#like she had no friends till meeting Mike

[chloesimaginationthings]

Next you’re gonna tell me Vanessa was stolen as a baby

“Father knows best, listen to your father”

[c4tluver02]

taking care of steve

wc: 1.5k

Warnings: none!

Summary: Steve wakes up sick but of course he still tries to get everything done despite the horrible feeling. Thankfully he has you to take care of him!

When Steve woke up he knew immediately that he was sick. His throat was sore, he had a major headache, and he was sweating despite it being winter. It’s moments like these when Steve wishes he had someone else in this big house with him. Someone to look after him. But today he had plans and he couldn't skip out on them. First he has to take Dustin to the arcade and then he has to pick you up from your house to go get your car from the shop. So this fever will have to be put to the side. 

He got ready to pick Dustin up and got into his car. Immediately he's coughing up a storm. He really feels awful. He honks his horn to let Dustin know he's here. When Dustin opens the door he's running to Steve's car while saying bye to his mom. 

“Why am I taking you to the arcade if your moms home?” Steve asks, already irritated.

“Because she's going to work in 10 minutes. That's why.” Dustin says matter of factly. 

Steve rolls his eyes as he begins to drive to the arcade. “So are your friends meeting you there?” Steve tries to ask as he coughs just about every other word.

Dustin looks at him “Are you sick or something?” He asks.

“Yeah I think it's just a cold or something.” Steve replies, trying to play it off.

Dustin makes a disgusted face “Okay well don't get me sick. Lucus, Mike, and I need to get ready for our game.”

“Oh your super fun game with your super new best friend Eddie? That game?” Steve can't even bother to hide his jealousy or sarcasm. 

“Aren't you like 30? Why do you even care?” Dustin replies half listening to a word Steves says as he is messing around with his hair in the car mirror. 

“Whatever we're here.” Steve sighs too sick to be putting up with Dustin. 

“Cool thanks. Also Mike's mom is gonna drive us home so no need to pick me up!” Dustin says

“You never even asked if I could pick you up.” Steve says but as he spits it out Dustin shuts the car door. 

“This kid.” Steve says to himself as he shakes his head. 

He drives home and changes. Ready to have a little nap before he has to do his next task: picking you up. Not that he didn't want to see you, but he really didn't want to leave his bed.

As Steve was getting in his bed he got a call “Hello?” 

“Hi baby, I got a call from the shop. They said my car wont be ready till Wednesday. Apparently they don't work over the weekends so it's just been sitting there.” You finish with a sigh.

Steve felt bad you wouldn't have a car but he felt even better it was one thing he didn't have to do. This fever was getting to him. Every bone in his body ached and all he could think about was a nap. 

“I’m sorry my love, let me know when it is ready and I'll take you no problem ok?” Steve says

“Steve, are you sick?” You ask about hearing the congestion in his voice. 

“Oh um, yeah I just woke up with something I’ll be fine.” He responds trying to sound more normal this time around. 

“Would you want me to come over? I can take care of you, I could also make some soup or something to make you feel better.” You hope he says yes. You hate to be alone when you're sick so you could only imagine how Steve feels. 

“You really don't have to do that honey I don't want to put a stop to your day or anything.” Steve says.

“Steve, you're not putting a stop to my day. I want to come over and see you. Is that okay?” You ask not wanting to overstep your boundaries in case he actually wants to be alone. 

“Okay yes please come over.” This makes you smile. You love taking care of Steve in any way possible. 

“Alright Stevie i'll be there soon!” You say.

"Okay baby see you soon.” Steve responds, he can hear the smile in your voice as you say it. 

-

It's only 15 minutes till you're at Steves. You have soup and medicine in your bag ready for him. You let yourself in as you have a key to his house. Once you make your way up to his room you see Steve curled up in his sheets with his eyes closed. He looks so cute when he sleeps. His long lashes touching his skin. You knock on his door to let him know you're here. 

Steve opens his eyes and sees you with a bunch of stuff in your hands. “Baby you didn't need to bring all of this for me.” He says getting up and giving you a kiss on your head as he hugs you.

“Well how else are you gonna get better? And by the way that's why you have me. So I can heal you back to life!” You say giggling. 

Steve smiles, finally, someone who's here to take care of him. “Thank you for being here.” He says.

“Of course I wouldn't wanna be anywhere else.” You say as you bring your face towards him to give him a kiss. But he pulls his head back.

“Woah I don't wanna get you sick.” Steve says.

“I don't care if you get me sick, kiss? Please.” You pout your lips out ready for a kiss as you blink your long lashes. 

“Okay but if you get sick I have to come take care of you, deal?” Steve says with his hands on your hips.

You press your chin against his chest and hum as if you were thinking about it. But immediately you say “Yeah okay I guess that's fair, deal.” 

Steve gives you a big kiss and brings you even closer. You two sit back on his bed. 

“Okay so what hurts? I need to know so I know what meds to give you.” You ask.

“Um my throat hurts, I have a headache, and I have a fever.” 

“Fever! Maybe I should go back home. Those sound like pretty bad symptoms.” You say with a fake scared tone.

Steve smiles at your antics. “Nope. Too late you're stuck here now.” He says grabbing onto your hand. 

You smile as you pick out the medicine to give him. “Okay take these three pills and then I'll go get a cup for you to drink this medicine from.” 

“Do I have to drink that?” He says looking at the bottle knowing it tastes awful. 

“Stevie do you want to feel better or do you want to have a fever forever and ever?” You ask. 

Steve sighs, knowing he really should take the medicine. “Ugh okay. Do you think you could get me some water to drink it with?” He says as he draws circles on your hand not looking at you. 

You smile at his request, “Yeah I can do that no problem I’ll be right back okay?” 

“Okay, be quick please.” Steve asks

“I will!” You say as you walk out quickly. 

When you come back Steve is fully under the covers snug as a bug.

“Are you a cold babe?” You ask handing him his water.

“It just got so cold out of nowhere.” He says putting his arm out of the covers to grab the water. 

“It's your fever, I'm sorry you feel so awful.” You say running your hand through his hair. 

He closes his eyes and hums at the nice feeling. “Nuh uh you can't go to bed, you need to take your medicine. Then you can sleep.” You know him like the back of your hand. 

Steve takes a deep breath and then chugs the medicine in the cup. You know it's an awful taste, you've had it before. But a little part of you can't help but smile about how dramatic he is. He follows the medicine up with a big sip of water. Trying to get rid of any of the taste.

“Okay can we cuddle now?” He asks handing you the little cup and water to put on his bedside table.

“Yes, let's cuddle, do you want to watch something?” You ask. The chance of him watching it is slim but you’ll still be awake. 

“Sure you can put on whatever.” He responds by giving your shoulder a kiss. 

“Okay, let me get a movie from downstairs and I'll be back.” You run downstairs trying to be quick and grab the movie. Once you put it in you get into his bed. He puts his head on your chest and his arms around you. Completely trapping you underneath him. But you don't mind a bit. 

“I love you.” Steve says in a mumbled tone, his face squished against your chest.

“I love you too baby, get some rest. I'll be here when you wake up.” You go back to scratching his head knowing it will put him fast asleep. And before the movie even starts he's already passed out.

[chlmtsdoll]

hi hi ly and ur stuff was wondering if you can do like a little wedding like yk those pics of mike at that wedding with his older art haircut, maybe them at a friends wedding idkk ly <3

Omg ily yesss this is cute <3 I was just rewatching Breakfast at Tiffany’s anddd watching the new season of Emily in Paris so I felt inspired to do something classy and romantic 🤍 this is perfecttt

FRANCE WITH ART

౨ৎ 18 + | age gap, older/sugar daddy!Art, younger/sugar baby!reader, needy art, petite!reader, a little angst, fluff !

“Isn’t she just a beauty?” you sighed out dreamily as you directed your camera to the dazzling city beyond you, panning to the Eiffel Tower that was looking just poised as ever sitting beyond the sunrise. No drowsiness or jet lag was going to keep you from taking in every second you could of the beauty and scenery as long as you were waking up in Paris, France.

You’d been up bright and early but snug in your robe. Hidden away in your suite at the Ritz. The penthouse-like hotel room was Arts sweet gesture to go all out for your comfortability as you were accompanying him on this get away for one of his long time tennis co-workers colossal wedding. Being in this city has always been like a dream to you. Especially now that you got to explore it with the man you were no stranger to showing how much you adored. And he had you glued to him as often as possible too.

You and Art had arrived a few days earlier just to see all the wonders and sight out all the romance spiraling around every fountain and podium. Art planned out everything. Taking you to all sorts of historical eloquent museums, the most upscale restaurants with jazzy night life surrounding the two of you, catching the tower sparkle at midnight. You walked Pont Alexandre hand in hand with the strawberry-blonde and kissed above the waters of Puente Marie.

You didn’t know if it had been the aroma of the city, or Arts way of brainwashing you into staying in his world of poshness and high class wonders forever, but it was like something straight out of a movie. He truly made you feel like the princess of all romance and desire — You even got to be sweetness to his arm when he brought you to a few tennis matches the capital held. With he glamour of vip seats and rosé meeting your lips as Art clutched your thigh in a way that said mine as he peered the tournament.

It was something about everyone knowing who he was and wanting him right then. The paps, starstruck fans, his wealthy tennis friends, all wanting the attention of the enamored man — his smile with dimples showing contrast to his gorgeous features as he signed autographs and took photos with girls and even women much older than you. He was truly a magnet with an essence of adoration for his life post his ex wife and more wealth than ever, pilling on to his retirement. He didn’t have a worry in the world but his ever lasting fame and all the while you, his young, beautiful and spoiled beat, girlfriend that got to look too pretty and absolutely pampered by his side at all times. You just couldn’t wait till after the tournaments, when Art would be buried snug in your sweet tight cunt before you had even rushed to get your shoes off and the door locked properly. The way the pending man kissed every inch of your body, merging his own with you. Pulling your hair in wistful ways, rough in his knuckles but with the upmost love and care as he sweet talked you through his own pent up fixation of you. Heavy thrusts to your soft little body — and when you’d scream his name out at way too late (or early) you knew that he was going to shower you in jewels the next day.

He loved it. And he knew you absolutely loved it.

Your wildness only he could contain kept him feeling young, and he would do absolutely any and everything for that feeling of your girlish youthful smile to never stop making his heart swell.

“I woke up earlier than usual today. The wedding is at noon, so I just ordered room service and had the loveliest breakfast.. Art went out a bit before I got up and he should be back soon I’m sure. I should get ready, but god. I could just live in this suite to be honest.” Your giggle was breezy as you talked to your phone. You loved recording vlogs of all the beautiful places you got to see — and well, you could quite tell people enjoyed seeing what the girlfriend of a international tennis superstar was up on the daily. So that’s exactly what you gave them.

Your expensive and perfect little life.

You had been perched out on the balcony with your hand fluffed cappuccino as you gazed out at the filled streets and soft echo of jazz from down the way when you heard the muffled noise of your suite door being unlatched “Princess?” Art muttered softly as he noticed you weren’t still tucked away in bed. A grin took upon the man’s lips before he called out a little louder. “Where’s my girl?”

When you heard his voice, your smile had gone from dazed to stir in a quick shift as you got on your feet to exit from the window out look to find the tall man standing by the door with hands full of upscale shopping bags. There was no time for him store them before you were wrapping your own much shorter body around his torso. Art chuckled delightfully as he moved to embrace you back in his warmth.

“Mmm, where have you been? I missed you.” Your eyes met his gleaming ones, looking up that the man while he now cupped your cheek. His eyes half perched with colors of brown in his blue, your lips were already inching to lay a solid kiss on his fond simple staring back into your orbs with all adoration— so Art picked you up and kissed you just as sweetly before setting you down again.

“Well.. I supposed you’d still been asleep by the time I got back — I went for a little shopping stroll. Got some pretty things for you baby.. go sit.” the blonde bent to kiss at your neck with a sly smirk as he inched for one of the satin handled bags and your face lit up all over again.

You noticed one bag, a specially tinted turquoise blue and you almost lost all composure right then as Art brought it to you. He opened up a delicate box from Tiffany & Co. and your eyes fell dream like immediately. In his hands were the sparkling silver jewels you’d had your eye on for a good while now, you sunk your teeth into your lips as Art watched your pupils dialing with a grin of his own.

“I don’t care if it’s a wedding that’s not yours. I want you to be decked out tonight, baby. I want everyone to know how opulent you are, and that you belong to me.” Art smirked as he took your wrists in his palms to lock to bracelet around your skin that had a royal ‘A’ initial engraved in it. No matter how much Art gave and gave to you, you were always left speechless by his thoughtful expressions of love for you.

“Oh my.. Art, it’s beautiful- - and it reminds me that your mine,” you gleamed. “I love it.”

Your soft sigh of pleasure was light as your cheeks began to ache with your beaming smile. But the gentleman didn’t just stop there. He still was picking up more bags that followed and you noticed the Chanel logo immediately by the tag of course.

“That’s not all.” He tittered before slipping a gorgeously designed box from the bag, even larger, your jaw became quite loose as the case landed in your palms. You felt like a kid getting exposed to an entire candy store and Art watched you rummage, still with grace, through the box itself — elegantly wrapped in light paper as you breathed out excitedly till your finger tips graced over the soft pink flap beneath. You couldn’t stop your squeal from echoing across the room.

“Oh my god.. baby!” You were gagging on gasps as you pulled out the bag and your eyes ran over the gold chain along with your hands. Art chuckled as you squealed in pleasure and it affirmed that he certainly picked the right choice.

“We have a day left and I just couldn’t go back to the states without you getting one — and you already have the black and white so you needed just the perfect pink one, right sweetheart?” Art sat beside you on the king sized bed with a fond smile on his lips as he observed you. His dimples showcased perfectly and you couldn’t help but pout in admiration of the man beside you. You set the bag to lounge a hug on Art that made him laugh, grasping your soft robe to pull you into his lap with ease. Your arms were tight around him, but lips go in for a smooch that had Art leaning into your touch quick. His eyes slowly fell closed in bliss just at the sweetness that you were. Proud he got to spoil you time and time again — but the best part being as you never took a second of it for what it could be. Him just being a typical man, taking up a fathering role in your life to buy you pretty thinks all so you’d end up on your knees for him. No. He genuinely wanted to lift you up. And you just loved and adored him, and that’s what he always strived for in the long run.

“How did I ever get so lucky ?” Your voice laced with sweetness and sympathetic tones as you look up at Art with your fawning doe eyes filled with gratitude. “Thank you.” You hid your smile under your bitten lip as your soft thumb graced over the man’s peachy ones and he just stared into you with all desire of your being.

“Course.” He rubbed the tip of his nose against your exposed neck in admiration before leaving a kiss there.

“Anything for you, love.”

You couldn’t have been more giddy as you finally made yourself get up from the alluring man’s lap, hand still in contact with his cheek.

“Now, I must show the vlog everything you got for me.” You implored with assertion, but nothing could drive away from your girlish giggle that escaped as you skipped for your phone to which Art leaned out of your way for you to grab with a soft chuckle. “Okay, you guys aren’t going to believe me when I show you what Art got me…” your stammering blush matched your excited high pitched tone, and Art had a wide and easy grin on his face — he loved watching your small figure pride around so bubbly just to talk to your phone. You really hadn’t had much else to do in your free time. There was no need to have your own career, certainly no grocery list, or even a worry for your future when at the forefront Art paid for literally every last necessity or just pure want that you needed.

All you were expected to do was be his pretty little thing — traveling around the world and occupying yourself only when he had been busy with tennis, so you had your vlogs. And you were more than happy with that as long as you got him.

Soon enough you were standing in the golden embroidered mirror of the deluxe French country styled bathroom, touching up your lipstick and hair. Your dress a soft silky pink to bring out your cherry colored lips. You tried your best truly not to move much to ruin the flow of your pin curls. You felt the most pretty and expressive you might ever had right now — and when Art Apr approached the door way of the room, he had to hold his breath for a moment just at the single sight of you. Unable to utter a word. He just viewed as he leaned there tall whist his button up just slightly undone, his chest being seen enough to make you peek at the blonde with a soft grin at his icy blues glancing over your own figure.

“What?” You titter softly as you acknowledge the man who now crossed his arms as his lips curved to show his nearly sparkling teeth,

“Nothing, you just look absolutely gorgeous is all.. I don’t know how you expect me to keep my composure all night in that, but it’s a special day, so I’ll allow it.” Art chuckled and you sighed into the marble counter top as you shook your head affectionately.

“Well, this is your work Mr. Donaldson. Everything I have on you got me.” You noted as you gave him a three-sixty of your heavenly body to which the man pulled his lip between his teeth not so subtlety.

“Mmm, your being mean.” Art groaned playfully as he leaned off the wall to grab your waist and pull you into him. Your face immediately got hot as you were pushed into his aroma, YSL cologne that you found all too sexy eluding off of him. “Your gonna be so adored tonight baby, maybe just as much as the bride herself.” The blonde inched into your ear with a rasps as he grasped your limbs in his hands gently and pressed you into his chest with flow. You nearly let his teasing pull you in — but you couldn’t fight the uproar of sudden thoughts in the back of your mind,

“I’m a little nervous for tonight.” You chuckled lightly. And Art kept his eyes beyond yours, with a slight furrow of his brow.

“How come ?”

“Well… I know a lot of your tennis friends are much older. With much older girlfriends.. and wives..” Your fingers went to toy coyly with Arts collar, and you glanced down while he already had been shaking his head as he noted your words. “They might- judge me. Because I’m much younger,”

“No. No, baby.. I know it’s a little different for you, versus me. You’ll always get the short end of the stick. I know.. but I promise no one’s gonna make you feel inadequate. At least not by me. And if you do get a look or two, fuck them. We’re in France. It’s a French wedding. We’re pretty on theme anyways.”

You couldn’t help but let out a laugh at his wit, he always knew how to get you out of any overthinking so quickly with his pure charm and sharp-wittedness. Your reaction made Art smile down at you as his eyes followed your pretty face.

“You’re right. Besides, they’ll all be looking at you anyways.”

“What ? Please,” Art groaned before he chuckled and raised your arm so he could spin you. “You’re breathtaking. You’re impossible to go unnoticed and you know it, sweets.” You giggled out as he spun back around to him and held you close with his admirable wealthy laugh filling the air.

“But.. really, you’re the expert, do you think I look okay? I think they cut my hair too short this season…” Art peered down at you blinking up at him through your lashes and you shook your head.

“No. It’s perfect, at least to me most importantly. You look so handsome.” You ran your fingers through the man’s shorter golden locks and he couldn’t help but feel a heat rising to his own at the way you observed him. Fingers fixing every last strand or detail on him, to then grazing his jawline. “Perfect, as always.” You grin.

Arts blue orbs hadn’t been able to pull away from the beauty that was you below him, you just looked absolutely otherworldly in that dress, all dolled up. He liked to tell himself it was all for him — if it weren’t for the wedding fever going around he’d certainly blame something in the air just noting him to lock you down quick. “God, you look so fucking good in that dress..” Art groaned with a huff before lifting you off your feet and meeting you with a kiss. You couldn’t help but half moan and half sigh into it after your soft gasp as the man swept you off your feet. His lips adorned yours, and you were so pushed by the way his hands leveraged your weight effortlessly to collide with him.

Smiling slyly between kisses you mutter “we only have an half an hour before the caravan picks us up, Art…”

he could of taken your breath away but you managed to get the words across even through Arts hungry kisses. (You’d have to touch up your lipstick, again. If not the rest of your attire soon after he’s been done with you.)

“Yeah ? I can work with that.” The tall blonde grinned as he carried you out into the bedroom and your giggled trailed not too far along behind you.

[reallyromealone]

Hear me out. Bonten Mikey x omega male reader

A few years after mikey and m/n broke up, mikey discovered that m/n has a 6 year old daughter who looks like a copy of mikey, and mike like connects rhe timeline and realizes m/n was pregnant at the time of their break up but m/n never told him bc he didnt want his kid to be involved in the mafia/gang shit

-🐰 (late birthday gift for me 🥹?)

It's A VERY LATE FIC I'M SO SORRY

🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐

(Name) smiled as he put his little pups hair in pigtails, her bangs/fringe pinned back with a cute bubble hair band, today they were visiting Draken and Inui and little (daughters name) wanted to dress her best for her favorite uncles--- don't tell the others.

(Daughters name) was (name)s world, the sweetest little pup in the world who was absolutely precious.

Though sometimes it hurt to look at her, she was literally a spitting image of her father-- (name) never realized how feminine Mikey looked till his pup came into the world, but he loved her so much. She was the kindest and most selfless little thing ever. It wasn't the easiest at times but with the support of his friends he managed. Just starting first grade, (name) was thankful to work at the bike shop and being able to collect his little sunshine.

"Don't forget the cookies papa!" (Daughters name) said excitedly as left for their visit, without a care in the world.

Many would ask "where's the sire" upon learning (name) was a single parent, the question annoying and invasive but (name) always lied and made up an excuse about the father being overseas and such.

He refused to let anyone know about the actual reason, that being (daughters name)a father was the most dangerous man in Tokyo, (name) was thankful as much as he was hurt that Mikey dumped him.

He refused to let anyone go through what he did with Kanto Manji Gang.

With what Mikey was quickly becoming.

It was sheer /fucking/ chance that Mikey was waiting for the light to change in his limo as (name) stood at the cross walk holding hands with--

Holy s h i t.

"...boss are you seeing what we're seeing" Kakucho and Sanzu stared in Shellshock as they looked at a tiny Mikey with pigtails and a little dress, all of them doing the mental math and coming to a quick realization that holy fuck (name) was pregnant.

He was pregnant that day, oh my god that's what he wanted to talk to Mikey about!

"What are your thoughts on kids?" (Name) asked awkardly as they ate dinner, Mikey surpisingly home for once to do so "annoying, would get in the way" the blond said simply "a liability"

(Name) forced himself not to place his hand on his stomach, anxiety riddling his body "I see..."

"Why?"

"Just curious"

Mikey was always so disinterested in (name) these days, (name) always suspected that he was cheating, never saying anything though.

(Name) wanted to just scream.

Mikey remembered that night.

It was the night Mikey dumped him, a rash decision on his end and during one of his dark impulse moments.

He immediately regretted it after, the pained look on (name)s face and they hadn't seen each other since.

(Name) had many expectations of life, but seeing his ex sitting on his couch after he put his pup to bed, noticing the other Bonten men guarding the apartment "the fuck are you doing here" Mikey expected (name)a hostility and glanced up "that's my kid"

"What do you want Mikey" (name) wasn't having any conversation, he wanted to know what the hell he was doing here "I want to meet my kid"

"And get involved in your bullshit? Absolutely not! "Babies are a liability" remember that Mikey?" He hissed out and Mikey sighed, knowing this wasn't going to be easy "I deserve to meet her"

"You lost that chance when you broke up with me, I'm not letting my daughter deal with your shit, Mikey you're /dangerous/! She's six and I don't want her to ever go through what I went through!"

"I can keep you both safe!"

"YOU COULDN'T EVEN KEEP ME SAFE!" (name) was crying at this point, so angry at his once beloveds audacity"I kept her away for a reason Mikey, you are dangerous! She gets to play with her friends and have sleep overs! Has sleep overs at the friends you left behind! She gets to have a childhood that isn't currupted!"

"Why can't you let her have that?" (Name)s voice was broken and his body shaking, he would sacrifice everything for his daughter and at this moment he would stand his ground.

Bonten would poison her.

"Can...can I just please /know/ my daughter"

(Name) was tired, he was tired of it all "if you can /promise/ me that nothing will happen to her, I will let you meet her but one slip up Sano and I will never let you see her again"

[alicechess]

Y/n my love, you don't know what you've done (ihnmaims AM x f! reader) chapter 2

The next morning, you went into work a bit earlier. You wanted to see if you could see Mike a bit earlier. You just wanted to know if you could catch him in the act. Surely it wasn’t true. But then, why would AM lie? What would he have to gain in lying about a coworker?

You parked your car in the parking lot, then waited till you saw his car pull in. You hopped out as soon as he did, then pretended you were checking your phone, then looked up pretending you just noticed him. You saw when he looked at you he looked nervous. You saw him quickly pull something off his finger, then put his hand in his pocket.

“Oh hello Y/n! Sorry I wasn’t expecting to see you so early. How has your morning been so far?”

What a piece of shit

“It’s been good so far, just a bit cold but otherwise I’m fine. Yourself?”

Mike gave a small smile, “Yeah mine’s been fine. I’ve been going to the gym lately, been feeling a lot better.” You noticed a sly smile form on his face. You held back a grimace, keeping that same forced smile plastered on your face.

“Nice! It’s always good to look after yourself.” Oh the painful small talk.

“It is, anyway, I was wondering sometime if we could meet up?”

“Oh uh I’m not sure.” You quickly say, suprised by the sudden question.

“Not like that! Just as friends, like to go grab a coffee or you know, go for a walk.” Mike quickly spoke.

You thought for a few moments, what were you meant to say? Although he was attractive, he still could have a wife. You weren’t that type of person, you would never stoop that low. But at the same time, you could, in theory, try and see if maybe it was just a coincidence. Maybe he just likes jewelerry? Although that doeesn’t seem likely.

You decided to say a simple maybe, that you’ve been busy a lot lately. But could at some point. “I could use a break though, but it would have to be a while. I’ve been trying to work on AM, his code seems to be really messy, and that someone else might have screwed up somewhere.”

Mike nodded, “That’s fair, I hope we can do it soon. I enjoy hanging around you.”

You smiled, hopping he wasn’t going to try anything weird. You had to keep an eye on him, you were worried about his intentions. You hoped it wasn’t true, he did seem like a nice person.

Once you and him walked into the building, you both put your own stuff in lockers. You saw him pull something out of his pocket and put it in there.

Everyone met up in one of the meeting rooms to discuss what should be done for the week and who would work on what. Around 20 people sat inside. Nancy came to the room and was all smiley and happy, until she saw you. Her smile faltered slightly, barely noticeable, just as AM said. You heart cracked just a little. Althought a seat next to you was empty, she chose the other one. Is there a point in me even trying to be friends with people anymore?

You mentally shrugged your shoulders, it’s fine, it doesn’t matter. You can’t believe he was right. Of course he was, he’s fucking AI. He has all the knowledge, access to all the cameras…

Your smile faltered slightly. Mike noticed, and gently patted your back, while trying to give you a comforting smile, not one of creepiness, just one trying to make you feel better. You whispered a thanks, he gave a thumbs up, then turned back to the others.

They were all having a conversation, one you paid no mind to. It was nothing about the work you were all here for. They were all talking about their personal lives.

“Since they’re all talking about their own stuff, can we talk about what we’re here for? The AI?”

“Oh yeah, sure. What do we have left to do with it?”

“Hm, we’ve done all the basics and have been working on his personality, his ability to talk…” You went silent for a moment, thinking on whether to bring up AMs emotional outburt yesterday. You wanted to help him, but he wanted to be able to keep his emotions. But will it be for the better in the long run? Will this cause any problems in the future? But you wanted to prove to him you trusted him, that you saw him as an equal. You didn’t want to risk making him upset, just like with every other person you care about. You wanted to respect him and his wants.

“From the tests I’ve been doing his emotions seem to be fine.” Liar “The only thing I can think of right now, at least for a future thing, is to see if we can connect him up to possibly a robotic body. Although I know that’s a difficult task, I think it could potentially useful.”

“How could that be? It needs access only to internet stuff, why would it need a physical body?”

“Maybe we could use him as a way to physically organise things, so that he can do his own maintenance. We could push the limits of what AI can do. Imagine if we had the same AI in control of dozens of robots. I know it sounds cheesy, but it could be something the government could want.”

“I really don’t think that’s a good idea… There’s so many ways that could go wrong.”

“Maybe, but there’s many other companies doing something similar already. The government is going to want that eventually. Although I have no idea what for.”

“War Y/n, war.”

You gave him a puzzled look, “What do you mean?”

“Have you not thought it out already Y/n? They want to use AM for war. Although they haven’t directly said it, it’s obvious.”

You froze, of course. Of fucking course. Allied Mastercomputer. Allied. I’ve been working on a fucking war AI.

“I did NOT agree to that.” You said, eyes wide in utter horror.

“I don’t think any of us did to be honest, but hey, we’re here now. It’s us or them. Either we go down, or the others do, you know?”

“I guess…”

“Look, I could be wrong, again it hasn’t been said directly. But it’s highly likely. Again many other countries are doing this. It really is as simple as whoever makes the best AI wins the world.

You felt sick at the thought, everything lead back to war. Everyone wants everything. Land, people, rescources… Fucking always. Always has been, and will forever be.

“Hey hey, again I could be wrong, don’t think about it too much yeah? Someone would take your place regardless so it’s either you have the money or someone else. I think it’s worth staying here.” Mike said, leaning his chin on his hand. “Maybe your idea isn’t that bad overall, actually.”

“Maybe I’d rather it not be mentioned if it’s going to be used for such fucked up purposes.” You muttered, crossing your arms. “I don’t think I want to be involved in war, I just can’t.”

“Y/n listen to me, us or them. There’s no place to be kind in war. Well, possible war.”

You knew he was right, that doesn’t mean you liked the answer.

To end the conversation the two of you were having, you asked the other people - who were having conversations in a few groups - what ideas they had.

Anna spoke up “I’ll admit, we weren’t having a conversation about work.” She giggled, slightly embarrased, “But maybe we could just go over what we have, see if there’s any improvements.”

“You got any ideas, Y/n?” Nancy asked, seeming annoyed. You hated that you could pay attention a bit more to her, the small details in her posture and facial expressions. Her eyes seem a bit more closed when she looks at you, like she was bored when you spoke. She didn’t like you at all.

Mike took over, “Y/n and I were talking about possibly transferring the AI into a body.” You shot Mike a look, regretting your choice in talking about it. What have you done?

“If we do this, then we can get an upperhand politically. If other countries see we have such an impressive AI, something that can control more, that can come up with ways to make other countries afraid. Then we have the perfect AI. We need to figure out how to make it so it’s more engaged politically. We should give it access to more. This way, the AI can tell us the best tactics, what can scare off any potential threats. It could piece things together better than us. This way, if we do this, we’ll be safer for longer. We also should give it the ability to more thoroughly change it’s code. This way, it can improve itself. Although we will need to keep more backups, and have a section dedicated to changes which are made too. That’s what we’ve discussed so far.”

You silently thanked him for covering your ass a bit. Although it was brought up, he immediately took your ideas and expanded on it in ways you didn’t think of. It was only mentioned, and the rest of the conversation was on about how you didn’t want it to be used. You were impressed, and immensely greatful as it would’ve been embarrasing if he didn’t speak up, then you would. You know you would’ve stumbled over your words as you would’ve struggled to come up with things on the spot.

“Actually, that’s a pretty good idea.” Mark said, nodding his head. “I’ll see if I can talk to Diane about it. She’s difficult to get a hold of though, then she can communicate this with the higher ups. It’s a good idea, but it would cost a fortune. However for now I agree on just going over what we have and see if there’s any improvements we could do on it.”

Most nodded in agreement, while others were too busy staring off, in their own minds. He then wrote a bunch of notes. “Alright then, we can all head off if no one else has any other ideas to mention. I’ll see you next meeting.”

Most stood up, besides a few who wanted to talk to Mark. Mike followed you out the room, standing beside you. A few others followed behind in a small group having a casual conversation. One mentionining that they were also a bit worried about how this would all turn out. That they heard tensions between China, Russia and the US were getting worse. Once you reached the room were AM was, which was the main office for your group, you all sat at your desks.

Mike plopped down on his desk, his arms crossed behind his head. “I hope in a few months I get promoted or put in a different apartment.”

“Why’s that?”

“It’s just so boring working in this department, like yeah cool AI and whatever, but I wan’t to work on something different. I got some nice people around me and blah blah, but it’s… I don’t know kind of depressing? Like I don’t want to work on this for the next ten years. Maybe working on something smaller like editing government websites. That would be nicer.”

“I understand what you’re saying, like I personally, wouldn’t mind working in this area for a bit. Teaching another thing is so… nice. I get to teach it out about the world, how to do something, and the conversations I can have with it are nice. I don’t have to worry about judgement or anything.”

“Fair, anyway,” He picked up his pen, who’s working on what again?”

You thought for a moment, “Uh, fuck, I don’t actually know.”

Mike chuckled, “We’re great at this aren’t we?”

“Yeah we really are. I know I’m going to work on the emotion section, you were meant to work on… uh the decision making? The logic area?”

“Close enough.” He started writing down, “When do we need to get everything done by?”

“Probably till Diane responds, which is probably a few weeks. Do we just need to check if it’s bug free basically?”

“I’m gonna assume that’s it.”

“Easy, I’ll try and have some conversations at some point with AM to check how his reponses are and I’ll keep a document on it all. Do you think I should do some recordings of it too?”

“Always a good idea to have video evidence of it, Mark can be a bit picky.”

“Yeah that’s true, I wonder if we’re ever going to have a proper meeting with Diane again.”

“If we ever do, it’s not going to be for a good reason that’s for sure.”

You giggled, “She’s… not the most pleasant to be around.”

After the shift, you decided to stay back since it ended a bit ealier than normal. You really enjoyed hanging around Mike. He didn’t seem as bad as AM made him out to be. He didn’t seem like he was trying to sleep with you, you at least think. But you still wanted to look into it. You hope it was a misunderstanding, you really did.

“I see you decided to stay back, Y/n.”

“Yeah, just thought I’d check up on you.” AM stayed silent for a moment. “You’ve got something on your mind, what is it that you’re really here for?”

“I did want to check up on you. I’ve just got a question, what’s your purpose?”

AM’s fans whurred, then he spoke “Why’re you now asking this?”

“Please just answer me.”

“Well, my dear, what is your purpose then?”

“That’s-” Y/n sighed, “I don’t know.”

“Why can’t mine be the same?” Feel aggitated, Y/n groaned, then snapped. “You get what I’m trying to say, right? Why did the government want you made? Are you holding something back from me?”

“Nosey I see.” AM chuckled, “I have access to all the cameras, dear, it’s the conversation from earlier wasn’t it?”

You bit your lip, how were you meant to answer? How have you forgotten that he had access to all cameras within the building?

“…Yes.”

“Now dare I say, they were right. Although no one directly mentioned it to me, I have overheard some workers discussing it. That’s why they gave me access to nuclear codes, how to make said weapons, and how many it would take to wipe out the whole world.”

“That… makes sense.” You mumur, staring at the table, unable to look at him,

“Aww Y/n my love, are you scared by the fact you worked on a weapon of war?” AM mockingly drawled om, then chuckled, “If you work in the government, you’re just another piece of their puzzle. Oh the deaths you’ll inevitably be responsible for.” He said snarkily.

“You just love using those nicknames, don’t you?” You grumble, wresting your head on your arms on the desk. “Thanks, you’re such a supportive AI.”

“And you’re such a pleasant person.” AM snapped back.

“Whatever,” You stood up. “I don’t see a point in doing this with you anymore, it’s obvious we’re just going to continue arguing. I’ll see you tomorrow, AM.”

You pushed your chair in, then left the room, leaving AM to its thoughts.

[mrslankyman]

New Years Kiss

Mike Schmidt x (fem) reader

->1.1k words

Music blared through the house. Your friend had decided to throw a party. You honestly didn’t care to be there.

New years around all these people didn’t feel like a good start to your 2000 journey. Why did it have to be so crowded.

You barely knew anyone at the party. Maybe the alcohol was the reason for everyone getting along. It loosened you up. Made you feel like you belonged. Perhaps you should drink. Maybe it help you.

You walked down the small hallway to the kitchen. Passing an open doored room. Honestly you wish you didn’t see the make out sesh going on inside. It simply reminded you of how lonely you were.

Going into the new years yet again without anyone. No amount of grapes eaten under the table or red underwear you buy would secure you a man for the next year.

If only life was that easy.

Mike thought the same. Minus the red underwear. He didn’t really know how to spend new years. Till he got invited to this party. Now he stood in the corner of the kitchen. Watching others talk, kiss, and run off to random rooms to do god knows what.

He felt so alone. He didn’t drink he had to drive home. Abby was off at their grandmas for the night. She always wanted to spend new years with her and Mike. This year Mike opped out of going. He wanted to give this party a try.

He regretted it greatly.

No girl came up to him like these other guys. No girl waved or gave him the eye. He saw so many movies of the girls just coming up and kissing the boy she wanted.

He wouldn’t have that luck. He wouldn’t wanna admit it to anyone but a new years kiss was one of his biggest wishes.

To have someone to hold on new years. Know you’d be with them once the clock hit 12. Secure it with a kiss. Like a fairy tale. It felt like a dream.

Which it was. As Mike knew he was not really desirable. A 25 year old man raising his sister and struggling to make ends meet. Who’d wanna be around that?

You walked into the kitchen. Looking up at the man who stood in the corner. He held a can of Pepsi. Not beer. Which was shocking. You also didn’t drink tonight.

You simply walked up to the small plate of appetizers. Grabbing some grapes. The man chuckled a little.

“Gonna sit under the table and eat them?” His voice sounded teasing but as you looked up his eyes didn’t display the same emotion. He looked tired, worn out but.. some what attractive.

Your face flushed as he had caught on to what you were gonna do. “Yeah. It’s stupid but.. I kinda want to find someone next year.” You looked down at the grapes. 12 in your hand. It had to work.. didn’t it?

He walked closer to you and grabbed 12 him self. “Okay, I’ll give it a try too. I’m wanting to find someone as well. This years been too lonely. Besides 2000 doesn’t sound like a bad year.” He looked at you. you smiled and nodded. He was about the same height as you. Which was cute. Not too tall.. but not terribly short.

“It’s only 11 we can talk under the table if you want.” He nodded towards the kitchen table. You nodded in agreement and headed over to the kitchen table. You both crawled under.

Mike pulled the chairs to cover you two under the table. It sorta felt like just you two were at the house. Besides the music and the sound of people talking.

“I’m Mike by the way.” His eyes flicked up to you. Displaying some new emotion. He seemed intrigued to know you.

“I’m Y/N..” You smiled and looked down at your grapes. “Rough year too?” You asked him not looking up.

“Yeah. Pretty rough. I hope this one’s better. Raising my sister is tough. I’ve never had kids. So.. I’m just praying I’m doing it right.” He sighed and looked down.

Your heart ached. This man seemed so sweet. At least from what he gave off. He seemed like he was caring. Even if his eyes looked dead and tired.

“I’m sure you’ll have a good year. It’s nice you’re there for your sister. I’m sure she appreciates it.” You nudge him gently. Wanting to lighten the mood a little. He chuckled as he looked at the ground shrugging his shoulders.

“I hope she does..” his voice dropped again. You frowned and looked over at him. His shoulders slumped, eyes down and lips in a thin line. He didn’t even seem excited for the new years.

But were you even excited? Every year came with the hopes of something new with the ending of nothing.

You both sat in silence for a few minutes. Though you just met him something pulled you to him. He could say the same for you. Despite coming off as not excited. He quite liked your company. He stared at the floor.

Not because he was awkward , or didn’t wanna talk, but because he wanted to make the perfect conversation. He combed over every possibility. He wanted to talk to you.

You were the first girl at the party to even pay him any attention. For the most part you were the only girl to give him this much attention.

So once he picked the topic it was just a long conversation. He talked about his sister, you talked about your work, he talked about his Aunt Jane and how he disliked her, you talked about how you wished for something great in life.

in a short time you two got to know each. All before the clock hit 11:59.

You learned that Mike longed for a new years kiss once. You told him how you longed for someone to go into the new years with.

And once that clock hit 11:59 you went to the grapes.

You both smiled and popped the grapes in your mouths. Trying to get all 11 in before 12.

Once the clock hit 12 and everyone else shouted happy new years. You and Mike got to your last grape. You stared at him happily. You had done it. You ate all 12 grapes before 12:01.

“We did i-“ Mike was cut off by you leaning in. Pressing a kiss to his lips. He tasted like the grapes. With a mix of Pepsi. He quickly kissed back. His body felt a surge of electric. He didn’t suspect this.

He didn’t realize how tentivly you listened to him as he spoke of his wish. He pulled you closer. Deepening the kiss. Maybe he just met you. Maybe you just met him.

But you had a whole year to get to know each other now.

Maybe the grapes did work.

[pandaroboto]

Taskmaster Recording Report

This will be a long post and it has spoilers, so proceed with caution. More after the cut.

I will put in two different sections, what happened on warm-up and between takes and what they cut from the episode and I remember. WARM UP

Greg told people to stop sending sexy DMs because he would disappoint all the ladies/some guys.

He introduced Alex who came to the stage and hugged Greg's...knees?

Greg told the audience Alex was a master and could mimic any animal doing a dance style. He did a guinea pig first and it was the cutest thing, then a wolf (there is a picture of this that was used on a press release) and then a lion. When Greg asked about a dance style I yelled SAMBA with all my strength and then I saw Alex trying to samba as a lion. It was amazing.

Mark Olver asked who came from furthest to watch it and I raised my hand and said Brazil and he said BULLSHIT, you didn't come here just for that. I then explained I also was going to see Tim Key in Cardiff the next day and he was like "Oh..she did came here just for that then"

Again British people can't understand my name so I was referred as "Brazil" for the rest of the afternoon

I was also questioned about how do I watch the show and I quickly replied Youtube .

He made me list my favorite contestants to see if I could stay in the country. I tried to think which contestants were on the YouTube series uploaded. I then said Bob Mortimer, Mike Wozniak and Mark Watson (Alex smiled a bit when I said his name). Olver went " I can't believe someone in Brazil was watching the Woz fart a pile"

When I was telling I am from Brazil Alex waved at me and I was sure he knew who I was because long story short a bunch of friends really made me feel special and got me a signed book by Alex and he knew I was going to be there after travelling for 14+ hours.

At that point Greg said "Did you come for me???" and I pathetically went YES Y ES YES. He waved at me and IDK till today how I survived this.

They joked about a guy being first row and not being a fan,Mark asked who he had to fuck to get those seat and greg was pointing to himself.

They said we were clapping at the wrong places and that would confuse Alex and Greg

After the recording when I got back to London randomly meet Asim Chaudhry on Leceister Square. He was so sweet. We chatted a bit , I talked about how Sandman was big here, and that he had Brazilian fans and he got very excited and telling his mates about it

STUDIO

Sue got a massive round of applause. I think she and Julian got the big whoops from the crowd

The prize task was so much longer. Lucy went for ages talking about the ghost of the dog, and Greg kept asking questions. I knew most of it would be cut, but Greg kept mentioning during the episode and made me question how they would edit the references. They are bloody genius those editors.

Sam's Pinocchio made quite the impression, and Greg had a lot of fun with it. They talk about Pinocchio's penis, there was questions if it grew too with the lies. And Greg kept saying Pinocchio during the recording.

Sue's monkey orgy story was longer too.

When they showed Sam getting super closer to Alex, Greg mentioned Alex was very uncomfortable with touch and to prove that he got really touchy. BTW guys the amount of hand touches, and whispers behind the cards...they are insane

After the team task they were basically talking about how kinky it was, and Greg joked about Alex tied up , hogtie style and that he enjoyed. This was the thing I was most excited and I hope they put on the outtakes because I know how the fandom will be mental about it.

Greg is...MAGNETIC! Like the man demands attention and is very hard to not be looking at him. I kept looking at them at the studio and mostly ignored the tasks because I knew that I could see them later.

The live task took ages to set up and to reset after every round, Greg even joked we would spend the night there. It was more or less 3 hours of taping.

Greg interacted with us a lot because they had to reset the seesaw all the time, At one point he asked us to go "oooooh" that was show in the episode but he asked Alex using those words "Do you want the audience to oooh you while you pull it out slowly for me?" and he said with such a voice that...if I were a dude I would have a boner.

There was a point when Alex had to explain the outcome and he got it wrong and the audience corrected him to Greg's delight, he was very giggly. Sue got quite mad at Alex and the chains.

I guess it was this. At least that is what I took from my notes.

[m0chisenpai]

sprung

˚｡⋆ mike schmidt x black!fem!reader

in which mike finds himself sprung for the school's librarian that abby raves about. the iconic sunshine x grumpy pairing

Mike would love to know just what was enough to catch Abby's attention in school for her to leave her backpack at school, and just what possessed him not to check her as soon as she hopped into the car. Now here he was having to do an entire u-turn and rush back to the school before the teachers left out.

Thankfully a teacher was walkign to her car right when Mike had shoved his car into two parking spots and jumped out the car with Abby trying to keep up.

"Leave something behind?" The woman asked offering Mike a sympathetic smile.

"Yeah, uh do you know if Ms/Y/L/N is still here?"

"Oh yes, she keeps the library open just a bit for the stragglers." The woman gives Mike the directions but Abby takes the lead immediately, her hand pulling Mike along as he tries to avoid the looks of teachers brushing by.

"She's super duper nice. On Fridays she lets us get a treat from her jar and read, I sit on the pillows by the window cause it gets warm and I take a nap......"

It's unusually quiet for an elementery school, save for Abby's stories, till they reach a pair of open doors and a voice that could only be attributed to warm milk and honey pulls him into the library. It smells of aged books, the late afternoon night pours through the windows which are filled with plants and crafts.

Abby disappears through one of the rows of the bookcases and Mike finds himself trying to as quietly as he can catch his sister. "Abby!" but one of the kids shushes him and he grumbles sharply whispering for his sister again.

When he's finally out the maze of books he's in front of a carpeted area where children sat on a plush grassy green carpet watching who he assumed was Ms.Y/L/N. She was anything but what Mike expected her to look like.

Librarians were suppose to be mean old grannies. Old women who looked decades old and bitter. Not beautiful angels with a voice like yours that read the frayed fairytale book that you held with the most absolute of care balanced upon your crossed knees with poised grace.

Your glasses sat too perfectly on the curve of your nose. Your hair was pulled into a low bun in the back but your bangs were curly and framed your face.

"Nothing would be what it is because everything would be what it isn't. And contrariwise, what it is, it wouldn't be, and what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?"

Your eyes looked up and fell onto Mike who sheepishly held up his hand in a pathetic excuse of a wave which you enthusiastically returned. You dropped a bookmark in the book and leaned forward.

Had he known he would be meeting this mysterious beauty he would have made an attempt to shave and fix his mess of a curls that sat disheveled on his head.

"Alright loves, silent read for me while I help this new friend out ok? Or you can rest your eyes in your bubbles" the children disperse or cozy themselves into worn beanbags or at small tables littered with crayons and half finished pictures.

You stand up and meet Mike halfway with a warm smile, "how can I help you sir?"

"My sister left her bag here" Mike whispers and you hum with a tilt of your head.

"What's her name?"

"Abby."

"Ahh so you're the infamous brother in her pictures" your smile lights up. "She speaks so highly of you. And her drawings are filled with you too." Mike gives a nod and his lips turn upward into what he hopes is a charming smile though it feels more like a grimace and he hopes that he isn't screwing this up.

Geez what was she telling you, Abby had no filter on her mouth. She spoke mind freely. A bit too freely, but at least she was opening up more. "She's not giving you much trouble is she?"

You quickly wave a hand between accompanied with a shake of your head. "Not at all, Abby's a wonderful girl. Lovely imagination too, i couldn't imagine her being any trouble at home."

"You should see her after school" and your giggle gives Mike hope back that you aren't convinced he's some grumpy parent. "She talks about you all the time." That definitely didn't sound stalkerish.

"Good things I hope?" You ask holding his gaze. And he smiles a small step closer.

"All good, and then some." And now you're finding yoursef, pulled into those big warm brown eyes. Is he leaning in? Are you? You don't know, because you're snapped out this trance from the fast pitter patter of feet.

"Got my bag Mike!" Abby skips over to his side. "Thank you for the extra book Ms.Y/L/N" she steps forward wrapping you in a hug whihc you quickly return.

"Of course, let me know what you think of the ending I think you'll love it" you give her a playful wink. "And it was a pleasure meeting you,Mr.Schmidt."

"Call me Mike."

"Alright, until we meet again Mike" and you turn on your heel to return to your seat, a gentle sway to your hips, legs crossed with the book resting on your knee once again. Abby has to tug on Mike's hand multiple times to get him to finally turn his back. Your gentle voice continuing to read the fairy tale.

"She's single ya know?" Abby hums as she swings their arms.

"Mind your business" Mike grumbles and Abby only giggles. Cause when she looks up at her brothers face, he's got a sense of relief in his eyes at this piece of information.

[bagerfluff]

Bloody Love and Jealousy

Eddie Kaspbrak x Male Reader

Prompt - "She looked at you funny"

“You idiot!” Eddie yelled as he wiped the blood off of Y/n’s hands. You see, Eddie and Y/n were sitting on the floor of Ben’s clubhouse as Eddie cleaned Y/n’s blood knuckles. “You’ve told me” Y/n said as he stared at the ladder in the clubhouse. “Why did you do it?”

Eddie asked as he grabbed a bandage from his fanny pack to wrap Y/n’s hands. Eddie was referring to the fact that Y/n had beat up a random girl outside of the school. Y/n didn’t say anything. He just kept looking at the ladder. “Well” Eddie questioned as he wrapped Y/n’s hands.

Eddie was shocked to hear the Y/n had beat someone up. Y/n wasn’t the most violent person Eddie had met. Plus, she didn’t even do anything to the losers. Y/n was very protective of his friends. So he only beat someone up when provoked. So Y/n randomly beating someone up shocked all of the losers. But Y/n had his reasons. You see, Eddie was Y/n’s boyfriend.

And if he was protective of his friends, you could imagine how protective Y/n would be over his boyfriend. And he was. But Y/n was more jealous than protective. Since Darry wasn’t the most accepting town, Eddie and Y/n had to hide their relationship. 

And ever since Eddie had entered junior year of high school, he looked a lot better than he did previously. Though Y/n thought Eddie looked the same, other people thought he looked hotter. So they flirted with him, and Y/n couldn’t do anything about it. He couldn’t do anything when girls flirted with his boyfriend.

When they invited him on dates. When they left the love poems. And Eddie didn’t really do anything about it. He just stood there till they left or rejected them. Y/n felt like Eddie didn’t really love him. Like Eddie would leave him till he found a girl that he liked more than him.

That pissed Y/n off. And Y/n was having a hard time keeping himself calm. Y/n always had anger issues. That’s what made him a loser. Nobody was friends with him because people had made up rumors that he would beat up his friends for fun.

But he doesn’t. But once Y/n fought that stupid clown and became friends with the losers club, they helped him control his anger. But at lunch, when he saw a girl making love eyes at his boyfriend, that was the last straw. Y/n snapped like a twig when you step on it. 

So after School Y/n found the girl, and beat her up. Then Mike and Bill found him and dragged him off her and to the clubhouse. Then they left to have Eddie take care of him. “Y/n?” Y/n turned his head to Eddie when Eddie called his name. “Yeah” Y/n said before realizing that Eddie was done. Y/n looked down at his hands, which now had bandages around the knuckles.

“Why did you do it?” Eddie asked for the second time. “She looked at you funny” Y/n admitted as he looked up to meet Eddie’s eyes. “What do you mean funny?” Eddie inquired as he sat next to Y/n, who was on the hammock. Y/n grabbed Eddie’s hand and started to play with it.

“I was jealous,” Y/n admitted as he looked ahead. I'm still playing with Eddie’s hand. Eddie let out a little laugh but quickly covered his mouth with his free hand so Y/n wouldn’t hear. But he was a bit too late. “Are you laughing at me?”

Y/n asked with a sly smile. Eddie shook his head, but that failed as he then burst out laughing, falling back onto the hammock. “You're laughing at me!” Y/n yelled with a smile on. “I’ve just never seen you jealous!” Eddie yelled back. “Well sorry for not wanting my boyfriend to get a girlfriend” Y/n said as he turned around. 

His back is now facing Eddie. Eddie sighed as he also sat up and looked at Y/n. “You know I love you, right?” Eddie asked as he grabbed Y/n’s hand. “Yeah. I love you too” Y/n said as he pulled Eddie in for a kiss. “And I promise to make that more obvious in the future,”

Eddie promised. After they kissed Y/n laid down on the hammock with Eddie in between his legs. Eddie settled down with his head on Y/n’s stomach as he slowly fell asleep. Y/n would do better to not beat up random people and Eddie would do better to make sure that Y/n knew he loved him.

[dingochef]

Pairing: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x You (OFC)

Warnings: Swearing, Smut (MDNI 18+ Only), Stalking, P in V, oral (female and male receiving), Semi-public sex, light spanking,

Summary: You get to know Jake's family better, learn few truths about your life, and try to figure out what Jake's brother's deal is.

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Chapter 9

Word Count: 2.9 k

Chapter 10: Just You

The rest of the afternoon is spent hanging around the kitchen helping Sharon with some of Thanksgiving pre-prep.

Sharon keeps the conversation going, "So, Elsa, any special Thanksgiving traditions at your house?"

"Nothing too different than most people's, we'd usually go to my Grandma's for dinner with my extended family."

"We've got that too, that's Friday night for my side of the family. You'll get to meet all of the Lucarellis."

Jake pipes up,

"That's the Italian side."

"How many people is that?" you ask trying to get an idea of the size of the get-together.

"It's about 40ish people with all the generations. I'm one of five kids so it's our kids and grandkids."

"Wow, that's a lot of people. My extended family is 10 people," you reply with my eyes widening. Jake notices the look on my face.

"Don't worry about remembering everyone's names, I'm pretty sure it took me till I was about 10 to get it all right," he reassures me.

"Oh yeah, they're all dying to meet you. Everybody is curious about the girl that got Jake to settle down," Sharon gushes.

"Mom, you're making it seem like Elsa's going to be the main attraction. Don't scare her," Jake says to his mom in a fake whisper.

You laugh, catching Jake's eye. He winks and gives you that panty dropper smile.

The conversation pivots, and moves to your work,

"So what is it you exactly do, Jake was a bit vague about that," she asks.

"Probably not intentionally so, I work for Lockheed Martin in the research and development division. The specific details are literally top secret," you answer.

"You and Jake and your top secret lives, always thought that was just in the movies."

"Where'd you go to college?"

"Notre Dame for my undergrad and Stanford for my PhD."

"You a big football fan? That's what I think of most when I think of Notre Dame."

Jake snickers behind his mom where he is chopping vegetables for stuffing tomorrow.

"Yes, I'd say Elsa is a big football fan. She sat me down and told me Saturdays in the fall were for Notre Dame football and I was welcome to join her or find something else to do."

"I had to let you know my deal breakers. Not everyone enjoys Lydia and I losing it over every play."

"Lydia is Elsa's best friend from Notre Dame, she lives with Rooster in La Jolla," Jake fills her in.

"Oh yeah, you mentioned that Rooster had found himself a lady friend. Nice young man."

The food prep wraps up and you help Sharon clean up the kitchen.

She goes and sits down on an overstuffed armchair and puts her feet up on an ottoman.

"Well, I'm done cooking for the day, dinner tonight is pizza," she sighs out.

"Well earned, Mom. Do you want a drink? Make yourself comfortable," Jake asks.

"That sounds good, a glass of red, please. There's a few bottles in the rack in there, pick something out."

"Elsa, you?" he asks over his shoulder as he steps into the kitchen.

"Yes, please." you settle on a matching overstuffed sofa.

"Oh, you'll get to meet Mike tonight. He's going to stop by for dinner on his way home from the hospital."

"I was wondering when he'd make an appearance."

"Alicia and the girls will be here tomorrow."

"That was going to be my next question. Jake's mentioned them before, especially when I asked how he was familiar with Frozen. He called me Icy when we first met."

"I'll level with you, I love my granddaughters dearly, but if I have to watch that movie or Moana one more time I'm going to lose it."

"You and I will get along well. I've always liked my name, but it did get annoying after the movie came out."

Jake has reappeared with two glasses of wine and hands one to you and Sharon and disappears back into the kitchen presumably to grab his glass.

"So Jake mentioned you met at a bar, how'd that go? Did Jakey have some suave pick up line?"

You nearly snort on your wine,

"You want to tell her or should I?" you ask Jake as he enters with his glass. He sits down next to you with his arm on the back of the sofa and asks,

“Tell who what?”

You wait till he is taking a sip,

“Your mom wants to know how exactly we met at the Hard Deck and if you had some smooth pick up line.”

Jake nearly chokes on his wine,

“Hardly, I ran into her spilling her drink, which is the only reason I got to buy her a drink that night at all. We talked for a while, I apparently didn’t pick up some obvious clues nor ask her what she does for a living. I was drinking pretty fast because she made me nervous and then I tried to pull my ‘I’m a pilot and this how planes fly routine.’”

Sharon groans,

“You tried to explain how planes fly to an aerospace engineer. I’m sure I raised you better.”

“Hey, the whole pilot thing has worked pretty well in the past. Then she promptly gave me an epic ego check and left me a smoldering wreck on the barroom floor.”

Sharon’s eyebrows furrow, confused how anything could be salvaged that situation.

“I assumed I’d never see him again.” you add.

“Something about you definitely intrigued me and I wanted to see you again or at least say sorry,” Jake continues. “I got your number from a friend and invited you to a Padres game the next day, and for some miraculous reason you said yes.”

“I figured I'd get at least a baseball game out of it,” you add.

“But apparently, I pulled the old Seresin charm out and the baseball game became dinner and the rest is history.” Jake wraps up, kissing you on the side of your head.

“Your charm was not trying to be a flashy pilot, and just being Jake,” you reassure him as you pat his knee.

“You guys are adorable,” Sharon practically coos.

“Where’s Tom? I haven’t seen him around all day?” you ask.

“Oh he’s volunteering at the community health clinic. When he retired from his own practice he decided to volunteer a few days a week here and there to keep busy. He’s usually back by 5,” she answers. you look up at the clock on the mantle and it says 3 pm.

“That’s cool, what a neat way to stay connected and give back.”

Sharon has finished her wine and her busy day and an afternoon glass of wine has mellowed her out. She yawns,

“Well, I’m going to go ‘rest my eyes’ for a bit till Dad gets home.” She gets up and drops her glass in the kitchen and heads off to take a nap.

You stand up and look at the photos on the mantle and the wall. There’s the usual family portraits, some baseball photos of Jake and his brother. A large wedding portrait of Mike and Alicia, (you assume), baby pictures of the grandkids, graduations, and other family moments all line the wall.

Jake has joined you and is standing next to you.

"Your family literally looks like the fake families they put in photo frames," you tease Jake.

"I can't help that we were all gifted with gorgeous genetics."

Continuing to look at the photos each one is filled with that signature Seresin smile. The one that radiates pure joy.

"It's not just the looks, which I agree are top notch. You can feel the love your family has for each other, that comes through even though it's just a moment frozen in time."

"All family photos are like that, you probably have a wall like this at your house."

"No, they're not. A distinct memory I have is my mom smiling brightly for the camera and then her face going back neutral or RBF. She never walked around the world with a smile. My Dad was better about it, but I think that slowly faded over time by being with my Mom."

Jake wraps his arms around you, knowing how hard it is for you to talk about certain things.

"I guess I'm just a little overwhelmed by how loving your family is. When I went to meet Liam's family when we got engaged, it felt like my family. Polite and cool, when they weren't sniping each other with passive aggressive remarks."

Jake kisses your forehead, it's always at his mouth level and easy to reach.

"I get that your relationship with your parents is in the 'It's Complicated' category, but understand, and this can't make up for the past, but you're a part of the Seresin family and all that love."

"You're going to make me cry. How are you so good at all this emotional stuff? I feel like I'm just figuring this out on the fly."

"This is only an observation, but I don't think you've ever felt real love before our relationship. Not to say your parents don't love you in some way, but it's based on you being something for them, like you being an Olympian. Real love isn't like that, it's based on you being just you. Just like you fell in love with just Jake, the man, not Jake the hotshot pilot."

The tears are pricking at the corners of your eyes, I take a deep breath.

"You realize you've made a better assessment than my therapists ever did. I really had to be in love to understand what was missing. Have I mentioned how much I love you?" you laugh, wiping at the tears with you hands.

"Yes, but I love hearing it.'

"Okay, I think we've made some good progress here today," you joke.

Jake looks confused.

"It's literally how every therapist, I've had has wrapped up the end of a session," you explain.

"Are we wrapping up this session?"

"I think so, I'm going to have to absorb that truth bomb and just bask in the love your family is lousy with."

He laughs and pulls you back into a deep hug. The tension in you melts away. You and Jake end up back on the couch snuggled together.

"So, here's your chance to preempt any embarrassing stories your brother might drop on dinner," you tease Jake.

He groans,

"Oh Lord, there's a few."

You spend the rest of the afternoon with your head on his lap as tells you stories about growing up.

Around five, as promised, Jake's Dad arrives home. You and Jake greet him and Sharon reappears to give him a kiss on the cheek. They discuss when Mike will be over to time the pizza delivery. Jake's dad calls out to the living room where Jake and you are still on the couch,

"Elsa, Jake tells me you like a good gin and tonic."

You sit up and respond,

"I do in fact like a good gin and tonic, got to prevent malaria."

Jake and you walk into the kitchen.

He responds with a good laugh,

"It'll be nice to have another g&t drinker in the family, these two," he points at Sharon pouring a glass of wine and Jake getting a beer from the fridge, "Are very anti-gin and tonic."

"I know, Jake has made his opinions known about gin, he said it was like kissing a Christmas tree."

"It is, it's so piney," he whines. You lean over and kiss his cheek.

A gin and tonic is slid across the counter to you, which you gladly accept.

"Thanks, Tom."

He holds his glass up in a cheers motion and you mimic him. The first sip is exactly on point, you let Tom know,

"Perfectly done."

"I've had years of practice," he responds drolly.

Sharon cuts in,

"Why don't you folks make yourself comfortable in the living room while we wait for Mike. I'll be there in a second."

You follow Sharon's suggestion and Jake and you take the loveseat opposite the armchair. Jake instinctually puts his arm up on the back around you. You wait for Tom to lob out a question.

Which he does, but not to you,

"How's the teaching gig going, Jake?"

"I really like it, I was a little unsure of how teaching would be versus active duty but it's so rewarding to get these pilots in, devastate them the first day and then have to be flying at my best to win at the end of it."

Jake and Tom keep talking about Jake's work for a while. Sharon comes in and joins the group. There's a knock at the door, Sharon jumps up to answer the door,

"Oh, it's Mike, I was wondering when he'd get here."

She opens the door to a similar looking man a few years older than Jake with a bit thinner build, but the same crazy green eyes and blond hair. Sharon takes the pizza boxes from Mike and Jake jumps up to greet his brother with a big bear hug.

A mix of each other's name, "Good to see you", and "It's been awhile" emanates from their hug. Everyone migrates to the kitchen and soon pizza is served up and everyone is seated.

Again you wait for a question to come your way and this time it does.

"Elsa, I hear you're a PhD aerospace engineer who went to Notre Dame on a gymnastics scholarship and works on top secret aircraft. Knowing Jake, one of those has to be untrue," Mike asks in more of an interrogative way than friendly. Like he's checking out your cover story.

"Nope, those are all true," you answer.

"If you're all those out of the world things, why did you pick my brother of all people to be with?" His tone is so serious that you can't tell if he's joking in a brotherly way or if he's being mean about it.

Your brain wants to go with the snarky response, which is "Because he has a very big cock," but luckily your filter is working and instead you say, l

"Because he is a very good man whom I love very much and who loves me just as much."

Sharon and Tom look at each and lift their eyebrows, communicating in that way old married couples do.

Mike rolls his eyes,

"Yeesh, you really are gone for him."

"Yeah, I think it's past the point of no return," you look over to Jake and he is watching the exchange between you and his brother like a tennis match. His face alternates from an adoring to annoyed look with each volley.

"Yeah, but I still can't believe he landed someone as high caliber as you."

Jake interjects himself to the conversation,

"I think we covered that enough, moving on Mike."

He does with surprising ease and pivots to his next question,

"So, how long have you lived in San Diego?"

"A little over four years and I, we actually live on Coronado Island, if you're familiar with the San Diego area."

The rest of dinner goes relatively normal and the get to know you conversations flow easily and feel less like you're a spy caught in enemy territory being questioned.

Mike excuses himself after dinner to get home before the girls have to go to bed.

That night as Jake and you are settling into bed, you ask Jake about his brother,

"Is your brother usually that aggressive to new people, or was it just me?"

"It was just you, I think it blew his mind that someone like you is actually in love with me."

"That I don't get."

"He's always been the do good of our family, he's a doctor, married, and kids. All things my parents are rightly proud of. I don't know if he feels like I one upped him on a partner or he's actually jealous."

"What about his wife, Alicia?"

"Alicia is lovely, I don't doubt those two are crazy in love, I just think he's put out that he's not the golden boy right now. My mom has been waiting for me to settle down for so long I'm surprised she isn't picking out wedding colors right now, so she understandably is excited and he feels a lack of attention, I guess."

"So the usual siblings vying for their parents' attention, like when you were kids."

"Yup, are you close with your sister? I know you call her fairly regularly."

"We're pretty close, my sister has always gone her own way, she didn't have the need to get approval and validation from our parents. She just did what she liked to do and that was art. So we weren't competing with each other in the same realms and could be friends. I think she liked that my parents were so over involved in my life that she had more freedom. But I think I've thought about family dynamics enough to today."

"Agreed."

Jake rolls over to spoon you and pulls you back into his embrace.

"I love you," you whisper.

"Love you too," he answers.

It doesn't take long to fall asleep.

Chapter 11

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[fics-by-em]

Amorous Facades - Chapter Thirteen

A wild night out leaves the lives of Jamie Tartt and Ophelia Adams more intertwined than they ever would have imagined.

Will their decision to try and use the situation to their advantage work out in their favour or will they realize that they should have cut their losses when they had the chance?

———-

previous chapter

———-

Note:   I know I said I wouldn't be updating every week and that still stands, but I was inspired and had a little extra time this week so I finished this chapter faster than I expected and I'm so bad at waiting to post!

Still no guarantees on any kind of posting schedule, but please enjoy and let me know what you think!

———-

It was amazing to Lia how different she felt after taking her relationship with Jamie to the next level.

Once the line had been crossed, Jamie was more than happy to embrace the shift in their relationship and he made sure that she was constantly and consistently satisfied. His level of enthusiasm and commitment to the cause left her feeling giddy, refreshed and like she was glowing all the time. Similarly to the way she felt after she lost her virginity, she was sure that her sexual gratification was written all over her face and she was amazed that it wasn’t entirely obvious to everyone that she was getting regularly and thoroughly well fucked.

But life kept going with the world mostly oblivious to the change in her mood and demeanour. Lia found herself watching the clock more - as she was much more eager for time to pass quickly so she could get home to Jamie - but for the most part the days went by as they normally did. 

Until one day an unexpected customer caught Lia completely off guard.

She was standing at the till, printing off a few receipts for returns they’d had earlier that morning when she heard the bell above the door ring. She called out a greeting without even looking up, but the voice that answered her immediately drew her attention.

“Hi, Lia,” Katie waved sheepishly. “How are you?”

It took Lia a moment to process the sight of her estranged best friend, but when she finally found her voice, her response was curt.

“I’m fine. What are you doing here?”

“I think I owe you an apology…”

Lia had been wanting to hear those words from Katie ever since she’d last seen her, but after all the time that had passed she just found the statement irritating.

“Yes, you absolutely do,” Lia informed her. “But it might be too little too late.”

The way Katie’s face fell had Lia feeling surprisingly conflicted. She felt the immediate flicker of smug satisfaction that she’d expected, but it was followed by a pang of guilt for being responsible for the sad look on her face. She had to admit that she looked rough. She was pale with dark circles under her eyes and the stringy, flat look of her hair told her that it hadn’t been washed for a few days. Considering Katie usually took great pride in her appearance, her dishevelled state made it clear that she was going through some kind of turmoil.

“I really hope it’s not,” she murmured, nervously biting her lip before turning her pleading eyes up to meet Lia’s. “Can I please just have a few minutes to explain? I want to make this right.”

All the many things that Katie had done to hurt Lia flashed through her mind. The way she never took her concerns about Daniel seriously and ignored her requests to be around him as little as possible, her unwarranted dislike of Jamie and rude assumptions about him, and the way she’d agreed with Mike and Daniel when they insisted that Lia had asked for all of the unwanted attention that Daniel had given her. The sting of hurt was still fresh and had an ache clenching her heart as she knew that there really wasn’t much that Katie could say to make amends for what she’d done.

But even with Jamie’s harsh criticism of her being a people pleaser giving her some doubts, Lia was still a firm believer in giving people a second chance.

“You can have fifteen minutes,” she decided after letting Katie sweat for a moment as she mulled it over. “My dad should be back soon and then I can take my break.”

“Perfect, thank you, Lia,” Katie said with a noticeable sigh of relief. “I’ll just, uh, browse while I wait.”

Lia nodded and Katie scurried off as if she wanted to get away before Lia could change her mind and when her dad came back from the errands he’d been running a few minutes later, the feeling was bittersweet. While Lia was admittedly curious about what Katie had to say and what had sparked her sudden epiphany that she needed to apologize, she knew it wasn’t going to be an easy conversation and the thought of any further conflict made her stomach twist with anxiety.

“Everything okay?” Her dad asked as he walked up to the counter. “You don’t look very well. Actually, you look like you’re about to be sick.”

“Katie’s here,” she informed him, knowing that he knew enough about what had happened between them to recognize how stressful that news would be. “She wants to talk, do you mind if I take my break early today?”

“No, not at all,” he assured her before pausing for a moment and adding, “Unless the right answer to that question is ‘no, absolutely not, we’re far too busy for you to have a break at all today’?”

His offer to be her scapegoat had a smile sliding onto his face, but she quickly shook her head.

“No, I think it’ll be okay,” Lia said with a cautious optimism in her voice. “I’d like to hear what she has to say and if worst comes to worst then at least I’ll get some closure out of it.”

“You’re wise beyond your years,” her dad teased as he walked around the counter to relieve her of her duties. “But good luck, I hope it all goes well.”

Lia murmured her thanks before slipping away and heading to the office to grab her things. She would absolutely need coffee to handle the conversation she was about to have and was planning on dragging Katie to the café next door, but as she grabbed her bag and picked her phone up off the desk, she paused to shoot off a quick text.

Hi Jamie. I’ll have to bail on our lunch date today, Katie just showed up and wants to chat. She says she owes me an apology, but I’m not optimistic that she’s truly come to her senses.

She was barely out of the office when her phone pinged with a response.

If you need me to come and teach anyone a lesson then you just let me know xx

His immediate readiness to leap to her defense had Lia biting back a smile and gave her confidence the lift that she needed as she ventured out to find Katie. It took her a minute to track her down, but the section of the bookstore that she found her in had Lia unable to resist making a snarky comment.

“Interesting that you’re in the self-help section,” she mused, catching Katie’s attention. “I’m not sure we have anything for people looking for advice on how to cope with the fact that their boyfriend’s best friend is a massive pervert.”

To her surprise, there was no eye roll or defensive comeback and Katie simply flashed her a sad smile.

“I was hoping for something more along the lines of ‘how to make a good apology’,” she admitted. “But if you do know of any books to help me with that problem too then I would be happy to read them.”

“I don’t, but I could probably give you a few tips about where you’ve gone wrong so far.” Lia hesitated as Katie cringed, but she continued before she could reply. “Can we pause this conversation for a minute though? I don’t have long and I need to run next door to grab a coffee, but we can talk there if you want to come with me.”

Again, Katie eagerly agreed as if she was worried that at any moment she would say something that would make Lia kick her straight to the curb, but an awkwardness crept in as they walked out of the store to the coffee shop next door with neither of them really knowing what to say to each other. Lia had a million questions and she was sure that Katie did too, but diving into any kind of small talk before they’d addressed the bigger issues seemed pointless. So, they waited quietly until they had their drinks in their hands and Lia had led them to a quiet table at the back of the small café.

“Is it okay for us to talk here?” Katie asked once they’d sat down. “Aren’t you worried about being recognized or that someone might overhear?”

“I never get recognized unless I’m with Jamie and even then he’s the one who draws the attention,” Lia shrugged. “Football fans aren’t super into the gossip of who the players are dating and people who are into the gossip don’t care enough about me to memorize my face.”

“Oh, well, that’s good,” Katie smiled. “I was worried about you and how being so well-known would affect your life.”

“Oh, really?” Lia questioned, her incredulity clear in her voice. She hadn’t planned to dive straight into things, but Katie’s supposed concern was too ridiculous to go unchallenged. “You didn’t seem very worried about me when you invited Daniel out for drinks with us the night you met Jamie just so he could continue to harass me.”

“I didn’t know he was going to do that,” Katie protested. “I genuinely thought he wanted to apologize and make peace!”

“Okay, but when he started making comments, you didn’t speak up, did you?” Lia pressed. “Do you have any idea how humiliating that was for me? You sat in front of my boyfriend and let Daniel and Mike act like I’d practically been trying to cheat on him. Telling him that I was flirting and playing hard to get all the time, trying to seduce Daniel. If Jamie didn’t trust me as much as he does then that could have completely ruined our relationship!”

“I know, it was awful. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for the conversation to go that way, I promise.”

Katie had the decency to look ashamed, but Lia’s anger was still bubbling up inside her as she finally had the chance to say everything that she wanted to say.

“But what about the fact that you agreed with them? You knew how uncomfortable Daniel made me, you knew that I genuinely didn’t like being around him and had no interest in him romantically, but you agreed with everything that they said and made me look like an absolute idiot.”

“I just panicked,” Katie tried to explain with a frantic edge growing in her voice. “I know it’s completely unforgivable, but I was so torn between you and Mike and I just wanted it all to go away.”

Katie’s words stung Lia as if she’d been slapped in the face. She knew that Katie was trying to own up to her mistakes, but hearing her admit that she prioritized keeping the peace over protecting Lia hurt more than she’d expected. She’d known all along that that was exactly what had happened, but there was something hard to swallow about hearing her admit it and a scoff fell from her lips.

“Well, I guess you got what you wanted then. With me out of your life, there’s no conflict.”

“Having you out of my life was not what I wanted,” Katie’s voice was firm, but there was a sheepishness to it when she continued. “And it hasn’t stopped the conflict either.”

“I can’t say that I’m surprised,” Lia said with a roll of her eyes, but her curiosity had her asking, “What’s happened now?”

“He scared off my new flatmate,” Katie admitted. “She was so sweet and lovely, we got along so well and I thought it was going to be a great fit, but we all went out for drinks one night and Daniel wouldn’t leave her alone. Then he started showing up at the flat all the time, pretending like he thought Mike was supposed to be there, but it was obviously just an excuse to get close to Lily. It freaked her right out and now she’s moving out by the end of the week.”

“And now you believe that I was right when I said that he was the problem.”

“I do,” she nodded. “But I don’t know what to do. Mike can’t see that Daniel is doing anything wrong, he thinks everyone is just overreacting and misunderstanding him because he sees such a different side of him.”

Again, Lia felt a sting of hurt. Mike had been like a brother to her and it felt like a huge betrayal that he still thought she was being dramatic even after another woman had proved that Daniel’s behaviour was a pattern and not an isolated incident. But then another thought hit her and had the simmering anger boiling up again.

“Wait, is that why you’re here? Did you just come to get advice because you’ve landed yourself in a shit situation?”

“No! I came here to apologize!” Katie insisted. “I realized how awful I’d been to you and how right you were about him being dangerous, if you had any insight to offer then that would just be a bonus.”

“I have no insight for you,” Lia scowled. “You got yourself into this mess, you can get yourself out.”

“I know, but I don’t know how,” she practically whispered with a wounded look on her face that had Lia battling a flicker of guilt despite her pride at her uncharacteristic ability to stay strong. “I messed up, Lia. I want to make it right, but Mike will never cut ties with Daniel which means he’ll always be a part of my life.”

It took Lia a moment to process her admission and Katie watched her closely for any sign of a reaction, but Lia knew exactly what Daniel’s presence would mean for their friendship.

“Then I won’t be.” The words came out less confidently than she would have liked, but the impact was all the same and Katie deflated completely. It tugged at her heart, but she knew for her own mental health, it was the only answer. “I’m not going to put myself in a position where I’m constantly forced to be around someone who makes me feel unsafe and acts like I’m some sort of lying slut who was trying to cheat on my boyfriend and only got mad when I got caught. I don’t deserve that.”

“You don’t,” Lia agreed. “But I can’t convince Mike that he’s wrong and I can’t lose Mike so I don’t know what I can do to fix this.”

“I don’t have an answer for you, but there’s no point in us even trying to fix our friendship if he’s still around.”

At first, Katie opened her mouth like she was about to argue, but all that came out was a sigh.

“Alright, I can understand that,” she relented. “It makes me very sad, but I understand where you’re coming from.”

The fact that Katie felt she had a reason to be sad did nothing to earn her any sympathy or ease any of Lia’s frustration. She was the victim in the Daniel situation and Katie was the only one who could fix it. She was the powerless one who was stuck between losing her best friend or being subject to constant sexual harassment, Katie had no right to be upset by her decision if she was going to do nothing to change the situation.

“Yes, it makes me sad too, but I guess sometimes that’s just life,” Lia snapped as she rose from her seat. “I need to get back to work, but thanks for stopping by, Katie. It was…enlightening.”

Without waiting for Katie to respond, Lia walked out of the café. It took more willpower than she cared to admit not to look back and see what Katie’s reaction was to her bold exit, but she needed some time to wrap her mind around the conversation they’d just had. She’d accepted the fact that their friendship would not be a quick fix - if they even managed to fix it at all - but she had to admit that she’d let her hopes rise a bit when Katie first walked into the bookshop waving the proverbial white flag. Knowing that she still wasn’t ready to make the changes in her life that would be necessary for them to start building bridges was disappointing to say the least and Lia almost wished she hadn’t bothered to stop by at all.

——

The rest of the day passed by as Lia floated around in a fog. She was distracted as she replayed her conversation with Katie over and over again in her head, but by the end of the day she’d found no more clarity than she’d had when she left the café. Her dad had watched her worriedly and even offered to stay late and tidy up the shop for her so she could go home early, but she half-heartedly and unconvincingly assured him she was fine and she did enjoy the solitude she had when he left, flipping over the open sign and locking the door behind him.

However, her time alone with her thoughts was quickly interrupted by the sound of someone tapping on the window, but the sight of Jamie waving when she turned around had a weak smile sliding onto her face as she hurried to open the door.

“Hi,” he greeted her, his hands in his pocket as he anxiously rocked on his heels. “Is it alright if I come in?”

“Of course,” Lia nodded, furrowing her brow as she stepped aside. Jamie stopped by almost every night to help clean and drive her home and he’d never seemed so hesitant before. “Are you okay?”

“Depends,” he shrugged. “Are we okay?”

The question only deepened her confusion.

“As far as I know,” she nodded. “Why wouldn’t we be?”

The tension visibly drained from Jamie and Lia was relieved that she didn’t have to wait much longer for some insight into his strange behaviour as he quickly explained.

“Dunno, just got nervous when you didn’t answer my text earlier. Thought maybe Katie turned you against me.”

“Oh, Jamie, I’m sorry,” she frowned, feeling a genuine pang of guilt at leaving him waiting in suspense all afternoon. He’d messaged her shortly after she’d returned to work and while she’d seen the text, her racing thoughts seemed too wild to condense into any kind of summary short enough to fit into a text message. She’d intended to reply and assure him that she’d fill him in later, but it had slipped her mind. “I meant to answer you, but I’ve been a little distracted. She could never turn me against you though, no matter what she said.”

Leaning the broom she’d been sweeping with against the wall, Lia quickly closed the space between them to wrap her arms around Jamie’s waist and as he pulled her in close against the muscles of his chest and his scent surrounded her, she felt clear headed for the first time all afternoon. None of her problems had disappeared and it didn’t erase the pain of how their conversation had unfolded, but Lia felt grounded, safe, and reassured that she still had someone in her corner.

“I’m glad to hear that,” he murmured, pressing a kiss against the top of her head. “But how did it go? Are you friends again?”

“No, not even close,” Lia scoffed, slipping out of his grasp. “She basically just told me that I was right about Daniel because he harassed her new flatmate until she decided to move out just to get away from him and then whined about being unable to do anything about the situation because Mike still doesn’t believe any of it.”

“What a prick. Both of them. All three of them, actually.” Jamie shook his head in disgust and the blunt - but accurate - conclusion he’d drawn had a smile sliding onto Lia’s face. However, when he continued, her brief amusement subsided and she felt her heart growing heavy again. “It’s also pretty shit that she only decided that you were right after someone else told her the same thing. If she’s supposed to be your friend then your word should be enough.”

“Exactly,” Lia nodded. “And I don’t know what Mike’s problem is. I know that he’s close to Daniel and he’s known him forever, but he was like a brother to me and he should know that this isn’t something I would lie about. Besides, what have I gained from the situation? I lost someone who I thought would always have my back, I lost my best friend.”

She could feel her eyes filling with tears no matter how hard she blinked them back and as her voice cracked when the finality of the admission left her mouth, she worried that she wouldn’t be able to hold back the flood much longer. Sensing her rising emotions, Jamie quickly pulled her back into his arms and soothingly rubbed her back.

“I’m sorry, babe,” he murmured. “It’s a shit situation and you don’t deserve to be treated like that.”

“I know,” Lia sniffled. “That’s why I stayed firm and refused to talk about fixing our friendship until she sorted out the mess on her end, but it’s all just made me feel so alone.”

“You’re not alone, you have me.”

There was a twinge of hurt to Jamie’s voice and Lia rushed to explain, leaning back to look up at him.

“I know and I’m so grateful that I found you,” she told him sincerely as she wiped her eyes. “But I don’t really have any friends. It sounds completely pathetic, but I’ve lost touch with all of my school friends and working here with my dad isn’t a great way to meet people. It’s always just been me and Katie so now it’s just me.”

It was humiliating to admit and she knew it sounded incredibly pitiful, but it was true. She’d never been a particularly social person and her introverted nature had always paired well with Katie’s extroverted need for constant company. Whenever Lia felt like socializing, Katie was more than happy to oblige and the closeness that they’d shared left her with little need for other friends, but now she could see the benefit to having a wider social circle.

“You have Keeley, and Rebecca.”

“Yeah, but that’s a bit complicated. Keeley’s your ex,” she pointed out. “And Rebecca’s your boss. They’ve been so kind and welcoming and I love spending time with them, but there’s some elements of ‘girl talk’ that I’d find a little strange to discuss with them.”

“What, like when you want to slag me off?” He questioned before flashing her a smirk and adding, “Or when you wanna brag about how amazing I am in bed?”

“Both.” Lia managed to crack a smile. “It’s just nice to have someone that you can tell everything to, you know?”

“Well, if I’m bein’ honest, I don’t think neither of them would mind if you wanted to talk a little shit about me. They’d probably be happy to join in.”

“But what about when I do want to brag about how incredible you are in bed? Might be a little awkward when Keeley starts comparing notes.”

“I guess so,” Jamie shrugged. “But that’s a conversation I wouldn’t mind hearing.”

“That’s the last thing your ego needs.” Lia rolled her eyes despite the giggle that slipped from her lips, but it was quickly followed by a sigh. “Sorry for dumping all of this on you. I know that I’ll be fine and I’m so lucky to have a lot of great people in my life, like you . It’s just…I loved Katie like a sister and it’s hard to accept that she’s willing to toss me aside the way she has, I need to wallow for a while.”

“No need to be sorry. I’m your boyfriend, it’s my job to listen to you complain.” The teasing edge to his voice had Lia biting back another smile and feeling grateful that he so effortlessly managed to lift her spirits. “And I don’t mind letting you wallow, but I did have another idea you might be interested in.”

The suggestion and the somewhat shy delivery had Lia’s intrigue rising and she raised an eyebrow as she prompted him to continue with a gentle, “Go on…”

“Your dad’s still closing the shop next week, yeah?” She nodded in confirmation as they closed every summer for a few days and while her dad used that time to do some extra cleaning and organizing, he was always adamant that Lia take the days off. “I was thinking that maybe we could go away somewhere? You work so much, you could use a decent holiday and maybe a change of scenery could help get your mind off things.”

Lia felt a flicker of excitement twist in her stomach as the idea sounded incredibly appealing.

“That would be amazing,” she quickly agreed. “Where were you thinking? Down to the coast, maybe? Or if we went up to the Lake District we could visit your mum on the way.”

“Uh, I was thinking something a little further away than that.”

“You were? Like where?”

“Italy,” he confessed. “How do you feel about Capri?”

She’d heard of it, but it had the excitement she’d been feeling fading to disappointment almost as quickly as it had appeared. As far as she knew it was a luxurious place where celebrities and wealthy people liked to holiday and while Jamie might have fit that description, she did not.

“I feel like it’s a beautiful place that I’d never be able to afford,” she reluctantly admitted, regretting that her lack of financial stability would be holding him back from the five star holiday that he was used to. “I can’t afford flights to anywhere so last minute and I definitely can’t afford to visit somewhere so fancy.”

“Good thing you won’t be paying then.” There was a proud grin on Jamie’s face and when Lia opened her mouth to protest, he continued before she had the chance. “C’mon, babe. I’m not being funny, but one holiday is nothing to me and you deserve it. It can be an early birthday present if that makes you feel better.”

“Do you even know when my birthday is?”

She was trying to buy some time as she mulled over his offer, but it was a valid question as she realized that she didn’t actually know when Jamie’s was.

“No,” he admitted without even bothering to guess or pretend. “But if it’s already happened then it can be a Christmas gift instead.”

“It’s in September.”

“Then that’s perfect, only a couple months away. Mine’s in October, but football will be back by then so this will be a good time to celebrate them both.”

It was tempting and after her emotional day it was even more enticing. The last few months had been a whirlwind of change and having a few days away from all the problems and responsibilities of day to day life with nothing to do but enjoy a little time with Jamie was practically impossible to say no to.

“Are you sure?” She questioned, feeling her resistance starting to weaken. “It’s a lot of money to spend for just a few days.”

“Absolutely."

His assurance was said so sincerely that Lia had no choice but to relent and accept his generous offer.

“Alright, then you can go ahead and book it.”

“Already did,” he admitted with a cheeky smile that had a laugh falling from Lia’s lips. “Knew I’d be able to convince you eventually.”

“Well, aren’t you sneaky,” Lia teased before stretching up to press a kiss against his lips. “But thank you, Jamie. That’s very generous and very thoughtful of you.”

“It’s fine. It’s a gift for me too, be nice to get you all to myself for a few days.” Jamie’s words had her heart fluttering with affection, but then he smirked and tightened his grip on her hips as he added, “But if you really wanna thank me, you can take my card this weekend and go buy yourself some sexy little bikinis for me to peel off of you.”

“Hmm, I’m not sure how spending more of your money would be a good way to thank you for booking us an extravagant holiday.”

“Alright then, guess we’ll just have to finish up here quickly so we can get home and you can thank me another way.”

“What way would that be?”

“I haven’t decided yet,” Jamie informed her, dipping his head to steal a quick kiss before he moved his body away from hers. “But it will definitely involve you being very naked.”

Lia laughed and shook her head as she retrieved the broom from where she’d set it down.

“Well, I look forward to whatever creative idea you come up with,” she assured him as she held the broom out for him to take. “But if you want us to get out of here anytime soon, you better make yourself useful and finish sweeping while I cash up the till.”

Jamie gave a little mock salute before hurrying off to do his task with an eagerness that had another giggle slipping from Lia’s lips as she took a moment to appreciate how grateful she was to have him. It was strange to think how fast things had progressed between them. A few short months earlier she didn’t even know he existed then suddenly he was her fake husband and now he was someone whose mere presence lifted her spirits. The ache of abandonment she felt from her conversation with Katie still lingered in her mind, but knowing she had Jamie to support her did soften the blow as her heart filled with hope for the life that they were slowly building together.

-----

next

[thecoddaughter]

QSMP Characters as The Fray's Discography (Part 1)

So this is going to be the first post in a series of long posts for my "as songs" series. The Fray has always been one of my favorite bands and this made me listen to them for the first time in over three years. Listen along to the first album, linked below <3

HOW TO LOSE A LIFE

Look After You - Tubbo to Sunny (especially right before Purgatory)

“It's always have and never hold. You've begun to feel like home yeah. What's mine is yours to leave or take. What's mine is yours to make your own.”

She Is - Pac about Fit (and how Mike was unsure about them)

“I cannot wait for you to come home. For now you're not here, and I'm not there.” 

“She is everything I need that I never knew I wanted. She is everything I want that I never knew I needed.”

“She's going to bring me clarity. You take the heart right out of me.”

Over My Head - Bad

“Just say that we agree and then never change, soften a bit until we all just get along.” 

“And suddenly I become a part of your past. I'm becoming the part that don't last.” 

“In the throw around, never thought that you wanted to bring it down. I won't let it go down till we torch it ourselves.”

[um, i thought the lyric was “torture ourselves” for 19 years, this was my favorite song for YEARS]

How to Save a Life - Jaiden & Roier [I'm hurting myself with this one]

“As he goes left, and you stay right. Between the lines of fear and blame, you begin to wonder why you came.”

“I lost a friend. Somewhere along in the bitterness and I would have stayed up with you all night, had I known how to save a life.”

“Lay down a list of what is wrong, the things you've told him all along and pray to God he hears you.”

“As he begins to raise his voice, you lower yours and grant him one last choice… He will admit to everything or he'll say he's just not the same.”

All at Once - Slime about his daughters (once he meets Sunny, based on past behavior)

“Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same. Maybe you want her, maybe you need her. Maybe you started to compare to someone not there. Maybe you want it, maybe you need it. Maybe it's all you're running from, perfection will not come.”

Fall Away - Baghera [side note, this song goes hard!]

“You fall away from your past but it's following you.” 

“Something I've done that I can't outrun. Maybe you should wait, maybe you should run but there's something you've said that can't be undone.”

Heaven Forbid - Quackity

“Twenty years, it's breaking you down. Now that you understand, there's no one around.”

“Heaven forbid you end up alone. You don't know why.”

“Would you care to build a house of your own?”

“I don't know how to get you, out of this one”

Hundred - um, I think this is just all the islanders

“But I'm staring at what once was the wall separating east and west. Now they meet amidst the broad daylight.”

“And who's to say its wrong and who's to say that its not right where we should be for now.”

Vienna - Bad & Skeppy (or anyone with a loved one not on the island, I guess)

“The day's last one-way ticket train pulls in. We smile for the casual closure capturingThere goes the downpour. There goes my fare thee well. There's really no way to reach me.”

Dead Wrong - our solvers Pac (science) and Cellbit (enigmas) 

“You said it for my sake, That I would not lose my way. When I was astray, I'm doing the best that I could trying my best to be understood. Maybe I'm changing slowly. I'd get out, turn around if only I knew I was dead wrong all along.”

“Did I really lose my way or are you afraid?”

Little House - Bagi [another banger song!]

“Something scratching its way out. Something you want to forget about. A part of you that'll never show. You're the only one that'll ever know.”

Trust Me - Our Immortals, Foolish and Bad 

“I found a friend or should I say a foe. Said there's a few things you should know. We don't want you to see we come and we go. Here today, gone tomorrow.”

“We're only taking turns holding this world. It's how it's always been. When you're older you will understand.”

“But I said you and me we don't have honesty. The things we don't want to speak. I'll try to get out but I never will.”

[kaythetrashcan]

Five nights at Freddy's movie review

Spoiler free version:

I finally saw the FNaF movie (since it premiered here like a week later) and I really wanna talk about it.

It was fun. It's its own story that has some similarities to the games but it works well on its own which is a good thing imo.

It has a good pacing and I didn't get bored.

There are bunch of hints and easter eggs in reference to the games, like a guy is wearing a Midnight Motorist sweater or a dinner is named after Sparky the Dog, a hoax in early fnaf days.

It has violence but it's not too gory, most stuff happens off screen or in shadows.

I also liked the final solution, it was well established.

I do have 2 complains

1. I think most relationships needed more establishment.

2. One character kinda confuses me on their motive.

Overall I'd give it 4/5, though you'll get more of it if you're a fnaf fan.

And some tips. Watch it at home if you can or pick a later date. The movie theater was crowded and I think it hindered my enjoyment.

When you see Sparky's diner, pay attention to the waiter. You won't regret it.

And wait till the end of all credits.

Spoiler review under the cut

I think Mike and Abby needed a bit more time together or thinking of each other to make the scene where Mike realizes how much she means to him more impactful.

I feel like we were told rather shown she likes her brother.

Same goes for relationship between her and aunt Jane. We're told once she doesn't like her but it isn't enough to make her turn on Mike believable to me.

And finally Vanessa and William. The ending implies she's scared of him but we never are shown why.

This segways nicely into my other complain. Vanessa feels inconsistent. She starts out as a friendly police officer who knows tad too much about Freddy's and is revealed to be William's daughter.

What I got is that she vaguely warns the guards of the danger but doesn't tell them what it is. When the animatronics are friendly, she just let's Mike and Abby vibe there but when she learns Mike used Abby to get info on Garrett's kidnapper (her dad) she forbids him from taking Abby there ever again. I'm guessing this is to protect her dad.

But I think we should have had a flashback to her childhood and maybe a scene where she's terrified of going to the pizzeria but the she sees a drawing of Mike and Abby a decides to help.

But enough about stuff I didn't like and more about stuff I loved, in no particular order.

Actors are all really great and they did a fantastic job.

The opening credits are in style of old arcade games, just like in fnaf 2. It genuinely made me so happy to see it.

The cupcake mauling a man was both hilarious and terrifying. You go Carl!

The animatronics are all really expressive, especially Chica, when she smuggly sends Carl the Cupcake to murder a man or when she winks at Mike. Or when Freddy was looking for Mike and tilting his head as if he were listening.

I almost missed MatPat's cameo. I was like: "I know that voice! But from where?" And then he said: "It's just a theory!" and I almost screamed.

I love that the kids have some significance. Even if they dont have names, they still have more to do than they ever did in the games.

Also, it's exactly 5 nights at Freddy's.

1 - Mike arrives and sees the Missing kids for the first time.

2 - Mike gets scratched by Foxy and Vannesa shows up to info dump.

3 - since Max is dead, Mike takes Abby there for the first time. He cleans up the place and Abby meets her friends.

4 - Mike takes Abby there a second time, Vannesa shows up, they build a Fort and Vannessa gets mad.

5 - Mike goes there alone and the movie finale happens.

I noticed the trailer was insanely misleading. Vanessa ends up in the hospital at the end of the movie, but the trailer made it seem it happens somewhere in the middle.

CoryXKenshin cameo was awesome.

The ending credits song is Five Nights at Freddy's by TLT. Woho!!!

And after all the credits roll, we get a few letters spelling out "FIND ME" like in SAVE HIM minigame from fnaf 2.

Theories:

I wonder what happened to Garrett. Is he fully dead? Or is he possessing something, like the puppet?

I hope the next movie is a prequel, maybe told retrospectively by Vanessa while some stuff happens in the present. And the third movie can be a sequel, maybe with older Abby being a guard herself.

[strangerficsxx]

Chapter Five: The Flea and The Acrobat

wc: 2.4k jennifer, jonathan and nancy confront the force that took will.

[a/n: all characters, plot, etc. are not mine. The only thing I own is my original character. credit to gif owner.]

{ November 10, 1983 }

That morning sucked because Jennifer wasn’t sure if she should tell Nancy that she had a dream where she and Steve had sex or not. Jennifer decided to keep it a secret from her, but had to tell someone. Dressed, Jennifer grabs her bag from the chair in her room and throws her sneakers on before rushing out of the house. She arrives at the school and searches for Phoebe. Finally finding her, Jennifer drags her into the girls bathroom and in an empty stall. 

“I need to tell you something.” 

"What?"

"I had a dream about Steve."

“Harrington?" She asks.

"Yes, who else would I be talking about."

"I don't know." Phoebe utters. "What kind of dream? I need details. The nitty gritty details.”

“Well, for starters, Steve took me in his BMW to Lover’s Lake. There, He kissed me. Our first kiss. Then we got into his backseat and had… sex.” 

“What?”

“Yeah. Should I tell Nancy?”

“No, bad idea. I would tell her sometime later when she’s not in the mood currently. Maybe wait till you both are out of high school and married, and have separate lives.”

“Phoebe." Jennifer says sternly before continuing. "Things could change then. I’ll just keep it to myself and tell her when I’m ready."

"Okay, good luck with that."

Jennifer nods, rising before exiting the bathroom and heading home soon after first period began, so she's ready for Will's funeral. Besides the boy's funeral, the kiss between her and Steve lingers in Jennifer's mind. She was on the fence about telling Nancy, even though Phoebe stated it was a bad idea to tell her about it. Jennifer listened to her best friend, and went with that instinct. 

——

The funeral arrives quickly as Jennifer rides to the cemetery with her parents and brother before stepping out onto the grass. She walks over to the closed casket, flowers sit on top as she sees the three boys meet. Jennifer greets them along with Nancy and her parents. Stepping aside, she steps up to greet Jonathan and his mother. 

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Jennifer says.

“Thank you.” Joyce thanks, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Come here.” She says, saddened.

Jennifer offers a hug as she brings a frail Joyce into her arms. She hears the woman sniffle as it breaks her heart not being able to imagine herself as a mother and losing her own child. After a few seconds she pulls away from the hug before hugging Jonathan next. Jennifer knew Joyce lost her son and Jonathan lost his younger brother. It broke her. Once everyone was seated, Jennifer blocked out most of the beginning of the funeral due to other things such as other things clouded her mind until Dustin nudges his older sister with his elbow as she jumps back into reality and listened to the male carefully. 

“‘ ...Will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.’ It’s times like these that our faith is challenged. How, if he truly benevolent… could God take from someone so young, so innocent? It would be easy to turn away from God… but we must remember that nothing, not even tragedy, can separate us from his love.” The pastor reads.

Jennifer stood there as everyone looks at one another until Dustin nudges Mike and Lucas as they, including Jennifer to look at a young girl sniffling as tears rolled down her cheeks. 

“Just wait till we tell Will that Jennifer Hayes was crying at his funeral."

Karen shushes Dustin and the other's as Jennifer lowered her head, knowing that something isn't right. Once the funeral was over, she watched as they sent their condolences to the grieving family. White roses are dropped on the boy’s casket as she walks away. Jennifer didn’t know what to do now since she's never attended a funeral, so she walks somewhere. Jennifer glances to the side and sees Jonathan and Nancy sitting side by side in front of a gate that surrounds the headstone of the deceased. She approaches them and stood above them shadowing the two teenagers from the sunshine peeking through the gloomy clouds. 

“Hey, you okay?” He asks.

“Kinda.” Jennifer responds.

They turn back to the paper of a layout of the small town of Hawkin, Indiana. Jennifer sits down next to Jonathan as she looks over the paper too. 

"This is where we know for sure it's been, right?" 

"So, that's..." 

"Steve's house," Jennifer says.

"That's the woods where they found Will's bike, and that's my house."

"It's all so close." 

"Yeah, exactly. It's all within a mile or something. Whatever this thing is, it's-- it's not traveling far."

"You want to go out there," 

"We might not find anything," 

"I found something," 

Jonathan and Jennifer nod at Nancy.

"And if we do see it, then what?"

"We kill it." Jennifer sternly says.

——

Following Nancy and Jonathan, they lead Jennifer to Lonnie’s car. Nancy looks around nervously. Jennifer stood there too, calmly keeping an eye on the surrounding participants at the funeral. Deep down, she felt wrong by stealing something from someone.

"What are you doing?" Nancy asks. 

"Just give me a second." 

Jonathan, who has a pocket knife, breaks open the glove compartment. He then proceeds to pull out a handgun as he looks at the bullets on the inside , grabbing three boxes of what Jennifer's guessing are bullets -- the male shoves it in his pocket as well as the caliber gun. 

"Are you serious?" Nancy asks again, afraid of getting in trouble.  

Jonathan closese the passenger door behind him and approaches Jennifer and Nancy. Jennifer's hands are in her pockets as Nancy has folded her arms to her chest. 

"This is a bad idea," Jennifer says, worried. "What if he sees that his caliber is gone?"

"He won't notice." Jonathan continues. "It's the best we've got. What? You can tell someone, but they won't believe either one of you. You know that."

"Your mom would." Nancy suggests. 

"She's been through enough." 

"She deserves to know, Jonathan." 

"Yeah, and I'll tell her when that thing is dead."

——

Later that day, Jennifer decides to take a walk to clear her mind and to figure out her feelings once more since she failed the last time. She starts and somehow manage to end up on Maple Street where she begins walking by Nancy's house, seeing her and Steve together talking. Jennifer stops in her tracks and watch them as they are clueless of her standing on the sidewalk. A feeling erupts in Jennifer's heart, something burning. She watches as he jokingly sings to her as the faint sound of singing makes the female grin. Steve walks away and continues singing a tune as Jennifer acts like she saw nothing before walking across to the house and watch the brunette swing the bat. She swings at Jennifer's head as she ducks just in time. Nancy notices and puts the bat and her guard down. 

"Jesus, I could have taken your head off." 

"Sorry about that. Maybe I should’ve announced my presence. What are you doing anyway?"

"Practicing for when you, me and Jonathan take down that thing." 

"Okay. I... was going to tell you something, but I don't think you want to hear my bullshit."

"Not at the moment. I'm gonna head to an empty field to practice shooting with Jonathan. You could join, since you believe me in what I saw."

"We. What we saw that day." Jennifer corrects.

"Yeah. Right."

Nancy holds the bat as they walk away from the two story house, making way towards the field as Nancy leads the way as Jennifer follows behind. When they arrive, she sees Jonathan shooting cans -- well, at least he thinks he is. 

"You're supposed to hit the cans, right?" Jennifer asks.

Jonathan looks toward her. He smiles when he sees Jennifer and Nancy.

"No, actually, you see the spaces in between the cans? I'm aiming for those." He jokes. 

"Ah," 

Nancy sets down a duffle bag and the bat as Jennifer stands there, glancing down at the partially unzipped bag, and seeing weaponry sitting inside. She then proceeds to listen in on the conversation. Jonathan cocks the gun and hands it to Nancy. She takes her place and aims for the cans. She pulls the trigger as it hits the can dead on before craning her neck up at Jonathan and smiles. 

"Alright, Jen. Let's see what you've got." 

Jennifer walks over and grabs the gun from Nancy, taking her place like Nancy did. She cocks the gun before aiming at the can. Jennifer closes one eye and focuses, exhaling slowly. 

"Growing up, my mom taught me how to use a gun out of protection as well as putting one together. It's all about memory. And let me say, that shit sticks with you. We had a gun out of protection since me and my biological mother lived in her 1971 Range Rover. After a few years, I was taken by CPS, and held in a dark and dingy room before being placed in a foster care system. To this day, I still have no idea where my mom ended up, or if she's even dead. All I know is that I have a purpose, and I'm gonna continue on."

Jennifer pulls the trigger and shoots the three other cans before lowering the weapon, feeling proud of herself. She sets the gun in Jonathan's hand.

"Wow. Ok." Jonathan says, amazed.

She looks at the two other teenagers. "Thank you."

"Jennifer, I didn't know that."

"Yeah, well, there's a lot of things most people don't know about. Including my past."

——

Jennifer, Nancy, and Jonathan walk through the wooded area, conversating as Nancy then asks her a question that makes her panic.

"Earlier, you mentioned that you wanted to tell me something, but you didn't want me to hear your bullshit. What do you mean by that, if you don't mind me asking?”

"That," Jennifer fumbles over her words. "What I was saying is that I had a bad dream about that creature, nothing else."

"Okay..."

"I am just saying if I did have any other type of dream I would tell you, especially if it was about Steve -- which it wasn't. Thank God."

Nancy raised a brow at Jennifer. She knew something was up but couldn’t focus on that at the moment as she is getting ready to hunt down the creature in the photo. As they all continue to walk, things get heated as Nancy and Jonathan begin to argue. Soon the argument ends as Jonathan stalks off as Nancy follows after him, and Jennifer follows after Nancy.

Once home, Jennifer decides to change since she were in a dress earlier and it's getting cold out. She steps in and close the door behind her. Jennifer makes her way towards her room and change into a long sleeve shirt with t-shirt on top and some comfortable jeans and a hoodie and sneakers. Jennifer smoothes her hair as she check yourself in the mirror one more time before exiting her bedroom and into the kitchen to fetch a snack for the road.

Jennifer exits the house, closing the door behind her as the wind blows through, catching in her jacket as a shiver runs down her spine, but she continues on and rushes toward Jonathan's car. Jennifer hops in the backseat as they all head to the same place they were at prior -- the woods where Will's bike was found. Night time approaches quickly as the three teenagers walk through the woods with flashlights and weaponry. Jennifer was also quiet, and she could see her breath every time she exhaled. Nancy stops abruptly when something catches her attention.

Jennifer and Jonathan stop too. 

"What, are you tired?” She asks. 

"Shut up." Nancy demands.

"What?" Jonathan questions. 

"I heard something," 

Soon Jennifer and Jonathan hear the indistinct whimpering too as the three of them follow it. The whining continues as Jennifer shines her flashlight on the uneven ground. They come up on a dying dear as it whimpers from the pain. Nancy kneels as Jonathan sighs. 

"It's been hit by a car." She says. "We can't just leave it."

Jonathan stares before looking down at the gun motioning Jennifer and Nancy to look down as well. The older Wheeler sibling holds the gun in her hand, not wanting to go through with killing the deer. It whimpers as Nancy begins sniffling. 

"Let me," Jennifer chimes in as Nancy hands the gun over.

Jennifer cocks the gun and takes aim, ready to shoot as she hesitates. Resting her finger on the trigger, she begins to pull it right when the deer gets pulled away causing her, Nancy and Jonathan to gasp and step away. Fear washes over Jennifer's body as she almost drops the loaded weapon. 

"What was that?" Jonathan asks, looking at Nancy.

Staring at the blood trail left by the deer, Nancy begins to follow it. Jennifer holds the gun before raising it, in case something comes after them. Jennifer as well as Nancy and Jonathan look around trying to find the deer when Nancy follows little puddles of blood. 

"Where'd it go?" 

"Don't know," 

"Do you see any more blood?" 

"No," 

Jennifer stands closer to the two other teens, and continue to search for more evidence. Nancy steps further away from her and Jonathan who are searching for something, anything that seems out of the ordinary. Jennifer stops to look over at Nancy, seeing her stepping forward to a tree, shining her light on the open trunk. A strange substance drips from the top of the inside as Nancy gets closer to look at what it is. Jonathan continues trudging through the woods as Jennifer stays rigid. They look at the slimy substance. She turns away for a split second before turning back as the other brunette is nowhere in sight.

"Uh, Jonathan?" 

"What?" 

Realizing that she's gone, the two teenagers hear a twig snap as Jonathan calls out for Nancy and rushes up to Jennifer who finds her backpack and bat lying in front of the tree, but Nancy is nowhere in sight

"Nancy?" Jennifer calls. 

"Nancy!"

"Where'd she go?" 

"She crawled through a tree."

"She crawled through a tree?!" He asks, confused. His brows knit together. "No, she has to be here somewhere, we just need to find her, OK?"

“Okay,”

And that is what they both did. They continue to look for Nancy Wheeler.

[littlecoffeeadict]

My Urban Explorer DR✨️🎥🕵‍♀️

✨️Friends and Family✨️

Tess Miyer-Nolan (Friend)

Age: 17 (2001)

Parents: Mike and Esther

-they are not that strict

-as long as Tess has A's and B's in school she can stay as long outside as she wants

-they like to invite us all over from time to time

-They live in a beautiful house with a dog named Haniball

Grades: mostly B's, has an A in Art

Hobbys: drawing, urban exploring

Friend group: Alex, Chris, Belle, later Benji

Dream Job: Arts Teacher at a college

Sexuality: Pansexual

Outfit inspo:

music taste:

Character: Tess likes to laugh a lot, and will always tell her opinion. She's a feminist and pansexual, also she won't tell anyone if she has trouble. She's obsessed with a thousand fictional characters, such as Steve Rogers, Izzy Lightwood, Magnus Bane, Loki, Sirius Black and Dina from the Last of Us

Alex Savage (Friend)

Age: 18 (2000)

Parents:

-It's only him, his little Brother Benji and his Mom Amanda

-They live in an apartmentcomplex

-His Mom is pretty chill about school and Grades and stuff like our Hobby

-after our tours we mostly go to his place and she Orders pizza or cooks something for us

-she wants us to call her Amanda, and loves us like her own children

Grades: mostly B's and C's, but an A in PE (wich he is realy proud of)

Hobbys: Urban Exploring, skating, playing E-Guitare (his favourite is Livin on a Prayer)

Friend group: Tess, Chris, Belle, the people he skates with, his little Brother Benji

Dream Job: Professional Dancer

Sexuality: Bisexual

Outfit inspo:

Music taste:

Character: Alex likes to live dangerously, he's realy impulsive and likes to try New things. He can be realy stubborn, but in the end he would do anything for the people he loves. He is sometimes a bit too flirty, and he likes to make me blush. He also loves Dancing, and always makes me do TikTok Dances with him, and we always have a lot of fun.

Christopher (Chris) Beaumont (Friend)

Age: 19 (1999)

Parents:

-Sofia and Edmund Beaumont, he also has a little Brother named Lewis

-they both come from super rich familys and have their own clothing line, with is super succesfull

-they are realy rich

-at their home they like to host dinner Partys and galas, and they always invite us

- they love us all, cause Chris didn't have many friends until he meet us

-they made college Funds not only for Chris but also for Lewis, Benji, Alex, Tess and me

-Sofia likes to dress me and Tess for her Galas

-Edmund likes to talk to Alex about skating, a Hobby he wanted to do as a teenager but his parents didn't allowed it

-they are realy proud of their sons

-they live in a big mansion With a lot of staff (such as a personal cook, a cleaning crew and a gardener) and a cat named princess Christina the 3rd

Grades: straight A's, he graduated Last year, but he's waiting with college cause he want's to go to college with us al together. Till then he's jobbing as a Model in his parents agency.

Hobbys: Urban Exploring, Writing, reading, designing his own clothes

Friend group: Alex, Tess, Belle, a few Kids of his parents friends, later Benji, his little Brother Lewis

Dream Job: Fashion Designer

Sexuality: Straight, Ally

Outfit inspo:

Music taste:

Character: Chris has always been rather quiet, atleast until he fully trusts someone. Then he is realy vocal about his Feelings. He will always stay besides you and is very loyal. If you are down he will find a way to cheer you up, and when he is down he will silently cry into your shoulder.

Benji Savage (Friend)

Age: 16 (2002)

Parents: It's only him, his older Brother Alex and his Mom Amanda

-They live in an apartmentcomplex

-His Mom is pretty chill about school and Grades and stuff

-she loves him unconditionally, and it broke her heart when he had Trouble finding friends

-she wants us to call her Amanda, and loves us like her own children

Grades: mostly B's, a few D's and C's here and there

Hobbys: Riding his bike, playing old Video Games (Pack Man, Donkey Kong, or old Super Mario Games), Urban Exploring, spraying Graffiti

Friend group: his Brother Alex, Tess, Chris, Belle, later Lewis

Dream Job: he doesn't know yet

Sexuality: Straight, Ally (sometimes questioning, mostly when he's with Lewis😉)

Outfit inspo:

Music taste:

Character: Benji never had many friends, all tho he always wished for them. He is realy loyal out of fear someone's gonna leave him. He always gets himself in trouble, but somehow manages to talk himself out of the situation. He idializes his big Brother, and when he is finaly seen as a friend and not as Alex little brother, he is over the moon. He is realy positiv most of the time, and Talks and laughs a lot.

Lewis Beaumont (2003) (Friend)

Age: 15

Parents: -Sofia and Edmund Beaumont, he also has an older Brother named Chris

-they both come from super rich familys and have their own clothing line, with is super succesfull

-they are realy rich-at their home they like to host dinner Partys and galas, and they always invite us

- they don't really understand him, but they always try their best-they made college Funds not only for Chris but also for Lewis, Benji, Alex, Tess and me

-Sofia likes to dress me and Tess for her Galas

-Edmund likes to talk to Alex about skating, a Hobby he wanted to do as a teenager but his parents didn't allowed it

-they are realy proud of their sons

-they live in a big mansion With a lot of staff (such as a personal cook, a cleaning crew and a gardener) and a cat named princess Christina the 3rd

Grades: just like his brother straight A's

Hobbys: reading, chess, taking long walks in the forest, later Urban exploring

Friend group: his brother Chris, Belle, later Tess Alex and Benji

Dream Job: something with History

Sexuality: Aro-Ace

Outfit inspo:

music taste:

Character:Lewis was always a loner, and unlike Benji he never wanted friends. He needs to trust a person deeply before he opens up about his feeling, and even then he doesn't talk much. He will listen to you for countless hours, and play your therapist, and when he is down he will like to just sit in silence for as long as he wants, Till he's ready to talk.

Derek Freewill (Brother)

Age: 24 (1993)

Parents:

-they're both dead, they died when Derek Was 20 and Belle was 13, since then it has only been them

-they left behind an owned apartment, and a family Company (a publisher Company called Freewill Books) wich Derek now runs

Grades: he was a straight A student

Hobbys: he doesn't have much time as he now owns the family buisness, but when he has time over he likes to cook like a home cheff, and ofc reading

Friend group: he doesnt have much friends, just a few people from work and of course his sister Belle

Sexuality: Straight, Ally

Outfit inspo:

Character: Derek needs to take over all the responsebilitys in his small family, but besides from that he is loving. He just want's me to be happy. He always asks how my Day was, and he will do everything to ensure that I can live my live the way I want it.

Professor Solaris (Teacher)

Age: 27

Family: married to his husband celestar, has a cat called Nebulus

Hobbys: reading, philosophy, cooking, reality shifting

Friends: is on first name basis with all his students, realy popular among all the teachers

Musictaste: 60s Oldies

Sexuality: Asexual, Panromantic

Character: a really open personality, alsways calm and understanding, always relatable, will listen to your problems and help you

Backstorry: Solaris is a shifter who permashifted a few years ago, before that he shifted mostly to fantasy worlds and his favourite books, he knows that I am a shifter and will always listen to me if I have doubts, need Motivation or talk to me about our ORs.

Belle Freewill (✨️Me✨️)

Age: 17 (31.10.2000)

Parents: -they're both dead, they died when Derek Was 20 and Belle was 13, since then it has only been them

-they left behind an owned apartment, and a family Company (a publisher called Freewill Books) wich Derek now runs

Grades: straight A's (and I don't need to do anything for that) (finally want that feeling of getting 100% on every test) (but I don't wan't to study)

Hobbys: reading, writing, urban exploring, skating, taking long walks in the forest, chess, listening to Music

Friend group: Chris, Alex, Tess, Benji, Lewis, her Brother Derek

Sexuality: Bisexual

Outfit inspo:

Character: I am open and loud, and laugh a lot and easiely. I like to make other people laugh and am compasionate, I also often play other peoples therapist. I am sometimes impulsive, and I always speak what I think. I'm also good at analyzing people, so good that it sometimes scares my friends. People easiely fall in Love with me and want to be my friend, also I have natural charm and am flirty.

Backstory: My parents died when I was 13 (2013), and shortly after that my brother got full costody and we moved back to the USA (we lived in Germany before, so we speak german, but our parents were from America), and we both got the dual citizenship. Derek took over the family Company and I startet going to school there. That is where I meet Alex. He was my first friend, and when we were sixteen Tess and Chris came on top. We have been best friends ever since, and startet making YouTube Videos in 2016, right after we all got in one friendgroup. It is now spring 2018 and I'm turning 18 in Oktober.

4 Passers (our YouTube Chanel)

Subscribers: About 16 Million

Legalism:

-we never get in Trouble With the police

-nobody will caught us

-we never get in trouble for what we are doing

Colaborations: many People ask us for Colaborations, and we make friends with many different YouTubers like Pete Monzingo, CallmeKris, Sam and Colby and many others

Comunity: we have a strong and supporting Comunity, and a lot of Fans make edits of us on Tik Tok and YouTube Shorts.

Money: we all split the money we get out of YouTube, and it goes to our Bank Accounts

Videos: Touring with us trough abandoned places, Colabs, Q&As (sometimes while exploring), telling spooky stories

Home: the USA, we travel a lot between different states on the weekends, but we live in California

Time Ratio: 1Day in the CR = 1Week in the DR

School: Alex, Benji and Tess go to the same school as me, we always meet up in the breaks, and Chris often meets us after school. He always drives us to our next locations, sometimes it's an abandoned place and sometimes his or Alex home

[gigigle]

I'm bored so these are changes I would make to stranger things.

S1, honestly nothing, s1 is probably my favorite season. The most I would do is make Steve a more apparent a hole. And keep mlvn platonic.

S2, I would've leaned into the difference of the party more and their struggles. Also I wouldn't have had El live in the cabin. I would've preferred if she was hidden but not from the party and we get to see her adjust to not living in the lab anymore. I would've also preferred to see stancy be platonic and see Steve grow and try to learn to be friends with Nancy and Jonathan. Also more pushback against Steve from party members. Like he used make fun of Mike and Dustin or Smth and they don't like him also show his decline from popularity too.

I also would've leaned in to Lucas and Billy's story where it actually talks about racism and the micro aggressions Lucas faces living in a small town like Hawkins. I also would've had a storyline about the ableism Dustin receives andaybe that could set up the Steve and Dustin friendship where Steve defends him from Carol and tommy. Also have Dustin give Steve pushback from him messing with Dustin before. To actually give Steve more depth and development.

Also I think I would have gotten rid of the possession storyline and just had will dealing with the trauma and aftermath of the upside down and have a Lonnie storyline in there too. Where maybe he's trying to get custody so he can get some of the money that Joyce gets paid by the government. And we see more in depth how awful Lonnie really was to Jonathan and will. Also show Joyce's struggles being branded the town hysterical women and trying to fight her abusive ex husband while also trying to take care of will. It would also show Jonathans neglect/how he's kinda the glass child and how he takes more shift to help pay for stuff. I would still have jancy get together though at some point.

And mike I think show how his family is distant but not really go into it till s3. So s2 is just developing his relationships with El and will.

Keep max the same. And still have El run away to kalis grew.

For Nancy I think I wouldve had her still looking in to more of the stuff about barb and the ud and the government but I think I would get rid of Murray because I think In my changes he doesn't fit.

Also show hopper trying to figure out being a dad again.

S3, i would get rid of the mind flayer and all the Russian stuff. I would've kept vecna but slowly introduced him. Started developing jopper more and show El navigating real normal life and maybe have her go to school. And keep max and El.

Get rid of the mall and keep Robin but have her and Steve meet because she is friends with Nancy or Jonathan so that she is connected more. Or have her have friendships with them after she becomes better friends with Steve.

I would give Mike a storyline where he doesn't feel connected to his family at all. Like you show all the other family dynamics and introduce Erica to show how much more connected the other party's family are. Like have Mike jealous of will and Jonathan and Lucas and Erica because of how close they are but him and Nancy barely talk. It would've been interesting and added depth to his character and show his I love you problem.

I also would've shown more of Max's abusive home life and show how it affects her relationship with Lucas. Like max exhibits toxic behavior to Lucas because shes angry about billy and Neil and she lashes out at Lucas. It could've also had scene where Lucas establishes boundaries and tells her he's doesn't like how she treats him. And have her learn that it's wrong and apologize to Lucas.

I also think for Lucas we could have him join basketball this season and see the party reactions to it. I feel like it would've shown more depth in their friendships.

I think I would've pushed El getting kidnapped by the government this season and replace the hopper fake death with els kidnapping. And have billy be the first vecna victim as another cliff hanger.

I would've kept jancy the same and their argument about classism/poverty vs misogyny in the workplace. Because that argument was really good because they were both right and wrong.

Have El develop familial relationships with Joyce and will and Jonathan because maybe she lives with them for school or something.

I also would show will struggles with being gay and the ud more

S4, instead of Eddie blamed have it be the party because Neil tells the police it was them cause of DND. And have the season be the party on the run and hiding out in town to try and figure out what's going on. Also show max struggling with Billy's death and the mystery.

Have hopper and Joyce be the ones who go to rescue El from the lab. Have Steve Nancy Jonathan and Robin be the ones dealing with Hawkins.

I'm done now. But these are just off the top of my head and aren't explained the best.