“I-”

“I know you, Dipper! Maybe not as well as I thought I did, but I can see you putting yourself down, trying to get me to hate you! You’re really feeling bad about this whole Leon thing, aren’t you? You just want to drive everyone away so you can go off and feel sorry about yourself, don’t you!”

Dipper was crumpling under her glare. “Noie, I-”

“Well you can’t!” She slammed a fist down on the desk. “Dammit, Dipper, I can’t… I can’t lose you.”

Noie paused, for a moment. She swallowed hard.

“Dipper… I’m not a good person.” She stared down at the picture frames on the desk. “I’m not. You told me all this stuff about how you’re a demon, how you acted like a monster, how you killed Leon… like you think I care.” A lump formed in her throat. “But I don’t care, not as much as I probably should. Dipper Argenta… he’s been my twin brother for as long as I can remember. He’s the only person who talks to me at school. He’s the only person who actually listens to me. He’s… probably the only actual friend I’ve ever made.” She snorted, mirthlessly. “And maybe that says something about me, that I can’t make friends. I dunno.”

She closed her eyes. She just sighed.

“All I know is that I need Dipper Argenta. I don’t care what he is under all that, I… I can’t lose him, I just can’t.”

Silence. Awful, awful silence. After a long pause, Naomi forced herself to look back up at her brother. She watched him look away, and she set her jaw.

“So you need to tell me what you’re going to do.”

She stared at Dipper, and waited for his reply. He struggled to meet her eyes; his ear twitched, and he shot only glances at her before taking a deep, shaky breath.

(Did demons need to breathe? The thought struck her as she watched.)

He met her gaze with those strange, golden eyes, hesitated once more, then opened his mouth…

And then closed it. Frowned. Noie frowned with him.

“What?” She watched his ears prick up. “What are you doing? Dipper?”

He glanced at her, almost started. “H-hold on a second, Noie,” he said, and then he turned and waved a hand. The terrible silence that had descended around them seemed to lift, and all of a sudden Noie could hear beyond the room. It seemed like only ambient noise - the hum of the air conditioner, the chatter of the television - but then Noie heard a voice.

David’s voice.

“Allie!”

Something was wrong; she could hear it.

“Allie, are you there?” A door slammed. Her stomach dropped. “No no no no, where’d you go?”

Noie and Dipper found themselves looking at each other, seeing each other’s panic reflected in their widening eyes.

Noie had no idea what was going to happen with her brother. She had no idea how they were going to fix the great rift that had formed between them, how they’d even begin to patch up the hurtful things they’d said and done to each other…

“Allie!”

But for one, terrible moment, it was like none of that even mattered. Dipper threw open the door, and the two of them rushed as one into the living room.

#transcendence au #Noie #Noie's Brother #toothwrites

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seriouslyhooked · 5 years

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You Look Good (A CS NYE story)

A/N: Hi everyone! I just want to start by wishing you all a happy New Year! This story is actually one I have been working on for a while, and I had stalled out with writing it. A long long time ago a reader asked for ‘You Look Good’ by Lady Antebellum and I love the song but just couldn’t get inspired, and then today I realized a good way to engage with this song was through also engaging with the holiday. So, this is a CS AU oneshot where Emma and Killian are both on holiday get aways in paradise with their friends. They happen to see each other from afar and… well, you’ll just have to read it to see how it goes. Thank you all for reading and thanks to the very patient reader who suggested this song!

“Now this, right here, is the life.”

The words from his friend Will should have been grating, especially since the rest of the men on this boat were all actually pulling their weight this afternoon on the water while Will was lounging about. But still, Killian couldn’t help but agree.

Being out here on the sea was infinitely better than life in the city, especially in the dead of winter when New York was 25 degrees and covered in ice. There the air was frigid and sharp, and here it was clean, crisp, and glorious. The sunlight that had been gone from the north for so long was out in full force here, and the sand and the waves underneath a clear blue sky were the perfect remedy to anyone’s winter woes.

Even with the frozen temps, at home everything was driven by competition and hectic chaos. Business in New York was cutthroat, something he’d learned as the CEO of his own business. There were no breaks. If you wanted to be a success you worked like a dog and you never slowed down, but out here there was a gentler pace of living that held no less purpose even in its quiet calm. It was easy to get caught up in how much more vibrant the world seemed out in these kinds of open coastal spaces, and how much more possibility floated about in the air out here, but soon enough they’d all head back to reality. That was just the way things were. No matter how much he and his friends may enjoy their annual holiday trip to the tropics, they always returned home, waiting and wishing for the next year to end and call them back again.

This trip was a tradition for the four of them, starting way back when Will, David, Graham and Killian had met in college. David had a friend of a friend of a friend who had a place on a sunny island where summer lasted all year long and the rest was history. Things had radically changed since those good old days, what with all of them having time consuming careers and various responsibilities, but the peace they all found out here on the ocean had never waned. This was a critical time of respite for the lot of them, what with Graham taking time off from his police work, Will leaving the run of his bar to his staff, and David leaving the hospital to the care of other residents. But Killian couldn’t help feeling that each year they were getting closer to the loss of this tradition, or at least a substantial change in the way it came about.

It was only a matter of time before his friends started settling down, and when that day came it was unlikely that their girlfriends or wives would embrace a weeks-long guy’s trip especially during Christmas and New Years. It would no longer be realistic to put their lives on hold for such a long stretch, and Killian understood that. For his part, he would actually welcome such an addition to his life, a woman who would miss him too much to want to be apart at this time of year, but he had to be realistic. So far experience had shown him that finding such a match and meeting a woman who he could truly see forever with was a long shot. It would take a miraculous woman to truly speak to his heart, and only that kind of love would entice him into marriage and the whole happily ever after thing.

“You’ve got that look again, Killian,” David joked and Killian raised his gaze to his best mate who looked smug and all-knowing.

“I haven’t got a look,” Killian responded, prompting David and Graham to laugh.

“Sure you do,” Graham quipped. “The dreamy, brooding one. That one women eat up because they think you’re grappling with the universe’s big questions.”

“Maybe I am,” Killian quipped and after a moment they all laughed.

“Nah you’re just worrying,” David explained. “You’re thinking that this might be our last run out here, and you’re probably right, at least the way we do things now.”

“He’s right?!” Will asked, his genuine concern manifesting as a shriek. It was like a banshee, and the harsh tone was so shrill Killian winced.

“Well, yeah. Next year’s gonna be different. I don’t know about you all, but I’m finding my girl. I’ve got it all planned.”

“You’ve planned it out?” Graham asked with a smirk. “And how exactly did you do that, Doctor Nolan?”

“That’s for me to know and her to find out.”

David’s adamant refusal to elaborate prompted some more ribbing from the others, but it only reminded Killian about how sure and true his instincts were. He sensed that this tide was shifting, and he believed David was right. Not about the having a plan to find the woman of one’s dreams– that was bull shit. There was no way one could plan to find a love strong enough to build a life around. But when he said this year was going to be different, Killian found he genuinely hoped that would be true and that hope carried him through the rest of their afternoon out on the water.

By the time they pulled back into port, docking their sailboat in the marina they’d come to know well, Killian was no closer to answers about what he wanted and when it might come. He tried to take solace in the beauty that was the sky at this time of day, with sunset silhouettes dancing, painting lazy, wayward clouds that hung over this seaside place. The shades of pink and orange and gold could never be recreated back home, but while he appreciated the sight, it did nothing to truly calm him. He was restless still, but he supposed that was normal for the last day of the year, and the final few hours before a brand new start. People had a tendency to get antsy in these final moments, and even in paradise it seemed that was to be his fate.

“Well lads, it’s time for the age-old question – Captain Jack’s or Odie’s Place for New Year’s this evening?”

No one answered Will’s eager question as they got into the jeep they’d rented for the two weeks, and that was likely because they didn’t care. Either place would suit their purposes. They wanted a decent meal and a few drinks to get them through to the new year. Other than that, there was little consideration to be had.

“All right then, driver’s choice,” Will responded, hopping into the vehicle and hardly waiting for any of them to do the same before he tore off onto the main road and raced towards their vacation villa.

Absentmindedly Killian watched the scenery around them, noticing the way the docks gave way to the bustling town beside it. The island was particularly busy this year, a sign that perhaps their secret haven might not be so secret after all. Years ago it felt like they were the only foreigners here this time of year, but alas it seemed to be a new and wide-spread trend. Some people were here with families, others on trips that mirrored theirs, but none of these people really mattered to Killian. At least until…

The first thing he noticed about her was her golden hair, which reflected the iridescent light of the year’s last sunset in an almost ethereal way. It was pulled back, likely from hours spent at the beach, but soft and wavy tendrils hung loose, shielding parts of a face so stunning it made Killian’s heart skip a beat and then another. In the three seconds that they were passing her, Killian swore he took in every little detail of this woman – nay, this vision – memorizing her like she was the answer to his every prayer. Her lithe form, her perfect face, the way the smile she was wearing met her eyes and the essence around her that was light and happy. She was an angel dressed in a yellow sun dress, an impossibly gorgeous woman the likes of which he’d never seen, and in an instant he knew that he’d regret every moment he lived from this point on if he didn’t get a chance to know her.

“Stop the car!” Killian yelled as he finally got his wits about him. His eyes stayed on her as Will braked a bit but kept driving.

“What the fuck -?”

“Pull the car over, Will. Now!”

David’s intensity matched Killian’s and if he were able to think of anything outside this girl Killian would wonder why his friend was so animated too, but as the car slowed down, Killian hopped out of the side, and raced back down the street. She was only a little while back, but this place was packed with people and there were hotels and storefronts all around. She could be anywhere, and the realization that she was lost to him damn near gutted the sense of hope he’d suddenly found.

“What the hell is up with you two?” Graham asked, appearing beside Killian and Killian shook his head.

“I thought I saw her,” Killian confessed and he continued to look out through the stream of people, but she didn’t reappear.

“Saw who?”

“The one.”

“The one?” Graham scoffed. “Wait are you serious right now? This isn’t just some sort of sun-induced hallucination?”

“I don’t know,” Killian whispered, fear clinging to him that maybe that’s what she was. Surely now that he thought of it no one could be so perfect or call to him so quickly. Maybe Graham was right? But then he saw her again, this time across the square from where he was. He started moving towards her, and as if she could feel his attention she stopped, looking at him and halting him in his tracks. God she was incredible. She was stunning and remarkable and every other good thing and when he saw her he forgot to breathe. All he could do was stare and enjoy the rush of adrenaline that came in realizing she was doing the same. She was caught too, snared in by this connection between them, whatever it may be.

“That’s her!” David said and Killian looked over, suddenly feeling very territorial and jealous. It didn’t matter that this was his best friend. This woman was off limits. She would be his, at least he hoped. God did he hope.

“Back off David.”

“Not the blonde, dumb ass, her friend.”

Cursing from David? Wow he must be just as caught up as Killian, and when Killian looked back over to the woman who captivated him he saw she had a girl beside her. She was brunette and petite, with a blue dress and the same beach-ready look, but she didn’t hold a candle to his girl.

“Aw shit, not now,” David groaned and Killian looked to see what he meant. Fuck! The end of year festival was happening, and now a sea of people were swarming in, dancing away the bad of this year and ringing in the new one. It was, admittedly, a very cool ceremony, but only when one wasn’t trying to meet the girl of their dreams. Instead the dancing and the noise made Killian agitated, but he couldn’t get around it, and by the time it was all over and they were free to move again, both women were gone and Killian was left feeling stunned and defeated.

“They can’t have gone far,” David said, scoping out the area but there was no sign of them. Eventually they changed tactics, with Graham questioning a vendor selling flowers down below. Killian listened as his friend asked questions about the girls but to no avail and so Killian did the same at other markets and shops. It was crazy, but finally one woman selling bracelets by the beach drive said she’d seen them.

“They came to look at my wears. Fancied a few pieces too, but said they forgot their wallets back at their hotel. They promised to come back tomorrow and get them. Said it would be their last day at the beach. Usually I don’t believe tourists when they say these things, but they had such honest eyes. Good things come to people like that.”

“Did they mention which hotel?” David asked, sidestepping the woman’s local superstitions about ‘honest eyes,’ and the woman shook her head.

“Nah, love. They did say they had to get back to the north side of the island though and there’s not many places out there. They likely at the resort.”

“Which ones did she like?” Killian asked, surprising the woman. Slowly a smile of understanding crossed the woman’s face and she gestured to a woven bracelet with a golden hue and a swan charm. It was unique, even in an array of one of a kind bracelets. “I’ll take it.”

“And I’ll take whatever else they looked at.”

It was a small consolation in all of this, and again, it defied rational explanation. This was somewhat crazy on both Killian and David’s parts, but hell if he could stop it. He wanted to have a piece of her with him, even if it was something she’d never gotten a chance to have. It felt a bit better to have this tiny trinket, and it was even more miraculous to know that tomorrow they’d be at the beach and were planning to come back here.

“So that’s that then. We’ll just be sure to get out here early tomorrow.”

Graham said the words, convinced that everything was now all set, but still Killian felt restless. Tomorrow was better than nothing. He’d been afraid he’d never see her again only a few moments ago, but he also hated the idea of waiting. Now that he’d seen her and he knew she was out there, Killian was eager to meet this woman who entranced him. She had him under her spell and she’d never so much as said a word to him.

“Captain Jack’s,” David said to Will, confusing their friend in the process. “You asked which bar and it’s Captain Jack’s.”

“If you say so, mate,” Will said as they all filed back into the car.

“It’s on the north side of the island,” David said to Killian and Killian agreed it was the best place. It wasn’t a surefire plan, what with the resort being an all inclusive, and them not being one hundred percent certain they were even there, but it made Killian feel better. Upping his chances of finding this girl was all he could ask for and they were doing just that by going north.

The next few hours passed with painful slowness, and by the time they got to the bar Killian was a bit of a wreck. It didn’t help matters that all of this was uncertain. She might not come, she might not like him, hell she might already have someone. That last though in particular scared him half to death, but he had to believe that his instinctive reaction meant something. He’d never felt this way, losing himself at first sight like this. It would be the cruelest trick of fate if she was taken, and if she could never feel the same… God he hated to even think how much that would hurt.

“I feel like my hearts going to give out any second,” David said standing next to him and casing the place with the same intensity. “I know it’s crazy but… she’s just gotta be here, man. I don’t want to wait until tomorrow.”

Killian completely understood, and he was going to try and say some words of encouragement, however half-assed they would be but then something caught David’s eye and his friend’s whole demeanor changed. The excitement that pulsed off of him and the adoration told Killian that she was back and his own heart leapt at the prospect. If her friend was here, surely the girl he wanted was here too, right? But when he looked he only saw three brunettes, and the girl of his dreams was nowhere to be seen. This was upsetting in the extreme, but he waited patiently, knowing at the very least David’s girl could tell her where she was.

Funnily enough, the girl who had caught David’s notice was staring at him with almost the same level of intensity. She gazed at him for longer than strangers should, and then she blushed, and that was all it took for David to start moving towards her. Killian followed, noticing the other two women as he did.

“You think he’s the guy?” one of them whispered. “The one from the festival?”

“Oh totally. Look at her, she’s losing it. I just wish Emma was here to see it. Maybe she’d find her guy too.”

Emma – that must be his siren’s name. He heard it and it just clicked inside of his very being, like it belonged with him all this time. He wanted to say it aloud over and over again, to say it in the heat of passion when he’d kissed her senseless or driven her wild with need. But more than that he wanted to see her again.

“Where is she?” he asked, killing David’s attempt at a smooth first greeting and not giving a damn. “Emma, your friend. She was with you at the beach today.”

“Yes, she was,” David’s girl said. “She’s outside. She said she needed some air.”

Completely neglecting his manners Killian rushed off with only a quick, ‘thanks.’ Outside was a loose description of where she could be. At the front of the bar there were people milling around, but his feet took him to the coast, the place where he would go if he needed space. Out here in the darkness there were yellow lanterns and twinkle lights set up, and the pale glow of the moon, but none of it was needed. For there, with her feet in the waves and her hair whipping in the gentle breeze was his woman, radiating her own kind of light that could never be replicated.

Killian stood rooted to the spot, watching her, for longer than he could really know. Any real coherent thought fled the moment he saw her again. Well, the shape of her really, for in the dark, and from the back like this she was a silhouette, dancing at the shoreline, feet bare and hair flowing in the night’s breeze. Killian didn’t know if the music she swayed to was something she could hear from inside the bar or a melody from her head, but either way he stood transfixed, stunned by not only how beautifully she moved, but how freely she expressed herself. This moment was a snapshot into this woman’s very soul, and it was a happy one, a carefree one that didn’t give a damn about the noise or the buzzing all around them. This girl, Emma, just… was, and Killian couldn’t help moving closer, craving the chance to see this siren’s face.

“Come here often, love?” He asked, his voice carrying across the evening air, the slightest tremble discernable in his tone. Emma, for her part, didn’t even flinch, just shook her head without looking at him, as if he and his question were an afterthought.

“Definitely not as often as you use that line,” she quipped, and he couldn’t help himself. He laughed at her boldness, and he knew she was right. It was a line, but damn if he could come up with anything original. She stole the air from his lungs and the sense from his mind. He was lucky to have uttered anything at all.

“Forgive me, that was bad. Let me try again. Are you interested in a partner, or is this more a solo escapade you’ve got going here?”

Now Emma whipped her head towards him, and whatever he’d felt for her before ramped infinitely. She was a beautiful woman from any distance, but up close that was even more undeniable. Her soft, full lips tormented him because all he wanted was to claim them and see them swollen from his kisses, and the smattering of freckles on her skin spoke to lots of time out here in the sun. Her hair was hanging lose now, curled and silky, tempting his fingers which craved the change to run through it, and the dress she wore now was red and fiery, a complete transformation from the pale, pure yellow of this afternoon. He caught her scent on the air, a hint of lavender and something else he couldn’t place, but her eyes did the most damage, striking him with a blow of recognition and interest he never could have expected.

“It’s you.”

“Aye, love, it’s me.”

“Sorry about before. A couple of guys have come up to me and some of them forget that no means no.”

“Someone was bothering you?” Killian asked, his anger rising as he looked around for signs of dead men walking. Who would dare to bother his Emma? Oh shit, now he was really losing it, thinking of her as his when they’d barely even met. Only the gentle touch of her hand on his arm could pull him back.

“It’s okay, I can handle myself. I’ve been doing it all my life.”

He hated to think that she had to be her own defender, when she should be protected and provided for in every way she wished, but he loved the feel of her hand on him. Even when she removed it, realizing she’d touched him and pulling back with a little bit of embarrassment, he could feel her branded on his skin. And he liked it A lot.

“But how did you find me?” she asked, letting her happiness at seeing him slip when she probably didn’t mean to. “I mean, I saw you earlier, in town, but I thought you were gone…”

He reached out for her hand and she let him take it, creating a rush of pleasure as they made contact again. It emboldened Killian, and it made him feel more alive than anything else ever had. “I tried to find you earlier, but in the craziness I lost you. I admit I thought you might have been a dream. It was hard for me to imagine you could even be real.”

“But now you’re here. How?”

“Fate, destiny, and perhaps a little help from a local vendor.”

Emma’s eyes shone with wonder and he heard her gasp as he pulled the bracelet he procured earlier and presented it to her. “For you, love.”

“I don’t usually take gifts from strangers,” Emma said as he tied the strands of the trinket together, sealing it around her wrist. He smiled at the fact that he hadn’t introduced himself yet. He was forgetting himself, but thankfully, Emma didn’t seem to mind too much.

“My name’s Killian. Killian Jones. And you are?”

“Emma. Emma Swan.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Emma,” he said, meaning it more than he’d ever meant anything before.

“Yeah, you too,” she said and Killian’s chest swelled with pride. He was still holding onto her, his thumb running against the underside of her wrist as he felt her delicate skin. Her pulse beneath him was rapid, matching the beat of his own, and when he looked back up to her, her eyes were on his lips, torn between hunger, intrigue, and still a little bit of wariness. He wanted to kiss that worry she had away, to show her there would be no reason for fear, not where he was involved, but that might be taking things too fast. He needed something, anything, to show her he could be trusted or to give him just a little more time in her company.

At that moment the music changed and the song filtered over the stereo outside was slower and written out of love. It was intimate and seductive, and for Killian it proved the perfect opening. “So, love, about that dance… would you do me the honor?”

Emma smiled at him, setting him alight as she stepped into his arms, fitting like the piece he’d been missing for too long. It felt amazing to hold her close and sway back and forth with her. One song blurred to another, and another, until truth be told he was so lost in her he couldn’t tell how much time had passed. In the meantime they talked, they danced, they got to know each other but not just with words. This was a blending of two souls, and, if his suspicions were right, the evolution of a love at first sight story that would endure long past this trip.

“I can’t believe you live in New York too,” Emma said as they were finally walking back to the party to rejoin their friends. It was nearly midnight, but it felt like no time had passed at all. “What are the chances?”

“I couldn’t tell you that, love, but I will say I’m glad for it.”

“Oh yeah?” she asked, her face a little flushed from their closeness. He stopped their walking, pulling her into his arms and tilting her chin up so her eyes met his.

“Aye. It makes the whole asking you out thing a bit more manageable. Not that distance would have stopped me. I’d have made it work, no matter how far away you may be.”

“You want to ask me out?” she asked, her voice hoarse from emotion and her eyes wide at the prospect.

“I want to do much more than that, love. And it’ll be more than one date I’m after, you can rest assured. But it’s a good place to start, don’t you think?”

“Hmm, maybe,” she said before smiling at him and edging a bit closer so her lips were mere inches from his.

“You’re not convinced?”

“Well, I kind of like the idea of starting with a chance meeting, some moonlight dancing, and a New Years’ kiss…”

Growling out his own approval Killian crushed his lips to hers, tasting her sweetness and savoring every bit of it. She was magic made real, and the feel of her on him, chasing the same high and the same bliss from being with him that he got with her was life altering. Lightening could strike them now and he’d never know, not when he already felt so much with Emma. This was the first kiss they’d ever shared and yet Killian knew it would be the last first kiss either of them ever had. This was the beginning of a new forever, and Emma was right, this was the best kind of start their story could have.

“I was thinking the kiss would come at midnight,” Emma said when they broke apart, her breathing ragged and her green eyes darker from the desire she was experiencing. “You know that’s kind of the tradition.”

“So you’re saying we should wait then? No more until -,”

He couldn’t get the words out before Emma was pulling him in for another kiss, and that was just fine by him. And as the rest of the night sped by, and the year changed from the old to the new, Killian was certain that this lucky happenstance would be something much bigger, and that this time next year and every year thereafter he and Emma would still be together and happy and whole.

…………

On a boat, on a beach In the water, in the sand, in the back of a bar Cold beer in your hand Breaking hearts, breaking necks When we rolling down the street, heads turning all day when they see you with me I'm thinking everybody better stand in line 'Cause they need to know that your body's coming with me tonight They're like, "hey, who that there with the shades?" Like oh, the way you move to the bass Hold up Whole room gets to spinnin' from the second that you walk in And baby you look good all day, all night You look good, so fresh, so fine You look good, got everybody watching you like cameras in Hollywood Baby you look good Aw baby you look good Black dress, 2 the 9s, New Year's in a pent From the floor, to the roof, make the skyline spin Yeah, you're killing me boy in your black-faded jeans Ain't gotta work hard when you're smilin' at me Like, "hey, who that there with the shades?" Like oh, the way you move to the bass Hold up Whole room gets to spinnin' from the second that you walk in And baby you look good all day, all night You look good, so fresh, so fine You look good, got everybody watching you like cameras in Hollywood Baby you look good Aw baby you look good I'm thinking everybody better stand in line 'Cause they need to know that your body's coming with me tonight They're like, "hey, who that there with the shades?" Like oh, the way you move to the bass Hold up Whole room gets to spinnin' from the second that you walk in And baby you look good all day, all night You look good, so fresh, so fine You look good, got everybody watching you like cameras in Hollywood Baby you look good Come on baby you look good You look good Baby you look good

Post-Note: So there we have it. Just a little CS insta-love fluff to get us through the end of this year. Like I said, I hope you all have the best end to your 2019 and a wonderful start to your 2020. Thank you all so much for your kindness, support, and friendship this year. Looking forward to next year and wishing you all the best decade to come!

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9,Part 10,Part 11, Part 12,Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22, Part 23, Part 24,Part 25, Part 26, Part 27, Part 28, Part 29, Part 30, Part 31,Part 32, Part 33, Part 34, Part 35, Part 36, Part 37, Part 38,Part 39,Part 40, Part 41, Part 42, Part 43, Part 44, Part 45,Part 46,Part 47, Part 48, Part 49, Part 50, Part 51, Part 52, Part 53,Part 54,Part 55, Part 56, Part 57, Part 58, Part 59, Part 60,Part 61,Part 62, Part 63, Part 64, Part 65, Part 66, Part 67, Part 68,Part 69,Part 70, Part 71, Part 72, Part 73, Part 74, Part 75,Part 76,Part 77, Part 78, Part 79, Part 80, Part 81, Part 82, Part 83,Part 84,Part 85, Part 86, Part 87, Part 88, Part 89, Part 90,Part 91,Part 92, Part 93, Part 94, Part 95, Part 96, Part 97, Part 98,Part 99,Part 100, Part 101, Part 102, Part 103,Part 104, Part 105,Part 106, Part 107,Part 108, Part 109, Part 110,Part 111, Part 112,Part 113, Part 114, Part 115,Part 116, Part 117, Part 118,Part 119,Part 120, Part 121, Part 122, Part 123,Part 124, Part 125,Part 126, Part 127, Part 128,Part 129,Part 130, Part 131,Part 132,Part 133, Part 134, Part 135, Part 136, Part 137, Part 138,Part 139,Part 140, Part 141, Part 142, Part 143, Part 144, Part 145,Part 146, Part 147, Part 148,Part 149, Part 150, Part 151,Part 152, Part 153, Part 154, Part 155, Part 156, Part 157, Part 158,Part 159, Part 160, Part 161, Part 162, Part 163, Part 164,Part 165, Part 166, Part 167, Part 168, Part 169, Part 170,Part 171,Part 172, Part 173, Part 174, Part 175, Part 176,Part 177, Part 178, Part 179 , Part 180, Part 181, Part 182, Part 183, Part 184, Part 185, Part 186, Part 187, Part 188

#captain swan #captain swan fic #captain swan nye #cs #cs fic #cs ff #cs fluff #cs nye #cs new year #emma swan #killian jones #the whole storybrooke gang #cs mixtape #captain swan mixtape #cs au #captain swan au #cs insta love #you look good

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shitty-marvel-fan732 · 5 years

Text

Comfort Me, Part 1

Author’s Note:

This is going to be a two-shot, and I hope to post the second part this weekend! Let me know with a like or a reblog if yall are excited/want me to post it sooner.

Big shoutout to @twentytwohearts for going through this whole long-ass fic with me and helping with editing. You are a rockstar!

There is a line later on in the story that is written in Spanish. Full disclosure, I 100% used Google Translate to write it! The English translation is at the end of the fic!

Liv POV:

BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBE—

I groaned and slapped a hand over my face as my alarm blared from the floor next to my mattress. Rolling over, I fumbled with the source of my abrupt awakening until I finally managed to stop the ear-piercing sound.

Fingers roughly rubbing my sleep crusted eyes, I tried to adjust to the stream of light coming in from my window. Eventually I heaved myself out of bed and softly padded into the bathroom. Grumbling, a dissatisfied grimace threatened to take over my features as my bare skin came into contact with the frigid air. Rubbing my arms vigorously in a vain attempt to warm them, I silently prayed that the heat was somehow just switched off this morning and not cut off for good.

Right. Even half asleep I didn’t quite believe the former.

One squeaky turn of the showerhead later and my suspicions were confirmed. Fuck. I turned off the icy spray before angrily stomping back to my room. Thank God it was only October or else I’d really be fucked. As I made my way down the bare hallway I made a mental note to go and meet with our skeevy landlord later to see what could be done about turning the heat back on. George was pretty pervy, but times like this made that particular trait quite useful. A small bit of makeup and a lower-cut top would be all I hopefully needed to get the heat turned back on, at least for a little while.

I stood near my closet running a hand through my wavy locks and contemplating my options for a moment. I threw on a pair of skinny jeans, some thick socks, my favorite red flannel, and a grey zip up hoodie. Pulling my ratty hi-tops on, I surveyed my appearance in the mirror briefly before heading out of my room and into the kitchen. Stepping towards my jacket, I heard a loud belch from the direction of my living room. I leaned over the couch to see a half naked, 40-something bum passed out. Chortling to myself, I dismissed him as one of my mother’s conquests and reached for my jacket once more, pulling it over my still slightly shivering form. Throwing my hair up into a messy bun, I started to head out the door. Stopping cold and smirking, I turned on my heel to fish through the reeking man’s pockets. Finally finding his wallet, I pocketed it quickly before patting his head gently.

“Sorry man, should’ve stumbled home,” I whispered, smirking and heading towards the door once more.

I exited the shit hole apartment I was unfortunate enough to call home, and walked briskly down the stairs and around the corner. As I walked I began to riffle through the dudes stuff. Finding only $40 in cash, I pitched the rest of his shit into a nearby bush and continued my walk.

Walking briskly to avoid a chill, it was only a few short blocks until I hopped up the stairs of the only place that’d ever felt like home: Peter and May’s place. Shouting a good morning down the hall, I filled the kettle with water and set it on the stove to boil. Busying myself with grabbing two mugs and their respective tea bags, I almost didn’t hear the soft padding of hands and feet near the entrance of the kitchen.

Almost.

“GOTCHA”.

Peter’s cry was immediately followed by an ‘oomf’ as he fell face first into the kitchen’s floor. I grinned to myself from my place at the counter, having moved just inches to the right just before my best friend had made the attempt to tackle me. As far back as I could remember I’d been coming to Peter’s apartment every morning before school – and every morning Peter attempted to scare me. It had only worked once.

The first time.

When we were 6.

Nevertheless, he was determined to make it happen again and his face-plants were near daily at this point.

“Morning Pete, did you eat yet?” I chuckled, not even bothering to turn around.

“No, not yet. Why are you here so early anyways?” he grumbled as he hopped up to his feet.

“Good morning sunshine!” May sang as she entered the kitchen. I smiled widely at the elder Parker, gratefully accepting a peck on the cheek as I handed her morning tea in her favorite mug.

“You’re here awfully early aren’t you?” she mused, blowing on the steaming drink to cool it.

“I was literally just saying that,” Peter stated flatly, rolling his eyes and grabbing some cereal for the two of us. He was always a bit grumpy after he lost our little morning game, but experience told me that he’d be back to his cheerful, dorky self soon enough.

“Heat’s off at home, didn’t feel like freezing to death,” I answered plainly. Eagerly taking the bowl Peter offered, I filled it with my favorite cereal as we all settled into our places at the small table. Peter and May glanced at each other briefly before the former turned his attention back to his food and May shot me a look of concern.

“Why is your heat off? Is it broken?” May asked concernedly. Now it was my turn to roll my eyes as I shrugged non-committedly.

“Probably not. It’s the 10th, so more likely than not Kimberly 'forgot’ to pay the bill,” I answered, exaggerating the air quotes around 'forgot’. Peter’s eyebrows furrowed as he looked up from his breakfast, creating small wrinkles over his normally smooth skin.

“Forgot?” he ground out, mouth still full of cereal and expression one of thinly-veiled contempt. I bit back a giggle when I noticed a dribble of milk making its way out the side of his mouth and down his chin. Leaning forward slightly, I wiped the offending drops away with the pad of my thumb. My small action caused the sweet boy to flush bright red, and I immediately felt myself internally swooning at the sight. Flurries of small flutters began twirling around my stomach at the brief contact, causing me to drop my hand abruptly. Clearing my throat, I sat back into my chair and took another bite of my own cereal.

“Mmmhm. Last night was the first night she’s even been home since last month so she probably spent it on much more important things,” I replied, tone practically dripping with contempt as I attempted to brush off the interaction with Peter with some of my trademarked sarcasm.

I hated to admit it, but lately I’d been harboring some romantic-type feelings for the brunette boy seated next to me. Feelings which I was doing my damndest to push back down to wherever the hell they’d come from. There was no reason for me to feel anything other than platonically for Peter, just like I had for my entire life. The thought of changing our dynamic terrified me to no end. Lately I’d been spending more time than I cared to admit squashing the butterflies that seemed to have taken up permanent residence in my lower belly.

“You’ve been alone since last month? Oh honey, why didn’t you say anything sooner?”, May cooed softly, eyes oozing with sympathy and concern. Gratitude flooded my chest at the welcome distraction from the now-awkward feeling encounter with Peter. I turned towards her and —– ignoring the lingering emotions deep in my chest – shrugged.

"S'not a big deal, May. I stayed with MJ a few nights here and there,“ I soothed the older woman with another, more comforting smile. "Besides, you know me, I like my space.”

May huffed, sitting back aggressively in her chair, arms shoved petulantly across her chest. Peter looked much calmer than his aunt with a mostly blank expression on his still reddened face. His obviously fake passiveness may have fooled his aunt, but I was certain he was just as upset at my current situation as she was, if not more so. He didn’t always look it but Peter was insanely protective over me —especially when it came to matters involving Kimberly.

It wasn’t exactly shocking news that my mother was terrible; she’d been like this as far back as I could remember. She wasn’t abusive per se – but only because in order to abuse me she’d have to actually be around. And being around was not Kimberly’s forte. No, she much preferred her flighty lifestyle of drinking, drugs, and dancing too much to stick around for more than a day or two at a time. I was usually left more or less alone at home — unless you counted the various men and women that were passed out around the apartment on any given day, that is. In all reality, Peter, May, and Ben (before he passed) were the only real family I’d ever had.

“Well until your heat is back on you have to find somewhere else to stay,” she grumbled.

I giggled unintentionally at the sight of May Parker attempting to be strict; arms crossed, brows furrowed, and mouth set into a thin line. Bless her soul. She was one of the kindest people I knew, but the poor woman couldn’t scare a mouse.

“I’m serious Olivia!”.

“I know, I know! That reminds me, I need to borrow a top from you. I, uhm, found $40 this morning, and that plus one of your 'going out’ shirts should be enough to convince George to turn it back on. Got anything that says, 'my mother is an idiot, please don’t let me freeze?’,” I joked, semi-seriously.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Peter exclaimed abruptly. “There is absolutely no way you’re going to grovel to that — that pervert!”

My eyes turned to meet his, and though he appeared somewhat calm, I could tell he was positively fuming. Being that Peter and I had been inseparable nearly our entire lives, I could read his face like a book. And even if I couldn’t, it wasn’t exactly a secret that both Parkers held a massive amount of hatred for my mother. Conversations pertaining to her or my home life had to be delivered carefully to them, because both Parkers were too sweet for their own good. I’d learned over the years that divulging too much information about my home life at once would only cause them undue stress.

Cursing myself internally, I realized I’d been too forthcoming, distracted by my attempts to squash my feelings for Peter. No matter how difficult things got on my end, I vowed early on never to be the cause for them to be anything less than their cheerful, goofy selves. An endeavor I was clearly failing at today. Peter rarely got this worked up over situations like this, and I could instantly tell that any compromise was going to be from my end this time.

“I agree sunshine, you can stay here for a few days,” May nodded, smooth hand coming to rest over mine. “I could actually vomit at the idea of you even approaching that vile man, and you know you’re always welcome here."

I felt my face flush with warmth at her words. It was true – I always knew that the door was perpetually open for me at the Parker household, but I still felt emotional whenever the subject of me staying for more than a night or two came up. Even with the countless number of days and weeks spent at their place I still harbored doubts that I was truly wanted.

I glanced over at Peter with un-characteristic shyness, hoping to confirm that the sentiment was shared. To the delight of the seemingly perpetually active butterflies in my stomach, I found my green eyes locked in with the all-too familiar brown irises that I’d come to love. Peter was studying my pink-tinged cheeks intently, the expression on his face one I’d never quite seen before. Perplexed, my mind briefly wondered if he was feeling the same way I had only minutes ago as I’d watched his own sweet features flushed with embarrassment. I immediately dismissed the ridiculous thought; he was probably just worrying over me the way he always did, and there was no reason for me to think anything deeper was going on in his head.

Seemingly realizing I’d caught him staring, he cleared his throat awkwardly and nodded with his most adorable, crinkly eyed smile etched on his face. Mentally shaking my head, I turned back to May once more, this time with a genuine smile, flipping my palm over to lightly squeeze her hand that still covered my own.

"Thanks May,” I nearly whispered. The older woman practically grinned, the smooth skin around her eyes crinkling slightly with the size of it.

“Uh yeah, but I’m gonna be staying at the Tower this weekend,” Peter stuttered. “Mr. Stark has some, uhm, internship stuff for me to do."

"S'okay Pete, I’m sure May and I will be fine by ourselves for a few days,” I grinned as I ate another spoonful of my now soggy cereal, knowing full well Peter hated when I was left alone with his aunt. May smiled knowingly, taking a sip of her tea and watching our interaction with a sparkle of mischief in her eyes.

You’d think growing up with Peter would mean May wouldn’t have any more embarrassing stories or pictures left to share with me, but you’d be wrong. Left to her own devices May had a rather spectacular talent for finding some long lost photos of a naked baby Peter, or suddenly recalling a story that caused the poor boy to physically cringe when he realized I’d heard. Additionally, I had a habit of messing with Peter when left alone in ways that almost always made him regret ever leaving me unattended. It started out pretty tame: plastic wrap in the doorway, fake bugs or snakes hidden in his pillows, etc., but my jokes had evolved as we’d grown to the point where Peter flat out refused to leave me alone in the apartment.

“OLIVIA MARIE WILLIAMS!”.

I chuckled lightly from my spot on the couch, craning my head down the hall to the source of the noise.

“Yes?”, I called out in a sing-song voice. Grinning to myself, I bit down on my lower lip to keep from bursting into laughter.

“Can you please come in here for a moment?”, Peter called from the direction of his room. To anyone else he probably sounded calm, but this was Peter and I knew his voice better than my own. He was clearly annoyed, and I couldn’t be happier about it.

Giggling, I walked slowly down the hall and stopped in the doorway.

“What’s up Petey?” I questioned innocently, leaving on the doorframe and crossing my arms. Peter scoffed.

“Are you joking?” he asked incredulously. I laughed openly at the sight of my poor, disheveled friend. He was perched on the ceiling on all fours with his Spiderman costume still on, sans the mask, and his expression was one of pure frustration and annoyance.

“No, I truly don’t know what’s gotten your panties in a twist,” I replied, still feigning nonchalance even though we both clearly knew what was going on. Peter huffed, and I couldn’t help but find him adorable with all the red splotches decorating his pale face and his brown curls mussed from being encased in his mask only minutes before.

“My panties are NOT in a twist,” he grumbled. “Not that I have— you can’t seriously– Liv! Look at my room!”

I pretended to scan his room before meeting his gaze once more and shrugging.

“The cups Liv. I’m talking about the cups,” he deadpanned, crawling over from his spot on the ceiling near the window.

“Ohhhhh. That,” I chuckled. Peter narrowed his eyes at me, hands leaving the ceiling and coming to rest petulantly across his chest as he flipped upside-down.

“Yes, that!” he practically shouted, eyes blown wide and brows furrowed in disbelief.

A massive amount of small plastic cups, each brimming with water, completely covered the area of his bedroom. There wasn’t a single inch of floor space that wasn’t taken up by cups, 447 to be exact. The laughter that had been building inside me since Peter had first called me over to his room finally came bursting out.

“You know May is always getting on you to drink more water,” I finally gasped out between peals of laughter. “I just thought I’d help remind you!”.

“Seriously Liv?” he whined, puppy dog eyes on full force and lips forming into a small pout. “You’re the worst. Are you at least gonna help me clean this up?”

I shook my head playfully.

“Sorry Petey, you know the rules. You left me here alone, and that means you have to deal with the consequences on your own.” I chuckled, pushing myself off the doorframe and heading back towards the living room. I’d only made it a few steps before I heard the sweet sounds of multiple plastic cups knocking into one another, followed closely by a distinct splashing noise and Peter’s irritated groan.

“Uh-uh. There is no way I’m leaving the two of you alone,” Peter said, shuddering slightly at the implication.

“Awww come on Petey it won’t be that bad,” I giggled. He shot me a look that screamed 'are you serious?’ across the table before standing up and reaching for his backpack.

“Yes. It will. You’re staying at the tower too Olivia, even if I have to drag you there myself."

"Awww I think someone been missing me,” I cooed, standing as well and playfully pinching Peter’s cheek. Another wave of red and pink color began creeping up his neck at my teasing, and he swatted my hand away quickly. Rolling his eyes, he shimmied his backpack straps over his broad arms. I snickered and winked at May who was sitting with a hand covering her mouth in a feeble attempt to mask the massive grin she too sported.

“In your dreams Williams. But I do know that Mr. Stark has been asking about you lately. I’m sure he and Ms. Potts would love to see you anyways,” he replied after awkwardly clearing his throat. My face broke out into an even wider smile at the mention of the power couple.

Ever since Peter had met Tony Stark, the billionaire had become un-characteristically attached to me. Not that he’d ever admit to it out loud. He’d immediately wanted me around more since discovering that I was not only arguably as smart as Peter, but that I was blessed with an uncanny ability to make the poor brunette boy flush or stammer at any given moment. Didn’t hurt that I had an arsenal of embarrassing Peter stories that went back over a decade either. I’d started working with the Iron Man himself in his labs every now and again when Peter stayed at the Tower, and after a few months Tony had become increasingly aware of the state of my home life. I’d never tell him to his face, but I truly believed that my lack of parental guidance or acceptance resonated with the normally sarcastic Avenger.

In fact, he and Pepper had offered multiple times to help me legally emancipate myself from her. I always shrugged off the help, knowing full well that the extent of time she was gone was never actually illegal. The fridge usually had food, and the rent was usually paid, so there weren’t exactly grounds to call it neglect at this point. Maybe when I was a kid, but even then it wasn’t that easy. May and Ben had tried to get me away from her multiple times, and each time it’d only ended with me winding up in an even shittier foster home for a while. Foster homes that I only stayed in for a few weeks, or even days, before my mother had gone crying to the judges to get me back 'home’.

No, I was stuck with Kimberly until my 18th birthday in a couple years, a downright depressing thought that I still wrestled with on a near daily basis. Even with the reassurance and support I received from the Parkers, my other best friend MJ, Peter’s friend Ned, and now the Starks I often felt incredibly low about myself. I mean, my own mother couldn’t be arsed to actually care about me, so how was I supposed to believe that anyone else would?

I was abruptly brought out of my thoughts by a hand lightly squeezing my bicep, the disruption causing me to jump slightly.

“Livvie?” Peter questioned softly, using the nickname I only allowed him and May to call me.

“Hmmm?”

“I said we gotta get to school now, where’s your backpack?” he repeated, hand detaching from my arm and leaving tingles in it’s wake.

I shook off all my depressing thoughts, shifting quickly back to the familiar banter that came so naturally to Peter and I.

“What backpack?” I questioned, voice laced with mock innocence. Peter rolled his eyes, face playfully annoyed. May however, stood from the table and looked about as pure and wholesome as a baby deer, her expression one of utter confusion.

“Liv, sweetie, have you lost your school bag? ‘Cause I can pick you up a new one after work if that’s the case,” she questioned sweetly, making me fall even more in love with my best friend’s kooky aunt. I smiled and waved away her concerns with my hand.

��Nah, don’t worry about it May, I just forgot it this morning in my rush to get out of the house,” I explained lightly, bringing her into my arms as I hugged her goodbye. She embraced me tighter than usual, likely slightly still on edge from this morning’s chat. I reciprocate in kind, taking a moment to breath in her comforting scent and revel in the small circles she rubbed into my back as she held me.

For all intents and purposes, May Parker was my mom. Kimberly may have birthed me, but that’s where her interest in me seemingly ended. May was there for me through everything; she’s the one who took me bra shopping for the first time, the one who got me through my first period, the one to comfort me when I experienced my first real heartbreak. She was at every academic decathlon competition, every sports game when I was a kid, and the one who hung all my artwork from childhood proudly on her fridge. Kimberly may be my biological mother, but May chose me to be the daughter she never had. And I would never be able to repay her for it, even if I tried.

“Hey!” Peter protested from behind me. I turned, arms still wrapped around May. “How come Liv gets a new backpack with no questions asked, and I can’t get a new one without begging?!"

Peter’s expression was one of pure annoyance, and I couldn’t help but chuckle at his frustration. His arms were crossed and his brows were adorably furrowed as he questioned his aunt.

"Because she doesn’t 'lose’ them faster than I can buy them,” May responded plainly, hands leaving my sides to rest on her hips stubbornly. I snorted at the slight indignation taking over Peter’s features before walking through the door.

“Yeah, no it’s because she loves me more. Sorry Petey,” I chuckled, ruffling his hair as I breezed past him. As I jogged down the first few steps I faintly heard the sweet sounds of May’s giggle along with Peter’s scoff from the apartment behind me.

“Wanna stop back at your house for your backpack before we go?” he asked adorably, jogging slightly to catch up to me.

“Mmmm… Pass. Too much work,” I returned, smirking at the incredulous look that overtook Peter’s face.

“Seriously? Don’t you have homework in there?” he asked in disbelief as we hopped down the cement stairs leading down to the train, avoiding several rushing commuters along the way. Once we met at the bottom and passed through the tolls I shrugged as we waited, subway trains rushing by us. Sparing a glance at Peter, I was momentarily stunned by how cute he looked with his brown curls blowing haphazardly around him, highlighting his strong jaw. A jaw that was currently moving as he shook his head and grinned at me.

“Exactly how are you passing again?” he laughed, bumping my shoulder playfully. I giggled, linking his arm through mine as we huddled in front of the tracks.

“Dunno, probably because the smartest guy in school is a good friend of mine,” I reasoned innocently, leaning my head on his shoulder and grinning.

“Mmmm, wow you are lucky,” he chuckled. He ducked slightly, leaning his head down atop mine and messing around with his phone idly. He finally found whatever he was looking for, silently handing me an earbud. We each popped one in our ears, bumping along to the beat and swaying softly as we waited for our train.

I imagine others looking on would make the assumption that Peter and I were together based on our comfortable contact. In fact, people mistook us for a couple pretty almost daily. Historically, I’d chew those people out and remind them that just because Pete was a boy and I was a girl didn’t automatically mean we were dating. Lately though, I found myself wishing it were true, and the reminder that things weren’t like that causing my chest to feel heavy with disappointment. Peter and I had always been incredibly comfortable with one another, and it wasn’t uncommon for us to stand like this or wind up cuddled close as we watched a movie or something. It never meant anything, it was simply the way things had always been. However, as my feelings grew I found myself longing for these moments to last forever so I could pretend things were different for just a bit longer.

But, things weren’t like that, and time didn’t work that way. Soon our train came screeching our way, and we separated, the illusion broken.

“You okay?” Peter questioned softly as we waited for the departing passengers to move out of our way.

“Yeah, I’m great,” came my soft reply, the reflex response tumbling out of my mouth before my brain could even catch up. I’m sure Peter caught my white lie based on the way his eyes sparkled with a hint of concern, but thankfully he let the subject drop. He smiled lightly at me, and we finally boarded the subway car. I forced another smile, taking my place on the busy train beside my best friend.

“So, Kimberly finally showed up huh,” MJ commented flatly as we strode down the bustling, graffiti littered sidewalks that led to my apartment building after school. I hummed non-committedly in response.

“S’possible, almost likely even, given the timing,” I quipped back, tone just as flat.

MJ hated everyone and everything, so naturally we got along extremely well. She was smart, sarcastic, angry, observant, and underneath it all an extremely loyal friend. As much as she usually lived up to her ‘I don’t fuck with you’ image, I was proud to be one of the few things she would actually admit that she cared about.

“In that case, this is where I leave you,” she deadpanned, lingering near the door of my building. I nodded in understanding, squinting my eyes against the sun rays blaring down on me as I looked at the tall girl. MJ hated Kimberly with the kind of dark rage only she could muster. Hell, sometimes I think she hates her more than I do. So seeing her in person was a huge no-no.

“So you staying over tonight? There’s a BLM protest down on 47th and Broadway I was gonna hit up if you want to come,” she offered. She stood facing slightly away from me, arms crossed and eyes trained down on her shoes. To an outsider it would seem the dark-haired girl wasn’t interested in our conversation, but I’d been around MJ enough to know that wasn’t the case. She wouldn’t offer her time or energy if she didn’t really want me around. I absolutely thrived off the fact that I was one of the only people in her life that she actually wanted to be around, and I felt my heart lift slightly with her offer. Nevertheless, I shook my head, opening the door with my key.

“Nahhh, May freaked out over breakfast this morning and now Peter is basically kidnapping me until the heat’s turned back on,” came my response from the threshold. MJ’s right brow raised dramatically.

“Right. Kidnapping you,” she drawled, smirking. Frowning at her, I rolled my eyes and attempted to seem nonchalant. MJ knew all about my blossoming feelings for a certain brunette dork due to her observant nature and her close relationship with the both of us. A fact which she used against me at every given opportunity.

“Mhm, so if you’ll excuse me I’m going to go try and pack my shit and avoid my lush of a mother,” I replied quickly. MJ threw me a mock salute before turning around fully and walking away.

“Make sure you call me tonight so I know you’re safe!” she shouted over her shoulder. I chuckled to myself at her antics and entered the shitty residence I legally had to call home.

Peter’s POV

“Ned, I swear to god,” I groaned, walking down the street, rubbing my eyes in exasperation.

“Oh, come on,” he shot back, clearly just as irritated as me with the topic of our conversation. “It’s so obvious it’s literally painful at this point."

"You’re insane,” I grumbled, pushing past the other New Yorkers bustling past us as we headed up the steps to Delmar’s. “Liv and I are best friends man."

Nodding at Mr. Delmar in place of a hello, I wandered idly down the isles in search of some sour candies.

"Okay first of all, as your best friend I’m offended,” Ned deadpanned. “Secondly, friends don’t act like the two of you; like how you’re always staring at her when you think no one is looking? Yeah, which everyone has noticed by the way."

Despite my best efforts, I could feel the heat rising in my neck and creeping all the way up my face straight to the tips of my ears. As Ned chuckled at my obvious discomfort I scoffed, snatching a bag of gummy worms from the shelf and pushing my way past him.

"So? You’ve seen her, she’s interesting to look at,” I retaliated, hoping against all odds that my voice sounded nonchalant.

It was true. After all, Liv captivated the attention of anyone lucky enough to be in her presence without even really trying. For one thing, she dressed completely differently than any other student at Midtown. Her signature look always involved her favorite pair of ripped jeans, a black band t-shirt from her extensive collection (most of which had come from concerts that she’d dragged me along to), her faded red-flannel, and a pair of either hi-tops or combat boots. Her dark blonde hair was always a mess of flyaway waves and curls, and she had more piercings than I could realistically number.

Additionally, Liv was, and had always been, incredibly outspoken. Even before my hearing became advanced, I could instantly tell when she entered a room, no matter how crowded or noisy it was. If her naturally captivating presence wasn’t enough to announce her arrival, her loud voice and infectious laugh did the trick. It was definitely safe to say, Liv wasn’t like any of the other girls at Midtown, or like any other girls anywhere to be honest.

“Oh, please, looking is the understatement of the millennium and you know it. You freaking gaze at her man. Hand on your cheek, eyes glazed over, mouth open; It’s honestly kind of impressive you’ve not physically drooled at the sight of her yet,” Ned chuckled to himself.

“Shut up, I do not!” I protested as I tossed my stash of candy on the deli counter.

Mr. Delmar turned round to face us, leaning down and resting his forearms on the counter. An amused look overtook his features as he began rifling through the pile of sweets I’d collected.

“Mr. Parker, big weekend with the girlfriend?” he casually asked, smirking knowingly. I groaned and clapped my hands over my face, rubbing my eyes in disbelief.

“Come on man, not you too,” I muttered through my palms. Ned looked at me with an absolutely shit-eating grin, both he and Delmar chuckling at my obvious discomfort.

“What? I know when you get Swedish Fish you’re going to be seeing her,” Mr. Delmar continued, holding up the aforementioned candy and grinning. “And if this un-godly pile of junk is any indication, you’ll be together for a few days. At least I hope so, because this is a disgusting amount of sweets for just one day.”

“Okay, yes, I am going to hang out with Liv this weekend. Because we are friends,” I ground out, arms crossing firmly across my chest. Ned rolled his eyes once more, and Mr. Delmar chuckled and shook his head.

“Él está negando este. Su novia lo mira como si hubiera colgado la luna, ¡y todavía finge que no lo sabe!” Mr. Delmar told his employee loudly, laughing and patting the man’s back. My eyes narrowed, arms crossing even tighter at his comment. My Spanish may not be good enough to know exactly what he said, but I’d have to be an idiot not to know it was about Liv and I.

It wasn’t like I didn’t know what they meant. I’d been in love with Liv since we were practically toddlers, and I’d spent my entire life trying to forget that. When we were kids, I fantasized about us growing up and getting married all the time, but as the years went on, I slowly realized that my feelings were not reciprocated. It was abundantly clear that Liv does not and had never thought of me in that light.

People mistook us for a couple all the time, and she was always quick to correct them. In fact, she usually ended up lecturing them about how old-fashioned it was to assume that just because we were not the same gender that it must mean we were together. Each time someone referred to me as Liv’s boyfriend, I wanted nothing more than to grab her soft hand in mine and grin, proud to be the one she’d chosen.

But our relationship wasn’t like that, no matter how much I wanted it to be, so I just go along with whatever she says. I wish I could say that it’s gotten easier as we’ve grown, but the fact was my feelings for her had only increased as time went on. A fact which I was both painfully aware and completely terrified of.

Ned could pretend he was offended all he wanted, but everyone knew that Liv was my best friend, without a single doubt. She was there for me through everything: Ben’s death, becoming Spiderman, and every single thing in between. She was the person I wanted to speak to most when I first woke up in the morning and the last one I wanted to see before I fell asleep. She knew everything about me and I her, and the thought of losing her to any degree was out of the question. Our friendship was one straight out of a movie or something, a natural dynamic unlike one I’d seen between anyone else. How could I risk that just because of a silly crush I’d harbored since before I even stopped thinking girls had cooties?

I couldn’t.

I’d come to the conclusion long ago that if I wanted to keep Liv in my life I had to do everything in my power to squash my romantic feelings aside. And for a while, that plan worked out just fine. But lately Ned, MJ, and even Aunt May had been pressing me for details about Liv and I, insisting that we belonged together. Though I knew they all meant well, I couldn’t help my growing frustration with their meddling; they just didn’t understand how our relationship worked.

I was getting more and more worried by the day that one of them would end up saying the wrong thing to Liv, and cause her to distance herself from me. The thought alone broke my heart, and I couldn’t even fathom what I’d be like if that day ever came.

“What do you think Murph?” Ned interrupted my thoughts with a coo. He scratched the shop cat’s ears fondly as the lazy feline laid idly on top the deli counter. “Blink once if you think Peter should just man up and tell Olivia how he feels."

Murph eyed me intensely, almost as if he’d understood what Ned had been asking. After a few moments his almond shaped eyes closed deliberately before he continued staring at me. I rolled my eyes in disbelief, already dreading the reaction from the now giddy men next to me. Ned immediately burst into laughter, hands flying to his stomach and head thrown back. Mr. Delmar smiled, sending a knowing glance in my direction as he too laughed.

"For the love of—,” I exclaimed in irritation, practically slamming money on the counter and preparing to walk out the door.

“You can’t argue with that Pete,” Ned chuckled, seemingly somewhat calmer. I pursed my lips in frustration.

“You two are insane,” I complained, hand pushing the door open. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to meet my best friend."

Translation: He is denying this. His girlfriend looks at him as if he had hung the moon, and still pretends he doesn’t know!

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